Page 185 of Circle of Days

Joia was not intimidated by Seft. She had known him since he was sixteen midsummers old and lovesick for her sister, Neen. “My goodness, that got around quickly,” she said. “Who told you?”

“Not you, obviously, though you should have spoken to me before anyone else.” He was really bitter about this.

Joia told the priestesses to leave, saying she would finish the lesson later.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Seft. “I talked to my mother, because she brought me the news of what Scagga was saying. I haven’t discussed it with anyone else.”

He was not mollified. “You’ve given people the impression that you had my agreement. I’ll look a fool when we have to confess that it can’t be done.”

“Why are you so sure it can’t be done? We learned so much the first time—like that two-legged giant you made for getting a stone upright—that everything will go faster the second time.”

“True, but we still can’t move nine stones in ten days.”

That word “true” was a concession, a sign that he was softening. She knew that the way to get around Seft was to start him thinking about the practical problem. She said: “We should at least talk some more about it. Suppose we had six teams.”

“What, six teams each the same size as the one we had this year? Are there that many people in the Great Plain?”

“There are twice that many people in the Great Plain. And they’ll come from elsewhere too.”

“But what if we don’t get so many?”

“If we don’t, Seft, we’ll do our best with what we get, and at least bring some giant stones to the Monument, and hope to do better the following year.”

“All right, so long as we don’t start making ridiculous promises.”

“Let’s work it out. On Day One all the teams walk to Stony Valley. On Day Two, three stones are lifted and put on sleds—you’ll have to make more sleds—and sent on their way. They arrive at the Monument at different times, the last by the end of Day Four. Day Five is a rest day for them.”

“All right, that seems possible.”

“They walk back to Stony Valley on Day Six. On Day Seven another three stones are dispatched, and arrive by the evening of Day Nine.”

“That’s six stones.”

“The other three teams are just a day behind, and their stones reach the Monument by the end of Day Five. They don’t need to return to Stony Valley for a second run, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were glad to go back and help the others.”

“You have to allow for unexpected snags.”

“I’ve added an extra day. My timetable has all the stones at the Monument on Day Nine, but I’ve told people we need ten days.”

Seft clearly did not think that was enough, but by now he was losing the argumentative spirit. “I’m not sure the elders will approve this,” he said weakly.

“There are only five people who matter at an elders meeting,” Joia said. “Scagga and Jara will oppose us, my mother and Kae will support us, and Keff will make the decision. Any other elders who may show up will go along with Keff.”

“I agree, but how does that help us?”

“It means we need to convince Keffbeforethe meeting.”

Seft nodded.

He was extraordinarily clever about physical stuff, Joia knew, but surprisingly unimaginative when it came to dealing with people. Fortunately I can do that part for him, she thought.

She said: “We should go and see Keff now.”

Seft was taken aback, but he had got used to Joia’s perpetual wish to do things immediately. “All right,” he said.

They left the Monument and found Keff outside his house in Riverbend. When they arrived, he was sharpening a flint. This was a skill most adults had, because everyone used flints and flints often needed sharpening. However, the operation demanded concentration. Keff placed the point of an antler carefully near the edge of the stone and pressed hard, leaning over the antler. A perfect little flake came off the flint, leaving the edge sharper. This was a technique called pressure flaking.

Keff looked up at Joia and smiled.