expected because a few soldiers tried to claim they could swim. Everyone wanted to join him and recapture Akkad.
To his surprise, many of the soldiers had lived on and around the river for most of their lives, and more than a few knew how to swim.
Obtaining the boats proved more difficult. Even for gold, two boat owners refused to help, and Sisuthros simply commandeered their boats.
In the end Sisuthros selected six boats. Each vessel would need a crew of two, and could carry at least half a dozen men, plus their equipment.
Crewmen utilized every rope and cord they could find in Bisitun, to lash down swords, knives, sandals, food, anything that could be lost. That way, even if the boat capsized, a not unexpected event, the food and weapons would be secure.
Mitrac ordered the bows coated with grease, then wrapped in rags and bound with cords. A short immersion in the water wouldn’t weaken them too much. The master archer packed all the bowstrings into two small clay jars, then sealed them with plenty of wax and bundled them with blankets and straw, much the way the traders shipped beer or wine. The jars, too, were fastened down throughout the craft, in the safest and most secure places. The bowstrings had to be kept dry at all cost. If they got wet, it would take most of a day to dry them out, and the bows would be useless during that time. A little water wouldn’t hurt the arrows, Mitrac decided.
Nevertheless, they stored them in jars as well, though they didn’t bother sealing these as tightly.
All this took time. The village square and the docks looked like a ser-pents’ pit with everyone scurrying around. Lani organized the women to cook as much food as possible. Every chicken they could lay their hands on ended up on a spit, and the aroma of roasting meat wafted throughout the dockside. The men would eat a big meal before they left and have more to take with them. The women fired up the morning ovens once again and began baking more bread. Lani supervised the collection of fruits, dates, and any other edible items that wouldn’t be ruined by water, gathered them together, and sent them to the boats.
Counting Eskkar, Grond, and Alexar, thirty-nine men assembled at the jetty, ready to board. Eskkar mustered all those selected. “Quiet now,” he ordered. “Yavtar will speak to you. Listen carefully to what he says.”
Yavtar owned two of the boats, and would command one of them.
Sisuthros had dealt with the ship owner turned trader several times during the last month, and suggested Yavtar be put in charge of the whole expedition. A big man, with thick arms from years of handling an oar, Yavtar pushed his way into the center of the Akkadians. He had dirty blond hair tied at the back of his neck, and wore nothing but a skirt and a belt holding a knife. When he spoke, his deep voice carried across the docks.
“You men are going on my boats,” he began, “and you’ll follow my orders exactly. Anyone who doesn’t will find themselves swimming. My orders, remember that, not Lord Eskkar’s, not anyone else’s. On the river, you’ll answer only to me.” He paused to stare at Eskkar, who nodded agreement.
“All these boats will be heavily loaded,” Yavtar continued, “and I don’t want some fool tipping one over. No one is to move without asking permission of the boat captain. All of you will be given paddles, and you’ll be expected to use them. Your lord here,” Yavtar pointed to Eskkar with his thumb, “has promised me a bonus if I get all of you to Akkad as soon as possible. So you’ll paddle when I tell you, you’ll sleep where, when, and if I tell you, and you will not move about unless I tell you.”
Yavtar turned back to Eskkar. “Is that as we’ve agreed, Lord Eskkar?”
Eskkar raised up his voice. “All of us will do what we’re told by the boat captains. Obey them as you would me. We want to get to Akkad as soon as possible.”
Yavtar glanced at the sun, already approaching its high point, then turned to his men, who stood lined up against the water’s edge. “Get the men onboard,” he ordered, and walked off. The embarkation of the soldiers began. The boatmen had already stowed and lashed down the food and weapons.
Eskkar felt a hand on his arm and turned to find Lani there. “Lord Eskkar, take this with you. You may want it later.”
The basket held more food, collected at the last moment. Eskkar hadn’t spoken to her since early morning. Taking her hand, he led her away from the jetty. The sounds of activity rose up all around them, but no one paid any attention to the couple.
“Lani,” he began, “I don’t know what will happen at Akkad. But I’ll send for you as soon as I can. Otherwise, Sisuthros will make sure you’re cared for, and…”
Lani shook her head. “Eskkar, you needn’t worry about me. Secure your wife’s safety. She needs you now. Do what you must. I’ll wait for your summons.”
He pulled her to him for a moment, felt her hands go around his back as she pressed herself to him. Then he stepped back and met her wet eyes.
“I will take care of you, Lani, for as long as you want me to. Remember that. You have my word.”
He turned and returned to the boats. Yavtar stood waiting for him, and the sailor extended his hand to guide Eskkar down into a rocking craft, the largest of the six vessels.
“Can you swim, Lord Eskkar?”
“Well enough,” Eskkar said, grateful for the skill learned as a boy. “But I prefer to do my swimming near the riverbank, not out in the current.”
“Then I’ll make sure we only capsize near the shore,” Yavtar said with a laugh.
With Eskkar aboard and seated, Yavtar took one last check to ensure that the heavily loaded craft rode evenly in the water. He took his position at the stern, and gave orders to those still standing on the docks. The boatman at the prow cast loose the last of the ropes, and coiled it back into the boat, even as the men left behind waded into the water, pushing the boat out into the river’s current. Eskkar breathed a sigh of relief: under way at last.
Half the men with Eskkar had some experience with boats, another quality Sisuthros searched for while sorting out those who would go.
These men, at Yavtar’s order, began paddling, using slow and even strokes.
Yavtar’s crewman hauled up the small sail the vessel carried amidships, grunting until he’d raised the heavy linen to its full extent before lashing it in place.
Gradually the boat began to speed up as it edged into the middle of the river. “We’ll be safer here, “Yavtar explained, “where the current is swiftest. There aren’t many rapids between Bisitun and Akkad, and it’s easier to control the boat.”
Once in the center of the channel, they glided along, and Eskkar reckoned the pace to be equivalent to a horse’s fast walk. Glancing behind, he saw the other five boats strung out, each raising its own sails.
Yavtar spent plenty of time inspecting the sail and gauging the trim of the boat, moving the men around slightly, and showing them how and when to row. The experienced rivermen didn’t need the lesson, but no one said anything. Yavtar didn’t trust any of them to hold on to a paddle. He made sure a rope fastened each oar to the boat.
By the end of the first hour, they began to settle down. Everyone soon learned not to make any rapid movements, and if one man had to change positions, the others held still. To Eskkar’s relief, the boat seemed stable enough, and he gradually stopped worrying about capsizing. The desul-tory wind blew from the north, helping to push the boats downstream, and they cut through the water at a steady pace.
Though the boat held nine men, it carried little cargo, so the craft responded well to Yavtar’s handling. With everyone paddling, even with light strokes, the boat fairly flew along, picking up more speed when helped by the wind, which held steady until sundown. Then it changed direction, and Yavtar ordered the sail lowered.
Eskkar opened his mouth, then shut it again.
Yavtar saw the look. “It’s too dangerous at night, Captain,” he explained, a little more talkative now that he knew the soldiers could follow orders. “Hard to see rocks or anything else floating in the water. We would have lowered it anyway. We’ll paddle easy until moonrise.”
Eskkar grunted a little at that news. By now he knew that even light strokes moved the boat at a good pace. He learned to use a smooth, feathering stroke that took little effort. The paddling served as much to guide the boat and keep it centered in the river as to move it along.
When the moon rose, Yavtar picked up the pace. “I’ve never sailed through a whole night before, Lord Eskkar. It’ll be interesting to see how much river we can cover by dawn.”
In the moonlight, Eskkar could scarcely make out the boat behind them, still keeping its station and holding
