Forever Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four

by Joshua P. Simon

  “Where’s Zadok?” I asked.

  Myra said, “Upstairs cleaning. Want me to call him down?”

  “In a minute. Boaz will be looking for him soon. I need you to help us figure out how to defend Kasala.”

  Her eyes grew wide with excitement. She tried to compose herself and said, “Well, we probably shouldn’t waste any time in case the weather turns bad.”

  Ira cocked his head up to the sky. “What are you talking about? There’s barely a cloud to be seen.”

  Myra blushed with embarrassment at her poor excuse. “Now, but no telling what could happen later.”

  Damaris cut in trying to help her. “That is true. I’ve seen storm clouds come out of nowhere many times. How about you, Tyrus?” she asked with a slight wink.

  I nodded. “Absolutely. Many times. And you know what I always say, being careful is a good way to avoid disaster.”

  “What?” asked Ira. “You never say—”

  A slight jab and dirty look from Reuma cut Ira off.

  He realized then what we had been doing. “I take that back. You used to say that quite a bit. I guess I forgot because it’s been awhile.”

  Myra sighed with a shake of her head. “Can we just go?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  * * *

  We surveyed the east side of town first, slowly pacing the exterior while glancing at both the outer buildings on our left and the fields on our right.

  We halted at the northeastern edge of town where Kasala’s well-worn main road intersected the fields. Patches of trees grew over a mile outside of town, bordering the road on both sides. A small hill rose at that distance, blocking ground-level visibility farther out.

  I pointed to the building behind us, a much older inn. “Ira, you mind going up to the roof and giving me a line of sight?”

  “Sure thing,” he said over his shoulder, already walking in that direction.

  A couple minutes later, he appeared at the edge of the roof.

  Reuma shouted up. “Be careful. No one checked the structure.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” he yelled in exasperation.

  While giving her a look of annoyance, he tripped and pitched forward. Reuma let out a gasp, but Ira caught himself before tumbling over the edge.

  Ira grimaced. “Don’t say another word.”

  “Don’t need to,” she retorted.

  I shook my head. Those two had already begun to act like an old married couple.

  He put a hand over his eyes as he scanned the horizon.

  “Pretty clear right now. I can see a good three miles in either direction.”

  “So probably a bit less for those with worse eyesight,” I said to myself. Part of what had always made Ira a good back up to Hamath when scouting was his strong vision.

  “Except out that way,” he continued, pointing to his right. “The land dips at the edge of the fields where those trees begin. That’s about a mile and a half out, I’d say. A group could gather there and use the dip to hide their approach without us knowing until it was too late.”

  I tried to imagine what he saw while looking in that direction. “Would being higher help?”

  “Higher?”

  “You’re three stories up. Being higher should help you clear that hill, right?”

  He squinted back to the problem spot. “It should, but I’d need to ride out there to see if I’m missing anything. That wooded area should get trimmed back regardless. Even if we can get a line of sight over the rise, someone could still use the trees as cover.”

  “All right. Come on down.”

  When Ira joined us, I asked what everyone thought.

  “A wall?” Reuma asked.

  It was an obvious choice and for good reason. A wall would give anyone second thoughts about attacking and also make the town easier to defend. However, the solution brought additional difficulties.

  “In a perfect world, that would be the way to go,” I said.

  “But it would take too long,” said Reuma, realizing one of those difficulties.

  “Well, we could take less time by adding it only where necessary,” offered Damaris. “It wouldn’t need to encircle Kasala since the river acts as a natural barrier to the west.”

  “That would help some,” I conceded.

  “But?”

  “But even if we had half the town working on the project,” said Ira, “doing a wall right would take the better part of a year to complete. Maybe more since we lack the experience.”

  I followed his train of thought. Though we never had to construct a fortification like what Kasala needed during our time in the army, we still dug our share of trenches and palisades when readying a field for battle. That was backbreaking effort for thousands of men who knew their role.

  “I’ve only got so many engineers at my disposal too,” I added.

  Myra continued my thoughts. “And we can’t afford to have half the town committed to one project when we still need to get the fields ready and possibly help Sinsca get the river running again.”

  “You’re thinking towers would be the better option, right?” Reuma asked me.

  “We’d still need to dedicate men to construct them,” said Ira.

  “Yeah, but a much smaller number,” I said. “And if we plan it right, we’ll only need a couple of towers to give us enough visual coverage and act as our first line of defense so long as we have archers manning them.”

  “We could also solve two problems at once by using the trees from that wooded area to build them,” said Myra.

  “I like it.”

  “I don’t think towers will be enough though,” said Reuma. “If we faced a full invasion from a large enough group, they could push through, take their losses, and be inside of Kasala without wasting much time.”

  “We could set traps at various spots to slow any potential invaders,” said Myra.

  “This is a town. Not a battlefield,” said Ira. “You can’t set traps where you expect people to live and make a life for themselves.” He shuddered. “Especially not with children running around.” He turned away abruptly.

  Something familiar about the way Ira stood, shoulders bunched and arms crossed, made my stomach roll.

  “We could come up with traps that don’t injure or kill, just ensnare?” Myra offered.

  I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but it was how I imagined myself acting after a dream or vision from the war. Had he exhibited similar behavior before, but I missed it? Looking back, I didn’t think so. Gods, I hoped I was just being extra sensitive since I was struggling so much. I had originally wanted him to help strategize with Reuma and Myra, but that now seemed like a bad idea.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught Damaris studying me, shifting her attention from me to Reuma and Myra. She took a step toward me as if worried. I realized then that while I wondered about Ira, I had missed most of the discussion Myra and Reuma had continued while throwing out general ideas.

  “I like what I’m hearing,” I exaggerated in an effort to hide my mind wandering. “Figuring out how to defend Kasala is up to you two. Once you both reach a consensus, we’ll go over everything together.”

  Reuma and Myra turned my way with blank expressions.

  “Sir?” asked Reuma.

  “Pa? But you have way more experience than us.”

  “Experience doesn’t mean I have all the answers. Keep working through things, and let’s discuss what you decide after dinner.”

  A small smile crawled across Myra’s face. I could tell how eager she was to take on responsibility. “You got it, Pa.”

  Reuma stood straighter. “We’ll be ready.”

  “I’ll see you both tonight then. Ira, you coming?” I asked.

  He jumped. “Huh?”

  “I’m heading
to the fields.”

  “Oh, yeah, right.”

  Reuma gave him a quick kiss. “Love you.”

  He turned red. “Love you, too.”

  Ava would make him suffer for that if she were here. Gods, I missed her.

  As Damaris joined us, I suggested we go back into town to get some mounts. “We need to meet up with Udo anyway.”

  “Who in the name of the gods is Udo?” Ira asked.

  “Well.” I paused, trying to think how to explain the man. Truthfully, I didn’t really know much about him myself. My promise to Udo was a gamble similar to others I had taken before. My hope was that given some responsibility, trust, and a new environment, the man would step up and shine.

  When Ira’s laughter started, I knew to not even bother answering his question. He knew me well enough. I chuckled as well because he likely imagined past gambles that hadn’t worked out.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Damaris.

  Ira said. “I think I figured out who old Udo is and what Ty’s got in store for him.” He let out a sigh. “Man, I wish Dek was here. He was always good about giving you a hard time with your charity cases.”

  I bit my lip, then swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”

  * * *

  Udo hollered out, waving overhead when he saw us coming down the street.

  “Ah,” said Ira. “I know who that is. Better way to describe him would have been the guy whose mother-in-law has his balls in a vice.”

  “Be nice,” said Damaris.

  He feigned offense. “Aren’t I always?”

  Udo fell in beside us after a short jog over. “I thought I might have missed you.”

  “Nope. You’re right on time,” I said.

  “I brought some parchment, ink, and a quill for notes.”

  “Good. I like a man who comes prepared.”

  I glanced to Ira who shook his head, but thankfully remained silent.

  Udo asked, “Shouldn’t we be heading down one of these side streets?”

  “We’re picking up a couple mounts first.”

  “Oh,” Udo sounded worried.

  “Something wrong?” I asked.

  “I’m just not very good with horses.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” said Damaris.

  We both turned at her interjection.

  “How so, ma’am?” he asked.

  “Well, you’re such a strong-looking man. I can’t imagine an animal being able to put one over on you.”

  He put his head down in embarrassment. “Thank you, ma’am, but it’s the truth.”

  “That’s a shame. Not that I’m worried, but with us leaving the city, I’d feel safer riding out with three men I knew could handle themselves in the saddle just in case we happen upon any danger.”

  I suppressed a smile at the concern she voiced.

  Udo’s face changed. “I may not be as experienced in a fight as Tyrus or Ira, but I promise I would never let a horse stop me from doing all I could to see you to safety.”

  “Thank you. Your wife is a lucky woman.”

  If I didn’t know Damaris as well as I did, I might have wondered what had gotten into her. She gave me a small wink as Udo held himself taller. Take any man, regardless of what he’s done in his life, and have a beautiful woman compliment or nudge him into something, and in almost every instance that man will find new courage.

  I don’t know what it was about that wink, but a sudden urge to kiss her overwhelmed me. The strength of it actually scared me. Maybe it was because of her selflessness and kindness, traits that even in the worst of times had never left her. That steadfastness in her core reminded me greatly of Lasha. It was not fair to compare the two, for they shared nothing in appearance and little in personality. However, there was no denying that the two shared admirable traits.

  Shame washed over me as I imagined waking up to Damaris at my side, kissing her on the forehead and whispering good morning as I once used to with my wife.

  I looked away from her, and took a long, deep breath.

  “Tyrus?” asked Damaris.

  My stomach rolled. A part of me still wanted to kiss her, but another part wanted to curse at betraying my wife’s memory.

  I coughed hard into my hand while squeezing my eyes tight to push away the sadness from Lasha’s memories.

  “The stables are just up here,” I said, walking a few steps ahead of the others.

  * * *

  Entering the stables, the smell of fresh manure crinkled my nose as it mixed in with the staleness of an abandoned structure.

  Zadok yelled down from the loft above, calling out inventory of saddles, bridles, and harnesses in various conditions while Boaz jotted down notes. I had everyone wait outside to make sure Abigail’s talent remained secret.

  “How’s it going?” I asked.

  Boaz turned in surprise. “Good, actually. Looks like whoever owned this place kept it up pretty well. There are a few repairs here and there to make, especially outside with the pens, but I believe we brought enough supplies from Batna to take care of them all. I’ll have specifics later. Not quite ready for a full report if that’s what you were wanting.”

  “No. Sorry. Wasn’t trying to put you on the spot. I forgot to mention earlier that I wanted to take a few mounts out with me to the fields.”

  “Sure. Give me a second, and I’ll saddle them for you.”

  I raised a hand. “No need. We can saddle our own. Just tell me which ones to take.”

  Boaz gestured to his right. “Abigail took our healthiest ones down there. Nadav is taking care of them now.”

  “Abigail with him, too?”

  “No. She’s with Dinah,” he said, with a nod to his left. “They’re figuring out what we can do to help a few of the others along.”

  “How’d that conversation with Dinah go?”

  “Better than I thought actually. She still wants the inn, but I think she likes the idea of helping Abigail develop her talents. All that time with Ava changed her mind about sorcery it seems.”

  * * *

  Udo looked about as uncomfortable in the saddle as I’d ever seen, even on the most docile of our four mounts. To his credit, he didn’t complain.

  We ate our lunch in the saddle while heading out to inspect the fields. Thick, gray clouds rolled in just as we reached the eastern edge of town. It brought back memories of the months following the artifact when I wished for the normalcy of a bright yellow sun. However, the gray skies now provided a welcome break from heat.

  Finally taking my first long look at the fields, I sucked my teeth at what I saw. Small patches of tall green grass stood among less healthy browns and yellows. Within that green grass, an occasional stalk of more substantial vegetation managed to find life. Those were the positive signs. However, for every patch of green, there were at least two others of barren earth.

  I pulled out a map and called for the others to gather. “The council gave me this. It’s a few years old, but shows our boundaries. We’ll use it as a starting point. Let’s ride around the perimeter first. Afterward, we can move through the fields and begin testing the soil.” I clicked my reins. “Let’s go.”

  * * *

  Udo stared into the hole. I looked over his shoulder doing the same, before gauging his reaction to the occasional spider, beetle, or centipede that made an appearance.

  After a couple minutes, I asked. “How many?”

  “I counted thirteen.”

  “Close enough. I had fourteen. The important thing is the activity means the soil is healthy. Anything less than ten is cause for worry. You know what to do next.”

  He reached down and picked up a large clump of dirt from inside. The disturbance sent up a strong earthy smell that relieved some of the tension I carried. We had not been so lucky in testing other
areas.

  “Give it a gentle squeeze, and rub it through your fingers,” I said. “Describe it.”

  “It doesn’t feel dry or powdery. Not clumpy either. It’s mostly holding a shape with some pressure.”

  “Good. Water will pass through easily.”

  I called to Damaris and Ira who squatted in separate spots thirty yards out in opposite directions. “Tell me what you two see.”

  We had placed old pots with a hole at the bottom inside six different holes. Each pot was filled with water of equal measurement. After half an hour, I wanted a report on their progress.

  Ira answered, “Half an inch to an inch on all of mine.”

  “About the same,” said Damaris.

  “That’s good, right?” asked Udo.

  “Real good. Shows the earth isn’t too compacted. This is the best patch of land by far.” It wasn’t a surprise since the wild grass and random plants looked healthiest around us. Still, it was good to confirm. I judged our distance from Kasala, mouth twisting at how far out we were. “Of course we couldn’t find a spot closer to town.” I called back to Damaris and Ira. “You two can come over.”

  “Why are the fields better out here?” Udo asked.

  “Dozens of possibilities.” I shrugged. “Could be something as simple as the underground water that feeds the city’s well is closer to the surface here.”

  “Is there a way to improve the rest of the fields?”

  “Yes, I’ve got some ideas I learned from my father.”

  “Is there anything else we need to do out here?” Ira asked.

  “No. We’ve done enough for now. It’s getting late. We best get back to town.”

  “I think I’m going to go the other way around the fields,” said Damaris, pointing.

  I gave her a surprised look. The path she gestured to was much longer than the others. “Why?”

  “I want to check on something while we still have daylight.”

  “All right. We can head over that way.”

  “No. You go on ahead. You know people will be waiting to talk to you.”

  “True,” I admitted. “But—”

  “Don’t worry, Udo can come with me to protect me from any danger,” she said with a grin.