Chapter Twelve
The next day, a storm swept in, dragging sheets of rain over the fort.
Lightning flashed up in the highlands, sending growls of thunder rolling down into the valleys.
Most of the work Tanna had planned for the day would have to wait for the weather to clear, which meant that Lorath had little to do except the daily feeding of the pigs and milking of the goats.
Upon finishing those chores, he rushed back to the stables, hopping over the runnels that carried the deluge down through the camp to the harbor.
He was already soaked by the time he reached the barn and found Adreona inside, leaning over Zerae’s stall, admiring mother and foal.
She glanced his way as he entered. “I forget how peaceful the stables are.”
Lorath strode to stand next to her, wiping the water from his face and pushing his wet hair back from his brow. “I take it you don’t spend much time here.”
“My duties leave little room for it. But on a day like today…”
The sound of the rain against the roof overhead reminded Lorath of the strikes by his father’s ball-peen hammer. Arjak nursed, appearing unconcerned by the storm. “Strong little colt,” he said.
Adreona watched the foal with sadness in her emerald eyes.
“I knew his father. He was strong too, but the Drowned still brought him down. I wish I could protect his son from a similar end. If only innocence were a shield against fate.” She smiled at the youngling, then turned toward Lorath.
“I hear good things from Tanna regarding your work here in the stables.”
His laugh had a sarcastic edge. “How flattering.”
“It should be. You’re a soldier.” She gestured around the barn. “This can’t be easy for you. But it seems you are not ruled by your pride, and that is a good thing. To be honest, you’ve surprised me.”
“I plan to keep surprising you. I have much more to offer, if you’ll let me—”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, all right? You are to remain here, Lorath, performing good and needed work, which I appreciate.”
He wanted to argue, but he thought about what Tyrael would advise, and he bit his tongue. “Yes, Captain.”
Adreona gave him a nod and departed from the stables, but a dissatisfaction lingered in Lorath’s mind the rest of that day and into the next.
With each shovelful of manure, he grew more frustrated, thinking of things he wished he had said, until he could keep silent no longer.
He left the barn and crossed the yard in the direction of the keep, determined to press his case.
When he entered the great hall, several Amazons looked up at him from dice and card games.
He scanned their faces but did not see Adreona.
Shieldmatron Tavie stood at the end of the room, leaning over the large map with some kind of ledger in her hands. She appeared to be checking it against the map, but she glanced up briefly from its pages at Lorath’s approach.
“Is there something you need?” she asked.
“There is.” He worked to keep his voice sounding calm and reasonable. “Would it be possible to speak with the captain?”
“Why?”
“There is a matter I wish to discuss with her.”
“What matter?” She traced a line in the ledger with her finger and then moved some of the troop tokens across the map to a new position near the Athulua Garrison.
“I would rather discuss it with her,” Lorath said.
She looked up from the book. “I am afraid that will not be possible.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because Captain Adreona is not here.”
“Where is she?”
Tavie returned her gaze to the map. “Nowhere that concerns you.”
Lorath’s anger rose like heat up the back of his neck, but he did what he could to steady himself, knowing quite well that losing his patience with Tavie would get him nowhere.
She moved another token, and another. Lorath noticed that many of the Amazon forces on the island now appeared to be coalescing around the garrison. He pointed at that location on the map.
“I assume she’s gone here?”
Tavie closed the ledger, then nodded.
“Why are all the troops gathering there?” he asked.
“Our scouts have reported an increase in Drowned activity. The captain went to conduct an inspection of our readiness for an incursion.”
“Personally?”
She hesitated just long enough for Lorath to sense there might have been a disagreement between her and Adreona. “Yes, personally.”
“I take it the captain likes to handle most things herself.”
“Her approach is very…direct.”
He pointed at the map again. “How long does it take to get there?”
“It is a few days’ ride over the highlands.”
Lorath had seen Adreona just yesterday, which meant that she had left only that morning. Assuming she remained at the garrison for a time performing her inspection, she would not return to Fort Galina for perhaps several days. Which was fine. He could muck stables for a little while longer.
“What is that?” He pointed at the fire emblem he had noticed off the coast the last time he studied the map.
“That is the great watchfire.”
“Watchfire?”
“Our ancestors built it to help keep the Drowned at bay.”
“How does it work?”
Tavie sighed with impatience. “It burns?”
“But—”
“Look, it’s really very simple. Much of our coastline is protected by cliffs and other natural features.
” She used her finger to draw an invisible line down Athulua’s western coast until it landed on the Athulua Garrison.
“This is the weakest point. A valley there offers access to the island’s interior, which is why we established a fort there, and why the ancient Askari lit the watchfire.
The Drowned are weak to fire. You remember how we used fire-oil to free your ship from their attack?
The watchfire is more than that. It burns with a power that repels the Drowned. For the most part.”
“For the most part?”
“The watchfire is a deterrent. There are times when the Drowned become emboldened, stronger, or simply more ravenous. They push through.” She used her fingers to draw a path from the water, over the fort, and into the valley.
“The watchfire limits the number of enemies that can get past at any one time, which allows us to meet them and stop the incursion.”
“How often do you resupply the fuel?”
“Never.”
“Why not?”
“The fire is of a…magical nature.”
“It doesn’t burn out?”
She tucked the ledger under her arm. “It hasn’t yet.”
Something in the way she said that caused Lorath to ask, “What happens if it ever does burn out? Can you relight it?”
She said nothing at first. “Unfortunately, the method used by the ancient Askari to create the watchfire has been lost to time. If it burns out, it will be on the Amazons to hold the line.”
She held her chin up in defiance as she said it, but Lorath saw doubt in her eyes.
He looked again at the troop placements on the map.
If the Drowned ever got past them, Athulua would fall, but he did not need to point that out.
Tavie obviously knew it. He finally began to see what Adreona had meant when she spoke about the fragility of their position.
Any weakness, any imbalance, any gap in the wall, and all Skovos could be lost.
“I know this much,” he said. “If anyone can defend Skovos, it is the Amazons. I thank you for your time, Shieldmatron. I will return to my duties in the stables now.”
With a bow of his head, he left her.
Lorath spent the next few days laboring with the animals.
Most of the mares spent their time in pastures and paddocks outside the walls, but the stallions had to be kept apart from them, and from one another.
They lived in the barn, which meant they required daily grooming and exercise.
Lorath would have liked to saddle and ride them, but that privilege belonged to the Amazon warriors.
He was tasked with cleaning the stalls while the horses went outdoors.
He did not relish that task, but he did enjoy the time it allowed him to spend watching Arjak with his mother.
The foal had grown noticeably, even in the short time since Lorath had started working in the barn, and it possessed a confident and curious temperament.
When Lorath entered Arjak’s pen, the foal approached to smell him and even accepted a gentle scratch around his withers while his protective mother looked on.
“Tanna was right about you, little one,” Lorath said. “You will grow into a fine stallion.”
“I see Adreona meant what she said.”
Arjak startled at the voice and kicked his hind legs. Lorath turned to see Keldon leaning his folded arms over the wall of the stall.
“About you working in the stables,” the sailor added.
Lorath replied with a sardonic chuckle. “You have no idea what you’ve been missing,”
“I think I do.” Keldon looked around the barn. “Though I will say it’s a lot drier than where I’ve been spending my days.”
“I take it they’ve kept you busy.”
“Aye. A shipwright’s work is never done. That’s the odd thing about a boat. From the moment it touches the sea, the sea is doing everything it can to destroy it.”
Lorath lifted the latch and exited the stall, closing the gate behind him. “Do you still wish you had gone with Donan?”
“Naw.” Keldon flicked the idea away with his hand. “I might feel differently if I had to work here—never been at ease around horses. But I have quite enjoyed attending to these lovely Amazon ships. I’ve even managed a few improvements on my Arabel. ”
“You really have been busy.”
“Aye.” He glanced around the barn, as if checking to see whether they were alone. “Still, I am beginning to wonder how much longer we’ll be here. I see messengers come and go from Temis. Any word from Donan or, uh, Faysal?”
“Nothing yet,” Lorath said. “But I do plan to speak with Adreona about our circumstances when she returns.”
“And say what?”
“Still figuring that out.”
“Well, I wish you luck with that.” Keldon turned to leave through the nearest barn door. “If you need me, you know where I’ll be.”
“Likewise,” Lorath said.