Chapter 36 QAZVIN Sabbah and his party turned the corner into the square. His face, already bloody and grim, puckered in an expression that seemed to mix rage with revulsion. Fakhr ad-Din, who had been leaning on his shoulder for support, sank to his knees with a groan. ‘What in the name of Satan and …
Tag: The Tiger and the Cauldron
The Tiger and the Cauldron(35)
Chapter 35 TALAQAN Ghazan had launched everything into the attack. His archers in two pincer waves strove to cut into Baidu’s flanks while five thousand heavy cavalrymen from the Khorasan tumen mounted two charges against the enemy’s front ranks. Rashid watched apprehensively from the hilltop. The last hour had been one of inactivity for him …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(34)
Chapter 34 QAZVIN The western walls of Qazvin looked very strong and forbidding, thought Hassan, and the gate, one of seven round the city, very small and narrow. Doquz, crouching ten paces away, her eyes fixed frowningly on the guards’ positions, seemed to be above fear. It was beyond him to understand what she had …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(33)
Chapter 33 Doquz squatted in the shade of the battlements and covered her face with her hands. ‘Was that very foolish, Sabbah?’ she asked. ‘The man’s attitude infuriated me but I should not have reacted as I did.’ ‘Foolish or not, they have gone, or will have gone soon,’ Hassan said. ‘Zanjani had only contempt …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(32)
Chapter 32 TALAQAN Ghazan’s forces had twice driven a wedge into the centre of Baidu’s army and twice they had been driven back. Twice his regiments of picked archers had closed on the enemy flanks like the claws of a gigantic eagle, releasing hail after hail of arrows into their midst, and twice they had …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(31)
Chapter 31 Dawn came too quickly for Hassan. He had hardly slept but his body felt warm and alive. Doquz lay close to him beneath the double blanket, her wounded arm still wrapped round his chest, one knee pressing against his belly and her cheek nuzzling his chin. Over the last fortnight the growth of …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(30)
Chapter 30 Note: the parasang is an old Persian measure of distance, equal to about 5.5 kilometres The mechanism built by the Assassins for drawing water had long been dismantled, however a search of the caves uncovered some urns and wine casks abandoned by later occupiers of the fortress. Most were damaged or wasted beyond …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(29)
Chapter 29 The heat had abated and beneath the wall it was pleasantly warm. Hassan was excited by the discoveries he had made in the old fortress, but puzzled by the turn of events over the past week. Ever since their last night at Maragha he had looked forward to the delight of holding Doquz …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(28)
Chapter 28 THE VALLEY OF THE ASSASSINS The rock on which the once impregnable fortress of Alamut stood lay in the heart of the Alburz Mountains. There were many such rocks and many such fortresses in the region, but three had earned a place in popular myth, Lamasar, Maymun-Diz and Alamut itself - last bastions …
The Tiger and the Cauldron(27)
APOLOGY: To readers of my story, I want to apologise for the lengthy Chapter 25 posted a few days ago. I had meant to divide it into two smaller chapters but have only just realised that didn't happen. I shall try to be more careful in future Chapter 27 1295 CE THE SILK ROAD Fatima …
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