Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Alamut Castle- Iran
The ruins of Alamut Castle are located in a mountainous massif called Elburz, south of the Caspian Sea, in a province of present-day Iran called Quazvin. It was built at the beginning of the 7th century and as it was said before it was razed by the Mongols commanded by Hulagu Khan in 1256.
It is located on a cliff on the edge of a very deep precipice and from it the snowy peaks of the mountain range in which it is located can be seen. The view of the rock formations that surround it is breathtaking and explains the aura of impregnability that surrounded the fortress in its time of splendor and power, when its name alone inspired terror in all the Persian, Syrian and even Egyptian courts. It is noteworthy that it was, as explained, the center of a group of fortresses of the Ismaili, and more precisely Nizari sect, branch of Shiite Islamism, which was located in the middle of Sunni territory, and therefore surrounded by sectarian enemies.
After the Mongolian destruction, only segments of the walls survived, parts of internal buildings without roofs, surely consumed by fire. The entire construction that remains is made up of large stones joined by mortar.
Looking down from the edge of the precipice, once the vertigo has been overcome, the visitor can see the valley at his feet and a winding path that leads to its summit.
The travelers had left the worn off-road vehicle on the side of the road and had embarked on the steep ascent that took three hours, also overcoming the lack of oxygen since the summit is well over two thousand meters high.
Arriving at the relatively flat part where the ruins are, they sat on a low semi-collapsed wall to rest their muscles and regain their breath. Taro Suzuki, the oldest of them said to his companions.
“Begin to walk around, I'm going to rest for at least half an hour more. I am a man from a marine environment, I am not used to heights.”
Lakshmi and Jack left their backpacks next to the Japanese, although due to the absolute solitude there was no risk of anyone stealing their belongings. They only carried cameras and binoculars with them. Their task, somewhat imprecise and left to chance, was to find guidelines that would allow them to understand the behaviors of the sectarians. One of the issues was to verify if there was indeed something that could have been the alleged Garden of Eden where the Fedayeen were drugged and supposedly exposed to all the pleasures of life and to which they dreamed of returning, even at the cost of their lives. However, at first glance they realized that in that environment they would hardly find anything that could correspond to the current notion of garden.
They were examining all the ruins carefully, in the hope of finding some indication that had escaped the visitors who had previously explored them for centuries, an unlikely task. Particular attention was paid to the houses of which one, two or more walls remained, which could have been inhabited centuries before. Suzuki joined them after a long time and the tasks were divided to cover more space during daylight hours, bearing in mind that they should start the descent to the vehicle, where the driver and a. heavily armed militiaman -who had been recruited by Admiral Donnelly's contacts in Iran- were waiting for them.
Several hours passed without incident, and as a breeze that gradually turned into a wind had begun to blow, they sought refuge in one of the few places where all the walls that could shelter them from the cold air remained while they ate what they had brought for lunch. After the frugal meal was over and while the two men were preparing to drink coffee from a thermos, Lakshmi left without comment with the evident purpose of satisfying some physiological need. She strayed as far as possible from her companions without leaving the walled enclosure, crossing several partially ruined rooms. When she was going back, something caught strongly her attention.
“Taro, Jack, come see this.”
Although the tone of the woman's voice did not convey fear or anguish, the two mentioned men immediately stood up, a little surprised, and went to the source of the voice. When they arrived they saw her kneeling, closely observing dark spots on the floor.
“What is all this?” Asked the young woman.
"Whatever their origin is, they are relatively recent organic remains." Jack replied. "Nothing that can be attributed to the times of the Nizarí fortress."
"Can they be hearths made by campers or by explorers of the ruins?" Asked Lakshmi.
Suzuki had moved away and entered another enclosure, also in ruins but with a kind of precarious roof, armed with wooden and straw braces. As the two young men approached, he looked at them and said.
“This site has frequent use, there are many occupation marks, including the remains of bonfires, some undoubtedly recent. You can see that this roof was repaired not long ago, surely with logs and other materials removed from other parts of the ruins.”
"What is this dust between these stones?" Asked the woman.
Jack leaned back, took a sample of the powder with one finger, looked at it, and brought it up to his nose.
"It is some dry and pulverized vegetable." he said. "I cannot specify what it is."
In turn, Taro Suzuki approached and repeated the action of his partner; then expressed.
“It has the appearance of a rudimentary ground vegetable leaf. I suspect…”
"What are you thinking?" Jack urged.
“In a hallucinogen, I can't say more now. I don't think it's opium.”
"Maybe… hashish?" Lakshmi's question expressed the suspicion that hung in the air.
"Yes, it is relatively recent." Reiterated Jack, who took out of his backpack some plastic envelopes for forensic samples; then, with a spatula, he loaded part of the powder into the bags and closed them tightly.
Meanwhile, Suzuki was still pacing the large room with his eyes on the ground. Suddenly he exclaimed.
“Check this out.”
As he knelt down, Jack ran his finger over the partly covered reddish-brown stained floor.
“It's dried blood.”
Then he stood up and wondered aloud.
“What are organic remains of crumbled powders and blood doing in a floor that has been exposed to rain and snow each winter?”
It was actually a rhetorical question for which he did not expect an answer; however Suzuki replied.
“I have a suspicion again.”
“Tell us what it is.” Lakshmi hurried.
“All this makes me think of a site dedicated to ...”
"Speak," Reiterated the woman.
“ ... to initiation rituals. I have seen several in my life. It can also be a military training site.”
“Admiral. I think there is some anomalous activity in the area that interests you.”
The agent pointed to dot on his computer screen. Donnelly approached with a notebook in his hand; then he asked.
“Are you sure these are the correct coordinates? Read them out loud to me.”
“36 ° 26´40.63 North and 50 ° 35´9.58 East.”
Donnelly compared it with his notes.
“Yes, it is in the Castle of Alamut. What do the communications say?”
“They are in Persian and are not encrypted. They do not correspond to any official Iranian source that we know of.”
“I understand, but what do they say?”
“A rough translation would be: “Intruders in our Garden. Send two brooms to clean.”
As was his irrepressible habit, the Admiral muttered a dirty exclamation. Then he said to himself.
“They have been discovered. I must proceed immediately if we do not want to be beheaded.”
With unthinkable speed at his age, he entered his office and made two brief but determined calls.
“Hello Richardson. They have discovered your people in Alamut and are at risk. Try to warn them with a message. I'm already sending help to rescue them. Who is there?”
“Taro Suzuki, Lakshmi Dhawan and Jack Berglund.”
“ I will communicate again when I have organized the rescue.”
He immediately hung up without further ado. He promptly communicated directly with an aircraft carrier at the mouth of the Gulf of Hormuz.
“I'm Admiral Donnelly.”
“Your password sir.”
Donnelly passed it to him.
“How can I help you sir?”
“Pass me with Captain Finch.”
In a couple of seconds the call was taken.
“Finch speaking.”
“Bill, I'm Donnelly. An extraction of three civilians, two men and one woman, must be carried out. They are in ruins in the Elburz massif.”
“Give me the coordinates, Admiral.”
Donnelly passed them to him and added.
“The castle is on a summit accessible only on foot. Your helicopter will have to land at the base and go up the hill on foot.”
“ Understood sir. Can you give me the names of the civilians for their identification?”