placed the best rooms at their disposal.
He sent slaves to attend them and his own cooks to prepare their meals, then threw open his armoury for them to re-equip their men.
'Choose the horses you need from the remount depot. Tell my quartermaster how much dhurra and hay you require. There is no need to stint.
We are well provisioned.'
When Meren inspected the men in their new quarters he found them well content. 'The rations are excellent. There are not many women in the town but those few are friendly. The horses and mules are filling their bellies with dhurra and green grass. No one has any complaint,'
Hilto reported.
After his long exile Governor Nara was eager for news of the civilized world, and hungry for the company of sophisticated men. In particular Taita's learned dissertations fascinated him. Most evenings he invited him and Meren to dine with him. When Taita revealed to him their intention to ride south through the swamps, Nara looked grave.
'Nobody returns from the lands beyond the swamps. I believe implicitly that they lead to the end of the earth and those who go there are swept over the edge into the abyss.' Then, hastily, he adopted a more optimistic tone: these men bore the royal Hawk Seal and he should encourage them in their duty. 'Of course, there is no reason why you should not be the
I
first to reach the end of the earth and return safely. Your men are tough and you have the magus with you.' He bowed to Taita. 'What more can I do to assist you? You know you have only to ask.'
'Do you have native scouts to guide us?' Taita asked.
'Oh, yes,' Nara assured him. 'I have men who come from somewhere out there.'
'Do you know what tribe they belong to?'
'No, but they are tall, very black and tattooed with strange designs.'
'Then they are probably Shilluk,' Taita said, pleased. 'During the exodus General Lord Tanus recruited several regiments of the Shilluk.
They are intelligent men and readily instructed. Although they are of cheerful disposition, they are fearsome fighters.'
'That would describe them well enough,' Governor Nara agreed.
'Whatever their tribe, they seem to know the country well. The two men I have in mind have worked with the army for some years, and have learnt a little of the Egyptian language. I will send them to you in the morning.'
In the dawn when Taita and Meren left their quarters they found two Nubians squatting against the wall of the courtyard. When they rose to their feet they towered even over Meren. Their lean frames were sheathed in flat, hard muscle, decorated with intricate patterns of ritual scarring, and their skin shone with oil or fat. They wore short skirts of animal skin, and carried long spears with barbed heads carved from bone.
'I see you. Men!' Taita greeted them in Shilluk. Men was a term of approbation, used only between warriors, and their handsome Nilotic faces lit with delight.
'I see you, ancient and wise one,' the taller man replied. Those also were terms of reverence and respect. Taita's silver beard had made a deep impression on them. 'But how is it that you speak our tongue so well?'
'Have you heard of Lion Liver?' Taita asked. The Shilluk considered the liver to be the seat of a man's courage.
'Hau! Haul' They were astonished. It was the name that their tribe had given Lord Tanus when they served under him. 'Our grandfather spoke of Lion Liver, for we are cousins. He fought for that man in the cold mountains of the east. He told us that Lion Liver was the father of all warriors.'
'Lion Liver was my brother and my friend,' Taita told them.
'Then you are truly old, older even than our grandfather.' They were even more impressed.
'Come, let us sit in the shade and converse.' Taita led them to the enormous fig tree in the centre of the courtyard.; They squatted in the council circle, facing each other, arid Taita questioned them closely. The elder cousin was their spokesman. His name was Nakonto, the Shilluk word for the short stabbing spear. 'For in battle I have slain many.' He was not boasting, but stating a fact.
'My cousin is Nontu for he is short.'
'All things are relative.' Taita smiled to himself: Nontu stood a full head taller than Meren.
'Where do you come from, Nakonto?'
'From beyond the swamps.' He indicated the south with his chin.
'Then you know the southern lands well?'
'They are our home.' For a moment he seemed wistful and nostalgic.
'Will you lead me to your home?'
'I dream every night of standing by the graves of my father and grandfather,' Nakonto said softly.
'Their spirits are calling you,' said Taita.
'You understand, old one.' Nakonto looked at him with deepening respect. 'When you leave Qebui, Nontu and I will go with you to show you the way.'
Two more full moons had shone down upon the pools of the Nile before the horses and their riders were fit to travel. On the night before their departure Taita dreamed of fishes in vast shoals, of every colour, shape and size.
