Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2)

by Aaron Thomas

  Bowie examined the arrows and noticed the traits he told Auburn to include were present. The feathers were inset into grooves before being glued into place. The arrow tips were shaved to give them straighter and easier flight. These were higher quality arrows than what the men had been making before. He looked back at the cart and saw his grandfather’s tools being used by the fletchers. Auburn hadn’t delayed in putting the tools to good use.

  Some troops waved as Bowie and John rode past to the front of the line. John rode fast to advance ahead of the troops, leaving them to watch the treeline.

  “What are you looking for, John?” Bowie asked as he looked around in the trees.

  “Scouts, bandits, or game. Whichever we might encounter first. I have the men keeping their eyes out for them as well. There is no way we can know how far out the Fire Realm has pushed their scouts. If we push too much harder, we will start to encounter some of them for sure. They have been in the Earth Realm for almost a month.”

  “They should have a pretty good camp set up by now, but they’re probably running low on resources.” Bowie said.

  “Perhaps. The king’s scouts have given me some of the information they collected. However, the information doesn’t involve anything in this area. All we know is this summer heat that slows us down is like winter to them; they’re probably making great time. To make matters worse, I doubt they are running low on any resources.”

  Bowie thought it over for a moment while John pointed to a large clearing off to the side of the road. “If they have resources and weapons, then the more time they have, the more fortified they become,” Bowie said.

  John smiled in agreement. “While the king dallies around trying to gather men to him, the Fire Realm builds and becomes stronger. Each day it will require more men and more deaths to win against the Fire Realm. Each day they become stronger and more adapted to our lands. Each day, they find new ways to stop us.”

  Bowie let the words sink in. They needed to move fast to be able to impede the Fire Realm wherever they could. They needed to buy the king time to finish gathering his army.

  Bowie finally looked up and noticed John was dismounted and wandering around, checking the trees surrounding the open area. “John, I need you to teach me how you get these men to move so fast.”

  John faced Bowie, “That’s easy. I told them their lives depend on it.”

  It was a simple concept, but one they would all believe in. It was something that they all could control, and all play a part in. Each man was working hard so they would survive the summer.

  “What do you think of the area?” He said to John who was still looking around.

  “It give us enough space for the tents and fires. The hunting should be good here, and a town is a half a day’s ride south. Far enough we shouldn’t bother them by being in this place. I think it will work well.”

  Bowie nodded in agreement, then dismounted and pulled his bow from his saddle. He bent the bow and strung it. John eye’d the bow with much wonder but said nothing. Bowie held it out to John who reverently took it into his hands. He turned the strung bow over and felt its curves and details.

  Bowie let out a small laugh and held up an arrow, “Go head. Give it a try.”

  John knocked the arrow and pulled the string as far back as it would let him. The bow made the familiar twang as the arrow took flight. The arrow flew straight and sunk its head deep into a nearby tree. John let out a deep breath and lowered the bow to examine it again.

  “This is made of wonderful quality, but I’m afraid it’s too short for me to draw well.” He handed the bow back to Bowie.

  “Well then, we will just have to have Ria make a longer one for you.” John caught Bowie by the arm as he turned back to grab another arrow from his quiver.

  “Ria made this for you?” John’s eyes were bright with hope.

  “Yes,” He said while looking at John’s hand on his arm. “She said she was going to be making more. You are the next one to be getting one.”

  John realized he was gripping Bowie’s arm and released it. His mouth was open but he didn’t say anything. He glanced back down at Bowie’s bow still in his hand, “Thanks. I thought we wouldn’t be able to get enough bow’s for all the men, but these bows. These bows will help us survive what is planned for us.”

  Bowie nodded his head and held out his hand for the bow. John reluctantly handed it back and Bowie fired some shots to the same tree John had fired on. Bowie asked John how to improve production. They discussed how Bowie could improve his skills by shooting faster. The two talked every second of the hour it took for the troops to catch up to them.

  Men filed into the new camp site and John immediately started giving orders and organizing each wagon of men to tasks. Tents were being assembled, trees were chopped for firewood, and two parties were sent out to hunt. Bowie still didn’t know what he was supposed to do, so he tried to help out where he could. When he started a task John, or Tyler ran to take over for him until he found another. After three or four tries, Bowie finally got the hint and started to head back to his tent.

  Ria’s wagon was sitting close to Bowie’s tent and as he walked by he could hear a muffled argument between two females. Bowie tried to get closer to the door to hear what was being said but was unable to make out the words. He put his ear against the door just as it burst open.

  “I will do the job that has been assigned to me!” Auburn exclaimed as she came out the door. She stopped and looked at Bowie, now laying on the ground from the force of the door.

  “The job of leading men is not for a woman to do.” Ria said from inside the hut. She came out chasing Auburn and saw Bowie laying on the ground. “Sitting around is not a good trait for a leader, Master Crescent.”

  Auburn started to walk away, “It is about time you showed up. Maybe now that you are here, she will stop telling me how to do my job.” She did her best to stomp away as a frustrated Ria stared at her back.

  Ria finally noticed Bowie was still on the ground, trying to figure out what was going on between the two.

  “Come inside.” It wasn’t a request, but a command.

  Bowie stood and went inside the wagon, brushing himself off and closing the door behind him.

  “Why do you encourage the girl? She has no place commanding an army.” Ria said while rummaging through her drawers. Vines moved out of the way each time she reached up to open one. Bowie wondered how many drawers were hiding behind those leafy vines.

  “She is not commanding an army, just the fletchers. I need someone who knows the craft.”

  Bowie tried to seat himself on the stool but watched as a vine pulled it underneath the table to keep him from sitting on it. Ria slammed a metal teapot down on the counter.

  “You need to find someone else. Any of the other fletchers will do. Anyone else to make your arrows. She needs to be in here, getting etiquette lessons,” Ria said with her back to him.

  Bowie noticed that Ria still had dirt underneath her fingernails and wondered what kind of etiquette she was supposedly teaching Auburn.

  “So you don’t want Auburn commanding fletchers because she needs to be learning etiquette? I’m sure as soon as she gets the men taught they will be able to make the arrows without her help. After that She will have more time to learn.” Bowie said.

  “It’s not just that. You are teaching her bad things. When she is done here, she will be expecting men to treat her the same way. Will you be there to put her in charge of more troops when this war is over? Will you be there to teach her daughters to command men the way she does? Will you be there to pick her up after she tries to command the wrong man. They are not all as understanding as you.” She was pouring tea as she gave him his tongue lashing.

  “I don’t understand. You don’t want me to show her to stick up for herself? You don’t want me to show the men that she has skills better than theirs? You want me to have her wash the small clothes and fetch their meals instead?”

  Ria l
et out a small grunt of a squeak, “I did not say that! I do not want her getting it in her head that she is in charge of men. If she doesn’t learn to cook or do laundry she will never find herself a husband. She needs to learn these things so she can make a good wife.”

  Bowie scratched his head for a moment thinking, “So you want me to stop a woman from being in charge of men so that she can learn to be a good wife. Then you want me to be respectful to women by being proper around them and not allowing them to use their skills.”

  She grunted again.

  “Wizard Ria, I can’t go back on my word to her now. Besides I’m not sure anyone will survive this. She may not end up ever returning to a normal life.”

  Ria used the vines to move the stool out from underneath the small table and Bowie took the hint and sat. She poured them both a cup of tea. Bowie drank small sips waiting on Ria’s reply. “Perhaps you don’t have to go back on your word.”

  “You are going to stop trying to teach her how to act like a lady?”

  Ria stopped drinking to look at Bowie over her small cup, “I will do nothing of the sort. Perhaps I won't supply the men with items they need unless she comes to these lessons.” Ria crossed her arms and waited for Bowie’s reply.

  He let out a sigh, “So you want me to go to Auburn and tell her that unless she attends etiquette lessons, we will not get anymore arrow shafts?”

  “No, you will get your arrow shafts. The more lessons she attends the more bows I grow. If she wants to help the men in her life then she must be a lady, that is my offer.”

  Bowie shook his head in confusion. He should have known leaving these two women alone would cause trouble. He knew he should have given specific instructions to keep the two separated. Bowie left his half cup of tea on the table as he stood to leave.

  “Will she be attending the lessons?” Ria asked.

  “I will see to that she attends the lessons, but it won’t be easy. She doesn’t like being told what to do.”

  Bowie closed the door behind himself and found the way to his tent. The desk had new scrolls laid out and his cot was pushed to the back. Bowie pulled off his jacket and shirt and threw them on the cot. He put an arrow on either side of the scroll to read it while he changed. They managed to make five thousand arrows on the road, three hundred of which were Crescent arrow quality. He put on a fresh linen shirt and left off his jacket; it was already past noon and the summer heat was in full effect. Bowie brushed off his hat and put it on top of his head.

  Somehow, going to chat with Auburn felt like going to battle. He hoped that he didn’t need any armor.

  Walking through the camp, Bowie was bombarded by question after question.

  “Where do you want the fruit tree planted?”

  “Where do you want the finished arrows to go?”

  “Do you want the Crescent arrows placed somewhere different?”

  “Should we start sending hunting parties out?”

  “Where do you want the scouts tent to be?”

  Bowie did his best to answer each and every one. He even took the time to stop and help some people with a loose tent line. He managed to help some soldiers without Tyler or John stopping him.

  He came close to one of the fires where he heard Auburn shouting orders. She was particularly picky on her orders to construct arrows. She even told the men which direction to wrap the string. He was glad she was paying close attention to the construction of each one, but wondered how much more of the yelling the men could take.

  Bowie spoke from a couple tents away from the workers, “Auburn, can I talk to you a moment?”

  Auburn looked annoyed that someone had spoken to her. She sighed and left the fletchers to their task. “She is commanding you to make me take the lessons, isn’t she?”

  “In a way, yes.” Bowie took off his hat and scratched his red hair. Auburn is one of the only other people he had ever met with red hair. He felt a kind of camaraderie with her. “It’s more than that, though.”

  “Hows that? Is she threatening not to help with arrows? It’s fine. I’ll find a way to get the arrow shafts the old way.” Auburn looked to be deep in thought about finding the materials.

  “Actually, no. She said she will help with the arrow materials either way.”

  “She has nothing else to offer me. What could she possibly give that would make me want to go to lessons to be a woman?” She looked down and held out her arms at her body, “I do look like a woman, don’t I?”

  Bowie was caught off guard by the question, “No. I mean yes! Yes, you look like a woman. She does have something to offer that I cannot go without.”

  Auburn smiled a little at Bowie still looking at her body and sputtering.

  “She has agreed to make more bows if you attend these lessons,” He managed to choke out.

  She didn’t respond to him but just stood in silence now looking at Bowie’s body.

  “We need those bows if we are going to have any chance to survive this battle. If you don’t agree to go to the lessons we will all surely die.”

  “So you need me to do something for you,” Auburn said smiling.

  “It’s either you go to the lessons or I find another fletcher for the job.” Bowie tried to summon as much of a commanding voice as he could muster.

  She clicked her tongue still looking at Bowie, “I think I might be able to attend the lessons.”

  Bowie let out a sigh at the glimmer of hope.

  “I will require for you to do something in return,” She said before he could speak again.

  He knew it was too good to be true. He wondered why things with women were never simple.

  “I want to you to teach me how to use the bow, and I want to go to town with you when you go.”

  “I can teach you to use a bow, but taking you to town with me is not happening. You almost got a noose put around my neck with lies the last time you followed me. They’re probably trying to catch up with us after all the supplies we got for almost nothing. I’m just glad we bought all their horses. No, you are not going with me,” He said replacing the hat on his head.

  She smiled and took a step to stand nearly chest to chest with him. She looked up at him so her face was almost touching him. “It looks to me like you don’t have much of a choice.”

  He could feel the heat of her breath on the side of his face. She was a woman and now she was going to use it to make him uncomfortable.

  “Fine, but you won’t leave my side.”

  Auburn smiled and walked away calling over her shoulder, “Let me know when you are leaving and wear something nice. The yellow jacket will be just fine.”

  She began shouting orders again as if he hadn’t talked to her at all.

  Frustrated, he made his way back to the tent to get his jacket. The sooner he could get the two working together, the sooner he would be able to arm his troops. He put on his jacket and grabbed his quiver of arrows and the black bow. He tied on his men’s pouch of gold coins and went back through the camp.

  Most of the tents were now erected and horses were being groomed. Scouts were already starting to turn in for a bit of rest. Bowie saw John organizing hunting parties. Most importantly, the fletchers were working very fast. Each step in making an arrow only took a few seconds with practiced hands. Each man completed one step and handed the partially made arrow to the next person. Bowie was surprised to see that they had four teams of fletchers all working simultaneously. One of the teams was using an extra man and Bowie’s tools. He leaned down to inspect the arrow and it was very high quality. High enough that it would rival his own crafting.

  Auburn saw him inspecting the arrows in his yellow jacket and went straight over. “Yellow Jacket, are you ready to leave already?”

  Bowie nodded his head and stuffed some of the arrows into his quiver, “Yes, I need to get my tools back to see if we can have another set made.”

  “If you were wanting to go to town, you should have said something! I have to make myself presen
table. I will only be a moment.”

  Bowie watched as Auburn disappeared into a tent. He started to collect his tools in the leather pouch his grandfather had made. The men quickly went to get their own tools to continue working. Piles of arrows were already starting to amass. Bowie sat for a while and chatted with some of the men while waiting for Auburn to return. He directed their hands, giving advice where needed. His stomach began to growl and he felt like getting a bite to eat before they left for town.

  He knew that he would have to probably stay the night in town because it was already too late in the day. Bowie was starting to get frustrated and got up to yell at her in the tent. He was almost to the tent when the flap opened. Auburn came out in the purple dress the merchant had given her. Her hair was pulled up with a few loose strands that fell down around her face. Bowie was so surprised by the transition that he couldn’t find the words he was about to yell.

  Auburn smiled as she walked past him, “It’s getting late, we should be off.”

  The statement brought back the words that he had wanted to yell but now they were irrelevant. She walked to the area the horses were tied to graze in and picked out a horse to suit her. He found charger and had one of his men help them saddle the horses. Charger was eager to be back on the road with a full stomach and energy restored. They rode the horses past Ria’s wagon and saw her standing outside.

  “Master Crescent, did you convince her?”

  Bowie gestured behind him and Ria saw Auburn ride up in the purple dress.

  “She will attend the lessons. Right now we are headed into town. Is there anything I can pick up for you?”

  Ria ignored the question and looked Auburn over, “I’m glad to see you finally in something more appropriate for a young woman. A bit flashy, but it is a definite improvement. Be sure you act like a woman while you are in town with him.” She turned to look back at Bowie, “I will take some tea leaves if you come across some” She turned to go back inside her tent.

  Auburn yelled out to her.“I am not in your lessons right now so I will wear and do as I want. Wearing this dress isn’t for your benefit!”