Dawn of Empire (25 page)

All eyes turned to Trella. She sat to Esk kar’s left and always a little away from the table. “When I went to work with Rufus at his home, I said I was ignorant of the bowmaking process and asked him to show me everything. At first he resisted, but finally he took me to the room where the bows were shaped and assembled, and the glues were prepared. I saw the tubs where they soaked the wood and the presses where the wet shafts were bent. But I never saw any finished bows.

“After I finished, I went to Gatus. He brought some men, and we searched the house. In a tiny attic above the bowmaster’s sleeping chamber we found the drying and storage room. Inside were twenty - two finished bows, ready for use. I told Gatus to take them. Since Rufus had denied having any inventory, I told him there would be no payment. He wasn’t happy.”

Gatus laughed at that. “No, not a bit. He started to scream at Trella. His sons were quick to restrain him. Good thing, too, or I would’ve knocked the old fool down.”

“Make sure the tale is told throughout the village,” Esk kar said, laughing as well, though he’d already heard the story. “It may persuade others to be more honest. And keep training the men, Gatus. Archery first, then sword and spear. Practice everything from behind a wall if you can.

Sisuthros, how goes our wall?”

“Captain, I’m worried,” Sisuthros answered gloomily. “For the last five days, Corio and his helpers have been digging small holes in the ground, driving stakes here and there, and mixing batches of mud and straw. There are many meetings with his apprentices where they talk and talk. The masons are working from dawn to dusk making bricks, but Corio has yet to lay one brick on another, though he seems busy enough. I asked when he’d begin, but ‘soon’ was all he said.”

Esk kar frowned. “What have you done for him?”

“We’ve confiscated lumber and tools and set up three different work crews. I also cleared some land near where the new gate will be, but that’s all that has happened so far.”

“Master, do not be concerned yet,” Trella offered. “I’ve watched houses built, and there’s much talking and preparation before the actual construction begins. It’s always this way at the beginning, much confusion and seemingly little progress. Better to have them certain of what they must do, than to begin wrong and have to start over.”

“Well, let’s hope so, for our sakes.” Esk kar shook his head. “Though I’d like the wall finished at least a day or two before the barbarians arrive.” He turned to Bantor. “And the guards at the gates?”

Bantor’s duty had turned into the busiest of all. Larger numbers of people came into and out of the village, and traffic on the road had increased to match. Already he’d stopped two fights at the gate involving people trying to leave. The second struggle had nearly overwhelmed the gatekeepers. Esk kar had to assign additional men, and now four men guarded both gates at all times.

“We search every cart and wagon that leaves Orak,” Bantor answered.

“No slaves or tools of value have left, and we make sure that no villager on Nicar’s list leaves without his approval.” He looked around the table.

“Captain, the men are growing tired of guarding the gate. They complain they train for ten or twelve hours a day, then stand a four - hour watch at the gate or patrolling the streets.”

“Bantor, I know the duty is hard right now. Tell the men it’s only for a few more weeks until the recruits are trained.” Not that Esk kar believed it.

Any slack time created by the new recruits would likely be used up somewhere else. “You can lead them in this, Bantor. Treat yourself no better than they, and your men will endure it because you do.”

Bantor nodded, then sat back, relieved to know his commander understood his problems.

Trella leaned forward again. “Bantor, has anyone tried to bribe your men to get out of Orak? If not, they will soon. Some rich tradesman or merchant will offer your men gold, and the temptation will be great.”

“Like Rufus, you mean,” Gatus said with a laugh. “I’m sure he’s planning it as we speak.”

Esk kar hadn’t considered that possibility, though, of course, he should have thought of something so obvious. He sat thinking about what he would do if he were a rich merchant who wanted a few underpaid guards-men to look the other way.

“Bantor, tell your men that anyone offered a bribe is to accept it. Once he has it in his hand then he’s to report it, and you will double it. No matter how much the bribe, we’ll double it.”

“Where will this additional gold come from?” Sisuthros asked.

“Why, from the person who offered the bribe,” Esk kar answered. “If a man can offer five silver coins, then he must have at least another five somewhere. This way, any man offering a bribe will pay twice and still be kept in Orak. Bantor, tell your men. If they can keep it to themselves, it may give them some incentive for their labors. A few may get some extra pay before the word gets out.”

They all smiled at that. Everyone could picture the look of conster-nation on some merchant’s face when he found out he’d been swindled.

Esk kar turned to Jalen and listened to him report about the condition of the docks for a few moments, then held up his hand to interrupt. “Jalen, you haven’t been given any tasks of importance this week because I’ve got something special for you. I want you to take four men, good riders, and the five best horses in the village. Then I want you to ride north and find the barbarians. I want to know where they are and when we can expect them to reach Orak.”

“You’re the best horseman in Orak,” Esk kar went on, “and you’ve seen the barbarians in action. We need to know as much as we can about their movements, how many Alur Meriki there are. Anything you learn would be useful, but most of all, we need to know how much time we have.”

All eyes turned to Jalen. The young man looked calm.

“I know this is risky. This will be dangerous, because if you get too close, you’ll likely end up dead or captured.”

“I’ll do it, Captain,” Jalen answered, “though it might be better if I took more men.”

“No more men. I don’t want you fighting. I want you scouting and reporting.”

Jalen exhaled a long breath, but didn’t argue. “How soon do you want me to go?”

“Leave in the morning,” Esk kar replied. “Spend today picking your men and getting ready. Each of them will receive ten gold coins when they return, in addition to their regular pay. And double that for yourself, Jalen.” For that much gold, most men would risk their lives gladly.

“You’ll travel light and travel fast. And you can only take two experienced soldiers. Choose the others from the new recruits. Pick only good horsemen who are steady and will do as you tell them and not get their blood rushing if they see the barbarians.” Esk kar intended that advice as much for Jalen as for any men he might pick.

“And the horses, take any in the village, even from the Families. Didn’t Drigo have some good horseflesh?” Esk kar slapped the table in irritation for forgetting Drigo’s horses, no doubt already appropriated by the Families. Breeding and maintaining a riding horse took plenty of silver coins, and only the richest could afford the luxury. The soldiers’ mounts, provided grudgingly by the nobles, were mostly inferior animals, used for local patrols or as pack animals.

“Those horses must be around somewhere. We’ll find them. But remember, Jalen, your task is to get information, not fight. I want you back here alive, not with your head on some warrior’s lance. If you think fit, send two men back early to report. Take a boy as a servant and to ride an extra horse.” A boy could always be abandoned, should the horse be needed.

Trella stood and went to the other table, returning with a small leather pouch. She removed a light brown cloth and spread it out on the table.

Everyone leaned forward to look, then gasped. The cloth was a map with details sewn into the material using green, blue, and red threads. The river and Orak were clearly marked, as were most of the villages in the northern countryside.

She set a slim wooden needle and two small spools of thread, one red and one white, on the table. “You can sew these threads on to indicate what you find and where you find it. My master obtained this for you yesterday.”

Esk kar didn’t mind explaining. “When I saw Corio’s map, it stayed in my thoughts, so I went to him and asked if he could make one for me. Corio told me he got his from Noble Rebba who had a slave skilled in making such things. So I went to Rebba’s house and convinced him that I needed the slave to work on this.”

It had taken more than polite conversation. Esk kar had threatened to take the slave by force if the map wasn’t completed by this morning. “I spent an hour with the slave. He said a cloth map is easier to carry and use than a papyrus one. He’ll explain certain things to you about the map, and show you how to judge the distance between landmarks. Stay with him, Jalen, until everything is clear in your head.

“Now, men, let’s get back to work,” Esk kar said. “Jalen, join us for dinner at sunset, and we can discuss things. I’m going to visit Corio and see how things are progressing.” He stood up to indicate that the meeting had ended, and that another day in the transformation of Orak had begun.

Esk kar’s following was already so routine as to be scarcely noticed by the villagers. He traveled with Trella and two guards, one a seasoned veteran and the other a recruit, expected to watch his elder and follow his example. With Sisuthros leading the way, they found Corio working outside the main gate, leaning over a small table and talking with one of his sons. A half - dozen slaves and craftsmen surrounded them.

No one seemed to be doing any building. Most of the men just stood around. Tools lay on the ground. A few shallow holes had been dug and piles of wood were scattered about. Not one brick sat atop another.

“Good morning,” Corio greeted each of them by name, an expansive smile on his face. “I expected a visit from you, Captain. I fear Sisuthros is dissatisfied with our progress.”

“We know work such as this takes time, Corio,” Esk kar replied, determined to show the master artisan he understood something about the nature of his craft. “But I wanted to see what’s been done and get some idea of when the wall is likely to be finished.”

“Actually, Esk kar, we are almost ready to begin. Come, I’ll show you.”

He walked toward the north, stopping in front of a shallow trench.

Esk kar estimated the hole to be four feet wide, six feet long, and three feet deep.

“This is the start of the wall. We’ll dig it down a little deeper to make sure the base is solid, and we will layer the base with stones. Then sun -

dried bricks of mud and straw will form two walls, and we’ll fill in the center with dirt, stones, and upright bricks to add strength. We’ll add the dirt slowly and tamp it down tightly as we go. Some bricks will be placed inside at angles to the face of the wall to give it additional strength. That way, the wall will be solid enough even though it will only have bricks on the front and back. Naturally, if we had more time, we would make the wall deeper, taller, and thicker.”

Corio spoke to his son, who ran off and returned in a moment carrying a heavy mud brick with a few strands of straw sticking out of it. “This is the brick we will use.”

About eighteen inches long, six inches wide, and four inches deep, it looked quite heavy. Esk kar started to take it from the boy, but Corio spoke first. “Captain, if you hold the brick, do not grasp it by the ends. It might break in half. Hold it from underneath and support its weight.”

Esk kar took the brick as instructed, surprised at its weight. He handed it to Sisuthros, who hefted the brick before giving it back to the boy, who took it and carefully laid it flat in the bottom of the hole, then ran off to fetch a second brick. When he returned, he placed the second brick in a straight line with the first one, leaving a finger - sized gap between the two.

He raced off to fetch another while Corio explained further.

“The bricks are placed thus in the hole, then covered with a thin layer of wet mud and sand, then a third brick is placed atop the middle of the first two. Then we add more mud and repeat the process. The wall grows out of the earth and becomes stronger as the mud and sand dry around the bricks. Then we smooth the outer face of the wall with a different mixture of sand and mud, which will also harden quite well.”

“Master Corio,” began Sisuthros, poking at the bricks with his foot, “it doesn’t seem very strong. Isn’t it just mud? I mean, won’t the barbarians just be able to push it down?”

Esk kar thought much the same thing, but he’d learned not to ask the obvious questions. Nevertheless, he felt relieved Sisuthros had voiced his doubts.

“Sisuthros, the wall will be strong enough to protect your men and give them a fighting platform. It won’t be easily climbed or torn down. But if they bring tools to dig at the wall, or a ram, to try and punch through it, then the wall won’t stand for very long. To make the wall strong enough to resist tools or a determined assault of that kind would take more time than we have.”

“Master Builder,” Esk kar said, “your task is to build the wall; ours, to defend it.” He turned to Sisuthros. “If we allow the barbarians time to stand before the wall and dig at it with shovels and axes, then we’ll be lost.

If we give them that much time … no, we must kill any of them that make it to the ditch or to the base of the wall.”

Corio thought about Esk kar’s words for a moment. “The wall will not yield easily, and the packed dirt will be difficult to dislodge. But if enough men with the right tools attack the base of the wall, then in twenty or thirty minutes’ hard work, they could make a small breach.”

Less time than that, Esk kar thought, knowing Corio had never witnessed the ferocious energy of the steppes people at war. “We’ll not give them even ten minutes, Corio. Just make sure the wall doesn’t fall down.”

He looked at Trella to see if she had anything to add.

“Master Builder,” she began, “if you think it a good idea, perhaps you could build a small section, one that Esk kar and his men could pretend to attack to see how long it would take them to break it apart. What they learn might help you in your designs.”