Rune mage

Chapter 35: more problems than solutions

"Sir, we have a problem."

I was beginning to despise this phrase.

I had been in charge for less than a week and with few exceptions people came to me with problems not solutions.

This time it was the healers... which meant the problem could be catastrophic. "Healer Miri, you have my attention. What is the problem?"

"The latrines are all full. The last rotation was supposed to clear everything out but their mage was killed so it never happened."

I rubbed my temples and considered this for a moment. "How did the last rotations deal with it? A fire mage? Water mage?"

"Usually one or the other," the healer said. "I estimate we have only days before it starts backing up into our water source."

I sighed.

This was more urgent than not having enough arrows, though not by much. And certainly more urgent than discovering dead bodies in the dungeon, decomposing with no thought to how it would impact health of everyone in the fort.

All urgent issues to be sure, but clearing out waste matter was paramount.

"I have five men who failed to show up for training twice this week, they can begin with a manual excavation."

"Where would they put it?" The healer asked.

I hated that everyone assumed I would know the answer.

I rubbed my face. "Is the waste useful in anyway to anything?"

The healer tilted his head to the side in thought. "Some cultures compress the solid waste together into fire bricks. Terrible smell though. Can make people sick."

I thought about this for a moment. "What does it take to make the waste into bricks?"

"Removal of most of the moisture, then once it's dried out it can be compressed... I'm not sure of the process."

I sighed and pulled up a fresh sheet of paper. I sketched out a few ideas. If we needed to make bricks... the question would remain of what to do with them. Of course if we made the bricks solid enough and small enough they could become projectiles....

"If we can find some wood and build some receptacles, I can place down runes to remove moisture and compact the matter, and we can have bricks. I already have runes that prevent a person from being able to smell foulness, I think I can create one that will prevent things from smelling." I showed the healer the sheet and the drawing for the wood receptacle. "Then we could reuse the wood and make more bricks when the first batch is solid, and we'll be creating possible projectiles."

The healer studied the page "that might work if you can get people to shovel the waste into the receptacles. How long will it take to make the wooden parts?"

I pulled power and located Rudger in the fort. "Go find Rudger, he is currently on the training grounds. Have him gather wood and get his men on building the forms we need. I'll come place down runes by sundown and we can work to empty the latrines overnight."

"How do you know where he is?"

Of course out of all of what I had just said, and the healer focused on knowing the location of one person in the hive that was our fort.

"I spent the first days here laying down webs for my power to use. Everyone in this fort is now moving from design to design. Anyone who doesn't have my wellness rune on their person will become stuck like the fly on a spiders web."

The healer grimaced. "So you know where everyone is at all times?"

I shrugged, "no more so than any leader who has multiple sergeants and mages to work with.  I don't have those extra sources. Why, does this bother you?"