than a pebble thrown into the great river, but the villagers, rich and poor, understood the warning. Since then, no one tried to leave the village by force. All those who remained worked on the wall, adding their sweat and blood to the sand, stones, and mud that comprised it.
The Wall. It became the focal point of everyone’s lives and the main theme of conversation. The fi rst topic of discussion centered around the backbreaking labor as men toiled under heavy loads of earth, bricks, or stones. Nicar, Corio, and the village elders walked the construction area each day, encouraging slaves and freemen to keep up their efforts. Sisuthros’s soldiers made sure everyone did their fair share of the work, adding their own muscles to the toil, and using the whip only to deal with slack-ers. Men labored and sweated, and the wall began to grow out of the earth.
But it grew slowly, as if resisting the efforts of impatient men to lift it from the dust.
The soldiers’ training was the next subject of discussion. As hard as the villagers labored to build the wall, so did Esk kar’s men sweat in their brutal training, cursing their drillmasters as they first hardened their bodies, then learned how to use their weapons. They trained in the shadow of the new wall as they tested their archery from makeshift platforms.
Use of the bow took first place in the training. For at least three hours every day, each group of soldiers devoted their time to archery. They fired hundreds of arrows daily until their fingers ran red with blood and muscles trembled from the strain. When they finished with the bow, they learned to fight with sword, spear, and axe, practicing from the makeshift walls. Day’s end brought them no respite, for Esk kar still needed soldiers to guard the gates and the docks, patrol the village, and enforce discipline on the work crews. Everyone complained, but to no effect, as their commanders labored as hard as their men.
The third topic, which was usually the most interesting, was the captain of the guard and his female slave. Few villagers had known or noticed Esk kar before Nicar appointed him captain. Those who recalled him from those days admitted he’d changed. Still aloof and rarely smiling, he now stood out from other men as he strode about the village.
Everyone deferred to him. Everyone looked to him to defend Orak and save them from the barbarians. All watched him carefully each day, searching for the slightest sign of fear or doubt. But he gave no such sign. And each day the wall grew a few feet longer, the soldiers trained a little harder, and gradually the villagers began to believe they might survive.
If Esk kar made for poor conversation, Trella was another matter. As she went about her duties or accompanied her master, everyone found something to say about the slave girl who’d cast a spell on the soldier. De-fying custom she walked at Esk kar’s side, and he often put his arm around her, letting everyone see how much she meant to him.
The village women began to respect her, and their men soon grew as awed as their wives. Trella showed wisdom beyond her seasons, and her voice commanded attention in the councils. She seemed to radiate a power over men and women, and now many sought her advice as she passed through the streets.
Nevertheless, at each day’s end, the tired villagers wondered whether there would be enough soldiers to defend Orak, and the soldiers worried if the laborers could complete the wall in time.
Esk kar threw himself into the effort, as if by hard work he could single — handedly guarantee success. His daily training soon made him the most proficient swordsman in the village, but many a time Esk kar found himself knocked to the dirt by some especially skillful or lucky opponent.
The men always cheered at that, and Esk kar learned to nod approval to his challenger, though it seldom happened twice. Several times each week Esk kar took a horse and rode the countryside around Orak, studying the land while he practiced his horsemanship. Each day brought some new bruise or scrape, and each night Trella would massage her master’s stiff muscles.
Trella worked just as tirelessly. She took charge of all the weaponry and supplies needed by the soldiers. She met daily with Rufus and Tevana, coordinating their needs, and doing the same for those making the spears, shields, and axes.
She spent an entire day with Esk kar and Gatus, learning everything about the men’s weaponry and clothing. They showed her the leather vests, caps, and wrist guards they wanted for the archers. Since bowmen standing atop the wall would be exposed from the waist up, leather armor would provide a great deal of protection. While the vest would not stop an Alur Meriki arrow at close range, it would certainly save some lives.
Trella did the same with the other weapons. Gatus showed her the kind of short sword, spear, and axe that he wanted, demonstrated how each would be used, and taught her how to judge their quality. She noticed Esk kar listened intently to Gatus. The old soldier knew his weapons, and knew what he wanted.
Soon Trella knew all she needed to know in order to deal with merchants and traders. Gatus would inspect and accept each new weapon, but the haggling over prices and delivery schedules were off his shoulders.
Trella made sure all the weapons and supplies arrived on time, even as she kept track of the gold needed. By taking care of the logistics, she allowed Esk kar to concentrate on the recruiting, training, and organizing of the men. It also gave him more time to meet with Nicar, Corio, and the rest of the noble families. At the end of each week, she spent a day with Nicar’s clerks, going over the accounts and making sure no merchant received payment for something not delivered.
It took Trella only a few days to discover how much silver the previous Captain had stolen by purchasing poor quality food, and as little of that as possible. Honest bargaining with the farmers, as Esk kar’s representative, made sure that sufficient and wholesome fare arrived regularly and at a reasonable price.
For the first time the soldiers had decent food to eat, and enough of it to maintain them through their strenuous training. Fresh bread and vegetables complimented the lamb and chicken the soldiers normally ate.
Trella dealt directly with the farmers who supplied the food, and added a staff of cooks to prepare the meals. For that alone the soldiers would have loved her, but she did even more. Using Esk kar’s gold, she paid a few copper coins to those willing to clean out the barracks and the grounds around them. After a few days even the malodorous barracks smelled and looked cleaner.
Not satisfied with her accomplishments, Trella looked for other opportunities to expand her influence. The first such she found involved working with Nicar and Nestor on the housing problem.
By Nicar’s order, anyone leaving Orak forfeited their house and any belongings left behind. This policy forced any villagers who thought of leaving to make a hard choice. If the village survived and they returned, their homes would be gone, given to someone else. Or they could stay and fi ght.
Nevertheless, many left Orak, and those who remained clamored for even the humblest of the abandoned houses and huts. Working with the clerks, Trella inventoried each hut and home and recommended new owners, favoring those who could best help Orak. She argued skillfully, forcing the clerks to abandon their plans of helping friends or those willing to pay.
Trella focused on those who had the skills needed for the village’s defense.
If they possessed those skills and were willing to stay and work, Trella would present their case.
Only once did she have to involve Esk kar. The clerks wanted to give an empty home to a wine merchant, while Trella insisted that the dwelling be given to a family of five that included a father and two grown sons willing to fight. Esk kar lost his temper and threatened to have every clerk run out of the village. Trella had to plead with him not to go to Nicar. After that, she had no more problems with the clerks.
With each day that passed, Esk kar and Trella’s lives became more en-twined with the fate of Orak-and the fate of Orak depended on the wall.
Everyone who could worked on the wall. Fight, dig, or move on. No other choice existed for anyone hoping to remain in Orak. Esk kar made that decision, backed by Nicar. The soldiers’ swords enforced it. Everyone labored in Orak’s defense, including the members of the Families.
No work on anything else was permitted unless approved by Nicar and Esk kar. Those caught away from their tasks received some punishment, and Esk kar would make no exceptions for the sons of the Families, though he did allow them to be assigned lighter duties than digging or rock carrying as long as they performed their duties well.
Gatus sent more men out to patrol the roads and to keep bandits and robbers from attacking those bringing goods to Orak. Sisuthros now had twenty men to make sure those working on the wall put their backs into it, while Corio directed a workforce of over four hundred men and boys, and even women and old men. The master builder walked back and forth among the workers, driving himself and his apprentices as hard as any laborer.
Slaves and free villagers alike worked, all covered with dust and mud, except those who gathered rocks from
