Capítulo 26: Fortress
Blake looked at the first light of dawn, which was creeping from the furs that covered the entrance to his hut in the outpost fortress, and put down the arrow he had half-made.
The fortress could support about 100 warriors, and if at least 50 of them were archers, it would be impossible to take the fortress without siege weapons. The only thing that worried Blake was the sheer numbers that the Ice-river clans were handling.
There were women, either from the black axe tribe or from the villages Oswin had later annexed, who had belonged to the Ice-river clans in their youth. Blake had talked to them, but could not find an accurate estimate of their numbers, some said they numbered in the hundreds, others in the thousands, so Blake had a big headache as to what supplies he should prepare for the fortress.
Sighing, Blake chose to leave enough supplies stockpiled for two months.
If an attack came upon them, that would be more than enough time for the black axe tribe to prepare and send reinforcements.
Blake had also arranged for 30 hunters at the Watchtower located on the road between the black axe tribe and the fortress. Their job was to dominate the forests and prevent the Ice-river clans from using the Haunted forest to attack the tribe directly.
The hunters would also be responsible for giving warnings in the event of an attack.
Blake had already sent the message, and in short order, Oswin would send 30 warriors, 3 of the cooks, the healer Ham, Wren, Deam, Benton, and two months' worth of supplies.
Blake had weighed the idea of leaving Oswin as commander of the fortress, but quickly dismissed it, Oswin was much more useful annexing tribes or leading the trade caravan. It would be a stupid idea to leave him locked up in this place when they had made so many arrangements to make the fortress impregnable.
Two days later, the caravan with the supplies and the men I'm calling arrived at the fortress.
"Blake!"
"For crying out loud, that thing is huge! How many logs were used in the walls alone?"
Dean and Benton approached Blake with smiles on their faces, marveling at the immense fortress they hadn't seen until now, a little later Wren arrived. Blake noticed that Meha and Sagara had accompanied their husbands to the fortress. And finally, Ham arrived, cursing as he walked, as he always did.
Blake met everyone at the entrance, leading them inside and then asking Dean.
"Did you bring everything on the list?"
Blake had given a letter to Clay to give to Dean with the specifics of the supplies and people he would need.
"Yes, although some people refused, when you said they would have to stay at the fortress for 6 months they didn't want to come, so I convinced a few more."
Blake shook his head with some annoyance.
The fortress would have the same comforts as the clan, his idea was to wait 6 months for them to get used to it, and then send another group and send back those who did not want to stay.
When they finished the conflict with the Ice-river clans, he would remove the strung-out heads on the outskirts and build huts outside the fortress, making another settlement of the black axe tribe, and thus increasing the land and the men they could support.
"Never mind, I'll take care of the rest, come on everyone, I'll explain what I need you to do."
Blake explained everything about the fortress, in great detail, how they should respond to an attack and what to do in case of various situations.
"Wren will be in charge of the warriors and will have the final say in the fortress. Dean will be in charge of logistics, making sure food, water, and clothing are in good condition, Ham will maintain health and take care of the battle wounded."
"And what will I do?"
Benton was sitting with Sagara on his good leg.
"You will take charge of the carpenters, and you must repair and keep the fortress in good repair, also build anything that is needed like arrows, spears and shields, chairs and huts. You name it."
Benton weighed Blake's words for a few seconds but finally sighed before responding.
"You know I'd rather stay in the workshop, besides, the hut I built at the tribe has taken a lot of my work, it would hurt to leave it half done."
Blake nodded as well.
"In 6 months everyone who wants to can return, I will train other members of the tribe to take over the fortress, but for now they are the most reliable."
Blake turned his gaze to Wren, who had been silent since he named him commander.
"Wren, at first I thought your father would be the one to take this position, but even though he is an excellent warrior, you are the one who gets along best with the tribesmen, they listen to you."
Wren averted her gaze with some embarrassment, but only for a second before she nodded her head in agreement. It was a great honor to be left in charge of a great place like the fortress.
"This place will truly defend us if hundreds of Ice-river clans attack us?"
Who spoke this time was Meha, a spear woman who joined the clan a year ago.
"It is made so that no man can scale the walls easily. If the Ice-river clans are smart and bring ladders, they will be stopped by the warriors, who have long spears and high shields, though that will only happen if they manage to get close."
Blake made a slight smile looking at Wren.
"What was the last mark with the bows?"
Wren flashed a smile as well before blurting out the number.
"150 meters with no wind."
The longbows Blake had made were far better than those of any other tribe north of the great wall. The Free folk usually used short, crude bows, good for hunting, but useless for attacking a fortress like this, more so when the defenders had better bows.
"Here in the fortress, there are 30 longbows and 600 arrows, plus another 500 arrows they brought from the village. Are you afraid you'll miss a shot and they'll come close?"
"I never miss!"
Meha's face turned red so he shouted crossing his arms.
"Then it's all said and done."
Blake got up to take care of dinner, taking Dean and the cooks with him, he needed to teach them how to do things in the fortress, it would take a few days.
When they finished, Blake was a little hungry, so he took advantage of the moment to eat alongside the tribesmen. And it was a relatively strange occurrence, as Blake never ate, and the tribesmen had already accepted this, raising their fear and respect levels by a couple of points.
Blake ate the meat and vegetable soup satisfied with the taste, while watching Ygritte, who had already finished her dish, play with the snow.
Blake had taught her how to throw snowballs and make snowmen. And the girl liked to make houses and animals, imitating her older brother.
"She's a beautiful girl."
Blake listened to Sagara, who was eating sitting on the floor near where he was.
"She looks like those southern girls."
Blake took another bite of soup and asked Sagara a question.
"Did you ever climb the wall?"
Sagara nodded.
"I did when I was very young, almost like you are right now."
Blake looked with some astonishment at the muscular woman, she was tall, a little taller even than her father Oswin, on her arms, face and hands scars were visible.
"You never had a son, Sagara?"
Blake continued the conversation with the spear woman as she ate. Neither she nor Meha had become pregnant in the year they had lived with the tribe.
"I have had several children, but they did not survive."
Sagara's face showed a brief trace of pain saying the words.
"Meha too?"
Sagara shook his head at the question.
"Meha had a son, a strong and vigorous child, he died in the clutches of Varamyr's Shadowcat, that's why we escaped."
Blake was silent for a few seconds thinking what to say, then offered Sagara a wineskin as he answered.
"I know methods to keep children from dying, neither inside their mothers nor in their early years, so as long as they are in the tribe this will not happen again, though you will have to heed my orders."
Sagara took the wineskin giving it a drink.
"I know, I've seen it, I've been trying to make kids with Benton every day, I'll get there soon enough."
Blake gave him a somewhat dubious look, as Sagara looked somewhat older.
"I know what you think, but I'm not as old as I look, I'm even younger than Meha."
Sagara gave Blake a look and took another sip saying these words.
"I will give Benton a son."
Blake just nodded at her words.
"Good luck with that."
Sagara handed the wineskin back to Blake and got up from the spot.
"No, good luck to you."
Blake watched Sagara leave but didn't ask him why she wished him luck, even though he thought he knew the answer.
After three days, Blake marched with Ygritte and a couple of warriors back to the tribe.
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