William the Conquerer and the Sands of Persia: Chapter 7 - Sinbad and the Port of Astara

Days later, the exhausted caravan staggered into the port of Astara. William had never seen such a town. Being on the coast, fish and fishermen seemed to be abundant. Women were dressed in harem pants, leg-revealing skirts and dresses and men dressed in turbans milled about the streets in the early morning. 

“Sure smells fishy here,” William observed, as a peddler waved a wet, scaly ware in his direction..

William turned a corner, and his eyes fell upon the Caspian Sea. It was brilliantly blue in the dawn light, and its beauty took his breath away. The sea seemed to stretch out forever, and dotting its surface were many vessels. Some were for fishing, some were larger for cargo, and others looked like they might be made for fighting.

William took a look around Astara. It was a bit bigger than the town of Ardabil they had left behind. It had mosque domes and minarets. A gate leading into the mosque was topped with golden towers. He saw magicians performing. Next to some larger buildings, he saw a form of tower he’d never seen before. They rose thin and high from the roofs, with long, narrow openings at the very top. 

“What are those?’ he asked Scherezade.

“Those are windcatchers, they help to cool the buildings by circulating cool fresh air in, and letting warmer air out.”

“Ingenious,” said William, only just having learned what the word “ingenious” meant and proud to use it.. He turned to Hajji, who had never heard the word before in his life, and said, “This word ‘ingenious’ is…”

“Ingenious!” declared a beaming Hajji. 

William continued to stare and people watch. Truly Persia was unlike anywhere he’d seen before. He could see mountains in the distance, and right in front of him was the glimmering Caspian Sea. This was an exceedingly beautiful land. 

Then William saw a man who looked like the Persian version of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He stood in a crowd of people and was elucidating a remarkable story. 

“There, on that desolate island, oh brothers,” he said, “The robots came and attacked me. Using my natural cunning, I avoided their laser beams, and with one swing of my sword, defeated them all.”

“What is a ‘robot’?” asked someone in the crowd.

“A mechanical being – a most sophisticated machine,” explained Sinbad

“Oh, great torturer of the truth,” scoffed an audience member, “Who could believe such a fanciful story!”

“Fanciful it is not,” countered Sinbad, “For I have experienced it.”

“I believe Sinbad!” called out William.

“This youth may be of few years, but he has much wisdom! Come, let's enjoy a hookah!” offered Sinbad to his new friend.

And with that, Sinbad strode off across the street and into a hookah parlor. William and his group followed and entered.

Inside there were a lot of dancing girls, dressed in colorful clothes, entertaining the male guests and talking to them most sweetly. 

Engraved on the walls were various designs and murals of beautiful women and scenes of everyday life. 

William approached Sinbad, “Oh, Sinbad, the master sailor, man of great courage, first among fighters, my friends and I desire passage to Chalus. Would you let us join you for such a short sail?”

“I would gladly agree…for the right payment,” Sinbad added.

“What do you have in mind?” asked William. 

“A thousand dinar. Each!”

“Greedy one!” accused Scherezade. 

“I’ve changed my price,” considered Sinbad, looking over Ali Baba’s men, “In place of dinars, I will accept five of Ali-Baba’s men to be added to my crew.”

Before Ali Baba could respond, the door suddenly burst open and seven men dressed in royal combat uniforms and brandishing scimitars swooped in and headed directly for Ali-Baba.

“Give yourself up, Ali-Baba!!” 

“I am not impressed by your words,” said Ali-Baba, “and I have no doubt I’d be less impressed by your skill with a sword. Do yourself a favor and leave the way you came in. Now!

“You’re coming with us!”

“On whose authority?”

“Dolorosan, servant to Al-Horrid.”

“Well, you can give Dolorosan a message from me.” And with that Ali-Baba unsheathed his sword and launched into combat. 

“I sure wished I had a sword," William said, as the fighting erupted around him. 

“Your wish is granted!” said Hajji, and a ‘sword’ magically appeared in William’s hand.

“Hajji! I can’t fight with a butter knife!” William complained.

“Sorry,” Hajji apologized.

Suddenly, William spied a scimitar that had dropped from the fist of a slain Royal Guard.  It lay on the ground not far from his feet. Quickly, William lunged forward and grabbed the weapon.

William joined Ali Baba in the fight. Sinbad and Ali Baba’s men joined the fray, while Scherezade and the dancing girls ran for cover. Dueling viciously, William managed to kill two of the soldiers, but they kept coming, so he dodged and parried and kept fighting, even after he suffered a cut on his forearm from a whirling scimitar. 

William lashed at the villains and fought furiously. At last, all but one of Al-Horrid’s men were dispatched, and the survivor ran as fast as his heels could carry him away back to the palace. 

“And tell Dolorosan that he’ll be next!” shouted Ali-Baba at the fleeing soldier. 

“Well fought, my friends,” Sinbad congratulated them, then he turned to the owner who was instructing his servants to remove the bodies of the slain guards, “Bring my compatriots food and drink after their hard work!”

As they sat and ate, the new friends discussed their next move.

“Now that the soldiers have returned, we should be on our way,” warned  Ali-Baba. 

“Well,” said Sinbad, “You have all shown your worth in battle, come aboard my ship and we shall make our escape.”