The Quest

'What happened to the girls who bore the infants?'

'They disappeared,' Sidudu said simply. She sobbed again. 'I loved some of those girls who have gone. There are others in the temple whom I also love. They, too, will go up the mountain when there is a baby inside them.'

'Calm yourself, Sidudu,' Fe

'No, Fe

'So you will help me to save my friends, Meren?' Sidudu looked at him with more than trust in her large dark eyes.

'I will do whatever you ask of me,' he answered at once. 'But tell me more of Onka. He will be the first to know my vengeance.'

'I thought he would protect me. I thought that if I stayed with him I would never be sent to the mountain. But one day, not long ago, Dr Ha

She asked me to work with the incomers who were pla

'It is a terrible story,' Fe

'Yes, but not as much as the girls who are still in the temple,' Sidudu reminded them.

'We will rescue them,' Meren blurted out impulsively. 'When we escape from Jarri those girls will go with us, I swear it!'

'Oh, Meren, you are so brave and noble.'

Thereafter Sidudu made a swift recovery. She and Fe

'Pretend that the mark is Onka's head,' Fe

weight. After much devoted practice she was able to send out an arrow to the mark at two hundred paces.

Meren, Hilto and Nakonto were all inveterate gamblers and laid wagers on the girls when they shot against each other. They urged on their favourite, and haggled over the allowances given to Sidudu. Because Fe

One morning they were holding another tournament in the clearing, Meren and Sidudu teamed against Hilto and Fe

'By Seth's dung-smeared buttocks!' Meren exclaimed. 'It's That.' He hurried forward to greet him. 'Colonel, something is amiss. What is it?

Tell me at once.'

'I am pleased to have found you,' That told him. 'I have come to warn you that we are in great danger. The oligarchs have issued a summons for all of us to appear before them. Onka and his men are hunting for us everywhere. At this very moment they are searching every house in Mutangi.'

'What does this mean?' Meren asked.

'Only one thing,' That told him morosely. 'We have come under suspicion. I believe Onka has denounced me as a traitor. Which, of course, by Jarrian standards, I am. He found the bodies of the trogs you killed when you rescued Sidudu, which infuriated him because now he is certain that you are hiding her.'

'What proof has he?'

'He needs none. He is closely related to Lord Aquer. His word is enough to condemn us all,' That replied. 'The judgement of the oligarchs is certain. We will be interrogated under torture. If we survive that, we will be sent to the quarries or the mines … or worse.'

'So now we are all fugitives.' Meren did not seem worried by the prospect. 'At least the pretence is over.'

'Yes,' That agreed. 'We are outlaws. You ca

'Of course not,' Meren said. 'There is nothing there that we need. We

have the horses and our weapons. We must take to the forests. While we wait for Taita to return from the Cloud Gardens we will make the final preparations for our flight from this accursed place back to our very Egypt.'

'We must leave at once,' That concurred. 'We are much too close to Mutangi. There are many places in the remote hills where we can hide. If we keep moving, Onka will be hard put to catch up with us.' They mounted and rode eastwards. By late afternoon they had covered twenty leagues. As they climbed into the foothills of the range of mountains below the Kitangule Gap a herd of large grey antelope with long spiral horns and huge ears broke cover and ran across their front. Immediately they unslung their bows and gave chase. Fe

'Enough!' Meren cried. 'There is plenty of meat on it to last us for days.' They allowed the rest of the herd to escape and dismounted to butcher the carcass. As the sun set, Sidudu led them to a stream of clear sweet water. They bivouacked beside it and grilled antelope chops over embers for di

As they gnawed the bones, That reported to Meren on the most recent disposition of the forces loyal to the rebel cause. 'My own regiment is the Red Standard, and all the officers and men will come over to us when I call them to arms. I can also rely on two divisions of the Yellow Standard, which is commanded by my colleague Colonel Sangat. He is one of us. Then there are three divisions of troops who are responsible for guarding the prisoners and captives working in the stopes of the mines. They have had first-hand experience of the brutality and inhumanity with which the captives are treated. They await my orders.

As soon as we begin the struggle they will release their charges, arm them and bring them by forced march to join us.' They went on to discuss the mustering point, and eventually decided that each unit must make independently for the Kitangule Gap, where they would all come together.

'What force will the Jarrians be able to deploy against us?' Meren asked.

'Although they will outnumber us ten to one, it will take the oligarchs many days to muster their troops and march against us. As long as we can achieve initial surprise and a head start on the pursuit our forces will be of sufficient strength to fight a rearguard action as far as the boatyards at the head of the Kitangule river. When we get there we will seize the