Hartor was very willing to show off his house to Luke. It had been built generations earlier, partly using materials from an older house on the same site. There were no houses of the Old Ones in the area, apart from foundations, so wood was the main building material. Hartor was interested to hear about Elenean stone working methods.

“You say you worked stone quarried from the hillside? We have plenty of that.” He laughed as they surveyed the massive outcrops of the surrounding hillsides. “We know well enough how to loosen stone with fire but we haven’t ever worked it. Sometimes we use a chance shaped block as a bench or table. It takes a massive effort to move it, they are heavy beyond belief. Though now we have horses and as you say leather straps are good for pulling a load.”

“If you smooth the stone well you don’t have to move a whole block,” said Luke. “You can make your table out of several smaller blocks that pile up or even fit into each other. It is easy then to move them one by one.”

“We have a method for building that does not require smoothing the stones. The firewall on my house is built out of rocks that look like they were selected carefully so they would fit together. They are bound into each other by clay which has been heated and hardened. But as you say with smooth blocks it would be much easier to build and repair.”

“This is how they do it in Elenea. Out craftsmen can do it too but only when they use stone from the old houses. There are still plenty of isolated buildings even though we’re forbidden to go in the apos themselves. Where the stone is not broken it is very smooth and good for building. There is a clay our masons use which binds the stones together so powerfully the walls can last a lifetime or more.”

They walked around the lake. It was about half a league across, Luke could see just by looking at the trees on the far side, and about a league long. He counted in sets of eleven hundred paces in groups of ten and eleven as they walked around, using his fingers and tapping his nose to keep count.

“You count in the Athelean fashion. I have seen many of your people do that. You have to learn to use numbers.”

“I learnt a bit in Elenea. I can count up to a hundred in singles. We have always counted in groups. It is easy enough.”

“I believe Elenean numbers are the numbers of the Old Ones. We should use them if we are to return to civilisation. Ruth is very good with numbers.”

“I’ve seen. She seems to know how much to use of anything without even pausing to think.”

“Yes. She’s much better than me. She knows a lot of things. She will make a good wife. Now how do you think this lake is made?”

“Was it not just there?”

“No. It was made long ago but not by the Old Ones. You can tell. When we get to the far end you’ll see the valley leading down the hillside.”

Luke looked when they reached the point and could see a streambed and when he looked to the far end of the lake beyond the group of houses he could see that same valley continuing up the side of the mountain.

“This bank keeps the water of the lake in. It acts as a dam, you have no word for it. But remember the large structures that hang half way down the mountains with water trickling through the ruins. They must have done the same thing, keeping lakes in the high hills. That is how we know this one was built by our own people. The retaining bank is built entirely of loose stones and earth.”

“We are not allowed anywhere near those,” said Luke. “They are so dangerous when stones fall off them. How anyone could build something so massive.”

“There are so many skills that are lost, Luke. We have been wandering around for many generations. Living the rough lives of bandits scratching a living off the bare land. But we’ll learn bit by bit.”

On the fifth day Luke stepped outside the house to see a familiar figure being led through the curtain of trees. Recognising Luke she gracefully approached him, two foals in pursuit. Luke wrapped his hands around her head and hugged her fiercely.

“Oh, Tec! I never thought I’d see you again. Shall I take you back with us?” He looked dubiously at the black foals, knowing without thinking who the father must be.

“So your horse can finish its journey now,” said Hartor’s voice behind them. “With my most sincere apologies for the interruption.”

“What about the children?” asked Luke.

“The foals? They have to stay here. They’re old enough now to do without a mother. When the boy is four years old we shall mate him with the mare you have so kindly brought us in exchange. That’ll make better stock than mating him with his own mother.”

“Stock? What do you know about breeding animals?”

“Luke, you really do still think we’re a load of uneducated bandits. The world’s civilisation starts in the mountains. Perhaps even back to the Old Times. Every time the lowlands sink into anarchy and war we are the guardians of the world’s knowledge. How long is the history of the little farming community you come from? Back to the Mountain Wars. Fifty years? Certainly less that a hundred. And the land of Athelea is broken and divided. Thanks to Wolf. We are in our twenty-first year but the history of Trantrith goes back ten times as far. Or more. One day perhaps I shall show you. Until then you must have more respect for us.”

Not for the first time Luke wondered, as he gazed at the trees shielding the black mountain face, what lay behind. Tecana and her foals must have been stabled somewhere, as well as his own mare Stefan had brought over and he had certainly ridden a different route to the one they had so arduously walked. Then again there must be more people than he had seen to serve such a community. What secrets do you hold within your depths, he asked the mountain. Are you hollow, like an enormous house with blank stone walls? Do you go down into the earth as well as up to the sky? Do you observe the deeds of men and laugh at our puny efforts? He recalled how from the top of the near hill he had seen right across to the bay where there were occasional groups of houses and a path of the Old Ones snaked all the way down. Hartor had told him it was cleared by massive effort during the Mountain Wars. Leading the horse gently towards the compound he ignored the two foals. They would learn soon enough that they would not be coming on the journey.

They went over the terms once again before departure. Twenty-two horses to be provided to Hartor who would raise an army from the surrounding lands to fight with Elenea against the usurpers of Athelea. It was clear to Luke he had a personal interest but Luke did not see fit to ask too many questions. Livestock and grain in return for an undertaking to keep the bandits from raiding civilised territories, together with instructors to teach them the most recent Elenean farming and building methods. Enough of the fiery bula to keep Hartor drunk for a year. The geographical features of Trantrith not to be divulged to Eleneans. Luke had no idea how many of these promises he would actually keep. And the return of the boy, Thomas, to Hartor, but he could still act in service to Rah. Hartor had a leaving present which Luke could not make out at first. It was curved transparent stone that felt smooth to the touch.

“It’s walo, Eleneans call it kam. It’s just a child’s toy.”

“Hold it in front of you and look at a stone, Luke. Or your finger if you prefer.”

Looking through the transparent lens he saw the stone magnified large. He checked his fingernail, saw dirt underneath. “Yes it looks bigger. Is that of use?”

“It is of use but there is something else it can do. Hold it to the sun. No, don’t look at the sun, you must not ever view the sun through it. It will blind you immediately. Just hold it in your hand like this until there is a dot on the ground.”

Luke was amazed to see the ground start to smoulder under the focus of the sun’s rays.

“Now you can start a fire any time you like. No more dry sticks, no more carrying hot coals.”

“Mighty,” said Luke. “Is this a secret you’ve kept from the world?”

Hartor laughed. “You are so suspicious. No, it was a chance that happened while one of our men was trying to make metal in the fire. Some residue from the hearth stones was left in the bottom and it happened to have a curved side. He gave it to his children and they made the discovery. After a few experiments he came up with this. Take it, it’ll save you a lot of work.”

Luke knew he had learnt enough of Trantrith and there would be no more for now. He prepared to leave.

“And you come back and see Ruth again,” said Hartor. “She will make you a good bride.”

“Ruth? You know I’m already married.”

“And I also know you have an interest in Ruth. Next time you come here she will have a little baby waiting for you.”

Luke had nothing to say. How much did Hartor know? How much he must have planned.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You think I’m naive, like a young man. I know. And why should I mind? I shall be proud to have you the father of my grandson. You go back to Sarah, treat her well, but when you are in Trantrith our Ruth will be your wife. She will wait here for you, I’ll make sure of that.”

*

No one dared discuss anything with Luke on the return journey to the mountain village, so they chattered idly among themselves, leaving him to his own thoughts. During the wait Peter had secretly experimented with sealing their boots with animal fat, making the return journey much warmer on the snowy sections.

“Still can’t wait till we’re on horseback again,” muttered Leo. Luke quickly took him aside and cautioned him not to mention the shoes in the presence of their guide.

Stefan took Tecana to the mountain village and retrieved his black stallion, which made him seem far more at ease, then he returned the mare to her rightful owner. The other horses seemed relieved at being untied after their long wait. Stefan asked if the party wanted to stay overnight.

“If you lead us out by a quicker route we can be back by dark.”

“Is only one way for foreigners. Your Rah not yet make peace with Hartor.”

“Well I guess we may as well wait. Otherwise we’ll have to camp in the open hills which is more dangerous. Let’s take the horses round for some exercise. We’ll stay in the hut overnight and leave at dawn.”

Stefan readied his mount. “I see you first light tomorrow.” Then he was off, heading back to Hartor.

“We should go,” said Sen. “There’s a trap here.”

“How do you mean?” asked Hamet.

“Simple. Stefan’s gone, his men stab our throats and steal the horses. The nearest bandit group get six horses as a present. No doubt Stefan gets one of them.”

“Do you really think they’d kill us?” asked Peter.

“I think we should go,” agreed Luke. “We can camp on lower ground. Who knows the way?”

“It’s on your map,” said Peter. “Shows how long since you last looked at it.” Luke unrolled the map to see Peter had added a number of shaded mountains in and a path drawn around and over them.

“Let’s go then. We have three hours to get out of the mountains before dark or we’re sitting pretty for an ambush.”

Leaving a small amount of stuff behind to make it look as if they were coming back they led the horses down singly as if watering them at the stream. When they were all together and out of site of the huts they struck out for lower ground. Everyone was tired but the horses were fresh and ready to get on with it. The route wound around the feet of three mountains. It turned out that Peter had slightly misdrawn the map, as their path turned back on itself twice, but they recognised the trails from the journey in, and were able to make faster progress, riding almost all of the way. They reached the green hills as the sun disappeared behind the flat tops, and stretched the horses to put five leagues between themselves and any following eyes.

“Check that wood down by the river,” Luke instructed Kai. “If it’s clean we’ll camp there tonight.” The rest of them remained just beyond the summit of the hill, shaded from the setting sun. Kai rode to the wood and returned half an hour later, as darkness was becoming complete.

“The bank on the other side is steep and the river's about a jump wide. There’s an area that’s been levelled for a camp in the past. It doesn’t seem to have been used for several months. Should be ideal. It’s large enough for the horses too.”

“We’ll take it. If a prime site like this isn’t in use the woods must be completely empty.”

Peter revealed when he came off watch in the morning that the woods were not as empty as they might have wished. He had heard noise from the other side of the hill. Reconnaissance turned up a large bandit camp only half a mile downstream, so they quickly packed their equipment and stole out of the wood. Luke took them around and up a neighbouring hill, and from the summit sketched out the features onto his map.

“Are we going down in force?” asked Sen.

“Don’t be silly.” replied Kai. “They’re our allies now. We'll come back and make friends with them. This camp is so close to the mountains we could use them as go-betweens when we deal with Hartor. That way we won’t have to send our own troops in all the time.”

“If suitable,” said Luke, “this camp could become a settlement. We need somewhere we can negotiate and both sides can live together comfortably. There’s enough wood, we could build houses in the open areas. Did you see there are some ancient buildings nearby. A group of about a dozen. They’ll provide stone.”

“I thought these old houses were forbidden?” said Peter.

“If they are build into a large settlement you can’t go in. There are snakes and insects and bad air and ancient bones, no one will go near. But where they are single houses you can drive the animals out with fire and smoke and just the stone is left standing. If you are lucky many of the old tiles will be lying on the floor undamaged so you can build a proper roof. All we need is people to do the building and someone who can speak their language.”

“I can,” said Peter. “Caduor tue handami!” Everyone burst out laughing at his flawless imitation of Stefan’s accent.

“With such command I’m sure you’ll go far.” Luke folded the map carefully and loaded it into his pack. “Maybe you can take practice when we bring Thomas over.”

*

Commander Hunt was absent when they returned to the border post so they had to wait two days for his return. They then travelled north immediately to the military camp, while he prepared to take the news to Rah.

“Before we let you into Kingston City I’m going to send you on a training mission,” he told Luke. “I know you’re pretty tired but I still have to keep you all apart and outside the city for a while. So that if anything happens I can warn the others. It’ll only be ten days, then you can be free for a month.”

“I have to see Commander Tivoli,” said Peter on hearing this. He asked me to report to him on my return.”

“You don’t have to see him any more,” replied Luke. “You have more powerful friends now.”

“No, he’s right.” Commander Hunt put on an air of authority. “There’s no point making enemies needlessly. We’re hardly safe yet, and probably less so the more powerful we become. Let’s try and play things down a bit.”

The four soldiers of the troop were sent to separate places to teach soldiers basic horse skills. Luke found himself on a half month survival camp, which turned out to be a cover for a course on metalworking. By the time he went on leave he had become a master at forging sharp blades and using them in hand to hand combat. He learned how to tell the grade of a piece by its hardness, and how to hammer and combine grades to produce the hardest material, known as tan. It was not very hard compared to stone, but the cutting edge was beyond anything he had seen.

“You’re probably one of the most expert metalworkers in the world by now,” said the master appreciatively, examining a bone-handled knife Luke had forged from three recycled pieces. Luke considered the possibility, then wondered what secrets there were in Trantrith to which his adopted country was not privy. He decided to say nothing, giving a modest nod by way of acceptance of the compliment.

“Can I keep this?” he asked.

“All metal is to be returned to the armoury. It was weighed on a balance at issue and must check when we give it back. But if we give the armourer the knife he may let you draw it next mission.”

*

Despite his interest Luke was relieved when the camp came to an end, and after reporting back to the Horse Troops he started his month’s leave. He made immediately for the city and sought out Sarah’s hostel, feeling guilty for not having seen her since leaving prison.

The city was composed of many ordinary huts and in some areas rectangular houses with stone walls and old tiles on top. Luke saw a few two storey stone houses and passed one on his way that had been poorly built and the upper floor had partly fallen away. Each dwelling had its own grounds with the toilet area kept well away both from the house and the neighbours. Almost every house had a vegetable garden and fruit trees. When he eventually found the hostel he saw it comprised a large set of cabins built together and standing in wide grounds. Beyond it the land sloped to the sea. The town itself smelt all too human, so unlike the wilderness at the edge of the Hinderith he had known in another life just a few days previously, but by the time he had reached his destination it affected him less. To the left of the bay stretched a long peninsula, which Luke knew was the northland, out of bounds, where Rah kept his stronghold with who knows how many forces. He had not met anyone who would admit to having been there. No stream ran past the building so inmates had to travel a distance to fetch water, sharing the pails with the other residents. Food preparation and communal quarters were in one of the large sections of the building but the fire itself was kept outside, clearly they were not going to risk the whole structure burning down. It was probably quite cold in winter but being close to the sea would be nothing like the mountains. He was relieved not to have seen rats or snakes. Sarah shared a room with a woman of similar age, who also had a young daughter.

He did not really know what to say when he was led in, seeing Sarah on the bed with Hannah, bemused to see a man entering the room. Her roommate said hello then made her excuses to leave the family together.

“So you’ve finally got round to giving your wife and daughter a little of your precious time,” she started, as Luke sat on the hard bed. He noticed that she shifted away a little.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t had a moment since leaving prison.”

“What do you mean? You’ve been free for months now.”

“I may have been out but I’ve hardly been free and I’m still not. I just have to do everything I’m told or it’s straight back in again.”

“Nonsense. I’m sure you could have arranged with your commander to come and visit your own wife.”

“Well you could have come to see me for that matter. What do you do all day long?” Luke felt stung by her reproaches. In reality he knew he could have made more effort but the longer he had delayed the harder it had become. Then being on leave he had found himself with nowhere else to go.

“That’s right. Blame it all on me. Oh and I work. I make cloth and garments. It's hard. Well if you’re not interested in me I’ve got a child to bring up.”

“No, Sarah. I didn’t mean that. But you don’t know what it’s like to be in prison for two years.” As memories of the long hard months returned Luke struggled to suppress his anger. The last hing he wanted was tears. Hannah crawled onto her mother’s lap.

“Why is he so sad?” she asked. “Mummy, is he about to start crying?”

“Hannah, do you know who this is?”

“Yes. He’s my daddy. Daddy went away and he’s going to be my daddy again now.”

Luke grabbed Hannah and held her to his chest. “I am your daddy,” he said. “I went away and I’ve come back again. But Sarah, what happened to ...?”

“Oh, there isn’t much to tell. I lost him. But, well, I’ve thought it was probably for the better really. I couldn’t have brought up two children in this place.”

“Oh, Sarah, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault I know.” He held her closer and they all burst into tears at once. When Luke held Hannah to his face and wiped her eyes she gave a tentative smile that soon burst into a wide grin that lit her childish features. He hugged her close with one hand while the other encircled his wife.

“Sarah, this isn’t really much of a place for you to stay is it? I mean, I’m glad you’ve survived all right but it’s about time we found somewhere nicer. This is no better than my barracks. We could move into one of the small houses by the camp. They’re reserved for soldiers who are married.”

“Those mean little places? You could at least try for a house on The Mountain. Near Mrs Crow’s.” She used the old Elenean title Bai. “Where they take children in and teach them language and drawing and rates of barter.” They both laughed at the prospect. The Mountain was the most exclusive area of Kingston City, apart from Castle Hill itself. Although there had been no major flood in living memory, it was famous that every house on The Mountain had been left standing when the rest of the city was struck.

“I’ve heard of Mrs Crow,” said Luke. “She has a good reputation.”

“Unfortunately we hardly have many obligations or tallies to our credit. I don’t imagine you would have taken many bribes, would you?”

“No, though I’ve certainly been offered a few. It didn’t seem fair on people who had just been released from prison. City life feels strange to me. Everywhere I've ever been things are provided when asked for, as long as you have a reputation for being useful when needed.”

“Well maybe you’d better start being a little less fair. Everyone else does it, including those people you let off so lightly, no doubt. It’s the way to advance.”

“Right. I’d better see about finding a place for the night, hadn’t I? Is there somewhere?”

“There’s an inn near here. It’s the same as The Kitchen in Agor. Turn right at the gate it’s about ten minutes walk. They put a burning lamp outside so you’ll see it easily. You can go there when it starts to get dark.” She caressed his close-cropped black hair. “Not much left of that, is there?”

Luke smiled. He knew he would have to be the tender husband. But he could not help thinking of the girl in the mountains. Quickly closing down that thought.

“Hannah,” said Sarah, “Why don’t you go outside and play with the others? Daddy and I have a lot to talk about. Careful as you go, don’t trip over the step.”