Arthur

Eventide

Chapters 5-7

As they finally came through the huge gates of the palace grounds; Eventide saw that there were in fact, two palaces side by side and of the same size.

The palaces were separated by the long wide pond in which grew large white flowers; he would later see that there were many multi coloured fish swimming in its waters.

"Brother, why are there two palaces; I fully expected there to be only one that we would share."

"The second palace; which is to be yours; was used for the Kahlif's wives, concubines and female children. It has been cleaned and made ready for you to furnish as you would want it."

"Why would he need a palace for his wife; did he not want to sleep with her as we do in our land?"

"Oh, my brother; here we have other traditions. If a man is wealthy enough or is of great importance, then he should have many wives. The old Kahlif had forty five wives and over one hundred children; he could not have all of them living under his roof; they would only be in the way. With sixty concubines as well his palace would be overflowing; it is better to keep them at arm's length or you would get no work done."

Eventide heard the chuckle from Mahmud as he told the story.

"It seems a very large palace just for one boy alone?"

"You will get used to it; perhaps one day you will have your own concubines to fill it with; for now I would suggest you stay with me until we can find some servants for you. It will take many to keep your palace running and in good order."

"How many do you think I will need?"

"Well there are two ways; you could purchase slaves at the market or, you could look for free men and pay them to work for you. Personally I would use mostly slaves like I do. It is almost expected that you would own them; it is part of your position. If you wish to have paid servants then you will need to go out and search for those that suit you best, either way it is what you would like and no other should say how you run your palace, oh great Kahlif of the burning sands and Djin of Shaitan, your word is our command oh mighty one."

Even the sound of Mahmud's voice brought loud laughter to Eventide as he nearly fell to his knees on the stone forecourt when he heard the outlandish claims from Mahmud.

"Stop it brother, or I will pee my pants from laughter."

"At your command oh great Djin, Master of all magic and Terror of the great sandy wastes."

Eventide had to grasp himself to stop from peeing as he rolled on the ground with tears of laughter in his eyes; even as tired from travel as he was; Eventide could not stop laughing at the outlandish titles.

Finally they made it inside the first palace; Eventide had never in all his life seen such opulence; everywhere he looked seemed to be covered in gold leaf or encrusted in jewels. Large swaths of white marble covered not only the wide passageways and tall round columns, but even the ceilings were made from marble slabs so large they would have taken a hundred men to lift into place.

The opulence just grew as they ventured further into the palace; even the sheer size of the palace took his breath away. While from outside the walls, Eventide had known the space was large, even though it was inside a great city; when he actually saw it he could not take it all in; to his mind there had never been such a place ever built and now he was standing right in the middle of it all and this was only one of the palaces. The thought of having to have his own palace of such a size made him pause to see if he was really awake.

Mahmud led the way into the main large reception hall; there in the centre of the hall were a large number of very well dressed people. Mahmud whispered to him that they were the people who ran the city and reported to them both at the end of each week.

Along the walls of the great hall were many younger people; these Eventide learnt were Mahmud's paid workers; behind them; and with their heads hard to the floor; were all of Mahmud's slaves. Eventide did not have time to count them all but there were a lot of them.

Even if he just guessed at the number, Eventide thought there had to be at least three hundred slaves and servants; would he really need that many.

For the next two hours; Eventide sat beside Mahmud as each and every man had to be introduced and then they would present Eventide and Mahmud with a small gift before taking a place on the side of the great hall to wait any orders. Eventide let Mahmud run things for now; this was a strange and new world for him and Mahmud knew better what to do and say to each of the guests.

As the last rays of the sun sank below the horizon; Eventide and Mahmud left the great hall for one of the smaller dining rooms where Omar waited for them. Eventide almost smiled at the old man as he saw many servants gathered around with offerings of sweet cakes and tea while Omar told them short pieces of poetry to while away the time while waiting for his hosts to appear.

Eventide saw that there was no central table like at home; instead there were wide, soft couches laid side by side around a central open fire; he was to discover that there was no need for a table as the servants would kneel beside the couch while he selected what he would eat or drink and wait until he had had his fill before leaving, he would then be replaced by another servant with a different selection.

Eventide's first night in the palace of Sufaria turned out to be very entertaining and all thoughts of being tired from the long journey disappeared with the sound of Omar's gentle voice as he regaled them with poetry and short stories.

It was late in the night before the day caught up with the two young ones. Omar, seeing the boys yawn; smiled and told them it was past his bedtime. With kind words and a smile; Omar left the boys to go to their beds; he had accomplished the mission that had been set by his Emir. From this day on there should be little doubt or very few of the people that would not obey any command from the young Infidel boy.

It was the heat of the new day that awoke Eventide; he had been getting used to the heat of the desert as he travelled but first thing in the morning was still a struggle for his body to acclimate to.

After he had had his morning drink of fresh mint tea, a slow bath and had dressed in his best new clothes; Eventide was led to where Mahmud waited to start a new day. First was a visit to his new palace; waiting for them was a large round bodied man; his appearance told of being well fed and his flashy clothes said he had money to spare.

On the man's fingers were many expensive looking gold rings. Eventide did not like the man on first sight; there was an air of deceit about his demeanour and Eventide was careful about what he said or did.

Mahmud also did not look as though he trusted the man; after short introductions and, when the man whose name turned out to be Mustapha; told them he was the head of the household staff, Mahmud asked to be shown through the palace and to see what staff they had to work with.

After nearly an hour, the two boys finished with their tour of Eventide's palace; neither he nor Mahmud were impressed by the standards in the palace; it appeared as though the bare minimum had been done; what was really worrying was when Mahmud asked to be taken to the treasury and for Mustapha to produce all of the accounts scrolls for inspection. Both boys saw the large man start to pale a little as they waited for the accounts to be brought to them.

Mustapha looked nervous and tried to hide his hands as he fidgeted while trying to look calm; he was not successful and both boys knew he was going to try to hide something about the finances of the palace.

Mahmud called Ishmael to his side and whispered something to him. Ishmael nodded and quickly left the room; he had not returned by the time one of the old servants appeared with a large box full of scrolls in his arms.

Mahmud told the servant to put the box down and leave the room and then told Mustapha to stand to the side and wait until the man from his own palace arrived to go through the accounts. Achmed arrived with fresh mint tea for the two boys while they waited; it was only a little time later when a man Eventide had not met, walked into the room; one glance at the box of scrolls and he nodded to Mahmud and proceeded to open the box and unroll the scrolls for inspection.

Eventide was impressed with the little wooden frame the man used for counting; he had never seen anything like it before. After asking Mahmud he was told it came from the Far East and was called an abacus; the rows of round balls on different posts had varying value and could be used to quickly add and subtract numbers.

It took the newcomer only an hour to finally put down the strange instrument and even though he still had a number of scrolls left untouched; he nodded his head to Mahmud.

"How much is missing?"

"At this stage Kahlif and without doing a final count of the rest of the scrolls; I would say more than ten thousand gold; there is more but it will take me time to finish a full inspection."

"Thank you, please continue and give us a full accounting. Salud, I need you in here now."

Mahmud waited until Salud came inside the room before he nodded in the direction of the now terrified man who was already on his knees with his head on the floor.

"Salud, take this son of a camel to the dungeon; when that is done get the guards to arrest and hold all the staff of this palace; hold them until they hear from us."

Salud bowed and left with the crying man being pushed roughly by an angry Salud. As the man disappeared, Ishmael appeared and looked to Eventide.

"Brother, there is a street urchin at the palace gate; he said you told him to come here today."

"Yes I did, thank you Ishmael; could you bring him in here?"

Ishmael bowed and went out; it took only minutes before he came back with Habib by his side; the young street urchin looked in awe at the palace around him; in his wildest dreams he never thought he would get to enter such a place.

Eventide smiled at the look on the boy's face; he knew just how the boy felt. When Habib saw the two boys sitting on two couches at the centre of the room, he dropped to his knees and bowed low until his head touched the floor; after the story yesterday by the great Omar; he knew he was in the presence of the great Shaitan Ben Izurak; this was not the time to be cheeky or arrogant.

Eventide saw that the teen had used some of the coins to by a new pair of leather sandals although his Djabalah was still the same worn and torn one he had been wearing on the street.

"Stand up Habib," Mahmud asked the boy.

Habib could not believe his ears; he was being asked to stand and face the great Shaitan Bin Izurak and also the young Prince of the Bedou.

Trying to maintain a sense of deference to the two Kahlifs. Habib did as asked and stood tall but kept his eyes lowered; it was a time to show deep respect to the two Kahlifs. Eventide got the nod from Mahmud and began to tell Habib what he had in mind.

"Habib; as you heard the story yesterday, I am not from here but I find myself with a large problem. We have discovered that the Major Domo, who was meant to watch over my palace, was in fact stealing; he also had included a large number of the original staff in his scheme. I now find myself with very few people to look after the palace and my own needs. As you must well know; a palace is very large and takes a lot of people to keep it clean and working but, most of all I need someone who will be honest and can organise the others; someone who will not fail me when I am not here to watch over the palace. Is that someone you, Habib?"

"My Lords; I know little about running such a large house although should you ask me to watch over this palace then I can raise enough boys to do that."

Mahmud then took up the discussion.

"Habib; we all know the reputation of the street boys and their habits of lifting things that do not belong to them; would you place your life in harm's way to do that which my brother asks of you; if you do I would then find an older person with the knowledge to run the house over-all but it would be you and the boys you name that would do the work and be responsible for the safety of the house and my brother."

"My Lords, you have only to ask and I will lay my life down for you; I also promise to find as many honest boys to do the work you demand; I promise this on my life."

"Then take note for it is your life that you will lose if anything goes wrong with my brother's palace or his valuables. If you agree to this then you and all those you name will be well paid and given good clothes and food; you will all be housed inside the palace and your life on the streets will end but; take note; it is your life that hangs in the balance should one of the boys named by you ever show himself to be a thief or worse, for you shall stand beside him when the Scimitar falls on your head."

"Then my Lords I shall place my head in front of the Scimitar should I fail you; tell me how many boys you need and I will find them."

Eventide had no idea how many he would need and so turned to Mahmud for the answer. Mahmud whispered to Eventide.

"You will need at least one hundred boys; I have a young man who has been in my palace since he was a young boy and is well able to help with the organisation of a large palace; he is also very honest as he is also a Bedou although not one of the brotherhood. Do not forget you will have to have some slaves, even if just for appearances. I would suggest you buy at least twenty slaves, we can go to the slave market later today."

Eventide nodded his acceptance of Mahmud's advice and turned to Habib.

"Thank you Habib, I would ask you to go and find one hundred honest boys; you will be in charge of them; my brother will have a young man come to organise my palace and to show you all of what needs to be done each day. How long will it take to find enough boys?"

"My Lord, it will be no more than two hours; do you wish them all to come back here for you to meet them?"

"I have to go to the slave markets to purchase slave to also work here."

"My Lord; If I may be bold; should you wish to purchase new slaves then I would suggest I go with you. If the sellers see you they will raise their prices higher than normal so they can make huge profits; even with My Lord Prince at your side, they will try to inflate the price. If you would allow me to accompany you both, I would be willing to act as your agent so that they do not know who is bidding, it will be my proof of honesty to purchase the slaves at the least price to you."

"Then I will wait for you to return and then we will go to the market."

Habib bowed low and walked backwards until he was at the door; with a final low bow he left and the two boys sat back to relax; while they waited, Eventide asked about the keeping of the slaves and what he should do and look for in buying them.

Mahmud began to give him a few short lessons in the keeping of slaves in the old world. For this region it was an old and respected way of life. Some slaves were those captured after battle and others were hunted way to the south of the great desert; Eventide would have to decide what he was looking for and then tell Habib exactly what he wanted them for. It gave Eventide something to think on while the two boys waited for Habib's return.

It was after their midday meal before Habib was shown into their room; he had assembled all the boys who he said he trusted with his life and had made them wait out in the courtyard for the two Lords to look over.

Mahmud had called for a young man who, to Eventide's eyes; looked to be in his early twenties; he was called to accompany them outside to inspect Habib's young friends.

Eventide was surprised by the number of rag-tag boys massed in the courtyard. Like yesterday, most were dressed in ragged and soiled Djabalah although now some wore new sandals but most were bare foot. The boys looked up expectantly as the two new Kahlifs appeared above them on the steps of the palace; there was an immediate shuffling as they all went to their knees and bowed their heads on the stone flags.

Eventide turned to Habib.

"These are the boys you personally vouch for Habib?"

"Yes My Lord; each boy I know well and would put my head on the block for; I trust them all with my life, My Lord."

"You may well do that Habib," Mahmud said with a smile before Eventide continued.

"Thank you Habib, tell them they are now in my employ. This man is named Yusuf; he will be in charge of the palace and will tell you all what needs to be done; for now I want you to go and find some good clothes so you can accompany us to the slave market. Go to the servant's quarters and see what you can find; those that lived there before will not need them anymore."

Habib did as he was told and soon the horde of boys was trooping quietly into the palace; Yusuf keeping a careful eye on them all as he followed behind. It was not long before Habib returned; this time he was dressed in clean clothes but not too fancy, as he told the two Kahlifs.

"If I was to dress better, the auctioneers would again inflate the prices. If I may suggest My Lord Izurak that you disguise yourself as one of the Bedou; that way no one will see your face and know who you are. After the tale of Grandfather Omar, there are many who would recognise you."

Eventide agreed and went back to redress as a Bedou; once done he rejoined the others and they made their way towards the city centre; it was a longer walk to where the slave pens were and the three boys kept their faces covered so as not to cause any unwanted attention.

It was the smell of the pens that first struck Eventide; the hubbub of noise was overshadowed by the pervasive smell that was a part of the slave selling business, that and the unmistakeable but subdued rattling of chains as the slaves were pushed forward to be sold.

Eventide and Mahmud let Habib take the lead; they would stand behind him and let him make the bids while they told him who they liked the look of. Before they went near where the slaves were sold; Habib led them to the rear where the slaves were on show; the stench was even stronger here as the barred fronts of the small pens were not cleaned until all the slave in them had been sold.

The two Kahlifs were only too glad to leave the pens; at first it did not give Eventide any hope of finding the right slaves for his needs; he was not even sure if he wanted slaves at all. Having come from a low station in life; he did not like the thought of having others enslaved to him but Mahmud had said it was expected and so he would have to adjust his thoughts to the present situation he now found himself in.

The slave market was full; there were still other long lines of slaves arriving from all over the known world even as the auctioneers worked hard selling those already there.

Habib stood at the middle of the large crowd with the two others just behind him; around the trio were others all looking for bargains or just cheap workers for the mines or fields outside the city walls.

The bidding was fast and furious; Eventide noticed that there was also a lot of riballed remarks at some of the wealthy men that made purchases and what the slaves were going to be used for.

When Eventide or Mahmud saw a likely slave, they would whisper to Habib and let him do the bidding; it was Eventide's preference that the slaves be young and healthy looking; he had his own private plans for the slaves at a later date. It took four hours for them to finally gather twenty one slaves; all were young and; although some looked underfed and weary; they all looked to be healthy.

Eventide ended up with five youngsters from the European lands and the rest came from the far south. The southerners were all very dark skinned but he had been told they made good slaves and would take to learning their place quickly while the lighter skinned ones could sometimes be trouble and would need a firm hand at first.

At the end of the day and once the coins had been passed over in payment; Habib was given the job of leading the newly purchased slaves back to the palace; one of the keepers of the pen followed along behind to take back the slave's chains once they were settled in the palace.

It did not take the keeper of the pens long to realise where they were going as the three young teens led him closer to the palace; he would have to tell his auctioneer how they had been fooled by the two new Kahlifs and the prices paid were far lower than they should have been able to get out of the wealthy young teens. Perhaps next time they would be able to inflate the prices to recoup what they had missed this time.

Once back at the palace; Habib was given the job of taking the new slaves to the slave quarters under the palace; there they would be marked and given a good meal; Habib was also told to make sure they were all bathed and rested before they were allowed to go to their beds for the night; tomorrow they would be told their duties and any errant slaves would find out what would happen if they played up.

On entering the palace; Eventide could hear the sounds of boys in almost every room as they scrubbed and polished everything in sight; Yusuf walked among the many boys to show them how to do each chore and tell them what he expected to see as a result; even this early; Eventide could see the change in the palace as Yusuf worked his magic and followed through on his own sixteen years of being a student under Mahmud's household.

There was now only one thing missing to complete the palace; a cook, for this Mahmud again came to the rescue. In his own palace there were ample numbers of kitchen workers; he told Eventide that he should eat with him tonight and then the two of them could go to his kitchen and see who they could place in Eventide's palace as head cook. They now had plenty of new staff to be able to place some of them as kitchen hands.

Eventide was amazed at how much there was to just staffing a palace; the thought of having to go through the same thing when he returned home was almost daunting although he knew that Freeman would have all his properties well staffed by now.

Their evening meal as always was sumptuous and well cooked. At the end of the meal; Mahmud led Eventide into his cavernous kitchen to find the needed cook. Eventide could not believe his eyes as he looked over more than one hundred staff now in the process of cleaning everything ready for the next morning; he dearly hoped he would not have to have as many hands in his kitchens. His hopes were dashed as soon as Mahmud began to call out names and point to different helpers.

Mahmud selected two mid aged men for the position of head cook for Eventide; both had been working in his kitchens since he was young; the fact that both men were Bedou also helped.

It was not long before twenty cooks and helpers were lined up waiting for their orders to move to Eventide's palace to begin their new task for caring for the young Kahlifs. Eventide could only stand and stare at how quickly Mahmud had done this small piece of work.

During this time; the Emir had sent three of his personal physicians to take care of Shaun's twisted leg. Eventide did not want to watch what was to happen, but Shaun insisted he would like him to keep his company while he went through doctoring.

The three physicians each had their own place and work to do; first one gave a drink to Shaun; this; Eventide was told; was a soporific to make the boy sleep and lessen the pain it would take to repair the leg.

When Shaun was in a deep sleep; two of the men then used two wooden blocks to re-break the damaged leg; Shaun gave a very sharp and unnerving grunt as he lay sleeping when the two blocks came together and the loud sound of the broken bone was heard in the room.

As one physician felt lightly with his fingers to straighten the leg and make sure the bone was properly in its place; the other was working on the boy's foot; twisting it and pulling steadily on it until it was seated in the right place by the other.

The third physician was working on a strange fine white powder in a large bowl to which he was adding small amounts of water as he stirred the white paste.

Eventide asked what it was and was told it was a white rock that they ground into a fine powder and, when water was added; it would heat up a little and when dry would be as hard as rock; it would be infused into cloth bandages and wrapped around the repaired leg to keep it from moving until it was healed enough for Shaun to once again move around like other boys.

Shaun was kept in the bed for the first two weeks before he was allowed to get up and, with the use of two long sticks was able to hobble around for short periods; in all of this, the young boy complained only once and that was about the stale smell his leg gave off from not being able to wash; that and the beginnings of a continual itch were the only comments he had made.

The first three days of his ordeal and Shaun was kept sedated with the soporific; the physicians had warned that too much and the boy could become addicted; Eventide had been very concerned when he found out the soporific was made from the poison the Brotherhood used for slave making.

After three weeks everything began to settle down; Eventide's household was now orderly; the slaves were being well trained and his kitchen was preparing meals of the highest quality; For Eventide it was a time of learning about the running of such an important city and continuing with his Hashin training.

The palace stables were now busier as the last of his promised horses had arrived and all his camels were now held outside the gates on the common lands. Mahmud had insisted on finding a Bedou cameleer to take charge of them; he also had had to find twenty boys to work with leading the camels once they went out to trade for Eventide.

There was little problem in finding the right man and there were many young Bedou boys who wanted to work for the two Kahlifs. The caravan guards would also be from the Bedou with at least one of the Brotherhood to take charge of them.

It was in the fourth week that Mahmud told Eventide it was time to send their first caravan off to trade; they would join together Eventide's twenty camels with Mahmud's one hundred. Mahmud had used an agent to purchase many of the goods arriving from the east as this was as far the eastern caravans went.

The dangers of the eastern road were nothing compared to those that presented themselves on the roads and deserts to the west.

Eventide was amazed at the variety of goods to be traded; amazing smelling spices, bolts of fine cloth with colours he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams. Large square blocks of salt; metals and pottery as well as gems or gold and silver; all was packed and sorted into loads capable of being carried long distances by a single camel; Eventide was glad he did not have to organise it all.

Shaun was now more mobile and would hobble down to the stables every day to be with Shaitan; the horse looked as though he fully understood the trials of the small boy and gave him no trouble where others could not even approach the black horse'stall.

The caravan had long disappeared into the western wastes on its journey of trade; time had passed and it was now the time for the physicians to remove the hard cast from Shaun's leg. It had not been easy for such an active young boy to hobble around while others could run and go about their duties.

The removal of the white cast; which was now far from its original clean colour; had arrived. While one physician used a large pair of sheers to cut through the heavy cast, the other checked that Shaun was comfortable and there was no pain from the repaired leg.

When the last cut was made and both sides of the cast were dropped to the floor; Shaun gave out a long and loud sigh; at last he was rid of the burden that he had struggled with for over six weeks; the wide and happy smile he gave everyone when he first saw his once twisted leg was now straight, although very pale and a little thinner than his good leg; still it did not detract from his joy at once gain being able to walk like any normal boy.

Shaun had taken only his first few unsteady steps when Mahmud arrived; he told the boy that; as a gift for his ordeal Mahmud would give him the young white horse that he had ridden when entering the city, for his own.

Shaun could not believe his ears; with all the years his family had been tending the horses of others; none of his family had ever owned his own horse; he was taken aback and did not know how to thank the young Kahlif. Only the tears of joy told those watching what the horse meant to the smaller boy.

It was two weeks later that the first bad news they had ever got, arrived; it was in the form of a bloody and badly wounded guardsman from one of the eastern caravans; as yet unknown by the new Kahlifs. This was to be one of those defining moments in their young lives.

The boys had just taken the first few paces down the wide steps at the front of Mahmud's palace when the bloody guard was helped into their presence; their planned horse ride was put on hold immediately they saw the wounded man.

Eventide noticed immediately that the man was not dressed as other people on the city; his armour was all made of leather with bronze studs throughout. A heavy bandage was tied to around his head and his left arm was hanging limply by his side.

Under his right shoulder for support was one of the city militia guards who was trying to help the wounded soldier to the bottom of the steps where the two boys now stood.

The wounded man tried to pull himself upright and gave the two boys a rough salute; there was no bow of respect as was common in the desert people.

The man gasped as he tried to tell his tale and, with the aid of the militia-man; he slipped to the lower step to sit; it was plainly obvious he was in a bad way and would possibly not last out the day.

The two boys rushed down the steps and knelt by the man as he tried to tell them in broken Aramaic what had happened to him and the caravan they had been guarding.

The short tale was one that had not been heard for a long time in the city of Sufaria. Two days to the East of the great city; the caravan from the high steppes had been attacked by a large gang of well organised brigands. The man told the boys that the discipline and tactics of the large group had shown some knowledge of battle and were not the usual rough attacks of loose bands that were more normal in the far reaches of the desert.

As the injured man was taken away to the physicians where he could be healed, if that were possible; the two boys turned and went back into Mahmud's palace; it was time to make plans as well as advise the Emir of the turn of events.

Eventide followed Mahmud up the long winding steps of one of the four minarets that stood at each corner of the palace walls. He had not been up one of them since taking residence and was intrigued by their height and grandeur.

When they finally reached the upper most part of the tall tower; Eventide was surprised to see an elderly man surrounded by caged birds; the heavy smell of bird droppings was almost stifling in the hot morning air; it took little time for Mahmud to explain why they were there.

"I know you do not have this in your country but here; where the distances are vast we have come to use these birds as messengers; they are fast and can get a message to the Emir by the end of this day."

"It is indeed a new and strange thing you have here, Brother; what are the birds called?"

"We call them, Homing Pigeons. They are trained to return to their nest boxes in the Emir's palace; they are so much faster than the normal messenger on horseback as you will see."

Eventide watched as Mahmud talked to the old man. The young Kahlif then took a thin strip of fine silk and wrote a short message. Once complete the message was rolled tightly and slipped into a small round container which was then attached to one of the bird's legs. With little ado; the elderly man went to an open window and released the bird high into the air; the bird circled the tower twice before taking off at speed towards the distant city where the Emir held court.

While Eventide was enthralled by the system of using birds as messengers; he was only too happy to leave the tower and the thick heady smell of bird droppings. The use of the birds was to be a small trick he was to rely on heavily in times to come.

When the two boys returned to the large official grand hall of the Kahlif's court; Eventide saw all twenty boys of the brotherhood were gathered behind the two thrones that he and Mahmud used when giving orders to the city folk or the guards in an official capacity; the hall was filled with all manner of people. Most stood around in wonder of why they had been called so suddenly to the Kahlif's palace; others had a look of knowing and were waiting patiently for their orders, which they were sure were to come soon.

As the two boys took their thrones above the waiting people; one of the brotherhood came close to their shoulder and began to whisper information quietly into their ear so that those waiting below could not hear; it was not unknown for spies to be in all the courts of the land and the Wadhi Sufaria was no exception.

Once the final report was finished; Mahmud lifted his hand for silence in the room; there was an immediate hush as the gathered people looked up and waited for the young Kahlif to begin speaking; this would be the first official dictation of the two young Kahlifs; it was time to see the metal of the young boys.

Some among the crowded hall had thought the favouritism shown to two such young boys was beyond careless; even though one of them was a nephew of the Emir but; for an Infidel to be given such an honour was cause for much speculation; it did not go unnoticed by the ever watchful boys of the brotherhood; they all took note of those who showed certain traits towards their little brother as he sat beside Mahmud.

Mahmud began to speak to all those gathered below the thrones.

"Some of you may have heard the rumours; I am here to tell you they are true. For the first time in ten years; a caravan under the protection of the Emir has been attacked not more than a few days from the city. This will not go unpunished. Blacksmiths; you will prepare the weapons in your foundries. Guard Commander; you will ready fifty of the cities guard to accompany my own soldiers; they are to be ready by first light in two days time. Hostlers; you will prepare a caravan of fifty camels and have them loaded with food and water as well as forage for our horses. Commander of the Army; you will have fifty men ready to leave by first light; they will join with our bodyguard from the Bedou. You all have your orders; as I said we leave at first light in two days, now go and have your men ready."

There was an instant scuffling as those with orders hurried away to prepare their men; it was to be a full hunt for the perpetrators; there would be little mercy shown for those who would attack an innocent caravan so close to the Kahlif's city.

Eventide followed Mahmud from the great hall and into their own private quarters where the members of the brotherhood now awaited them; they would now have their own strategy meeting. The new events would be the first real test for Eventide as a brother and there was a lot of planning to do before they left in two days.

On his return to his own palace, Eventide still had a small problem accepting the sight that met his eyes every time he return home; his free servants met him at the top of the steps and his new slaves were kneeling inside the doorway with their heads firmly on the marble floor. It was the slaves that always gave him cause for discomfort; he was just not used to having others bound to him and at his mercy. He well knew it was the norm in this land but it did not make it any easier.

Finally the day of departure arrived, as both Kahlifs could not leave the city together for any length of time; it was decided that Eventide would lead the small army and Mahmud would stay behind to watch over the city.

On the previous evening, just as the boys were to sit down for their meal; a contingent of elder brothers had arrived under the orders of the Emir; they would bolster Eventide's twenty young brothers by thirty. While all were now dressed as Bedou, if the occasion arose they would change into their usual black if there was work for the brotherhood.

Eventide felt strange as he lead the long caravan of soldiers out of the main gates of the city; he was dressed mostly in white as was befitting a Kahlif; his brotherhood clothes were packed along with the others. He was not sure he was fit to lead so many but Mahmud had said it was no different than when they faced the squires; Eventide did not share his confidence; the men they were now chasing were not inexperienced squires but ruthless brigands.

Both Eventide and Mahmud knew that one of them had to stay behind to watch over the city; Mahmud was only too happy to let Eventide take pride of place at the head of the small army; it was after all, his first chance to lead their troops into a real battle and he would have both his brothers and the elder brothers to help if he needed it.

His little army now numbered 150, they had detailed 30 of the militia to watch over and guard the baggage train of thirty camels and ten wagons; they had enough provisions for two weeks on the hunt; if they had to stay longer they would send a message to Mahmud for more.

On the first night on the road; Eventide changed his fancy garb of the Kahlif, to one of the Bedou; for the days ahead he felt more comfortable mixed in with his brothers and indistinguishable from anyone else.

It took three days for the small army to make it to the sight of the attack; there was little left after the eight days it had taken for them to get organised and finally make the distance.

It took some time for the men to look around and work out what had happened to the caravan. Most of the bodies had already been stripped of flesh by the buzzards and the animals of the night; the sun had completed the work and now there were mainly just piles of white bleached bones and some rags of clothing.

Most of the camels had been taken; although there were a few that were now just drying carcasses and showed how the caravan had been placed to defend itself, After looking at the remains of the battle field for some time; Eventide asked the older brothers about their thoughts on the battle.

After a short discussion, Eventide called for the officer's of the army and militia. Once everyone was together; Eventide issued the orders for a number of scouting groups to go out and find the trail of the attackers; the rest of the small army would make a temporary camp and await the scouts return.

The army moved away a short distance from the attack site and set up camp; they did not expect to move before the next morning when the scouts should have returned with their reports; and so it proved to be.

The next morning all the scouts reported their findings; the attackers had come from the north east and then retreated back in the same direction taking with them their many spoils. The trail had not been easy to find as the eight days since the attack had wiped clean any tracks but the scouts had been able to follow their trail by some of the discarded rubbish along the way.

Eventide; with the help of the older members of the brotherhood, sent out more scouts but this time they were all members of the brotherhood; the rest of the army and the baggage caravan would follow along at the slower pace of the camels and wagons.

On the second night of the trailing; while they were camped for the night; Eventide heard a number of horses galloping into the edge of the camp; at the loud sound of the guards challenge; he heard a reply and then saw the group of twenty one horsemen coming towards his black tent; in the lead was a familiar figure.

Eventide smiled widely when he saw Gerard's older brother along with twenty of the Emir's new long bowmen; all had their new bows over their shoulders and two full quivers of arrows tied to their horses. When the twenty one men stopped before Eventide, he said.

"Welcome Marchant; how are you here?"

"The Emir asked me to come in case you needed bowmen; he thought it would be a good chance for his men to try out their bows in actual combat; I volunteered to come and watch over them."

"Then you are twice welcome; how is your brother Gerard?"

"He is well and working hard on learning about their steel making; they truly have marvellous ways of smelting and the results are almost miraculous. Our twenty one bows are the first with the new metal and we have yet to have to clean them of rust."

"Then if nothing else you have made a good deal with the Emir."

"That's the truth of it; now what do you want us to do?"

"How is your language skill with your men?"

"Rough but we have our own way of communicating by using signs, it works well and no one can hear our orders. Have you had sight of the bandits yet?"

"We have scouts out searching now; I think we are not too far behind them. Do you and your men want to take a rest and food; I can have a tent set aside for you."

"Thank you, yes; we had to travel light and fast to catch up with you so there was no time for equipment."

"I'll ask Mohammad to get one ready for you and your men; would you like to join me for a meal while your men are settled?"

"Yes thank you; I'm a runner not a horseman so the last few days have been hard on my rear end."

Eventide led Marchant to his tent where they joined the six brothers of his personal body guard; it was not long before food arrived and all of them sat around the large carpet to eat and drink.

It was finally decided for Marchant to stay with Eventide and the six brotherhood in his tent for the night; the other bowmen were given a tent of their own to use among the other soldiers.

In the morning the first of the young scouts returned to report the findings; six of the scouts had remained in hiding to watch the camp of the brigands. What they were to report suddenly had Eventide think twice about going forward with an attack.

"My Lord," the scout said "We have found the camp about three hours ahead of us; it appears they are in no hurry but we may have a large problem."

"What is it brother?"

"There are far more men than we thought and they are not what they try to seem. It appears we have come across a small army of Christian knights and their men; they are disguised as brigands but their camp is obviously Christian."

"This does not sound good; how many would you say there were?"

"With their baggage handlers they would number more than one thousand; the camp is set up like all Christian camps with the soldiers ranged around the outside and the knights at the centre. It would appear that there are two or three main groups of knights. One are the knights of the Holy Cross; another is the Templars and the third I am not sure of but they fly the banner of blue with a white flower of some kind."

"Could you describe the flowers?"

The scout drew a rough design in the sand and Eventide looked over his shoulder; what he saw rang a bell in his head and he finally put one and one together.

"They are the knights of Loraine and Burgundy; what would French knights be doing with the likes of the Templars and the Holy Order?"

No one spoke as Eventide started to think things through; he had one hundred and seventy soldiers and brotherhood at his command and was facing over a thousand well trained knights and soldiers; by all rights he should retire and send for a larger army but; if he did that there was a good chance of losing all contact and the army would get away to raid another caravan somewhere else.

Eventide called all the brotherhood as well as Marchant and the officers of his small army; it was time to seek help and ask what the others with more experience thought about their present situation.

The meeting went on through the first meal of the day; Eventide sat silently as everyone was given a chance to voice their opinions. Once everyone had said their piece; Eventide sat and thought it all over. No one tried to persuade him one way or the other; he was the Kahlif and his decisions were binding on all of them.

Eventide looked around at the patiently waiting men; it had taken some time for him to think it all through and he finally had come to a decision that would either make him famous or dead.

"We attack; here is what we will do."

Eventide set about telling them all what he wanted and what he expected from his small numbers; the first thing was to break camp and send the baggage caravan up higher into the dunes where they would hide from any exposure to the enemy; in charge of them he set ten of the Kahlif's soldiers and the drivers would be armed to defend the caravan if the others lost the battle that was to come.

Eventide was once again dressed as a Bedou and would go forward to where his remaining scouts were watching over the Christian camp; he wanted to see for himself the layout of his enemy. The others were to ready their arms and armour and be prepared for his return; there would be no more camping out; if they could not finish it between today and tomorrow they would all be buried under the burning sands.

Eventide sent the officers off to ready their men; Marchant was to stay along with all the members of the brotherhood. Eventide's mind was working overtime as he outlined what he had in mind to fight against such huge numbers. Everything he had learnt from his time with Freeman and other older soldiers now came into play.

When he had told Marchant what he wanted from his bowmen; Eventide excused him to make his arrangements; next he told his brothers, both young and old what he planned to do; if all went well they may just come out of the fight with a win but it would take every bit of cunning they all possessed.

Eventide left the camp in the company of his six body guards; moving quickly they soon came upon the remaining scouts. Eventide settled into the sand at the top of the rise; below he could see the large army camped in the bowl of a shallow Wadhi; it was also the only Oasis within a vast distance. Eventide saw that the army of Christians had little intentions of moving in the near future; it seemed the Oasis would be their main camp for some time to come and a base for them to operate from; Eventide looked over the situation for any advantage to his plan of attack.

Eventide noticed there were a number of dying fires higher up the sides of the depression; it appeared they had guards posted out there during the night and it looked like they also had an inner ring of guards closer to the camp.

The larger and more colourful tents of the knights stood in a circle at the centre of the camp; behind the knights tents and well into the rear were where the knight's horse and the captured camels were held; there was enough grass and plenty of water to keep them all docile and healthy.

The camp resembled a cul-de-sac with a high dune at the rear and above the oasis centre. Lower dunes protected the sides and there was only the one way to attack down the narrow defile that led to the camp. After watching for some time; Eventide got the impression that the army below felt secure in its size and defence-able position; he hoped for his own sake that they were wrong.

After some thought, Eventide made a few small changes to his mental plan and then shimmied back down the dune to the others waiting by the silent horses; leaving the original brothers to watch the camp after giving them more food and water; Eventide led the others back to his small waiting army.

The rest of the day was spent readying for the upcoming night; there would be no mad daylight attack; that would mean certain death for them all. Eventide had planned this one to be a battle of stealth and silence; he hoped he could form a sense of fear and terror in the larger army without losing any of his own men; this was a perfect battle for his brothers, both elder and younger.

As the day wore on; Eventide's small army prepared as best they could; those in the most danger would be the members of the brotherhood; Eventide only hoped he had made the right decisions and would not end his days on the blade of a Christian sword in the middle of the night.

The time finally arrived when they had to make their way to their start point; Eventide was now dressed as all his brothers, in the black of the Hashin; he checked all his weapons for the last time and slid off the back of Shaitan; the horse seemed to know to stand silently and wait for his rider to return.

All the other troops were now at the assigned places around the Oasis but below the tops of the dunes. The brotherhood had divided into Elder and younger brothers; they all would fight better in their own age groups as that was how they had all trained.

The younger brothers had been given the job of clearing the outer guards with poison tipped darts that were blown from a small blow tube made of a bronze with a bone mouth piece. When used the mouth piece was removed and the poison dart was inserted into the tube; the mouth piece was then replaced and the dart blown into its target.

The darts were made from a cane brought all the way from the Far East; it was flexible and very strong and could be shaped or sharpened so the edge could cut like steel; it was also fibrous and could soak up the poison to be more effective

The boys could hit a target at twenty paces and, in the dark they were very capable of getting that close; they would all use the concentrated venom of the Indus Krait; it killed almost instantly in that form; the guards would never know what had hit them.

The inner ring of guards would be taken care of by the elder brothers once the outer guards had been taken care of; from that point on it would be up to each group to make as much mayhem within the camp as they could. Eventide had told them all that he and his younger brothers would attempt to raid the knight's tents and do as much damage as they could before sunup the next day.

The attack time was set for the first hours after the middle night change of guards; that was the time when most of the guards were not at their best and would be more inclined to make mistakes or ignore subtle noises in the dark.

The brotherhood watched the change of the guard and then waited another hour; the ten fires of the outer guard were now not burning so bright and the guards were sitting around them in the cold of the desert night; most had their heads nodding as though partially asleep; it was time to move.

The younger brothers slithered over the dune and worked their way towards the guards like silent snakes in the sand; their black clothes melding into the shadows cast by the very fires that were meant to protect the army.

There were ten guard fires around the camp; two brothers were directed to each fire; they would both use their darts at the same time so there would be no alarm to rouse the rest of the army.

Eventide lifted his hand as signal to stop; Salud was by his side and looked out into the dark night; it was only his superior training that enabled him to partially see the other brothers as they got into position; with a nod to Eventide; both teens lifted their blow tubes and sent the deadly darts on their way.

The result was perfect; as the two guards slumped further onto the sand with no more than a small grunt; Eventide looked at the other fire points; it appeared as though there was now a distinct lack of sitting or standing guards; their first obstacle was eliminated; it was now time for the elder brothers to do their work.

Salud sent out a soft call that sounded much like the night lark of the desert; an answering call came back as the two boys watched as more shadows moved like wraths over the dark sands and towards the next line of inner guards. Eventide reloaded his dart tube and made sure his dagger was loose in its sheath; their next objective could not be given a chance to react or they were all lost.

It was not long before the call came again; the inner guard was now out of action and the rest of the camp was at the mercy of the brotherhood; that is all except the standing guards outside the tents of the knights.

Each tent had two guards that stood by the tent flap of the doorway; these guards were changed every two hours unlike the other guards who were only changed every four hours; this left little time for the boys to do their work.

The younger brothers met up with their older ones at the edge of the inner guard ring; from here they would work almost together. The elder brothers would clear the way through the lines of soldier's tents or those who had decided to sleep out on the sand, although there were not many that did that as the desert was a very cold place at night.

The elder brothers moved like ghosts as they went from one tent to the other; in each tent were four soldiers; it took less than twenty seconds to make sure they would never move again; the elder brothers carried a long thin metal spike in their hands; they would sneak up to a sleeping soldier and plunge it into the man's ear and destroy the brain before the man could move or even knew there was an unwanted person in the tent.

Each tent took only seconds to clear and the small party of raiders moved quickly through the camp in the direction of the knight's tents. Once they were close enough; the younger brothers would take over and the elder would move outward among the rest of the camp.

The younger brothers found themselves at the last line of soldier's tents and looking at the guards on the knight's tents; it was time to use the blow tubes again. The boys had even less of a target to hit as the guards were wearing armour and only their heads and necks were free from chainmail.

The need for accuracy was now vital as each boy took aim; a soft hiss in the night air told them all to fire at the same time; as the darts struck sure and true it was almost amusing for the boys to watch as the guards slapped at what they must have thought was a night bug and only seconds later fall over dead.

Eventide hoped the sound of the men falling had not awakened the knights; he had no liking of going into the tent of a well trained knight and finding him on his feet and ready to fight.

Eventide and Salud slipped into their chosen tent; they now had less than one hour before the sun rose and still had to flee the camp before any guard changes were expected.

In the tent, Eventide saw the knight and his squire sleeping in the same cot; Salud moved around the back of the cot with his long thin steel poniard as Eventide moved to stand in front of the sleeping squire; a nod from Salud and both poniards drove deeply into the ear of their target victim; there was no noise or even movement from the sleeping pair; the thrust had been fast and clean and it was now time for Eventide and Salud to head for the rear of the camp.

If all the brothers were successful; they would all meet up where the horses and camels were held; it now depended on who was guarding the animals; during the day they had seen that the guards were all Saracens or those who had been captured from the caravan; this was the most dangerous part of the plan.

Without the use of horses or camels; the army would be at the mercy of the desert and could not stay long at the Oasis before the desert people would find them; Eventide had no intention to allow them to stay there at all.

The stock guards proved to be very agreeable to moving away from the camp along with their animals and to do it silently as they could. The added incentive of dealing with the Hashin also helped to make up their minds. Eventide told them they could keep every animal they took with them; to the desert dwellers that was like offering a veritable fortune.

It surprised even Eventide and Salud how quickly the animals disappeared up and over the surrounding dunes; in the soft sand it was almost silent. It was now time for Eventide's plan to move into its final stages; sunrise was now less than an hour away and he wanted the camp in disarray before the enemy could see clearly.

Eventide and his younger brothers took to the higher dune at the rear of the Oasis while the elder brothers retreated back through the silent camp to where all the horses waited for them; they left behind a scene of death that none of the Christian army would ever forget; and it was not over yet.

Eventide and Salud along with all their brothers, made it to the top of the dune unseen and unheard. At the crest of the dune; Marchant awaited them along with his twenty bowmen. Along with their bows, they carried a full quiver of arrows and in their hands they carried six more shafts that were wrapped in oil soaked cloth; in their free hand they all held a small bronze pot filled with brightly smouldering embers. The camp below was about to be awakened in the worst of ways.

Marchant lined his bowmen up along the top of the ridge while Eventide stood back and watched; at a soft hiss from Marchant; each bowman took one of the fire arrows and touched it to the glowing embers; the oil impregnated cloth caught quickly and another hiss from Marchant had the arrows knocked and ready. With a click of his tongue, Marchant had the bowmen release their arrows high into the early morning air; they were all aimed at the knight's tents below them. They had little worry about retaliation from the army below as they were well out of range of the Persian bows carried by the army of Christians.

While the first shafts were in the air; Marchant repeated his strange signals and a second lot of burning arrows took flight; these were now aimed at the many soldiers tents spread around the Oasis.

As the first arrows struck home on the sun dried tents of the knights a third flight was in the air. When the last of the fire brands had been used and the camp below was becoming a sea of flames and screaming soldiers; Marchant turned to their normal arrows and began to lay down a fire at any targets they could see in the fast approaching dawn.

Below them the camp was in disarray; leaderless soldiers were calling for help and others were screaming in fear as the rain of death continued from the dim light of dawn. Junior officers tried to organise their men but the fear of the fires and the unusual non appearance of the knights only caused more fear and confusion.

The soldiers now knew they were under a full attack and did their best to try to form lines of defence; but the only enemy they could see was the thin line of bowmen. As it dawned on those survivors that they were at a serious disadvantage and the few surviving officers were also now leaderless; the only though was escape.

The army below began to run; some down the length of the shallow valley and others to either the left or right low dunes; they would now face another enemy as yet unseen until they slowly puffed their way to the top of the dunes; it was only then they saw soldiers who were well armed and ready for them.

As the Christians could not form an effective attack and also had to struggle up the soft sandy slopes of the dunes; they were easy targets for the soldiers and militia that awaited them; it became not only a rout but a slaughter of some magnitude.

For those who stayed on the bottom of the valley and tried to escape; they found themselves face to face with thirty black clothed men on fine horses; their flashing scimitars causing mayhem amongst the mostly defenceless escapers; again it was a slaughter.

The early morning sands ran red with blood as none of Eventide's men considered giving any quarter for what had been done to a harmless and almost defenceless caravan; this was to be a lesson that others would know not to try attacking one of the Emir's caravans in the future.

It did not take long for the survivors to begin to kneel with empty hands and ask for mercy; Eventide had seen enough blood for one day and so sent out the order to take prisoners; they could always be ransomed off for a profit or sold as slaves at the market.

As the fighting died away; Eventide, followed closely by Salud and his other brothers, began to count the cost for the enemy. He decided that the Christians had paid a terrible price; the fact that his tactics had had more to do with the victory than the fighting abilities of his men, never crossed his mind.

As the new prisoners were grouped together and their hands quickly tied fast; Eventide saw there were no more than two hundred soldiers left; the battle had been a slaughter and among his own men the price had been slight; only two militia and one soldier had been killed and no more than fifteen wounded; for the brotherhood there had not been a scratch.

Marchant had joined Eventide in the Oasis as the young Kahlif sent off a scout to call his camels and wagons in; they would set up their own camp here for one day and then start the trek back to Wadhi Sufaria with their prisoners. Eventide asked for one of the pigeons to be released to carry the message of success back to his waiting brother Mahmud.

It took less than two hours for his caravan to arrive; once it was unpacked his tent was quickly erected and a hot meal was soon on the fires as he went inside to change into his Bedou clothes; the prisoners were left where they sat out in the heat of the day; a bit of thirst would make them more compliant and there was little chance of escape as they had nowhere to go and the twenty guards were alert and well armed.

Those not guarding the prisoners were let loose on what remained of the Christian camp; no one saw any harm in a little booty from a battle although there was little left after the fire arrows of Marchant's men had finished.

The dead were dragged well clear of the camp and the Oasis; only a fool would let water be contaminated in the desert and none of Eventide's army were fools; that and the smell of fast decomposing bodies was not what they all wanted around the camp; even for one night. Tonight the night creatures would dine well and the birds and sun would complete the work over the next few days.

It was the sound of loud voices that caused Eventide, along with his six brotherhood guards; to walk outside his tent; immediately one of his servants found a chair for him to sit on. His dark blues scarf was not covering his face as he looked out to where the prisoners were seated in the sun.

One of the prisoners was demanding to see the leader of the army; a guard was lifting his scimitar to part the man's head from his body when Eventide called out to stop the beheading; the guard bowed low to Eventide and stepped back as the man on the ground turned to see who had given the order.

The sight that met the prisoners eyes made him start with surprise; the last thing he expected to see was another Christian in charge of the very men that had decimated his army and the fact the leader was only a boy even further surprised him.

"What do you want; prisoner?" Eventide called to the man; it did not go unnoticed that the man was wearing the black cross of the holy order on his surplus nor that there were two others sporting the red cross of the Templars; the most hated of all Christian knights. All three officers of the church also wore the well known tonsure of the warrior monks; sometimes called Jesuits.

"I demand to see your superior; we are Christian officers of the holy church and demand to be treated better than the common soldiers; where is you leader?"

Eventide looked at the man and smiled an evil smile that only a teen could conjour up.

"Then Sir you wish to speak to me and the answer is, No; you deserve nothing for your attack on an innocent caravan and the slaughter you carried out. I was going to consider a ransom for you and your men but now! Well I think a term of slavery is more fitting to your crimes against my people."

"Your people? You are a Christian boy, these are not your people; are you mad or touched by the sun, boy?"

"I am known as Shaitan Bin Izurak, Kahlif of the Wadhi Sufaria, you Sir are now a prisoner of the Emir of the Aramaic lands; I warn you to hold your tongue if you do not want to lose it."

"You are a traitor to your People boy. If you were better born and I were a Knight I would challenge you to duel but I would not soil myself or break my oath to the holy church; not even for a cur the likes of you."

"Then Sir, you are in luck; I am also known as Baronet Eventide Tremaine; heir to the lands of Lancaster and Flanders under the tutelage of Baron Tremaine of those same lands. Should you wish to challenge then you are within your rights as an officer of the holy church; but I reserve the right of electing a champion as I am the sole heir."

"And what is there for me when I win?"

"You and your brother monks will be free to go unharmed and with a signed pass of freedom; your men will remain here as prisoners of the Emir; but, Sir; should you fail then you and your fellow monks will pay the ultimate price and your heads will decorate this very sight for all to see. Do you agree?"

"I do not see your bona fides; how do I know you speak the truth about your lineage; you are in a position to make any claims you like and cannot be verified?"

"My word is my claim monk; it is the only chance you will get; take it or leave it. The decision is yours."

"I cannot and will not take the word of a traitor to the Christian cause."

"Then Sir, you have already lost."

Eventide turned to Ishmael and whispered in his ear; when he finished, Ishmael had a wide smile on his face as he turned to the elder brothers and issued a soft spoken order.

The Elder Brother that led the brotherhood of thirty; looked up at Eventide and then bowed low before issuing orders; within seconds the three monks of the cross were kneeling on the ground before Eventide. It took less than seconds for their heads to roll on the ground, much to the surprise of the other prisoners but not one wanted to draw attention to themselves and so; after loud gasps at the sudden and final ending of the three warrior monks; all fell quite; there would be no more challenges to Eventide's orders.

During the rest of the day, the prisoners were made more secure by tying a rope around their necks and fastening them altogether; if one moved they all had to move; it would reduce the number of the guards needed to watch over them.

Eventide set out the minimum amount of water each could receive and a small bowl of food was given to each prisoner at the end of the day; it would be all they received each day on their trip back to Sufaria.

At only one hour after sun rise the next morning, the small victorious army began the return to Wadhi Sufaria; if would take fully five days as they could not go faster than the slowest prisoner although they were all pushed along by the guards set to watch over them.

Eventide was finally happy when; on the mid morning hours of the fifth day he saw the towering walls of Wadhi Sufaria in the distance; another two hours and they would be back home. When they neared the huge gates of the city; it was also not a surprise to see the streets lined with the folk of the city. The cheers for the small army and the derisive remarks for the prisoners were almost heart-warming; it was good to return home with a victory and the minimum of losses.

Mahmud was waiting on the steps of his palace as Eventide rode up at the head of the small force; the cheering from the city folk could still be heard above the clatter of the horse's hooves and the shouting of the soldiers as they welcomed the sight of their homes.

Mahmud gave orders for the prisoners to be taken outside the palace walls and interred in the slave cells; their fate would be decided by both of the Kahlifs after Eventide had had the time to bathe and rest. Mahmud told Eventide he had sent pigeons to the Emir to inform him of the victory; tonight would be a celebration for Eventide's first victory as Kahlif of Wadhi Sufaria.

Eventide was to learn that as usual; Mahmud made far more of the battle than it truly was; Eventide said little as he could not chastise his brother for being one who could not resist a little fun at the expense of the Christians; although the new titles Mahmud came up with for Eventide, did raise a large smile and a weary giggle. Eventide wanted his bed and a good massage; he had been away too long for his liking.

That night, the dinner and entertainment was held in Eventide's Palace; it was organised by Mahmud of course and was the first full celebration that was held there. The guest of honour was of course Eventide himself but; as he looked at all those who had helped him make the victory; he set about calling all of them in as well; including the officers of the militia and his own soldiers.

The elder brothers were also given pride of place at the top table and, as the evening moved along and the wine flowed; Mahmud made a suggestion that would satisfy Eventide's worry over what to do with the prisoners.

"It is a simple thing, my brother," Mahmud told Eventide. "We simply send them to the Emir with our elder brothers as escorts. They raided a caravan under the Emir's protection so: it should be the Emir who decides their fate, You, my brother have already had your fun; what with the great battle and then mounting three warrior monks heads on spears for all to see; what more fun could you ask for?"

Eventide blushed at the mention of the beheadings; he was not truly proud of his actions but it seemed the right thing to do as it caused the other prisoners to obey without question; it was a bloody but good lesson for all those there.

Eventide could only nod as he took another small sip of the wine; he wanted a clear head tonight as he well knew that the party would end with the hookah being brought out at the end of the dinner and this time it would not be the harmless leaf they would all smoke.

The next morning; which for some did not start until the sun was high; saw the Elder Brothers ushering their string of prisoners through the gates of the palace; it would be days before any of them would see a city again and the hot searing desert would take its own toll on the new slaves.

Eventide was one of those who awoke late in the morning; they had all feasted and drank late into the night and; with the advent of the hookah being brought out; the celebrations only got later and later.

Eventide woke to the fresh smell of mint tea; his newly trained slaves were filling his bath and others were inspecting his clothes ready for a new day. The bath slaves waited patiently for him to totter over to the waiting hot water; his head ached and his stomach tried twice to rebel; even the fresh mint tea could not settle the unease his stomach felt.

After his bathing; Eventide was only too happy to lay down on the narrow table for his two body servants to work on his tired and sore muscles; the two boys worked tirelessly as he half slept on the table. The next sound Eventide heard did not endear him to his brother Mahmud.

"Come mighty Shaitan, or should I say, mighty lazy one. The day is nearly over and you sleep in your bed when there are wild places to go and explore."

Eventide looked up with sad eyes at the over exuberant brother. "Shut up and let me die."

"Little brother, this is no time to die; you have a whole city waiting to see the great Shaitan Bin Izurak; scourge of the sandy wastes and defiler of the Christian masses; slayer of armies sent by the gods themselves; come oh favourite of the great Shaitan himself; stir your lazy ass and come ride the city with me and then we can go hunting. The falcons are growing fat and lazy like the great Shaitan Bin Izurak."

"Shut up and let me die in peace; I'm in no mood for crowds today."

The room became silent as Mahmud shooed the two boys away from the table; five seconds later and Eventide was using words he did not even know he knew. The ice cold water from a full jug used as drinking water was now dripping onto the floor as Eventide tried to shake some warmth back into his freezing body; the howls of laughter from Mahmud only went to increase Eventide's bad mood.

"Not funny; brother you will pay a heavy price for that little show of disrespect to the great hero Shaitan Bin Izurak."

It was the sound of the pompous words from Eventide's own lips that finally sent the two boys into gales of laughter; the foulness of the morning was finally broken and both boys relaxed as the servants dressed Eventide in the white dress of a Kahlif.

The rest of that day passed without incident as did the next four days. Notice came in that many of the caravan owners had now named the oasis of the battle in Eventide's name; all who stayed there or watered their animals there, now called it Oasis Bin Izurak in his honour.

On the fourth day it was also the second quarter of the tithe gathering for the Emir and the city taxes. This was the first time that Eventide had seen it or been involved in any way.

While he himself had little to do; he along with Mahmud were expected to be present on the day of the payments by the caravan masters and local city officials and merchants. In many ways it was a long and somewhat boring day; for hours they sat and watched as one person or representative came forward with large and small chests of gold coins, jewels, silver or other precious things to pay for the protection on the roads and the taxes of the city.

Eventide was now truly impressed by the sheer quantity of gold and silver that was brought forward as payment; at one stage there were even small gifts in the form of weapons of high quality and smaller chests of coins and jewels that were given directly to Eventide for his destruction of the 'brigands' that had caused so much death.

It was staggering for Eventide to imagine that the quantity of gold and other precious things could be found each and every quarter for the taxes and other payments, but he was assured by Mahmud that this was a normal collection and; in the height of the caravan season, which would start in another month or so when the high passes to Indus and the Far East were open; the collection would almost double; Eventide could only shake his head and wonder.

Eventide watched as the clerics who were to take note of all payments; tapped away on the small squares used for counting; their fingers flashed so fast he found it difficult to keep pace with them; but, at the end of the day they would have a full accounting of every coin or jewel that was paid and from whom each payment was made.

The new treasure would them be divided up for the city, the two Kahlifs and the Emir's share which would be transported under very heavy guard to Damascus. By the end of the long day; Eventide could only stand and stare as chest after chest of coins and gold was carried away to the palace treasury for dividing up; he could not even imagine how much was there and; the fact Mahmud said it was a slow time of the year for the silk road only amazed him more.

For the next two weeks the caravans began to increase until there were more than ten a day seeking passes to venture into the vast sandy waste to trade; it was at this time that Eventide began to see new peoples of many races as they came through the now open passes from the Hindu Kush and the far eastern lands of the Sinai and Indus.

The bustle of the city increased as the days got longer and hotter. It had now become his habit to rest during the hottest part of the day unless they were out with their falcons hunting; even then they would erect tents to pass the worst of the heat of the day.

It was fully six weeks later that Eventide got the news he hoped would never come. His new life as a Kahlif had become second nature to him even though he had a continual list of lessons to complete each day so he could further his education and understanding.

It was at the evening meal that word reached him in the form of a royal rider of the Emir. The Emir had received word that Freeman had been attacked by assassins in his manor house in Flanders; while he had beaten them off and killed six of them before the others fled; Freeman had been badly wounded in the exchange and was confined to his bed for some months to come; he had asked the Emir to have Eventide return as fast as possible so he could watch over the Baron's lands until he was fit again.

Within ten hours Eventide was packed lightly and; along with only his six brothers and Shaun and mounted on the best horses he had; was racing for the coast. A message had been sent ahead by pigeon to have a Dhow ready to sail as soon as he got to the port at Damascus.

They had pushed their horses hard but made it to Damascus in three days; by late in the evening of that third day; they were heading out from the port on what they hoped would be a nonstop voyage to the land of Flanders. The dhow was one of the fastest the Emir had and was manned by his best sailors and soldiers.

Unlike the first travel to the new land; this time the dhow was pushed to its limits and there was no long stops for resupply or to avoid rough seas or storms; the Emir had told the crew to go fast and die if needed to get Eventide and his friends to Flanders.

With the dhow being pushed to its limits; there was no small amount of sea sickness suffered by all eight teens; even the horses were not happy about the rough weather or the strain of the fast voyage. The crew of the dhow barely slept as they pushed harder and harder; they were taking chances that no normal voyage would undergo but; they were under the orders of the Emir; failure meant the loss of their heads.

To keep up the pace; if the wind died to a light shifting breeze; the captain would call for the large oars to be put out and the crew would start to row for hour after hour to keep pushing forward or until the wind grew once again; it was not easy for anyone aboard the dhow.

It took a mere seven days to make the coast of Flanders; if there had been record books it would have been noted as the fastest time ever done by a dhow in those times or at that time of the year. The last leg that was up the narrow sea between England and the Frankish lands was the most dangerous as the sea was wild and unpredictable but they conquered it as they had conquered the others and slowed as they came to the landing where they could see the green banner of Tremaine flying on the beach.

The message Eventide had received had said not to land at any Frankish port but to come directly to Freeman's coastal land and unship there; he would have his own people waiting every day for them to arrive and so it proved true.

This was Eventide's first trip to Flanders; he was met by the guards of Freeman's house hold troops; all thirty men helped to unload the few possessions and the horses and; four hours later, in the middle of a blustery afternoon; the entourage left at speed; there would be no stopping until they made the manor of Tremaine.

Fortunately it was less than two hours from the coast but; what surprised Eventide once again was the Manor; it was not a small house as Freeman had described; it was a solid looking castle set high on the small hill top and overlooked large spaces of marsh and farm lands.

Eventide could even see in the dimming light; that there were many large war horses that were roaming around the large open spaces. This was not what he had expected; he was looking forward to seeing his father once again, but it was with trepidation as he did not know how badly wounded he was.

Once they had entered the castle; Eventide jumped from Shaitan and ran towards the large double wooden doors where a servants stood waiting; with little ceremony; Eventide was taken to the bedroom where Freeman was laying while he healed.

Eventide did not wait as he neared the bedroom; he was almost running as he hit the door and ran inside; what he saw made him pause and catch his breath; he did not even consider the state he was in after travelling for more than ten days without washing or a change of clothes. His fine white garb of the Kahlif of Wadhi Sufaria were now not much more than dirty and torn rags but it did not stop him from rushing to Freeman's bedside.

Freeman was propped up in the bed by a large number of thick down filled pillows; around his head was one bandage; around his bare chest was another and one arm was in a sling; Eventide could also see under the covers that one leg was propped up.

Freeman looked pale and wan as he tried to smile for Eventide but it was plain he was in pain. The physician that stood beside the bed frowned at the sudden appearance of the rough looking teen but was soon put at ease when Freeman gasped out that it was his son; the physician then bowed to Eventide and retreated a little to give them space.

Eventide carefully leant forward to try and grasp one of Freeman's hands; he dared not hug him as much as he wanted to; the obvious wounds were not slight and he did not want to make his father's pain any more than it already was.

Freeman watched as tears fell freely from his new son's eyes; the obvious pain and fear in the young boy's face told its own story; Freeman tried to find the strength to pat Eventide's shoulder and to take away some of the boy's fear.

"You made good time, my son," Freeman gasped out in a strained voice.

"Father…" It was all Eventide could find to say as the tears continued to fall freely down his dirty face.

"Don't worry son, I've got through worse than this; just ask the Emir."

Eventide could see how much it cost Freeman to keep talking; he grasped his father's hand tighter but did not try to stop the tears; if nothing else, he had made it in time and he could see his father was still with him.

"Son, I need you to be strong now; you have to keep the estates running until I can get back on my feet; anything you decide I will back up. Now go and get some rest and a bath; you need it badly; tomorrow when you are rested we will talk more."

Eventide could see how much it took for Freeman to talk for so long; like a good obedient son; he let go of Freeman's hand and looked around for someone to help him find his room, as he did so he saw all six of his brothers standing stoically in the outer passageway watching the reunion; their faces were inscrutable but Eventide knew there was much more going on under those young faces than others would see.

It was with great reluctance that Eventide allowed himself to be shown to his new rooms by one of the younger servants; his six brothers never leaving his side as they all rearranged the large bedroom so they could all stay together; their little brother was in pain and they had no intention of leaving him in his hour of need.

Eventide finally succumbed to the rigors of the last ten days; without thinking of washing or changing his tattered clothes; Eventide collapsed onto the bed and was fast asleep before any of the others had time to take notice.

Eventide awoke early in the morning to the sound of people rushing about the passageways. Groaning as he tried to get himself from the bed; Eventide saw that his six brothers were sleeping close around his bed in a protective circle. Eventide almost smiled at the concern of the six teens; with another groan; which awoke Ishmael and then Salud; Eventide stood and looked for a bath tub. It took a few loud shouts before he had a few servants arrive to take his orders; it was another hour before he was sinking into a hot bath.

Many of the servants did not speak either English or Aramaic and so Eventide had to make do with sign language for some of his requests; fortunately for him; the housekeeper and two of the footmen were competent in English and; once he had found them, things went smoother.

By mid-morning, Eventide was ready for the day; After his breakfast he was in the bedroom of his father; there was a lot to talk about and Eventide began to feel a burning desire to find the culprits of the assassination attempt; he was not the only one with those thoughts.

Eventide sat with Freeman for over an hour while the Baron told him about the attempt on his life. Four of Freeman's guards had died in the attempt, but they had slowed the assassins enough for Freeman to get ready for the assault.

Even though Freeman had sustained a number of bad injuries, he and his remaining men had been able to defeat the attackers. Of the ten dead attackers, six of which Freeman took care himself; five were found to be from the Holy Church; three were members of the Knights of the Holy Cross and the other two were Templars.

Although he was still young; the time he had spent with Mahmud holding court at Wadhi Sufaria had taught Eventide to look past the obvious; now he could see a pattern; perhaps the caravan attack had been more than it appeared at the time; coupled with the new attack on his father; Eventide began to see things differently.

Both talked over their own suspicions; Freeman told Eventide that there were those in both the King's court, and the Holy Church that desired his lands in Flanders; that, and the fact that the Baron stood between many other knights and the throne had always been in contention.

After the physician had once again checked over Freeman's wounds and placed fresh dressings on them; Eventide asked what he needed to do. For another hour the two talked as Freeman told him what needed to be done to keep the estate running smoothly; Eventide listened intently and took notes; in the back of his mind was another plan forming but he kept his silence as he listened to his father's instructions.

By Midday they were done; Freeman looked tired and in need of rest; it was now time for Eventide to take up the mantle of Baronet of Flanders.

Eventide called for his six brothers to join him for the midday meal; while they sat and ate they also had a softly spoken discussion on what had been in the back of Eventide's mind; some of the suggestions raised smiles on the faces of his brothers. With the meal over and some plans made; the small group broke up and each brother went his own way to carry out the orders of their Kahlif.

Over the next two weeks, no one noticed the disappearance of Demetrious or that the usual number of personal body guards was now down to four; Ishmael being the other one not seen for some time.

On the fifteenth day after Eventide's arrival at the Flanders estate; the servants saw a large column of riders approaching the gates of the castle; most noticeable were the clothes of the riders. All were dressed in black flowing robes and their faces were covered so that only their dark eyes could be seen; The church and the Templars were about to reap what they had sewn.

The newcomers spoke to no one until they had been sequestered with the young Baronet for some time; when they reappeared, the servants saw them all walk to where the injured Baron was now propped up in bed.

It was only the physician that saw and heard what went on in the bedroom of the Baron; After Eventide had told the guards at the door not to enter under any circumstances; the newcomers entered one by one and spoke in a foreign language that the Baron seemed to understand completely.

The physician had watched each stranger enter the bedroom, walk up to the reclining Baron and then whisper a few soft words; what happened next almost shocked the old physician. Each stranger took a very sharp and dangerous looking, black handled dagger from the sheath at his waist, pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall on the hand of the Baron.

What was more surprising was that the baron did not object but instead just nodded his head and raised his hand as though offering some sort of blessing.

When all twenty of the strangers had completed the odd ceremony; the Baron lay back and then called for his son. Eventide was quick to enter the room; the physician was then told to leave the two together and not return until called.

Only Eventide and Freeman knew what was said in the bedroom but, when Eventide returned from the room, all the strangers looked at him with their dark eyes and immediately bowed low and salaamed with great respect; even the door guards; men who had been to the Holy Land on the last crusade with the Baron; could not believe the respect the young Saracens were showing the son of their Baron. The physician; although he had his own suspicions as to who the strangers were; was still at a loss as to what had happened.

Only Freeman and Eventide knew that the twenty brothers of the brotherhood had sworn a blood oath to the Baron; the attempted assassination was to be paid in blood and there would be no place to hide for those who had tried to kill one of their own.

The words of the oath were spoken only when one of their own was threatened.

"My blood is your blood until death and beyond"

There would be no peace for any who may even be remotely connected to the assassination attempt; this oath was even far beyond that given to every brother; it was meant to be until the end of days and the end of time itself.

Later that night; Eventide and all his brothers were enclosed in Eventide's room; the return of Demetrious and Ishmael now meant they could start to lay their plans; the secret meeting would go on into the late hours of the night and early hours of the next morning; what was finally decided was to stay among the small group and would never be known by any outsider.

It was a week before anyone noticed there seemed to be a spate of horrible murders being done. Taken separately, the murders would have seemed unrelated; the scope was far too wide for them to be even remotely similar.

From the far off state of Loraine, six Knights Templar came to a grisly end right in the middle of one of their own castles; no one was seen or heard and only the six bodies stood testament to the act of assassination.

Another in Burgundy saw three Prelates and a Bishop slain in their beds by some mysterious poison that left no other sign but the dead bodies; the seven guards swore they saw no one in the manse of the church.

In far off Rome, inside the Vatican itself; nine Cardinals were slain in their beds; again there was no sign of how it happened and again; none of the guards saw anything.

In the newly forming city of Paris; eleven Knights of the Holy Cross met horrible deaths by strangulation while sitting at a meal together; again there were no witnesses.

In England; a counting house known to watch over the wealth of the Templars was set afire and destroyed; the five Templar guards were found a day later with what appeared to be punctures to their ears; they had all been standing on guard at the time of the fire.

These and many more unrelated acts continued to be heard of; there were never any witnesses but; there were those in certain places that could put the happenings together and were now getting very nervous; the only common factor they could see was the attempted assassination of a Baron in Flanders; even then they were not quite sure but, in the secrecy of their castles and palaces it was the only factor they could come up with; immediately the word was sent out.

'No further action was to be taken against the Baron of Lancaster and Flanders'

The very day that the withdrawal of the threat to Baron Tremaine of Lancaster was issued; six stealthy figures stood on a hillock overlooking a grand Manor house in the barony of Essex. The smallest of the group looked intently at the grand house and then turned to the others; a few soft words were spoken and then the small figure mounted his black horse as the others mounted theirs.

In the grand house below the hill; many important people were arriving; some by fancy carts guarded by a number of well presented soldiers; others were mounted knights with their squires and personal retainers. It appeared to be a gathering of some of the most important men of this land and also the church.

The gathering gained pace as the darkness of the night fell; the grounds were swarming with guards of many of the noble houses and the Manor house was a blaze of light. Inside there was a special meeting taking place in a locked room; in the rest of the house, many servants prepared a great feast to honour the many guests.

It was later in the evening when the many nobles reappeared in the grand ball room of the Manor; the room had been set with a multitude of tables and a great feast was set out for the guests; all that had to be said had been spoken of and all the men were ready to enjoy the hospitality of their host.

Amongst the many large trees of the formal garden; six dark shadows moved amongst the other shadows; one undistinguishable from the other. The many guards around the Manor saw nothing and heard nothing; there were only shadows and night creatures to disturb the peace of the countryside; nothing seemed amiss for the vigilant guards.

At the rear of the Manor, close to the rear door of the kitchens; sat a large stone building; the door had a large heavy padlock on it and the key was held only by the Baron. This was the store house of the Baron's most valuable wines and spirits; they were brought over from the best estates in France;

A shadow flittered among the trees close to the stone building; it was small and slight and clothed entirely in black garb.

At the rear kitchen door sat a young man with a large basket between his knees; he noticed nothing as he pushed more fresh straw into the basket; it would not do to break a bottle of the Baron's best wine.

The young man stood up with the large basket in one hand and a large metal key in the other; it was time to get the wine for the feast; the Baron and his guests would be sitting down to eat shortly and there was no time to waste.

In the deep shadow of the building, the small figure was quickly joined by five others; all moved in total silence and became part of the darker shadows that surrounded the stone building. The young man with the basket strode confidently towards the waiting wine store; he had no reason to suspect anything with all the guards roaming around the Manor.

Placing the large basket on the ground by his feet; the young man lifted the heavy key to the waiting padlock; as the key was inserted, but before he could turn it; he was grasped by two pairs of strong hands while a third hand placed a soft cloth over his mouth to stop any calls for help.

The young man tried to struggle but it was soon proved to be a hopeless task; a soft voice whispered into his ear as he was held tightly.

"You have one chance to live and only one; do you understand?"

The young man nodded his head; the key was turned and he was bundled through the heavy wooden door of the wine store; inside; with a single candle lit for light; the young man saw he was surrounded by six black clad figures; the smallest one seemed to be in charge and it was he that asked the questions of the young man.

"Which are the wines for the Baron's feast?"

Still held fast and with his mouth still covered; the young man used what little movement he had to point to the large stack of wine flasks set aside from the others in the store house.

As he watched the black clad figures; the young man noticed the smaller one was the only one with blue eyes; it was all he could see of his captors. The young man watched as the flasks were opened and something poured into them; the flasks were then re-stoppered and then left as they were for the young man to place in his large basket.

The small figure then turned to the young man and said.

"If you tell anyone about this your life will be forfeit; after you serve this wine it will be best if you are not found on the Manor grounds. Take this, it will help you to get away. If you speak of this to anyone before the wine is served, you will be the last of your family alive before we come for you."

The young man was now very nervous; with shaking hands he took the offered leather pouch; he noticed instantly how heavy it was. With the knowledge of how easy it had been for these six dark figures to enter the heavily guarded Manor grounds undetected; he had little doubt they could find him and his family.

The small blue eyed figure patted him on the shoulder one last time and said.

"Don't forget to be away before the wine is served and don't say one word to any of those inside; we will be watching."

It was as if by magic that the six figures seemingly disappeared into the dark shadows of the night; the young man tried to see them but there was no sound or sight of the ghostly figures. He looked at the heavy leather purse in his hands; by the feel of it he could look after his family for many years as long as he was careful not to be caught this night. The young man began to put the flasks into the straw lined basket.

After the young man carried the wine flasks inside to be served; he was never seen again by any of those that were left in the Manor after the great feast; and there were few of those.

High up on the hill behind the Manor house, six riders led by a small blue eyed shadow; quietly left the scene of their final revenge; they did not need to stay to watch the results of the white powder they had poured into the wine flasks; they already knew what it would do; for now they had a long hard ride to the coast where a boat was waiting to take them to Flanders; three months of hunting and revenge was now over. The price of attempting to take the life of a brother was now paid in full.

In the Manor house behind them; not one of the guards tried to stop one of the young servants from leaving; it was none of their business; they were there to watch for intruders and not staff leaving for the night.

By the time the alarm was raised; a young man was far down the road and heading towards the far off homeland of the Welsh countryside; the heavy bag of gold coins in his pack was a comfort as he spurred his newly bought horse a little faster.

For the guards of the Manor house; it came as a shock to be called by one of the scullery maids as screams and yells went up from the well lit Manor house. When the guards got inside, it was like a scene of horror but it was too late for those who had taken the wine; including some of the staff who had thought it a good idea to steal from the Baron; the toll was extensive.

Seven high ranked clergy; eleven Knights of the realm; two Barons; thirteen Squires; eight wealthy merchants; three cooks; four servants and one scullery maid; all were lying dead either on the floor or at the table and all were frothing at the mouth; the poison had been virulent and deadly and no one had seen anyone or anything; it was to be forever a mystery that was never solved.

Over the years there were many summations but never any proof. As quickly as the scale of murders had started they then stopped just as quickly. In all the fear and death it had caused there was never one shred of evidence or proof of who was responsible; no one was ever brought to the King's court for justice.

One week after the fatal feast in Essex; no one took any notice of three groups of travellers boarding a ship for the Holy Land; they were just twenty more young men going to the Holy Land; while all of them looked to be Saracens, they also looked like any other trader seen in those days; it was nothing really unusual in the ports of France.

For the next month, Eventide watched over Freeman as he healed. Eventide was not above using some of his brotherhood skills to help Freeman; a small touch of the white powder of the slave maker to ease some of the pain his new father suffered; was not wrong as long as he used the bare minimum. The last thing Eventide wanted was for his own father to be slaved to the white powder.

At last Freeman was healing enough to leave his bed; his wounds had closed nicely and any chance of infection had ceased to be a worry. Freeman took walks each day to rebuild his strength; not once did he question Eventide about the terrible deaths that had taken place while he was ill.

Over the next month; Freeman noticed that Eventide would spend more and more time in the library. After watching his new son spend hours poring over large tomes one day; Freeman went in after the boy had left to see what he had been reading. Much to Freeman's surprise, he saw that all of his sons reading was from the Baron's large battle library.

Another item now struck Freeman as unusual. Eventide had spent long hours in perfecting his writing skills; as Freeman well knew; it was not Eventide's favourite subject yet, here he now was spending hours writing letters and sending them away.

Freeman wondered at the vagaries of youth and forgot all about it. As the second month of his recovery ended; Freeman was surprised one day by Eventide's mention of the King's Joust. For Freeman it was a surprise; there had been so much going on he had forgotten that another year had almost passed; it was time again for the jousts.

Freeman knew and had also sent letters to the King; that he would not be able to stand in any of the joust this year; his past injuries made it impossible. The King had replied that he understood well but asked if Eventide would again stand with the people under the King's colours.

After Freeman had confirmed with Eventide, that the boy would attend the Joust as before; they began to make arrangements to move back to England for the event; there had been no word about Mahmud appearing and Eventide refused to say yay or nay.

Travel back to England had been organised by Eventide himself; he felt it was his duty to watch over his father's health and had broken up the trip into smaller parts; he did not want to overtax his father's strength even though Freeman had insisted he was now well.

Freeman took note of the procession; he now had an added banner to his colours and each was carried by one of the young brotherhood. Shaun; who was now well and could move as well as anyone else, except for the slightest of limps which did little to limit him in any exercise; became the bearer of Eventide's blue banner.

Between the group there were now four banners flying; the green banner with the crest of the Barony of Lancaster, the plain blue banner with a Celtic Rune in black; there was also the furled black banner of the brotherhood called the Banner of Jihad and the last was a plain white banner with golden script in the style of the Aramaic; this was the Banner of the Kahlif of Wadhi Sufaria.

With all of the Baron's guards as well as the younger teens of the brotherhood; it became quite a spectacle as the long train wound its way through the countryside of Flanders and finally shipped onto the coast of England.

When they reached the coast; it was to see that they were not alone on the roads; the time of the King's joust was nearing quickly and many of the Knights and Squires were moving. This year there was also a noticeable increase in the number of the common people travelling; far more than in previous years.

Their entry onto the lands of the Manor became a surprise for both father and son. The lands that spread out before them had little resemblance to the ones they had left nearly a year ago.

It was difficult to make out all the changes in so short a time. There were newly built cottages spread around; each with a small garden patch. In the fields were more cattle and sheep than had ever run on the old Manor grounds and, in the tilled fields there were the first signs of harvesting.

Wheat, Rye and Barley seemed to cover the ground in waving seas of golden stalks. The number of farmers tending to the stock and the planted fields seemed almost endless. Neither Freeman or Eventide could wait to call on their new overseer for a report.

As the long train rode through the gates of the Manor; all the staff were present to welcome them home. This was the first time that Eventide noticed the number of new faces on the Manor staff. On the top step of the entranceway stood Huntingdon, beside him was the solid figure of Bodan of the Western Reaches and now overseer of the Manor lands.

Eventide felt good returning to the place that had changed his life so much; with all the honours he had been given and the many new friends; he felt he had been blessed beyond his station and would remain thankful for the rest of his life.

As they walked up the steps of the Manor House; Freeman greeted both his most trusted men; Huntingdon left to organise the house while Freeman asked Bodan to join them for the evening meal; he could make his report after the meal when both men had time to discuss it all at their leisure.

Eventide and his six brothers headed towards his rooms while Shaun took charge of the fine Arabic horses; Shaitan being the one that he was most concerned with. Although the others were of the finest stock; even his smaller white horse; none were as important to Shaun as Shaitan.

After dinner; Bodan began his report. Freeman was now truly impressed by the man's talent for organisation. Bodan had called in fifty families that had all been from the Western Reaches; these were hard working and honest people who had the gift of farming on some of the poorest of lands; when asked to work at the Manor; not one family refused. It was the best land they had ever been asked to work; that and the chance to own a little piece for themselves; soon sealed the deal for them all.

The return for Freeman was already obvious; the huge fields of grain, potatoes and beets were already more than he would have dreamt of before Bodan began his magic and now, he could plainly see the improvement in the number of stock that roamed the pastures set aside for that.

Bodan had planned well and known how to make the best of the land available; Freeman was duly impressed and told the man so; Bodan had only one question of his new baron.

"My Lord, I have not yet set a tithe or rents for the holders; they are all waiting for your word on this matter?"

"I would ask as a rental on their homes and gardens that each man or boy of age works eight hours a day for six days and has the seventh day as rest; this will hold except for the harvest time when; as you well know; we must get all the crops in before the first rains. The Baron's tithe will be set as one silver coin per year and they have rights to their homes and gardens until death takes them or they move from the land."

"My Lord that seems a small price to pay; I have never known a Baron to tithe so lightly?"

"There is another part to the tithe Master Bodan."

"Speak it My Lord and it shall be done."

"If the time arises I would ask each bowman that is of age to stand by my side in a time of need or in the defence of the Manor lands; this is the second part of the tithe Master Bodan.'

"Then the price is even more acceptable to my people, My Lord; the bowmen will await your call if needed."

"Thank you Master Bodan; now for yourself and those who work the harvest. For harvest time each man, woman and child that works to bring in the harvest will be paid six coppers per day as extra for the added work; for yourself; you will receive an added two silvers as overseer. In the second year; as I see you have already increased my stock by a third; each family will receive one milk cow as added payment if the harvest then is as good as it looks this year."

"That seems far too much My Lord; far more than any other of the nobles would offer common folk?"

"What price do you put on loyalty, Master Bodan?"

"There is no price; My Lord."

"Exactly; I would like these same families to be watching and working over this land when my son takes over; that is loyalty Master Bodan."

"Thank you My Lord, I shall pass on to the people your generosity; I have little doubt they will still be on the land when your son is Baron."

"Now Bodan; that's all the business I wish to discuss this night; come and sit here next to me while Huntingdon finds us something to warm the blood; I would like to hear how your family is doing."

The two men sat alone as Eventide and the others had left after all the business had been completed; tomorrow was another day and the trail home had been a long and slow one; a good night's rest was what they all really needed.

Three days passed and Eventide was seen working tirelessly in the huge library. When darkness was near; Eventide left his desk and returned to the dining hall just in time to see an old and familiar face sitting with Freeman.

Eventide bowed and salaamed to the Emir who immediately stood and returned the welcome before smiling widely and opening his arms to hug the smaller boy.

"And how does my Kahlif feel about another battle with the squires of England?"

"I am hoping we can win once again; Elder Brother. I thought my brother would be with you?"

"He is following in another ship; he said it was your instructions but would not enlarge on it."

"Oh I thought he would just sail with you and bring the extras on other ships; I did not realise he meant to travel with them as well."

"He would not say what he was doing; perhaps you can enlighten us both with your plans for this year's joust?"

"I would like to your Highness but then the surprise would be lost. I think both you and my father will like what we have in store this year."

Eventide's roguish smile told both men absolutely nothing of his plans; that he had plans for the joust was never in doubt; in all the time they had known the youngster; he had never failed to amaze them with his deviousness in planning a battle.

"Did you know that the King has allowed the Squires to use their horse this year?" Freeman asked his son.

"Yes father; I have taken that into the consideration of the plan of battle."

"Will there be an opportunity for us to make a little wager again?" Saed asked with a chuckle in his throat.

"I would hope so Elder Brother; I am sure the common folk would appreciate any help they can get in their lives."

The general chatter went on for another hour before Eventide called it a night and retired to his bed. The next day was the one where they began to prepare to leave the Manor and move to the King's castle for the joust; as yet there had still been no sign of Mahmud; Eventide appeared to not be worried and evaded all questions about this fact.

It was only a few days later that found everyone in the jousting arena for the vows to the King. As normal the Squires gave their vows first; it was also noticeable that this year there were more than one hundred and fifty Squires; it was a large increase on the previous year.

When it came time for the people to swear to the King; one of the older boys from the year before came forward. There were only two of the older boys from the last joust as the others were now over the age for them to battle.

The boy stepped forward with the mass of common boys behind him; there was also an increase in numbers and many of them looked to be very young but; all showed they wanted to fight.

The older boy stood in front of the others; after bowing and touching his forelock to the King, he said.

"My Liege, we the people stand under your colours to fight with honour and to protect your colours with our lives."

"Well said you man; and whom do we call?"

"My name is Kent, son of the Tanner and your humble servant my Liege."

The King turned to the expectant Robin who stood beside the throne holding the red banner with the gold dragon.

"Squire Robin; protector of our banner; go and stand with the people and protect our colours as is your duty."

Robin bowed and took the banner down to stand beside Kent; as the colours appeared on the field there was a mighty roar from the commoners watching closely around the arena. It was also noticed that the Knights and squires did not share the same show of enthusiasm; their defeat in the last joust was still a sore point among them.

It was well known that this year, there would be the added use of the Squire's horses in the charge; everyone could see the looks of confidence on the faces of the Squires the extra weight of a full charge would give them. This year they would all redeem their honour.

The King looked around for the only two still missing; he did not have long to wait.

From the crowd stepped one of the Bedou; he was dressed in his usual blue flowing robes. Salud walked to the front of the dais that held the King, the Emir and Freeman; as the King's champion. Salud bowed low and salaamed before he lifted his head to speak.

"Your Highness, I am Salud, servant to the Kahlif of Wadhi Sufaria. It is my duty to stand for my brother the Kahlif Mahmud Sal-A-Hadin. Due to travel problems he will not be able to appear here today but will join the people's army on the day of the joust; if that be within the rules of the joust."

"It is within the rules and is acceptable to us."

Salud bowed and walked to the side to give space for the last to swear. Eventide appeared as he had been during the battle last year. He was dressed in the same striped trews with his hair pulled back in a single plait; this time he also had painted on the blue woad and it took less than a second for the whisper to spread around the field of commoners.

"The blue warrior is with us."

Those sitting on the dais smiled at the sound of the whisper and watched as Eventide bowed low then straightened.

"My Liege, I; Eventide stand for the People under the King's colours and swear to fight for the honour of the people and in defence of the King's colours."

"Welcome once again Blue Warrior; we are glad to see you standing for the colours once more. Do you have a cavalry this year; you will need it I fear?"

"My Liege; the people cannot gather a cavalry; I fear the collection of animals is beyond us but; we will still fight for the King's honour never the less as is our duty."

"Then I can only wish you luck; Eventide, Baronet of Lancaster; I fear you will sorely need it this year."

Eventide bowed and walked over to join all the common boys at the far end of the field; there was now only the naming of the battle ground and the commoner's selection of which end to hold. Although it was common knowledge where the battle field was, it was still held as a formality.

The King stood and all fell silent to hear his proclamation.

"The Squires battle will be held in the Valley of Bones; I would ask Kent of the people's army to select his ground?"

Kent stepped forward and; after a quick glance at Eventide, he turned back and spoke in a clear strong voice.

"My Liege; we the people would select the western end of the Valley."

Everyone looked at the boy as he stood waiting for approval; it did not go unnoticed by the King or the others with him; that the boy had once again selected the end of the Valley of Bones that had a slight rise to defend. It was also noticed by many that the Squires could not believe their ears.

The area selected by the commoners, while slightly higher than the rest of the valley; it was also far wider and would be harder to defend against a full horse charge; smiles began to break out on all the faces of the squires while the King got only a worried look on his face; his people had taken the hardest area to defend as their ground. For the first time, the King began to think they had made a mistake; perhaps this year he would lose his colours.

The rest of the swearing was soon over and it was time for the great feast to celebrate the opening of the joust; very few people noticed the newcomers amongst the large crowd of boys as they all feasted well and talked about the upcoming battle.

As the days passed and the battle grew closer; Freeman and Saed again noticed how little they saw of Eventide or any of his brothers; that there were plans afoot was plainly obvious but; what those plans were, neither man had a clue and Eventide was as closed mouth as ever.

On the day of the battle; the usual tent on one side of the valley was set up for the King and his friends; on the opposite side the top of the rise was covered in thick trees and could not be used by any of the many spectators.

It did not take long for wagers to start being offered and taken up as the many mounted squires appeared to take their end of the long wide valley.

At the western end there was little save for a short tower built of thick tree trunks; it was topped off with five banners and two small figures standing on top. Lower down the western end of the valley were twenty small groups of boys that carried small bucklers and the short flails they had used last year.

The boys stood beside a cart loaded with what looked like hay; at the side of the cart was a small metal pot that appeared to be smouldering. The King turned to Saed and Freeman.

"Well what do you make of all this; I think our wagers may be in doubt this year my friends."

"I really don't know, Your Majesty; but if I know my son at all then he has something planned," Freeman replied.

"I feel I am missing something; I'm not sure what it is but the valley does not look right," the King replied.

Freeman looked all over the valley until finally a smile began to touch his lips.

"What is it?" The King asked.

"Was there not a stream that ran down this side of the valley?"

"Of course there is; there has always…" The King stopped and looked closer. "Where has the stream gone?"

"It appears to be on the other side of the valley."

"But that can't be?"

"Well My Liege; there it is flowing gently down the other side." Freeman pointed in the direction of the new stream.

"Then we will have to wait and see what your son has come up with this time."

The King looked around once again and then coughed.

"What is that at the western end; it almost looks as though the rise has been increased in height, but that again is impossible."

Freeman looked harder at the distant western end of the valley; again a smile moved over his lips.

"It would look like some kind of covering; perhaps a netting of some sort but with strips of coloured cloth to disguise it."

"I really don't know what that son of yours is up to Baron, but he has my attention."

The usual red banners were flying on the other side of the valley; calls and cheers rang out as the first fell and the Squires tested their charge by trotting a little down the valley and lowering their long wooden lances as a threat to the small group of boys crouched alone in the field.

It was obvious the Squires meant to win the King's colours this year; they were all outfitted in light armour; not as heavy as a full knight but far heavier than the previous year; they would be hard to attack and beat when they got hand to hand with the lightly armed boys on the valley floor.

Eventide and Robin stood alone on the wooden tower; at each corner flew the four banners of Eventide, Lancaster, the Caliphate and the black banner of Jihad; at the centre stood the King's banner where the two boys stood.

As the red banners fell the cheers and calls got louder; the Squires were only too ready for a good solid charge at their enemy or the few they could see; the smaller boys on the valley floor held little hope of holding the Squires in any form of defence. The wagers were now well underway and coins were changing hands almost with abandon.

As the last banner fell, the Squires started their charge; with a long flat valley before them, they had no intention of taking it easy on anyone that got in their way; even the rising ground at the western end would do little to slow such a charge.

From the other end there was little movement; the small group of boys at the centre and the two boys on the short tower had not made a move of any kind.

The thunder of the charge could be heard even above the loud cheers of the many Knights watching; their squires looked good and in full control as they kept their three lines tight and straight; their long wooden lances held upright as they gathered speed for the final contact with their unready enemies.

By the time the Squires were within a hundred paces of the boys; over the noise came the sound of the cows horn trumpet. First it was a low sounding note and then it rose higher; at the cessation of the note, the boys on the valley floor took up the smouldering pots and threw them onto the carts of straw. With a speed that surprised many; the boys took to their heels and disappeared into the high trees on the far side of the valley.

It took almost no time at all for the carts of straw to catch fire; as the Squires drew closer the carts began to emit a thick column of dense black smoke that began to move towards the Squires as well as covering anything they could see ahead of them.

The eastern end of the valley soon became covered in the dense and foul smelling smoke with the Squires and their horses disappearing into its centre.

As the Squires became covered in smoke and covered from the western end; the cow horn sounded again in a long single blast. What had thought to be a single screen, turned out to be three different ones; the first one fell to reveal a long line of young men with wicker shields and long wooden pikes. At their front was a solid fence of thick wooden staves buried into the ground to form a defensive wall that no horse would be able to climb.

The boys with the long pikes stood above the wall and would be able to stop anyone from trying to climb over. Above them was another stave wall and behind that were bowmen; but not any bowmen.

For the first time in battle; everyone got to see the long bow; thirty young teens stood in line with the new bows; ranged in front of them were another thirty younger boys with the normal Persian bows; the new boys were strangers to everyone but Freeman.

When the third and last covering fell; it disclosed a vicious line of sharpened stakes set up as a barrier around what could now be seen as a taller tower than at first thought; also behind the barrier were more boys armed with shields and long wooden swords.

While the Squires were still hidden in the thick dark smoke and the younger boys had fled the field; a short three note call was heard from the cow horn trumpet; very few noticed the sudden cessation of the water flowing down the left hand side; for those who took notice it was not long before they saw why the water no longer flowed.

The King turned to Freeman.

"Are those the long bows I've heard so much about; they look to be too big for those boys?"

"Yes Sire those are the long bows of the Reaches."

"Who are those boys then that they could bring them here?"

"They are the sons of some of my tenant farmers, Sire."

"Then they are entitled to be here; I am beginning to look forward to this battle and to see those bows in action."

"Then we should not have long to wait, Sire."

The men looked to where the Squires had been covered in the thick smoke; a gentle breeze had blown up and everyone began to see the disruption the smoke had caused.

All of the Squires were still having trouble containing their mounts; the smoke had obviously not been to the horses liking and they had broken stride and, in some cases; lost their riders.

The chaos on the field was now more apparent as the smoke thinned and finally dissipated. The squires were in total disarray and any chance of reforming a good line was lost; even though they still had a full three hundred paces to where the solid line of pike men stood waiting for them.

Unfortunately for the Squires, the field was now being flooded by a torrent of water flowing freely from a narrow trench cut across the full front of the defenders. It was obvious that the stream had been diverted into the small trench; how the defenders had accomplished this feat was only known to those who planned it all.

Slowly the Squires began to reform but it was easily seen they no longer had the same open enthusiasm after what had happened. It was also noticed that some of the Squires were on their hands and knees retching from the effects of the smoke.

For the hundred plus squires left astride their mounts; it seemed ages before they could reform and start their charge again; this time however; there did not seem to be the same fire in their bellies as they lined up and began to move forward.

There were those amongst them that had been there last year and they were now very wary about what was to come. The charge regained some speed as they closed on the waiting line of pike men; it was not to be.

No sooner had they straightened their line than the sound of arrows in flight took their notice; being as far from the pike line as they were; very few looked up; they were still well out of range of any bowmen; they had never met the long bow.

Before they came abreast of the smoke carts; arrows began to rain down on them with power; although the shafts were blunted, it did not stop the pain of being hit or the horses bucking as they were stung time and time again by the longer shafts.

As before, the Squires had to lift their shields to protect themselves from the rain of arrows that should not have been able to reach them at this distance.

The charge again was broken although the front line worked hard to continue. It was soon noticed that the front line was now racing through water and, not long after; those watching saw the horse begin to throw up large wet clumps of sod.

The charging horses were soon no more than a hundred paces from the first line when it happened. Those on the front line of the charge were suddenly finding themselves and their horse ploughing into deeper and deeper mud; it was not long before the horses were belly deep and unable to move; their riders caught under a hail of blunted arrows that had increased as they came within range of the thirty boys with Persian bows.

Only those Squires that had been too slow to get to the front of the charging line were spared the ignominy of being trapped in the viscous bog the others now found themselves in; for them it was only the hail of arrows that slowed them.

As those at the rear were trying to work out how to attack an enemy that could not be reached through a veritable bog; the cow horn blew a long high pitched note.

Only those watching saw what happened next; for the Squires it was like a nightmare as; from the trees above them came a horde of weird and strange animals with riders mounted high on top.

No one had ever seen an animal like it nor could they believe the speed that the animals could move at. The riders were all dressed in black and were waving wooden scimitars above their heads. The animals were even more terrifying.

Four impossibly long legs were surmounted by a thick round body with; of all things; a hump on their backs. In front of the hump sat the rider with one leg tucked under the other as they urged more speed from their unusual mounts; they did not have long to wait.

With the sound of high pitched ululations echoing around the valley; the black clad riders drove in among the Squires; for the well mounted Squires it was like their worst dream; the vile smell of the animals, the loud ululations of their riders and the surprise was complete.

The horses of the squires were now more afraid of the strange beast than they were of the orders from their riders. Squires began to be unseated as the weird animals fell amongst them; wooden scimitars cleaved left and right as the strange cavalry set panic amongst those who had not fallen into the trap of the bog.

There was nothing the front line could do; for those Squires who tried to dismount and attack on foot; there was only one result; they like their horse sank to their waists and were trapped in the mire; those who had not entered the bog were now being easily pushed step by step into the mire.

At the sound of the cow horn trumpet and the loud yells of charging defenders as they left their protective walls; the Squires knew they were beaten; on one side they were being set upon by unholy beasts and the other was the trap of the bogs and the closing mass of commoners.

Like any sensible soldier; most saw there was no way to win and began to throw down their arms and surrender; for those who thought there was a faint hope of glory; there was only pain and fear.

At the arrival of the foot soldiers of the commoners; all of whom had been well versed in running only on the edges of the bog; and led by a young teen painted in blue woad and riding a jet black horse; the Squires had only one thought; they could not win and none wanted to tempt an ending like the leader of last year's Melee.

It was an anticlimax as the Squires all called for an end to their humiliation once again at the hands of the commoners and the young teen in blue woad.

At the final call for the Squires to yield the field; all threw down their arms and knelt in surrender; it had taken less than one hour for the people's army to win the day. It was noticed by the King that on the surrender of the Squires; the stream once again began to run down its old course; he smiled to himself as he thought of the mayhem that small stream had caused.

On the battle field; Mahmud dropped his scarf from his face after kneeling his camel close to Eventide.

"Ho brother; well we made them think twice this time. This was a well thought out plan even though it was difficult moving the camels in the night."

"You did well brother; I don't think we will get away with that one again."

"Perhaps they will ban us from the melee next year?"

"Then we will have to plan ahead for our friends if that happens," Eventide replied.

Like the previous year; the common army formed ranks and presented themselves for the King; the five banners flying high

As Robin took the red banner up to stand beside the King; again in victory; most present did not miss the look of affection Robin received from the King at once again returning his banner in victory.

It was very noticeable that everyone stayed well clear of the phalanx of camels as they took up a position at the rear of the parade although all were now kneeling down as the King stood to congratulate the winners once again.

Kent was given the place of honour at the front of the common army; it was for him to receive the thanks of the King on behalf of the people.

Once the speeches were finished; the King then announced the feast of the Squires; he also asked that the young bowmen of the Reaches be present with their bows as he had many questions for them.

As the crowd left the scene of another defeat for the Squires; all the talk was on the strange tactics used by the commoner army; the faces of the Knights and the Squires were the only ones not smiling. The loss of both the melee and a considerable amount of gold coins; left them with a nasty taste in their mouths.

At the great feast; the hall was a mass of laughing and shouting young boys and teens. Up on the high table sat the King, the Emir, Freeman, Mahmud, Eventide and Kent.

The more the mead flowed; the louder the cheers and laughter; it was only on the edges of the great hall that the Knights and squires were more silent than normal for such an occasion.

The King stood and began the giving of honours and the payment as he had last year; when it came time for the boys of the Reaches to go and receive their prize; the King called for silence by raising his hands.

"For the first time in our life; we have seen the best bowmen we could ever hope to see on a battle field. I must admit we did not think you young men would be capable of pulling such heavy bows but, we were pleasantly surprised at your skill and accuracy; we would ask if you are accompanied by those who taught you so well."

One of the boys stepped forward and bowed while touching his forelock; he then went to one knee.

"My Liege, we are the people of the Western Reaches and work for Baron Tremaine; it was the desire of Baronet Eventide that we stand with him this day. Our teachers and parents are outside the castle awaiting our return."

"Then that is not good enough; we will call them to our tables as they should also be rewarded for their skill in teaching you such a valuable skill."

The King turned to one of his pages and sent them off to find the waiting adults after asking Freeman for the name of the Elder teacher of the boys from the Reaches.

The presentation of awards and payment continued while they waited; each bowman received the gold coin and then were offered the red sash of the King's bowmen along with the offer of places in the King's army should they want it.

As the last boy went back to his table; the page returned a little red faced and went to bow in front of the King.

"Yes?"

"My Liege; there are a number of strangers that say they are the men of the Reaches and Moors that wish for an audience; they also state they are the teachers of the young bowmen but are all painted in Woad just like the Baronet Eventide. My Liege; they are all armed and are led by one who claims to be a Druid although we all know the last Druid died many years ago."

The King looked at his friends around the table; all showed looks of interest; if the page was certain then there was only one way to find out.

"You will tell the guard to admit them but too keep watch on the arms the visitors carry."

The page bowed again and turned back to the large double doors. The King retook his place and waited for the entrance of the newcomers; the day had already been the scene of many new surprises; one more would make little difference.

When the great doors were opened; there came a sudden hush in the great hall; even the Knights held their breath as they saw the large group of men standing in two ranks outside the door.

It was not only their numbers that caused the silence; it was their mode of dress. At the head of the two ranks of men stood one with a brown robe; the hood pulled up over his face. Those behind were all bare chested and their long hair was fixed in a single braid. They all wore the same green and brown striped trews that Eventide had worn and held a long bow in their hands.

Across their forehead was the same dark blue woad and their chests showed the swirls of the same patterns. The robed man in the front began to walk down the wide hall his face still unseen. Over one shoulder he carried something wrapped in old brown cloth while in his right hand was a thick staff of well worn Oak. In the crook of his left arm he carried another wrapped parcel.

The men filed silently along behind the robed man; at their head was Boden. When all were close to the top table; they all knelt down with bowed heads; all except the robed figure. The King stood and looked at the strange group.

"Welcome strangers; we would ask you to reveal yourselves as this is a feast to celebrate the accomplishments of our young people; we would ask you to join our celebrations after you have told us who you are?"

The robed figure stood straighter, then; with a flick of his staff; he threw back the cowl and revealed his face. Freeman took one look and smiled widely; he had seen that face a long time ago and; while it was a little older, it held the same distinct sense of worldly knowledge.

"Your Highness," the robed figure began. "I am called Kendrik of the Moors; I am also the Druid to the ancient Royal House of Carliegh and have come to pay homage to the last Prince of the Royal House of the Iceni."

"The Iceni? They were defeated and destroyed by the Romans long ago."

"Your Highness, while there is one man standing on the Western Reaches or the Moors there will always be Iceni. When the Romans defeated Boadicea those that were left went to the Reaches; we have survived there over the centuries and have waited for the return of our Prince; that time has come and we are here to give him his place."

"And whom might that be?"

"The Lord Baronet Eventide Tremaine. We have looked over all our records and have concluded he is the rightful heir to the lands and people of the Iceni. As a final proof of his lineage I would ask permission to ask questions of him; if it be permissible?"

"If this be true then we cannot forbid such questions. Baronet, do you agree with this request?"

Eventide looked at the large group of men now all dressed as he had been for the battle; somewhere deep inside he felt a stirring; was it really possible he was descendant from a Royal line. Feeling a little numb; Eventide stood and nodded his head.

Kendrik knelt down and bowed to Eventide; after placing the items he had carried in with him on the floor; Kendrik stood back up and looked Eventide in the eye; his lined face was like a mask of stone but his first words took everyone by surprise.

"Your Highness; we the forty five chiefs, four councillors and the carrier of the bow and myself, humbly apologise for the questions we must ask. Should the answers be true we will bow our heads for your sword; should the answers be not true we must take the head of the claimant; to this do you agree?"

There was a sudden uproar in the great hall as everyone stood and began to yell loudly; were they seriously thinking of beheading Eventide. It was the raised hands of the King that finally brought silence in the hall but it did not stop the undercurrent of angry whispers to stop.

Eventide looked at the Druid with disbelief; did they really want to take his head; and he had thought his life had changed; it felt as though he was in a no win place. It was obvious that if he refused to take the questions or test they fully intended to have his head; if he took the test and lost the result would be the same.

Eventide sighed and took a long look at his new father; was this to be the last day he had with him; he felt he had been through so much; had climbed so high and now it could end in one stroke; even the sound of a multitude of guards rushing into the hall and lining the walls could not take away the feeling of dread he now had.

Eventide looked around the great hall; all his old friends as well as the new ones he had made at this year's melee; were watching intently as he tried to decide; whichever way he decided could only lead to one end and yet; somewhere deep inside there was a small voice telling him to take the chance.

Eventide sighed again and; with a glance around the great hall, turned to the Druid Kendrik.

"If it is to be, then it is to be. I will stand your test."

Kendrik bowed deeply and then looked at the fifty men behind him; with a signal of one hand; the two lines parted and everyone saw a small figure dressed like the other men walk into the hall. Eventide recognised Gerard immediately; he must have just returned to England after his lessons about the new smelting process.

In Gerard's hand was the large Black Bow of Manhood; although he was truly the keeper until his year of majority; Boden had given him the honour of carrying the bow before the one they all hoped was the Prince of the Iceni; if not it would be Gerard's task to use the bow to end Eventide's life; it was the only time the Black Bow could be used to cause death. It was seen as an honour for any royal advocate to leave his life to the Black Bow.

Eventide straightened his back and walked down to stand before the Druid Kendrik.

"What are your Questions, Druid of the Iceni?"

"My Lord Baronet; it has been reported and seen that you have gone to battle twice dressed as a Woad Warrior; I would ask why you would decide on such a thing?"

"It came to me in a dream before the first melee."

"How did you know to find the striped trews of the Iceni Warrior?"

"It also was in the dream and I found them in a small shop at the walls of the castle gate."

"And the blue Woad; where did you find that; it is not common and is not used by others?"

"It was in the same shop; the old woman told me it would look good with the trews and showed me how to apply it."

"Why did you plait your hair in a single form?"

"Because it felt right at the time."

"And did it feel right for you to use the cow horn instead of a good trumpet of metal?"

"Yes." Eventide was now a little nervous although he also thought he had a chance; he still had his head on his shoulders and none of the kneeling men had made any attempt to remove it but, the black bow with a knocked arrow in the hands of Gerard still gave him cause to worry; the arrow was the one with red fletching.

"I would ask you to unwrap the two bundles and give me the name of those inside. They are the gifts of the Great Mother and only those of the Royal blood will know them."

Eventide looked at the Druid with a sense of confusion; if he unwrapped the items he could easily see what they were and name them; as he looked at the stony face of Kendrik; he got a sudden thought; perhaps they had a different meaning than an ordinary name; he had better be careful as he was not out of the woods yet and that great bow could easily end his life in the blink of an eye.

Eventide knelt down and began to unwrap the two bundles; the largest one was round and quite heavy; as he revealed it there was a silence around the hall.

It was a heavy round shield of old wood and was studded with small bronze nails; at its centre was a large roundel of bronze with a strange rune engraved in it. Eventide lifted the shield in his hands and suddenly, something flashed into his mind.

It was a picture of a large man dressed in the familiar green and brown striped trews; his long hair flowed behind him and there was a thick bronze torc around his neck. The shield was on his left arm and he was calling men to his side; as he did so he said the words 'Grandah protect us from the swords of injustice' The language was nothing Eventide had heard before and yet he could plainly understand it; his young body shook as he slipped the shield on his thinner arm; somehow it seemed to fit and the weight was lifted as though it was meant to be on his arm.

"Its name is 'Grandah' the shield that protects the people."

Eventide then knelt down again and unwrapped the second bundle. Inside there was a bronze sword with finely worked engraving along the blade; next to that was a short handled axe also of bronze. The handle was old and well worn and the head was also engraved.

As Eventide lifted each item, he felt as though they belonged in his hands; it took little time for the picture of the two weapons to came to his mind and their names he found easy to speak; even though it was in a long forgotten language that he had never learnt.

"The sword is called 'Dalclach' giver of justice and the Axe is named 'Kileigh' render of all who misuse magic. These are the symbols of the Iceni and the rightful weapons of all who carry the Blood."

Eventide suddenly felt weak as he lowered the weapons; Kendrik quickly went to one knee and then took from his robe the same bronze torc Eventide had seen in the first picture that had been around the large man's neck.

"My Prince; I give to your hand the torc of the Iceni Kings; it is yours by right and all those of the Iceni who remain bow to your will; our heads are yours to do with as our Prince desires."

Eventide could only stand in stunned awe at these new revelations; where, how or why he had been chosen was still beyond his understanding; it was as though some form of magic spell had been cast and he was at the centre of everything but had little awareness of what it all meant.

Eventide saw that even Gerard was now bowing his head and kneeling; every man waited for his decision; their heads were now his to command or cut off as he saw fit; they all waited in silence which also pervaded the great hall; the revelation of Eventide's true heritage had come as a shock to everyone.

Eventide stood tall as he looked around the hall; the shocked look on the faces of the many Knights and nobles in the hall could easily be seen.

"Your heads are safe, men of the Reaches; I would ask you to join our celebrations if it be the desire of the King."

The King just nodded his head in agreement; how could he refuse a man/boy that had a title even older than his own claim. It took little time for more tables and benches to be found for the newcomers although, Kendrik, Bodan and Gerard along with six others; took station standing behind Eventide's chair and refused to sit; it was their place to protect their Prince at all times. Eventide wondered how he was going to keep all his many guards and new titles around him without confusion.

Unknown to Eventide things were about to change once again when he arose the next morning but that was for later; for now he had a celebration to enjoy.

The next morning brought more surprises; his six brothers were still sleeping on the floor of his rooms as he rose from his bed. The sun had not yet risen and there was no sign of the early dawn.

With the normal needs of early morning; Eventide made for the small room where he could relieve the pent up pressure of his bladder. From outside his door he heard a shuffling sound; pulling his sword from its scabbard where it lay on a side table; Eventide carefully crept to the door of his room; even his six brothers had not stirred as he rose.

Carefully he opened the door; his eyes were met with the sight of ten large Woad Warriors standing in the passageway outside his room. On first sighting Eventide, the ten men went to one knee and bowed their heads; Eventide stepped into the passage and asked.

"Why do you guard my door, Warriors of the Reaches?"

"It is the duty of every Warrior of the Iceni to protect the Royal line My Liege; we are but a few of those you can call on at will."

"But I am in the King's castle; no one would dare to attack me here."

"Be that as it may My Liege; it is our duty. Was it not the Romans that offered sanctuary to your forebears and then turned on them all in the name of friendship?"

"I would not know; I don't even know if I truly am the prince you speak of."

"My Liege, only one of the Royal Blood would know the names of the weapons of old. They are only known by the Royal Druid and members of the Blood."

"I need to speak to Kendrik; where will I find him?"

Much to Eventide's surprise, a soft voice sounded behind him.

"My Liege, you ask for me?"

"Yes Kendrik… uhm… how did you know?"

"The same way that you knew the names from the olden times; we the fortunate few can see what is ahead; just as you will when you come of age; until then you are our Prince and only need to ask and it will be done."

"But how am I going to be in so many places at the same time; I have my duty to my new father and his lands; I also have duties in the Holy Land as Kahlif of Sufaria and, now you tell me I have duties to the people of the Reaches. How can I reconcile all these duties when I am only one boy?"

"My Liege, it is not only the people of the Reaches that are your duty but also the lands of the Reaches and the Moors. Those lands are all that remains of the ancestral lands of the Iceni but; those lands we will never surrender to any invader. To the last man, woman or child; we will defend them in your name."

"But Kendrik; how can I be in so many places at one time?"

"Perhaps it is time for us to join with your father and discuss this; there is always an answer for these small problems. Come let us find your father and then we can settle everything at once."

Eventide could only nod his head and follow Kendrik along the passageway as they went towards Freeman's rooms. Eventide also noticed the ten Warriors were close behind and ever watchful.

It almost appeared that Freeman was waiting for them when they gently knocked on his door; the two guards standing outside barely blinked when they saw the large group approaching them. From inside they heard Freeman's voice call for them to enter.

Eventide entered the room to see Freeman sitting in a chair as though waiting.

"Well my son, or should I say; Your Highness; things certainly seem to change quickly around you; to what do I owe this honour of an early morning visit?"

"Father," Eventide began as Kendrik found another chair close to Freeman. "I don't know what to do; Kendrik said I should come and ask you."

"And why would that be?"

"If what Kendrik says is true then how can I carry out all my duties? I still have much to learn about your lands and then there are the duties of Kahlif, now Kendrik tells me I have land in the Reaches; what do I do?"

"We look at the options available to us and work from there. First let's ask Kendrik what he would do if he had so many duties to perform."

Kendrik looked at the two; his first duty was to his Prince.

"My Liege, Baron Tremaine; it is not unusual for one of the Royal Blood to have more duties than he can perform alone, if I may suggest something that may make it easier for our young Prince?"

"Please do."

"Those families that remain in the Reaches are all of the last of the true blood Iceni. By tomorrow they will know of the return of the Royal Blood line; if My Liege wishes he can nominate a regent to watch over them until he himself can appear and take the throne. In the fashion of the Iceni, a regent can be named but must have also another five men nominated as a council to protect the throne until the rightful heir can lay full claim. For the lands that you have made him heir to; then I see no reason why My Liege cannot continue as he has so far. I would ask only that My Liege returns to the Reaches with us soon, so he can lay his claim and we can have time to show him his duties to the people; it would be at this time that he can name a regent and council."

"That seems a good solution; what do you say Eventide?"

"It sounds right but what of my Brothers of the Bedou; I cannot just tell them to go home; they have sworn an oath that they cannot break?"

Kendrik was the first to answer.

"They are your brothers; they will be welcomed into our homes and onto your lands as brothers should be."

"Then that is what we will do; I'll go to the Reaches and meet the people and form a council with a Regent; after that I wish to return to Sufaria as there is still unfinished business with those Knights and the attack on the Emir's caravan."

"Good, I will begin preparations for you My Liege," Kendrik replied; he then stood and bowed low to Eventide before leaving the room. Freeman looked at his son; the boy had grown fast in the last year and few months and now he had the duties of a Royal Blood line to work through.

"Well my son; or should I say; Your Highness, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm still your son and prefer it to any title father. I think I should do as Kendrik asks; I'll go and tell Mahmud about it all and when he can expect to see me at Sufaria; I'm worried about those Knights that attacked the Emir's caravan; I'm sure that is not over with yet."

"That's a good idea but, be careful when you return to Sufaria; I would not be surprised if the church tried to start a second crusade; the King is trying to stay out of it, but sometimes other things can change a King's mind and not always for the best. If it comes to a second crusade you will have to make a hard decision; if that happens then follow your heart and you will know you have done right."

"Yes father; thank you I will do as you suggest."

Freeman was surprised as Eventide left his chair and wrapped his young arms around him and hugged tightly; it was almost as though the boy was saying his goodbyes, but Freeman knew that was not it; the boy could barely remember his own true parents and now he was Prince of a people thought to be long gone. It was a lot for a young boy to take in and comprehend to its fullest.

It was two days later; the day after the Knights melee; that saw a large procession leaving the King's castle. At its head rode Eventide mounted on Shaitan and beside him was the small figure of Shaun mounted on his pure white horse.

Next came the six blue clothed figures of his brothers and, behind them came a long line of blue painted warriors which numbered almost thirty. At their head rode Bodan with Gerard by his side. Kendrik had ridden out two days before to prepare the people of the Reaches for the return of their Blood Prince.

While Gerard carried the black bow in its cover; Bodan carried the three weapons of the Royal House. When Eventide stood before the people he would wear those ancient weapons as proof of his claim.

The trip took three days before they came into sight of the border of the Western Reaches; standing guard at the edge of the vast moors, stood a group of blue painted men; their numbers even impressed Eventide who had seen large groups of soldiers before but, these men had a toughness about them that even made him nervous.

Standing at the head of the large group was Kendrik, now dressed in goat skins with a rough woollen cloak thrown over his shoulders; on his feet were to Eventide's eyes; strange black furred boots; it was then that Eventide saw the other men were also wearing the strange boots.

Eventide now knew these were the men called Moor Runners; each carried a long bow as well as a short axe in their leather belts; there was no sign of any shield or other protection. Eventide was impressed by the toughness shown on the men's faces.

It surprised Eventide that the men, as soon as they saw him; bent a knee and bowed their heads; all waited for his command but Eventide did not know what to say; to see so many tough men waiting for him to speak was almost unnerving; fortunately for Eventide, Kendrik stood and stepped forward.

"My Liege; these are the Moors Runners and they are at your command; they will escort you through the many bogs to the place of gathering where most of your people will await you."

"Thank you Kendrik; how long will it be?"

"Four days My Liege; we have made arrangements for your travel in each hamlet; the place of gathering is being prepared and cleaned; it has been many years since a member of the Blood has been there but, it will be ready by the time you arrive. With your leave, My Liege; I will go ahead to make sure all is ready."

"Thank you Kendrik."

"It is my duty, My Liege; until we meet at the gathering place."

Kendrik bowed low and then left at a loping and smooth run; it belied his age and looked to be effortless to Eventide's eyes.

The many Runners now stood and gathered as an extra protection for Eventide and his group; at the head was Bodan; he was not only keeper of the black bow but also a chieftain in his own right and held higher rank than others of the runners; it was also plainly obvious he knew his way around the moors as he led the large contingent into the depths of the lands few others would enter.

Eventide did not know what to expect when he was told the first hamlet was only a short way ahead. What met his eyes could only tell a story of hardship and poverty. On a piece of land that had painstakingly been built by hand, was a raised area within the shaking ground of the bogs. A small group of huts made from wattle and daub sat in a circle and on the very edge was a small pen with three pigs inside.

The people that bowed low as he appeared; were dressed in animal skins and looked to be underfed; all the children looked almost feral as they looked up at the splendour of the Prince's entourage. A man who Eventide surmised was the headman of the small hamlet; rose and stepped forward; his head bowed in respect.

"My Liege; we have little but what we have is yours to command. I have given orders for one of our pigs to be killed in your honour."

"Thank you but, no; you have little enough as it is; save your pigs I will have men sent out to forage for our meal. Bodan!"

"My Liege?"

"Send men out to find food for us all and the villagers; it is not our place to make hardship for the people."

"As you command, My Liege."

Bodan began giving orders and in no time at all the men of the Moors had disappeared leaving only Eventide and his brothers along with Bodan and Gerard with the villagers. The head man bowed to Eventide again.

"My Liege, if you will take my hut to rest; we will prepare for the cooking of anything that is found."

"I thank you for your kindness but I and my brothers can camp outside for one night; your home is yours and should not be given away just for me. If you would have your people prepare fires then it is enough for us all."

"It shall be done as you command, My Liege."

Eventide and the others who had stayed behind dismounted and found a place to sit and wait for the foragers to return; they did not have long to wait.

The first of the foragers was soon back with a large wild boar on his back; it had already been gutted and cleaned. It was to be one of four that soon came in; along with the wild boar were two deer, a large basket of big eels and two baskets of other mixed fish.

The women of the small village were soon hard at work as they prepared the great mass of fresh food; what was not eaten this night would be given to the villagers when the large group moved on in the morning.

The feasting went on into the late evening; for most villagers, it was the first full belly they had had in a long time; it quickly cemented their belief in the new Prince of the Blood.

Over the next days; Eventide was to see other villages of a similar nature although one had progressed to using stone for their huts and was situated on more solid ground. Each time they stopped for the night; Eventide was greeted as a Prince of the Blood and protector of the people; his first act at the first hamlet had soon spread around the rest of the moors; he was welcomed warmly wherever he stopped.

Finally they were approaching the gathering place. Eventide was impressed with what he saw. It was not like the small wattle and daub hamlets he had been seeing so far; this was another place altogether.

As best as Eventide could guess; they had traversed the moors and were now closer to the Western shore line; before him stood the ruins of a once great castle. What surprised Eventide even more was the great mass of people filling the large clearing of what he assumed was once the courtyard of the ruined castle.

Most of the people looked to be dressed the same as those in the first hamlet, although there were others who were better off than some; most appeared to be similar. Kendrik stood at the centre waiting for him; he was once again dressed in the robe of a Druid and carried his long oaken staff.

Just before they had entered the grounds of the ruin; Bodan had asked Eventide to change into his Iceni garb; Bodan had also helped him with painting on the woad. With his new dress, Eventide carried the shield, sword and axe as he rode into the centre of the courtyard and stopped before Kendrik.

As he stepped down onto the stones of the courtyard; Eventide was presented with the sight of every man, woman and child bowing to him and kneeling on one knee; only Kendrik remained standing but he also had bowed his head.

Eventide was close enough to Kendrik to hear the man whisper quietly to him. Eventide looked around and repeated what he had heard Kendrik say.

"People of the Western Reaches; I ask you to stand and show yourselves as true descendants of the Iceni."

Eventide waited for everyone to stand up and all turned to see him. Kendrik then took over.

"People of the Iceni; all of our chieftains as well as myself as last Druid of the Royal House; have for more than one full year; searched for proof of claim for this boy. We have all concluded that the boy known as Eventide is of the true Blood of the old ones and carries the true blood. People of the Iceni; this is your true Prince; the last of the true Blood; all bow to Eventide Carliegh; last prince of the Blood and our leader in all things from this sacred site to the far Reaches of the moors. Let he who would dispute his claim step forward and challenge."

Everyone stood silently as Kendrik waited for any challengers; there was little hope of that coming true and they all knew it. After a short time, Kendrik began again.

"And so it is done. I call for all present to lay their vows and fealty to Prince Eventide Carliegh; rightful heir to the lands and people of the Iceni."

What followed was a long procession of people; even the youngest child stepped forward to vow their support and fealty. Eventide was astonished by the number of people; it seemed that the Reaches were far more heavily populated than anyone would guess.

It was late in the afternoon before the last person swore their oath. By this time the long day had taken toll of Eventide and he was decidedly tired but he knew there was more to come; the preparations for a great feast had not gone unnoticed by Eventide nor his friends waiting close by.

The feasting went on into the late hours of the night; as well as the food, there were competitions of arms by the warriors and a new game Eventide had never seen called wrestling; it was where two men tried to throw each other to the ground, blood seemed to be a part of this new game and sometimes even a broken bone.

By late in the evening; Eventide was ready for his bed; surrounded by his six brothers and a large contingent of Woad Warriors; he was escorted to the large tent that had been set up for him; he was glad to be able to finally lay down and close his eyes. The thought of five more days of this gave him goose bumps but; as Kendrik had explained, it was expected so he could not refuse.

They had talked about how to make his time to fit in with so much he now had to do; to this end, Kendrik suggested they spend the next morning discussing what could be done and making plans for when he had to be away from his true people.

For Eventide it looked as though the next few days were going to be just as hectic as any others he had lived through but; for now sleep was the only thing on his mind. With his six brothers around him in the tent and a stand of ten Warriors outside; Eventide lay down and closed his eyes on another busy day.

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