nose. “You smell like a horse.”
Nicar had invited Esk kar to his home for dinner. Whether or not the invitation included Trella didn’t matter, as he had decided to take her anyway. “Yes, I’m sure I do. But before dinner, I want to see to the village bowyer and the fletcher. I’ve just made some more promises about bows and arrows, and I need to make sure they’re kept.”
Back at his quarters, he told the guard to have the bowmaker and the arrowsmith brought there in an hour. Then Esk kar and Trella walked down to the river to bathe, separating into the two areas customarily reserved for men and women. After a quick wash and even quicker swim, he dried himself, then waited a few moments before Trella appeared, her hair wet and stringy, but glistening in the fading sun. His eyes lingered over her dress, which clung tightly to her still — wet body, and he regretted his summons to the craftsmen. He took her by the hand, ignoring the smiles of the villagers at the gesture, and they walked back to the barracks.
The knock on the open door came as Esk kar finished belting on his sword. Two men stood there, men who differed in aspect as much as any two men could. The bowyer, Rufus, was a hunched — over old man with long stringy gray hair and yellowed teeth. He wore a dirty tunic marked with multicolored stains, and carried with him the scents of the glues and resins of his profession.
The fletcher stood much taller, and his clean tunic marked him as a well — to — do craftsman. He carried a goodly amount of weight on his frame that proved arrowmaking to be a more lucrative occupation than soldiering, though that could be said of almost any trade, even farming. Basically a carpenter who specialized in making tools and small implements, Tevana created many different items for the local tradesmen. As a profi table sideline, Tevana had been making arrows for the soldiers for years. Esk kar knew him by sight but had never spoken to him.
The fletcher spoke first, in a deep and pleasant voice, bowing to Esk kar and giving Trella a quick glance. “Good afternoon, Captain.”
Rufus, the bowyer didn’t bow. “Your summons interrupted me in my work and I lose time while we speak. What is so important it couldn’t wait until morning?” His tone was irritating.
Esk kar had met twice with Rufus, once to accept delivery of some bows and again to complain when one of the weapons had broken after a few days. Esk kar had been ignored on the first occasion and laughed at on the second, for Rufus gave no guarantees. “After all, how do I know what some fool will use it for when it leaves my shop-to hammer a nail or dig a hole? It bent properly here, you paid for it, and that’s the end of it.” Esk kar had to report to Ariamus that he failed to get a replacement.
“Please sit down, Rufus, Tevana. Bring wine for our guests, Trella.” Eskkar kept his voice calm and resisted the urge to draw his sword and sweep Rufus’s head from his shoulders. The old man made the best bows not only in Orak but in the surrounding regions. Now his sons and apprentices did most of the work, but their reputation matched their master’s.
The three men sat down and Trella poured wine, then took her place on her stool behind Esk kar’s bench. Rufus practically snatched the cup from her hand and gulped down half the cup, then gave Esk kar a look that seemed to say he didn’t think much about the taste. Once again Esk kar’s sword hand twitched at the insult.
“Thank you, Captain,” Tevana said after taking a sip. “How may we help you?”
“I won’t keep you long from your work, Rufus,” Esk kar began. “I meet with Nicar tonight. But I wanted to make my needs known to you both as soon as possible. The barbarians are moving toward us, and I’ll need bows and arrows to resist them.”
“I think you’ll need more than that to stop barbarians,” Rufus said with a dry cackle that tempted Esk kar’s sword hand yet again. “But I can sell you all the bows you need, if you can afford to pay for them.”
“Good, Rufus, I’m glad to hear that.” If the old fool was going to take that attitude, so be it. “Trella, tell Rufus and Tevana what we need.”
Trella scraped her stool closer to the table. “My master desires four hundred bows, all of them five feet in length and capable of penetrat-ing leather armor at two hundred paces. As for arrows, we will need one hundred thousand war arrows, plus at least ten thousand target arrows, all properly feathered and tipped with bronze.”
Arrows could be tipped with almost anything, though hardened bone or bronze was preferred. While the bone tip could actually penetrate deeper, the bronze point left a more vicious wound and was more difficult to remove.
“And, of course, my master will need all the other materials-bowstrings, thumb rings, and wrist pads.”
Tevana’s wine cup stopped an inch before his lips while Rufus laughed outright, slapping his hand on the table, his cackle rising in volume until even Tevana turned toward him in annoyance.
The fletcher regained his voice first. “Captain, that’s impossible. No one has ever asked for such a quantity of arrows before-and bronze tipped! Why, that’s at least three, maybe four tons of bronze by itself. And then there’s the wood, the feathers, the glues. I couldn’t possibly make that many…”
Rufus leaned forward, interrupting, and pushing his face toward Eskkar. “If you’d asked for fifty bows, perhaps I would have made them for you. But four hundred? I’ll not even try.” He picked up his cup and drained it, then held it out to Trella for more, staring at her, his business with Eskkar apparently finished.
Esk kar raised his hand as she rose to fetch the wine jug. “No more wine for Master Rufus. We still have much business to discuss.”
“Not with me, you don’t,” Rufus answered, standing and starting for the open doorway. “I’m returning to my shop before the last light is gone.”
Esk kar raised his voice. “Guard!” Outside, the guard straightened up and gathered his spear into a ready position as he moved quickly toward the doorway. “Guard, if Master Rufus tries to leave, kill him.”
They could hear the spear as it hummed through the air, spun down to a level position. The slim bronze tip hovered a foot from Rufus’s skinny chest as he stood in the doorway. He stared at the weapon. Then he turned back into the room. “You can’t threaten me, Esk kar.”
“I’m not trying to threaten you, Rufus, I’m only telling you what’s going to happen. If you cross the doorway, you die on the spear. Now get back here and sit down. We have things to discuss and not much time.”
Rufus returned to the table and sat. “You don’t scare me, Esk kar. I’ll appeal to Nicar and the Five Families.”
Esk kar shook his head. The man must be senile not to understand the events of yesterday. “Rufus, in case you haven’t heard, things have changed in Orak. Do you really think that you can tell the Families you’re too busy to make bows right now? That you’re too important to work to save Orak?”
“I plan to leave the village anyway, Esk kar. I’ll not risk my life trying to stop barbarians. Nothing can stop them. Find someone else to make your bows.”
“If you wish to leave, Rufus, you may. I’ll escort you to the gate myself, right now if you like. But your family stays in Orak and lives and dies with the rest of us. Maybe you didn’t hear Nicar’s words yesterday. He said no one was to leave without his permission. But I’ll make an exception for you. I’m sure all your sons and apprentices will be glad to see you gone.
You’re obviously too old to be the master bowyer any longer.” He watched Rufus’s face blanch as the harsh words hit home.
“You can’t keep me here. I’m a free man and a master craftsman. I have a right to leave if I choose. Besides, there’s no way to make that number of bows in five months.”
“I didn’t say you had to make them all yourself, Rufus. Find others to make them. This is why I’ve asked you and Tevana here today. Both of you must figure out a way to meet my needs. Wood, copper, bronze, cordage, feathers, glue, bindings, skilled craftsmen, whatever you require. If you cannot do the work yourself, find others to share in the labor. Send word to other villages up and down the river.”
Esk kar turned to Tevana. “The same for you, Tevana. If you can’t make that many arrows yourself, then hire others, or buy them. Nicar will arrange payment. So I suggest that each of you return to your homes and begin planning to meet my needs.” The two men looked at each other but said nothing.
Trella’s voice broke in. “Master, you asked me to remind you about the quality of the goods.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Don’t think that you can throw some sticks together and call them bows. They must be perfect. Our lives will depend on them, and I want not more than one broken bow for every fifty delivered.
Tevana, the same goes for the arrows. The shafts must all be straight and true, nocked, feathered, and tipped properly, and all of the same length and weight. I want no differences in the shafts to make my archers miss their targets.”
