Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 247 of 619

Ajax found Grayson at the vault door with a tally board under his arm. Grayson had waited for him, as he always did when coin needed counting. Ajax unlocked the iron, and the two men went inside. The lamp caught on stacked bars, sacks of cut coin, and the row of jars along the north shelf. "Silver first," Grayson said. He set the board on the crate. "Twelve hundred forty after Aldric's tithe. Wages through spring for thirteen names. Two hundred set aside for the smith's stock." Ajax ran the numbers in his head. "Gold?" "Six bars. We don't touch them." "What are we short on?" Grayson tapped the board. "Lamp oil. Two more barrels or we burn fat by midwinter. Wool. The port men have one coat each and no spare. Iron stock for Vello, or the forge sits cold in a month. And feed. The stable eats faster than Bran promised." Ajax counted the list against the silver. "Send Tucker at first light. Oil, wool, iron rod, and oats. Take Torren with him for the load." "And the feed?" "Bran cuts the rations by a quarter. The horses can carry it." Grayson wrote it down and closed the board. He did not look up. "That holds us to thaw." "It holds us, but we may return with more tomorrow.” Ajax said. He locked the vault behind them. The yard was cold. Elara stood at the well, her dull band on her wrist, waiting. She had asked to see him after the count. "Walk with me," she said. They went to the south wall where the moon cleared the pines. Elara pulled a folded cloth from her vest and opened it on the stone. Inside sat a wider band, plain gold, thicker than the one on her wrist. "The emissary came at dusk," she said. "While you were in the vault. She left this." Ajax picked it up. It weighed more than the first. "It holds more," Elara said. "Twice, maybe more. She said the starlight in the library drained me too fast. This one won't." "What did she ask for it?" "Nothing. She is part of my order. She helps freely.” Ajax handed it back. "Put it on." Elara slid the old band off and set the new one on her wrist. She lifted her arm to the moon and stood still. The gold caught the light and began to fill. Ajax watched the stones brighten from dull to pale silver, then to something colder and steadier. She held her arm up longer than she needed to. "How much?" he asked. "Full by dawn. And it will keep filling after." Ajax nodded. He now had a healer with reserves again. "Rest when it's done. We ride to the cave when Tucker returns." She lowered her arm. The band burned quiet and bright on her wrist.