Web of Deceit (41 page)

“Rejji,” greeted Plesy, “we have a question to ask. There are some in the village who have friends and family who live outside the village. The villagers want me to ask you if those people can also work on the project and get paid with food.”

“We will welcome anyone who wants to help,” nodded Rejji. “The offer will stand for all. They can camp here while the construction is going on, or come to the village each day. Whatever they want is acceptable to me.”

“If news of this offer should spread,” warned Plesy, “you may have more workers than you can use.”

“We can never have too many workers,” smiled Rejji. “I invite the villagers to spread the word near and far to anyone they want to. My offer is good to all and I will honor my offer.”

“Then as spokesman for the village of Ghala,” beamed Plesy, “we accept your offer. When do we start?”

“Tomorrow is soon enough,” Rejji stated. “The first thing we are going to need is lumber. I would like to build a small dock on the river as our first project. It will allow us to get supplies while we build the larger dock and warehouse. If you have runners you wish to send out to family and friends, you should do that as well. Let us go sit down and we can draw up a list of tools that you think we will need.”

Plesy led Rejji to the benches that the old men had been sitting on when they met. Bakhai and Mistake joined them and soon the villagers began to crowd around as well. Enthusiasm was high among the villagers and suggestions flew back and forth. Within an hour, Rejji had a long list of tools and supplies that villagers thought they would need. Mistake excused herself when the talk turned to far-flung friends and relatives who should be notified of the opportunity.

Women of the village brought food to the center of the village and the whole planning meeting acquired a festive atmosphere. Rejji smiled as he saw the happy faces of the villagers. After the sun had faded away, Mistake returned and pulled Rejji away from the group.

“Lord Marak wants to see the mural,” Mistake said softly. “He is planning on coming here.”

“When?” questioned Rejji.

“He cannot make the first ship,” Mistake explained. “He will try to make the second one. He wants to know if he needs to bring a squad of Torak soldiers with him, or just the two he normally travels with.”

“I hesitate to have the villagers see armed soldiers getting off the ship,” frowned Rejji. “It might spook them.”

“I think it may reassure them that we have friends we can call upon,” Mistake said. “Plus the Jiadin army may still be hanging around.”

Rejji nodded and stared at the ground for a moment before answering, “Have him bring the squad, but advise him of my concerns and tell him that the squad may not be allowed to enter the jungle with him. Also warn him as explicitly as possible about the dangers he will face in Angragar. I do not want him surprised by the hellsouls.”

“Are you really willing to go back there?” asked Mistake

“Yes,” declared Rejji. “Lord Marak has a right to see it and only I can open the gates. You and Bakhai can remain here and keep the building project going.”

“Why not take the squad with you?” quizzed Mistake. “it would be safer and I am sure the Qubari would not deny you the right to bring them along.”

“You are right about the Qubari,” nodded Rejji, “but I feel that the less people exposed to the jungle the better. Dumo will allow me anything, but I will still respect his desire for secrecy. I also do not want a large group that will attract more attention inside the ancient city. I will allow Lord Marak his two guards. That will expose only four us to danger.”

Brakas eyed the unfinished stockade wall as he approached the town. A dozen men were sawing lumber, erecting vertical beams, and nailing them to the crossbeams. He rode through the large hole in the wall, which was reserved for the future gates. Brakas gazed around the town in wonder. The last time he had been here, this place was a little sleepy fishing village. Now there was construction everywhere. The new huts were obvious with their walls yet to be weathered. Off to the side of the huts was a large group of tents, sort of reminiscent of an army encampment, but instead of soldiers, families, complete with women doing laundry and children playing, occupied the tents.

He spied a corral with a few horses inside and headed towards it. With no attendant in sight, Brakas dismounted and tied his reins to the rail of the corral. He started walking towards the town center while observing all of the construction taking place. The rumors had been true, he mused to himself; Ghala was on its way to becoming Fakara’s first city. He racked his brain trying to remember which tribe claimed this area, but he came up empty.

Many people waved to him as he passed, and he waved back. Off to his left, he saw the small hulls of freshly made boats, and women stitching new sails. On his right was a group of men sawing large logs to provide fresh lumber. The tools looked new and still held the shine of something just purchased. He saw smoke rising into the air and turned to investigate it. He shook his head in amazement as he spied a large furnace with a dozen men scurrying around it, but the framework of a very large building beyond the furnace immediately drew him towards it.

He veered around the furnace and headed towards the large framework. His eyes roamed as he walked and he saw a new dock along the riverbank, a dock too large to be used for the fishing vessels he had seen being made. As he approached the large framework, he saw dozens of men working on it. He spied a small group of men standing and talking near the framework and he came to a halt. He peered closely at the small group of men and his mouth hung open. He shook his head and marched towards the group with a broad smile on his face.

“Rejji,” greeted Brakas, “what are you doing here? I never thought I would see you again.”

“Brakas,” replied Rejji, “welcome to Ghala. “It has been a long time.”

“Indeed it has, lad,” grinned Brakas. “I guess the rumors of work and endless food brought you here too?”

“Hardly,” chuckled Riktor. “Rejji is the source of the work and endless food. Ghala will be known as the city Rejji built.”

“Not I,” blushed Rejji as he waved his hand around. “All of these people are building it for themselves. Please excuse me while I show Brakas around.”

The men nodded and moved off towards the framework.

“Did you ever get to see the Sage?” quizzed Brakas.

“We did,” nodded Rejji. “What brings you to Ghala? There are no tribes here.”

“It is hard to travel through any village east of the mountains without hearing about Ghala,” answered Brakas. “I just had to come and see it for myself. This is amazing. There must be hundreds of men here and other than the stockade wall going up, I did not see anything of a defense. Aren’t you worried about the tribes attacking?”

“The only tribe I worry about is the Jiadin,” replied Rejji. “Have you had any luck finding the free tribes?”

“No,” frowned Brakas. “I cannot imagine where they have gone to. Every time I hear a rumor about where one is, they are gone by the time I get there. It is getting very frustrating.”

“Well if you do succeed in finding them,” offered Rejji, “I would be interested in speaking to them. There is a home here for them if they agree to certain conditions. It is only a matter of time before the Jiadin learn of Ghala, and we can use some help in defending it. The benefits to the tribes would be great.”

“What are the benefits and the conditions?” queried Brakas.

“The benefits are that they will not have to plunder villages to eat well or pocket some gold,” explained Rejji. “The conditions are that they must be under the command of the city. We do not stand for stealing or harassing of the people who live here. We would expect the tribes to control the behavior of their men and to defend the city.”

“Under control of the city?” mused Brakas. “Whose control would that be?”

“We do not yet have a person to lead the defensive forces,” admitted Rejji. “It has not been necessary yet, but we would choose someone who would be acceptable to the tribes. It could be a man of the tribes, but someone who is known for being even-handed and fair.”

“That might be something I could get interested in,” smiled Brakas. “Without a tribe of my own, I am sure many would see me as the ideal candidate.”

“Perhaps,” nodded Rejji, “but we do not have any tribes to lead yet. Are you planning on staying here for a while?”

“Yes,” smiled Brakas. “I think I would like to see what Ghala is like. Where are you getting all of the food and tools?”

“They are shipped in from Khadora,” answered Rejji as he pointed. “Beyond those trees are fields of wasooki and clova. This building is going to be a warehouse for grain and supplies.”

“That building is rather large for supplies,” commented Brakas. “Where is all of the gold coming from to pay for this?”

“We have worked out a trading deal with a Khadoran clan,” responded Rejji hesitantly. “We will be selling things that Khadorans can not get in Khadora. You must be familiar with stockades. Why don’t you see what you can do with ours? The men building it are good workmen, but many have never seen a stockade before. Your help could be valuable to them.”

“That sounds like a great place for me to start,” nodded Brakas. “I could use a taste of that endless food before I start though.”

“You will find it to your liking,” smiled Rejji. “Near the town center is a kitchen. Have your fill and I will try to meet with you later. I have to prepare for another shipment coming in.”

Rejji turned and strode back towards the framework. He spoke briefly with Plesy and Copi about the arriving shipment and then spied a man near the beach with a campfire. He walked to the man and stood watching him for a moment before the man noticed he was there.

“You are Rejji,” smiled the man. “I am so thankful for you allowing me to become part of all this. I am Karlo.”

“Greetings, Karlo,” welcomed Rejji as he gazed at the pile of netting and a tin of black ore. “We are glad to have you here. What are you doing?”

“I am making screens for the new building,” beamed Karlo.

“Screens?” echoed Rejji. “I am not sure I understand.”

“The new building will have windows to allow air through,” explained Karlo, “but birds will enter the building and eat the grain. I will put these screens over the windows so the birds can not get in.”

“That sounds clever,” nodded Rejji, “but what is the black ore for?”

“An invention of my own,” grinned Karlo. “I have made screens for my own farm before, but the birds can get very aggressive and peck away at the screens. I have found that if I coat the screens with carganite, the birds cannot destroy them.”

“Carganite?” queried Rejji. “I never heard of it. What is it and how does it stop the birds?”

“It is an ore found in the mountains,” explained Karlo. “It melts at a fairly low temperature so that material can be coated with it. It strengthens the material and makes it very strong without reducing the flexibility of the fabric. I can coat the netting and then still bend it to cover the windows. It works very well. No birds will ever get into the building.”

Rejji stood watching as Karlo dipped a section of netting into the pot and then held it over the pot to let the excess metal drip off. Karlo then attached the netting to a string and hung it from a line strung between two poles that he had erected in the sand.

“How long does it take to dry?” Rejji asked.

“Not very long,” Karlo answered. “The shine of the metal disappears rather quickly. When the finish is an even dull black, it is dry.”

Rejji stood silently watching Karlo for a time as he thought about what needed to be done before Lord Marak arrived the next day. The corral had been built for the horses that would be coming in and an area for the squad to occupy while they were here had been set aside. He mentally noted that he wanted to have a special meal prepared for them as a welcome from the people of Ghala.

“This one is dry, Rejji,” beamed Karlo. “Would you care to inspect it?”

“Very much so,” nodded Rejji as Karlo handed him the screen.

Rejji marveled at the lightness of the screen. He bent it and twisted it and probed the metal covering with his fingernail. His mind raced with uses for the metal covering.

“May I borrow this?” asked Rejji.

“It would be an honor if you would use it on the window of your hut,” beamed Karlo. “Please take it.”

“Thank you, Karlo,” smiled Rejji. “I am very glad you decided to join us here in Ghala.”

Rejji rolled the screen up and headed for his hut. He saw Mistake along the way and waved for her to join him. As she came running, Rejji saw a belt around her waist that held a large number of knives in sheaths.

“What is that?” Rejji asked as he pointed at her belt.

“It is for carrying knives,” grinned Mistake. “It can hold at least twenty sheaths. Do you like it?”

“Isn’t that a bit heavy?” chuckled Rejji. “When will you ever use twenty knives?”

“It is heavy,” frowned Mistake, “but I will only wear it when I need it. You can never have too many knives in a battle.”

“Well I hope you never need it,” Rejji retorted as he handed her the netting. “I want you to look at something. This netting is covered by a metal that protects it. I want to see how strong it really is. Can you hang it on the wall of our hut and try throwing daggers at it?”

“Sure,” frowned Mistake, “but what is the purpose of it?”

“I am thinking about coating our tyrik armor with it,” grinned Rejji. “If it is as strong as I think it is, we could have armor that is light and yet almost indestructible.”

“Where did this netting come from?” queried Mistake.

“A man named Karlo is on the beach coating netting to use over windows to keep the birds out of the new building,” replied Rejji. “He discovered it.”

“If it works,” stated Mistake, “we should keep it secret. Maybe we should move Karlo to a better location than on the beach.”

“I agree,” Rejji responded. “We will need for him to mine some more of the metal as well. I would like you to handle Karlo and the coating process. I have a few more things to get ready for Lord Marak’s arrival. Oh,” Rejji added, “I also ran into Brakas today. I sent him to help with the stockade.”