Nezzar

Part Two: Settling Doubts

Before leaving his men, Nezzar had taken Arioch and twenty other soldiers with him. He had divided his forces, placed Nebuzaradan and ten generals in charge and left them the responsibility of proceeding with the plan.

Seven days later, they were almost at their destination. Doubt had Nezzar's mind in a grip and it was for that reason he decided to carry out this little scouting trip. Despite all he had seen, even Mudamir's visit and his strange power, Nezzar's doubt demanded that he confirm with his eyes. It would be foolish to move his army on strange claims alone.

In Nezzar's hands was a detailed map with marked locations and tethered to their horses were four Egyptian scouts captured by his men three nights ago. Nezzar had strongly suspected scouts would be scattered about and his suspicions had been correct. If they had not found them, this mission would have taken longer but it seemed the times were on Babylon's side.

Finally, Nezzar spotted a landmark—a cluster of tall rocks on each side of a wide pass. The pass opened to a plain, one of the areas Nezzar had previously planned to move his men through. And as Usman had explained, they had smeared white substance across the rock surface. As they journeyed through the pass, Nezzar took in the plains ahead. The shrubs were green and distant mountains formed its borders. It was the rainy season and the period when the Nile usually flooded its bank. That was another good occurrence in Babylon's favour. The flooded Nile will also work to their advantage.

After signalling for his men to stop at the mouth of the pass, Nezzar dismounted. The sun's heat was an unforgiving onslaught and it caused his hair to stick to the nape of his neck most uncomfortably. There will be numerous hot and unpleasantly humid days ahead, days he hoped were filled with the fiercest of battles to distract him from the discomfort. Anticipation was a restless fire within him. He could not wait and at the same time, he could wait. If things went according to his strategy, this would be a sweeping victory. Pharaoh Hophra may as well keel over in shock before Nezzar's blade touches his throat. The only variable that needed to fall in line was what Nezzar was about to confirm.

"Bring them," Nezzar said.

After carefully reading the map for the final time, Nezzar handed it over to Arioch before unsheathing his blade. The Egyptian scouts were brought before him and made to kneel. They all appeared strong despite being tugged along for nearly three days. The oldest among them was middle-aged with a weather-beaten face and crooked nose. His eyes held the most interest, they were dark and bore open hostility without a trace of fear. Commendable. Nezzar nodded in approval. Men like that were rare. The other three were younger, possessed trim athletic bodies and shivered like wet dogs. No hate in their eyes, only fear.

Nezzar touched the tip of his sword to Hateful Eyes' neck. "Name?" he asked in Akkadian.

Instead of answering, Hateful Eyes spat at Nezzar's feet, bared his teeth and hissed a string of words Nezzar recognised to be Arabic. Arioch, the overzealous guard he was, unsheathed his blade and attempted to take a swing.

Nezzar raised a hand. "No need." He peered down at the frothing dog. "Our kneeling friend spat because he does not know I plan to show them mercy. Where is Balashi?" He would pretend these lots did not understand Akkadian even though it was a language spoken by the bulk of the Egyptian population. And Nezzar was disappointed in Hateful Eyes; his courage was incomplete. A truly courageous man will hurl insults in a language his enemy would understand.

Balashi rushed forward. A seasoned soldier whose preferred weapon of combat was bows and arrows. He was good at spear throwing as well but his skill with the bow was unmatched among Nezzar's men. "Repeat to them what I say in Arabic."

"Yes, my king," Balashi said with an eager bow.

"You must have heard all sorts of unsavoury things about Babylonians," Nezzar said, making sure to maintain a sombre expression like he was truly saddened by their reputation. "Cloud of death. Flesh eaters. Iron teeth locusts." Nezzar chuckled at the last one. "As you can see, I am no locust and my teeth are mere... teeth."