Rune mage

Chapter 63. Armies

Clearing out the pass wasn't too hard with a stone mage.

We collected the lose rocks and made a secondary wall that expanded the fort's space to include those buried in the front and a good thirty foot gap all around the main wall. It would be enough space to let our animals roam a bit more. And maybe even me if we could get the fort to acknowledge the addition. So far I had placed down runes while standing in the entranceway and not one step beyond, and then the rocks were moved based on where Levi wanted them.

We still had a lot of left over rock.

Archer worked with the men and the boys to place extra stones down in ways that wouldn't create gaps in our defenses and might provide cover if anyone was caught out beyond the wall.

It was unlikely but a good lesson for the children.

Although at this point the twins almost were adults.

I had lost count of the years, but they were turning nineteen by winter. At least that's what they told me.

I ran up and down the stairs, with my mage students behind me, practicing our responses to threats, training our bodies to be strong.

We had good crops again, and with the addition of a stone storage shed, we were able to harvest more than we immediately needed.

It was helpful having a water mage, making sure all the crops were well irrigated. The water mage worked with my stone mage to create a whole system of paths for water to follow.

We had proper baths if we wanted them. There was something to be said of soaking in heated water. Turned out our hot rocks kept water warm and allowed for a bath that didn't grown immediately cold.

We trained and we built and we experimented - very few explosions, no injuries to any but myself.  The young mages, lacking mentors or teacher to tell them what the couldn't do, learned how to use their power the way I imagined the first mages did, by seeing a challenge and wondering if they could solve it.

We didn't need to collect well water to cook or clean, as stone with hollow paths now carried water around the fort. It would be difficult if ever the mountains shook again, but the experiment so delighted our pregnant cook that I didn't put a stop to it for future fears of inconvenience.

Each week brought a new challenge for the mage students, and each week they surprised us by working together and finding new ways to solve problems.

Even the healer joined in, and was able to help Little with a tooth before it became infected, thanks to our water mage simply asking questions of why they would just wait instead of acting in advance. No one thought to question how things had always been done. Except my people. Eight men, five boys, one girl and a wife with her babe.

We had a way to keep food chilled using carved out stone and water pulled from the depths of the mountain. The water cycled around tunnels in the stone and only one rune was needed to keep the flow constant. As long as the door was closed, it kept food cool.

Sometimes it felt like there was nothing we could not fix. And then someone would end up soaked, or stuck in stone- that only happened once, or on fire, also only happened once.

But then I felt an army headed our way.

I flashed a warning through the fort, but it was early morning before most were awake, so I triggered an alarm that sounded like a hundred men getting ready to defend the fort. Including the voice of my one time sergeant ordering men to arms.

The mages met with me on the topmost battlement. Even the youngest was good enough to stand with me.

My men had never stopped training, none of us had. Everyone had a place to be. The non mage boys guarded the kitchen.