Chapter 31

Ishar slept soundly like an infant in its cradle if one could pass the small iron cage upon a horse cart he was in for a cradle. He'd been stripped of the attire he'd been given by the soldiers and was now wrapped in red robes, an attire Mairek had come to associate with that which was to be gifted to the Binorians. The women dressed in red gowns and robes who passed by Ishar's makeshift prison with questioning glances at the sleeping Kolotian supported Mairek's thought on the color. Mairek stood to@ the right of the cage and to the left stood Dhiliaf. He felt sleepy and a little jealous of how easily his friend had drifted off to the realm of dreams but he couldn't afford to do the same, he had to be vigilant.

"He has killed the Chief Red priest." Goki had called him aside and said to him. "The Red Priests may attempt to kill him before the King's orders regarding his life are carried out. It's best if he is to be guarded." Mairek had immediately taken it upon himself to stand guard on Ishar and so did Dhiliaf which came as a surprise to him. Mairek had learnt from Dhiliaf as they stood watch all through the night that the squad Ishar and him had run across on their way to the Ganidan plain was called the 'White beard Regiment.' They consisted mainly of scouts and messengers and were probably the lowest squad in the Talisi Green Army.

"Why had it been named the White beard regiment?" Mairek had asked Dhiliaf as the dark sky slowly faded to blue as the rising sun emerged.

"The Sergeant of the regiment chooses the name, ensuring it's different from any other and most Sergeants choose a name that identifies them as the head of their regiment. It was either that because of Sergeant Goki's lustrous beard or 'The Python cock regiment' because of the Sergeant's massive cock." Dhiliaf had replied causing Mairek to chuckle. The big man had a sense of humor that Mairek found himself appreciating. He needed a laugh, Gods knew he needed one in the face of the fact that Ishar, his only friend, was going to die or worse suffer until death looks like a mercy. It all depended on what the Binorians chose to do with him.

Ishar giggled in his sleep forcing Mairek and Dhiliaf to turn their attention to him. "How is he capable of sleeping at a time like this?" Dhiliaf asked. "I mean, he is in chains and in a cage, an uncomfortable one at that."

"Plus he is about to be sold into a life of slavery and a highly likely early death." Mairek added while looking at the smile across Ishar's sleeping face. The shepherd lay on his back, his legs crossed at the ankles and elevated on the surface of one of the bars of the cage. His cuffed wrists with dangling chains in between were crossed upon his chest. Ishar giggled again and Mairek shook his head from side to side. He was worried about Ishar but he had no idea what to do about it.

How had he managed to kill the Chief Red Priest? How did Ishar know how to launch a sword across a room and kill a target? Why had he even done it? There were so many questions that Mairek decided will lead to more unanswered questions if he sought to answer them so instead he opted to ignore them so as not to drown in them.

"How did he catch the spear I'd launched at him?" Dhiliaf asked. Mairek turned to face the big man, the rising sun cast light upon the land and the light formed shadows upon his fellow Talisi's dark broad face. It appeared Dhiliaf also had questions of Ishar plaguing him. Mairek contemplated telling Dhiliaf what Ishar had told him about meeting a stranger during the night but he decided against it. Ishar had been a tad bit insane lately and might have made the whole thing with the stranger up, it might all have been a fantasy or something along those lines. There was something wrong, something different about Ishar. Yet, what had the Entrail Seer said of him? Was he really marked by the Gods? Had Ishar met a God that night?

Ishar's cage was only a stone throw away from King Gans's tent as was customary of all the gifts going to the Binorians to be close to the King. All through the night old men in green or red robes and men dressed in armor had frequented the tent, arriving and departing. The tension in the camp was almost palpable. The King surely hadn't slept neither had anyone else within the camp. Ishar giggled again in his sleep. Well, everyone except Ishar. Mairek thought.

From a distance Mairek spotted a woman approaching. She was short and dressed in red robes and as she got closer Mairek was struck by her beauty. She had narrow eyes, full lips and a small cute nose placed evenly within her face. Her white hair fell to her shoulder blades and framed her oval face perfectly. Her haphazard red robes left a peek at her stomach that had ripples of underlying muscle and the way she swayed her hips from side to side had Mairek thinking certain thoughts that appealed to his loins.

What was peculiar about the woman was the fact that she was not in the company of another woman as those dressed as her within the camp were seen to be. Instead she was accompanied by two heavily armored guards who matched her stride on either flank and as she came closer to Mairek it was evident that she was heading straight for the King's tent. Dhiliaf immediately went down on one knee as the woman approached. "Get down!" Dhiliaf quickly whispered. "That's Princess Tari, show respect."

Mairek complied and went down on one knee beside Dhiliaf, bowing his head low in a similar fashion as the big man when the Princess passed by seemingly unaware of them. "My! My! My! By the Gods! That woman has an arse that can feed a kingdom for over a decade." A loud voice emerged from the cage upon a cart. Mairek looked up to find Ishar's face protruding from the gaps within the bars of the cage, his eyes trained on Princess Tari.

The Princess stopped in her tracks, she turned her head and observed Ishar from the corner of her eye, she then turned around completely and started walking towards the cage, diverting her course from the King's tent. The two guards on either side of her followed suit while drawing their swords from their scabbards in unison. Mairek hit his face with his palm while still bending a knee, for the second time in his life he found himself regretting ever knowing Ishar. He worried for his friend but it had become quite evident that his friend had been replaced by nothing short of a buffoon. "By the Gods! He has just signed his death sentence." Dhiliaf muttered as they watched Princess Tari and her retinue approach.

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