Chapter 32: What Remains
The first batch from the quarry had arrived at the city fine. So had the second. The third, though. By then, enough time had elapsed for a response to be made.
The convoy approached along the road in a way that immediately felt wrong.
Beorn had been standing at the parapet for nearly ten minutes when they came into view. He observed the group as it crossed the final stretch of open ground.
He counted the figures as they moved closer. Then he counted again, just to confirm. The total was correct. Everyone who had left the gate earlier was now returning.
What was missing was the weight of what they should have been carrying.
The transport animals led the convoy, and the issue with them was visible even from the wall. The loads that should have been strapped to them were gone. Behind them came the workers, with hands hung empty at their sides.
They walked with the shameful posture of people who had been taken prisoners and then released. Beorn recognized it. He had seen that exact result before, though in a different lifetime.
Beorn kept both hands flat against the parapet stone. When the runner delivered the report he had come straight to the wall and had not bothered returning for the ledger.
Godric stood to his left. Aestrith had taken position on his right, watching the road in silence.
"Tell me" Beorn asked.
"The runner said there were no injuries," Godric replied. "The cargo was dumped somewhere in the Badlands and they let the crew walk back."
Beorn watched as the front of the convoy reached the gate. The transport animals passed through first, their empty frames swaying with each step.
He turned and started down the stairs.
The workers were still walking through the entrance when two men appeared from the road outside. They walked in without urgency and positioned themselves inside the gate passage. A third man entered between them.
Beorn recognized Wulfric before the man had bothered to present himself.
He carried himself exactly as he had the first time they met. His clothes were well made and precisely fitted, nothing about him looked careless or exaggerated. The friendly warmth appeared on his face before he had even finished approaching.
"My lord." He stopped several feet away and briefly touched his chest. "What a rotten morning. I heard what happened on the quarry road and came as soon as I could. I hope I’m not arriving at the worst possible moment." His eyes shifted to the empty rigging moving past them. "Everyone accounted for? I hope nobody’s hurt?"
"Everyone’s here," Beorn said.
"How fortunate for that much."
Wulfric released a slow breath and watched the empty transport frames as they passed by. "These northern stretches outside the walls have been a problem for years, bandits can sit out there for weeks and no one notices. Your men made the right call not resisting. Situations like this turn ugly very quickly when someone decides to defend cargo."
"That’s true," Beorn said.
"The limestone." Wulfric looked again at the bare frames and shook his head. "That’s a genuine loss. I’m sorry to see it."
He paused briefly before continuing. "I’ll speak plainly, my lord. I suspect you’d prefer honesty over polite silence this morning. The crews working under Mr. Coss’s network... the road agents he maintains along the northern stretches provides protection most people never notice. When it’s fine, it stays invisible. When it disappears, the difference becomes very obvious."
He opened one hand toward Beorn. "I’m not saying that to score a point. I say it because you deserve to understand the situation out there."
"I appreciate that," Beorn said.
"He would welcome the opportunity to sit down and speak with you. The offer he made some time ago still stands. He’s never been the kind of man who takes a difficult beginning personally."
Wulfric’s tone remained easy and conversational. "He’s worked with many different representatives in this position before you. Each time he understood that new leadership arrives with its own ideas and methods. He’s patient with that process."
The relaxed ease tightened just a fraction. "Eventually, though, the realities of this territory tend to make themselves known. One way or another, he would strongly prefer that discussion happen across a table."
"I’m sure he would," Beorn said.
Wulfric’s eyes drifted toward Aestrith. They stayed there briefly before returning to Beorn.
"There’s one more thing."
His voice remained warm and measured. "I mention it only because I would hope someone would mention it to me if the situation were reversed. The people who have become important to how your plans... they’re visible. Mr. Coss pays attention to details like that, he notices what matters to the people he hopes to reach agreements with. In a city like this, that kind of attention can make someone’s life either very simple or extremely complicated, depending on how matters stand."
His tone stayed careful, almost regretful. "A proper conversation between the two of you would go a long way toward preventing those complications."
"Look at me," Beorn said.
Wulfric had been looking at him already, or believed he had been. The words forced him to focus fully on Beorn’s eyes. They were as disinterested as they had been in the start, but now a volcano bubbled underneath the gaze.
"Don’t. I have no patience for this. Coss will have his reply in the way he ought to."
The warmth returned to Wulfric’s expression a moment too late. When it appeared, it was slightly smaller than before. He matched Beorn’s gaze longer than a man entirely comfortable would normally need to, then gave a small nod.
"Of course," he said. "I only meant to help."
He turned and walked toward the gate. His two men moved ahead of him and fell into position. He did not look back.
Beorn stood and watched the road until it was empty.
The last of Dunna’s crew had now passed through the gate. Godric had already moved along the returning line, speaking briefly with each worker and confirming that everyone had come back in one piece. Aestrith remained beside Beorn. She had not moved during the entire exchange, and when Wulfric looked at her earlier she had given him nothing to work with.
"So," she said. "What now?"
Beorn watched the empty road where the limestone should have been.
"Now it is war."