Dawn of Empire Read Free

leader’s return.
    “Greetings, Rethnar. How many are there?”
    “Two hundred and eighty - six taken alive, after we dug the last of them out of their burrows. Another seventy or eighty dead. More than enough for our needs. All the huts and fields have been searched. Not one tried to resist.”
    “How many lived here?”
    “Nearly a thousand dirt - eaters, living in this filth,” Rethnar answered, a look of disgust on his face. “A few hours earlier and we could have captured another four or five hundred.”
    “We’ll need horses with wings, then.” They’d ridden as hard as they could. “Did you get any horses?”
    “No, not one. No doubt anyone with a horse rode south. There are some oxen still in the fields.”
    Oxen had no value, not this far from the Alur Meriki’s encampment.
    Thutmose - sin had hoped for at least a few horses. Extra horses could carry more booty back. He put the thought away. “Are you ready to begin?”
    “Yes, Thutmose - sin. After we select our slaves, do we let the rest live?”
    Rethnar fingered his sword.
    Thutmose - sin smiled at the man’s anticipation. His second in command enjoyed killing. “No, not this time. Too many escaped us. Begin.”
    Rethnar stood as he gave the orders. The warriors moved among the prisoners, selecting those unfit for work. At swordpoint, they separated the old, the young, the sick, and the infirm, driving them away from the original group. They pulled babies from their mothers’ hands, knocking the women down with their fists if they tried to resist. Two men struggled against the warriors and were cut down swiftly. Rethnar’s men wanted only those strong enough to endure what awaited them. The others, of no use, would die. Thutmose - sin had decreed it.
    The culling went rapidly. Thutmose - sin watched as the warriors divided the dirt - eaters into two groups, his lips moving as he did his own count. Scarcely more than a hundred and forty would live.
    When his men completed the division, Rethnar shouted the order and the killing began. Warriors moved methodically through those selected to die. Swords rose and fell. The smell of blood quickly saturated the air. Shouts and screams again echoed from the walls, as loved ones cried out to each other. The killing, efficient and swift, took little time.
    Warriors found no glory in such slaughter. Few resisted. Three children tried to run, urged on by their helpless mothers, but the line of warriors held the victims in. Some called out to their gods, imploring Marduk or Ishtar to help them, but the false gods of the dirt - eaters had no power over the Alur Meriki.
    When the carnage ended, Thutmose - sin mounted his horse and moved in front of those left alive, his guards standing before him, weapons in hand, as much to intimidate as to protect. Fresh tears streaked the terrified faces of both men and women. Silence quickly fell over the survivors as they looked up at this new warrior.
    “I am Thutmose - sin of the Alur Meriki. My father, Maskim - Xul, rules all the clans of the Alur Meriki.” He spoke in his own language, even though he could speak the villagers’ dialect well enough. If the village had resisted, if some of them had fought bravely, he might have spoken to them directly. But to do so now would dishonor him. One of his men in-terpreted, speaking in a loud voice, so that everyone could hear their fate.
    “In Maskim - Xul’s name, you are to be slaves of the Alur Meriki clan for the rest of your lives. You’ll work hard and you’ll obey every order. You will now learn what awaits those who disobey or try to run.”
    He turned back to Rethnar. “Teach them.”
    Rethnar called out to his men, and they began the next phase of the slaves’ training. One of his subcommanders quickly selected two men and two women. The warriors stripped the men naked, then staked them, legs spread wide apart, on the ground. The ropes stretched their limbs as much as possible to prevent the slightest