mulling over this point.
“Maybe we should use the remaining timber to build another barn.”
“No, we need a granary.”
“Not yet we don’t. That can wait.”
Arguments broke out.
“No,” Edmund called out over the tumult. “Listen to me! I think … I think we should continue to focus on housing. Convert the third barracks, then we’ll use the timber left to build housing for those who want to join us.”
“What about the extra animals?” A farmer climbed up onto his chair. “Like you said, they can’t all fit, so maybe we should make a second stable as well. I mean, if winters are as bad as you say, animals left out will freeze to death, right?”
Arguing grew louder. Most of these men had always dreamed of owning their own horses and oxen, and it killed them to let the animals just freeze to death when the weather turned worse. Yet they also hoped to build more housing so they wouldn’t be packed into the two barracks.
“I think I may have an idea that will address that,” Edmund said. “Please listen.”
They quieted.
“I hate to do it,” he continued, “and the gods know we’ll need good horses in the future, but I think we should select twenty to thirty of the best breeding horses then ride the rest to the northeast. If we let them loose there, they can roam far and wide, and their tracks may confuse the King’s scouts.”
“Who gets the ones we keep?”
“Yeah!”
“They’ll be town property,” Edmund replied. “Guards have first priority. But this spring we can use them for the farms as well as for hauling timber into town.”
More people nodded.
“So if we’re all in agreement about the horses,” Edmund said, “I’ll take a few men in the morning and we’ll drive them north then swing around to the east. We’ll release them near where Ms. Abby’s posted signs for Rood.”
“You’ll go?” several people repeated doubtfully.
In truth, Edmund didn’t want to go. He wasn’t a particularly good rider; his entire body always hurt after just a few hours of bouncing in a saddle. Moreover, Vin had been teaching him ways to ‘clear his mind,’ and he was reluctant to interrupt his studies; however, he wanted to see for himself the deceptions Abby and Bain were putting into place. He was also eager to talk to Abby without Pond nearby.
“Not to worry!” Edmund announced, trying to sound positive. “Mr. Pond will make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Pond stared at the dirty floor.
Edmund continued. “While I’m gone, I want to impress upon you all … if you have to leave Rood to hunt or whatever, do not leave tracks that lead directly here. In fact, do not go south or east of Rood. That’s where most of the scouts have been sighted. And under no circumstances should you light any fires during the day. The smoke will attract the King’s army like a beacon.”
“But it gets cold, even during the day!” said a woman with a young child on her lap.
Boy, if she thinks it’s cold now, she’s going to be shocked in a month!
“Again, not to worry,” Edmund replied. “Our brewmaster can help with that.”
Chapter Thirteen
The next day, Edmund set off with Becky and a couple of guards who could be spared. Each led a long line of rope-tethered horses. At first, they rode due north along the cold waters of the River Bygwen to hide their tracks. Once they’d reached Lake Nuvelle and the ruins of Azagra, the Highlands’ former capital city, they swung eastward through what used to be thriving farmlands. After a couple of days of being led eastward, however, the horses grew stubborn; they snorted and fought at their leads, slowing progress to a crawling tug-of-war. Eventually Edmund had had enough.
“Just set them free here,” he told the two guards.
“Are we far enough away from Rood?” one of them asked.
Edmund watched some of the horses rear and buck. “This is as far as we’re going to get them, I’m afraid. Start cutting them loose.”
The
“Maybe we should use the remaining timber to build another barn.”
“No, we need a granary.”
“Not yet we don’t. That can wait.”
Arguments broke out.
“No,” Edmund called out over the tumult. “Listen to me! I think … I think we should continue to focus on housing. Convert the third barracks, then we’ll use the timber left to build housing for those who want to join us.”
“What about the extra animals?” A farmer climbed up onto his chair. “Like you said, they can’t all fit, so maybe we should make a second stable as well. I mean, if winters are as bad as you say, animals left out will freeze to death, right?”
Arguing grew louder. Most of these men had always dreamed of owning their own horses and oxen, and it killed them to let the animals just freeze to death when the weather turned worse. Yet they also hoped to build more housing so they wouldn’t be packed into the two barracks.
“I think I may have an idea that will address that,” Edmund said. “Please listen.”
They quieted.
“I hate to do it,” he continued, “and the gods know we’ll need good horses in the future, but I think we should select twenty to thirty of the best breeding horses then ride the rest to the northeast. If we let them loose there, they can roam far and wide, and their tracks may confuse the King’s scouts.”
“Who gets the ones we keep?”
“Yeah!”
“They’ll be town property,” Edmund replied. “Guards have first priority. But this spring we can use them for the farms as well as for hauling timber into town.”
More people nodded.
“So if we’re all in agreement about the horses,” Edmund said, “I’ll take a few men in the morning and we’ll drive them north then swing around to the east. We’ll release them near where Ms. Abby’s posted signs for Rood.”
“You’ll go?” several people repeated doubtfully.
In truth, Edmund didn’t want to go. He wasn’t a particularly good rider; his entire body always hurt after just a few hours of bouncing in a saddle. Moreover, Vin had been teaching him ways to ‘clear his mind,’ and he was reluctant to interrupt his studies; however, he wanted to see for himself the deceptions Abby and Bain were putting into place. He was also eager to talk to Abby without Pond nearby.
“Not to worry!” Edmund announced, trying to sound positive. “Mr. Pond will make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Pond stared at the dirty floor.
Edmund continued. “While I’m gone, I want to impress upon you all … if you have to leave Rood to hunt or whatever, do not leave tracks that lead directly here. In fact, do not go south or east of Rood. That’s where most of the scouts have been sighted. And under no circumstances should you light any fires during the day. The smoke will attract the King’s army like a beacon.”
“But it gets cold, even during the day!” said a woman with a young child on her lap.
Boy, if she thinks it’s cold now, she’s going to be shocked in a month!
“Again, not to worry,” Edmund replied. “Our brewmaster can help with that.”
Chapter Thirteen
The next day, Edmund set off with Becky and a couple of guards who could be spared. Each led a long line of rope-tethered horses. At first, they rode due north along the cold waters of the River Bygwen to hide their tracks. Once they’d reached Lake Nuvelle and the ruins of Azagra, the Highlands’ former capital city, they swung eastward through what used to be thriving farmlands. After a couple of days of being led eastward, however, the horses grew stubborn; they snorted and fought at their leads, slowing progress to a crawling tug-of-war. Eventually Edmund had had enough.
“Just set them free here,” he told the two guards.
“Are we far enough away from Rood?” one of them asked.
Edmund watched some of the horses rear and buck. “This is as far as we’re going to get them, I’m afraid. Start cutting them loose.”
The
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