Genre: Western
Plot: A caravan of riches is surrounded by bandits not interested in its goods.
Words to use: desert, kingdom, route, passage, toll, highwayman, assassin, lost, stickup, camel, horse, weapon, information, treasure, plot
The hot sand shifted in deep ripples. Camel feet trudged with their heavy loads into the vast desert. Smoke reached the high atmosphere behind them. A great city burned. A great kingdom fell like a star from its height, as a streak of light through the deep midnight blue sky.
The small group managed to escape through the side gate, just before disaster, taking the wealth with them. Nerves were raw and their breath came in jagged spurts. Their hearts were heavy, but they followed the command of the King.
No one looked back.
“Do you think we will be safe, Agha?”
“These are uncertain times, Kemal, but we must keep our heads and eyes fixed on the route ahead,” he said. They both swayed in their saddles, along with three other camels with men, servants, traveling behind them, each weighed down by a plethora of bags.
“Will the passage be free from danger for our little caravan?” he shifted in his seat. Wind whipped, creating a cloud of dust. His camel snorted and reared slightly. Tension had settled in his voice. He couldn’t escape the fear of the unknown. Being born in servitude, his will was never his own, worry was his nature. And, the treasure…something that played in his mind. He kept flicking glances behind him, waiting for an assassin to strike them.
“There could be a highwayman,” he answered with a nod. He wiped his brow with the edge of his scarf, “or two.”
“Do you bring me a weapon?” he stared at the sword on the side of his master.
“You will have one, if you need it.”
Kemal lapsed into silence as he rode slightly behind his master, Efendi Salim, who was lean and stern, but still fair in all his dealings with those lesser souls such as Kemal. His dark skin was covered head to toe in yards of fabric. They drove their camels and their treasure, through the vast desert, looking for the oasis that would be in the horizon before long and the toll of the day would finally be ended for the night. If they could only get out of the area.
The traversed hills and valleys. The hot sun beat down on them. Camels kept going, their agile feet gripping naturally to the sandy terrain. Sweat dripped from their brows and down their backs, cooling as the breeze shifted their tunics. They drank from skins with care. They feared wasting any precious drop. Kemal snuck snacks from his pocket, pulled down his scarf, and popped them in his mouth, chewing and hiding his face again from the wind. His stomach still grumbled. He rubbed it, letting the rein slip from his hand on accident. He recovered it just in time.
As their camels trudged over sandy hills and dusty valleys, they grew more hungry, tired, and blistered. Kemal felt lost in the sand and time.
“Are we getting closer, Agha?” he whined from behind.
“Look beyond, my young man, just beyond the next stretch of rocky cliffs, just below the waning sun, the trees we seek. Never fret or worry. I will not let you down.”
Kemal thought his master always promised, but it still worried his dark brow.
His master pushed his camel onward, the others following close behind.
Toward the south, from the friendly territory of shepherds and bedouins, a cloud of dust seemed to draw closer to them from the side. Kemal pointed in the direction and the master gave the signal to continue their path.
“A lone horse rider of the bedouins. Nothing to worry about, my dear Kemal. Hold your weapon close,” he smirked, “Just in case.”
“Yes, agha,” Kemal worried.
The rider reared his horse and it came to a complete stop beside them. There was an exchange, an elaborate greeting between friends, but strangers. To Kemal, he seemed to be unarmed and harmless. But, looks could be deceiving.
“Where are you headed?” The rider asked. His robe was of striped hues of red and gold over a white tunic, tied at the waist with a thick belt of new leather, shiny and embossed with a floral motif. Beneath his turban, his dark hair had been covered, only his dark eyes peeped out between the slits of fine linen. His voice was commanding, but temperate. A man of good breeding, Kemal thought. It eased his mind slightly. This stranger came upon them during their escape of disaster.
“We are hoping to get to the oasis before dark, then continue to the great city,” the master replied. “Where are you headed?”
“I, too, was heading in the same direction, but I saw your entourage from the dunes and thought I would impose on you, for companionship in travel and hospitality in one of your tents for the long journey across the desert.”
Kemal and his master looked at each other, unsure, “Of course, please join us, stranger.”
Kemal bowed his head, but remained silent.
“Our food will be shared, and you will enjoy the comforts of one of our tents tonight.”
“My name is…” he paused slightly, “Adil.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Adil. I am Efendi and this is my servant Kemal, and the others are servants of another man who have been left in my charge for the journey.”
The setting sun brought the night’s chill as they arrived at the oasis. An out-cropping shaped like a crescent moon edged one side and opened to the desert where they had entered. Life teamed from the tall trees watered by the fresh water bubbling to the surface. They lit their lanterns to light their feverish activity. They settled their camels along the edge of their fresh camp.
Tents sprung to life. Two men brought the camels to the spring for water.
A fire blazed reds and oranges as the night descended. Diamonds began to sparkle in the sky as it turned from navy to ebony, musing with the sound of conversations raised heavenward in quiet desert breezes. A pale swatch of mist and color appeared across the sky, like a tear in the universe. Relaxed conversations began as they had finished the set up of camp.
As the night grew, chatter began to fade as the chill air grew more intense until they retreated to their warm blankets within their tents. Chirps and a variety of calls mixed with the sound of waving palms filled the air. Other creatures that hid during the heat of the day found relief within the oasis.
Kemal slept deep and restful after the arduous journey. He arose along with the sun.
“We may stay one more day and be on their way before the sun rises the next day. They needed to keep going. Blood was spilled and they felt the weight of their mission.
The stranger had worked alongside the servant, remaining silent most of the time. Other than his name, he offered little information about himself.
Palm trees continued to sway in the breeze above the tents. Fresh cool air filtering down to the sandy ground. The sound of gurgling water echoed off the rock. These weary travelers found refreshment in the middle of the vast desert. It meant life or death in the parched fire of the desert.
The next morning, the sound of camels snorting and the drifting smell of food woke Kemal. He jumped up, ran to the pond and splashed water on his face. He began helping the others with chores.
As the day wore on, in anticipation of leaving the comfortable shade, they filled up all their water jugs and skins, piled them near the camels in preparation. They went through the remaining food supplies with sternness.
“The plot has been laid out, there are another three days till we get to the city,” one of the men said, “we need to do some rationing, Agha.”
Thunder came from the south, dust rising in the horizon.
“What could that be, master?” Kemal asked, disquieted.
“Or, who?” he replied under his breath. “Gather all the supplies, get the tents wrapped and moved onto the camel. We must go.”
“We will outrun them,” Kemal made the question a statement, his eyes glistening, searching for reassurance from his master.
He stopped and placed his hand on Kemal’s shoulder. “Don’t worry my friend.”
They scurried beneath the waving palms, jumped on their camels and drove their company away through the hot desert sands before schedule. The dark cloud got closer as they went over the hill and into the next valley.
It was before they climbed to the next hill that they were overtaken by men on horses, their faces covered, dark eyes wild, and swords at their sides.
“Is this a stickup?” Kemal cried out, fighting his tears.
“Quiet, Kemal,” his master said.
“We are searching for a man,” the leader said, “he had come this way and hoped you had met me him.”
Efendi looked shocked, “My good man, we have encountered no one on our arduous journey. We are only a simple caravan attempting to cross the sands to the city to be with our families again.”
As the two men spoke, the other riders went from man to man to camel, examining everyone and things at a short distance. The riders relented begrudgingly, regrouped and rode off, leaving them in relief to continue their journey, their treasure still hidden safe in their saddle bags.
Kemal rode next to his master who took up the lead as the stranger mingled within the other camels as they carried their burden over sand and dirt. Before the water gave out, they stopped at ancient wells dug by their ancestors, and lifted their tents under the darkest of nights like those who also came before them, until the third day when the outline of the city became visible.
Kemal gave a sigh of relief, “The city is within our sights, may the heavens be praised.”
The stranger rode up to the master before they reached the city. “I am so grateful you kept my identity a secret.”
He nodded at his clothes, “With the sight of you in our traditional robes, I came to the conclusion that you too were hiding in plain sight. I asked no questions, considering our flight was also in secret.”
“What, may I ask, are you hiding?”
Efendi looked down and didn’t answer at once. He nodded, making a decision, “Before I answer, why were those men looking for you? Why are you so important?”
“The truth of my identity will be revealed soon and there is no need for you to answer. I won’t press,” the stranger said and slowed to join the other men trailing close behind.
In the distance, the city’s double walls were extraordinarily tall and secure, with men posted at each entry and walking along the top, pacing and keeping a look out over the miles of sand for unwanted armies.
The caravan went through the Eastern most entrance easily, handing them the rolled up letter with an official seal of their kingdom that they now feared laid in heaps of rubble. As the last camel went through the gate, the stranger rode past the master, threw off his hood and robes with a loud call.
“It is the Prince,” they began to shout. Everyone came out from their homes and businesses to see him. Some began to sing songs of welcome, others offered him a hearty welcome with folded hands in prayer.
He turned toward the master and Kemal, sitting as proud as you could on a camel, “Come with me to the palace, I do believe you have something for me in your saddle bags for my upcoming wedding.”
The End.