Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 496 of 619

Black Oak had its thirty men now. But Ajax stood on the island wall and counted the cost. Marco, JD, Chalam, Aldric, and Tucker were all up north with him. Grayson held the south alone. His council sat scattered across eight days of sea. He wanted them home, under one roof, one table. He called Aldric and Chalam to the hall to plan it. Aldric came with his ledger under his arm. Grey streaked his hair, and his green tunic was dusty from the walls. He set the ledger on the table and read from it. "Silvermoor holds. The island holds. Black Oak holds. All three run without you." He looked up. "But your Council sleeps in four beds across the water. That is your weak point now, not the walls." "I know it," Ajax said. "How do I fix it?" Aldric tapped the page. "Each place needs a keeper, not a brother. Swear hired men to hold what your council built. Then the council rides home." He closed the book. "You built these places to run without you. Let them." Chalam sat by the hearth, staff across his knees, blue robe open. "The rings tie us together," he said. "Marco holds the Crossing with a ring. I can mark each place, read them from anywhere. You don't need a brother standing in every doorway. You need a man you trust and a way to hear him." Ajax leaned on the table. "Then we swear keepers here and at Silvermoor. Marco and JD read them first. Any liar, we turn away." "Marco already vetted the twelve swords," Aldric said. "Pick two he trusts. Give them the wall and the gate. Give one the grain store." He drew a line in his ledger. "That frees your council to sail south." Marco and JD screened the hired men that afternoon. Marco listened for lies. JD watched each face. By dusk they named three clean men who would hold the island under a sworn keeper. Chalam marked the island stone with his staff so he could read it from Black Oak. That night Ajax called the ring to his mouth. "Grayson. The island's held by hired swords now. Keepers sworn, marked by Chalam. Marco, JD, Aldric, Chalam, and Tucker sail home on the next tide." Grayson's voice came back. "All of them?" "All of them," Ajax said. "The council comes home to Black Oak. We hold every place through rings and keepers, not through scattered brothers." He lowered the ring. Marcus would carry them south in stages, four days each run. Silvermoor and the islands would stand on hired oaths and Chalam's marks. His sworn men would sleep under one roof again, at one table with the wolf paw carved at its center. The brotherhood he built in the wild lands would answer to him, and to no one else, gathered in one place at last.