“I see you’ve been busy,” Gwaynn commented, understating the obvious. As they spoke hundreds of men and women continued to work, setting spikes deep into the ground, while others were tending to the new earthen walls. Now that he was closer Gwaynn could see new sprouts of grass growing from the sides of the dirt levee close to the gates.
“Wild grass,” Krys commented with an amused smile, “it will make a lovely little obstacle for the Temple Knights.”
Brandt laughed, but Bock only nodded. “Can’t have all our work eroding with the next heavy rain,” he explained then pointed farther to the west. “We’ve already begun to build the double wall atop the levee where it meets the Scar River. It’ll make up the main line of our defense. It’ll be saw-toothed, ten feet high and anchored to the timbers built into the ground,” he added and held his hands out in a “V” formation to show exactly what he meant, “mainly for archer protection.” Bock continued and smiled as Samantha’s eyes lit up.
“A double wall?” Gwaynn asked.
Bock nodded. “Two wooden walls about a foot and a half apart. We’re filling the gap with rock and dirt for strength and for protection against fire. It won’t be as substantial as stone walls but sturdy enough. As the hill stabilizes the construction will go much faster. The mill is running day and night cutting the planks and braces.”
“Who thought of the design?” Samantha asked excitedly.
“Was Hahn’s idea,” Bock told her, “should afford us at least a little protection.”
“You’re walling us in,” Krys said, voicing Gwaynn’s own thoughts.
Bock shrugged. “As long as we’re not attacked from the plains and the Plateau at the same time we should have an avenue of escape if things go wrong.”
“What’s to keep the enemy from pinning us up on the Plateau and starving our army?”
Bock smiled. “Travelers,” he said simply and Gwaynn frowned, thinking perhaps his General was overestimating the power of na Gall. He said nothing however, as Bock led him and his army through the gates and into the now teeming oxbow; Manse was expanding rapidly. Everyone fell quiet as they got their first glimpse of the new city. The road they were on held straight and true all the way through the heart of the city, but the oxbow was now broken up into uniformed grids. There were buildings going up everywhere but not in the haphazard fashion of old. This would be a city of right angles.
“Unbelievable,” Krys said then whistled.
“I want to be able to move men rapidly from the Plateau to the wall,” Bock explained, “and I don’t want winding roads and poor planning slowing them down.”
Gwaynn smiled and wished Master Sath was here to see this. He felt sure his old mentor would be proud. In Gwaynn’s estimation Bock was the most indispensible man in Massi.
“This is perfect,” Gwaynn said and didn’t bother to keep the awe from his voice.
Lonogan nodded his head. “I hoped you’d like it.”
Gwaynn grinned. “I do, I do, but I’m still worried about being hemmed in. Even with my help, na Gall won’t be able to move enough men and horses around to keep our army from being neutralized.”
Bock smiled. “Zarina Monde arrived this morning,” he explained. “It seems the High Council on Noble was growing uneasy about her continued presence on their Island.”
“Monde?” Gwaynn asked, slightly puzzled and began to wonder at the motives of his old adopted home. The Tars of Noble never acted lightly or without reason. He would like to talk with Tar Kostek and find out just how the Tars were viewing the continued conflict. Well, maybe now he would have his chance.
“Why here?” Krys asked, the worry on his face mirroring Gwaynn’s thoughts.
Bock chuckled loudly, drawing the attention of a group of nearby soldiers who were at the moment erecting a wall to a new barracks. The men nearest Gwaynn stopped their work and bowed their heads respectfully, a few shouted out greetings which Gwaynn returned.
“She’s quite honest about her decision,” Bock continued. “She claims to have had several offers for sanctuary…Lato and the Cassinni to name a few, but she’d not put them in danger. Monde believes the Massi are the only people in more danger than the Travelers at the moment, so her choice was obvious. But I’m glad she came. She brought nine Speakers with her, along with some of her older students…the youngest she sent back to their homelands.”
“Where is she now?” Gwaynn asked.
“She’s moved down to the Gap,” Bock answered, “it seems little Laynee has recently joined the ranks of the Travelers. Monde has gone to work more closely with her but she plans to be back tonight.”
Gwaynn smiled thinking of Laynee. ‘A Traveler…that’s good. We may have need of her before the end. Nine Speakers!”
They moved through the city proper, which was rebuilding rapidly from the fire, though now in a much more orderly design. The main road was nearly twice as wide as before and arrow straight. But again, like on Gwaynn’s very first visit to Manse, lumber wagons completely filled the large thoroughfare. Bock caught his look.
“Business is good,” Lonogan said with another smile but then became serious once more. “We are sealing up the gaps in the Scar, if the Toranado can hold out for another few weeks we should be in good enough shape to repel any attack from the plains.”
They crossed the bridge over the Scar River and moved up to the Plateau, Gwaynn saw another mass of men working on a set of impressive fortifications. Now guarding the road to the Plateau were two circular motte and bailey style fortresses with only a thirty-foot gap between them. The lower holds of the two baileys were nearly finished but work was still being done on the upper levels.
“Your castles Sire, just as you requested,” Bock stated a little mockingly. “It will have to do for a while until we can proceed with stone.”
“What of Lynndon, General?” Gwaynn teased back, “and the Aleria Passage?”
The smile fell from Lonogan’s face.
“Preparations at Lynndon are underway and are of no real concern. The Aleria Pass will be the danger,” Bock answered as they moved up and between the two baileys. Gwaynn was surprised to find that he was happy to be back on the Plateau.
“We have no way to fortify the pass,” Bock continued. “It’s much larger than the Gap and would take a sizeable force to seal it off. If the Temple Knights decide to enter through that route we will be hard pressed not to lose the Plateau.”
“Great,” Krys mumbled mostly to himself. “How many men would it take to hold the pass?”
Bock shook his head. “Fifteen thousand.”
Krys and Samantha whistled in unison then smiled at each other.
“But against the Temple Knights the figure may have to be doubled,” the General amended.
Gwaynn frowned, that was nearly the size of his entire army. It was definitely a worry. Perhaps instead of a fortress here at Manse, Bock was building a diversion. The beginning of an idea flittered about Gwaynn’s mind, teasingly close, but then they broke away from the new construction and caught sight of the vast, flat lands of the Plateau. An enormous area around them was currently filled with groups of men training for combat. Gwaynn spotted Hahn in the distance working with several thousand archers, and closer in there were large groups of soldiers working with pikes, swords and a few smaller groups with katas. They all watched for several moments, each impressed by the sheer scale of the training.