Honor Crowned by Michael G. Southwick Page B

Looking about, Jorem was pleasantly surprised at the number of people digging and moving soil.  He hadn’t realized there were that many people still at the Keep.
    There were children everywhere.  Mostly they were playing while the elderly worked at digging the trenches.  Often they were more of a hindrance than a help.  Jorem’s back was already aching.  He could only imagine the hardship this was putting on those who were advanced in age.
    Even though the soil was not hard packed where they were digging, it still had to be pried up.  It occurred to Jorem that if he had someone else to lift the soil up to the cart, so that all he had to do was pry the soil loose, he would be able to go much faster.  Not to mention how much easier it would be on his back.  Spotting a group of children playing at some game with small rocks, Jorem called out to them.
    “Hey!”
    One of the boys looked up at Jorem’s shout.  Jorem pointed at the boy.
    “You!”
    With the boy’s attention on Jorem, the other children looked up.
    “You, you, you, and you.  Come over here.”
    The children, three boys and two girls, got up from their game and walked over to Jorem.  Some of them seemed a bit unsure, but came anyway.  They were all very young and full of energy; energy Jorem needed to harness.
    “I need your help.”
    Some of them brightened at the opportunity to help out, while one or two looked at Jorem a little dubiously.  Jorem pointed to a pile of buckets setting nearby.
    “Each of you grab a bucket and come back here.”
    They did as he had told them and, when they returned, he explained what he wanted them to do.
    “Okay, line up,” Jorem instructed.  “As I loosen the dirt with this shovel, I want you to come up one at a time and scoop up some dirt with your bucket.  Don’t fill it too full or you won’t be able to lift it.
    “Once you’ve got enough dirt in your bucket, carry it over to the cart and dump it in.  Then come back and get in line.  Do you think you can do that?”
    One or two nods, a couple of shoulder shrugs and a blank look were their responses.  It took a few rounds before they got the hang of it, but once they settled into a routine, Jorem was amazed at how much faster and easier it was.  With their help, he was easily moving three times the dirt that he had before.  In the next half mark, they dug out as much as he had all morning.
    Jorem stopped digging and the five children looked at him expectantly.  “This is amazing!”  Jorem told them.  “We have to share this idea with the others.  If your friends can help them as much as you’ve helped me, we’ll be done in half the time.”
    He actually got a few grins from the children for his praise of their work.
    “You five are going to be the official dig trainers.  I want each of you to gather five other kids, take them over to one of the adults and show them what to do.  If anyone asks you why, you can tell them Prince Jorem said so.
    “As soon as you’ve got a group working with an adult, find five more kids and start over.” 
    The children hesitated until Jorem shooed them along.  “When you run out of kids to help out or adults in need of help, come back here and give me a hand.”
     
    ************
     
    At about mid-day, a group of adults came out of the Keep heavily laden with baskets.  As they spread across the field, they began distributing the contents.  Wherever the baskets went, work stopped.  Adults and children sat down where they were and concentrated on eating the food provided.              
    A young boy approached Jorem with a basket in hand.  Before the lad had a chance to open the basket, Jorem pointed to another group still toiling at their task.
    “Serve them first.  I can wait.”  Jorem smiled at the boy and gestured again to the others. 
    The boy shrugged his shoulders and went off to do as he’d been told.  Twice more, Jorem sent the servers to others.  Not until he was