14:17 (Central Asia Time)
Friday, September 20, 61 B.C.E.
Main road following the western shore of the Ganges River
Two kilometers northwest of Pataliputra (modern-day Patna)
‘’PATALIPUTRA, AT LAST!’’
The joyful shout from Hiram made the members of his caravan cheer as one as they eyed the vast walled city visible in the distance. Nauca was no less happy than the others and exchanged a grin with Timur, who was riding point with her.
‘’Nearly six months of travel since we left Samarkand: it will be nice to be able to finally take a week or two of rest before hitting the road again.’’
‘’We certainly deserve such a break, Nauca, and so do our tired beasts. Still, we were lucky: we didn’t lose a single horse or camel during this trip.’’
‘’True! When I was traveling with Yurkan’s caravan and heading towards China, we lost two horses in sandstorms while crossing the Taklamakan Desert. That is one place I definitely do not like.’’
‘’The same here. That place is like Hell.’’
An hour later, the caravan had reached the city and had entered it after paying the customary gate toll. Hiram was now looking for a decent caravanserai that could lodge his caravan and was trotting along a busy street when someone shouted out loud in Greek.
‘’HIRAM? HIRAM OF SAMARKAND? YOU FINALLY CAME TO PATALIPUTRA!’’
Looking in the direction where the shout had come from, a surprised Hiram saw a bearded man wearing a turban who was nearly running towards him through the crowd of pedestrians.
‘’SAJITH SINGH? IS THAT YOU?’’
‘’OF COURSE IT’S ME!’’ shouted back the man, who then reached him and looked up at him while grinning. ‘’It’s been, what, two years since we met first in Urgench, my friend? What finally decided you to come to India and Pataliputra?’’
‘’The Romans made me decide so, Sajith. On my last trip to Tanais, I found out that there was now a Roman garrison at that trading post. Unfortunately, that garrison and its commander had instituted new trade taxes, on top of the usual taxes levied by the local archon{10}, taxes that mostly erased the profits I was expected to make from my visit to Tanais. These Romans thus confirmed to me their vaunted greed. So, instead of going West for my next caravan, I decided to go South.’’
‘’What?’’ exclaimed Singh in a falsely indignant tone. ‘’You didn’t come to Pataliputra to visit me in my home?’’
‘’Well, business is business.’’ replied Hiram, smiling, making Singh grin again.
‘’Now, that is an excuse I can understand and accept. I suppose that you are now looking for a decent caravanserai where you could lodge your people and your beasts?’’
‘’I am! You know one such establishment?’’
‘’If I know one? I own one and my brother runs it! We presently have plenty of place left and it also is next door to one of the biggest market and shops district in the city. If you will follow me, I will guide you to it.’’
Hiram eagerly followed Singh from then on as the local caravan master led him along a collection of streets. Singh couldn’t help gawk at Nauca and at the other four girls who were part of the caravan and looked up at Hiram, who was still on his horse.
‘’You now have five girls with your caravan? Are you trying to form an Amazon troupe or what?’’
Hiram chuckled at that before answering Singh.
‘’It’s a bit of a complicated story but two of those new girls effectively fought with my Nauca in order to protect us from a group of bandits we encountered near Mathura. I will tell you all about that and much more at supper.’’
‘’Then, let’s have that supper together at my own house, rather than at the caravanserai’s inn. Bring your girls and your associates with you as well.’’
‘’Uh, is your house big enough to greet all of us, Sajith?’’
‘’Let’s say that business has been good to me for a few years already, Hiram. I will only have to warn my cooks to prepare for twenty or so extra guests. By the way, your Nauca has grown quite well during the past two years. I will have to warn my son Najib to watch where his hands will wander.’’
‘’Please do that, Sajith: Nauca is as fierce as before. She and two of my brother’s caravan guards annihilated a Chinese cavalry column of more than thirty men sent after us by a renegade general who had taken over Khotan.’’
‘’Thirty Chinese soldiers?! Wow! She is a true Amazon alright! She will have to tell her story about that during supper.’’
‘’Oh, she has plenty more incredible stories to tell on top of that one, my friend.’’
Hiram then let it at that and mostly kept silent while Sajith guided his caravan to one of the largest caravanserai he had seen in his career as a caravan master. That caravanserai also proved to be well equipped and well run, with an inn that counted no less than sixty guest rooms built on two upper levels above a vast reception hall. It also had a bath and laundry house, a solidly built and guarded merchandise storage building and even had a brothel, which made many members of Hiram’s caravan grin with anticipation. Before leaving him to return to his home, Sajith presented his brother Imran, who ran the caravanserai, to Hiram, enjoining Imran to treat Hiram and his associates as favored guests. He also promised to send his son Najib later on, so that he could guide Hiram’s group to his house for supper. Once Sajith was gone, Hiram concentrated on unloading his beasts, storing away their precious bundles of merchandises and taking possession of the rooms assigned to his people. Deciding that he wanted his people to look at their best when they would go to Sajith’s house, he told his associates and guards to take a good bath and change into clean clothes after taking possession of their respective rooms.
When Nauca and the four other girls of the caravan went to the bath house, they did so as a group, hoping to find a separate bathing room reserved for women. They got a nasty surprise when they found out that the bath house had a single, large and shallow pool for everybody. When Nauca inquired about a separate pool for women, Imran Singh could only shrug his shoulders and give her an apologetic smile.
‘’I am sorry, lady, but we never had women with the caravans which visited my caravanserai, so this bath house was built only with male customers in mind. The only women who use that pool are the prostitutes invited in by my male guests.’’
Nauca sighed with discouragement on hearing that, then looked at her four female friends.
‘’Damn! I really wanted to take a good bath after this long trip.’’
Igrid, Talya, Amara and Babita exchanged looks before Igrid made a suggestion.
‘’The men of our caravan have proved themselves to be trustworthy up to date, Nauca. If they promise not to try to touch us, then I would be ready to bathe with them.’’
‘’Really? That would be like tempting the Devil, Igrid. What about Amara and Babita? They are so young.’’
When Amara replied to that, it was with a most sober expression on her young face.
‘’I have already seen and experienced the worst in men, Nauca, and I really want to take a good bath. I also trust our men to show respect to us.’’
‘’And what about you, Babita?’’
‘’I am like Amara, Nauca: I already experience the worst in men. I say: let’s bathe with the men of our caravan. Besides, they will probably have rented plenty of prostitutes to bathe with, so we won’t be the only girls bathing naked with them.’’
‘’Talya?’’
‘’I don’t mind showing my body to our men, Nauca. Let’s go bathe with them.’’
‘’Well, hopefully this will not turn into a giant orgy.’’
‘’Nauca, there will be prostitutes present.’’ replied Igrid in a sarcastic tone. ‘’It WILL turn into a giant orgy.’’
‘’I see that you all have adventurous minds, girls. Alright, let’s go in and bathe!’’
Like in many bathhouses she had previously visited, Nauca and her friends saw that bathers were required to first wash, scrub and rinse themselves in a separate room before entering the communal pool. They also saw that, as Babita had predicted, over a dozen prostitutes, all of them quite young and with a couple of them being early teenagers, had been ‘invited’ by the men of the caravan. Waiting in the lobby of the bath house while the men were scrubbing and washing themselves with the help of the prostitutes they had rented, Nauca and her four female friends then went in the washroom after the men had filed out to go into the communal pool. Undressing and leaving their clothes in the care of an old female servant, the five of them then eagerly washed off the dust and grime from their weeks of travel. They also took turns into scrubbing and washing each other’s backs. Once clean, Nauca took a deep breath before leaving the washroom and going to the communal pool.
‘’There goes nothing, girls! Be ready for a lot of ogling.’’
‘’Pah!’’ said Igrid dismissively. ‘’That’s just part of the fun.’’
When the five of them walked inside the pool room, fully naked and with Nauca leading, all the men soaking in the pool with their rented prostitutes froze and stared at them with disbelieving looks, which turned quickly into pleased looks as the girls stepped into the pool. Seeing that the men stayed in their places and didn’t wade towards them as they crouched down to their necks in the warm water, the five women and girls quickly relaxed and concentrated on enjoying their bath. Seeing that Askhat, their old cook, had not rented the services of a prostitute and seemed to take the whole scenery in stride, Amara, who had worked every day on the trail as his assistant cook, decided to go join him in his corner of the pool, where he stood alone.
‘’I’m going to keep company with Askhat, Nauca. He always treated me correctly and is like a father to me.’’
‘’Askhat is effectively a good, decent old man, Amara.’’
The old cook gently smiled when he saw the young Greek girl come to him and wrapped one arm around her shoulders as she snuggled herself next to him in the pool.
‘’Thank you for coming to me like this, Amara. Your confidence in me touches me, truly.’’
Amara looked up at the old Kazakh man while resting her head against his chest and passing her own right arm around his torso.
‘’You are worthy of my confidence, Askhat, and always was. You are a good man and deserves some company after this long trip.’’
The old cook swallowed hard on hearing those words, deeply touched by them.
‘’Amara, you are the daughter I would have liked to have. Unfortunately, my wife died years ago and my own sons have left a long time ago to go live their own lives.’’
‘’And you are like a father to me.’’
Askhat then kissed her on the top of her head, making her hug him even more tightly. Hiram, watching from his corner of the pool, nodded in approval at that scene and spoke to his associate Kasim, who was next to him along the edge of the pool.
‘’I am happy to see that Askhat and Amara are like this together. We are all friends of Askhat but he had been such a lonely man during the years he served with my caravan. He and Amara deserve each other.’’
Kasim nodded his head at that before throwing a discrete look at Nauca, whose firm breasts stuck out of the water.
‘’Nauca and the other girls have just shown how much they trust us, by coming to bathe naked like this with us. In a way, they just made us a great compliment, Hiram.’’
‘’True! I hope that all of our men will prove to be worthy of their trust.’’
‘’Well, they rented enough prostitutes to keep busy in the pool.’’ replied Kasim, a grin on his lips.
There was quite a lot of ‘action’ in the pool as they soaked up for a good half hour while the prostitutes earned their pay. Out of a common accord, the five girls left the pool first to go dry themselves up and put on fresh, clean clothes they had brought with them, with Askhat being the only man to go out of the pool with them, accompanying Amara to the dressing room. When the rest of the men emerged from the bath house, clean and dressed, they saw that Nauca was now wearing her fine Punjabi ochre-colored embroidered silk ensemble of baggy pants and long side-split tunic, plus wore a very expensive-looking set of jewels, including a gold tiara inlaid with emeralds and rubies. She also wore at her belt a finely decorated and engraved dagger with a pommel made of a large lapis lazuli. Young Timur could only stare with admiration at her and her outfit.
‘’My, Nauca, you look like a queen!’’
‘’Well, I am hoping to impress Sajith at supper time, so I took out the finest that I brought with me.’’
‘’You mean that you own something even nicer than this?’’
Nauca nodded slowly once, now looking serious.
‘’These jewels were gifts from a king, Timur. I left in Samarkand another set of jewels that I received from an emperor.’’
‘’Gifts from a king? Which king?’’
‘’I prefer to keep that to myself, Timur. So, guys, are you ready to go visit Sajith’s house?’’
‘’Let’s first wait for young Najib to come to the caravanserai. This city is one of the biggest ones I ever saw and it should be quite easy to lose yourself in it if we tried to simply follow some oral indications from Imran. Besides, it would be impolite to show up at Sajith’s house before he would be ready to receive us.’’
‘’True! Then, we could all go have a cup of wine at the inn while waiting for Najib.’’
‘’An excellent idea! TO THE INN!’’
They had time to drink a single cup of wine each before young Najib showed up to guide them to his father’s house. When they got to it, some fifty meters away from the caravanserai, Hiram had to stop for a moment as he stared at the big stone building.
‘’Your father told me that business had been good to him in the last few years but he didn’t tell me that it had been THIS good to him, Najib.’’
‘’Well, market for gems and precious stones has been very profitable for him lately.’’
‘’Really? Me, Nauca and Xiao are actually looking for a good source of nice emeralds and rubies to buy.’’
‘’Then, you are in luck, Hiram of Samarkand. My father recently acquired a stock of beautiful rubies from Arakan{11}, which is reputed to be the source of the nicest and biggest rubies one can find. I am sure that he could make a special deal on them for you.’’
Hiram grinned at that while rubbing his hands together.
‘’Excellent! A good meal and constructive trade deals: what more can a man hope for?’’
‘’Nice women?’’ replied Najib in a sneaky tone, making Hiram smile to him.
‘’Spoken like a typical young man. But you are right: nice women go well with good food and good deals.’’
Najib did not reply to that, instead inviting Hiram and his people to follow him inside the two-story house, which could nearly qualify as a small palace. A head servant bowed deeply to Hiram when he entered the front lobby of the house.
‘’Welcome to Sajith Singh’s modest house, Hiram of Samarkand. If you will follow me, I will lead you to the banquet room.’’
The fifteen men and five women and girls followed the servant down a hallway whose floor was made of marble, to finally enter a large room where large cushions and low tables were distributed along the walls, surrounding a small rectangular stone pond with a fountain in the center of it.
‘’Well, any less ‘modest’ than this and I would think that your master was a prince, or even a king.’’ said Hiram to the head servant, his words meant as a joking compliment. In response, the head servant bowed again while smiling.
‘’Here, in Pataliputra, being a good guest is paramount if one wants to succeed in business.’’
‘’A most judicious rule, I must say.’’
‘’Then, let me show you and your people to their places in this room. My master should be here any moment now.’’
As promised by the head servant, Sajith Sing entered the banquet room with his wife as the last of the caravan members were shown their seats. Sajith then went at once to Hiram, who got up from his cushion to greet him.
‘’My good Hiram, I am so happy to be able to host you in my house. May I present to you my wife, Indira?’’
Hiram bowed low to the still pretty woman in her forties standing next to Sajith.
‘’It is an honor to meet you, Lady Indira.’’
‘’Please, just call me ‘Indira’: I am no royalty, after all.’’
‘’As you wish, Indira. May I in turn present to you and your husband the members of my caravan?’’
‘’Please do, Hiram of Samarkand.’’
Starting with his head associate Kasim, Hiram then went around the room, presenting each of his associates and guards to Sajith and Indira. Both of them opened wide eyes when Nauca’s turn to be presented came, impressed by her dress and jewels.
‘’By Krishna!’’ exclaimed Sajith while admiring Nauca’s jewels and outfit. ‘’I see that I was not the only one to whom caravan trading proved to be profitable. You have the beauty and appearance of a queen, Nauca.’’
‘’Those jewels you are wearing would in fact rival anything that the wife of King Bhumimitra has, young Nauca.’’ added his wife.
‘’And I am wearing them to honor your invitation to your house, Indira.’’ replied Nauca, careful not to reveal the origin of her jewels. Indira nodded her head at her reply, favorably impressed.
‘’I heard that you are a warrior of great valor, Nauca of Sarmatia. I am looking forward to hearing the stories of your exploits tonight.’’
Nauca understood then that refusing to tell her stories tonight would be considered like an insult by her hosts, something quite understandable in the present circumstances. She then sat back on her cushion as Hiram continued to present his remaining associates and guards to the couple.
Once the presentations were completed, Sajith Singh clapped his hands loudly, calling in his servants.
‘’LET START THIS SUPPER WITH SOME NICE WINE, MY FRIENDS.’’
Three male servants then entered the banquet room, each carrying a small amphora in their hands. They then went around the room, filling the cups of the guests before the cups for Sajith, Indira and Najib were filled. Sajith then raised his cup high.
‘’TO ALL CARAVAN MEN…AND WOMEN, WHO BRAVE LONG, HARD TRIPS IN ORDER TO BRING GOODS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.’’
‘’TO CARAVAN MEN AND WOMEN!’’ replied in unison Hiram and his caravan members before taking a sip of wine from their cups. Following this, Sajith again clapped his hands together.
‘’LET THIS BANQUET BEGIN!’’
This time, no less than eight male servants showed up, carrying a variety of large, covered silver service plates, which they distributed around the room, putting them down in front of the guests before removing their covers, revealing an appetizing variety of meats and vegetables accompanied by rice. Two female servants then followed, distributing around round slices of flat bread.
‘’EAT AND ENJOY, MY FRIENDS!’’ said Sajith, giving the signal to his guests to start eating. Young Babita discreetly pointed a deep bowl filled with a reddish-brown sauce as Nauca was about to soak a piece of nan bread in it.
‘’Be careful with this sauce, Nauca: it is devilishly hot. If you don’t like things that are too spicy, then I would counsel that you try that sauce to the right instead.’’
‘’Thanks for the warning, Babita. And you, do you like spicy things?’’
Babita’s answer was to soak a piece of bread into the sauce she had just warned Nauca about and then eat it with a smile.
‘’I was raised on such spicy cuisine, Nauca.’’
Just for curiosity’s sake, Nauca then dipped a small tip of her bread into the hot sauce and tasted it. It didn’t take more than a second before her eyes opened wide, while sweat broke out on her forehead and her tongue felt on fire, forcing her to gulp down some wine in a hurry.
‘’By Cybele! This sauce is like liquid fire! And you really like it, Babita?’’
‘’I am eating it, aren’t I?’’ replied the girl, amused. Nauca shook her head at that and prudently switched to the other type of sauce which, while quite spicy, was at least manageable for her tongue and throat. Despite that memorable first bite, the meal proved excellent and very tasty, attracting many compliments from the guests around the room and pleasing Sajith and his wife.
While the supper went on, Hiram and his associates exchanged tales of their travels with their hosts, with Nauca also contributing her stories to the discussion. The recounting of her various fights and battles, including the story of how she had avenged the murder of her whole family by marauders, impressed greatly both Sajith and Indira, who eyed her with renewed admiration and respect.
‘’You certainly bring pride to the legendary Amazons, young Nauca.’’ said Indira. ‘’You also lived quite an interesting life in those short few years. To be received and being gifted by the Chinese emperor himself is truly something to brag about.’’
‘’You know what impressed me most about Emperor Xuan, Indira? His care for his subjects, however low they are socially. I was told that he was raised as a commoner in his young age, after he was chased away from the imperial palace by a usurper. When he was put on the throne, he never forgot his first modest years and showed both respect and care for all his subjects, something unheard of before.’’
‘’That is something quite unusual indeed, Nauca. Here, in India, there is something in Hinduism that is called the caste system, which separates people by different social classes, starting at birth. Unfortunately, that caste system is a most rigid one and, in my opinion, also a cruel and exploitative one. Have you heard about it?’’
‘’I have, Indira!’’ answered Nauca, her expression sober. ‘’Young Babita here, who was born in Mathura, told me about it during our nights in our tent while we were traveling. To be frank, the Hindu caste system would be abhorrent to all my Sarmatian compatriots and not only to me. We Sarmatians consider everybody as equals, be they men or women, kings or simple hunters and cattle herders.’’
Indira nodded her head in approval, then looked at eleven-year-old Babita.
‘’And in what caste were you born, little Babita?’’
Indira didn’t miss the fact that Nauca stiffened on hearing that question. As for Babita, she touched Nauca’s forearm to signify to her that she was okay with that question, then looked soberly at their hostess.
‘’I was born in the Kshatriya{12} caste but was rejected recently by my family after bandits attacked and raped me while on a trip to a temple away from Mathura. I then joined this caravan, where I was welcomed with true love and care. I now consider Nauca like a big sister.’’
Indira exchanged a stunned look with her husband before looking back at Babita.
‘’Your story is a most sad one but, thankfully, it ended well for you. Nauca, you are not only brave and fearless: you are also caring and compassionate, which only adds to your merit. May I ask you about the three other girls who accompany you?’’
‘’You may, Indira. All three of them were initially enslaved by the Romans and sold as such in Tanais. When I heard about them, I bought their freedom and took them as companions for my trips. I am teaching Igrid and Talya to become good warriors and caravan guards, while little Amara has become our assistant cook. As I said before, Sarmatians relish freedom and I profoundly dislike this business of slavery.’’
This time, it was Sajith who commented on her answer.
‘’Decidedly, I wish that more people could be like you, Nauca. This World would then be a better one by far.’’
‘’Thank you, Sajith. Now, to change subject, you may know that I am highly interested by two types of items for trade: gems and spices. Since this country has much of both, would you have tips or references which could be of interest to me or Hiram?’’
‘’I can do better than that, Nauca: I could offer you both gems and spices I presently have in stock, and this at very competitive prices. I will be most happy to show them to you and Hiram tomorrow morning and discuss business together then.’’
Hiram smiled widely on hearing that.
‘’I will certainly be here tomorrow to see your gems and spices, Sajith.’’
‘’And what would you have to propose to me in exchange, my friend?’’
‘’Gold and silver, lots of it! We have been selling off our goods, including horses and amber, while on our way to here and our purses are now quite fat as a result.’’
‘’Gold and silver are always welcomed, friend. Talking of amber, I was due to leave in a couple of weeks to go to Samarkand and then Tanais, in order to buy and bring back amber, which is highly appreciated here and can’t be found in this region. However, what you told me about greedy Romans being present in Tanais kind of discouraged me a bit about that project.’’
To his surprise, it was Nauca who responded to that.
‘’There is a way to obtain top-quality amber from the Baltic region without having to pass by Tanais, Sajith. My own tribe often dealt with traders coming from the Baltic with loads of amber and I have heard a lot about that trade. Once back in Samarkand, I have in mind to trek towards the Northwest and the Baltic, where I could buy lots of amber at good prices by cutting away many layers of intermediaries along the Amber Road. Then, I would return to Samarkand and possibly to Pataliputra with that amber. There is however a new obstacle between us and Samarkand these days: the Sakas and the Kushans are at war south and southeast of Bactria and that war is threatening the caravan roads between here and Sogdiana. The one alternate route that we could possibly take is via the Karakoram Mountains. However, neither me nor Hiram ever used that road and don’t know much about it, apart from the fact that it is a very tough and dangerous trip.’’
‘’The Karakoram is indeed a tough place, my friend. Thankfully for you and Hiram, my caravan has traveled it a number of times while heading towards China and Sogdiana. Both of our caravans could thus cross the Karakoram Mountains if need be and go to Samarkand together.’’
A big grin instantly appeared on Hiram’s face on hearing that.
‘’That is a marvelous idea, Sajith! I would be most happy to have my caravan join your caravan on such a trip.’’
‘’Then, consider that as a firm offer, Hiram. We can discuss the details about it further tomorrow, along with you looking at my gems and spices. Now, let’s continue eating before our food grows cold.’’