Winds of Torsham (The Kohrinju Tai Saga Book 2)

by J P Nelson

  S’Getti was following suit, “Aye, something massive, indeed. I perceive another great tower aft. Mister Lebracio, there are seven towers of circle design, yes?”

  Jha’Ley asked with a grin, “Captain, you truly did not join the team in survey?”

  “I wished savor observance in shared commodore’s company.”

  Lebracio replied, “Yes sir, three great towers, four lesser towers, three square mural towers, and two large square towers.”

  S’Getti was studying the crenellations across the top when Jha’Ley asked, “Captain, did you notice the seams?”

  S’Getti shifted his focus to the body of the walls as Jha’Ley asked, “Mister Lebracio, did you take a good study of the wall construction?”

  Caroll’s voice broke the air behind them, “Sirs, permission to render thoughts?”

  Taking eye from telescope to acknowledge the bosun, Jha’Ley returned to his study of the castle walls, “Yes Mister Caroll, please.”

  “Such construction as observed fortress broaches memory of but singular previous experience.”

  He paused as both Jha’Ley and S’Getti turned to him, waiting for him to continue, “My reference is Haebourn Keep, now presided by Master Logan. Of his declaration, such construction lends to suggest elvin design. Upon study at close proximity, one should observe absence of mortar, hewn blocks of perfection measuring sixteen feet in cube, with flushness smooth to disallow pick for teeth to work way between. That which lies in visual path bears evidence of same.”

  S’Getti creased his brow, “Make hold … of which bastion dahst you to submit valued opinion?”

  Caroll thought for a moment as Jha’Ley watched the two with an amused expression, then replied, “Remittance of words chosen, were of intent to validate one existence of design by reference of former to latter, therefore demonstrating exhibition in facilitation contrast---”

  “Hold …” S’Getti raised his free hand and looked to Jha’Ley in unvoiced exasperation.

  Laughing, Jha’Ley explained, “What he said … is that he has seen this kind of construction once before, a place called Haebourn Keep. The fellow now in charge of that keep said that place looked to be of ancient elvin construction. Mister Caroll thinks this looks too be the same kind of construction.”

  “Wherefore dahst he not utter words of such simple nature?”

  Still laughing, Jha’Ley remarked, “The one of you speaks as if delivering prose before a grand theatre, the other in dire deliberated monotone as if explaining an intense scientific procedure in a hushed environment.”

  Jha’Ley glanced to Lebracio and declared, “You see what you are in for? As a new ensign moving to one day command your own vessel, you must learn not only all aspects of the vessel, but to speak many languages as well … often multiple dialects of same language.”

  Looking through the telescope again, Jha’Ley made a rhetorical comment, “It was my understanding … elves did not build out in the open in this manner …”

  S’Getti offered, “Mayhap the builder gleaned ancient knowledge to emulsify varied design, hence, forward fortress?”

  “It works for me. Does anyone know what kind of vegetation is growing up the walls?”

  Lebracio answered, “Sir, none of us have seen it before. It seems to be a moss-like vine. The stuff is all along the shoreline.”

  S’Getti declared, “Would fortune not be fair should Mister Fhascully appear to enlighten us with education?”

  Emphatically, Jha’Ley closed his telescope, took a deep breath and released it slowly, then said, “Yes, it would. Enough, without further thought we will come back to this. I want to see the house in back; the one with the chain.”

  S’Getti grinned at Lebracio, then Caroll, as Jha’Ley said, “Mister Telroy? Where … there you are. You need make more noise so I know you are around.”

  He shook his head and said to S’Getti, “He moves with clatter of a butterfly. Mister Telroy, let us please be around the bend.”

  All officers and crew gave steady gaze to the castle and ground as ships made ease of the wide bend and entered the lake. On the far side of the peninsula was a large building constructed on the water’s edge and into the rocky slope. Caroll explained it as having the same sixteen-foot square block construction as the castle walls.

  These blocks were stacked two high with crenellations eight feet tall, reaching ten blocks from front to back. There was no sign of an entrance from the left side. From the front, however, it was pretty obvious this was, or had been, a large boathouse.

  At first glance one might assume the same two-block-high stack went all the way across. Except there were two important differences … well, three if you are really technical. I’m no engineer, so bear with me as I describe this. Dialogue I remember easy like words to a song, but details like this … not so easy to describe in human tongue.

  You could see a third row of block rising up from under the water to support the rest of the wall. Where the water level was at the moment, the lake was almost three feet below union of the second and third blocks.

  From left to right, after the first two stacks every other stack had the bottom twelve feet of the second block neatly cut away. The block below it was gone as well. Instead of an opening, though, the space was sealed in with mortared rocks, not at all the same method as the rest of the construction they had seen. This was evident five times across, ending in another pair of stacked blocks at the right corner. Each of those spaces was sixteen feet across and fifteen feet from top edge to the current waterline. All but the last one, that is.

  Jha’Ley was staring at the space on the right end, which was not rocked in at all, but covered by a pair of iron doors, free of rust, secured by chain and a key-lock.

  Did I say technically three differences? I meant four.

  The doors covered an area twice as wide as the others. Looking up, they could see it was two blocks wide. If this was indeed a boathouse, and this was a slip, a slip being something like a bay where you would put a carriage in a barn but for a boat instead, it looked to house a craft up to a thirty-two-foot beam.

  Rufus commented, “From the looks of it, a large vessel could make entry, but not without removal of mast.”

  S’Getti added as he looked up, “Or masts.”

  On the right side of the building was a seventy-foot-long mooring platform. Just over three hundred rods down the shore was a regular port, with docks to accommodate one or two full rig ships and several medium to small craft. The initial survey revealed a cobblestone path leading from one to the other. There was also a winding stairway of stone leading up to the gatehouse.

  Overall, the dimensions of the place are forty feet tall, including crenellations, two hundred sixteen feet wide, one hundred sixty feet deep. The slope rose eight feet high against the back wall on the right side, graduating to twelve feet on the left side. From there it wrapped around the corner and descended to wall’s foundation sixty feet from the water’s edge.

  On the right side, the slope tapered to the wall foundation more quickly, smoothing out forty feet from the back corner. One hundred feet from the water’s edge a three-foot-wide, seven-foot-tall door indicated an entrance. But according to the survey, there was a handle with no lock apparent and the door would not budge.

  Jha’Ley asked Lebracio, “You are sure there was no other observable entrance from the walls?”

  “Aye sir, none to be seen; and Sergeant Corad would not authorize climbing to top on initial survey.”

  “Very good. Mister Telroy, let us latch onto the Ubank, I wish to speak clear so that all may hear.”

  S’Getti looked to him with raised eyebrow. Jha’Ley looked to him and explained, “I fear my lock-picking skills have tarnished. I do not wish to embarrass myself in front of the men.”

  “Your lock-picking skills?”

  Matter-of-factly Jha’Ley responded, “Yes, lock-picking,” with a subdued grin he added, “lock-picking, pocket-picking, confiscation of milk,
bread and cheese … I used to make a career of it. I was even a grand juggler and acrobat.”

  S’Getti’s mouth was open in disbelief as Jha’Ley slapped him on the shoulder and walked back to the aft rail. Nearby, Seedle was telling Dessi, “Ten to one says there is a cave system back in there.”

  Dessi gave Seedle a hard look, then with a sly raise of the eye brow said, “That is no bet. Of course there is a cave in there. The question is not if, but how many.”

  “There is one cave … an-n-nd one tunnel.”

  Dessi thought about it, “Ten shills to ten shills, there is more.”

  “Of which?”

  “Does it matter? You specifically said one and one.”

  “Fair enough,” the two gripped hands, “it is a wager.”

  The exchange caught wind as suddenly many a mate made wager on what might be found inside. While excited talk commenced, the two ships were drawn together.

  Jha’Ley had all men come to center as he stood upon the side rails, one foot on the Clarisse, the other on the Ubank, and addressed the crew, “Gentlemen, I do not car-r-re where, when, or how you acquired such skill of which I now have need.” He pointed to the doors as the snow began to intensify, “In a previous life I dropped my parasol within the powder room. I am frantic to retrieve it …” he looked upward and flipped the side of his hair, “before this fluffy dander gives my hair cause to become unseemly.”

  A ripple of laughter went through the gathering. Jha’Ley flashed his smile and continued, “We have an advanced lock of most modern design and no direct means to open it. Who put it there is cause for later concern, but within these walls is information critical to our exploration. Is any among you adept at such things?”

  Several heads turned to an older seaman who hesitantly came forward. Looking about he offered, “Commodore, sir, I have skill with locks.”

  “Splendid. Come aboard, you ride with me.”

  As Jha’Ley jumped down, S’Getti sidled up to him, leaned to his ear and whispered, “Jann Raul … he is a convicted felon, imprisoned for breaking into a major vault.”

  Returning fashion, Jha’Ley asked, “Did he succeed?”

  “Yes, yes … then he was caught and---”

  In cordial temper Jha’Ley said with a friendly smile, “I do not care. I want the door opened.”

  Exasperated, S’Getti then asked, “Information critical?”

  “Yes, Villiam, it is critical to me to know what is in there.”

  The seaman came aboard and Jha’Ley asked, “They call you Seaman Fizer, yes?”

  “Yeah sir.”

  Jha’Ley nodded, “How old are you?”

  “I be sixty, sir, give or take a year or two.”

  The commodore thought long and hard before continuing, then said, “If Captain S’Getti says you are a good man, it is enough for me. You stand on your own forward merit.”

  The man squinted his eyes, looked from commodore to captain, then back to the commodore. With a subtle nod he answered, “I am your man to the end, sir.”

  Jha’Ley looked to S’Getti, “Let us get a couple teams going.” He looked around for Seedle, “Heyo cob, I need a fire-team plus four.”

  “Yes SIR!” Seedle turned and gave orders to ready the Clyde.

  S’Getti stopped Jha’Ley and with a smirk declared, “I dahst give join on this occasion.” With that he crossed the rails to make ready his own barge.

  As teams were readied, Toagun dove in to inspect the building’s base. In short order he was back up on deck, giving his report as he was draped in a blanket and offered tea, “Commodore, it’s definitely deep. There’s two more rows of those blocks down there. I saw no cave and the doors reach down eleven feet below surface. The other four have been rocked in all the way down, about nine feet below.”

  “Well done Mister Sealer, well done. I was hoping for a means of entry from below, but did not rightly expect it.”

  Ensign Lebracio helmed the Clyde as Jha’Ley, Seedle, Rufus, and Fizer were supported by Dessi, Rymon, and a pair of privates. They pushed off with hopes of making entry, “Through the front door,” as Jha’Ley put it, while S’Getti’s team explored the top.

  Alongside the metal doors, Fizer examined the large padlock as Jha’Ley ran his hand along the door surface. He asked into the air, “This is very old, but why has it not rusted?”

  Fizer commented, “It ain’t iron, sir.”

  “Excuse me? Then what is it?”

  “I don’t know sir, but it ain’t iron. I can work this lock, but it’s a masterpiece and it’s going to take me a while. You don’t just put a key in and turn, every so far you got to push in or pull out a bit at a time. I’m going to need it quiet so I can concentrate … if you don’t mind, sir.”

  “No, Mister Fizer, I do not mind at all.”

  Fizer wiped his nose then asked, “Permission to use what tools I need, sir?”

  Jha’Ley nodded, “As needed …”

  The wizened man nodded back, then took out a flask and drank several swallows. Replacing the cap he said, “Helps me stay steady.”

  Fizer then took from his tunic a cloth and unrolled a collection of odd and assorted things from the ship; shavings of metal, shaped out pieces of wood, wisps of rope, shards of glass, things. Laying them out as a surgeon prepares for an operation, the man cracked his knuckles, then his jaw, and went to work.

  On the back side, newly promoted Buck Sergeant Rahno secured a grapple hook to the top and quickly scaled the wall, followed by the other three members of his fire-team. They found rubble of two chimneys which had been knocked down, but the flues where they had risen from the ceiling both showed evidence of fresh soot.

  A low turret, which from water level appeared to be part of the crenellations, had a door, which like the one in the side wall, had a handle but would not open. There was also the collapsed remains of an ancient wooden building.

  The navy fellows were trained in the way of patience, and they were being tested now as Fizer muttered all manner of profanity, broke two tools in his work, then a popping sound was heard and the lock seemed to open, but only partway.

  After another several swallows and shaking his head, the man went back to work. Suddenly Fizer swore loudly and smashed the lock against the door. As he did, the mechanism sprung open. The fellows on the Clyde cheered, and then the crew on the ships cheered.

  Fizer ran his tongue along his gums, wrinkled his nose, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and grumbled a remark, “The damn thing ain’t made to be used around water. Only a shit for brains would …” his grumbling became too quiet to hear, but he definitely had an opinion.

  Bracing the barge against the right door, they found little trouble in opening wide the left. As light filled the building everyone on the Clyde was in awe of what they saw on the inside, each for their own reason. It was one, huge, room. Slowly, they eased into the slip before them and opened the other door.

  S’Getti was standing in front of the side door when he heard a grinding sound coming from within. Then it opened inward, right into a cut out space intended for it to lay flush within the sixteen-foot-deep walkway. Seedle greeted him with a smile, “Good morning captain. Will you not come if from the snow?”

  At the same time, Lance Corporal Carlson yelled down from the wall top, “Sir, the door of the turret just opened. Sergeant Dessi says they made it in safely.”

  “Then let us make descent.” He looked to the man standing at the corner and motioned him call the others around.

  Stepping back, Seedle offered, “You are not going to believe what we have found, sir. We could build craft in here, many craft.”

  S’Getti stepped past the entrance and Seedle closed the foot-thick door just enough, enough to show the intricate cross-bolt locking mechanism, “See this, sir, you turn this wheel and steel pins all around the door enter the wall. I have never heard of the like.”

  The captain expected size, but when he stepped from the walkway he was stunned. To hi
s left, the front of the boathouse, were five slips as they pretty much expected. But the first was all of thirty-two feet wide and eighty feet long, still full of water.

  The rest were sixteen feet by fifty, and two of them had boats suspended in dry storage. His breath caught, not at the second slip down with a pair of perfect twenty-eight-foot monomoys, but on the end … the last, or first, depending how you counted … was the most beautiful cutter he had ever seen resting on four beams well above water, and Jha’Ley was there checking every detail.

  The mast was down, of course, but he figured thirty feet LOD with a partial cabin. She was a small, albeit blue water vessel if ever he saw one, a vessel as few as one may be able to handle efficiently.

  Jha’Ley noticed the captain and turned with a sly, but exuberant expression yelled out, “She must not yet have been christened. There is no name or signs of having been a name plate upon her stern.” He began walking toward S’Getti.

  S’Getti’s attention, however, was seized by several stacks of finely milled lumber. To the far right, under where the slope met the back wall, a wide cave was clear. Part of it had been blocked off to make a room or rooms, but most of it was open and ran forty or so feet deep into the rock.

  The captain smiled as he heard water splashing steadily within that cave. But his eye rested on the large, circular saw blade set ten feet from the wall and halfway center of the whole house.

  Seedle followed his sight, “Yes sir, captain, it is a regular saw mill, and this is a boat building facility. There is a water wheel back in that cave with a steady stream turning it from above. Pull that lever over there and the blade will turn, and I mean turn mighty fast.”

  The Clyde entered the opening bringing more men, including the ship’s carpenters. Jha’Ley skirted the slips and looked to the men climbing to the floor. Before he could address them, Dessi came up and said, “Excuse me sir, you will find this of pertinent interest.”

  “On my way, sergeant.”

  Coming abreast of S’Getti, Jha’Ley looked again to the new men and said, “Mister Jon, as our senior carpenter, please scour what is in here and tell me if you could build us a fleet of twenty-eight-foot barges, light but strong.”