Chapter Forty-Four

Several miles away, at the Iron Furnace, Caine was isolated in his private quarters, which was hardly more than a large tent he built adjacent to the furnace tower. It was dimly lit by a single torch that stood on the ground near the back of the tent. Caine was standing in front of a single shelf hanging suspended on one of the beams supporting the tent’s frame. On it sat several old-looking wine bottles, all of which were filled with the clear-colored alcoholic drink.

Caine poured the wine from one of the bottles into an old, aluminum cup and drank from it, wincing as he did so. One thing he learned from these outsiders when they established themselves in his territories was how to make wine for himself, which he had done over the course of the summer for when the colder months arrived. Though he had never quite grown accustomed to the taste, in the back of his mind, he felt a very distant sense of