8

A few days later, the supply ship returned to Solstheim and I was sent down with the wagon to load up the new supplies. Tomas, the young boy who worked in the kitchens with me, came along and helped. He stood up in the wagon and I handed him boxes and the smaller packages, while the guards on duty by the dock helped load the barrels, of which there were several.

"By the Gods!" one of the guards exclaimed. "We've hit the jackpot!"

Included in this week's load of new supplies were four barrels of mazte beer, four wooden cases of flin, and a collection of other alcoholic beverages, including shein and a case of Cyrodiilic brandy. Almost half of the load of supplies were alcohol. The guards at the dock were laughing and slapping each other on the shoulders by the time Tomas and I arrived to load everything up.

"Careful boys," I said with a smile. "You can't start drinking yet!"

"Can't I have just a sip?" one of them laughed.

"I don't even remember what it tastes like," another joked.

I walked over to the edge of the dock as one of the other guards signed the manifest and handed it back to the ship's captain. He tucked it into his shirt pocket and smiled widely at me.

"Well, hello there, lass," he said. "Have you come by to ask for a trip back to civilization?"

I smiled but shook my head. "No, just saying hello. I've decided to stay here for a few weeks. They have me working at the fort. I figure I might as well make some money while I'm here."

"Well," the captain said, obviously surprised that I was staying, "if you can handle this place, you're a stronger person than me."

"Don't worry," I said. "In a few weeks I'll be desperate to get out of here. I'll be asking for a ride home soon enough."

The captain wished me well and boarded his boat, and soon he was off again, leaving us to finish loading the wagon. The guards chattered excitedly about the prospect of drinking tonight, and Tomas just shrugged at me with a grin. We loaded everything up and headed back to the fort with our special cargo.

Liman was stunned when he saw what had been delivered. He gaped at the barrels and wine crates, his eyes wide and mouth agape, as if he was staring at a treasure of gold and jewels and not just some alcohol. It occurred to me that in a place like this, working men considered good drink a treasure in and of itself. And having spent some time in prison, I understood how they felt.

"Here, come and get this inside," he said. "I don't want the entire fort coming down on me. The men are going to riot when they see this."

We rolled the barrels off the cart and Liman hurried them into the building, where they were carted down into the kitchen. A few off-duty guards, who normally would never have bothered to help the kitchen staff, were suddenly more than happy to carry things for us, and Liman had to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't take a detour and sneak some of the flin away for themselves. We quickly unpacked the rest of the supplies as word of the new shipment of drinks began to filter through the fort.

"Is it true?" guards kept pestering us. "Do we finally have something good to drink?"

I helped out with the preparation for dinner while Liman got the barrels ready. He hammered out the corks and screwed in metal faucets so the mazte could be easily poured out, and then tipped the barrels onto their sides before hoisting them up onto a long table. Grilda and I prepared bowls of broth and chopped up loaves of bread as the first guards began filtering in for supper.

Within minutes, the entire cafeteria was packed. By now, word of the shipment had spread across the entire fort, and everyone came down to have dinner at the same time. Liman was well prepared for them, and had dozens of mugs ready to be filled, and somehow managed to keep the guards from mobbing him. I didn't see much of that, since I was so busy serving bowls and helping in the back of the kitchen, but I kept hearing Liman bellowing for the men to wait their turn.

It was the first time I really saw the guards in a good mood the entire week I had been here. During supper, they talked and joked with each other, but the overall feeling had been rather bored and subdued. But not today. The men were loud and happy and rowdy, swinging their mugs and shouting at each other, laughing and drinking their fill.

Near the end of the supper rush, I heard some cheering and managed to sneak out of the kitchen to see what was going on.

"Hail Captain Carius!" the men boomed.

I looked across the room to see Carius standing in the doorway, waving at the men and gesturing for them to quiet down. Surprisingly, most of them actually did, and Carius raised his voice so he could be heard over the ones still making noise. He looked calm and collected, wearing his golden armor, his black hair slicked back.

"Gentlemen, soldiers, friends!" he said loudly. "I hope you're all having a good time tonight!"

The men roared their approval, swinging their mugs, sloshing their precious drinks all over the table tops. Carius chuckled as one of the men handed him a mug of his own. He took a sip and the men cheered loudly. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

It was only then that I realized just how much the men here really admired Carius. The weeks without flin or brandy had damaged their morale, surely, but it was only through their high respect for their Captain that they kept from complaining to him about it. I think that if they had not respected him, they might have mutinied by now. With the alcohol restored, their admiration for Carius was restored as well.

"I want you all to know something," he said to the crowd. "I know we haven't had anything to drink for some months now. I'm afraid that was a mistake made by the shipping clerks in Khuul. But I'm happy to announce that from now on, our shipments will be complete, as we won't have any dry spells like that again."

The entire room exploded in raucous applause and cheering as Carius raised his mug and cried out, "Cheers!" At least I think he said it, because the room was so loud that I couldn't actually hear him. The soldiers and guards all slammed back their drinks and immediately began pestering Liman for more.

I ran back into the kitchen as Grilda began calling my name. We rushed to clean out some of the used bowls and refill them, and then I carried them back out into the eating area. By the time I glanced back up to the doorway where Carius had been, he was already gone.