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 21
Reunion in Tinghir

Ikken was hanging in the saddle like half dead. The rocking pace of the tired horse almost turned over his stomach. With effort, he turned his head and looked over his shoulder at Tanan, who was riding behind him. His new friend seemed to be no better off than he was. His head was also down on his chest and he seemed to be asleep. KeYnNamM, at the head of the small group making its way across the bare landscape between the gallery forest at the Draa and the strip of woods that formed the border between No-One's-Land and the Border-Land, had already disappeared among the trees. He has it good in the shade now, Ikken thought, while the midday sun is still burning our backs.

In the morning KeYnNamM had woken Ikken from his dreams before dawn. Ikken, sandwiched between Hiyya and Tanan could not remember the dream now, but the dream was beautiful. Had he dreamed about Yufayyur? Probably, otherwise he would not have been so hard. Since the three of them had been spooning for lack of space, the other two had also woken up when KeYnNamM shook him awake, "We have to go to Tinghir, Ikken! We ride at once, the horses are ready!" when Ikken protested, KeYnNamM only replied, "There I need your help!" and pulled him out of bed.

When Tanan heard the word Tinghir, he immediately began to beg, "Take me with you Amestan, please Amestan, I need to go to the town, I need to go to Tinghir, that's where I was born, that's where my mother lives!" He had blurted out this request without once taking a breath, and when KeYnNamM cut him off, he began to beg. "Take me with you! Please Amestan! Please! I have to go! I haven't seen my mother in twelve years! Since I was three!" When even this reasoning did not convince Amestan, he continued, "She has a small inn, we can stay there, at the Inn of the Thirsty Qurbac, the Thirsty Camel. Really! I swear it!"

Only when Ennan confirmed Tanan's statements and added, "She was kidnapped by the Emperor's henchmen when she was twelve, first she lived in the capital, and when she became pregnant with Tanan, she was allowed to move to Tinghir and open the inn." Then KeYnNamM's friend sighed, "But she was only allowed to do that because she swore to give her little son to her parents. They are dead now and since then Tanan has been living with his relatives, sometimes here sometimes there, sometimes better sometimes worse!"

Ikken knew the Thirsty Camel Inn. It did not have a good reputation, like all businesses run by former maids of pleasure. But among these it had the best reputation. Ikken also knew Tirizi, and she lived up to her name, "Bright as the Moon." Her reputation among the traveling merchants and peasants who came to the market was not the best, as she looked at money, but to boys like him she had always been generous. Tirizi had a big heart and for him it was already clear that Tanan had inherited the good heart from his mother. But where did he get his cheeky nature, perhaps from his father? 

Ikken could not stand cheeky boys, but he had taken Tanan to his heart, if not since the first moment, but at least since the night they were together. Was it because of Tanan’s kindness or was it because Yufayyur had wanted such a teacher for him? Who knows? He could learn all sorts of things from Tanan, that was already certain, at least as far as girls were concerned. So Ikken agreed with Tanan as a companion, even though KeYnNamM still hadn't told him why they had to ride to Tinghir.

By the time they had crossed the forest strip, it was early afternoon and still far to Tinghir to ride on. Because of the heat the three of them took a rest in the shade of an Argan tree. From the resting place at the edge of the forest, they could see across the plain to the mountains. Ikken remembered. To the north lay the crystal mine, then came the lightly wooded slopes of Jbel Sarhro, and further south Tinghir must b situated. While Ikken was still trying to spot the first signs of his birthplace in the shimmering air, KeYnNamM and Tanan had already fed and watered the horses. Now they were bracing themselves in the shade with pita bread and roast leftovers from the previous evening.

Ikken was also hungry, but did not feel like eating. He only zook some water to compensate for the loss of fluids from the ride in the heat. Tired from the ride from the source of the Meryem to Ennan's farm, the nightly exertion with Hiyya and Tanan, and the long ride this morning, he fell asleep immediately. When Tanan saw his new friend sleeping, he couldn't help it. He snuggled up to him, put his head on his belly, and immediately fell deeply asleep. KeYnNamM sat down next to the two and leaned against the trunk of the Argan tree and fell asleep.

When KeYnNamM woke up in the late afternoon it was the first time to compare the two boys. He estimated Tanan to be only a few fingerbreadths shorter than Ikken, but the boy was stronger, beefier, and he marveled at his powerful upper arms. His roundish face, framed by dark frizzy hair, radiated strength and confidence even during sheep. KeYnNamM was attracted to Tanan, but in a completely different way than to Ikken and Aylal. Even when he first saw the two of them in the spring cellar of Tinghir, he thought, these are my sons. With Tanan it was different. He was attracted to him, but had no paternal feelings for him.

When a fly settled on Tanan's nose, KeYnNamM shooed it away with his hand. The faint breeze woke Tanan up. He slowly opened his eyes. The iris was dark, almost as black as the pupil. The opening to Tanan's soul was so dark, he thought. What was behind it?

The boy caught KeYnNamM's hand still in the air, drew it to his face, and caressed his cheek with it. "Do you like me Amestan? I like you, I like you because YOU are you and Ikken is your son. You know what you want. You have to tell us, me and Ikken. We will help you."

Ikken had also woken up in the meantime. Still lying in the sand, he wanted to know, "Why should we accompany you to Tinghir? You have always said it is too dangerous for us, for Aylal, for me and for you! The governor is still looking for us. Now he still be more eager to catch us, because the campaign against the desert sons failed with our help!"

KeYnNamM hesitated and then asked a counter question, "Do you have your red hat with you, the Tukumbut that once belonged to King Gaya?" When Ikken nodded and replied "I always have it with me!" the Amestan continued, "A king defends his people, he is not afraid, not even of the strongest enemy. By the side of Yufayyur you were not afraid, what should you be afraid of now?" When he thus had sworn Ikken in, he laid out the reasons for the undertaking and developed a plan.

"If we don't disarm the governor, the killing will continue in the Draa Valley, and not only in the Draa Valley, but also in the Border-Land and the mountains. We must disarm him so that the mercenaries can return home and the escaped murderers can be taken to the crystal mine. You Ikken know the city like no one else. You have shown that you are brave and can free someone whom the governor has marked for death. Besides, I know you want to avenge your father and all the innocent people the governor had murdered."

Both Ikken and Tanan gulped in surprise. Tanan was the first to compose himself "What is my task in this?" "You can help us and maybe your mother too. She's bound to hear all the news from the city at the inn, and she'll be angry, because she was not allowed to see the best son in the world to grow up."

Tanan was beaming now, "the best son in the world," no one had ever called him that before. But then he became serious and bowed to Ikken, "I did not know that you were the successor of the great Gaya, the greatest king of the desert sons." He hesitated, "Forgive me, I mistook you for one like me." When Ikken straightened him up, he stammered, "Especially what I did to you in bed yesterday I now regret. Please forgive me my prince!"

Now it was time for Ikken to laugh out loud, "I can't forgive you until I get revenge for it." Then he grinned from ear to ear, "Just wait Tanan until we are alone, then Prince Maya will take terrible revenge!"

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Late in the afternoon of the next day, they finally saw the city walls of Tinghir from a distance. Both Ikken and Tanan were glad and tense at the same time, but for different reasons. Ikken was happy to be able to see his old home again, and perhaps his old friends, but he was aware that this would not be possible until their venture had succeeded. Tanan was more tense than happy. He longed to see his mother, but could hardly remember her. "Will my mother be happy when I suddenly stand before her?" he asked Ikken, "Will she even recognize me. I was little then, and now? Will she even want to see me?" the thoughts wouldn't let him go. "At all! Does she know what I look like? Maybe she thinks I'm still a little boy! I'm probably almost as tall as her or taller than her!"

Tanan repeated his concerns again and again till KeYnNamM calmed him down, "Take it as it comes! I bet she'll be happy! She will give you a big hug and never want to let you go!" This thought, in turn, did not please Ikken too much. He didn't want to be without a friend again, and besides, how could he "get even" if Tanan was completely taken in by Tirizi. As he pictured the way he was going to get revenge on Tanan, he became all fidgety with impatience. "We'll know more tonight. But now Tanan, look, the city wall!"

As KeYnNamM turned toward the city gate, Ikken protested. "First we must see if my hiding place in the city wall still exists. The hut in front of was burned down!" When Tanan asked, he explained the secret of his dwelling. "We can use it as an escape route from the city if our plan goes wrong!"

Together with Tanan, Ikken cleared away the pile of brushwood in front of the exit of the hideout. In the process, they shooed birds from their nests that had taken possession of the piles of brushwood in his absence. "A good sign!" remarked KeYnNamM, who watched out that no one noticed their activity. The narrow passage to the living chamber seemed intact also. Ikken crawled in first, followed by Tanan. At the flap to the living chamber, he paused for a moment and listened for sounds coming from the souk. Nothing could be heard but the scolding of sparrows, not as the soft breathing of Tanan, who by now had caught up with him.

For Tanan, this trip into the dark was not a serious matter, but rather an adventure game. When he accidentally bumped his head on Ikken's upturned buttocks in the dark tube, he quickly stuck his nose into the crack between the latter's buttocks, "Hey Ikken, it smells strange here. Haven't you washed your butt since the day before yesterday?" When Ikken called him "weirdo!", Tanan giggled, "But I like the smell! I can't get enough of it!" and he began sniffing Ikken's butt crack audibly. Tanan's remark relieved Ikken's tension. He repeated, "Weirdo!" and then pushed open the flap to the living chamber.

Light fell through a narrow gap near the ceiling. Now there was an opening in the wall that had separated the hideout from the stall of his auntie and formerly covered by a curtain. Now the entrance was shut with rough boards and the light that fell through the gaps bathed the room in twilight. Nothing had changed. The untidily blankets on the sleeping place lay as Ikken and Aylal had left them when they left town. The sealed containers were still on the shelves next to the bed. When Ikken opened one, the spice inside still smelled as fresh as the first day.

Everything was as they had left the room, only the lantern was missing. Then remembered they had taken it with them when they escaped. Ikken sat down for a moment and recalled the years he had spent here with Aylal. After a short rest he and Tanan tried to loosen the boards that blocked the entrance to the souk. In vain.

They crawled back. From the exit, Ikken signaled to KeYnNamM, who was standing guard some distance away, that all was well in the hideout. Ikken and Tanan pushed the brushwood back in front of the entrance and rode together with the Amestan to the west gate of the city.

All three had dressed like peasants from the Border-Land. Due to this outfit they had attracted anyone's attention on their way from the Draa to the Tinghir. Only the small, fast horses could have aroused suspicion, since peasants usually did not own such graceful animals. They were lucky. Now at the beginning of dawn the gatekeepers were weary and had retired to the cool of the guardhouse. Not one of the took notice of the three strangers riding into town. Ikken knew the location of the Thirsty Camel Inn by the west gate therefore he rode ahead of the others through narrow, nearly empty streets to Tanan’s mother.

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The gate to the Thirsty Camel Inn stood ajar. KeYnNamM pushed it open and the three visitors rode into the square courtyard. The inn was built like a caravanserai. To the left was the large innkeeper's parlor, adjoined by a number of welfare rooms. The back housed stables and feed chambers, and to the right of the gate were the rooms where guests could spend the night. KeYnNamM knocked at the inn and when no one answered, they put the horses in an open stable and sat down on bundles of barley straw that lay there.

After dark, other guests arrived one by one. Since there was no sign of the innkeeper, Tanan's mother Tirizi, or her helpers, they too put their horses away for the night. One of the other guests, who had been a frequently here, knew where the keys were hidden and opened the guest chambers.  Later he fetched cooled tea from the innkeeper's room, from which everyone was free to help himselves.

While the other guests began to pass the time playing board games in the courtyard by the light of quickly lit torches, Tanan became increasingly restless. He paced back and forth the short distance between the stable and the front gate perhaps four dozen times when a white-haired man approached him, "You there, what are you waiting for? Can't you wait for Tirizi to come back with her girls? Are you so nervous because you haven't lost your virginity yet?" then he laughed, "Youth always wants the same thing. You can definitely have that tonight, even if the girls are all sad today."

As Tanan stood helplessly before the old man with his arms hanging, KeYnNamM interfered, finding the questions inappropriate. "What's the matter old man, can't you leave my son alone. Can't you see how nervous he is? He's not here for the girls, I'm sure of it."

"Then why pumpkin? But you're right, you shouldn't really be cheerful on a day like this. After all, the girls were burying their murdered friend!" As KeYnNamM visibly shuddered, the old man added, "She wasn't murdered here, it's safe here. Someone picked her up in town, kidnapped her, abused her, and then threw her dead body off the city wall. But don't worry, the police are already searching for the murderer and the new prosecutor will make sure that all the resources are available needed for a successful search."

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To be continued...

Posted 09/23/2022