What does bal do at the beginning of verse 16?

Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: The Departing Caravan, Memory of Nawār and Distant Destinations (Verses 11–19)

• Continues solely the visual description of the caravan
• Turns from the visual scene toward reflection and memory
• Affirms the preceding similes as literal facts
• Introduces a count of the caravan’s travellers