The town of Medtu

Our next destination is the town of Medtu. I have the insignia, so I reasoned that I would be let into the city by the guards.

I turned toward Aisha and said:

"Would you like to change your name to something different? If you look and sound like a subject of the pharaoh, you will encounter less trouble. Most people are not very fond of the Quraysh tribe around here."

She turned toward me and smiled.

"What do you have in mind?"

I decided to name her after my grandma.

"What about Asenath?"

She smiled at me.

"Asenath it is then."

***

We have arrived at the walls of Medtu.

I decided to ask the guards a couple of questions. I was curious about how raiders could harass the caravans so shamelessly.

I held up the insignia and said:

"We are on a journey to the capital."

The guard looked at the insignia and verified its authenticity. Before we went in, I told the guard I had something to report to the captain.

He was weirded out but he nevertheless obliged. In his head, I posed no threat to him whatsoever.

"Our caravan has been attacked. The leader of the caravan, Nasim, is dead. I and my companion escaped after being taken prisoners by the Quraysh."

The Guard captain was taken aback.

"Nasim is dead?"

I cleared my throat. "I'm not done, Hamd, leader of the Quraysh tribe is dead. His son, Faruq is also dead. Faruq's son, Mehmed is dead too. A man named Zahir has taken control of that tribe. He calls himself the shadow of Manat."

The Guard captain started panicking.

"What happened to the deal we made with the Quraysh then?"

Deal they made with Quraysh? What deal did they strike with the caravan robbers? I was fuming.

"What deal did you have with Quraysh? WHAT DEAL DID YOU HAVE WITH QURAYSH?"

The guard captain was taken aback. By some miracle, he decided to be honest with me.

"Quraysh tribe bribed us regularly and we looked the other way."

I punched him in the face. He dared to look at me with indignant eyes.

"I almost died thrice. My companion was under the threat of becoming a concubine of some ignorant caravan robber. Nasim is dead. You deserved that punch don't you dare to be angry at me. You aren't worthy."

I stormed out of his office. I pulled Asenath by her wrist. We had to leave as fast as we could. "Zahir might raid this town to prove his mettle to the Quraysh. We need to get out as fast as we can. I knew something was up when he so readily let us go."

Aisha in her had flared up. Her eyes were filled with disgust and resentment. We made our way to where the caravans were.

"Any merchants leaving town right now? Quraysh might attack. I need to get out of here."

No one responded. I didn't give up. I approached one of the caravan leaders and requested an urgent meeting. After I explained, what happened to me, what happened to the Quraysh leadership, and the guard's response verbatim, I didn't understand the way the old, wizened man before me was stuck at the one simple thing I said. I kept prattling on.

He started crying.

"Nasim is dead. My son is dead. His mercenaries were cowards, and Quraysh dogs took his life. I swear to gods in heaven, I will avenge his blood!"

I lifted my eyebrows.

"Your son's murderer, Faruq, is dead by my hands. He fell to my spear."

I've already said that, but it might not have registered in his emotional state.

"Boy, you're brave. But understand this. It was not only Faruq that felled my son. The ones that took the bribes from the Quraysh, the cowardly mercenaries, and the Quraysh themselves, none of them are innocent."

He clapped his hand, and a slave showed up.

"Call the dune foxes to me. I got a job for them."

A man in armor showed up not long after. The old man asked him to arrange guides for me.

"You said Quraysh might attack. But according to what you said, their attack is most likely the case. Zahir will have to deflect dissenting voices within his ranks with a war. The town of Medtu is a perfect target. This town is lulled into weakness by the illusion of security, and its wealth is ripe for picking."

The mercenary nodded. I reckon he is capable of figuring out how caravan raiders think. If he is nodding, the old man is most likely right.

The mercenary leader called someone named Selma.

"This is my daughter. We know nothing about the attacking Quraysh. I'll feel even better if she isn't here when shit goes down. Selma, guide these people to the town of Dekhasut."

The mercenary turned to me.

"Don't worry, she can hold her own in a fight."

Salma is a head taller than me. She is lean and muscular. She's worried about her dad.

"Dad, please don't die, OK?"

He patted her on the head. Remember, Salma is a grown woman. Yet, she is just a little girl in front of her father.

***

We took our camels and hit the road. This road is way more secure than the road between my village and this town.

That's because we are getting close to the capital. The closer to the capital a person is, the safer they are. A lot of unsavory things happen on the fringes.

Salma's father gifted us a couple of spears. Normally, a dagger would be enough. That was because we were just civilians traveling along the road. But now, the situation calls for a proper weapon. We left the town. Salma requested that we be in the vicinity to figure out if the Quraysh tribe succeeded in their raid or not. We obliged. This was a situation that involved her family, after all. According to her, there is a small cave near the rocky hills that tower over the town.

We watched what the old merchant predicted come to pass. First, a cloud of dust formed on the horizon. These were riders from the Quraysh tribe. They arrived in the town before long. Fires, smoke, and screams.

Salma was biting her nails while watching the scene. She called that town home. Now, it was being razed to the ground. Tears were streaming down from her face.

I should've listened to her father and gotten her out of there.

"Salma, let's camp here for several nights. Quraysh tribe might sweep the area for stragglers."

We couldn't light a fire; the smoke might give away our position. We are all hugging each other, trying to stay warm. They are shivering like newborn birds. I rubbed my hand on their backs to heat them up as much as I possibly could.

It isn't working.

I need to light a fire as soon as possible. Luckily, Asenath had gathered dried vegetation in preparation for a fire. When she was about to light it, I warned her that it might alert raiders to our location.

Now, we need to warm ourselves up first and foremost. We might die of cold before we even see a Quraysh raider.

I lit the fire in a place that wouldn't poison us but would dissipate the heat into the cave.

Soon enough, we were not shivering anymore.

Then the terrible wait began. If someone notices the fire and decides to check it out, we are in trouble.

Unfortunately, someone did. There is a rider on the mountain. I don't know if he's Quraysh or a guardsman.

I leaned toward Salma.

"Follow my lead and cry when I pinch you. We will bluff our way out of this."

She nodded. It was partly her fault that we decided to stay behind.

The man arrived at our cave and curiously checked inside.

Asenath (Aisha) grilled the curious man from behind her veil.

" Go no further, my husband is enjoying his bounty."

The man looked ticked off that a woman dared to use commanding language on him.

"I will be the judge of that."

I pinched Salma and forced her on all fours.

" Boo-hoo-hoo hoo hoo"

I looked at the tribesman, annoyed.

" Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

He smiled.

" I apologize… umm…"

I squinted my eyes and answered.

"Zaffer. I'm a new convert."

He smiled.

"Zaffer, can I enjoy her once you are done with her?"

I knitted my brows.

"No can do. I'm going to make her a believer using this. I'll then make her mine."

I grasped my crotch. The man smiled.

"I have one too."

I puffed my chest and got into his face.

"Man, do you want to fight? I said she is mine!"

After being rejected and then confronted, the Quraysh man scuttled away.

"The town is full of women anyway. We have brought the mercy of Manat into that town of whores anyway. There are plenty of women. Once we kill the priest, they are all ours for the taking."