Darrell nodded and started making notes and sketching out a diagram of the castle and possible campsites.
“Are you going to house any of the ministers in the castle?” Kevin asked.
Karl shook his head. “And I’m not going to house any of them here either. It could cause too many problems. How would we decide which ones get special treatment? No, I think it’s best to let all of them rough it in the barracks.”
“Will there be room for all eighty of them?” Chris asked.
Karl nodded. “I’ve already checked.”
“When are they going to start arriving?” Kevin asked. “Saturday?”
“I hope not, but I imagine some will. They’re supposed to get here Sunday. The opening session is Sunday evening at dinner, and it’s just a welcome. By the way, the meals will be in the castle dining hall, so you might want to make arrangements to eat somewhere else if you want to eat in peace,” Karl said.
“Don’t I need to be there?” Kevin asked.
“Some of the time, yes, but not for every meal. I’ll want all of you to be there for the opening banquet Sunday evening, and Kevin, I’d like for you to be available all day Tuesday to meet with ministers who need to talk to you about their sorcerers. I’ll also want General Crandal available Tuesday.”
“I take it Tuesday is complaint day?” Kevin asked.
“Sort of,” Karl answered. “But you never know. A minister might want to commend someone for doing a good job.”
Kevin grinned and said, “I bet complaints outnumber commendations by at least ten to one. Chris, let’s be sure all the contracts are organized and easy to find. We don’t want to have to stop and hunt through the files if there’s a dispute over what’s covered.”
Chris nodded.
“I’ll also want all of you to be at the closing session Friday morning,” Karl continued. “It’ll be a brunch type of thing. Then after the brunch everyone heads back home.”
“So, what’s happening on the other days?” Steve asked. “Just out of curiosity.”
Karl nodded. “Monday morning we’ll pass around a paper for them to sign if they need a private meeting with Kevin or with General Crandal. Chris, I’ll get Kevin’s list to you around lunchtime on Monday and you can set up the appointments. Captain Lawrence will set up General Crandal’s. Then we’re going to tackle personnel allotment. I’ll ask the ministers to tell us how many men they need to fill out their army units and how many men they can release back into the pool. Hopefully by the end of the week, we can have the extras switched around to fill vacancies, at least on paper.”
“Why don’t you hand that over to the pages?” Chris suggested. “They’re good at things like that.”
“Thanks,” Karl said. “I would like to use a couple of them if you don’t mind.”
“What if you don’t have enough men to go around?” Kevin asked.
“If we need more men, I guess we’ll have to buy them from the slavers. But I thought we’d ask them if they’d be willing to move to the villages that need them and join the local army unit. I want them to go as free men, not as slaves,” Karl said. “I’ll negotiate a trade of some sort, maybe their service for a specified number of years in exchange for land, a boat, or whatever. If the village really needs them, they’ll come up with something. After all, they won’t have to pay the ministers to rent them.”
“What about the ones who are already slaves?” Chris asked.
“For this year, I’m going to leave that one alone,” Karl answered.
The others nodded.
“Then Monday afternoon the ministers from the same types of districts will meet to discuss their individual problems and see if they can come up with some solutions,” Karl said. “Tuesday they’ll meet with their groups again, but Kevin and General Crandal will be available for private conferences.”
“Are they going to sit around in our reception area until we call their name?” Chris asked.
Karl shook his head. “I’d like for you to post a schedule for the conferences in the dining room by breakfast on Tuesday. I’ll ask Captain Lawrence to do the same thing.”
“I’ll talk to him about it,” Chris volunteered. “We’ll need to compare our lists before we post them to make sure we don’t have any overlaps.”
“Thanks,” Karl said. “Then, on Wednesday, we’ll meet in the entrance hall. The whole day will be devoted to ministers who have problems with the taxes in their district. That’s also when they can bring up any problems or concerns that came up in their groups. Thursday, we’ll talk about plans for the future.” Karl paused and looked over at Kevin. “This is when I’m planning to bring up slaver raids. I’m going to ask them to notify us immediately of any raid, with specifics about when, where, how many were captured, how many were killed, and so on.”
Kevin nodded. “What reason are you going to give them for wanting this information?”
“That we want to help if we can, but first we need to get a good overview of what’s happening, and see if any particular areas seem to be more vulnerable than others. I’ll tell them up front that I don’t know what, if anything, we can do, but we want to take a good hard look at it.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I just don’t want to make any promises that we can’t keep,” Kevin said.
“I also want to find out how many areas are without Sisters of Healing,” Karl said. “You know, we found a lot of small towns while we were traveling that didn’t have a chapel, and sometimes we went days in a row without coming across a town that had a sister in residence. I was thinking that maybe we could talk to Brena about getting some trained chapel aides, people like Taelor, who could set up shop in those areas. It’s not the same as having a sister, but it would be a whole lot better than nothing.”
“Maybe one sister could sort of supervise several aides,” Laryn suggested. “That’s not a bad idea, Karl.”
“Actually, it was Theresa’s,” Karl said. “She mentioned it to Joan months ago.”
“Anything else?” Kevin asked.
“Not as far as I know now, but I imagine some more ideas will come up during the conference,” Karl replied. “Then, on Friday, we’ll wish them all a safe trip home and collapse.”
“From what I gathered, all I have to do is put in an appearance Sunday evening, Friday morning, and be in my office Tuesday, right?” Kevin asked.
“Well, there is a little more,” Karl answered sheepishly. “You’ll need to keep Sunday morning and Friday afternoon free.”
Kevin frowned and asked why.
“A lot of the ministers live too far to travel here by horseback. It would take them a month to get here and a month to get back,” Joan answered.
Kevin groaned. “Let me guess. I’m the taxi.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Karl said with a grin. “The ministers who live more than a couple of days away are used to being picked up.”
“How many trips is that? Sixty or so?”
“There won’t be that many,” Laryn said. “Usually two or three ministers will go to a central district, and you’ll pick them up there. Probably somewhere in the vicinity of twenty or thirty trips, but that’s all.”
“Does anyone have a list of where I’ll need to go for these pick-ups?”
Joan nodded. “Jana and I have one that’s almost finished. We’re waiting to hear from about four more ministers. As soon as it’s complete, I’ll make a copy for Chris. We’ve told them to be ready to be picked up any time after nine.”
Kevin nodded. “Okay.”
“Anything else?” Darrell asked.
“No, I think that about does it. Of course, no matter how well it’s planned, something will go wrong or something will come up at the last minute that we haven’t thought of. I’ve never done anything like this before, so just be patient, and please, be willing to pitch in,” Karl said with an imploring look.
“I’m sure everything will go just fine,” Steve said, “but if you need help with anything,
just give us a yell. We’ll all be around.”
~ ~ ~ ~
When they got back to the castle that evening, Chris went down to the kitchen to get a couple of mugs of scog. While he was there, he saw half of a strawberry pie sitting out on the table. He reasoned that Miranda would have put it away if she didn’t want it eaten, so he put the pie, a knife, a couple of plates, a couple of forks, two large mugs and a pitcher of scog on a tray and carried it back to Kevin’s office. Fortunately, the door to Kevin’s private office was open.
“Thought you might want a little snack,” Chris said as he set the tray down and started to cut the pie.
Kevin laughed. “You mean that you wanted a snack. Seriously Chris, how can you eat? Joan gave us cake right before we left her house, and that wasn’t even an hour ago.”
“Horseback riding always makes me hungry.”
“Right. Well, don’t cut a slice for me.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Enjoy. Now, who’s on duty this weekend?”
Chris looked up for a moment. “Isak and Cameryn.”
Kevin nodded. “They haven’t had quite as many hectic weekends as Ariel and Elin. I guess they’re due. We’ll need to talk to them about setting up some refreshments in here Sunday.”
“Are you planning to bring the ministers here?”
“I thought I would. I don’t want to materialize outside, and Joan’s office is going to be a zoo. I think our office might be best.”
Chris nodded. “I’ll be here to supervise.”
“Maybe. Joan might need you to help out in there.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her office, too.”
“I want this office spotless, and tell the pages to look sharp.”
Chris laughed. “You’re too late on that one. Ariel met with them this morning. He went over the housekeeping that needs to be done by Sunday and told them to make sure their uniforms were spotless and pressed, all creases sharp. I got the impression that he’s planning to hang around this weekend to make sure that everything goes okay.”
“Good. Just be sure they realize that everything starts Saturday, and will be in full force Sunday. I don’t want any of the ministers going back home thinking that we’re slack.”
“Got it.”
Chapter 22
The Cave
Friday morning when Theresa left the chapel to run over to the farmers market, she saw Dora down on her hands and knees working in the herb gardens in the courtyard. She walked over to where Dora was working and said, “I thought today was your day off.”
“It is,” Dora answered. “I always work in the herb gardens during the day Friday, and then head out to my parents’ house around sunset.”
“Then you aren’t really taking a day off. Why don’t you leave this until one day next week?”
“I can’t. I need some of these herbs for rounds tomorrow,” Dora argued.
Theresa grudgingly agreed with her, but then said, “I want you to plan to take Sunday off then. You need a real day off.”
Dora shook her head. “Hayley and Marcus have plans for Sunday. You told her she could have that day.”
Theresa didn’t say anything for a moment, but then she asked, “Dora, is anyone in the valley due to deliver a baby soon?”
Dora looked puzzled, but she shook her head.
“Then both of you can have Sunday off. I’m perfectly capable of handling the chapel for one day by myself,” Theresa said. “I want you to plan to head back out to your parents’ house tomorrow evening after you finish rounds and stay until Monday morning. Hayley won’t leave until mid-morning Sunday, and she’ll be back by dinner, so I’ll only be on my own for a few hours in the middle of the day.”
“Are you sure?” Dora asked hesitantly.
“I’m sure.”
“Then I’ll stay in town tonight so I can get an early start on rounds tomorrow.”
“If you like,” Theresa said and turned to go. Then she added, “I’m going to send Hayley out here when I get back to the chapel. I’d like for her to help you with the herb beds.”
“That’s all right, Sister. I can handle it.”
“I know you can. Your herb beds are beautiful. What I’d like for you to do is teach Hayley how to take care of them. She’s still in training, and the way we’ve been bouncing around lately, that’s one area she’s had absolutely no training in. It really would help me out if you would take the time to teach her a little about it.”
“Oh, certainly,” Dora said, blushing. “I’d love to.”
“Thank you. And I’d like for her to learn how to set out new plants too, if you have time to show her. Maybe the two of you could set out a couple of small beds behind the chapel, just so she can get a little experience in starting a garden.”
Dora nodded.
“On second thought, why don’t you use a couple of the troughs from inside the workroom? That way you can take them inside when bad weather hits.”
“I’d like to do that. Thank you.”
“Well, I’m going on over to the market. Hayley will be out here in a little bit. Would you like for her to bring anything when she comes?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve got everything we need,” Dora said as she went back to work.
~ ~ ~ ~
Friday evening after dinner, Hayley asked Theresa if she could talk to her for a minute. They went into Theresa’s office and shut the door.
“Dora wants to head out early tomorrow morning,” Hayley said. “She’s planning to visit everyone in the valley.”
Theresa nodded.
“She wants to check everyone for burn marks,” Hayley said quietly.
“Oh. That’s a good idea, but it could be a bit risky.”
“I know. I’d like for Marcus to go with her.”
“Have you mentioned this to her?”
Hayley nodded. “She doesn’t want him to. She says she’ll be fine.”
“Tell her I want to see her.” When Hayley hesitated, Theresa said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let her know you’ve talked to me.”
Hayley nodded and left Theresa’s office.
A couple of minutes later, there was a timid knock on Theresa’s door. When she opened it, Dora was standing in the hall looking scared. Theresa motioned her inside.
“I’d like to talk to you about your rounds,” Theresa said. “What exactly do you do when you go?”
“I find out what herbs they need. If I have the ones they want with me, I go ahead and fill the order. If not, I’ll fill it when I get back and then either they come into town to pick up their order or I take it to them the next week.”
“So it’s basically a supplies run.”
“Sometimes they ask me to check something, maybe a wound that’s not healing like it should, or a child with a fever that won’t break, something like that. If I know what to do, I do it. If not, I tell them to come to the chapel.”
“Do you ever just go out and examine everyone in a family?”
Dora blushed. “Sometimes. There are a couple of women who aren’t too good about checking their children, so I’ll check them myself once a month or so. And a few of the men wouldn’t let anyone know they were sick if they were dying, so sometimes I check them out, too.”
“I’m surprised they let you.”
“Well, I tell them it’s my job, and that if I don’t do it, Sister Gerry will send me away, and then there won’t be an aide at the chapel. I might have given them the impression that if there’s no aide, Sister Gerry would leave.” Dora mumbled the last bit.
“Dora, you’re a treasure,” Theresa said with a grin. “I was thinking about going along with you tomorrow.”
“Why? You aren’t planning to take over the chapel, are you?”
“No.” Theresa fiddled with some papers on her desk. Then she looked at Dora and said, “I don’t know how to say this without offending you. I know you’ve lived here all of your life, and that these people are your friends, but
Sister Gerry has vanished, and there has to be an explanation. Since she didn’t take any of her clothes, I’m inclined to rule out the idea that she left voluntarily.”
“You’re thinking someone may have hurt her, aren’t you?”
Theresa nodded slowly. “Either that or she had an accident, which may well be the case. I’m just surprised that the men didn’t find her when they searched the valley.”
“I know. That’s bothered me, too. Can I ask you something?” Dora asked hesitantly. “Do you want to go with me tomorrow so that you can check for burn marks?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I had already planned to, and to be honest, I think I can pull it off better if I go by myself. These people are used to me, and they won’t suspect me of trying to trick them, but if you, or Hayley, or Marcus are along, they’ll be on guard, even if they don’t have any reason to be. It’s just the way they are,” Dora said in a rush.
“I understand. Most people are like that. But how are you going to get them to let you check them out?”
“I thought I’d tell them that you asked me to check for a rash along the hairline. I was going to tell them that where you come from there’s a type of tick that causes it, and that if we treat it as soon as the rash appears, it’ll go away with no problems, but if not, it could get serious,” Dora said without taking her eyes off the top of Theresa’s desk. “I know it’s not true, but I can’t exactly tell them that I’m trying to see if any of them have been burned by Gerry’s opal.”
“No, you can’t, and that sounds as good as anything I could have come up with. And you aren’t too far off. Where I’m from there really is a tick that causes a rash, but it’s not along the hairline, and if left untreated, it can be fatal, so you aren’t lying by much.”
The Dragon's Flame (The Chronicles of Terah # 2) Page 31