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had never paid much attention to the place beyond its practical uses.  He glanced up to the ceiling and observed thick wooden beams that extended twenty feet over his head from their anchor point in the rock cliff, to where they were supported by slightly larger vertical beams buried in the sand.  The room itself was nearly forty feet wide, but only half as deep.
    To his left, a door opened and another soldier walked through.  As soon as he noticed Adair, his casual demeanor disappeared.  “Colonel, it is a pleasure to have your company.”  The man bowed his head in respect.  “How may I be of assistance?”
    “I am here to see your Lieutenant.”
    The soldier motioned to the stairs.  “He is up above in the observatory; I will go fetch him for you.”
    “No; that won’t be necessary.  I don’t wish to keep him from his work; just take me to him.”
    “Certainly,” the man bowed.  “Please follow me.”
    He led Adair up the stairs, which switched back and forth across the cliff face.  The soldier climbed slowly out of courtesy for his superior.  After five floors they reached the observatory, which stood even with the top of the cliff.  The stairs ended at a spacious room with a balcony overlooking the ocean.  From here, a ladder extended through the ceiling, leading to the upper lookout.  The Lieutenant was standing at the railing of the balcony, looking north along the beach.  He was dressed much the same as Adair, with a hammered metal cuirass and a short red cloak gathered at one shoulder by a silver torc.  Though he was younger than Adair, he looked ten years older.  His sand colored hair was starting to thin on the top and his weathered skin had seen too many years of sun.  Adair walked up behind him, but the Lieutenant was deep in thought and didn’t notice.
    “Lieutenant,” Adair said softly.
    The man turned his head, startled.  It took him only a second to realize who was standing before him and he quickly bowed.  “My lord…what brings you from the city?” he asked, unable to hide his nervousness.
    “I came to inquire about the man that you found on the beach yesterday.”
    “Yes, my lord,” he replied.
    “Tell me everything you know.”
    “Well,” the man started, “I don’t know who he is, but I can show you where we found him.
    “Please,” Adair said, his curiosity piqued.
    The Lieutenant motioned for Adair to come farther out onto the balcony and pointed to a sandy finger of land to the north that jutted out from the rocks into the ocean.  Adair judged it to be just over five miles away.
    “He was found lying face-down in the sand on the other side of that point.  It was yesterday morning,” he quickly added, getting ahead of himself.  “When we came upon him, he was already unconscious.  His tunic was torn in many places and he was badly burned by the sun.”  The Captain looked out at the ocean as he remembered.  “His hands and feet were cut and bruised all over.  It happens when fishermen get tangled up with the reef .  He also had a large wound, high up on his left leg.  When he was first brought to me, I thought he was dead, but his breath could be felt under his nose.  I had one of my men wash him and temporarily dress his wounds.  But we were unable to get him to wake up for food or water, so I sent him to the city to be cared for.”  The soldier stopped with a puzzled look on his face.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was important or I would have contacted you immediately.”
    Adair dismissed the man’s comments, not wanting to get sidetracked by instructing the Lieutenant about how everyone was important in one way or another.  “Did he speak at all when you had him in your custody?” Adair asked instead.
    “No, my lord, he didn’t even move,” the Lieutenant answered.
    Adair only nodded in reply.
    The silence was clearly uncomfortable for the Lieutenant.  “With all of the activity around here lately, my men have been