Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 306 of 619

Tucker's question hung over the table. Two hunters. Ajax stood at the head of the hall, the merchant's note in one hand, Aldric's ledger in the other. The orders were real. The stock was not. He needed men who could bring in beasts, and he needed to know he had room to house them. "Before I hire anyone," Ajax said, "tell me where they sleep. How many empty beds in the bunkhouse?" Grayson answered without looking up. He held the gate and knew every corner of Black Oak. "Two dock men took the small house by the sea gate. The port men fill the rest." He counted on his fingers, flat. "Four beds empty. Room for four, if you want them cold." "Four's enough for two," Tucker said. He leaned back, chains catching the hearth light. "Two hunters, two beds. Leave the other two for when I find dock crew. You always want slack, Ajax. Empty beds are cheaper than turning good men away at the gate." Ajax looked to Rowan. The bowman had come in quiet from the woods, still in his green shirt, a bundle of shafts under his arm. Raised by dryads, he read the ridges better than any man Ajax had. Rowan set the shafts down. "Two hunters won't do," he said. "Not for three ship orders by thaw. The Verath den north. Silver fox and marten run the west lines. Boar breaks trap wire. One man can't work two lines and skin a beast the same day." "How many, then," Ajax said. "Four," Rowan said. "Two on the north beasts. Two on trap lines. I lead. Split the work or the goods come thin." He stated it flat and stopped. Ajax turned it over. Tucker wanted two and slack in the beds. Rowan wanted four and a full slate of goods. The vault could pay either. The beds could not hold both plans and leave room to spare. "If I take four," Ajax said, "the bunkhouse fills. No slack for dock crew." "Then build another bunk in spring," Grayson said. "Coin's for spending now. You said so this morning." That settled it. Ajax dropped the note on the table. "Four hunters. Fill the four beds." He looked at Tucker. "You ride to the port. Hire four who can hunt and hold their tongues. Marco vets each one before he crosses the gate." He turned to Rowan. "You run the lines. Split them how you said." Tucker whistled low. "Four beds, four men. No room left." He stood and stretched. "You just turned the empty house full." "Good," Ajax said. The bunkhouse would be full by thaw. That was the point. A house of trade needed hands, not empty beds and a hoard. He rolled the note and tucked it in his belt. "Ride at dawn. Bring me hunters. We fill the holds or we lose the masters to the port."