The Wicked Day by Christopher Bunn

Author:Christopher Bunn [Bunn, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Magic, epic fantasy, wizard, thief, Fantasy, Adventure, hawk
Publisher: Christopher Bunn
Published: 2011-09-30T19:46:45+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER

“Two hundred barrels of salted mackerel, eighty wheels of Thulish cheese—that’s the cartwheel size, my lord—four hundred kegs of ale, another two hundred kegs of cheap Vornish red wine, twenty dozen sacks of onions, forty dozen sacks of potatoes, thirteen dozen sacks of turnips, and eight dozen sacks of garlic.” The quartermaster glanced up from his notes to make sure that Owain was paying proper attention. “Three hundred hams, the same again of bacon, six hundred loaves of twice-baked bread. . .”

“Hard as rock,” rumbled Bordeall.

“One hundred seventy sacks of grain, milled, and three hundred sacks of grain, unmilled,” continued the quartermaster, choosing to ignore the comment. “Ten blocks of sea salt and thirty-three kegs of olive oil. As to livestock, my lord, we’re currently bursting at the seams. I’ve rented additional space down in Fishgate. Two warehouses for five silver coins a month and three coins a month, respectively. Not a bad deal, if I may say so.”

“Yes, yes,” said Owain, trying not to fidget in his chair. “Just tell me what the final tallies are.”

Rain slashed down outside the window of his office. It had been raining all night and it gave no sign of letting up. Bordeall stood at the window, staring out gloomily at the city wall. The quartermaster cleared his throat with an accusative sort of sound. He was determined to do his job well. He rustled his papers as if to underscore the fact that there were a great many papers covered over with a great many notes, and that he still had a great deal to say about bushels of nails and baulks of timber and other things that could be counted and recounted.

“As I was saying, my lord,” continued the quartermaster, “that has greatly expanded our livestock capacity. An increase of threefold over our previous capacity. Fourteen hundred bales of hay, half that of alfalfa, and six hundred bushels of feed corn. I’m not happy about the alfalfa stock, my lord, but there was mildew in the crops this summer. Though, I think that, er, oh yes—the livestock.” He began to speak a great deal faster, as it was impossible to ignore the fact that Owain was glaring at him. “Three hundred seventy-five head of cattle, four hundred twelve head of sheep, two hundred pigs, three hundred eighty chickens, and that’s giving us about two hundred fifty eggs a day, give or take a few dozen.”

“Not enough,” said Owain. “We’ll be out of meat in no time. Particularly with Harlech having arrived last night.”

“Those boys eat a lot of meat,” said Bordeall. “Like a pack of wolves.”

“Lannaslech mentioned he thought Hull and Thule were only a day’s march behind him. That’s a lot of extra mouths.”

“That’s a lot of extra swords,” said Bordeall.

“Furthermore,” said the quartermaster, feeling that the conversation was wandering away from his lists and numbers, “I have it on the best authority that three herds of cattle shall arrive this afternoon from Vo. An emissary from the duke’s court rode in this morning, with the duke’s compliments.

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