Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 20, Part 2

Bronya had no answer to Gray's suggestion. Instead, she took him directly to the one person out of the entire engineer camp she thought qualified enough to respond. Their group picked their way through the tents, past the faint-smelling evidence of waste-pits dug and covered over, and deep into the shadow of the dam itself. Even with the sun overhead it was surprisingly dark, and when Gray looked up the dam seemed to hang outward, threatening to come down on his head. It was little wonder that the Engineers lived further out. If the whole thing were to come down, the tent village would only survive a second longer before being washed away, but at least they were able to live in a space where that fear wasn't literally hanging over them.

           

Right in the centre of the dam, wedged tight against the base, was a lone building. Not much bigger than the large tent they had just come from, it was a ramshackle construction, built from mismatched pieces of wood and stone walls that seemed ready to tip in on themselves.

           

Bronya seemed to read Gray's mind. "Don't worry," she said. "It's sturdier than it looks."

           

"I wasn't thinking that at all," he said.

           

She smirked. "Everyone does, the first time they see it. I hope Farran has seen us coming."

           

"Farran? That's who we're going to see?"

           

"Yes. As far as anyone knows he's the oldest member of the work crew. He was here when I arrived, and I was sent north while they were still pulling stones out of the ground."

           

"And he stayed in his hut while you were fighting the Carelians?"

           

"Be careful, commander." Bronya gave him a warning look. "Without Farran, many more of us would have died today. Without his help we might never have known what they were planning."

           

"Fair enough," Gray said.

           

As they reached the hut, a thick double-layer of tent cloth covering the door was lifted away, revealing a tall, thin man, ducking his head to see past the lintel. A wild mass of hair surrounded his head, like the puff-ball of a dandelion. Farran's chin came up, revealing a clean-shaven face and a pair of piercing eyes. "Hello there!" He called out. "I see the morning's panic has died, and that we have visitors."

           

Bronya stopped, and the rest of the group stopped with her. "Right on both counts, Farran."

           

"How many?"

           

"Twenty two," she said.

           

He bowed his head. "So many. And the Carelians?"

           

"All but three."

           

Another pause. "They escaped?"

           

"They would have, but for Gray and Cuan here. They're from the Kingdom, Farran."