Chapter 47

As I trudged through the mud to the temple, rays of yellow light broke through the clouds, the worst of the storm having already passed out to sea. Women and children gathered in knots, lingering outside their tents, preparing to walk down the gentle hill to the temple. I could not help but notice a few bodies contort and twist to follow my movement to the private entrance for the acolyte school and sacred pool. Two perky guards greeted me and I talked with them about my purpose. They convinced me to post-pone my training efforts until the land dried and a large number of female guards could be summoned to witness the demonstration of the new disarming daggers.

The mystery of the newly arrived women and children was answered by the two guards. In the spring of a girl's change into womanhood, particularly devoted mothers made a pilgrimage to the temple for a blessing from "Mother." Generally, the mother and daughter come from one of the three neighboring freeholds. The estate lords and ladies respected this tradition by providing regular mounted patrols on the roads to heighten the area's security. Not surprisingly merchants took advantage of this religious event, and the increased security, to transport goods they otherwise wouldn't carry between villages.

The storm naturally disrupted the temple school's activities and the great room was full of acolytes sweeping the water into a set of drains that I'd not noticed before. Some of the young women gathered debris that had blown in through the open roof of the temple. The sudden squall had soaked quite a number of the young ladies. "The scene was worth the walk over," I thought. A few acolytes drifted over to me asking if I needed assistance, their eyes full of mock surprise at my presence. A sly grin revealed their mischievous intent. Thankful I'd all the help I needed this morning in the manor. I bid them farewell and left.

A throng of estate workers gathered around the stable rolling out carts and carriages for the day's activities. It was common to see empty wagons visit the lumber mill or forge to gather supplies for the manor workshops. The staff in the workshops had doubled to produce more javelins, pups and wolf carts. We wanted every estate guard and training marine to have access to the weapons. By standardizing the formations we could increase unit effectiveness.

I rode out with a couple of older estate guards to see the new smithy that had moved from Port City. The weapon smith had set up shop on the road, at the top of the hill, by the new forge and mill. He took over an abandoned farm. With the help of our estate manager, the smith quickly set up his trade. I wanted another tool for our warriors, this man was full of inspiration and passion, and it made sense that I use his craftsmanship. Unwittingly, I found the creakiest spot on his floor to stand while explaining the entrenching tool's design.

The smith quickly understood my wish to create a collapsible hand shovel to dig the earth. He liked the novel idea and agreed to make a prototype for me during the week. If we liked its functionality I would use the prototype to sponsor its development with all the local smiths. Production was not likely to get too high by summer, so I would start by issuing them to a set of picked men. I'd also send one of the new tools to Juniper Hills to get one of our smiths to make them also. Fortunately, the first set of entrenching tools could be pretty crude; we were only after function and durability not beauty.

The damp grass along the road was full of wildflowers and other tendrils of green. I stopped and picked a bouquet. The old estate guards teased me in good humor from their mounts, as I slopped mud around at the edge of the lane. We delivered the assortment of flowers to the apothecary. The women fussed over me and my gift, but I didn't stay to enjoy much of their discourse and charms. I visited the forge, warehouse and mill to be seen and inspect the work. Derwen had impressed upon me the need to act the part of Lord that required surveying our property and showing I cared in general about the men and women in our care.

Since the arrival of the Dragon's crew, the local fascination with me had grown exponentially. In the past, I was a curiosity and a person of interest. Now, rousing greetings were normal even outside of the manor compound. Women in particular tried to gain my attention and present their daughters. Fathers sought favors for their sons or employment at the manor compound. Workers in the estate's employ were eager to show off the nature of their responsibility to me. The roads leading to Lone Tree were full of commerce from Port City and the three neighboring freeholds. The economic growth of the area was attributed, in part, to the large inflow of residents filling new jobs. Another measure of the area's growing wealth was the increased number of peddlers and merchants traveling our roads.

The increased activity on Derwen's estate and the quality improvements in the local life-style were widely known. I knew the message traffic between temples had grown to an extraordinary level too. Mounted male messengers, wearing the temple's distinctive cloaks, were now a common sight on the estate. The surge of interest in Mother's temple was in part due to her new acolyte recruiting practices and the leak that Moon Mother had a secret language which was understood only by a few. Our estate's regional influence increased substantially.

My inspection circuit took me through the local villages and back to the manor. In each village I stopped to talk with the blacksmiths. We discussed a priority project for the defense of the fishing village. I wanted a large supply of caged arrows. Unlike normal arrowheads, the best fire arrows had three strips of metal that slightly bent from the arrowhead's base to the sharp tip. The metal strips created an empty globe that flammable material―tow soaked in tallow― was packed with. Tow is fine strains of hemp, a common material in the villages. The tallow is animal fat that butchers would supply. Our local smiths weren't too keen on learning to make the caged arrows but money talked loudly. I sent a messenger off to Port City with instructions to get another supply source of caged arrows for us. Our new weapon smith was too busy working on the entrenching tool.

The sun had beat back the clouds and the ground was drying out by the time I dismounted at the stable. The temple guards had organized their peers and a dozen female warriors milled around the private temple entrance. I strode over to them and after we warmly greeted each other we walked up the hill to drier ground. We spent the afternoon in a training circle using the spring-loaded dagger against short-swords. One at a time I would disarm a guard as she tried to strike me with her weapon. In turn, the woman would swap with me and use the triple-bladed dagger against me, taking the sword out of my hand as I instructed them.

The training drew a large crowd of pilgrims, and the visiting women joined in the cheering and laughing. By dinner time, the muscular warriors wore me out and I felt bruised and sore over my entire body. The perky women were full of jesting and teasing throughout our sparring, and I enjoyed myself immensely. We trooped to the temple and I invited the guards to join me in the sacred pool to relax. They cheered me and I had a wonderful time in the pool as each woman found a patch of my skin to wash and rub, as I equally, washed and alleviated their pain too.

At dinner, Derwen confided in Hajin and me about how she was shifting some of her business interests. The issue was to cut her direct reliance on Port City. She began by saying she had talked with the headman in Lone Tree and he agreed to form a village watch. We talked about it for a bit between eating bits of meat. By the time we finished our meal Derwen moved to her real purpose for the three-way discussion.

My wife said, "I have tried to stand apart from my emotions and past history links with Port City. Evaluating the factors and balancing the needs of the business, I have decided to add another two small cogs to the fishing village stops and another two specialized ships too."

Hajin interjected, "The harbor is small and difficult to enter in foul weather. You will need a lighthouse too."

Derwen smiled and answered, "I want to buy a few Dragon ships for transporting high value cargo. We can set up a side venture by moving people and specialty goods between Old Capital City and Convey. Von can make the Dragons in Juniper Hills and I can contract out more shipbuilders to triple your production. Juniper Hills gets the commerce and population growth. My shipping line gets modern ships offering a unique mode of transportation."

Hajin added, "If we act quickly we can move skilled ship builders out of some of the northern ports before summer."

"The sooner we contract the workers and transport them to my homestead, the faster you can begin the new venture. I am keeping the original Dragon ship for Juniper Hills," I muttered.

Derwen waved her hand dismissively, "Of course you will keep your Dragon, Von. We need you to move quickly between Juniper Hills and our home here." Her smile and a laugh disarmed the awkwardness. "We will schedule the other two small cogs to arrive at different times in the fishing village. Perhaps I can run one from Conquest Point and the other from Old Capital City. The Lady of Truth will continue to supply Juniper Hills and ship Juniper Water back. The fishing village is not far from the coastal road that links the western part of the island with both Port City and the northern ports. Cargo arriving here will be half a day closer to Port City than any northern port. If I ship goods needed in the western region we will become a popular shipper."

Hajin asked, "If Katsu's former husband makes trouble in Port City your business will still suffer."

Derwen quickly said, "This is the best alternative. We build up a new part of the business that doesn't need Port City. I cannot see the Port Admiral keeping his job past this fall. More than a couple successful raids on the north side of the island and he will lose his slight advantage in the council. We will work through this difficult period and come out as an even stronger merchant line."

"Juniper Hills will become better known than I'd prefer, but we will work through this process with your same determination, my wife," I responded, kissing her hand.

"It's settled. I will send out messengers today to gather skilled workmen here to transport to the mainland on The Lady of Truth," Derwen stated confidently.

"You will need to build a few more warehouses in this area for the transshipped goods," I interjected.