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grass, which we passed thirty minutes ago, by my reckoning. The lights will be faint, only visible from about two miles so we must be vigilant.” Geb passed the word along to the men and I glanced back, a few minutes later to see their narrowed eyes, scanning the night.
     
    * * *

Chapter Two
    Suddenly, “There!” shouted one of the men. “To the west.”
    Indeed, there were some lights, tiny in the distance. We had almost passed too far east to see them. I turned my horse and within a few short minutes we halted at a crowd of curious, turbaned faces.
    Meth Medir strode forwards and held out his hand, as I dismounted. He was their leader and a friend from a campaign many years before. His was one of the bands of a tribe known as the Massiny. They had for many hundreds of years offered protection to tradesmen traveling the silk-road, further to the south and spent their summers in Ashra, the largest city on the route, just over the south eastern most corner of my land. In the winter, they bred their stock of wild horses and some camels, out here on the plain where land was free for all.
    Their many coloured, round dwellings, more grand than tents, though of cloth, were like a small village out here in the night. As we stepped inside the perimeter and the horses were led away, torches lit the sight of festivities.
    “In your honour, great King, we have prepared a feast…”
    “I am honoured.” I said in reply. “We have ridden all day.”
“I can see that!” Meth’s direct sense of fun had not changed. No doubt our faces were brown with the dirt from the ride. Some of the women of the tribe brought us strips of cloth, soaked in water, to wipe them with. One did not bath using water in a bowl, out here.
    Goats and fowl, roasted on spits were served, with cool fruit, including grapes and fine rice, flavoured with cinnamon and raisins, a delicacy from the south. This was accompanied by a rich, red wine, very potent and a favourite of Meth’s.
    We exchanged pleasantries, before Meth broke the ice with a direct question.
    “So. You did not come here, simply to drink our fine red wine?”
    “No. That is true, although that should be reason enough.” He nodded to show his appreciation.
    “You have the women?”
    “Certainly. Would you like to see them?”
    “Later. First I must explain. Meth, you have heard, no doubt about the invasion in the north?”
    “Yes. Korim?”
    “Yes. I need to retake the land and drive him out but it is not a simple matter. He has many men and we may not be able to defeat him with numbers alone.”
He nodded. “I heard you suffered heavy losses in your battle with him.”
    “Yes but we are almost back to full strength now. That is not the problem. He has fertile land just through the pass and we do not know if he is reinforced. Also, the area is very easily defended. And finally, we will have to approach across the desert.” He nodded, again.
    “That is why I need a good plan. I think I have it and you can be part of it, if you are willing.”
    “Your agent already told me it would involve fighting and the price you offer is agreeable. Now tell me the details. And don’t leave out the nasty bits. You have a habit of giving just a little at a time; useful for you but a pain for others!”
    We both laughed. I took another piece of chicken, tugged the meat from the bone with my teeth and chewed the succulent meat, while I quickly reviewed in my head what I was about to say.
    We were all seated around the edges of a large, intricately patterned carpet, with all the dishes laid in the centre. There were about forty of us, another twenty at a guess, mostly women and young men, around another carpet some twenty feet away. Most of the important men of the tribe, myself and Geb, were around the edge of the carpet nearest the fire, a place of honour, where our backs were warm, but our eyes did not smart from the smoke and men of lesser importance, including my Guards, were around the other