lowlands?”
“Oof!
If I think back to biology class, fraternal twins are one in fifty and
identical twins are one in two hundred. Male or female. Triplets
are screaming rare.”
“That’s
one thing we have in common at least!”
“Um,
can I ask another question?” asked Chloë timidly.
“We’ve
still got most of the day to travel, so sure! It helps pass the time.”
“Have
you really thought about what you want to do for a living, and can you make any
suggestions for someone with a formal, but utterly worthless education?”
“Oh,
if I only knew…”
11
The
next leg of the trip went pretty much as Heather had described. After a
long, but pleasant, two hour hike, they arrived at a small village of just a
handful of buildings. It operated as a simple dock and ferry service for
people and goods traversing the river. They hopped onto a covered barge
along with two other people and started floating down the river at a gentle
pace.
“The
ferry is free?” Chloë asked somewhat surprised.
“People
can take a barge for free if there is room available. If you want to
guarantee a spot or take a sail or paddle boat, then that costs.”
“It
seems that they would be losing money letting people ride for free.”
“Well,
it’s the people who are paying for the bulk cargo that make the rules.
The guys guiding the barges just do the same thing regardless. The
merchant’s point of view is if you get to a market town with more money in your
pockets, you’re more likely to spend it at the town and everyone gets a
share.”
“That
is quite practical.”
“Not
sure if it actually pans out in the math, but it is pretty much a tradition
more than anything I guess.”
“Your
town seemed to have a big market; these are bigger then, I take it?”
“Yep.
Edmundshire is the largest town within two hundred miles. More of a
commercial hub than an agricultural hub.”
“Hence
your Mother’s idea that it may be a better place to look for an
apprenticeship.”
“Yep,
yep! It’s a nice town, lots of cool shops and new faces to meet.”
Heather blew a raspberry. “It’s just not fun spending all that time
looking for schooling or a job.”
Chloë
laughed, “Well, it beats getting married off!”
“You
got me there. That still sounds so weird, honestly. And at your
age? Yiesh!”
Chloë
smiled and nodded. Things were just so different… not just different, better .
12
A
little more than an hour later, they found themselves floating up to the docks
and the low boat ramps that made up the outer reaches of Tavelton or South
Edmundshire as several people joked. The most immediate feature was the
large monolithic stone structure that was the so-called Gatehouse. It was massive ! It was easily a four story tall block of solid living
stone that had been intricately and lovingly carved. The structure had a
massive set of stone doors that stood open revealing a simple hall with three
well-carved interior walls. But it was the center of each wall that
caught Chloë’s eyes: they were portals. Wormholes by any other name, they
were fascinating to watch as she could see out of them and into other
Gatehouses and passages that she knew to be hundreds of miles away.
Heather
laughed as she watched Chloë gawk at the structure. “The Gatehouse back home is
actually larger, and has more interior rooms. I should have taken you by
that one before we came here.”
“And
it is carved like this one?” asked Chloë flabbergasted.
“Yep,
top to bottom, carved over every square inch. They say it is a
single solid block, that’s cool in its own right, but the fascinating part is
how detailed the carvings are, and the structure is at least ten
thousand years old. No sign of weathering or anything.”
Chloë
nodded as she appreciated the uniqueness of the artifacts. “Ten thousand years
of rain and you’d expect
“Oof!
If I think back to biology class, fraternal twins are one in fifty and
identical twins are one in two hundred. Male or female. Triplets
are screaming rare.”
“That’s
one thing we have in common at least!”
“Um,
can I ask another question?” asked Chloë timidly.
“We’ve
still got most of the day to travel, so sure! It helps pass the time.”
“Have
you really thought about what you want to do for a living, and can you make any
suggestions for someone with a formal, but utterly worthless education?”
“Oh,
if I only knew…”
11
The
next leg of the trip went pretty much as Heather had described. After a
long, but pleasant, two hour hike, they arrived at a small village of just a
handful of buildings. It operated as a simple dock and ferry service for
people and goods traversing the river. They hopped onto a covered barge
along with two other people and started floating down the river at a gentle
pace.
“The
ferry is free?” Chloë asked somewhat surprised.
“People
can take a barge for free if there is room available. If you want to
guarantee a spot or take a sail or paddle boat, then that costs.”
“It
seems that they would be losing money letting people ride for free.”
“Well,
it’s the people who are paying for the bulk cargo that make the rules.
The guys guiding the barges just do the same thing regardless. The
merchant’s point of view is if you get to a market town with more money in your
pockets, you’re more likely to spend it at the town and everyone gets a
share.”
“That
is quite practical.”
“Not
sure if it actually pans out in the math, but it is pretty much a tradition
more than anything I guess.”
“Your
town seemed to have a big market; these are bigger then, I take it?”
“Yep.
Edmundshire is the largest town within two hundred miles. More of a
commercial hub than an agricultural hub.”
“Hence
your Mother’s idea that it may be a better place to look for an
apprenticeship.”
“Yep,
yep! It’s a nice town, lots of cool shops and new faces to meet.”
Heather blew a raspberry. “It’s just not fun spending all that time
looking for schooling or a job.”
Chloë
laughed, “Well, it beats getting married off!”
“You
got me there. That still sounds so weird, honestly. And at your
age? Yiesh!”
Chloë
smiled and nodded. Things were just so different… not just different, better .
12
A
little more than an hour later, they found themselves floating up to the docks
and the low boat ramps that made up the outer reaches of Tavelton or South
Edmundshire as several people joked. The most immediate feature was the
large monolithic stone structure that was the so-called Gatehouse. It was massive ! It was easily a four story tall block of solid living
stone that had been intricately and lovingly carved. The structure had a
massive set of stone doors that stood open revealing a simple hall with three
well-carved interior walls. But it was the center of each wall that
caught Chloë’s eyes: they were portals. Wormholes by any other name, they
were fascinating to watch as she could see out of them and into other
Gatehouses and passages that she knew to be hundreds of miles away.
Heather
laughed as she watched Chloë gawk at the structure. “The Gatehouse back home is
actually larger, and has more interior rooms. I should have taken you by
that one before we came here.”
“And
it is carved like this one?” asked Chloë flabbergasted.
“Yep,
top to bottom, carved over every square inch. They say it is a
single solid block, that’s cool in its own right, but the fascinating part is
how detailed the carvings are, and the structure is at least ten
thousand years old. No sign of weathering or anything.”
Chloë
nodded as she appreciated the uniqueness of the artifacts. “Ten thousand years
of rain and you’d expect
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