He found Hamon first, who was just starting to descend the steps and head underground once more. The foreman was moving with a bounce in his step, his eyes alight and eager. He noticed Khollo approaching from the side and stopped, waving a hand in greeting.
“Afternoon, chief, did you get my maps?”
“Got them,” Khollo said, grinning, “And I used them.”
“New orders?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Can you gather the others?”
“At once,” Hamon promised. “They’re working at those caves on the north side right now, but I’ll have them up here as soon as possible.”
“Thanks,” Khollo said, settling down on the first step down from the courtyard. “I’ll be right here when you get back.”
Hamon was not gone long. In mere minutes he was back, the other five foremen in tow. Everyone was eagerly discussing the discovery of the caverns, plying Hamon with questions. Khollo waited for them to find seats on the steps, then leaned forward and held out the plans he had drawn.
“This is a great find to be sure, but there’s still work to do,” Khollo began. “We have the space, now we need a way to use it. That’s where you come in.”
The foremen nodded dutifully, studying Khollo’s drawings.
“The first priority,” Khollo continued, “Is easy access. We need to make a ground level entrance to the cavern we discovered. We can do this by connecting it to the caves on the outside to the north, which we’ve already been expanding. Eventually, those will need to be sealed up and replaced with a single gate, but that can wait a little longer.”
“Once we have ground level access to the main cavern, the work will be easier. We can cart rubble and cut stone straight out instead of carrying it all the way out through the top. That will save time, and allow us to start turning some of these caverns into halls and rooms. Are you with me so far?”
Hamon nodded briefly. “Outer caves first, simplifies the rest of the job. What’s next?”
“We split up,” Khollo grunted. “One team starts work on staircases and ramps to link the ground level to the second, third, and fourth levels. That gives us access up top, since the fourth level is already somewhat connected. The rest of the work crews will work on excavating rooms and halls, and generally making the space more livable.”
“All well and good,” Tilfir said, folding his arms across his chest. “But it won’t matter what we build if we don’t have soldiers to defend it.”
Khollo nodded reluctantly. “You’re right, of course. Once the lower entrance is finished, and the other caves sealed up, some of the teams will begin training to fight. Janis will handle that part, probably.”
“Just so long as we’re on the same page,” Tilfir grunted. “I’d hate to waste all this energy building a fortress and die because no one bothered to man the walls.”
“Your concern is noted, and will be addressed,” Khollo promised. “More villages will come. They will swell our ranks and provide more troops to defend against the vertaga. I believe Janis and Ondus have already sent messages to Ardia and the Heights as well, for soldiers, weapons, and supplies.”
“Good,” Hamon replied, “If that’s being handled by you and Lord Kurkan, then we can go back to our job without needin’ to worry about it. We’ll do our part, chief, never fear!”
Khollo handed over the plans and stood, wincing slightly. “Then I’ll let you get back to work.” He glanced south, through the open gate and over the flatlands of the Renlor Basin. “Until this fortress is sealed, we have not a moment to waste.”
The foremen took to their new assignments immediately, and over the rest of that day the attention of the crews shifted to reflect Khollo’s new plan. The sound of picks and hammers on stone echoed up from the base of the cliffs to the north, and throughout the day broken stone continued to pile up north of the West Bank. Soon, that stone would be used to plug alternate entrances and build a northern wall, but for now they just needed it out of the way.
The next day passed, and the next. The third day and the fourth followed in quick succession. During this stretch, the excavating teams broke through to the central cavern from a number of points, adding the outer caves to the rest of the complex. As each team broke through, they were reassigned to different parts of the plan, whether it was building the north gate or sealing the now numerous entrances to the ground level with broken-up rock.
The days stretched into a week, then two. A third village arrived at the beginning of the second week, bringing ninety-three more able bodied men and their families. They joined Khollo and Janis without question, and immediately began pitching in wherever they could. The day after the third village arrived, Janis selected one hundred and twenty villagers to begin training as soldiers to bolster the garrison. These men were placed under the care of a few senior guardsmen, who began teaching them the basics of archery and hand to hand fighting with swords and spears. The new warriors took their training to heart and worked at it doggedly, drilling from dawn to dusk no matter the weather or their own personal problems. Every day they got better, and every day more of the warriors wounded in the first vertaga attack recovered and rejoined the growing garrison.
Khollo’s ribs continued to mend as well, until they no longer pained him when he moved about the fortress. He even started weapons practice again, but only for a limited time each day and always
