outgrow. But in the meantime you’ll be having some restless nights until he does.”
Giving him a mock salute, Liam bid Yulen a good night and exited through the door leading directly from the main hall into his and Madigan's private chambers at the rear of the building. Yulen watched him go until the man was out of sight.
Groaning softly, he hurried to scan the supply lists and sign off on them, then gathered the rest of the papers and stuffed them into the pouch he kept everything in. He carried the pouch with him to the lodge where he tossed it onto a small table just inside the front door.
“Yulen?” came a voice from upstairs.
“You’ve been granted a reprieve, Mother. I came to relieve you.”
“Very funny,” the older woman said.
He glanced up to see her descending the circular stairs. “Is Atty still awake?”
“And thirsty,” a familiar voice called down to him. “Bring me some water, would you?”
Laying a hand on her son’s arm, Madigan grinned. She gestured for her son to follow her into the kitchen area. Yulen waited for her to speak first. “Atty could hear a flea fart,” she commented matter-of-factly. She got a snort of amusement in response. “I haven’t had a chance to talk with you.”
“I’ve been swamped.”
“I thought so,” she nodded. “You know the guests will start arriving in the next day or so. What are you going to tell her when they do?”
“I was going to tell her tonight that I’m planning a small get-together of compounds, both normal and Mutah, in the hopes of extending the treaties. Maybe allow for some of the Mutah compounds to begin trade agreements with other normal compounds.”
Madigan nodded. “Think the ruse will work?”
“It’s no ruse, Mother,” he said. “The détente is real. So is our renewal of our vows and the celebration. One will cover the other, and both will occur as planned.”
She looked surprised. “Aren’t you biting off more than you can chew?”
“I won’t know until it happens.”
“And where do you plan to encamp all these people?”
“In the outer courtyard.”
“Outer courtyard? What outer courtyard, Yul?” As soon as the words were past her lips, Madigan knew what he was talking about. “Oh! You mean in the newly cleared area?”
Yulen nodded. “Precisely. I’ve been thinking about not removing the inner wall.”
“You want to keep it up? Why? Wouldn’t that split the compound into two separate areas?”
“I’m going to pick Atty’s brain and see what she thinks, just like I’m picking yours. I’ve just about decided to move all the businesses into that outer courtyard, along with the vendors who come on Saturday for Market Day. The inner courtyard would continue to house the populace. But if we should be attacked again, the enemy would have to scale two sets of walls before reaching our women and children.” He gave her a steady look. Madigan digested this information with a slow nod of her head.
“It’s...different.”
“Not only that, Mother, but when we rebuild the businesses, I would like to incorporate the same design the builders did in Wallis.”
“Oh? What did they do?”
“They planned their streets in a deliberate maze pattern. Like a labyrinth. Their buildings were flat-roofed, with a series of steps and ladders leading to the roofs. The reason was to put their best archers on the roof so they could decimate any invaders wandering around between the buildings. If we had that advantage, it could make us almost invincible.”
Madigan paled slightly. “That’s what almost happened that day you first overran Wallis, wasn’t it? The day you found Atty.”
“It would have worked, too,” he admitted. “Except Atty was by herself. There weren’t any others to take us down. If there had, our future would have turned out completely different.” Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Yulen took a mug off a shelf and filled it with water from a pitcher. “With Atty’s
Giving him a mock salute, Liam bid Yulen a good night and exited through the door leading directly from the main hall into his and Madigan's private chambers at the rear of the building. Yulen watched him go until the man was out of sight.
Groaning softly, he hurried to scan the supply lists and sign off on them, then gathered the rest of the papers and stuffed them into the pouch he kept everything in. He carried the pouch with him to the lodge where he tossed it onto a small table just inside the front door.
“Yulen?” came a voice from upstairs.
“You’ve been granted a reprieve, Mother. I came to relieve you.”
“Very funny,” the older woman said.
He glanced up to see her descending the circular stairs. “Is Atty still awake?”
“And thirsty,” a familiar voice called down to him. “Bring me some water, would you?”
Laying a hand on her son’s arm, Madigan grinned. She gestured for her son to follow her into the kitchen area. Yulen waited for her to speak first. “Atty could hear a flea fart,” she commented matter-of-factly. She got a snort of amusement in response. “I haven’t had a chance to talk with you.”
“I’ve been swamped.”
“I thought so,” she nodded. “You know the guests will start arriving in the next day or so. What are you going to tell her when they do?”
“I was going to tell her tonight that I’m planning a small get-together of compounds, both normal and Mutah, in the hopes of extending the treaties. Maybe allow for some of the Mutah compounds to begin trade agreements with other normal compounds.”
Madigan nodded. “Think the ruse will work?”
“It’s no ruse, Mother,” he said. “The détente is real. So is our renewal of our vows and the celebration. One will cover the other, and both will occur as planned.”
She looked surprised. “Aren’t you biting off more than you can chew?”
“I won’t know until it happens.”
“And where do you plan to encamp all these people?”
“In the outer courtyard.”
“Outer courtyard? What outer courtyard, Yul?” As soon as the words were past her lips, Madigan knew what he was talking about. “Oh! You mean in the newly cleared area?”
Yulen nodded. “Precisely. I’ve been thinking about not removing the inner wall.”
“You want to keep it up? Why? Wouldn’t that split the compound into two separate areas?”
“I’m going to pick Atty’s brain and see what she thinks, just like I’m picking yours. I’ve just about decided to move all the businesses into that outer courtyard, along with the vendors who come on Saturday for Market Day. The inner courtyard would continue to house the populace. But if we should be attacked again, the enemy would have to scale two sets of walls before reaching our women and children.” He gave her a steady look. Madigan digested this information with a slow nod of her head.
“It’s...different.”
“Not only that, Mother, but when we rebuild the businesses, I would like to incorporate the same design the builders did in Wallis.”
“Oh? What did they do?”
“They planned their streets in a deliberate maze pattern. Like a labyrinth. Their buildings were flat-roofed, with a series of steps and ladders leading to the roofs. The reason was to put their best archers on the roof so they could decimate any invaders wandering around between the buildings. If we had that advantage, it could make us almost invincible.”
Madigan paled slightly. “That’s what almost happened that day you first overran Wallis, wasn’t it? The day you found Atty.”
“It would have worked, too,” he admitted. “Except Atty was by herself. There weren’t any others to take us down. If there had, our future would have turned out completely different.” Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Yulen took a mug off a shelf and filled it with water from a pitcher. “With Atty’s
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