Bastion

use.:
    •   •   •
    Amily looked up from her calculations. “Well,” she said, finally, “as far as I can tell, we’ll each have room for four standard packs worth of . . . stuff. Which is not a lot, but it’s two packs more than a solo Herald on Circuit has.” She raised her pen at Bear before he could say anything. “I allotted extra room for your herbs, Bear. Lena—I don’t know what to tell you—”
    “All I need is my small gittern,” she said firmly. “Maybe a flute. I’ll manage. A Bard on Journeyman’s round isn’t able to carry any more than a solo Herald.”
    “That’s more’n I’ll need, Amily, if you want one’a my packs’-worth for yourself,” Mags said generously.
    “I’d rather you took it and carried armor,” she replied seriously. “Just in case.” She sighed a little. “I’d hoped to bring some books, but . . . they’re heavy and bulky and I can’t think of any that would actually be useful under these circumstances.”
    “Well, if you do, we’ll find a way to get it in,” Mags promised. For his part, he hoped that they would be able to reach The Bastion before any serious weather came in. They were going to need a lot of fodder, with two horses and two Companions to feed all winter. There was no way that wagon could take even a fraction of it. They’d be hard pressed to carry enough to supplement grazing on the trip itself. They’d probably have to stop several times to buy more.
    :Rest easy,: Dallen replied to the thought. :The Bastion is being supplied for you by the Guard even as we speak. As you know, there are caves, plenty of good, dry places to store supplies for you and those of us that eat hay.: There was a suggestion of a heavy sigh. :But, alas, there is no good way to store pocket pies.:
    Mags laughed silently. :Guess you’ll have to suffer with plain old apples.:
    :The horror,: Dallen mourned.
    •   •   •
    There was a slight change of plans before it was all said and done.
    There seemed to be no reason why Mags and Jakyr should not leave first. They were going to have to circle back once they thought they had left a sufficiently confusing trail, and that was going to take time. Jakyr, as always, was eager to leave the Collegia as soon as possible, and Mags didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t indulge his mentor.
    There was a good reason for this haste, of course, at least as far as the Herald was concerned. Jakyr was avoiding someone.
    In fact, for as long as Mags had known Herald Jakyr, he had been avoiding that same someone.
    Strangely enough, it was not another Herald.
    •   •   •
    “That will be the new Healers’ Collegium,” Jakyr said, pointing toward one of the unfinished structures, “And that will be the new Bardic. I hope to blazes they’re done by this time next year. Meanwhile, we have all of you younglings crammed into the one building. Damn and blast Healers and Bards to perdition anyway!” He ran his hand through his hair in the first demonstration of irritability that Mags had seen from him. “Couldn’t they just have waited—” He broke off, and looked over at Mags with a rueful expression. “Never mind me, lad. I go off on a rant about this—”
    “Aye, you do, Jak, and on any excuse whatsoever.” They both turned their heads at the sound of the voice, which had been pitched to carry. There was a woman approaching, sauntering slowly toward them with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked about the same age as Herald Jakyr but was dressed all in red, with a hooded coat rather than a cloak. “And I’m certain-sure he’ll hear it all enough times to be sick of it. Is this the new lad that Dallen called for help in fetching?” She nodded at Mags, and a graying blond curl escaped from her hood at her temple.
    Jakyr’s expression went very stony. “Aye, Lita, it is. Now if you don’t mind I’ve—”
    “You’ve got to take him off to Caelen, and then you have urgent business to be off on,” she interrupted him, with just a touch of waspishness. “Which was precisely what you always have. Lots of urgent business taking you elsewhere, and none of it keeping you here. Which is why you are in that saddle, and your bed is narrow and cold. Nah, be off you with on your urgent business!” she continued, as Jakyr’s expression went from stony to stunned. “I’ll take the boy to Caelen. You fair can’t wait to shake the last of Haven dust from your feet, so be about