Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 144 of 619

By afternoon the work had split the shelf into stations. Bran cut stone at the north wall. Chalam set it with his staff. Tucker measured slits with a length of cord. Marco climbed the cliff blind before the light shifted. Ajax found Elara alone at the fire ring, sorting jars from her satchel onto a flat stone. "I want to talk about the men," she said before he sat. "Before the woman comes." Ajax sat on the log across from her. "Talk." She held up a small clay jar with a wax seal. "Oil. I can brew it tonight. One week's worth. Rubbed on the arms, chest, and shoulders before a fight. It makes a man stronger. Steadier hand. Better aim with a bow." "How much does it cost you?" "Not the band. Moonlight only. I charge the oil under the moon and it holds the light. The band stays will recharge in its own." "How long to brew?" "All night. I start at moonrise. Pale roots, oil, and the light. By dawn it's set. It works for seven days after that, then it's dead oil." Ajax turned the jar in his hand. He thought of Asher and Marco on the roof with bows. Grayson in the lane with his sword. Tucker at the slits. Six days was what he needed. This gave him seven days of enhancement. "Tell the men now," he said. "Before you start. I don't want them rubbing something on their skin without knowing what it is. Not after Tucker's oil." Elara nodded. "That's why I came to you first." He walked her to the wall and called them in. Grayson set down his hammer. Chalam leaned on his staff. Tucker came from the slits with cord looped on his arm. Marco and Asher climbed down from the roof. Elara held up the jar. "I'm brewing an oil tonight in the moonlight. One week. It makes you stronger and your aim truer. You rub it on your chest, shoulders, and biceps. If you don't want it, don't take it. No one's dosed without asking." Grayson looked at Ajax. Ajax gave a small nod. "I'll take it," Grayson said. "Same here," Asher said. Marco said the same. Tucker turned the cord in his hand. "I'll take it." Chalam said, "The working is clean. I'll watch the brew." Elara set the jar down. "Then I start at moonrise." That night she sat on the north wall with a shallow bowl, a jar of oil, and pale roots from her satchel. The moon came up over the sea. She poured the oil and set the roots in it. The light caught in the bowl and stayed there. Chalam watched from the fire ring with his staff across his knees. By dawn the oil was set. Seven days of stronger arms, straighter shots. Five days until the woman came.