looked like it was in danger of crumbling back to the mud. He still had trouble imagining the force with which the stones landed. Any enemy struck in the head would be going down, even if he happened to be wearing a helmet. Hits on arms and legs would be painful and slow a fighter down, probably taking him out of the battle.
The sun moved across the sky, but Eskkar never noticed. Midday came and went, and he kept the boys at it.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Eskkar?”
He turned to see Trella standing behind him, Annok-sur at her side. Trella must have been there for some time. Her usual four bodyguards accompanied her, all of them watching the performance. Trella held a basket in her arms. The smell of fresh bread made him realize how hungry he felt, and that he’d promised Trella he would return to the house at midday to join her. A glance at the sky told him that it was closer to mid-afternoon than noon.
“Trella, I’m sorry…”
She laughed and touched his arm. “I haven’t seen you this excited in a long time. All of you, playing like children.”
He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Did you see them make throws? Some are good. Others…” he took her arm and guided her more to the side where they might be safer from an errant throw.
“Since you missed your meal, I brought you and Grond some bread.” She handed a loaf to each of them.
Eskkar tore a hunk of bread from the loaf and took a bite. “We forgot to eat. We’re were having too much fun.”
“That wall is going to collapse soon. The whole barracks may come down.”
“These stones… when they land… they could smash a man’s ribs, knock him off his feet. They’re hot to the touch after they strike the wall. I wonder why?”
“I don’t know, husband. Let me think about it. Does it matter?”
“No. What matters is that a good slinger can cast stones very quickly and with good distance and accuracy.” He finished another mouth of bread. “These boys are too small and weak to make good swordsmen or archers or spearmen, but they can still kill, if they’re used right.”
He glanced around, feeling guilty for having the bread when the others had none. A few boys were still slinging stones at the wall, but most of the others sat on the ground, taking a rest, watching the king and queen.
“Enough slinging.” Eskkar’s voice caught everyone’s attention. “Come here and sit down.”
The boys moved closer to where Eskkar, Trella, and Grond stood. Most of them had never seen Lady Trella, since she seldom left the house and its grounds. Of course they all knew the stories told about her, and curiosity had them staring at her with their mouths open. Some forgot their manners and stared, in the way of young boys, at the nipples pushing up against her dress.
Eskkar bunched them closer so that he could see their faces. Each looked tired, covered with sweat, and full of excitement, some still talking about what they had done. The moment Eskkar started speaking, they quieted down.
“Each of you came here today because you wanted to fight Akkad’s enemies.” Eskkar let his eyes meet each and every face. “To be an archer or spearman or swordsman requires both great strength and size. All of you would be turned away if you tried to join those ranks. I wasn’t sure that a sling could be effective in a real battle. But today you’ve proven to me that men of smaller stature can fight and kill as well as any bowman or spear-carrier. I’ve seen that, in your hands, slings can be a deadly weapon, and soon Akkad will need all the weapons and men it can find. Those of you who want to fight our enemies will be given the chance. If you do not want to fight, then you should leave now.”
He waited a moment, giving them time to consider, but, of course, not a boy moved. All of them were caught up in the moment. Right now, they would do anything and everything he asked of them.
“If you stay, you’ll have a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat.” Both those were important. Half of them looked as if they hadn’t eaten in days. “You’ll even be paid, first as a recruit, then after you master your skills, as a soldier. In return, you’ll work hard and train every day. In time, the best of you will train the others. For now, Shappa and Nivar will take charge of your training, for as long as they show themselves worthy.”
Food, shelter, and an occasional copper coin would be more than most of them had ever had or expected. Every upturned face shone with happiness and pride.
“When the time comes to fight, you’ll be assigned to where you’ll do the most good. But I promise you that Akkad’s bowmen and fighters will be at your side, to make sure you do not stand alone. Are you with me?”
They all shouted at once, speaking so quickly Eskkar couldn’t be sure of what anyone said. It didn’t matter. They would join, they would train, they would fight. Many of them, he knew, would die, but that didn’t matter now, either. He turned to Trella.
She nodded, and he knew he’d done well, binding more recruits to his side.
“Shappa, take your men to Gatus. Tell him to find quarters for you, and that you’ll start training in the morning.” No doubt Gatus was expecting them. He would have understood the implications of the sling at once.
“Yes, Lord Eskkar.”
“And the first thing you’ll do is make some real targets and repair that wall, before it falls down.”
That made them laugh. Eskkar grinned, too. He placed his arm around Trella’s shoulders and led the way back to their house, their guards falling in behind and in front.
That night, a weary Eskkar lay back in bed, Trella curled up against his side. Their lovemaking relaxed him, almost as if he’d fought and conquered a real enemy today. “My arm is sore.”
Trella started to shift her position, but he held her tight. “No, not that arm. My throwing arm. And my fingers are still swollen. I can’t believe how difficult it was to sling those stones, how much force it took.”
“Do you really think slingers can help the soldiers? They looked so small, so young.”
“Oh, yes, I’ll find good use for them. Everyone sees the sling and thinks of it as a child’s weapon, or something for shepherds to frighten off wolves. But those stones can kill. Akkad is full of boys and young men, all eager to join Akkad’s army and fight Akkad’s enemies. They’ll cost almost nothing to arm and supply, and they might prove very useful in certain kinds of fighting. Now all I have to do is make sure that when we face Akkad’s enemies, the slingers have a role to play, and possibly even a chance to survive.”
“You think most of them will be killed?”
“No, not most, but many. If they come against swordsmen or archers, they’ll be cut to pieces. But they’re young, small, and quick, and that can sometimes keep a man alive when brute strength isn’t enough. It all depends on how we use them in battle.”
“What kind of fighting?”
The question held more than idle curiosity. Everything interested Trella, and every time she bent her will to a task, she found a way to improve it.
“Well, first of all, I think they could be very useful in hilly country, places where a horse can’t go, places where sword or spear-fighters have trouble traversing. Slingers could harry an enemy from above. They could also act as scouts, or rearguards, to keep enemy horsemen at bay.”
“Wouldn’t horsemen just ride them down?”
“Everyone thinks so, but I’m not so sure.” He shifted in the bed to face her. “These boys are small and quick. I think they could get out of the way of a charging horse, dodge the rider’s sword. If they carried knives, knives with very sharp blades, they could hamstring the horse as it went by. I’ve seen that done before.”
“The knife would need to be longer than most. Wouldn’t a curved blade be more effective for such a task?”
All knives and short swords were straight. Some long swords were cast with a slight curve to them, but Eskkar distrusted them. It made the blade heavier without increasing the length, and favored a slashing cut, rather than a thrust. Sometimes that would be more useful, especially on horseback, but he’d fought with a straight blade all his life and didn’t intend to change now.
“For men on foot,” he said, almost thinking out loud, “a curved blade would be better. It would cut deeper and across a greater length of flesh or muscle.” He pictured the scene in his mind. “If we armed the slingers with curved blades, and taught them how to strike at the horse’s rear legs, I’m sure they could bring horse and rider down.”
“Since the weapon wouldn’t be used as a sword,” Trella said, “it need not be as heavy, just very sharp and
