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Weeks later, Priscus was preparing a donkey train for the long trek back to report to the Eet froe country to the palaces of Constantinople, and by noould have gladly crawled back on his hands and knees Then in the afternoon another coers into the distance and yelling in their ate

The elite horsereat enca, and the dust was visible across the plain for a long time before they appeared

Ardaric, Onegesius, and the three sons of Attila—Ellak, Dengizich, and Ee of the encareet them When the thousand riders drew up, they disular honor, the chiefs bowed back Ellak, the eldest heir of Attila, stepped up to the leader of the burial party, a man named Mozhu He put his hand on Mozhu’s shoulder and said, “Tell us”

Mozhu said, “We took the High King to a place in the bend of a river far ahere travelers seldom pass We built a crypt as deep as twoentrance, and carried the coffins to the bottoe We herded our thousand horses across the area many times until it was impossible to pick out the precise spot where the crypt was buried Then we diverted the river so it will flow deep over the High King’s tomb forever”

Ellak embraced Mozhu Then he stood on an oxcart and made a speech to thank the thousand men who had stood with his father in battle and protected his body in death Before he jumped down, he called out, “Kill them now”

The thousand reat host of warriors around them To Priscus, the thousand seemed to disappear like swi down, a few heads there They sank beneath the weight of the entire army He saw none of the burial party resist or try to remount their horses to escape He could not tell whether it was because their execution was a surprise or because they had certain foreknowledge that anyone who knehere Attila was buried must die

Afterward, the burial party’s bodies were covered with earth where they had fallen Their leaders spoke of their loyalty, honor, and bravery To Priscus it seemed the Huns considered the massacre sireat leader It was all a single misfortune

Priscus left the vast enca with his train of a hundred fifty donkeys loaded with supplies and a few precious articles hidden a them—his written account of his mission to the barbarians, his personal books, a few souvenirs froe bride- Ildico, whom he had promised to return to her parents in the Gered

When they were a day’s journey from the barbarian encampment, he walked beside Ildico’s donkey and talked with her “See, child? I told you it was all perfectly safe Once the barbarians were persuaded there was no poison, you and I could hardly be poisoners”

“I heard they made you drink the wine Why are you alive?”

“The poison has to be given over ti and keep the blood froh had to build up in his body so your final dose would hts You’ll be very rich soon”

“Keep any gold that’s co to et me home”

“The Emperor ant to send you home with a reward What you and I did has probably saved the Empire from destruction”

“I don’t care about the Empire”

He walked on ahead, thinking He had done everything perfectly—gathered the sweet clover hied it to let it turn moldy, and then used it to make a poison that couldn’t be detected and caused a death which looked like a disease As he walked he composed parts of his account of his time with the Huns He would describe it all—his o with Maximinus, when the assassination plan was blailas, the actions of the barbarians, the personality of their supreme leader