“It will get worse with each section, Jahiri.”
Jahiri looked at him and shrugged.
Alcinor rose and the two men hurried from the gloomy recess of the cliff. Neither took a deep breath until they made their descent all the way to the trail. But at least the end of their labors was in sight, and still Draelin’s scouts hadn’t reported seeing any Elamites moving toward them. Alcinor considered today’s extensive progress a good sign.
Over a meager supper that night, Draelin disagreed. “We arrived almost twelve days late. We don’t know how much time we have before the Elamites arrive. Eskkar believes that they will probably send men through this Pass first, since they’ve got the farthest to travel.”
“We’re going as fast as we can,” Alcinor said. “We should be able to chip away at the cliff’s wall more rapidly now. But it still will be two or three more days before we’re ready.
Draelin shook his head, but said nothing. There was nothing to say.
In the morning, Alcinor kept the crews waiting at the opening while Jahiri built a fire base of kindling and wood staves the thickness of a man’s arm around the twelfth beam. Only two men carried the firewood, an armload at a time, to the master apprentice. Working with care, Jahiri arranged the dry wood around the base of the beam, layering the sticks and making sure every section of the upright log would feel the effects of the fire.
When he finished, Jahiri returned to Alcinor’s side. “The wood is in place, and I set out a line of stones. I’ve ordered the men not to cross that line. We’ll do the beams one by one, as we chip out each section.”
“Then let’s get on to the next one,” Alcinor said. “Make sure the men take care with their chisels. I don’t want to gouge a large chunk of stone out of the overhang now. Just have them slice it away, a little at a time.”
Midday approached when Jahiri ordered the laborers out from under the overhang. Alcinor, watching from the opening, saw the fear and relief on the men’s faces as they trotted past him. Chipping away at the cliff, all the while knowing that the next blow from the hammer might bring the entire cliff wall crashing down on their heads, made for nerve-wracking work.
When the men were all out, Alcinor and Jahiri made their way in. The men had chiseled their way deep into the cliff, and Alcinor nodded in satisfaction. He stepped over the line of stones and examined the farthest beam, but saw no further signs of splintering.
“It looks good, Jahiri. Bring in the next load of firewood.”
“Will it be enough?” Jahiri kept staring at the rock face just over his head.
Now was not the time to reveal his own doubts, Alcinor realized. “Yes, the fire will work for us when the time comes.”
“I’ll start them on the next section at once. This is one job I want to finish as soon as possible.”
“It won’t be any too soon,” Alcinor agreed. “Draelin is getting more and more worried. He thinks the Elamites will be here any day now.”
The next day passed, and the next, while the men, divided up into work crews, risked their lives again and again by entering beneath the overhang and chipping away at the base of the cliff. The men scarcely spoke any more, afraid that the least sound might drop the massive slab of rock upon their heads, crushing them to death in an instant.
Alcinor and Jahiri, standing a hundred paces away, felt the men’s eyes watching them. “They think we’re safe out here,” Alcinor said, “while they’re risking their necks.”
“That’s what they’re getting paid for,” Jahiri answered. “Once this is finished, none of them will have to work for a year.”
Trella had assured the laborers triple wages, with a bonus when the cliff wall came down. Of course, that assumed any of them got out alive to return to Akkad. More important, in the event of their death, the coins would go to their families. Lady Trella had also given that promise to them.
“Another two days, and we’ll be finished.” Alcinor, too, felt the fear from the cliff. “The sooner we’re away from this place. .”
A shout interrupted him, all the more dramatic since the men working on the cliff seldom spoke above a whisper. Alcinor turned to see Draelin scrambling up the ascent path.
The soldier wasted no words. “My scouts have seen the Elamites approaching.”
Alcinor felt a wave of despair pass over him. He needed more time. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s just a scouting party.”
“Well, scouting party or the whole army, there are horsemen coming down the trail, and they’ll be here soon enough. How much longer before you’re ready?”
Alcinor considered. “Even if I worked the men as long and hard as I can, it’s going to take at least another day and a half.”
“Curse our luck. We’ll just have to hope it is an advance party and pray to the gods that they don’t find us. When I send word, you stop working. Meanwhile, send anyone you don’t need as far back into the rocks possible. I don’t want to hear a sound, not even a cough, until they’re past.”
“We’ll be quiet, though I don’t think they can hear this far from the trail.”
“Horses have good ears, and can smell, too,” Draelin warned. “Just keep everyone quiet.”
“And if they find us?”
“Then I’ll bring my men up here, and we’ll try and hold them off as long as we can, or until you bring the mountain down. Better to die fighting or beneath the cliff than under torture.”
Alcinor watched Draelin move back down the cliff. The soldier had his own problems. He had to keep more than a hundred men and horses quiet.
Word spread to cease working. Alcinor made all the men set their tools down gently, then sit on the ground. They could only whisper among themselves. After a few moments of staring at the cliffs, Alcinor crawled out along the ledge, to the same place where he and Draelin had lain the first day.
The part of the Jkarian Pass Alcinor could see remained empty. Looking around, he couldn’t detect any sign of Draelin or his scouts, though the soldier must be watching from some hidden vantage point.
“Is anything happening?” Jahiri slid alongside. “Some of the others wanted to join you, but I ordered them to stay behind and keep silent.”
Alcinor smiled at his apprentice’s eagerness. “Nothing on the trail yet. Let’s just hope they don’t see us.”
“Why would anyone stare into these rocks?”
“They’re soldiers. Who knows what they stare at.”
“Look!”
Three horsemen, shields slung across their backs and wearing swords on their hips, rode into view. They didn’t look particularly alert, but they did glance around from time to time. They rode leisurely, little more than a slow walk. Alcinor reminded himself that they had been traveling uphill for at least three or four days.
The enemy disappeared from sight, but it wasn’t long before more Elamites appeared. Riding in a double column, the horsemen soon filled the trail from end to end.
“Count them, Jahiri.”
The column seemed endless as it plodded across Alcinor’s field of view. At last he saw the pack animals that carried the men’s supplies. Two livery men, each leading a string of three horses loaded down with bulging packs, brought up the rear. They, too, finally disappeared from view.
Alcinor realized he’d been holding his breath and he let it out. Obviously a scouting party, but comprised of a lot more men than Alcinor expected.
“One hundred and ninety-six, including the packmen,” Jahiri said.
The sun moved overhead, but no word came from Draelin to resume work.
“We’re wasting time,” Jahiri said.
“Draelin will tell us when it’s safe to resume.”
A few moments later, Alcinor heard Draelin’s voice as he climbed to the base of the cliff.
“Did they see us?” Alcinor couldn’t keep all the anxiety out of his voice.
Draelin grinned. “If they did, we’d be fighting them off right now. But they’re only the advance party for the main force, which can’t be more than a day behind.” The smile faded from his lips. “You’ve got to work even faster.”