Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 257 of 619

The vault was clean, but the storerooms were not full. Ajax walked the shed with Grayson at dawn and counted what winter had eaten. Wool was thin. The lamp oil was down to two jars. No spinning wheel meant the women who came in spring could not work the fleece. He needed all three before the road froze hard. He found Tucker at the hall table, boots up, chains catching the fire. Tucker owned a brothel at the port and knew every seller and buyer in the city. He worked a room by buying drinks and listening. That made him the right man for the trip. "I need you to ride to the port," Ajax said. "Buy wool from the shepherd. A whole lot. A spinning wheel. More lamp oil." Tucker set his boots down. "That's coin." "You take goods to trade. Silver plate. Two of the copper cups. The hides we don't need." Ajax pulled the bronze ring from his pocket and held it out. "And this. Wear it always. If trouble finds you, send me a message with your mind. I'll hear it." Tucker turned the ring in his fingers. He slid it on. "Handy. Better than a shout." "Sell smart. Come back in two days." "I always come back," Tucker said. "One town ran me off once. I came back and bought the whole bar a round." He left at first light with a laden horse and the ring on his hand. Ajax watched the gate close behind him and turned to the walls. Three days passed. On the fourth, near dusk, Ajax stood in the yard and felt words press into his skull. They were not his own. Tucker's voice, thin but clear, spoke inside his head. Wool bought. Wheel bought. Oil bought. Cart full. Ajax stood still. The ring worked. He had a supply run done and a warning in the same breath. He could not answer. That was the ring's flaw, as Aldric had warned. He could only receive. He found Grayson at the gate. "Tucker's coming in with the goods." Grayson did not waste breath. He whistled Rowan and Asher down from the wall. "Carr coming. Time to unload." Ajax pulled his father's blade and mounted. The supplies were bought, the house would hold through winter, and Black Oak grew stronger by one full cart.