The road to the quarry wound through the coastal hills, the ground rising and falling in gentle swells that overlooked the sea. The air was cold and clean, carrying the salt tang of the ocean and the earthy scent of the pine forests that clung to the slopes. Kaelen rode in silence, his eyes scanning the landscape, noting the quality of the soil, the patterns of the drainage, the places where the ground seemed to shift and settle.
The quarry came into view suddenly, a great gash in the earth that opened onto the sea. The walls of the pit were sheer, the stone a pale grey that gleamed in the morning light. At the bottom, a pool of water glittered, dark and deep, fed by springs that seeped through the rock.
"Flooding's worse than we thought," Aperi said, reining in his horse beside Kaelen. "The water's risen another foot since last month. If it keeps going, the quarry will be completely submerged by spring."
