Free Infinite Blue Heaven - A King and A Queen by Lazlo Ferran

other side of the camp, at similar intervals, you will find five more spears, this time with the tip cut on the west side, pointing out the site of the camp. In this way, anybody lost and traveling north or south, has a much greater chance of finding the camp. But enemies might not read the signs. They might simply think some passing nomad has lost a spear from his camel!”
    Geb, stooping over the spear in the dune, called out, “There is a slot in the tip and it is whistling.”
    “Ah, that is interesting!” said Meth. That is another trick, to help people find it on quiet nights. Only a few tribes used to use this method. It is not a loud sound but if you listen carefully, you can hear it.
    “Yes. I can hear it now. I thought it was just the sound of wind through the horse-harness.”
    “If you were lost, you probably would not have a horse-harness, or a horse. You look troubled, Lord.”
    “I do not like it! I have not heard that Korim is a clever man. Not this clever!”
    “Shall we go on?”
    “Of course. We must see how many men are in this camp.”
    We rode east, passing the fifth spear not long before dusk. We needed to see the camp before nightfall and so we quickly moved forwards for two verst, even though the horses were tired.
    We left Ochnud and Geb with the horses and the rest of us covered the two verst quietly, on foot. Looking over each dune, before walking over, we finally saw the camp. Lying on the sand, I let my eyes adjust to the gloom, between the lanterns. My head dropped to the sand in dismay. “There must be four hundred men there!” I whispered. “I expected maybe fifty, but not this many.”
    “No, you are wrong Sire.” said Dimez. “There is accommodation for four hundred, yes. But look at the horse corral. Only forty horses and a few camels. And I can only see about thirty around the fires. It is meal-time so most should be around the fires.”
    “Then, others are away,” I said. “Probably south. That is even worse.”
    “There is something else,” said Mechredir.
    “What?”
    “Look at the tent sides to the south. The sand is very high against their sides. I would say they have been here for months, not weeks.”
    “Well spotted. You are a very good tracker and observer,” I said. “If only you were not so correct, in your deduction! Let’s pull back.”
    We slithered for a few feet down the north side of the dune and then gathered in a stooped huddle.
    “I do not like this. I do not like this at all.” I said. “This has been well planned. It is not just a foraging expedition by Korim’s men. They seem to be instructed to map and possible install spies in the hills south of here. This invasion is much better planned and more advanced that I thought.”
    “How does this affect your plan?” asked Meth.
    I thought for a moment. “We must still execute it. It is the only way. The pass is the bottleneck, for them. We must cut off the head of the viper. Then, if the teeth will not let go, at least they can bite no harder and we can take our time to remove them. How long before your caravan can reach their camp?”
    Meth’s eyes looked up to the skies as he calculated, in his head. “Forty days.”
“Too long. Can you be there in thirty?”
    “Without a break at the Oasis, yes.”
    “Good. I will see you, on the field of battle, at noon, on the sound of my horns, on the thirtieth day from now.” We held hands and I took each of his two eldest sons’ hands and those of Mechredir’s.
    We mounted and rode back to Geb and Ochnud.
    “We will part here!” I called. “Geb and I will go due south and back to the Palace.”
    With a wave, their horses disappeared into the night and Geb’s horse and mine, were taking a zig-zag course across the shallowest dunes, as we headed back towards the hills.
    We reached the Palace the following afternoon. Geb’s horse became lame late in the ride and so we finished, both on my horse, slowly.
    We had stopped at the same inn and