Read Online Infinite Blue Heaven - A King and A Queen by Lazlo Ferran - Free Book Online Page B

in the metal ‘medallion’ case.” I said.
    Meth put the contents back in the case, closed it and handed it to me. I handed it to Geb. The man suddenly struggled.
    Meth found a catch and opened the disk shaped case.
    “It’s a compass!” he exclaimed. “But, it’s broken.”
    The man looked bitterly down at the ground.
    “Any man would need a compass to travel to Korim’s Army,” said Ochnud.
    “No. He might want it, to steer a straight course, but he wouldn’t need it,” said Dimez. “One could just ride north, until you hit the mountains, where there is plenty of water and food.”
    “Somewhere around here, is a camp then,” I said. Both Dimez and Meth nodded.
    “It is probable.” Said Meth. “Because his compass was broken, most probably during flight, he is lost. Perhaps he had to take to the desert before a known landmark, which they could normally have used, in the case of a broken compass.”
    “You are a scribe. What is your name?” I asked. If he was a scribe, he would not withhold his name. To do so would be an admission that he was a spy. Also, scribes are proud of their names. Their trade runs in families. He thought for a moment.
    “Gul-Gadir” he said, slowly hesitatingly. “I cannot help you. Korim will have me castrated, or worse.”
    “Worse?” I asked, smiling.
    “Well, we are leaving,” said Meth. “And we are taking your horse, your weapons and your clothes, except your underwear. You have only two choices. To help us or to stay behind.”
    Gul-Gadir said something in his own tongue and then said, quite quickly, I thought, “Alright. I will help you. But do not ask me to give more than the most subtle clues. And please gag and bind me when you may reach,” he paused. “... any camp.”
    Meth looked at me. I nodded.
    “Alright,” said Meth. “Mount up!”
    We all gathered our horses and sat Gul, half-naked on one of the two remaining spare horses.
    “Where should we go?” called Meth, to Gul.
    “The camp is four hours north of a point, half between that river and the village on the left edge of the map.”
    I smiled at his forthcoming clue.
    “Can we see the map?” called Dimez to Geb. Geb took it out and handed it to him. Dimez and Ochnud stood over it. They didn’t have a compass but they had a detailed map of this part of the world, inside their heads. After murmuring together for a few moments, they pointed almost due east.
    “We may have passed it slightly, said Dimez but at least our smell won’t be picked up by horses or camels, if we are north of the camp.”
    “Let’s go,” said Meth.
    After about two hours, Mechredir, still at the head, held his hand up. We stopped. He was pointing to something slightly south of us but neither Meth, nor I could see anything significant. Just sand dunes, stretching as far as the horizon.
    “There is a pole, with a red flag on it.” Called out Geb.
    I looked around at Gul. He looked interested but noncommittal.
    “Let’s look at it but cautiously. Mechredir, go forward on foot and call us if all is clear. Check there is nothing over the dune.”
    Mechredir went slowly towards the pole and after crawling up the last few feet of the dune and spending a few minutes, observing the ground on the other side, stood up and beckoned to us. We rode up.
    It was not a pole but a spear and was marked. There were five notches cut into its shaft, near the tail, where the red flag, a simple piece of torn cloth, fluttered. The very tip of the tail was also cut on one side, the side facing east.
    “What does it mean?” I asked Meth.
    “It is an old trick. It has not been used since the Wars of the Western Tribes, nearly one hundred years ago, which my great grandfather fought in.” He pointed east. “Over there, approximately two verst away, will be another such spear, this time with only four notches, and then, at two verst intervals, a third, fourth and fifth, spear. At the next two verst mark, you will find the camp. On the