Shulgi’s handsome face looked grim, either from lack of sleep or the failure of Eskkar to attack. “Where is the barbarian?”
Thousands of lips had mouthed the same question since well before the dawn. The Sumerians had remained awake all night, catching what rest they could while they stood at their posts, expecting an attack from the Akkadians. Before sunrise, word spread that Eskkar’s forces were on the move, and every Sumerian forgot their weariness, snatched up their weapons, and again prepared to meet his attack.
But the dawn revealed nothing but an empty plain facing the alert and ready Sumerian force. The soldiers had breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that there might be no battle today, and fallen back into their careless habits.
“He’s not coming, Shulgi.” Razrek’s voice sounded as harsh as the expression on his face. “Eskkar’s moving to the south with his infantry.”
“And the cavalry?”
“They’ve ridden off in another direction. As soon as it was light, the Akkadian cavalry galloped upstream about ten miles, then crossed over the Tigris before my men could catch them. I sent a thousand horsemen after them as soon I learned they were riding out. Our men stopped when they reached the river, and sent word back.”
Shulgi’s fist slammed onto the table. “Your riders should have followed them, crossed the river after them, attacked them! Instead, you let them get away without even a skirmish.”
“Perhaps. But why waste the men? The scouts say Eskkar is with his spearmen. If he’s fool enough to send his horse fighters back to Akkad to defend the city, or off on some raid, so much the better for us.”
“If they were going back to Akkad, why cross the river?”
Razrek shrugged. “Maybe they wanted to slow down our pursuit. Or they didn’t want to take a chance encountering the Alur Meriki. The Akkadians must have gotten word about them by now. Forget his cavalry. We should go after Eskkar. If he’s stupid enough to go south, we can catch up with him, block his path, and crush him. He’s only got a few dozen horsemen with him.”
“I’m not moving my men until I know where Eskkar is. If we break camp and take up the pursuit, he could double back and attack us while we’re spread out, maybe destroy the vanguard. It took a whole day to get the men prepared to face him here. And all our supplies are here.” Shulgi unclenched the fist that rested on the map. “Where will he go? And why south? And why divide his men? He’s already outnumbered almost five to one.”
Shulgi had over twenty-one thousand men with him, with more trickling in each day. His spies told him the Akkadians could scarcely muster five thousand.
“What does it matter?” The thought of looting an entire city — especially one as rich as Akkad — brought a grin to Razrek’s face. “Now we can march on Akkad, capture his city while he’s away, and end the war with a single stroke.”
“And what will Eskkar be doing all that time? It will take us at least a week to march to Akkad, and who knows how long to fight our way inside. Akkad’s walls are thick and high. The Akkadians have had plenty of time to prepare for our attack. It might take months to capture the city, and even longer to starve them out. In that much time, the barbarian would ravage all of Sumeria. He could force the other cities to submit, or even change sides. He might end up camped in front of Sumer.”
Akkad’s new walls and mighty gates were the envy of every other city in the land. With a new and even deeper ditch carved beneath them it would take plenty of resources and preparation to surmount them. More important, it would take time, days, months, no one knew for certain.
“The city may have already fallen to the Alur Meriki.” Razrek hadn’t lost his desire to go north. “If not, our men are still inside. They might still open the gates for us.”
“If that’s true, then the city will wait,” Shulgi said. “We need to destroy Eskkar and his infantry, before he destroys us. I think he’s going to Larsa. He’s going to try and take the city and cut off our supplies.”
Nearly every wagonload of food and grain needed by Shulgi’s army passed through Larsa. Boats and pack trains stretched all the way back to Sumer and the other cities, all with Larsa as their first destination. Ships and their cargoes stopped there, too. Shulgi’s men consumed enormous quantities of food, far more than could easily be obtained from the countryside, and the horses needed grain. It would take eight or ten days to send word south and direct the supply caravans to a new destination. With so many mouths to feed, food for the men was already in short supply. The nearby farms had been stripped clean days ago.
“All the more reason to march on Akkad. There’s plenty of food up north.”
“If Larsa falls, Isin and Uruk might be tempted to ally themselves with Eskkar and his men. Even worse, they could demand the return of their forces, weakening us when we need them most.”
Razrek rested his hand on the table and leaned over. “Larsa’s walls are strong. They can hold out for weeks, maybe longer. It will take Eskkar five or six days to march his foot soldiers there. I can have five hundred horsemen there in three days. With that many extra men to strengthen the defenses, Larsa can laugh at Eskkar’s puny force.”
“Send eight hundred,” Shulgi ordered. “And I want them moving today. I don’t care if they don’t eat or drink until they reach Larsa, or their horses drop dead from exhaustion after they arrive. And use the rest of your men to slow Eskkar down. Engage him in battle, harry his flanks, attack his rear, anything you can think of.”
“And what will you be doing, my king, while I’m sacrificing my men by attacking Akkadian bowmen and infantry?”
“By dawn tomorrow, as soon as we’re certain he isn’t doubling back, I’m coming after him. You just have to buy me time to catch up with him. Slow him down, while we give Larsa time to prepare. Hopefully, we’ll finish him off outside the gates of Larsa, catch him between our forces and the city’s walls.”
“All right. I’ll send Mattaki and — ”
“No. You go yourself. Take the eight hundred. I want you inside Larsa if Eskkar ever reaches there. He’s liable to get there faster than you think. Leave Mattaki in charge of the remaining horsemen. Let him nip at Eskkar’s heels. And once you’re inside the gates, make sure the city’s elders don’t decide to change sides, or fail to mount a real defense. Cut off a few heads if you have to, but make sure you can hold out until I arrive.”
Razrek considered his orders. At least he could take his ease in the city while waiting for Shulgi. And Larsa’s merchants were rumored to have plenty of gold.
“As you command, Lord Shulgi. I’ll be on my way by midday. Even if Eskkar reaches the city, he’ll not get in.”
Shulgi’s eyes returned to the map. “Make sure that he doesn’t.”
K ushanna flung the cup clattering across the room, the water it contained splashing over the polished wood floor. Rage suffused her face, her lips narrowing in anger at Sohrab’s words.
“Are you sure you conveyed my message exactly as I gave it to you? You left nothing out, added nothing?”
Sohrab quailed before her wrath. “I delivered your words with care, my queen. I added nothing, I swear it.” He’d expected her to be angry, but not like this. Someone would pay for this tonight. Sohrab just hoped it wouldn’t be him.
“Tell me again what she said. Every word, every gesture.”
Sohrab took a moment to compose himself. A messenger who couldn’t deliver a precise message soon found himself out of work. Trained almost from birth, he could memorize and recount even a long conversation between several participants.
“Lady Trella told me to give you this reply. She made me repeat it twice, to make sure I wouldn’t forget.” He closed his eyes for a moment, to return his thoughts to the meeting with Lady Trella. Sohrab would echo every intonation of Trella’s words.
“She said… ‘Queen Kushanna of Sumer, I thank you for discovering my brother Almaric and removing him from the mines. That mercy will be returned to you. Please tell Almaric of my love, and that I expect to see him soon. But the ransom you request of eight hundred pieces of silver for his delivery to Akkad is not possible in this time of war between our cities. I will, however, pay twenty silver coins for his quick and safe return. That is more than twice the price for a young and healthy male slave in Akkad’s market. If that price is not acceptable to you, please hold my brother safe until my husband Eskkar reaches Sumer. At that time, you can make whatever arrangements you can with him.’”
“She dares to threaten me? When her husband reaches Sumer? I should have cut off the slave’s ears and had
