Bastion

kitchen hearth and the ovens . . . which might make things uncomfortable in summer, except that in summer most of the long cooking moved out of doors to big ovens in the yard.
    This particular Quartermaster clearly had a passion for neatness. Every accounting book was lined up in military fashion in bookcases; every paper was squared up on the desk. The office was no bigger than one of the guest rooms upstairs, but it managed to seem uncrowded because of that very neatness.
    That worthy had been expecting them, knew what they needed before they even asked for it, and wordlessly handed over a small sheaf of papers before introducing them to a Guard Sergeant, who was likewise waiting patiently in the tiny office.
    “This is Sergeant Milles,” the Quartermaster said, with the air of a man who didn’t like wasted words any more than he liked wasted money. “He’ll tell you everything you need to know.” The unspoken look of veiled impatience said what the Quartermaster did not say aloud for politeness: And now get out of my office, if you please.
    The Sergeant crooked a finger at them and took them to the Post library, where he already had maps spread out for their perusal. Guardsmen were generally not known for being great readers, so the Library was in a room that was barely big enough for the bookcases that lined the walls and the table in the middle. “This one is yours,” he said, handing a map that he rolled up to Jakyr. “I’ll guide you tomorrow, of course, but you should have your own map of the route in and out. There’re a lot of trails going in and out of that spot; there are always treasure hunters hoping to find a secret hoard somewhere in there. As a consequence, it’s easy to get lost until you know your way. This map is more detailed than the one you’ve been given, I expect.”
    Jakyr unrolled it and cast an eye over it with approval. Mags craned his neck to look over Jakyr’s shoulder. The map, insofar as he could judge, was the equal of any of those made by men whose business it was to draw them. It wasn’t as fancyas the one the Royal Cartographers did, but it was well made. “It is. In fact, this is excellent work. Yours?”
    The Sergeant shrugged, but he smiled. “A hobby of mine. Now, let’s sit down and I’ll show you the map of The Bastion itself.”
    The three of them pulled stools out from under the table and sat down on them. The Sergeant took weights and put them on the four corners of the map of The Bastion he had obviously made himself. The valley was roughly oval, and the Sergeant had detailed caves in the hills with blue paths.
    The moment Mags saw the map he could have cheered. The hills around the valley of The Bastion were, indeed, laced with a system of caves. Real caves. The Sergeant had made an effort to map as many of them as he could, but of course, he hadn’t been able to penetrate too deeply into most of them. “We had a lot to do and not a great deal of time to do it in, so I hope you’ll forgive me for not exploring more. My main concern was getting the supplies stowed for you, not mapping out things. And I’m not a surveyor, Heralds. I haven’t got the knowledge or the tools. I measured as best I could, but things could be off, and maybe by quite a lot.”
    “Anything is better than nothing,” Jakyr replied. He bent over the map and put his finger near one branching area. “So, I think I have your system worked out properly. These are the hay caves?”
    “Yes, here, here, and here.” Sergeant Milles tapped three marked with yellow spots of paint. “We laid in more than we think you will need, because some might spoil. We did our best to find the driest spots, but since none of us know caves all that well, it’s mostly guess and a lack of watermarks. We also laid in extra because hay is useful for more than feeding the horses. This is the straw cave, and this part here—” he pointed to a bulge to one side “—has a good base of sand. If you want to bring the horses down into the cave for an extended period of time, this will be good bedding for them and easier to keep clean than straw.”
    Jakyr nodded with approval. The Sergeant pointed out all the other storage areas and detailed how the stores had been put up, as Jakyr went over the Quartermaster’s list.
    “Now, here is what you’ll probably want to use as your living quarters, at least those of you that don’t use the caravan,” the Sergeant continued, tapping a section of the