Every stone turned reveals more problems for Holville and Keren and Garia are forced to take direct action to remedy the worst of the chaos. Keren uses his executive powers while Garia reminds the guildsmen to remember the future in their plans. As it becomes too late to leave Holville, the women find an unusual place to spend the night.

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2013 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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The remains of the meal were cleared and the tables removed to the sides of the tent to provide space for the assembly. Keren sat in the center of a bench with Terinar and Trosanar to one side and Garia on the other. At a side table sat Merizel, documents, paper, ink and reeds in front of her with Senidet at her side. On a bench to the other side sat Triss with Jenet, Jasinet and Lanilla standing behind her. Seven men stood in the space before the nobles, one of them in Dekarran colors who Garia thought she recognized, the rest in differing colors according to the houses they represented. The rest of the space was packed with junior officers, with Tanon and Jaxen, some armsmen and another group who Garia thought might be guildsmen or possibly miners' representatives filling in the gaps.

"I am Prince Keren, son of King Robanar of Palarand. Does any here dispute this?" There was no reply so he continued, "I travel our country discovering the lands which I will one day rule. Here, as you all well know, is Count Terinar, son of Duke Gilbanar of North Palarand. He is also, should you have forgotten, my cousin and a nephew of the King. Beside him sits Count Trosanar of Tranidor, who travels with my party to Dekarran, and at my other side is Baroness Garia of Blackstone, who has been adopted by the King and Queen. I hold a charter from your overlord Duke Gilbanar of North Palarand, my uncle, which grants me authority to act in his stead while in his lands and with power to issue commands in his name. If any desires to examine the charter he may do so."

Merizel held up the document so that all could see the seal. Everybody turned to look at it but nobody seemed prepared to dispute Keren's statement.

"The circumstances here at Holville were bad enough before you all arrived," Keren told his audience. "Your purpose was to establish law and order - the law of Palarand, that is, not whatever you may decide is the law - and to make the region secure so that our guildsmen may construct a new town in safety. We do not need groups of armed men squabbling over who should defer to who and setting every man's hand against that of any not of their own house or land. For that reason Duke Gilbanar sent his son Count Terinar here to oversee the operation and I have learned that several of you have wilfully ignored his authority.

"This is my first command. When you are within the bounds of Holville you will answer to the appointed authority and no other. If you feel that you are unable to obey this command, that your fealty to your own liege takes precedence, then you may depart this camp and this place and return whence you came. You must all know that in any military organization no man may answer to more than one officer since that way leads to certain defeat. The building of a town is at least as great an enterprise as any battle and there must be no confusion over who is in charge. Am I understood?"

Mandel and one of the other men glowered and said nothing. The other five bowed.

"Quadrant Mandel, you disagree?"

"Highness, I do. With respect, I have made you no oath. My instructions come from my liege and I am bound to answer only to him."

"Then your duty is clear, Mandel. Pack up your belongings and depart this camp. I want you beyond the boundary by sunset."

Mandel flushed. "Highness, my lord's instructions do not permit me to depart."

"Quadrant," Keren said sternly, "your lord has no writ here. These are Duke Gilbanar's lands and you are here by his command. If you refuse his command, you no longer have any authority in Holville, and, by your own admission, no reason to remain. Am I understood?" When Mandel hesitated Keren added, "If you continue to resist my commands I shall have you returned to your liege in chains."

Mandel promptly dropped to his knees. "Your Highness, I intend no insult to your authority. I will do as you command."

Mandel climbed to his feet, banged his fist on his chest, and turned to leave.

"Quadrant, I have not given you leave to depart this audience," Keren said. "I have much yet to say from which you may learn something."

The officer flushed, turned and came to attention. "Highness, my apologies."

"My next concern is the interference made by some of the men-at-arms now camped here with the construction of the new town," Keren resumed. "The guildsmen themselves have brought such meddling to the attention of Baroness Blackstone, who also holds a guild rank."

There were startled looks at Garia by many in the audience who had no idea of her connections to the guild system.

Keren continued, "This interference may be the result of instructions given their officers by their liege lords or it may be from personal preferences or dislikes. Let it be known that no man may obstruct the work of the guilds of Palarand for any reason without penalty. This new town will be properly planned by those who understand such matters and any interference will be dealt with severely. I do understand that some may question why certain matters must be handled the way that the guildsmen prescribe, you may take your concerns to them and they shall give you sufficient reason for their decisions. Am I understood?"

There came a murmur of assent from those watching, and several of the onlookers nodded as if they agreed with his instructions.

"I am also informed by the guildsmen that tools and materials have been... mislaid from the works," Keren added. "This is outright theft and if any man is found to have taken such things he will be dealt with as any common criminal would."

There was a certain shuffling of feet at that announcement.

"The next matter I have to speak about concerns you personally, Mandel, but I see I must make myself clear to all those present here today. Despite the desires of a number of people, the activity known as prostitution or whoring is not illegal in Palarand. Nor, so far as I am aware, is it forbidden in any of the Valley states. Those who practise such activities, and their customers, have every right to do so," he held up a finger, "except that Holville is not yet an established town and most normal activities are restricted for one reason or another. Those who provide and run any brothel shall maintain it no different than any other business in this town, provided that they comply with reasonable requests from those trades and craftsmen who are contracted to the construction of the town. This command also applies to any other business which resides in the town, of course."

Mandel looked outraged but he said nothing. The second officer who had shown dissent now spoke.

"Highness, I beg you reconsider. If there are whores in the town they will distract the men from their duties."

"If the men are distracted while about their duties," Keren replied sharply, "then they have not been trained properly. Do you admit to me that the men under your command do not follow your orders?"

"Highness! Well, no, but..." The man broke off in confusion. He considered, then spoke. "Highness, I feel I must withdraw from Holville, to request guidance of my liege lord. If you will give me leave?"

"I will. Your name?"

"Tilmar, Highness. Second Quadrant of Baron Fossmar of North Teldor."

"Very well. Tilmar, you may collect your belongings and depart once this audience is finished."

Tilmar saluted.

"The final matter I wanted to mention before you all is the food!" Keren announced, his face showing his displeasure. "Nothing I have eaten here today is fit to put before animals, let alone able fighting men. The beer is watered, there is no wine and no pel for those who forswear wine and beer. I have eaten better food camped in the wilds of Palarand's far borders, cooked by the hands of my men while grakh flew overhead. Who is responsible for meals in this camp?"

Tilmar said, "Highness, the beer is watered to prevent the men becoming drunk. I cannot answer for the food, that is provided by Mandel's men."

"The reason the beer should not be watered, Tilmar, is because it prevents disease among the men. By watering it you dilute its medicinal properties. Wine and pel have similar properties to well-brewed beer." Keren turned to Mandel. "Quadrant, how shall you answer? Is the food you provide these men that which you would normally eat in your lord's domain?"

"Your Highness, it is not," Mandel replied, but he looked unsettled. "We did not know that it would be necessary to provide for so many for such a long period of time. There have been difficulties... obtaining supplies from the farms and towns round about."

"Highness," one of the other officers interrupted, "this is not true. We have had several offers of supplies from nearby farms but Mandel will not speak with the farmers."

Another said, "We think he has better food stored in the equipment tent of his men, Highness."

Keren raised an eyebrow. "He has been withholding food? Perhaps that is not all he has been withholding. Feteran!"

"Highness?"

"I want a search made of any who will be leaving this camp today. Find out what food and coin they intend to take with them. Do any here have a record of what their lord provided them for this expedition?"

Three of the officers nodded. One said, "Highness, we have kept a full accounting of our expenses, as our lords require us to do."

"Mandel, do you have such a record of your expenses?"

Mandel was silent for a while before he admitted, "No, Highness. I rely on my memory, I would usually write such a record when I return to my lord's residence."

Keren regarded Mandel thoughtfully. It was apparent he had been skimming the funds provided to him and pocketing a certain amount of the money. Was that all he had done?

"Perhaps we must look more deeply into this matter," he said finally. "Feteran, detail our own men to make a thorough search of the whole camp, making a note of what they find in each place." He held up a hand to calm the protests. "Take one man from every company to provide witness to all that the search is conducted fairly. Remove nothing from where you find it." He turned to look behind. "Master Tanon!"

The trader walked forward. "Highness?"

"As the nearest thing we have to an accountant would you go with the search party and ensure that any treasure found is properly recorded? I know that many of the men struggle with their numbers."

Tanon bowed. "I will, Highness."

Keren pointed a finger at the seven officers. "You will all remain here in this tent until the search is completed. One or more of you is stealing money from your own lord and it is your own men who are suffering. Conditions in this place are wretched enough without you adding to the misery." He pointed to a side bench. "Sit. You shall await the results of the search while I confer with my nobles."

The men found places on the bench while Feteran gathered a search party and left the tent.

Keren turned to Terinar. "Terry, who did your father intend to run this place when you left?"

Terinar shrugged. "I'm not sure, Keren. Perhaps one of the minor lords who lives close by... perhaps a letter went astray. I intended to leave matters in Yilden's hands but given that no-one will obey even me I feared for the safety of the town." He pointed to one of the officers. "That's Yilden, he's father's Fourth Quadrant and a good man but I don't think he has the experience to handle this mob." A grimace. "Neither do I, for that matter. The holding of command is not so easy when you have to do it yourself."

"Aye, as you say. I have been lucky so far, but I have only had to command men I already knew and trusted, and men who knew and trusted me. But we still have a problem, who to set to rule over Holville."

"Highness," Trosanar said, "we four are the only nobles present in this place, I deem, and none of us will remain here long. Will you send for someone to assume command? I can offer names, if you need them."

"It may come to that, but first I want to see if we can find some other way." Keren turned. "Garia?"

"I have a thought," she said slowly, "but it would be radical and I don't know if you have the power to do it. What about turning one of those guildmasters into a baron? Can you do that? They are the people who will be managing the construction anyway, why not give them a legal backing?"

The three men gave her a double take. She smiled back at them.

"What? Did you forget who I am? If we're going to mix and match this is the place and time to do it."

"I'm not sure," Keren said thoughtfully. He turned, holding out a hand. "Merry, bring that charter over here, would you? I need to read it again."

"I'm still not sure," he said after a while. "In theory, I suppose, I have the authority to make such grants by virtue of my rank but anything I do would have to be ratified by Duke Gilbanar - or my father, of course."

"Like a battlefield promotion," Garia said.

Keren nodded. "Aye, that is what it would be. Very well. I assume you have one of those two who came earlier in mind, which shall it be?"

"Halkor," she promptly replied. "He tells me he's been managing men and projects for many years so he's more or less doing the job anyway. Zathros has a bigger job to do here and he doesn't need the distractions."

"I forget that Lady Garia is Baroness and Guildmistress both," Trosanar remarked. "Is this to be Palarand's future? Where any may achieve rank in craft or trade as well as become a noble?"

"Look at it from my point of view," Terinar told him. "I'm the son of the King's brother and there's little chance of me having lands of my own of any consequence. I intend to follow the Prince and Baroness down to Palarand and become a Guildsman myself, or perhaps even a Questor."

Trosanar stared at Terinar and then smiled wryly. "Every time I think I understand what our future will be my notions are turned upside down. You are right, sometimes high rank is harder to bear than lower, a nobleman sometimes has less choice than those he governs."

"And a Prince has very few choices at all," Keren added. "My duty, and the course of the rest of my life, was set at birth. Trosanar, there will be change in the future. Not for myself, it is true, but there is no reason why any other man might not become noble, guildsman or questor or possibly all three together. Only time will tell."

Garia gave Terinar a sly grin. "So you're coming down to Palarand," she said. "That wouldn't just so happen to be convenient for other reasons, would it?"

Terinar's expression was unrepentant. "You may be the cleverest person in all Alaesia but I do have the occasional idea now and again. The capital is where all the new developments are going to take place, my father is making a much better job of managing North Palarand than I ever would and yes, that is where Merizel is going to be, so moving south makes sense to me."

"I'm sure we can find something useful for you to do."

"Garia," Keren interrupted, "This is interesting - for several reasons - but the guildsmen must be summoned back here. Would you mind?"

"Of course."

Garia beckoned to one of the watchers, issued instructions and the man walked rapidly out of the tent. While everybody waited for those sent on errands to return Garia walked across to Triss.

"What do you think of it so far?"

"He's good, isn't he? I don't know much about what the high-and-mighty do but I like the way the Prince handles everybody. He don't take no nonsense, does he? I'm sure that Mandel has been stealing food and coin, just look at his expression, sitting there!" Triss scowled. "I hope that lab gets everything he has coming to him!"

"Well, maybe," Garia partially agreed. "Some of it must be his own idea but I wonder if he had instructions from his lord to do things a certain way, slow down the development, or make sure his lord got favorable contracts, that sort of thing." She sighed. "Trouble is, finding out is going to slow us down even more. The decree we were sent by the King wanted us back in the palace as quick as we could and was worded very strongly. Every day we delay is just going to make matters worse."

"The King ordered you back? You were returning south, surely, without being ordered to."

"Yeah, well, there was this small matter of an attack by a band of armed men while we were out in the countryside. Oh, and the ptuvil that decided to join in."

Triss's eyes were wide. "Maker! Perhaps the King has the right idea, then. I'd love to hear that tale before you depart, milady."

"You may have your chance. I don't think we'll be leaving today, now, it's going to be too late to pack up and find a roadhouse to stop at."

Feteran, Tanon and a sizeable group of armsmen came into the tent and assembled in front of Keren. Garia resumed her seat by his side as the two guildsmen joined the crowd. She beckoned to them.

"The Prince needs to have a word with you," she explained in a low voice. "Wait over there while he deals with another problem."

Tanon stood forward as the two guildsmen withdrew.

"Highness, we have found much that needs explaining. In Quadrant Mandel's tent, which he alone uses, we found concealed bags of coin to the value of four hundred and seventy three crowns. There were other bags not so concealed which hold two hundred and thirty one crowns. There are two tents assigned to his men which are used for provisions, there is more food in those tents, and of better quality, than there is in that of any other company's stores. Further, the men discovered food concealed beneath equipment chests in another tent."

Tanon went on to detail what the search party had found in all the other tents, whether used for stores, provisions or by any of the men at the camp.

"We have discovered some of the tools reported missing by the guildsmen," he added. "Those men of the companies who were with us have given Commander Feteran the names of the men in whose belongings they were found, but it is possible that they are not those who stole the items, Highness."

Keren nodded. "I take your point, Master Tanon. Continue."

"In Quadrant Tilmar's tent we found many bottles of wine beneath the clothes in his chest. It seems he does not follow the commands he gives to others, Highness."

"Anything else?"

"Highness, we have not visited the whole town, just the tents of this camp. I could not say what else might be found but there would be problems extending the search, as you must realize."

"As you say, Master Tanon. Thank you for your efforts, please find yourself a seat. Feteran!"

"Highness."

"Mandel and Tilmar are hereby seized pending trial concerning their activities since arriving at Holville. Charges to be decided once the appropriate authorities have made a full investigation. They are to be disarmed and confined in tents away from their men and belongings. If that means chains, then so be it."

"As you command, Highness."

"Which reminds me. In order for there to be an appropriate authority, I must first provide one. Guildmaster Halkor, please stand forward."

Puzzled, the guildmaster stood in front of Keren and bowed.

"Guildmaster, this town has suffered because there is no authority sufficient to provide order while construction takes place. It requires a legal hand of authority to ensure that every man knows who is responsible for each task and who is his master. Normally, that would fall to the noble who ruled this place but there is no such noble appointed to Holville, since Holville was not established in the normal way.

"We four are nobles, it is true, but we will all depart this place either today or tomorrow. Since you are the senior guildsman at Holville you are already providing much of the direction this project requires. I am minded to give your authority legal backing by creating you Baron Holville. How say you?"

Halkor stared at Keren, astonished. "Highness! You cannot do such a thing! I am already a guildsman, how may I become a noble?"

Keren smiled and gestured at Garia. "Here is a person who is Baroness and Guildswoman both. The precedent is already set. Where one may lead, others may follow."

"Highness, I am overwhelmed. I had not thought such a thing was possible."

"I had not thought such a thing was needful until we came here. Shall you accept? I must warn you that, though I can create you Baron at this time, Duke Gilbanar may wish to grant Holville to someone else once the works are complete. I cannot say whether you would retain the rank or privileges, this business is too new for that, we would needs confer with our legal men in the palace. But, while the town is unfinished, you would rule with the full rank, status and privileges of Baron which would mean that you could order all, direct every man here not a guildsman and even dispense high and low justice."

"Highness, if you would give me leave to think for a moment or two." He beckoned to Zathros and the two held a hurried, low conversation before turning back to Keren. Zathros bowed and retreated.

"Highness, this is entirely unexpected. I will do my duty as well as I can."

"That is all that we may ask of any man. You are decided?"

Halkor went down on one knee. "Aye, Highness."

Keren drew his sword and tapped Halkor on the shoulder.

"As special representative of Duke Gilbanar of North Palarand, I thus create you Baron Halkor of Holville. You shall enjoy the full status and privileges of the rank of Baron and, as this is a special barony, your liege shall be the Duke himself."

He tapped Halkor on the other shoulder.

"You must also undertake the duties and responsibilities of any noble as required by the laws of Palarand. You understand this?"

"Your Highness, I do."

"Then rise, Baron Halkor of Holville. Your demesne shall presently be those lands within the boundary you have marked out for the town of Holville and any such lands as Duke Gilbanar or his representatives may determine should be added to those lands to assist in the construction of the town."

Halkor bowed his head. "Highness, I understand."

The new baron climbed to his feet as Keren resheathed his sword. Trosanar stepped forward, hand outstretched.

"My congratulations, my lord."

"What? Oh, thank you, my lord. As you say." Halkor grimaced. "This is all so sudden, it will take time for me to become familiar with my new titles and responsibilites."

Keren smiled. "Not so long as you might suppose, my lord. If any man could be said to be in charge here in Holville already it would be you, so you may find that much remains as it did before. There is one change you will find welcome, though, and that is one of the reasons you are now one of my uncle's nobles."

Keren turned and faced the bench where the company officers still sat, watching the proceedings with a mixture of expressions.

"Rise, if you would," he instructed, "and approach." He placed a hand on Halkor's shoulder as the five remaining men stood in a line in front of the nobles. "This man, as you have all witnessed, is now by my hand created Baron Halkor and I have given him the demesne of Holville as his barony. He represents the authority of Duke Gilbanar and, through him, the King my father. Shall you and your men obey his commands while you are yet within his lands?"

Yilden, the officer in Dekarran colors, immediately dropped to one knee, the others following almost immediately.

"Highness, we do."

"Very well. I suggest you choose one among you who will become Acting Captain over all the armsmen presently at camp, answerable to Baron Halkor, and you will need new officers for the men of Count Grabin and Baron Fossmar's companies."

"Highness?" Yilden asked. "Will not their men follow Mandel and Tilmar back to their lieges, if that is what is decided?"

Keren gave a hard smile. "Those men were levied at Duke Gilbanar's command. If there are any here who are not party to the crimes of their officers, there is no reason why they should be sent away. There is work here at Holville for all who remain."

"As you command, Highness."

The tent bustled with activity as arrangements were made to organize the armsmen into the new system. Garia led the women outside to leave room for the several meetings that needed to be held. Two of the armsmen staggered out with one of the tables before returning to fetch another, placing the two side by side. Halkor and Zathros appeared shortly afterward bearing a roll of parchments.

"Guildmistress," he greeted Garia, " I thought to present our plans out here where there is better light. There will be more room, and less distractions from the men-at-arms. Ah! Here come the other guildsmen who I wanted you to meet today."

Four men walked into the camp and were introduced to Garia. They looked carefully at her but had obviously been forewarned about her age and appearance. Halkor gave the parchments to Zathros who set about spreading them out over the table tops as everyone gathered round to watch.

"As you can see, Guildmistress," Halkor began, "These two plans represent the upper slopes of the hillside with the highway along this edge. The middle set are where we intend to build most of the new town and the other two are the area between the town and the river, although as you can see, the course of the river is only partly mapped."

Garia inspected the plans carefully before saying anything. There was detail on the maps she was not accustomed to but also features which were missing. She frowned, despite her experiences in Blackstone, she was no expert at town planning! Finally she tapped a finger on the street plan.

"This all looks well though out, guildmaster," she said, "but I wonder, have you thought about the future at all? It seems to me that you have laid out a mining camp whereas Holville will soon become a proper town."

"Guildmistress, I do not understand," Halkor replied. "I thought Holville was a mining town, and that we were to provide clean water and proper housing for the people who lived and worked here."

She nodded. "That's right, but that is only the first step. Think what this place will be like in, I dunno, even ten years' time. I bet that Holville will be four times the size you have planned for it." She turned and pointed north. "And, look, it is a day's travel from Tranidor that way, and a day's travel that way to Haligo. The only reason nobody stopped here overnight is because it was so filthy, smelly and dangerous. Once there's a proper town here you'll need inns and the suchlike for travelers. Oh, and I'm guessing there will be a market here as well, for local farmers, given the distances involved to Tranidor and Haligo."

"Oh! As you say, guildmistress."

"Another thing I've noticed. Where do the sewer lines run?"

"Sewer lines, guildmistress? Why, along the lower edge of Lower Street, right there."

"What happens to the sewer after it leaves... is that it, that line there?"

"Aye, guildmistress." Zathros pointed. "It empties into the river over there."

"No sewage plant, then? Uh, I mean, no treatment works for the sewage?"

"Guildmistress? I do not understand what you mean."

"Ah, okay, I'll need to have a talk with you about what we're intending to do with sewage in Blackstone, and perhaps you'd better start exchanging letters with the Blackstone guildsmen. Now look, you've just told me that that line is where the sewers run in the town. Is that all? Just along Lower Street? Why not along the backs of the plots on the cross streets as well?"

"We did not think it necessary, guildmistress," Halkor said. "The plots will be occupied by miners, we assumed that they will use communal washing and eating facilities along Lower Street."

"...And in ten years' time those streets will be in the center of town and occupied by merchants and tradesmen," she told them. "They won't be happy to find there are no sewers... and, I guess, no running water either? What about runoff from the rains? Are you just going to let that run down the streets?"

The guildsmen looked at her with consternation. They had not expected someone who they knew was a young woman to have a better idea of town planning than they did.

"Guildmistress..." Halkor said into the silence. "We did not realize you had such understanding of such matters. We were instructed to provide comfortable dwellings for those who would mine in this place and that is what we intended to do, but we have never designed a complete town before." He bowed toward Garia. "Guildmistress, guide us."

"Uh, I'm no expert in town planning," she said, her cheeks reddening. "I can only tell you what I know and judging by the speed the sun is going down we won't have much time to do that in. I think all I can do is give you the basics of the way we thought through the situation in Blackstone, although I know Holville will be different because it will be new.

"Look, all you really need to do is think about all the other towns you've been in and try and work out what they have and how well the layout works. Here you don't have to worry about old castles or lumps of rock getting in the way, the only real feature you have is the highway. There's not even any inconvenient road junctions or river bridges to worry about. You'll need a market place, some inns for travelers and some places the locals can eat, drink and buy supplies. Now, I think you've mostly covered it with this plan," she waved a hand over the parchments, "but there is no room for expansion. I can almost guarantee that Holville will be much bigger in ten years time than it will be if you build it like this. So, you have to allow for growth. Think about the houses in the center of most towns and who lives and works in them. So, you'll need a water supply and sewer and drain lines running down the back of every plot of land in town, even if they aren't used right away."

The men looked at each other for a long moment, considering, but without speaking aloud. Finally, one by one, they nodded and Halkor replied to Garia.

"Guildmistress, what you suggest is so obvious we are ashamed that none of us thought of what might happen in the future. It will be as you say. We will amend the town plan accordingly."

"While you're at it," she responded, "you might as well hear what I have to say about zones. Now in Blackstone, what we did was -"

Garia explained the segregation of areas within the town for differing functions and the guildsmen all nodded together.

"Guildmistress," Halkor said, "we were instructed about zones but it is much clearer when explained by someone who understands how that might work with different towns. As you can see from our present plans, the mineworkings are confined to the slopes above the highway, the town sits immediately below and between the town and the river are where the processing will take place. This was what we understood by zoning."

"It's mostly right," she agreed, "you'll probably need some small adjustments here and there as you develop the town. You need to put the charcoal workings somewhere downwind of everywhere else and the sewage treatment plant will have to go downwind as well. Then you'll need corral space for travelers' beasts, somewhere for the market place and, oh, somewhere for a community hall, but that's got very little to do with zoning." Garia paused, thinking. "You said that the mines are all above the highway? I thought there were mines all over when we passed through earlier this year."

"That is so, guildmistress, but the miners tell us the better ores are higher up and the veins run into the hillside. Much of what is lower down is affected by the river when it is high, so it was decided to abandon those workings entirely."

"Oh, right. That makes sense, I guess. But... won't the river cause problems in the town? Or in the industrial zones?"

"We plan to use some of the existing spoil to build banks to prevent the river flooding the town, guildmistress. As you can see, the miners dumped spoil in the river before we arrived here. This was once an island in the middle of the river." Halkor tapped an odd-shaped blob at the extreme lower edge of the map. "We plan to eventually use this area to create wharves for transporting ores and materials."

Her eye caught a line running down the map. "What's this?"

"That is a large stream which runs from a small lake high above," Halkor explained. "We intend to build an aqueduct to take the water over the highway and then erect a tower with a cistern to supply the town."

"Ah! That was where those tapes and stonework was? I saw that as we came in." She frowned. "Why build an aqueduct, though? Why not just pipe the water down and under the road, then up to the cistern? That would save you a lot of effort."

"But, guildmistress..."

Halkor seemed lost for words, and he looked around for someone to explain. The answer came from a completely unexpected source, one which caused every head to swivel in Senidet's direction.

"Guildmistress," she said hesitantly, "the pipes we know how to make would burst with the pressure. We cannot fashion iron, wood, clay or stone strong enough to withstand the force the water would have. Can you tell us how we might make such strong pipes?"

Ah. Of course, they haven't gotten around to making cast-iron or steel pipework yet.

"Um," Garia said, stalling for time. "We make our main water pipes out of steel or cast-iron. Steel can be welded, of course, but steel and cast-iron can also be bolted together in sections. I'm not sure how big an object you can make out of cast-iron yet, but that would be my first choice." She made a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about it this time. I'm sure an aqueduct will do the job just as well."

"As you say, guildmistress. Welded steel? Ah, perhaps another time. The tower which will hold the cistern is designed to have several purposes. Above the water tank will be a bell tower for the town and a look-out point and underneath will be where the town Watch will be based. The arch taking the water over the highway will be large, as it must be to pass the traffic, and we are considering whether to make it a toll point with gates to regulate passage."

"A good idea. If you have to build a tower, best make all the use of it you can. I'm not sure a toll point will be much use, though. The traffic going through is going to become so great no-one will put up with the delays."

"We'll bear that in mind, guildmistress." Halkor's eyes turned to Senidet. "Mistress, are you also a guild member?"

"Guildmaster, I am not, although I travel to Palarand with Milady Garia to become her apprentice. My father is Brydas the smith of Blackstone, and I have helped him in his work ever since I could walk. He feels that my education would suffer were I to stay in Blackstone."

"You have knowledge of smithing, then? But you could not become a smith yourself, you have not the... build for it."

"As you say, guildmaster. I understand the drawings sent to him and I have helped in tasks that do not require the strength of a man. Milady, excuse me, Guildmistress Garia says that in the future there will be many openings for guildsmen and women that will not require such strength but will benefit from talents women may bring with them."

"How is it you know of the properties of pipes and the force of the water inside? I would not think that a country smith would have such experience of such matters."

"That is mostly true, guildmaster, but after milady, I mean the guildmistress arrived at Blackstone the guildmasters in Palarand sent her some new devices based on her own ideas. One of these was a steam engine, and both my father and myself learned to operate it and how it worked. As part of that we talked about what happened to pipes with high pressure water or steam inside them."

Halkor didn't seem completely convinced but let Senidet's comments pass. Instead he returned to something Garia had mentioned at the beginning.

"Guildmistress, you mentioned sewers. While we have yet light, perhaps you could explain?"

Garia was still explaining what a sewage treatment works was and how it would be of use to the town when Keren, Terinar and several of the officers came out and joined them. All bowed or curtseyed as he approached.

"Ah, Garia! You have managed to assist our guildsmen friends?"

"I have, Highness. I've been explaining sewage treatment but we've talked about a number of other things as well. As I said to Guildmaster Halkor, the important thing to remember with a project of this size is to think big. We learned that lesson in Blackstone, didn't we?"

"Aye, we did." Keren looked at the setting sun. "Did you require light? I can have some brought out."

"We're about finished here, thank you. Keren, what are we going to do tonight? It's too late to get on the road again."

"I was going to ask you that. There's no room to set up camp where the wagons are parked and Jaxen is not sure about anywhere else around the town."

"Oh. Um, I don't think I ought to be going too far from the bathing facilities, if you don't mind. And I'm sure the other girls feel the same way." She turned to Halkor. "My Lord, is it possible to take our wagons down to Lower Street? All the plots near the... womens' tent are empty, perhaps we could pitch camp down there."

Halkor thought then nodded. "Aye, milady, although the wagons must use the bridge at the other end of town to cross the ditch. The surface is not as smooth as that of the highway but it should not cause any difficulty."

"My Lady," spoke Triss. "If I may, I would invite you and your retinue to reside with us tonight. It will save you making camp and provide more room than a wagon awning will."

"That's settled, then," Garia decided. "We'll take the wagons down and use those empty plots near the... womens' tent. Feteran, you'll need to provide a watch around that part of town, but since half the plots are vacant it shouldn't be that difficult." She glanced around. "I think we'll walk down like we did before. That will save us bumping about on the wagons and give our escort a chance to figure out where to put them when they arrive. Keren? What about you and the men?"

"We'll use the wagon awnings," Keren decided. "There's no reason for us to stay up here with the other armed men, since we are only travelers, after all." He turned, a grin on his face. "I'll find Tanon and Jaxen and give them the good news."

When Garia and the other women reached the highway, they discovered an argument in progress in front of the temporary footbridge. On the roadside there were two recently arrived wagons, with a group of men questioning three of the local guildsmen. Halkor, who had walked with them as far as the road, stepped forward to find out what the problem was.

"...well, how was we to know they was specially put there! There was no notice left and no-one was told about them!"

"I would have thought it was obvious even to a blind man! What did you think four fifteen-stride tree-trunks were for, all carefully trimmed and shaped and treated with preserving paint! Firewood? And where's the rest of it? There should be a big pile of sawn and shaped timber as well!"

Halkor intervened at that point. "Guildsmen, what is the problem here?"

The men bowed, then one of the newcomers asked, "You are the guildmaster in charge here, sir?" When Halkor nodded he continued, "These poles are part of a special consignment which was delivered here in advance of our arrival. They are intended for construction of a semaphore station somewhere near this point." He gestured at his crew. "We have surveyors who will find the right location for the station but we expected the materials to be ready once the site was chosen so that we could begin building right away. When we reached here we find the poles used as a footbridge and the rest of the timbers missing."

Halkor replied, "Guildsman, I wondered what those timbers were for when they were delivered. The wagonmen said nothing to any of us, just unloaded the wagons at the side of the highway and departed. You may reclaim the poles as soon as we can find some replacement to serve as a bridge. As to where the rest of the timbers may be," he waved a hand over the skeleton streets visible below the road, "I doubt not they will have been used by others who did not know of their significance."

The wagonman let out a stream of invective, then flushed and apologized when he realized that there were women within earshot.

Halkor asked, "Can you not find and use other timbers, guildsman? We have a yard of such material beyond the town, where you can see those large workshops being built."

"All the timbers for the station were pre-cut and shaped in a workshop before we left Teldor, guildmaster," the man explained. "The whole station was sent out ready to erect, although we have brought our tools to allow for minor adjustments, of course. It will take us some time to cut and shape new timbers, guildmaster."

Halkor's shoulders slumped. "Very well. I do not think we can deal with this problem tonight. I will find someone to show you where you can leave your wagons and beasts and we will attempt an answer tomorrow." He paused, then added, "I will invite you to join me for the evening meal tonight, and you can explain to me what a... semaphore station is."

Bidding Halkor good-evening Garia and her party crossed the footbridge and walked down the street again. Feteran inspected the plots to either side and declared there was easily enough room for the wagons and the slope was shallow enough not to cause any problems. As the women went into the tent Garia could see Feteran assigning watch positions and sending others to determine the layout of the immediate area.

Triss stepped forward. "My Lady, welcome again to our humble dwelling. I apologize for the barrenness of the tent, it has been forced upon us by Quadrant Mandel's commands." She turned to the other women, who had gathered round. "Quadrant Mandel is arrested, girls, since he has been found to have hoarded food, and stolen coin from his liege besides. The Prince has taken charge and appointed Guildmaster Halkor as Baron, can you believe that? All the different armsmen have sworn to follow the new baron's commands, so there is a chance our fortunes may soon change."

There were cries of delight and relief from the women but one said, "Mistress, how may we feed our guests tonight? We have barely enough for the eleven of us."

Triss turned to Garia. "Milady, I did not think of food. It is true, our stores are barely enough for ourselves. I could suggest that you eat with the armsmen, as you did earlier, or there are canteens along Lower Street which the miners and guildsmen use, though they are very rough."

It didn't take Garia very long to decide what to do.

"We'll stay here, if that is all right with you," she said. "When our wagons come down we can get supplies from our kitchen wagon. I assume you can cook for everyone? It will be traveling food, but even that's better than what we ate up in the mess tent for lunch."

"Aye, milady, we have pots and plates enough for all. At one time we were over twenty but many have been forced to move away to find work and shelter." Triss looked at those surrounding her and did a quick head count. "There will be room for all but we must needs organize ourselves to provide for so many guests. Jess, Tara, start some water heating since we will all have to freshen ourselves up before eating and we only have two tubs between us. Kath, go along to the bakery and see if there is any edible bread left. The rest of you, let's have some tidying up so that the place is fit for a Baroness!"

Garia and her girls stood in the center of the tent and watched as the camp women went around making everything tidy. There wasn't much to do, in truth, since the women had had no customers and plenty of time to themselves over the preceding weeks. They had found seats on the cushions scattered around the floor and were making themselves comfortable when Kath returned, bearing an armful of loaves, followed by a hesitant Feteran.

"Mistress Triss, is it permitted that I enter?"

"Of course! In normal times every man would be welcome here, as you no doubt guess, but as I see you wear milady's colors I assume you want to speak to her."

Garia explained, "Feteran is the commander of my very small band of armsmen, Triss." When Feteran had come to attention and banged his fist on his chest, she said to him, "I take it the wagons have arrived?"

"Aye, milady. Setting up camp will present no problems but securing this tent may not be so easy since it is on the corner of the site. With the consent of Baron Halkor we have worked out a means of conducting mounted patrols which should suffice for tonight." He glanced around. "This place is comfortable enough for you, milady? We can provide extra bedding should you so require."

"Some more blankets would not go amiss," Triss remarked. "The nights are getting colder and we use almost all that we have."

"Yes, bring blankets," Garia decided. "There's some under the seats in the carriage, bring those as well. Oh, we'll need our chests, of course. Is the kitchen wagon down as well?"

"Aye, milady, and they have begun preparing the evening meal for the men."

"Any chance we can have some supplies from it? You know what Mandel did to these women."

Feteran smiled. "Milady, we may do better than that. My Lord Halkor has appropriated some of the food which Quadrant Mandel stored away and is sending it down for you to make use of. The cart should arrive shortly. But we may also offer some dry goods from the wagons, it will be no trouble to replenish as we go further south."

Garia nodded. "A good idea. Let's wait until that cart gets here, then, and we can work out what else we might need from the kitchen wagon."

"As you say, milady." Feteran banged his chest again. "I'll go and order the chests and blankets brought from the wagons."

There was soon a bustle as chests and blankets were brought in by the men and disposed of around the tent. Shortly a two-wheeled cart appeared and a significant amount of food and drink was unloaded and taken into the rear tent. Triss was overcome.

"My Lady! How can we ever thank you for what you have done today! We could not imagine such a change in our fortunes."

Garia had a note of caution. "Enjoy it while we are here, Mistress Triss. The men may not be so generous once the Prince and I have left and there are still those around who don't like what you do for a living."

There was enough food for a good, varied meal for all the women with enough left over to comfortably provide breakfast as well. Among the supplies were six bottles of wine and these were shared out as the company sat on the chests to eat, their plates on their laps.

"Ha! Now I understand how useful those fork-things are," Triss said. "Can we get our local smiths to make them, milady, or is there some secret to their making?"

"Feel free," Garia said. "There will be a small charge but nothing you shouldn't be able to afford. Of course, every other person in the town will want a fork so you might have to get in line."

Triss shrugged. "Won't be the first time, won't be the last." She grinned. "Sometimes they line up for us, seems only fair they return the favor."

With plates cleared away they gathered again in the front tent, some sitting on the chests and others cross-legged on the rugs in front. All were facing Garia as she sat as guest of honor in one of their few chairs. Of her own women only Jenet was present in a plainer chair beside Garia. Merizel and Senidet had asked to be excused, taking Jasinet and Lanilla with them as chaperones. Garia had considered joining them but felt that her duties as noblewoman and guest meant that it would be rude to leave her hosts.

"Milady," Triss began, "I asked earlier if you would tell us the tale of your battle and of your meeting with the ptuvil. It seems, from what I learned when we were at the mess tent, that your story is much bigger than that, that you are the reason for the changes that have come to Holville and much besides. Would you share your story with us?"

Garia made herself comfortable. "Yes, I will. Some of it, anyway. I can't tell you all because there's a lot you wouldn't understand and some the King would rather certain unfriendly people didn't find out about. But, yes, there's no reason I can't tell you some of it. After all," she smiled, "it's not as if you're busy right now, is it?"

Some of the women snorted. There had been many days when they had almost nothing to do but avoid Mandel and his men.

"Very well. Firstly, some of you may have realized that I'm not originally from Palarand. In fact, I'm not from Alaesia, or even Anmar, but somewhere else entirely. How I came here is a complete mystery and I've no idea how I'm going to get back where I came from, which is a different world called Earth. Now, Master Tanon owns the wagons we are using and Jaxen is his wagonmaster. Last summer, they were bringing a wagon train over the southern mountains from Moxgo to Palarand and when they reached -"