KeYnNamM 

The Man-with-No-Name,

the King of No-One’s-Land

By: Ruwen Rouhs
(© 2022 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

RRouhs@tickiestories.us

Chapter 13
Surprise Attack at Meryem’s Spring

At dusk Tarit, KeYnNamM and Ikken, were lying on the edge of the cliff above the spring. They were, watching what was going on at the bottom of the valley in Areksim’s camp. Ikken was excited. He wanted to know how many men belonged to the expeditionary corps. Since none of the scouts could give accurate information about its size, Ikken tried to count the men. This was not easy in the gray twilight. The soldiers of the empire had gathered in small groups around the burned-down fires, their feet turned toward the dying embers of horse dung. Each twelve seemed to be lying around a fire pit. Since he saw five fire pits, there had to be 60 soldiers. But the scouts had spoken of eight dozen horsemen, plus five foragers. To his calculation, this were 101 men. In addition, there was the leader of the Governors expedition, his adjutant Udad and his four sub-lieutenants.

Ikken did the math easily. He hadn’t learned to write and read, but knew how to scrawl his name. However, he was very good at simple math. His old half-blind auntie had taught him that already as a small boy! Whenever he made a mistake, she would pull his ear and yell, "How are you going to earn money in the souk if you can't do math? Try again!" According to the scout there should 101 men, and together with the superiors 106 men. He could see sixty, but where were the others? Ikken guessed the field captain Areksim, Udad and the sub-lieutenants were probably camping in front of the cool cave of the source of the Meryem or even inside the cave. Perhaps the rest of the troop camped further down along the creek together with the foragers and their mules. There, in a makeshift paddock, the horses had to be as well, for their scent drifted up to him. The only question was, how many soldiers were guarding the animals, a dozen or less? Probably less. Tarit's force, however, counted only 12 experienced men, 12 volunteers, Tarit himself, KeYnNamM and himself, Ikken. All in all they were 26 men and a fourten-year-old boy. The question was, could the small party cope with almost four times the number of opponents?

Tarit's whisper suddenly disturbed his thoughts. "I'll go get the others now. You two wait here, and if something special comes up, you can inform me by the call of the desert lark." Tarit disappeared into the darkness and Ikken snuggled close to KeYnNamM, for he was shivering with excitement in the cold desert night.

Finally, they heard light footsteps and Tarit emerged from the darkness with six of his men. At first, Ikken wondered why Tarit brought so few with him. But then he remembered that the task of the other six was to panic the horses and donkeys in the paddock and he took it for granted that the six had lined up further down by the paddock.

The wide overcoats and fluttering head veils made the small, slender men seem even taller and more frightening against the gray night sky than they did in daylight. For the unexperienced mercenaries they looked like Jinns, Ikken thought.

Tarit stopped just short of the edge of the cliff, flipped up the shield of his blinding lantern, and began to swing it overhead. When the light signal was not immediately returned from the opposite side, he called out three times like a desert owl. Immediately his calls were returned from the other side. A short time later the light of a lantern circled in the night sky, confirming Yufayyur group's readiness to attack.

KeYnNamM, meanwhile, had scrambled back to Tarit and the others.  He also set fire to the ball of raffia at the front end of his arrow. The ball of raffia was soaked in stone oil and resin and made the arrow a flaming arrow, a terrible weapon. At a silent command, eight incendiary arrows shot like comets through the dark night sky. A shower of sparks struck the valley floor where the soldiers had made their bivouac. A hail of flaming arrows, fired from the desert sons on the cliff opposite, followed only moments later.

Ikken could not tell if any of the sleeping soldiers had been hit or if the incendiary arrows had struck between them. The arrows, however, produced the intended effect. Small fires blazed up where equipment or blankets had been hit, screams echoed through the valley, startled soldiers tried to take cover and incomprehensible commands rang out.

But that was not all. When the six men, who had been waiting on the cliff above the paddock saw the arrows whizzing through the night like small comets, they also ignited their incendiary arrows and sent them in high arcs down into the valley to the resting animals. The burning arrows frightened the horses even more than their guards. Startled, they began to neigh, mounted, clashed, overran not only each other but also the few sentries. The sentries tried to calm the horses and donkeys down, but in vain. Soon the first animals broke through the light fence of the paddock, the others followed and there was no stopping them. Finally, the entire herd pushed out of the paddock and fled down the wadi. Another hail of arrows further magnified the ensuing chaos.

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The unexpected attack had shocked the governor’s mercenaries. Torn from sleep they looked for orientation and at the same time tried to escape the flames which spread quickly. Field captain Areksim took charge and ordered the men to take cover under the overhanging cliff of the cave. Here they could not be reached by arrows from Tarit's group. What they overlooked, however, was that they now still made an excellent target for Yufayyur's men on the opposite cliff. These changed from flaming arrows to barbed tipped war arrows, which caused painful wounds to the mercenaries.

Areksim immediately recognized that a counterattack with arrows was just a waste of material, as the attackers could not been detected from the bottom of the valley in front of the cave.  Therefore, he decided for an attack by foot. He ordered a group of heavily armed men to take the steep path to the top of the cliff above the spring and attack the enemy directly. Another mercenary group was ordered to attack the desert warriors on the opposite cliff. Since there was no direct path to the location of this group of attackers, this squad had to take a long detour.

Ikken became uneasy when he noticed the governor's mercenaries climbing up the steep path to his vantage point on the cliff. He jumped up, pulling Tarit to the edge of the cliff, "Tarit, Tarit look there!" He pointed excitedly at the soldiers creeping up in the semi-darkness. "Don't be afraid, Ikken! Do you think we didn't expect their counterattack!" He thrust the thick end of rope into Ikken's hand, "Here, take the end of the rope. If you pull on it, you'll trigger a rockfall." When Ikken immediately began to pull wildly on the rope, Tarit curbed his eagerness, "Don’t pull until our enemies are halfway up the climb!" They both waited tensely. Then Tarit ordered, "Now!"

With a jerk, the big pile stone bank piled up halfway up the step trail came loose. Stones, large one and small ones, began to rumble down into the valley, some along the steep path itself and some down the slope of the cliff to the valley floor. The attackers at the head of the group were caught off guard by the boulders hurtling down the mountain. They could not react fast enough and were bowled off the path like dolls. Those who came behind were luckier. They could retreat with bloody heads.

By the rockfall more boulders were torn out of the steep cliff face. The rockfall turned into an avalanche of boulders that came down on the soldiers who had gathered at the base by the spring. Many were hit and sustained painful scrapes , bleeding wounds or cracked skulls

The confusion caused by the unexpected avalanche of stones increased further when a troop of skittish horses suddenly came galloping up the wadi, cutting a path through the jumbled ranks of mercenaries. It was not until the captain ordered the soldiers to take cover in small groups behind stone blocks at the foot of the escarpment, so that they were not longer a target for the hail of stones coming down the cliff, the crazed horses and the arrows of the Imuhagh. Areksim ordered no further attack until daybreak. His men did not leave their cover until the squad searching the area above the opposite escarpment for enemy returned exhausted without having achieved anything.

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The events of the night increased Ikken’s heart rate like the one of a race-horse in the home stretch and his blood pressure rise to its limit: the raid on the governor's expeditionary corps; the shower of incendiary arrows raining down on the sleeping mercenaries; the whinnying of the distressed horses overrunning everything in their path; the thumping of the stone avalanche that swept the attackers off the trail. All this made him shake all over. Now at sunrise only the tension of the fight kept him on his feet.

Tarit and KeYnNamM were satisfied with the result of the raid, although they did neither did know how many of the mercenaries had been injured or even killed, nor how many horses had escaped, or how much Areksim's troop had lost in material. Both were certain, however, that they had won a partial victory and that the th govenor’s corps had been weakened. The scouts who kept a constant watch on the enemy would soon be able to give information about the success of the raid.

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Tarit, KeYnNamM, and Ikken were on their way with their small force to the next watering hole up the wadi. They were accompanied by nine men only, since the three most experienced dessert sons had been ordered to intercept any messenger from Areksim who might inform the governor of the progress of the punitive expedition. At the watering hole, the Seven Goats Well, they were to meet up with Yufayyur's group, which would more than double the fighting strength of Tarit's force.

"Why do you call the watering hole Seven Goats' Well?" wanted KeYnNamM to know from Tarit, who rode beside him. "Because its water is just enough to quench the thirst of seven goats in the hot season. Its water will be enough to replenish our water supply and refresh our horses, but it is by no means enough for such a large force as the governor's expeditionary corps." Then Tarit began to chuckle, "If Areksim thinks that his people can supply themselves with the precious wet at the watering hole after this one he is mistaken. It is called the Lake of Foul Water. The water there doesn't taste that bad, but whoever drinks it will soon throw up and start to wet his pants. The body loses water in the process, more and more water. This water of the lake does not quench your thirst, it increases it! At the hunt for us, the mercenaries should have taken along all the water they need for themselves, as well as for their mounts.”

KeYnNamM looked around, "Do we have made enough provisions ourself? My water hose here is pretty empty." "We have full water containers hidden off the route, plus there are springs known only to initiates. Finding the Seven Goats' Well depleted the governor's troop has to ride two more days before they encounter a spring with sufficient water for all the men, and their mount. This place is known as the Oasis of Mhamit. From there it takes another day until they reach the Qsar of the Jinn, where the road turns to the Kasbah of Amenokal.

Around noon, Tarit's group arrived at the Seven Goats' Well. Yufayyur and his men were already waiting for them. The group camped in the shade of a small cliff. During the exhausting ride in the hot dessert sun, Tarit had tried to keep Ikken awake by telling him exciting stories about his young brother in law.  Now Ikken was curious and tried to guess which of the men lying there was Yufayyur. They all were clad in gray overgarments and their faces were hidden by veils. The riddle was solved immediately.  One of them rose and with a gracious bow invited them to share the shady place with them. Ikken was even more amazed when the man stepped in front of him and welcomed him with a deep bow, "Boy with the red hat of King Gaya, greetings! Word of your deed has reached us. I am to thank you on behalf of my three sisters, of Tamimt, Lunja and Dihya. You and your small brother rescued KeYnNamM, Tarit’s blood brother and lover. I am to thank you also in the name of Amenokal the king of the Imuhagh. Welcome to the kingdom of the Sons of the Desert!" then without being in the least shy, he said, "May I call you brother Ikken, successor of Gaya! I know that we are brothers!"

Ikken was astonished by the well-placed greeting. Was this Yufayyur? He spoke like an educated man, one who had grown up at the court of a king, not one who had grown up among tents in the desert. It took Ikken a moment to return the greeting, "You are Yufayyur, Tarit's brother-in-law, right? I am honored by your greeting. But I don't deserve it, I'm just a simple boy and the king's hat was given to me by an old lady merchant." then he added, "I haven't done anything extraordinary. I had to help KeYnNamM. I couldn't let the governor murder another innocent man!"

Yufayyur pondered for a moment, then remembered that the governor had also killed Ikken's father. He bowed deeply once again, "Fatherless! I too was a fatherless boy and found my second father in Tarit. Let us be brothers as our new fathers are brothers."

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In the early evening, the horses of Tarit's men dozed with drooping heads in the farther wandering shade of the rocky cliff west of the well. The Imuhagh had draped blankets over their backs so that the hot air would not carry away the cooling sweat so quickly. The men lay wrapped in their wide overgarments, their face veils pulled over their heads, as close as possible to the shade-giving rock face that now emitted the stored heat. All were thirsty, but they were patient until Tarit would give the order to drink.

While the Imuhagh were protected from desiccation by the clothing, Ikken was wearing only a short shirt and his red cap as he neither possessed the wide overgarment of the dessert sons, the Tekamist, nor their face veil, the Tugulmust, Recognizing Ikken’s problem, Yufayyur invited his new brother to share the cover of a thick camel-hair blanket. Exhausted from the exertion of the previous night and the long ride in the morning, they felt asleep and soundly slept, although sweat ran in streams down their faces.

Yufayyur had a wonderful dream. But when he woke up next to the sweaty Ikken, he could not remember why the dream was so beautiful. But it had something to do with Ikken, whose body odor hit his nose. Ikken woke up also. He tried to free himself from Yufayyur's embrace, but then just turned his head and rubbed his nose against his new friend's cheek.

What had awakened them both was the trampling of the hooves of an approaching horse. Ikken flipped back the blanket and in the late afternoon sun recognized one of the scouts Tarit had send off for reconnaissance at Meryem’s spring. "They will not arrive here before nightfall, Areksim's men!" he called from a distance, "Their horses are tired. Many have had to carry two men, since more than a third of the animals have disappeared into the desert." "And the men? How big is Areksim force now?  How many are injured?" wanted Tarit wanted to know, "How many did we kill?" "I didn't see any dead, but Areksim left about a dozen wounded at Meryem's spring. Therefore, his force has melted down." then he looked questioningly at Tarit, as if he didn't dare tell his commander his own opinion, "If I were him, I wouldn't have continued the war campaign. Doesn't he know that the water here is not even enough for his soldiers, let alone the horses!" "You are right, scout! Before we ride on we will fetch the last drop of water from the well shaft! Let them know that they are not welcome here." Then Tarit turned to his men, "Fill up the water hoses, then water the horses! Areksim's troops must not find a single drop of water here. When you are finished we will ride on, to the Lake of Foul Water."

Yufayyur rode close to Tarit as his brother-in-law gathered the troops to leave, "Let me and Ikken stay behind. We are as good as any of your scouts. I promise to take good care of Ikken!" With that he held up his hand to swear, "You can be sure. We will do nothing that gets us in danger!" Tarit frowned, then looked over at KeYnNamM, who was still saddling his horse and was arguing with Ikken. "Did you guys cook this up under the covers?" He then winked at his young brother-in-law, "Do you want to be alone? Do you want to be alone with Ikken? I noticed right away how you looked at him when you first approached him, and Ikken looked quite interested, too." Yufayyur blushed and tried to hide his embarrassment by covering his face with his veil. "If KeYnNamM agrees, you can stay together all night, but keep enough distance from Areksim and his troops. People in love have often forgotten how close the danger is."

KeYnNamM agreed to their request, gave Ikken a pat and mounted his horse, "I hate to leave you alone with Yufayyur! But you seem to be hot to stay alone with the desert son and I thought Hiyya had turned your head!" Ikken's face turn almost as red as his cap. He lowered his eyes, "Hiyya and I are just friends, even if she wants to be more! Then you approve we stay behind?" He rose on his tiptoes and gave the Amestan a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks KeYnNamM-baba, you're the best!"

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To be continued...

Posted 07/29/2022