Anatoli looked like a large round egg with a head, arms, and legs. His muscle had all gone to fat, and Tal knew that he could easily best him in a sword fight, even using only his left hand. Tal suspected Kyle and Benson, the other two guards, were also limited in their fighting gifts. Big and powerful, perhaps, but not quick. And after five minutes of conversation with Anatoli, Tal was silently adding to himself, not very bright, either.
Tal had done a quick inventory of the springhouse, a cellar dug under the ground behind the keep, where meat and cheese were kept cool. It was still almost freezing down there, as the soil below the surface held the winter’s cold well into the summer. Later in the summer, when stores were used up, they would slaughter an animal as needed; cattle were pastured in a small meadow on the east side of the island, along with sheep, and there were pigs penned up downwind from the keep.
With Anatoli and Will to help him, Tal felt almost as if he had two hands again. He found the thief to be dexterous, and they quickly adapted to each being one half of a pair of hands. Anatoli proved useful for simple tasks, such as washing vegetables and cleaning pots.
Tal found a box of jars of spices in the pantry, old but still useful. He knew that none had been used to flavor his meals since he had come to the Fortress, so even faded spices would be a welcome change.
He set water to boiling, then tossed in beef bones for stock, and added vegetables and chunks of diced beef. He also started boiling some turnips he had found that weren’t too far gone, and set out some cheese and fruit. He showed Will and Anatoli how he wanted things placed on Zirga’s table, where he ate with the three guards, and started organizing meals for the fourteen prisoners.
The meal was hastily prepared, but still it was the best meal seen in the keep in years, Tal wagered. While Zirga and the three guards ate, Tal got Will started on taking stew to the prisoners. He made sure each plate had a good-sized hunk of meat in it, and a healthy helping of potatoes, onions, carrots, and turnips. It took the better part of an hour to distribute the plates to the other twelve prisoners. When they were finished, Tal had seen every occupied cell in the fortress.
He now had a sense of the place’s true size, how to navigate it, and where he could find the items necessary for his escape.
Zirga came into the kitchen while Tal and Will ate their supper at a small table. “That was good,” he said to Tal. “I think you should cook until they send me someone to replace Charles. Now, stop eating and return to your cell.”
Anatoli approached Tal as if to escort him back, but Tal said, “I can’t.”
“Why not?” said Zirga, looking at Tal suspiciously. “You can come back down here in the morning.”
“But tonight I must bake bread. That takes most of the night.” He pointed to a place on the floor by the ovens. “I can sleep there while the bread is rising, then put it in the ovens so that it’s ready in the morning.”
Zirga thought about it, then shrugged. “Well, it’s not as if there’s anywhere for you to go, is it?”
Tal nodded, keeping a straight face.
As Zirga started to leave, Tal said, “I’ll need Will to help me.”
Zirga looked over his shoulder. “Fine. Keep him.”
“And Anatoli first thing in the morning.”
“All right, you can have him.”
If the guard had any reaction to this, he kept it to himself. Zirga and Anatoli left, and Will said, “How did you do that?”
Tal shrugged, pointing to the pots they would have to clean before making the bread. “Zirga forgot what good food tastes like.”
“I did, too,” said Will. “That stew was the best I’ve ever had.”
Tal smiled. “I think you just don’t remember. If I can get Zirga to order in some fresh spices and other things, I can keep us in this kitchen for as long as we need.”
“Need?” Will dropped his voice. “What do you have in mind?”
“Many things, my friend. Many things.”
They started washing, with Will scrubbing out pots that Tal held still for him. Then he set about showing Will how to help him make dough. The kneading was the most difficult part, but after a few false starts, they got a rhythm going and got it done.
Tal started fires under the ovens, then let them burn down and banked the fires. He put away the iron poker and rolled out a ragged bedroll, big enough for the two men to share.
“Now we sleep,” said Tal, “and let the bread rise. At dawn, we put it in the ovens and start the porridge.” After they were both lying down, Tal said, “Tell me about the other prisoners.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Who they are. What crimes have they committed. What skills they might have.”
Will whispered. “You’re planning an escape!”
Tal said, “More.”
“What?”
“I’m building an army.”