Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 294 of 619

The dock men could catch lines and haul crates, but the ships would not come for cloth alone. Ajax needed more to fill the holds and more silver to trade north. He found Tarron at the pen wall the next morning, watching his flock crop the frost-burned grass. Rowan crouched nearby, tying a snare to a bent sapling. "We need more than wool for the first ships," Ajax said. "Meat. Hides. Fish to sell fresh. Can you fill traps enough for that?" Tarron did not look up from the sheep. "Traps take time and the right ground. Rowan knows the creeks. I know the runs." He tied off a knot in a length of cord. "Give us two days." Rowan spoke without turning. "There's a stream half a mile north. Deep pools. Trout hold there when the cold comes." He stood, bow slung across his back. "I set a woven trap last week. It was full by morning." Ajax sent them out at first light with cord, stakes, and a cart. They worked the day. Rowan read the game trails and set snares where the tracks crossed. Tarron sank his fish traps in the pools and weighted them with stones. By dusk they had not returned, and Ajax waited at the gate. They came at full dark, the cart low on its axles. Rowan led the horse. Tarron walked behind with a fish trap over his shoulder, water dripping down his back. "Six rabbits," Rowan said. "Two deer. The snares held all of them." He set a bundle of hides on the ground. "Green still. They need scraping and salt." Tarron lowered the trap and pulled the door. Silver fish spilled onto the stone, still flexing. "Trout," he said. "Twenty. More tomorrow if the pools don't freeze." He nudged one with his boot. "Fresh sells better than dried. Ship them fast." Ajax knelt and turned a deer hide in his hands. The skin was thick and clean. "Tan these and the pelts," he said. "Coats and boots. Tarron cuts and sews them." He looked at the fish heaped on the stone. "The trout go on the first ship whole, packed in salt and ice." Tarron gathered the fish into a basket. "Two more days like this and you'll have hides for six coats and fish for a full crate." He hoisted the basket. "Then I stitch. That's my part." Ajax stood. He had cloth from the loom, meat for his table, hides for trade, and fish to sell fresh down the sea path. The first ships would not land on empty water. They would find a house that made goods worth stopping for. "Set the traps again at dawn," Ajax said. "Both of you. We fill the holds before the thaw." Rowan nodded once and hauled the cart toward the shed. The dock waited below. Black Oak had something now to sell.