61 Chapter 61 Stella Returns (2/2)

Stella returned looking quite tired, but Joseph still ran up and hugged her.

”Welcome home! Do you need a bath first, a meal?” Joseph danced in place, his excitement too obvious to hide.

”I would like a chance to eat and sleep before I report,” she said in a pitiful, little voice.

”Do you want me to make you something?” he asked, perking up.

”You don't have to. I just want whatever's hot before I sleep.”

Joseph made sure she was fed and tucked in bed before he headed back out. Leaving one of the guards to watch over the carriage, he lamented not being able to stay with her, but there was too much to do. He still had to receive the reports on the progress of the tunnels for the sewer in downtown, and the granary location should be decided by now, based on the feedback from the head of planting. The man would have been finished with it already but Joseph had him supervising the collection of all the wild foods.

Fortunately, there hadn't been any accidents. Several of the gatherers hadn't been able to tell the color difference between one of the edible flowers and one of the toxic ones. The head of planting had to move someone to oversee their hauls and he had only just finished training the replacement yesterday. The last thing Joseph needed, with people already complaining about the food, was a case of food poisoning. Though, if that was all he had to deal with today, he'd be lucky.

The last few days were much worse, so he was expecting a new crisis around dinner time. The basic sanitation was easy to get the slaves to comply with. He told them to do it, so they did it. It was spectacularly less effective with the king's men. Even the n.o.bles were disgusting. Joseph was only grateful they were down wind.

Stella woke up around dinner time, to give her report.

”The barbarians are fleeing something out of the north. It looks like a storm, but it's not like any storm they've ever seen before. Anyone that is touched by the fog, freezes solid. There is something evil about it. All of their leaders have decided this is a perfect time to come get their southern lands back. They are not willing to trade because they have already used up their supplies heading south. What they couldn't carry, they had to abandon to the storm. They have already hunted most of the herds heavily. They also claim that they are not responsible for killing our people.”

”Well, I had figured there would be another crisis about this time,” he sighed.

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