Chapter 6

Chapter 5

The moment was palpably tensed as Bastian commanded his soldiers to ransack the travellers; this time, in a rigorous and aggressive way. But as fate would have it for Limah who clung her infant between her breasts to maintain quiet amidst the commotion and tensed moment, she soon lost control of the situation by a little lapse in concentration as she accidentally let her baby let out uneasy shriek and whimpers in a moment of discomfort. Limah's infant screeched letting out a high-pitched cry which brought the soldiers to a halt to switch focus on Bojan's chariots. The pitch of the baby's cry was high and had been borne out of sheer discomfort.

At hearing the shriek, Bojan snatched the infant from Limah who struggled to shush the noise. Of course, the soldiers were drawn towards Bojan's chariots as Bastian and his troop readied to siege the chariots to sate their curiosity. As they advanced towards Bojan's chariots, the clever Balkan merchant instantly made a little fire tilted the flames towards the woolen curtain in one of the side entrances. Bojan cradled the child in his arms and stealthily escaped through the other side entrance while leaving Limah behind.

''Seize that chariot and bring everyone to proper check!'' Bastian ordered his soldiers even as they advanced towards Bojan's chariot where the noise had emanated from.

It was not long, however, before the little fire raged and waxed stronger as the flames spread up across the curtain. This inferno came within the soldiers' eyeshot and made them advance really fast towards the burning chariots.

However, the growing flames and aggressive marching of the soldiers towards the chariots scared the horses as the beasts neighed aggressively and consequently launched into a frantic gallop amidst the crowd of travellers. The horses went wild as the inferno raged stronger behind the two beasts pulling the chariots, leaving Limah trapped within the flames and fire in the chariot. This sudden outburst caused a fatal uproar and commotion amidst the crowd of travellers as all travellers got on the loose away from the city's gate on impulse.

Panic was in play and the burning chariot were on the loose. The travellers wouldn't cease in their tracks as they deemed this the best chance to run free from the soldiers' oppression. Of course, the soldiers equally doubled up on their chase and went right after the fleeing travellers.

Bojan had wrapped the baby up in a dusty cashmere material. He cradled the baby still in his arms as he rode on a different horse in a bid to match the speed of the crazy horses and burning chariots which had Limah trapped within.

The inferno within the chariot waxed stronger and stronger and Bojan intensified effort to catch up and ride closer to the burning chariots in a bid to salvage Limah from the fire.

''Venerable priestess!'' Bojan shouted while keeping pace with the burning chariot and panicking horses. He sighted Limah all covered up in her black veil amidst the flames. ''Come on, let me have your hand. I will catch you, trust me!''

Bastian and his troop were hot on the trail of the Balkans as they aimed to clamp them down in their numbers. Bojan rode faster on his horse while cradling the baby still amidst the mad rush and scrambling crowd who were on the loose for life. In spite of the heat of flames, the Balkan merchant veered his horse towards the burning chariot as close as he could in order to keep pace with the mad horses in motion.

''M'lady, throw me your arm; I'll catch it!'' Bojan shouted again urging Limah to vacate the burning chariot. ''Just leap! You're in safe hands, trust me, M'lady!''

In a wink of an eye, Limah summoned up courage and leapt frantically unto the back of Bojan's moving horse from the troubled chariot. She wobbled slightly as she struggled to cling to the back of the horse which was on motion still. Bojan managed to turn his head back to have a glance at the struggling Limah only to realise that the tail of her long veil had caught fire. His horse was on motion still; in spite of that, he managed to pin Limah down to the back of the horse with one of his left arm while his right arm cradled the baby as he sporadically switched focus between Limah and the horse's direction. He feared ceasing in track as Bastian and his troop advanced towards faster than ever as ever. The soldiers from the city of Athena wouldn't stop anytime soon. They were adamant, dogged and hellbent on bringing every Balkan down to ruins if the crying baby could not be discovered.

Bastian and his troop soon resorted to shooting arrows at the Balkans as had refused to halt. Many of the travellers began to crash to their instant death and some were engulfed with fire that had spread from the burning chariot. Bojan could see the fleeing travellers crash before his horse. He became even more tensed than ever as he had had to steady the troubled Limah with one arm and also direct his horse with his other arm that cradled the baby. The Balkan merchant had been lucky to dodge one of the flying arrows. However, Limah fortunes did not smile quite much on Limah as she was hit in the thighs by one of the arrows. Glancing back sporadically at Limah whom he had managed to pin down to the back of the horse as she struggled to cling to the horse's back, Bojan noticed the arrow the arrow that had pierced her thigh. The incident came within his eyeshot in one of his sporadic glances back. The priestess was bleeding. Damn! She looked haggard as though she was about to drop off the horse's back where she had precariously draped over.

''Hold on, M'lady! Hold on!'' Bojan shouted again. ''I will get you to your freedom! Just hold on!''

As fate would have it, the fleeing travellers hit the Judean desert. Bojan glanced back still and still noticed the troop chasing after a handful of the Balkans.

The Balkan merchant was engulfed in a mass of sweat. He was treading between death and life, but he had strived to cling to life. He might not know if Limah would cling to life, too, but he could sight freedom ahead of him.

The Judean desert was famous for Its sprawl of mountains and forbidden ancient caves. Most travellers would avoid this territory given the slim chances of surviving in the desert for long. Of course, it was a desert, and it held nothing of survival for humans. However, Bojan reckoned this a respite and his best chance to exempt himself from the chase. Suddenly, he veered his galloping horse towards one of the caves--albeit as stealthily as he could in a bid to escape the sight of the chasing soldiers. He ventured deep into the dark cave which obliviously had no signs of life within it. In this moment, the Balkan merchant looked back and found no traces of being chased. He, however, moved deeper into the cave in a bid to take refuge from the soldiers. Slowly, he went about it as he could have ample time to breath in and out. He was clear. He was out of sight of the the Athenean soldiers. And, of course, it was his best chance to tend to Limah and the baby after a bumpy, rough ride.

Bojan halted the horse and descended it as he untied the baby from the horse's belt. Cradling the baby who looked unperturbed in the wake of the turbulent ride, he discovered one of the tunnels and ventured into it, but the space reeked of decaying animals and skeletons. Instantly, he turned away from the dark tunnel to find a decent one a short distance towards the left side of the cave. Here, he found a cauldron filled with water and a little hole above the tunnel from which a ray of sunlight poured forth. Thanks to the tiny ray, Bojan would have seen nothing in the dark cave. He proceeded to lay the infant on a black ancient stone lying in the middle of the tunnel before dashing out of the tunnel to retrieve Limah who still draped on the horse's back. The stocky Balkan merchant lifted Limah over his shoulder. He sweated profusely in this moment as he returned to the tunnel and set Limah's body on the stony ground. Bojan proceeded to make a little fire from stones of quartz, pebbles and fragments of rock.

In quick sequence, he tended to Limah's injury. The poor Limah still had an arrow stuck in the back of her thigh, but she managed to keep to life still. Bojan racked his brain, still sweating profusely while he thought of his next move. He crouched beside Limah and peered on the spot where she had been hit with an arrow. It gushed with a mass of blood. In a moment of decision, he said, cajoling the hurting Limah, ''M'lady, I will remove this arrow now. It's going to be painful but you have to trust me.''