Chapter 9

As soon as they arrived in Samarkand, Zithrusa became the General. She no longer needed a face for the caravan, and everyone knew she was in charge of organization. There was no unoccupied caravanserai, so they built one just outside of the western town gate. A team was sent for the poles for the big top, with most of the horses to haul them back, and they found they had to rent them from a carpenter's stash of raw building materials.

They told him they would just leave them behind when they left, for him to reclaim, and he was happy to get money for them instead of just having them sit in his storage pile. He knew that they wouldn't try to steal them, they were too large to take very far! They had neglected to mention they would be buried four and a half feet in the ground in an upright position, but he couldn't complain much, since by then they would be out of town, and besides, he would realize the score when he redeemed his free pass to attend the show on opening night.

Next Zithrusa scouted the local prices for honey, sesame, charcoal, mint, pomegranates, dates and figs. She found dates to be too expensive, so they went with the fig paste plan. She couldn't find a bakery or kitchen to use, so they bought clay bricks and made their own oven in the caravanserai. In a well organized attack, her seconds all bought out the available supples at the same time, not allowing the prices first quoted to be raised. The concessions were prepared.

Grinding the sesame seeds to paste, and sweetening it with the honey in large bowls, flattening it on trays, letting it set up and cutting it into squares to store in large ceramic containers, chopping the figs to paste, forming flattened logs, wrapping them in sweet dough, baking them in the oven, juicing the pomegranates, brewing the mint in hot water, all these tasks fell before Zithrusa's Generalship like leaves in a gale.

Once the big top was erected, and the concessions were ready, the troupe put on their costumes and got out their small act equipment and took to the streets of Samarkand. The children of the town followed along behind, generating quite the parade, and the noise of drums, rattles, whistles and happy cries brought everyone out of doors to see what was the matter.

Some of the children raggle-taggling along behind were little nomads in disguise, and they kept a sharp eye and blade out for pick-pockets and cut-purses, catching a few and forcing them with menacing whispers and sharp blades pressed to tender locations to return their ill-gotten goods to their erstwhile owners with a lame excuse of having seen them drop it. John wanted no one to be short of admission.

The taste of entertainment was overwhelming, and everyone vowed to themselves to go see the show. The time was set for the third morning from then. The caravan troupe used the two days to scour for bargains and try to trade up their wealth. The encampment was its own advertisement for silk tents, and Zithrusa released ten for sale, which just saturated the market but made for a handsome price each one.

The tents were all plain colored, which made the people who bought the striped ones several years earlier feel better about the lesser price these ones fetched, but it would be easy enough to dye them with any of a number of dyes. Would the customer care to look at a selection of silk swatch samples of some dyes that were available for a modest value?

Vedeya found some bargains in saffron, which was grown locally, and found it to be a very compact, light weight, valuable commodity. She traded some of their bulkier items, like brass dishes and chafing dishes for a quantity of saffron, freeing up room on the camels for the coming wealth, while not reducing the potential value of the stock at all.

Even Talus found a good bargain, and had mama Zithrusa help him trade some copper jewelry for fifty pounds of beeswax. He was very proud of his score, and John praised him, saying that it would be useful and very valuable in the right circumstances. All over the caravan like trades were happening, and everyone was having a great time. That evening before the light failed, they all were busy practicing their acts, and Talus insisted that Farish and Lishta practice using a live target.

The morning of the show arrived, and since the weather was fine, the boundaries were extended using the fabric of silk tents to provide the walls. John intended to only put on two shows here, four days apart, and to leave two days after the second show, slipping away after dark. He didn't intend to announce any further shows after the second show, nor did he intend to announce a final show. He imagined people would assume there would be a third show four days from the second, but that would be their own business, and not his worry.

Zithrusa wanted to make it in time for the gathering of her family and the clans, so they couldn't spend too much time here. There was much status to be accrued among the nomadic clans, and if it wasn't exactly wealth, status is just as important, just ask Zithrusa! There would also be good barter, and Zithrusa intended to put on a free show for the gathering, but to recoup well with the concessions.