Ephron Son of Zohar Read online

  Chapter Five The Hunt

  Ephron awoke to the breathing of the man on duty and the firelight on the other side of the chimney.

  “It is not yet time for you to awaken, my brother.”

  “Akiia?” asked Ephron. “It is not your turn for guard duty.”

  “Couldn’t sleep,” said Akiia. “I slept some in the afternoon and I’m not tired now.”

  The open windows allowed a gentle, cool, refreshing breeze, as well as a brilliant, clear moonless view of the sky. From seven stories above the highest point of the mountain, the view was breathtaking.

  “I’ve watched the procession of the Massoreth,” said Akiia. “There’s the pole star, Polaris.”

  “In of the tail of the lesser bear,” continued Ephron. “Polaris is the end of the tail.”

  “Surrounded by Draco, the great Dragon.” Akiia pointed out the stars.

  “And if you start with Polaris, the pole star, then make a line with the last star in the tail of Draco, and follow that line, to the right of the twins, there is the brightest star of the Greater Bear.”

  “Or the big dipper. They look like a big and a little dipper to me. But they don’t look at all like a dragon or any kind of a bear.”

  “You are so right,” said Ephron. “Well, it is time to stoke the fires, change clothes, and rouse the animals. You might as well stay here until dawn.”

  “There’s Orion, the great hunter,” said Akiia. “And that is Rigel to the lower right, and the red Betelgeuse in his left shoulder. Remember Orion as you hunt.”

  “Remember Adonai,” said Ephron. “These stars are just his handiwork. Worship the Creator, not the creation.”

  Ephron had descended a dozen stairs and was almost to the first landing where the stairs made a 90 degree turn when he stopped and turned around.

  “The guard tower will be manned by women today?” asked Ephron. “Didn’t Zohar say that?”

  “He did indeed,” said Akiia.

  “Then join us as soon as she shows up.”

  Ephron saluted his brother Akiia and continued rapidly down the tower stairs, bursting through the doorway onto the roof of the southern sleeping quarters of the unmarried women. He ran down the open stairs inside the courtyard until he came to the landing halfway down. He then slowed, taking every individual stair down the second half.

  Reaching the bottom, Ephron walked across the courtyard, grabbed an armload of wood, and threw it across the smoldering fire in the oven. After arranging the new wood, he added several more pieces until he was satisfied the fire would be ready when the cooks arrived. He then ran across to the stalls and opened the doors, putting various soft, thin skins on each animal. Then he ran to the bachelor quarters where he changed clothes and picked up his spear and bow. When he emerged back into the courtyard, a dozen women were busy arranging the firewood and placing flatbread, vegetables, and various prepared meats into the ovens.

  “Go ahead and wake them,” said his mother Nebajoth. “There will be enough food ready by the time the first groups start arriving.”

  Ephron nodded to his mother, lit a torch from the oven, blew a small trumpet which made very little sound, and waved the torch at the tower.

  Akiia responded by striking a giant gong and blowing an enormous, deep trumpet blast. As the reverberations quieted, be beat the gong a second, then a third time. The village of Hattus erupted with light and the noises of hunting preparations. As each small group readied itself, they took enough provisions to last the day and readied their mounts.

  Ephron spotted Anah coming through the gate and saluted him.

  “Provisions are available for each person,” called out Ephron as he approached Anah.

  “I thought you would be remaining in Hattus,” said Anah. “I will be leaving with the first clan as soon as we are supplied with provisions. We will survey the site and assign positions for those coming after us. We will have the honor of the first arrival.”

  “Bring plenty of water,” said Ephron. “Don't drink the water from the stream at the hunting site. I will be with the last group. When you see me you will know that there will not be anyone else coming.”

  Anah hoisted several full bladders and nearly ran to the ovens. “Good.” His well-oiled bronze armor caught the light of the torches as well as the starlight and reflected the lights in a dazzling display. Even though it was early November in the mountains, it was too warm for full armor now and would be even less comfortable after the sun was up.

  Every woman and most of the girls of Hattus, nearly fifty, were working to cook the day’s provisions. The men of Hattus silently placed the food in rows on the tables so that each hunter could pick up the wraps intended for later as well as eat breakfast. The line moved quickly as hunters checked each other for any defects in equipment or armor. Those staying behind to work the caves finished preparing the animals and began bringing the saddled animals to the mounting steps so those ready to leave could quickly mount, be on their way, and allow another animal to be led to the mounting steps.

  Anah left with the oldest and most experienced hunters before most of the hunters were fed. The second group was ready as soon as they could mount. Ephron motioned to Akiia to leave the tower to help get the animals ready to mount. Ephron himself began leading animals to the mounting steps until Akiia arrived.

  The hunting parties left in evenly-spaced pairs, with the discipline and precision of cavalry officers. As soon as the meal line was empty, those cooking brought fire from the ovens to the smokers outside the caves. Unlike the wild revelry of past hunts, this year's the departure was as quiet as it was orderly. The only sounds were of the movements of animals, departing riders, and workers as they scurried about.

  Ephron mounted his horse to ride at the head of the archers. While the rest of the archers mounted, he rode once around the interior of the village, then once around the outer walls, checking that everything was secure and looters would not damage any of the property of Anah while most of the men were gone. Then Ephron joined the rest of the archers and they headed out on the road to the northeast to join the rest of the sons of Anah and Zohar at the hunting site under a clear, moonless sky.

  As the archers rode into the clearing prepared as a hunting site, a thin crescent moon which gave little light rose to the east. Everyone hung their provisions from trees to keep them away from predators. Hundreds of javelins were thrust into the ground at convenient places in case they would be needed in an emergency. Clan chieftains rearranged a few men, but most stood waiting. Anah walked over to Ephron as he dismounted and placed his horse in line for a travois.

  “When the first gazelles enter the ravine on the other side of the mountain, my sons will signal with flaming arrows,” said Anah.

  Convinced the hunters were prepared, Ephron broached what he prayed would not be an unpleasant subject. “My father wants peace children.”

  “It is the safest way,” said Anah.

  “What did your brothers and sisters think of Tawananna?”

  “Not much time to examine her. We liked what we saw.”

  “Would Shelometh be willing to join the archers?”

  Anah sounded surprised when he responded. “You may ask her yourself if you want to.”

  “Thank you, I will. Where is she?”

  Anah pointed out Shelometh in the starlight, then returned to working on the logistics of the hunt. She was holding a spear near the front and did not notice Ephron’s approach.

  “Would you mind joining the archers?” asked Ephron.

  “I’m not a trained archer,” said Shelometh.

  “You can learn,” said Ephron. “We have straight arrows and you can hit a gazelle at close range.”

  Shelometh looked around, handed her spear to one of her uncles and walked with Ephron to the archers. Ephron walked straight to Tawananna.

  “Shelometh will be joining us as an archer,” said Ephron. He handed her another bow and set a quiver in place.

  “
Where did this bow come from?” asked Tawananna. “I didn’t make it.”

  “It is an old one I made years ago,” said Ephron.

  “May I?” Tawananna asked Shelometh as she stretched out her hand for the bow. Shelometh allowed her to take it.

  “It’s too dark to get a good look,” said Tawananna, “but it will do for now. It will fire an arrow, hit the target and not break in your hand. I didn’t know you knew how to make a bow?”

  “There are many things you do not know,” smiled Ephron. He took the bow from his sister and gave it back to Shelometh. “Arrows are limited, so we cannot afford a practice arrow. The arrows are straight and will travel in a straight line. It is your responsibility to keep yourself and your arrow straight. Let Tawananna show you how to shoot.”

  “First, are you right- or left-handed?” asked Tawananna. Shelometh drew the bow with her right hand.

  “Then wrap this strap around your left arm, past your wrist, including your thumb, like we have,” continued Tawananna. “It will protect you when the bowstring hits, usually on the forearm just above the wrist.”

  Shelometh began wrapping the strap around her forearm as Tawananna continued. “An entire herd of gazelle will present a large target, so a great shot is not necessary. Always pull back to the same place. You upper cheekbone is a good spot. Adjust your aim with your left arm and attempt to always stand the same way, though that will not be possible after doing this for hours. Aim for a body shot, as that is easiest and the largest target. Below the body and you might miss completely. Gazelles are so small and we are almost half a dozen cubits above where they are running, so a …”

  “Signal bows!” came the cry from several directions.

  Flaming arrows rose clear in the northern sky as they arched and fell back to earth.

  “If you’re uncertain, just watch and do what we are doing,” finished Tawananna.

  Every archer nocked bows and readied themselves in a semicircle facing the stream pouring through the opening in the cliff, keeping the other archers to their left and right and being careful to neither allow anyone else to get in their line of fire nor to step into the line of fire. The archers stood on embankments about half a dozen cubits above the stream. The embankment dropped to the same level as the path about a dozen cubits behind them to the southwest. A very shallow stream cut through the mountain where the sound of running gazelles could by this time be heard.

  Though the individual gazelles were small, the combined weight of the running herd made the earth noticeably shake. The stars had disappeared yet there still was no sun by the time the first animal appeared. Shelometh hit it just behind the shoulder blade before the next animal had appeared.

  “Let them get closer,” whispered Ephron. Suddenly gazelles poured through the opening and arrows flew. A single arrow did not seem to even slow the speeding animals, but the arrows made the animals easy targets for the spearmen just behind the archers.

  There were fifteen groups of spearmen behind the archers, arranged along the stream where the gazelles were forced to run. The embankment was steep on the north side and tall enough to keep them from climbing it. Four to six spearmen selected a gazelle with an arrow in it, speared it and forced it away from the herd to the south where a swordsman actually killed it. As soon as it was killed, others quickly grabbed it, hoisted it, and field dressed it over a pit. When it was gutted, more hunters grabbed the carcase and fasted it to a travois. It was an efficient assembly line.

  Just minutes after the gazelles began pouring through the opening in the rocks, the first group of loaded travois departed for the caves where they would be skinned the rest of the way and smoked. More than a hundred camels, donkeys, and horses moved down the broad trail back to Hattus before rosy-fingered dawn illuminated the fields.

  The assembly line at the caves was as efficient as the hunting site. People emptied the travois, watered pack animals, removed musk glands missed by the field dressing, and passed the animals on to be completely skinned and the carcases placed on hooks and hung over the smoke. Unlike the hunting site, the workers in the caves had enough water to continually wash away the blood. They still kept their spears, swords, and javelins handy to chase away any wolf or hungry cat that might decide the abundance of blood and food was worth the risk. Every available bow was being used at the hunting site.

  By the time the sun was well over the horizon, the carcases of a young lioness and several wolves were also added to the travois traveling to the caves. Their skins would also be tanned and put to use.

  It was late morning before the gazelle herd slowed to only a few stragglers. Ephron blew his horn to signal that they had exhausted the supply of arrows. Yovav signaled his clan to continue taking down every gazelle they could. The sons of Anah greatly appreciated the help the archers. Almost every one of the remaining gazelles were able to outrun the weary spearmen. Without the archers, less than a dozen of the remaining gazelles were brought down.

  The last travois filled with carcases left to be smoked and workers returned from the caves with empty mounts. The remaining hunters covered the mounds, which had started the day as pits, with dirt. Others washed tools in the shallow stream. The people washed themselves in the cold water and those who had worn armor removed and cleaned it. Travois were loaded one final time with tools, weapons, and armor.

  The archers searched for arrows which could be repaired and reused. While there were many arrowheads and some feathers could be salvaged, very few shafts were still intact. The archers continued looking until everyone else had left and the last group of mounts came for them.

  “Was I much help?” Shelometh asked Tawananna.

  “I didn't find any arrows where you, or anyone else, missed,” said Tawananna. “You shot as many arrows as anyone else. That is the best you could do.”

  Ephron made one final inspection tour for tools, personal items, and weapons. Satisfied that nothing was left behind, the archers rode back to Hattus to rest both their mounts and themselves.