Temple Knight

3. Settling In-2

This brought a startled look from Charlaine. “What do you mean by ‘clean hay’? Isn’t all hay clean?”

“You’d think so,” said Danica, “but about six months ago, the horses all got sick, and Cordelia said it was the hay. We got it from a nearby farm, you see, and it caused us no end of trouble. Lucky for us, she’d seen it before, and we nipped it in the bud. She always says to smell the hay when it’s delivered.”

“Is all your food from local farms?”

“It has to be,” said Danica. “We don’t grow any of our own, we haven’t the people.”

Charlaine felt a drop of water hit her face. “Looks like the rain’s finally here.”

Danica laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“It appears our captain has a wet ride ahead of her!”

If Charlaine thought her afternoon would be any less strenuous, she was sorely mistaken. They had entered the hall just as Cordelia was delegating more duties. When she saw the two new arrivals, she smiled. “Just in time,” she said, “I need someone to clean out the chapel.”

“I could have sworn that was done yesterday,” said Danica.

“It was, but there’s a leak, and with this rain, you’ll need to move some of the benches around.”

“Couldn’t we fix the leak?” asked Charlaine.

“Do you know how?” asked Cordelia.

“No, but it can’t be that difficult.”

The senior knight looked at her a moment, trying to determine if she was jesting. “If you’re serious, then, by all means, do your best.”

“I’ll need help.”

“How much help?”

“One or two people, I should think.”

“Take Danica and Teresa, they’re not otherwise engaged.”

“Who’s in charge?” asked Teresa.

Cordelia pointed at Charlaine. “Unless you know how to fix a roof?”

The blue-eyed woman shook her head.

“Good, then it’s settled.”

“Where’s the leak?” asked Charlaine.

“Along the centre line, about halfway between the entrance and the pulpit. Teresa can show you where. She had to mop up after the last storm.” Cordelia turned to the other sisters. “The rest of you come with me. We need to batten down the outpost in case it gets worse.”

“Where do we start?” asked Danica.

“We’ll need a ladder,” said Charlaine, “and I need to get a look at the roof. What type of covering does it use?”

“Temple tiles,” offered Teresa with a twinkle in her eyes. “Appropriate, don’t you think?”

“Never heard of them.”

“They’re formed of clay in half-cylinders. They alternate their sides, allowing the water to sluice away on the concave side.”

“Ah, yes,” said Charlaine, “I see what you mean. Do we have any spares?”

“Not on hand, and they’re made in Rizela.”

“Then we’ll have to improvise,” said Charlaine.

“I’ll get the ladder,” offered Danica.

“We’ll meet you in the chapel,” said Charlaine. “Now, come show me where this leak is, Teresa.”

The chapel was not a large building by Church standards, though it did have a vaulted ceiling. It didn’t take long to identify the leak, for a puddle of water was already forming beneath it.

“That looks like plaster,” said Charlaine.

“Adobe, actually,” said Teresa, “but the leak will be above it.”

Danica arrived with the ladder, carrying it awkwardly.

“Bring that outside,” said Charlaine. “You,” she pointed to Teresa, “call out when we’re even with the dripping water. We have to find the exterior location of the leak.”

She moved outside, Danica in tow. They settled the ladder up against the side of the structure when Teresa called out, and then Charlaine climbed up and onto the roof.

The rain had begun in earnest now, making her cassock heavy and wet. Charlaine had to wipe the water from her face to examine the roof in more detail. It was soon evident what the problem was, for one of the clay tubes had cracked, allowing water to leak through. She climbed back down, and they went inside, leaving the ladder in place.

“What’s the verdict?” asked Teresa.

“One of the top tiles is cracked, we’ll need to replace it.”

“But we have no spares!” reiterated Teresa.

“I don’t understand,” said Danica.

Charlaine cupped her hand. “The roof tiles are made up of hollow tubes made of clay. They’re cut in half to form a trough, which allows the water to run off. Over top of this, the troughs are rotated,” she said as she placed her other hand in a cupping motion then inverted it, holding it over the edge of her first. “The inverted tube is like a wave shape, driving the water to its edge.”

“Where it’s picked up by the troughs,” said Danica. “I understand now, but how does that help us?”

“One of the waves is broken,” said Charlaine. “What we need is something to divert the water back into the trough.”

“What do you suggest?” asked Teresa.

“I have an idea, but it will take some effort. Danica, find me an axe.”

“What can I do?” asked Teresa.

“I need a log to split,” Charlaine said, “preferably something about my height.”

“There’s a wooded area to the north, behind the outpost, but it’ll be difficult to cut wood in this weather.”

“We have little choice if we’re to repair the roof,” said Charlaine.

It didn’t take Danica long to procure an axe, and then they all made haste for the rear of the outpost where they crossed a field to find shelter beneath the branches of the small copse of trees. Teresa immediately began scanning the area for likely prospects.

“Over there,” said the blue-eyed knight.

Charlaine peered through the rain, struggling to keep her hair from obstructing her view. They dashed from their temporary shelter, to once again find respite beneath the boughs of a tree and quickly got to work.

Charlaine"s well-muscled smith’s arms saved the day, allowing her to make short work of the tree trunk. The resulting log was no thicker than her thigh, and they chopped it down to her own height in length. Now came the difficult part, splitting it in half. It took some trial and error on spare logs before they finally settled on a solution. The trick ended up being to make small cuts and insert wooden wedges, necessitating a trip back to the outpost for additional tools.

After splitting the wood down the middle, they carried both pieces back to the outpost. Only one would be needed, of course, but Charlaine feared a mistake could set them back significantly and so they returned with the extra one, just in case.

Back up the ladder Charlaine went, climbing onto the now treacherous, rain-slicked roof. Teresa and Danica passed up a log, and she placed it over top of two existing tiles, curved side upward, allowing the water to run off to either side, then stream through the troughs. Next, she used some rope to tie off the wood. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but ought to hold in place until after the storm.

Her work completed, she climbed back down, slipping, as fate would have it, on the last rung of the ladder. She banged her shin, letting out a curse.

Danica laughed, causing the older knight to turn towards her.

“What’s so funny?” Charlaine yelled, trying to be heard over the intense downpour.

“You made it through all this,” the girl replied, “only to hurt yourself on the last step.”

Charlaine looked at her. She wasn’t sure why she did it but overcome with a sense of mischief, she pushed Danica, and the young knight fell backward, splattering into a pool of muddy water.

Danica let out a shriek, and Charlaine was overcome with a feeling of remorse. She held out her hand to the girl, who took it in a firm grip… and pulled. Charlaine went down, sprawling into the mud, the dirty water splashing into her face.

Danica was laughing hysterically, but then Charlaine saw a sudden look of fear on the girl"s face as she looked down at her own clothes and noticed her soaked and muddied cassock. Something snapped, and tears came to Danica"s eyes, followed by great racking sobs that dug into Charlaine’s very soul.

Charlaine rose to her knees and crawled forward, embracing the young woman in a hug and holding her close. Danica hung on as if her very life depended on it, too overcome with emotion to say anything. Something was going on here, and the older knight tried to think what it might be.

Teresa suddenly appeared beside them. “Come on,” she called, as thunder echoed in the distance, “let’s get you both inside.”

It was late evening when Cordelia came to see her. Charlaine had changed out of her wet cassock and was sitting on the edge of her bed, attempting to read the Book of Agnes by candlelight.

Cordelia looked down at her. “May I sit?”

“By all means,” said Charlaine, shifting over to make room. “How is Danica?”

“She’ll recover.” Cordelia looked around, wary of those close by. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said, “but maybe here’s not the best place?”

“All right,” said Charlaine, “then where?”

“Come with me. We’ll use the captain"s office.”

“You won’t get in trouble?”

“No,” said Cordelia, “she won’t be back until morning. She stays with the lay sisters when she travels into town.” She rose, nodding at the candle. “Bring that, but be as quiet as you can, I don’t want to wake the others.”

They left the dormitory, crossing through the dining hall where Rowan and Helena sat in their armour, passing the time in a game of cards.

“Sentinels,” said Cordelia, leading them to the captain"s office where they were soon inside. “Please have a seat,” she said. “I thought it best to explain what happened today with Danica.”

Charlaine grew concerned. “Is she all right?”

“Normally, a sister"s reasons for joining the order are her own business, but I thought, in this case, you deserve an explanation, and she agreed.”

“Are you sure?” asked Charlaine.

Cordelia nodded her head, then paused, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “What do you know of her background?”

“She said she was from somewhere up north, Andover, I think it was. She was raised on a farm if I remember correctly?”

"All of that is true," said Cordelia. "She had been the victim of repeated attacks and cruelly treated. I"m told the weather was much like this when they found her."

They sat in silence. Charlaine struggled to say something, anything that might help.

“I think,” continued Cordelia, “that she might have been pregnant at the time. She described a lot of blood, but her mind is not clear concerning the details.”

“That’s horrific,” said Charlaine. “She’s only seventeen.”

“Fifteen at that time,” said Cordelia. “The Holy Mother lied about her age to allow her to escape her tormentors.”

“Tormentors? What are you suggesting?”

“Her parents had died years before, and she was staying with relatives. It was her own cousins that attacked her.”

“Merciful Saints,” said Charlaine. “The poor girl has suffered so much. Who else knows?”

“Only you and I,” said Cordelia. “It took months for me to gain her confidence, but she seems to have taken to you quite quickly.”

“But I barely know her!”

“Be that as it may, you look to be the one she’s connected with.”

“Then I’ll look out for her,” said Charlaine. “No girl should have to endure what she did.”

“Agreed,” said Cordelia. “You know, in our line of work, we see many sad tales, but this… this is personal, it affects one of our own. I’m going to rearrange the beds. I’d like to move you two closer together if that’s all right with you?”

“Should we bring this to the captain when she returns?”

“No,” said Cordelia, “I fear it wouldn’t help. In fact, it might make matters worse.”

“How so?”

“Sister Nina is more concerned with her own position than those under her command. She’ll see something like this as reflecting badly on her ability to lead. I see a lot of promise in Danica, but if this were reported, it would likely be the end of her time as a Temple Knight, and that would crush her.”

“I understand,” said Charlaine.