Samak the Ayyar by Freydoon Rassouli

Author:Freydoon Rassouli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC019000, Fiction/Literary, LCO004000, Literary Collections/Asian/General
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2021-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

30

MASSACRE IN A CANYON

RAZMOQ had been watching from the woods when Benkhan’s soldiers took Mahpari and Ruhafza out of the cavern. He knew he would soon be exposed and that they would come for him and his family next. He hurried back to his two sons and told them: “We must leave the forest. Our only hope is to go to Khorshid Shah’s army camp and ask for his protection. I pray no harm will come to your mother and sisters. How I wish I had never taken that ayyar’s gold!”

Razmoq and his sons began running along the river path that led to Chin’s army camp, the same route Razmoq had shown Atashak. They soon ran into Atashak on his way back to Falaki Fortress with Kirmun and five hundred soldiers.

Razmoq told them that Mahpari had been recaptured and taken back to the fortress. Kirmun absorbed this bad news, and asked: “How many soldiers are guarding the fortress?” Razmoq answered: “Four hundred. But at least two hundred are outside now searching the woods.”

Kirmun said: “We should take advantage of this situation and attack the soldiers while they are outside the fortress. What is our best chance to approach without being seen?” Razmoq replied: “Below the fortress is a deep canyon near a waterfall. You and your men could camp there out of sight.”

Kirmun ordered Razmoq to lead them there. He then turned to Atashak and said: “Since you are not a warrior, there is no need for you to take part in this battle. You have already done a great service to Khorshid Shah. You are free to go if you wish.” Atashak thanked him and left immediately for Machin.

Kirmun and his army followed Razmoq, reaching the canyon just before dusk. It was just as Razmoq had described it. They settled there to plan their attack.

Not far away, Tarmashe and Benkhan rode with a group of soldiers searching the woods for Samak. Tarmashe suddenly stopped and silenced Benkhan. In the darkness they could hear the faint sound of someone whistling.

Tarmashe gestured to Benkhan to stay where he was. Dismounting, he crept silently through the woods in the direction of the sound. As he reached the river, he saw in the moonlight a man whistling while his horse drank water.

Tarmashe jumped the man from behind, forced him to the ground, and tied his hands behind his back before he could defend himself. Tarmashe demanded: “Who are you? What are you doing in these woods?” The man replied that he was a hunter from Machin tracking a herd of deer.

Tarmashe asked: “Do you know who I am?”

The man shook his head. Tarmashe punched him in the face so hard his nose bled, and shouted: “You’re a liar! Anyone from Machin would know I am Tarmashe.”

The man said quickly: “Tarmashe! Forgive me, I didn’t recognize you in the darkness!”

Tarmashe snarled: “Another lie! I’m going to beat you until you tell me the truth.” Picking up a stick, he began beating the man without mercy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.