Authors: Andrew Wood
Caldar realised he had very much misjudged this man. He had thought the Murati would not even start building the seaport until next spring. He was just thinking he could get to like Issac, until the prince then told him he had sixty trainee recruits making their way northward as they spoke. "They should be here in the next day or so," he said looking quite pleased. Caldar felt like groaning loudly when Issac then told them all, that he was the commanding officer, and as a result, he would be staying with them for the next six weeks. "Isn't that marvellous," he shouted. "Oh! Splendid Issac, I'll have some rooms sorted out for you," Caldar replied with feigned enthusiasm.
Issac turned to Levin, and asked if the young man would be permitted to be his aide once more. King Caldar apologised, "sorry Levin is working for me now. I am afraid he is too damn valuable to spare. I'll find someone else for you." The Murati shrugged "Oh! Well never mind, I'm sure we'll catch up at some point." Levin nodded, he actually quite liked the man, especially the parts that handed the gold coins over, "sure, no doubt meal times and such like."
Luken had taken his full detail of six guards out of the city walls. He sat on the riverbank close to where Father Dagon had been buried. He felt a certain feeling of unfinished business between the two of them, and a deep regret the man had died. Sarena had made an arrangement of flowers for him to place on the grave. Made up with pinks, purples and reds with white around the outside, it did look pretty. They now sat beside the mound of earth covering the dead man's body, and Luken looked out across the river in a thoughtful mood.
As much as the man had irritated him, he could not help but feel a certain amount of sorrow now he was gone. In a strange sort of way, he missed the arguments and the snide remarks. He recalled the last lesson Dagon had tried to teach him, the occasion that had caused the man to storm off. He remembered that he was to try to make fire, into a kind of beam so it intensified the heat. Instead, he had shown off with his spinning vortex of flames, rather than do what was asked. At the time, the task had appeared too difficult, and he had wanted to show Dagon something he had taught himself.
He had no candle with him to attempt the skill, so instead decided to do it with water instead. Though he was not sure, Dagon would approve of him doing so. He quietly apologised to the dead man's grave in advance. Warning his guards they might wish to step back a little just in case things did not go entirely to plan. They did not need asking twice, and Luken felt a little peeved they all agreed so readily.
He closed his eyes and felt the energy filling inside his body, and concentrated as best he knew how. He was not doing this just for himself, he was attempting to show the man whose grave he sat beside he could do it. He had not even considered the fact that maybe such a thing could not be achieved with him using water.
He opened his eyes and gesticulated with his hand and a thin stream of water shot skywards. He was even amazed, as it must have gone two or three hundred paces at least, directly upwards, like an enormous fountain. He then aimed his hand outwards and pointed across the other side of the river. The jet of water thumped into the bank and huge clumps of turf flew upwards as the water started drilling a hole deep into it.
He released the power, and the line of water dropped into the river with a splash. He then stepped forward a few paces to look more closely at the far bank. The jet of water had made a sort of narrow tunnel, which appeared to go quite some depth. The water was still running back out of the hole and into the river. He nodded his head, moderately pleased with his achievements, before sitting back down beside Dagon's grave. "I know it was not the fire you asked for, but I hope that was sufficient enough for you," he said quietly.
Chapter 20.
The Murati recruits made their appearance two days after Prince Issac. All mounted, they rode up to the camp just south of the city and lined up, waiting for further orders. Jak Corley had been given the task of overseeing their stay. He walked confidently along the line, as he had his own troops on their first day. The youngsters, all tanned and most with dark or black hair kept themselves as still as possible and listened to his words.
"Welcome to Corlan. Prince Issac has permitted me to take charge of your training whilst you are here." He noted faces as he walked along the line. As with every group, there were those who took things serious, and those who did not. He just had to weed out the jokers amongst them, and put them right. He warned them that as guests, they were to behave, and whilst he expected some rivalry between the two sets of recruits, did not want it to go beyond a friendly one.
Jak had been told that none of the recruits had ever received any promotion, and as such were all at the equivalent rank as his own. All except Dane of course, who was Squad Leader, "This is Dane, he has earned rank and as such you will do as he asks. Any order from him is no different than if it had come from me or your Prince." Dane stood up to the mark, just to show his face, though he was the first to admit he felt very nervous. He noticed a few of the Murati giving him contemptuous looks, and suddenly had a feeling of anxiousness to add to it.
Jak ordered the recruits to dismount and stable their horses before they set their camp. As they had just arrived, and once the camp was satisfactory, they could have the rest of the day to rest, before starting full training tomorrow. The Corlan recruits looked on, despite the fact they were supposed to be training. The novelty of the entire situation, for now at least, was enough to risk the wrath of their Captain should they be spotted.
Lord Galliss stood in one of the new timber warehouses with a list in his hand. He had been tasked with checking off every item that had been unloaded off the barge. He had not imagined so much could have fitted into such a space. Prince Issac had not been lying when he said he had bought a variety of goods. There were various types and colours of textiles, silks and cottons. Several enormous barrels of Ale and wine that had proved more than slightly problematic to unload, being as no crane or winching gear had yet been set up.
There were also boxes of tobacco leaves, and huge clay pots containing various spices. Crates of fruits, some of which he had no idea of what they were. Sacks of flour and sugar were piled high and then there were smaller items; Jars of honey and bottles of sherry and brandy, the latter of which he would not mind himself.
It was obvious some thought had been given on what goods to send, as amongst them were a number of items needed for rebuilding the city homes. Aside from a number of wood working tools, there were nails and tacks and jars of some black oil based product that, according to his papers, were some form of water proofing agent.
Once all checked and counted, some of the items would go to the keep for use there. Distribution of the rest was still yet to be decided due to them not expecting anything this early. For now, it would remain under guard in the new warehouse, inside the city walls by the new dock entrance.
Despite being told not to, Luken had now ventured out to practice his skills on several occasions. Sarena had told him, she still needed more time to understand, and hence, was still learning from Sandred. He had apparently asked her to inform Luken, to refrain from attempting anything until she was capable of understanding what needed to be done. Sarena said she had to learn the limitations and dangers of his skills before they could continue.
Luken of course had listened to none of it, and made excuses to venture out to the riverbank beside Dagon's grave. He had made sure his guards knew they were to keep hushed about the entire affair. Each time he went, he tried to achieve something new. Aside from his water jet, he had managed similar with a flame, after he had had one of the guards carry a lamp out with them. The heat from the narrow beam of fire had been so intense it appeared white, and was fortunate he had aimed it at the water. The resulting amount of steam, he was certain could have been seen from some distance.
He did also have less spectacular results when he tried doing likewise with earth. All he succeeded in doing was showering his guards with soil and grass. His self-learning lessons were only brief, and he felt as his body felt none the worse afterwards. He had now passed eighteen years of age, and as he had always been told, as he grew older, so the magic would become less draining. He had been wise enough not to push things too far without someone knowledgeable being present. He was pleased with his own achievements, and after each, he asked Dagon what he thought. Doing so gave him some sense, that his hard work was somehow what the old man would have wanted.
Vanessa walked her way out of the keep, with her guard at her side, much to her disgust. She had told Caldar that it was not needed, and despite him telling her it was not his doing, had seen them argue. She only wanted to go down the main street and see her Father and brothers. She had told him, she was no one important and did not need to be followed around everywhere. By the fact she still had a large burly man with her, was plain for everyone to see, she had inevitably lost the disagreement.
She caught up with her father, just as the last of the large timber support frames were being put in place on the inn he was building with most of her brothers. Mitch, the youngest noticed her first and gave her a wave, before climbing down to greet her. "What do you think?" he asked waving his arm out in presentation. Vanessa nodded, "good, when will it be ready?" He just shrugged, "Don't know, father thinks maybe another month at least. Though he did say we could perhaps get the bar part up and running before all the upstairs rooms were done."
She could see how far they had come since last time she had checked on their progress. The cellar was no longer visible, as the wooden flooring was in place. The base walls were built, and the entire framework was now up. It was now a case of putting the walls up; this was to consist of overlapping timbers on the outside, and flat boarding on the inside. The space in between was to insulated in a similar fashion to the cities houses. The roof was going to be timber shingles; overlapping squares of wood. There were spaces for windows on both the ground and first floors, and the frames for these were already made.
After spending a little time with her father, Vanessa crossed the main street to a much smaller building. It had a larger window at the front, displaying a few items of furniture. She walked in through the door, and could hear hammering coming from the workshop at the rear. "Edward!" she shouted, and the noise ceased, and her male twin popped his around the doorway. "Hi, how are you?" before a second man popped his around, "Hi Vanessa." She smiled at the two of them, "Hi Hunter, you two busy I see. I only called to see how you were getting on."
Since opening their small business, the two young men had seen a steady flow of orders coming in, so much so they had even hired an apprentice. The orders from the crown alone would see them in work for months, and that did not include the orders they had received from the newly housed families. They had several set of tables and chairs to make, a few sideboards, various designs of desks, and even smaller items, such a bookends, ornate shelving and boxes. "You don't fancy a job Vanessa, by any chance?" asked Hunter. "Edward and I are inundated with work." Smiling, she politely refused, though the way she felt at the moment, she was tempted.
She left them and their new assistant, and bid them farewell. At least the guard she had saw fit to not enter the shop with her, and allow her some modicum of privacy. However, the minute she had stepped out the shop door, the large burly man, wearing the colours of the Royal guard fell in alongside her. She looked at him, "you're not making any friends here, you know that?" she said looking up at him. She thought she saw a flicker of a smile, but the strong jaw of the face showed little reaction.
For no particular reason other to annoy the man walking at her side, Vanessa decided to take a detour back to the keep. She deliberately turned randomly down areas that were not yet even marked out for building. Her plan sort of lost its impetus after about ten minutes, when she realised her legs would tire long before the guards. "Fine, we'll go back," she uttered, certain there was a smile that time.
She knew it was important to protect the royals, especially after the assassin's attempt on Luken's life, which had sadly killed that dear old man, Father Dagon. However, she did not see sense in her needing one; she was not a member of the royal family. She was just a plain old farm girl, yes, she was in love with the king, but she doubted anything could ever become of it. The people would want a woman of nobility for a queen, not some random from the middle of nowhere. She would attempt to talk to Caldar again, perhaps when he was not so grumpy.
As she entered the keep, her guard stood aside and let her continue onwards alone. She turned back and smiled at him, "thank you," she said in a sardonic tone. She was feeling rather sullen, with all the arguing and the thought that one-day Caldar would probably brush her aside for some beautiful young Lady of the realm.
"Are you okay Vanessa?" came the voice from across the corridor. She looked up and saw Caldar's younger sibling, the Prince Luken. He stepped up too her, somehow noticing something was wrong; he was certainly more perceptive than Caldar. She looked up at the young man's face, and having never really had a long close look, thought how alike facially Luken was to his brother. "Something is bothering Vanessa, come on let us have a drink and you can tell me about it," he ushered her toward the reading room.
She did not argue, and followed him down the corridor and into the room, before sitting on one of the cushioned couches. Luken sat beside, "I heard you arguing with Caldar before," he said straight out with it. She nodded, and burst into tears. He put a comforting arm around her, "Hey, things cannot be that bad." She looked up at him, with tears running down her cheeks and told him of her woes. How she felt she did not fit in, and eventually how she knew Caldar would one day push her aside for someone of nobility.