The Black Clover 13
USUAL DISCLAIMER
"THE BLACK CLOVER" is a gay story, with some parts containing graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion, family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be my welcomed guest.
THE BLACK CLOVER
by Andrej Koymasky © 2018
written on 3rd of April, 1986
Translated by the Author
English text kindly revised by an Australian friend
CHAPTER 13
QAAF
When we finally arrived at Mussa's palace in his capital, I was locked up in the underground cells, chained to a wall. The following day they came to question me, but I did not answer. No matter what they asked me, I remained silent. From me they would learn nothing. I just prayed to Allah that Amin was safe. My life did not have any importance to me.
Then they started to whip me, to torture me, left me without food and water hoping that way to weaken my will power. They wanted to know if it was true Amin had come back, what strength he could dispose, who were his allies, who had procured the weapons for him, and above all the carbines. They bombarded me with insistent, continuous questions, alternated with long periods of suffering. But my mouth remained obstinately closed.
The sunlight did not reach my cell, so soon I lost count of the passing days. But I was not worried: by their questions it was evident that Amin was still alive and that they could not catch him. Only that was important to me, and made me happy. Even Mussa himself came to question me. He promised me wealth and honours hoping to push me to betray Amin. My captors also tried to find out who I was, they had guessed I was of some importance, but they did not know who I could be. And I continued to keep my stubborn silence. My body was weakening, my legs were having trouble holding me up, hunger tortured and thirst tormented me. But my spirit was stronger than ever. Like the blade that from fire suddenly passes into the cooling water, so my will seemed to become tempered by my suffering. The only thing I was missing was that I could not hear news about Amin: what was he doing? How was the war against the usurper evolving ?
What I write now, I did not find out until later.
When Amin succeeded in chasing away Mussa's decimated army, he heard about my capture. This saddened him far more than defeat would have done. Amin summoned the various villages headmen and the chiefs of his countrymen and the leaders of the mountain men and told them that he intended to completely reverse his war tactics. Holding a map, he said:
"Enough with skirmish and raids. Our goal is not just to weaken my step brother, but rather to eliminate Mussa. He does not think he will be attacked in the heart of his territory. If we eliminate him, Hassem will fall like a ripe fruit at the slightest tree shake. We have to strike Mussa in his capital, in his palace. The time has come to assemble all the men we can rely on, arm them and act. We will go around the mountains from this side and we will go down through this valley. We will destroy all the villages we pass, we will kill everybody we will meet, so nobody can alert our enemy. We will surround the capital so that even a mouse cannot enter or leave it, and we will assail and attack it until not a stone will stand upon another. We will erase Mussa's and his family's memory from the face of the earth."
The discussion was short: everybody supported this new strategy Amin had conceived to rescue me or to revenge me. They started to study the plan in its finest details, while the general mobilization went into force. Now, being able to look back and judge fairly, I think that my capture and imprisonment was to Amin a sign from Allah: it was this that changed Amin's plans. Had events taken a different course we would have worn ourselves out in a long guerrilla war. Amin's men organized the recruiting to an enthusiastic reception from the residents of the usurped villages, leaving only the old people unfit for war, women and children. While this was underway, Amin with a platoon went back to the Turkish fort to obtain more weapons.
But at that time he had a new idea: he ordered clothes in the Turk fashion, camels, donkeys, merchant dresses in the Damascene fashion. He divided his men into three well-armed columns; one disguised as Turkish pilgrims to Hajj, another disguised as Damascene merchants. These two were to penetrate Mussa's territory from the North and the South, with the youngest ones disguised as women so they did not catch the enemy's attention. Amin with the third column would come down the mountains from the East. In twenty six days everything was ready.
I was completely unaware of all this, and could not even guess that Mussa's capital would be assaulted: this was not in our immediate plans, only if, after the reconquest of the territory belonging to Amin, Mussa did not surrender to the inevitable. For this reason I was ready to die. I just did not know if my death would have come from hunger, or from the tortures or if a compassionate hand would shorten my slow agony. Sometimes I felt the temptation to ask my captors to finish me, but I did not give in. I had decided that from my mouth no sound would escape, so I kept silent. Also I thought that, if I asked for death, they might believe I was near to surrender.
At times one of the guardians, when we were alone, talked to me. By his words I understood that he had great admiration for my behaviour and a great pity for me. This was of some comfort to me, even if I did not speak a single word to him. He tried to relieve my conditions of imprisonment and at times he succeeded in making me sip some water without his colleagues being aware. The man was merciful and soon I realized I was waiting his shift with anxiety. To me, in my increasingly desperate conditions, that human presence, unique among so many others notable for their indifference or cruelty, was even more precious than the few sips of water that by occasionally he could make me drink. Certainly it was his compassion that kept me alive and allowed me to resist for so long a time. Sometimes, even in the most desperate of situations, a ray of light rises in the least expected way. Allah does not abandon anyone who is faithful to him, my master, the good Imam Abbas, had said. I recalled the holy man slaughtered by Mussa's men in that horrible night, and in my heart I spoke to him:
"Prepare a place near you for me, master. Soon I will arrive. I promise I will no more bother you."
I was praying with those words when I saw what appeared to be a great light flooding the underground cell and the image of the Imam Abbas materialized in front of me. I saw him looking at me with his good natured smile, then he shook his head several times making his fluent white beard wave, and then it seemed that I heard his voice saying to me:
"No, it is not yet your time, Nadim. You will grow old at the side of your Lord, in the shadow of his love..."
Then both the Imam and the light vanished and I was again in half darkness, broken only by the faint lantern of my guardian, who slept seated and leaning against the wall in front of me. I was left to wonder if I had had a vision, or a dream, or if everything was just the fruit of my imagination, of my weakened mind.
What I did not know was that the merchants caravan was already in the town, having passed through the controls at the city gate without difficulty. They had entered with no weapons but with lots of merchandise. A small group was hiding outside the walls with all the weapons they would bring in at night, to whom the fake merchants would lower baskets. The fake merchants went to the Bazaar and to the Masjid square, and had begun to sell their goods, behaving just as a real merchant would.
The second day the merchants were in town, the caravan of pilgrims from the north arrived. They were escorted by armed men, and of course the escort remained outside the walls, even if that contravened the traditional rules of hospitality towards pilgrims. But Mussa had used a similar stratagem and now was diffident about allowing anyone else the same privilege. The armed men, therefore, remained outside the city, but the men and the "women", after a check, were allowed to enter so that they could rest and buy what they needed. Everything had been planned in the smallest detail. When the pilgrims were in town, at sunset, when the gates had been shut for a short time, the alarm was given: two of the pilgrims had the plague. That, as expected, put in the entire city in turmoil. The citizens, panic-stricken, insisted that the pilgrims be expelled from the city, so one of the gates had to be re-opened.
In the meanwhile Amin with his men had come down from the mountains, killing everybody he met along the road, and by evening he was in sight of the capital. The panic created by the news of the plague caused the larger part of the guards on the walls to be called to the gates to face the maddened throng. This allowed the fake merchants to lower their baskets over a part of the walls that had now no watchers, and easily bring in the weapons. Then, armed with rifles and scimitars, they attacked from inside a small postern gate, surprising and killing the guards. They opened the postern and the escorts of the fake pilgrims entered with more weapons. In minutes a large group of well armed men were in the city. They attacked one gate after another, killing the guards and opening it. The citizens, initially, did not understand what was happening. They thought that our soldiers were armed citizens wanting the pilgrims to be banished, so they helped our men.
But through the opened gates entered all our men and in a short while the entire city was in our hands. Then they all converged on Mussa's palace... Mussa initially thought it was a popular uprising due to the plague and had simply barred himself in his palace. But soon he understood that it had to be something very different: armed men were scaling the gardens' walls.
I, in my underground cell, was completely unaware of what was happening. Under there I could not hear the faintest echo of these events. In spite of the help of the good warden, I was at the end of my tether, and often I lost my senses. I did not hear the soldiers calling my warden and only later I realized that I was now alone, in complete darkness. That change made me think. They had never left me alone all during my time in prison. Did it mean that they had decided to abandon me, to let me die of starvation? I thought that probable. Strangely enough, I did not feel fear, anguish, any emotion whatsoever. I had in me a kind of absolute calm. The only thing I regretted was not to be able to see again my beloved Amin. I could not imagine how near he was!
The assault on the Palace continued, meanwhile, a few dozen feet over my cell. Amin's men, armed with modern Turk carbines, were harvesting huge numbers of victims from the Palace defendants, armed with just a few old rifles, scimitars and bows. Before dawn a great part of the Palace was already conquered. Mussa, with a few loyal people, resisted in the higher part of the old fortress. Amin meanwhile questioned all the prisoners to find out where I was. But they could not find me in the prisons, as I had been kept in a separate cell, in another part of the palace. Amin was sure I was inside the fortress and was uncertain: his men had suggested that he burn the powerful building, so that Mussa would have to come out or perish in the fire. But Amin, fearing I could be also there, in chains, and that I too could die in the flames, could not make up his mind.
He was trying to reach a decision when one of the prisoners, perhaps my merciful warden, asked to be brought into Amin's presence. When Amin met him, he said that he could lead him to my prison. Amin decided to follow him, notwithstanding all the advice of the others who feared it could be a last desperate ambush. Followed by some of his men he went down the narrow galleries under the New Palace and arrived at my cell. When he entered I was drifting in and out of reality, lethargic, so weak in body and spirit that I no longer really cared what came next, and of course with no realization of the events that were transpiring around me. When the door crashed open I vaguely considered that they had not left me to die of starvation, but had come back to finish me off. I saw an indistinct light but could not focus on any of the images coming towards me. Then I heard a sound, and instantly recognized Amin's voice:
"Nadim! Praise be to Allah! Free him!"
I asked myself if it was another vision. While careful hands held me, others were busy trying to break my chains. Amin held me by my waist in a kind of embrace and talked to me in a loving, subdued voice:
"My friend... we arrived in time. Victory is in our hands. But I want you to enjoy it personally..."
At last they freed me and carried me out. The early morning daylight hurt my eyes and I had to shut them. They laid me down on a divan in the Palace.
Amin summoned his army leaders and gave orders to maintain the siege of the old fortress, but to do nothing else. Nobody was to enter or leave there until he went personally to direct the operations. They brought water and wet my skin, made me drink a little. I was trying to talk but did not have the energy. Only my eyes could express something to my beloved Amin, who remained near me, attentive, waiting until I could recover somewhat. I think I lost consciousness several times. But at last I succeeded in opening my eyes, looked into Amin's anxious face, and said in a whisper:
"I am alive... I will recover rapidly now that you are with me."
"Yes, my loved one! You are alive, thanks be to Allah. When you are able to move, we will go and start the final assault on the traitor. Only the old fortress has yet to capitulate. The city and the palace are entirely in our hands. Mussa is finished. But I want you in person to order the final attack."
I think two days elapsed. Then, with Amin's help, supported by him, I went out of the palace and took a seat in front of the massive fortress walls. All around the fortress, especially against the great iron-reinforced wooden gate, they had piled all the wood they had found in the city, everything from furniture and ceiling beams, to window and door frames they had taken from city houses.
"They are waiting your signal to light the fire, Nadim." Amin said.
So I gave the signal. In a short while the immense pyre was ablaze. The stone walls of course were not attacked by fire, but cracked and fissured from the intense heat. The gate and the internal wooden structures quickly ignited and burned with high smoke spirals. From inside came no sign of life. Even from the battlements archers and soldiers had withdrawn and behind the windows not a soul could be seen moving. Tall smoke trails lapped and darkened the walls of the old fortress and the heat was terrible. When, after two days of intense fire, the flames finally diminished and died, we had to wait one more day before the embers could be approached. Then with a big beam, after a few strokes, what remained of the great portal was knocked down. The portcullis that had been closed behind the gates rapidly gave way, because the cracked stones easily flaked off under the powerful strokes of the battering ram and of our pick-axes. The way was now open and our soldiers entered the fortress. All the enemies had barricaded themselves into the tower rising from the uppermost part of the fortress. Amin gave orders to wall up the entrances and to watch night and day so that no-one could escape by lowering themselves down the walls.
Meanwhile our men were counted: happily our losses had been very few. Amin immediately organized the administration of the conquered capital. Among the prisoners there were some members of Mussa's family. Amin gave orders to put them in the prison cells, so that he would have time to weigh up everyone responsibilities and to decide their destiny. He sent proclamations to all the cities and surrounding territories announcing his victory and inviting anyone who had suffered wrong from members of the defeated reigning family to appear and to stand in witness against them. For this purpose, Amin set up a great jury composed half of his best men and half of the mullahs and prominent citizens of the conquered territory.
Soon the trial started, in front of the people assembled in the courtyard of the principal masjid. Amin had decided that Mussa's family members and officials judged innocent, or not accused of any misdeed and crime, would be free to go where they pleased, and the others punished according the gravity of their abuse of power.
Meanwhile, thanks to Amin's assiduous care and of the best local doctors treatments, I was slowly recovering. Amin, notwithstanding he was busy night and day to reorganize the conquered territory, never left me without his attention and his affection.
Two months later I was at last in good condition. Then Amin handed over government of the ex- capital to one of his men, aided by a council of local prominent citizens that swore loyalty to him. Then we started a series of short raids to conquer the last strongholds still in the hands of Mussa's men. Some capitulated as soon as we appeared in front of the walls, others only after sieges and hard battles. But in a few months all the territory of Mussa was subdued and quiet in our hands. The Shaikhs of the neighbouring territories did not move. Mussa had no real friends among his neighbours, and Amin had sent messages assuring them that not a span of their territories would be touched.
Amin showed clemency with those who swore loyalty to him, or that asked him for permission to leave, but was ruthless with all who had vexed the population. He issued edicts repealing several of Mussa's unfair laws, and halved the taxes on the population. In a short while the tribes of the territories that had belonged to Mussa acclaimed Amin as their Shaikh. So we could finally start to organize the reconquest of the territory of Amin family.
At the fortress tower, meanwhile, nothing was happening. One day we were informed that two of Mussa's men had fallen headlong from the tower's battlements. We could not know if they were thrown down and killed, if they were suicides or if it was an accident. All the men still enclosed in the tower were probably dead, but Amin gave orders that the tower would be opened only after he had completed the reconquest of his territories.
CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 14
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