Page 176 of Circle of Days

“We should still repair the track and continue on. Or do you want to leave the giant stone right here?”

She realized she was being silly. “I just can’t bear to hear that fool Scagga say: ‘I told you so.’”

“I feel the same. But let’s put that behind us.”

Joia sighed. “You’re right, of course.” She wiped her eyes and got to her feet.

“We’ve got a workforce of two hundred,” Seft said. “It won’t take us long to repair the track.”

Joia nodded. “I’ll tell them what to do.”

“We can reuse all the branches we can find, and I’ll send some cleverhands forward to cut extra ones. There are plenty of trees along the river.”

Joia stood on a tree stump and shouted: “Listen, everybody. We have to repair the track.”

There was a collective groan.

“Consider it a rest period. It’s easier than pulling the stone.”

They laughed at that.

“Collect up the scattered branches and lay them back where they were. Don’t separate them, but push them together so that they interlock, then stamp on them. Throw earth on top to make it more stable. Tread everything down. Come on, let’s get started. We’re nearly home.”

She got down on her knees and began work on the nearest damaged section, showing people how to do it; and volunteers watched her for a while, then moved farther along to do the same.

Dee knelt beside Joia. “How do you think this happened?”

“I know how it happened,” Joia said. “Narod and his friends did it. I saw them leaving at midday. Obviously they went ahead to do their dirty work. Troon will be pleased with them.”

Dee did not understand. “But why would farmers want to stop us doing this?”

Joia thought for a moment before replying. It was a seriousquestion and Dee deserved a considered answer. She said: “After the woodlanders burned the Monument, people stopped coming to our Rites, and the farmers started their own midsummer feast. Troon saw a chance to increase his power and influence. I feel sure he dreams of being Big Man of the entire Great Plain, not just of Farmplace. So he doesn’t want the Monument to be rebuilt in stone. He doesn’t want it to regain its status as the focal center of the people of the plain. Our mission threatens his dream.”

Dee was shocked. “I had no idea.”

In silence they continued repairing the track until they caught up with the people in front, then they stood up. Joia said: “I need to know how far this damage continues. Come with me and we’ll walk to the end.”

Trees shaded them as they went along the riverbank. Dee observed: “Wrecking this track was a quicker job than rebuilding it.”

Joia nodded. Somehow that made the destruction more reprehensible.

To get to the end of the damage took as long as it takes to boil a pot of water. Suddenly the track ahead was pristine. “They gave up here,” Joia said. “They got bored, and told themselves they had done enough.”

Dee said: “Why did you want me to come with you?”

“So that I can teach you to count on the way back.”

“Oh, good!”

“And at the same time we’ll find out how many paces it is.”

She counted each step, Dee repeating the number. They stopped when they reached the point where the track was alreadyrepaired. Joia said: “One thousand two hundred and eighty-four paces.”

Dee was dazzled. “How can you keep such numbers in your head?”

“It’s not so difficult when you get used to it.”

Seft came up and said to Joia: “How much more to do?”