and the floor. Sitting up, he realized the soft bed had let him sleep at least an hour past sunrise. He’d told Trella to waken him an hour before dawn.
Two hours wasted.
The house seemed strangely quiet as he hurriedly dressed. The outer workroom was empty and the door that led downstairs closed. When he opened it, subdued voices and the smell of crisping meat floated up from the kitchen. He went down the stairs two at a time. At the bottom, he found Gatus emerging from the kitchen, dressed for battle, a piece of chicken in his hand.
“Good morning, Captain. I was about to wake you.” Before Esk kar could reply, he continued. “We decided to let you sleep a little longer. All the men are posted at the wall and there are only a few barbarians watching us from the hilltops.” He wrinkled his nose. “You might want to wash up before you eat. You still smell like a horse.”
“Where’s Trella?” Why hadn’t she awakened him? The barbarians might have attacked at dawn.
“Where she’s supposed to be, out with the women.” Gatus took another bite from his chicken leg. “This is good. I think it was supposed to be your breakfast.”
Esk kar swore at the grinning soldier, then strode past him into the kitchen. Bantor’s wife stood there, tending the kitchen fi re, ready with his breakfast. Halfway to the table, he decided Gatus was right.
“Hold the food, Annok — sur.” He went outside to the well, stripping off his tunic and using it to scrub himself down. A servant came and drew bucket after bucket of water for him until Esk kar felt as clean as he could be without a swim in the river. Wrapping his wet tunic around his waist, he returned to the bedroom and dressed again, this time for battle.
He took his time, binding his undergarment tightly around his loins, then donning a clean linen tunic. He strapped on the sandals that Trella had purchased for him that first day, making sure the wide leather straps were tightly knotted around his calves.
The servant entered the bedroom with a knock, holding a thick leather vest. He laced a leather protector onto Esk kar’s lower right arm, then a smaller one onto his upper arm. Esk kar belted the great sword around his waist and thrust his knife, almost as long as the men’s short fighting sword, into his belt. Last the servant offered the bronze casque, the helmet that would protect his head, but Esk kar shook his head. “Leave it. It’s too hot.”
He nodded his thanks to the servant and returned to the kitchen. He wolfed down the remains of the chicken, ripping it apart with his fingers and washing it down with water and handfuls of bread.
“Salt, Annok — sur.” She handed him a bowl containing the rough crys-tals.
Men fighting or working in the heat did better with extra salt, though no one knew why. Esk kar swallowed a bitter mouthful of the gritty stuff, then washed it down with the last of the water.
“Good fortune to you today, Captain,” Annok — sur offered when he finished, wiping her hands clean on a rag and following him to the door.
She would have duties of her own today. “Good fortune to you and Bantor.”
Esk kar turned and stopped so suddenly that she bumped into him.
“And thank you both for what you’ve done for Trella. Bantor is a lucky man to have such a good wife, but don’t tell him I said that.”
She laughed and touched his shoulder. “There are many things I don’t tell Bantor, Captain.”
Esk kar wondered about what things Trella didn’t choose to tell him as he stepped outside into the bright sunlight. His men had converted the courtyard into a command post. Gatus sat at the main table, along with Jalen and a handful of soldiers. A dozen messenger boys were packed into a corner of the yard, all wearing distinctive red bindings around their arms so the soldiers would recognize them and let them through.
Clerks mixed with subcommanders who would coordinate the defenses.
Nicar and the other members of the Families sat at a second table, each with his own duties and his respective attendants. The spacious courtyard barely accommodated those responsible for Orak’s defense.
Esk kar walked over to the main table, reminding himself to take his rest wherever and whenever possible today.
“All the men are in position, Captain.” Gatus spoke formally. “Bantor and Sisuthros are at the gate, along with Corio and his eldest. Jalen has inspected the rear gate. Maldar will command the men on the riverside, and I’ll command the north wall. Hamati and Alexar direct the east and west walls. All the men have been fed and the water buckets are full. Each man has been given his instructions for the hundredth time, though I’m sure they’ll forget them as soon as the first barbarian starts for the wall.”
In a few words Gatus had given Esk kar all the information he needed and at the same time had communicated that all was as it should be.
“So, I should have stayed in bed longer. Maybe you would’ve called me after the fighting was over.”
“They’re not going to attack for hours, even days,” Gatus offered reasonably. “First they’ll try to frighten us with their presence.” He looked squarely at his leader. “Now it’s time to inspect the men and give them some words.”
Meaning I’d better get to work. “Then let’s begin.” With Jalen and Maldar in tow, they walked out to the street where more messengers leaned against the wall. They cheered at the sight of Esk kar and he smiled at them. Yet another surprise waited for him. Four of the Hawk Clan, including two of its newest members, stood waiting.
“This is your personal bodyguard from now on,” Gatus explained.
“These four rogues are the least valuable of the Hawk Clan, so they’ve been assigned as your guard. If they stay sober, they may be of some use.”
Each stood taller than average, two of them with less than twenty seasons, but all with hard muscles stretched tight across their chests. They looked as if they could chew stones for breakfast, though they all smiled at Gatus’s backhanded words of praise. Each wore as much leather armor as he could carry, and every one bore the Hawk Clan emblem on his chest.
Esk kar started to protest, but Gatus cut him off.
“Save your breath. They have their orders, which are to keep you alive.
So don’t bother trying to order them away, and don’t try to take any foolish risks. They won’t allow it.” He started walking, not waiting for an argument.
Esk kar shook his head and strode after him. Esk kar saw few people in the normally crowded lanes, most of whom called out nervous greetings. At the main gate, the last of the dwellings behind the structure had been torn down, leaving a clear space roughly fifty paces in length. That opening narrowed as it followed the wall in each direction, but there were always at least twenty paces from the wall to the nearest building, so men and equipment could move easily from point to point.
He stared up at the gate. Four great timbers braced it, two to each side, resting in holes dug deep into the earth and reinforced with rock. Across the top, small wooden troughs ran the length of the opening, already filled with water. A catwalk extended underneath the troughs, so men could tip the contents over the top of the gate to put out fires.
This top platform could also hold a dozen archers who’d be able to shoot through slits carved into the gate. Another platform, wider and stouter, hung just below it, with more slits for the defenders. The structure’s outer surface, hardened by fire, would be slow to reignite, but Esk kar knew there was nothing wooden that couldn’t be made to burn. A gang of women waited nearby, ready to replenish the troughs with buckets of water as needed throughout the day.
On each side rose a square tower, ugly in its unfinished rock and mud bricks, but rising above both wall and gate, allowing the archers to fire down at anyone directly below.
Corio’s oldest son, Alcinor, saw Esk kar’s party approach and waved.
That triggered a massive shout as the villagers and soldiers recognized him. Esk kar decided his venture across the river must have worried Orak’s inhabitants. His return, added to the reports of another victory, gave the crowd something to rejoice about.
It felt strange to be cheered simply because he was seen. He still didn’t know what to do about it.
“Captain, it’s good to see you back in Orak,” Alcinor said with a smile and a bow, “and congratulations. We hear you killed all the barbarians with great ease.”
Esk kar grimaced at the soldiers who couldn’t keep from bragging of their victory. Now everyone would expect an easy defeat of the barbarians. “Greetings, Alcinor.” He kept his voice cold and hard. “And don’t speak of easy conquests. There will be none from the Alur Meriki.”
