“What area of the Yard do you consider most vulnerable?” Bran asked.
Howard frowned. “There are many places doing vital work and none is invulnerable.”
They all gazed at the map. “It’s hard to know where to begin looking,” Andre said.
“I have a thought,” Tam said. “Bran, you love experimenting with new techniques. What if the four of us turn our backs to the map? Chief Howard can ask us one at a time to point out the area we feel is most endangered. If we feel strongly, we can select a second or even a third spot. When we’ve all done that, Chief Howard can tell us which areas we singled out and we can discuss what was chosen and then perhaps visit those sites.”
“I like that idea,” Bran said. “Shall we see if this works, Chief Howard?”
The chief looked surprised, but said, “It’s worth a try. Now all of you turn away. Who will go first?”
“I will,” Cade said. “I had an idea when the chief was outlining the different facilities.”
All but Cade turned to face the opposite wall. Tam felt him gathering his intuition. Then he tapped the map briskly. Howard gave a thoughtful “Hmmm,” then asked, “Who’s next?”
“I’ll try,” Bran said.
Cade moved to stand by Tam, his back to the map. Bran took longer before tapping. “There and perhaps also there, but that feels less urgent.”
Andre said, “I’d like to try now.” He turned to face the map and there was a longish pause.
Tam said, “Don’t think too much. Let your intuition guide you.”
Andre drew a slow breath, then tapped. “Thank you for the advice, Tamsyn. It helped.”
Chief Howard said, “Will you take a turn, Lady Tamsyn?”
“Of course.” She turned to face the map and studied it with unfocused eyes. A sudden image of fire snapped into her mind. “Here!” she said, tapping hard. “Fire and soon!”
Her three companions turned around. “What were the results?” Cade asked.
Howard was staring at the map in amazement. “You all picked the block mill for your first choice.”
“That has to mean something,” Andre said.
“I think it means we have to get over there right now!” Cade said.
Howard headed to the door. “Lady Tamsyn, will you wait here?”
“I’m going with you,” she said briskly. “If I can’t keep up, leave me behind and I’ll catch up with you soon.”
As the five of them swept out of Howard’s office, the chief signaled to two of the armed guards. “Come along!”
The group set off at a swift pace, heading to the interior of the Yard. Tam was a swift walker but she said to Cade under her breath, “If I’d known we’d be running around the Yard, I’d have worn trousers!”
He took her hand to help steady her. “Since you’re just a little bit of a thing, I can carry you if necessary.”
“Ha!” she snapped, but didn’t say more because she didn’t have breath to spare.
They were moving between seemingly endless storehouses and workshops. There was a clamor of tools and machinery and beyond the building, ships’ masts were visible. A heavy bell rang and workers began pouring out of the buildings to head for home, moving in the opposite direction from their party.
Finally they reached an incredibly long building. Howard waved a hand at it. “This is the Double Rope-house, where very long lengths of rope are made in one piece because they’re stronger than spliced ropes. Over the years there have been several fires here because of all the fiber used. The last time that happened, it was caused by arson. Now water for firefighting is piped around the Yard so it’s less likely there will be another serious fire.”
Tam studied the length of the building, but the fire she’d seen hadn’t been here. They turned a corner and Howard gestured at a massive three-story building in front of them. “That’s the block mill building just ahead.”
Bran said, “Tamsyn saw fire. You said that the block mill included wood shops?”
“Wood shops and sawmills, among other things.” The chief scanned the area with narrowed eyes. “I don’t see anything out of order at the moment.”
