“Hold your words for now, Trayack. There will be time later for you to speak.”
“I will kill him for that!” Trayack’s fist pounded on his knee.
Sargon smiled at the challenge. The number of warriors lining up to kill him kept growing. He leaned forward, the slight movement emphasizing the force of his words.
“Tell me, Trayack of the Lion Clan, which of my words offended you? You accuse me of cowardice without knowing how many men we faced. I only said you were brave enough to attack a thousand fighters. Is that not praise enough for you? Or perhaps the defeats the Alur Meriki have suffered at my father’s hand are something that has not happened?”
Sargon’s gaze swept over the other clan leaders, and he caught a glimpse of a fleeting smile on Suijan’s face.
“Do not try the patience of this Council,” Urgo said.
“Chief Urgo, I have ridden over three hundred miles in five days to warn you that a strong enemy is approaching, an enemy strong enough to defeat and destroy your entire Clan. I could have ridden to the safety of my father’s forts. Or I could have sent a messenger to find one of your scouting parties and convey the warning. But I chose to come myself, to warn my father’s people of the oncoming danger. And what do I find?”
Sargon glanced at Trayack. “Threats from loud talkers, who know nothing about the danger that faces them.”
“I will kill you.” Trayack’s resolve had not slackened.
“When this council is ended, I will be as eager to face you in combat. But even if you kill me, do not expect to live a long life. If any of your warriors survive the Carchemishi attack, my father will hunt them and you down, and destroy you with his own hand, just as he did Thutmose-sin. So go ahead with your foolishness. Bring down the death and the end of all the Alur Meriki on your head.”
“Silence!” This time Bekka brought the full force of his authority into the word. “Trayack, if you speak again, I will remove you from the council.”
Urgo spoke before Trayack could reply. “Who are the Carchemishi? Do you mean those who live far to the west, at the base of the mountains, in the village of Carchemish?”
Sargon turned away from Trayack as if he didn’t exist. “Yes, but it is no longer a village, but a city of many thousands. They have raised an army, and its soldiers are moving toward us. They have heard of the wealth of the lands of Akkad, and they plan to loot the countryside and claim it for themselves. They have dispatched over fifteen hundred fighters, more than half of them mounted, down the great trade route. In their passage, they have devastated the land, burned whatever crops and huts they found, and stripped it bare of game.”
“Then they mean to attack Akkad?”
Sargon shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Even the Carchemishi are not that foolish. Akkad’s walls are high, and my father can raise ten thousand fighters if necessary.”
That wasn’t quite true, but Sargon knew the number would impress the chiefs.
“I have already dispatched riders to King Eskkar’s outlying forts, to warn them of these invaders. As soon as he hears of their presence, my father will gather a force to meet them. That, however, will take time. Nor will he need so many men. The Carchemishi will turn aside when they see the numbers of Akkadian fighters opposing them. Long before then, however, the Carchemishi will have found you. They have more than enough men to destroy your caravan. And once they realize you are moving in the direction of their lands, they will not hesitate to attack you. They know they cannot continue toward Akkad’s northern lands without destroying a potential threat to their rear.”
Urgo rubbed his chin. “How many horsemen?”
Sargon told him what information Subutai had gathered, and their best guess of the size and composition of the Carchemishi forces.
“Now that you have warned us, we will stand ready to meet them. Despite their greater numbers, they will not find us so easy to defeat.”
“I hope that is true, Chief Urgo. But these men will not face you in a horse battle, rider for rider. They will have their archers and foot soldiers with them, to support their cavalry. They will march toward this caravan, and force you to fight at a time and place of their choosing. They will do to you what they are already doing to the Ur Nammu. Force you to abandon your wagons and tents, and flee for your lives.”
“You seem to know much about fighting for one so young.”
“The raid against these invaders was my first battle,” Sargon admitted. “But my father and his commanders have taught me much about the ways of fighting, and I have heard many times the stories of all the battles. One thing I have learned — what my father proved in our war against Isin — is that cavalry, horsemen such as your clan, cannot prevail against a combined force of infantry and horse fighters.”
Which was exactly what happened at the mountain stream, but Sargon knew he didn’t need to remind them of that again.
“Then we thank you for your warning, Sargon, son of Eskkar of Akkad.” Urgo, at least, appeared willing to show some gratitude and respect for Sargon’s presence. “What else do you wish to tell us?”
“I wish to ask for your help in battle, to save the Ur Nammu Clan.”
Again the stoic faces disappeared in surprise. If Sargon had asked them to ride up into the mountains until they reached the moon, they could not have shown more disbelief.
“Why should we help the Ur Nammu?” Urgo kept his voice even. “We have given our oath not to attack them, but they remain our enemies. We swore no oaths to come to their assistance. If your father had not prevailed, we would have hunted them down ourselves.”
“I know that you are not bound to help the Ur Nammu, but I cannot believe that all wisdom has deserted the Alur Meriki,” Sargon said. “The Ur Nammu have three hundred fighters. If you attack them, they will kill at least that many of your own warriors. Perhaps even more. Can the Alur Meriki afford such losses? And to what end? How many of your warriors died in the fight at the stream? Close to four or five hundred?”
Sargon leaned forward. “Now I ask you to do what I know my father would ask. Join forces with the Ur Nammu, and destroy these Carchemishi invaders, before they destroy you.”
A murmur came from behind, and Sargon glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see that hundreds of people, warriors as well as women and children, had gathered in silence as close as they dared approach, to hear the words of the council. That meant that all of those present now knew of the danger.
“We do not fight the battles of others,” Urgo said. “Especially Akkad’s.”
“My father told me of a saying in the Clan. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Is that not true.”
Urgo smiled, the first time he’d shown any emotion. “A saying is not something we use to decide about going to war.”
“The Ur Nammu have broken their camp,” Sargon went on. “Abandoned their tents and possessions, taking only their women and children. If they were closer to Akkad’s forts, they would have gone there to seek protection from my father’s soldiers. But they cannot reach them in time. The Carchemishi are too close. So I urged the Ur Nammu instead to move toward the Alur Meriki. In three or four days, five at most, the Ur Nammu will be attacked, and even three hundred brave warriors cannot withstand so many.”
“And you want us to risk our warriors’ lives for those of the Ur Nammu?”
“No. To protect the lives of your own women and children. Consider this. After a hard fight with the Ur Nammu, the Carchemishi will be even more prepared and experienced to face your forces. Is it not better to fight while you have others to fight at your side? If you do this, my father will send food and herds to help feed your people, and supply whatever else you require. You will need such help to survive the journey through the now barren lands to the west.”
“And why would he do that?”