Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

Now that he was gone, she realized there was little here for her until the next time she felt him use his Gift. She recalled an earlier conversation she’d had with Felis, when they’d first met; he referred to the Palace as a “gilded cage” for her. She wondered now at how near he’d come to the truth.

*****

As Cooper entered the Ruins, the only signs of increased activity were fresh cart tracks leading toward the center. As he drew closer, he could hear the sound of hammers; some were striking chisels, others were driving nails; both sounds distinctive and both sounds indicating progress.

He entered the primary building area. Dailen was supervising the work being done on the forge. Masons were carving rocks that had fallen to the center of the foundation, then laying mortar and adding those stones to the walls. Carpenters had bracing and scaffolding built to support that labor. Construction was moving along very quickly.

Birt was over near the excavated hole, pounding stakes into the ground. He noticed Cooper approaching. He dropped his mallet and thrust his arms skyward, “Thanks to all that’s holy! You’re here! Where do you want these walls?!” Cooper looked around the immediate space, “Approximate, right? The builders will still need to take measurements and make sure the corners are square and the foundation is level.” Birt looked at the walls of the forge, then back at the bare ground where they were standing, “Uh, sure. Approximate.” Cooper stepped over and picked up the mallet and a few stakes, then paced off a few steps from the hole. He looked skyward to make sure he had stepped in the right direction, then pounded a stake into the ground. While looking up, he noticed that Spen had chosen a vantage point on top of what used to be the second floor of a building, a feature that now more closely resembled its roof. He waved as he returned to the hole, then paced outward, and drove one more stake at each of the other three cardinal points. He then used those stakes to direct where he placed four more stakes, several steps further out. He then pointed at the first stakes and announced, “Vault.” Then pointed to the outer stakes, “Walls. Good enough?” Birt looked relieved. He nodded, “Better. Yes.”

Cooper glanced around and asked, “Where are Rukle and Loryn? Sleeping between guard shifts?” Birt shook his head, “Collection rounds.” Cooper’s head snapped up, “Where?! When do you expect them back?” Birt, unruffled, answered quickly, “Waterfront and Batter’s Field. They should be back in a minute, or less.” Cooper hadn’t expected such a precise answer, “Or less, really?” He saw Birt was ginning and pointing, “Probably less.” Cooper followed Birt’s finger and saw Rukle and Loryn entering the central area. Loryn was waving. He returned her wave, then changed his gesture to indicate they should hurry. He called Spen down as well and gathered them all inside their sleeping area.

As they all sat down, Rukle mentioned, “It’s getting so that you can’t walk more than a block without seeing an Apex addict. City Watch have had to almost double the patrols in the Waterfront District. The usage has even started spreading into Batter’s Field. Those Lukasi peddlers must be almost giving Apex away. Folks in Batter’s Field sure don’t have coin to spend on it.” Cooper’s expression darkened, “If giving it away once or twice creates an enduring customer, then I suppose it makes sense to do it… but that’s not what I’m here to talk about.” In forty seconds he relayed that he’d been followed and evaded whoever had been pursuing him, and had located Miss Camilla, and that she was now tending to the people they’d broken out from the quarry. When he stopped to take a breath, Rukle asked, “Who do you think they are?” He shook his head, “I’d say that I have no idea, but they were dressed a lot like us. Worst case, it’s either some kind of secret police, or Guild from some other city. Kalistos, perhaps. I have to wonder whether Lukasi has a Guild, or something comparable.” Birt shook his head, “That’d be bad.” Everyone nodded their assent. Spen added, “We need another healer.” Cooper wondered, “Another one? Who’s hurt?” Spen shook his head, “Someone followed you. How’d they know who they were following? If we’re worried about worst case, they’ll eventually catch Miss Camilla walking back and forth between Houses several times every day. That would endanger everything.” Cooper thought about it; tried to find a flaw in the logic, but there was none. Birt agreed, “We need a second healer.” Cooper took a deep breath and let it out slow, “Alright. I’ll see that’s taken care of. I expect that they’ve got people watching the North and South bridges, so avoid them. In emergency, hire a Wharfsider boat to shuttle you south, that’s how I got up here. Once our people have recovered, and we have a dry, safe place to put them, we’ll start shuttling them here. This needs to happen in the next few days. When we’ve collected all of our people here, I’ll need to send four Journeymen on two separate tasks requiring travel. Expect those trips to take from three to five weeks, plus or minus a few days. Until that time, keep efforts here moving forward and get familiar with the Waterfront. The First Merchant has been watching the flow of Apex there and he’s promised to help once we’re prepared to strike.”

Loryn asked for clarification as she glanced around at the construction, “You want to start housing people here in a few days?” Cooper nodded, “Yes. So put carpenters to work building roofs on top of some of these foundations, even if only temporary. Enough to keep the rain and cold wind out.” He turned to Rukle, “Let Mardon know that within the next four nights, maybe as soon