at least a little wear and tear. So who made
these?”
Heather
smiled as she shook her head. “We have no clue. They were here when the
Highlands government was restructured some eighteen hundred years ago.
Even back then they just called them ‘the Ancients.’ Not much of a
name, but, well, you had to call them something.”
“We
just walk through the portal and ‘poof’ we are in Edmundshire?”
“Well,
there is not ‘poof,’ per se , and we actually end up a quarter mile
outside of town, but yes, more or less. Shall we?”
Chloë
grinned and took Heather’s hand as she timidly approached the portal. It
looked like nothing; that is to say, there wasn’t even a shimmer save for the
very perimeter of the wormhole. It just looked like the world continued as it
should. It was quite bizarre. When one traveled through a wormhole
in the blackness of space, the portal was only open for a split second, so
there was no chance to marvel. Here, it was like time stood still.
“And they don’t require some insane power source to operate?”
“Not
that we know of, come on! Let’s get to town!” Heather pulled her
through the threshold and they instantly found themselves standing in a similar
Gatehouse just outside of Edmundshire. The trees visible outside were
much shorter, almost exclusively pines and the air had a bit of a chill to
it. Chloë shuddered lightly against the cold.
“Sorry,
should have warned you about the temperature, it’s about another two thousand
feet higher in elevation. We are just barely below the tree line.”
“And
there isn’t a strong wind at the portal from the difference in air pressure?”
Heather
just stood there, “Um, no. I’d never thought about that, but you are
right. There ought to be a stiff breeze. Hmm… something to ask
Maria about when we get home.” She smiled broadly as they stepped out
into the sun. “Well, we can do that later. Come on! Let’s go
check out the town!” Heather started a light jog down the path beckoning
Chloë to follow. Chloë just grinned and started after her. Once
Heather got going, it was impossible to slow her down!
They
quickly made their way down the short cobblestone road and turned to enter the
town; it was just like the other town, but much, much larger! Stone
and timber frame were the norm as before, but the buildings were larger, the
streets broader, the fountains more ornate. In the distance she could
make out the soaring roof of what she guessed was the town hall, easily six or
seven stories tall. On the side road, Chloë could make out beasts of
burden, large elk of some type, hauling carts and dragging barges down stone
lined canals.
Heather
noticed Chloë watching the elk pull the barges and interjected, “The canals
make a big ‘H’ through the town. They keep the pedestrian paths clear of
the canals and then they take a break twice a day, every day, to clean the
animal, um, ‘stuff’ off of those side streets. Then they flood the canals
twice a week, drain them and then refill them. Keeps things quite tidy!”
“Yes
indeed! So they hose the animal waste into the canals and then take care
of it later, but at regular times. Quite practical.”
Heather
shook her head, “Nope, there are side vents to fast moving sewer lines that
they use for the animal waste, they hardly ever have waste end up in the
canals. They drain those mainly to make sure icky bugs don’t set up
house!”
“Wow!”
remarked Chloë, “That is quite a system. It is such a bizarre
dichotomy—beasts of burden in the side streets and artificial wormholes
connecting the towns.”
Heather
just shrugged, “Never thought about it. It’s just what I grew up
with. Come on, my cousins’ inn is toward the middle of town. Let’s
get there so we can lose these backpacks.”
Chloë
nodded and smiled, “Let’s!”
The
pair quickly threaded their way through the town
these?”
Heather
smiled as she shook her head. “We have no clue. They were here when the
Highlands government was restructured some eighteen hundred years ago.
Even back then they just called them ‘the Ancients.’ Not much of a
name, but, well, you had to call them something.”
“We
just walk through the portal and ‘poof’ we are in Edmundshire?”
“Well,
there is not ‘poof,’ per se , and we actually end up a quarter mile
outside of town, but yes, more or less. Shall we?”
Chloë
grinned and took Heather’s hand as she timidly approached the portal. It
looked like nothing; that is to say, there wasn’t even a shimmer save for the
very perimeter of the wormhole. It just looked like the world continued as it
should. It was quite bizarre. When one traveled through a wormhole
in the blackness of space, the portal was only open for a split second, so
there was no chance to marvel. Here, it was like time stood still.
“And they don’t require some insane power source to operate?”
“Not
that we know of, come on! Let’s get to town!” Heather pulled her
through the threshold and they instantly found themselves standing in a similar
Gatehouse just outside of Edmundshire. The trees visible outside were
much shorter, almost exclusively pines and the air had a bit of a chill to
it. Chloë shuddered lightly against the cold.
“Sorry,
should have warned you about the temperature, it’s about another two thousand
feet higher in elevation. We are just barely below the tree line.”
“And
there isn’t a strong wind at the portal from the difference in air pressure?”
Heather
just stood there, “Um, no. I’d never thought about that, but you are
right. There ought to be a stiff breeze. Hmm… something to ask
Maria about when we get home.” She smiled broadly as they stepped out
into the sun. “Well, we can do that later. Come on! Let’s go
check out the town!” Heather started a light jog down the path beckoning
Chloë to follow. Chloë just grinned and started after her. Once
Heather got going, it was impossible to slow her down!
They
quickly made their way down the short cobblestone road and turned to enter the
town; it was just like the other town, but much, much larger! Stone
and timber frame were the norm as before, but the buildings were larger, the
streets broader, the fountains more ornate. In the distance she could
make out the soaring roof of what she guessed was the town hall, easily six or
seven stories tall. On the side road, Chloë could make out beasts of
burden, large elk of some type, hauling carts and dragging barges down stone
lined canals.
Heather
noticed Chloë watching the elk pull the barges and interjected, “The canals
make a big ‘H’ through the town. They keep the pedestrian paths clear of
the canals and then they take a break twice a day, every day, to clean the
animal, um, ‘stuff’ off of those side streets. Then they flood the canals
twice a week, drain them and then refill them. Keeps things quite tidy!”
“Yes
indeed! So they hose the animal waste into the canals and then take care
of it later, but at regular times. Quite practical.”
Heather
shook her head, “Nope, there are side vents to fast moving sewer lines that
they use for the animal waste, they hardly ever have waste end up in the
canals. They drain those mainly to make sure icky bugs don’t set up
house!”
“Wow!”
remarked Chloë, “That is quite a system. It is such a bizarre
dichotomy—beasts of burden in the side streets and artificial wormholes
connecting the towns.”
Heather
just shrugged, “Never thought about it. It’s just what I grew up
with. Come on, my cousins’ inn is toward the middle of town. Let’s
get there so we can lose these backpacks.”
Chloë
nodded and smiled, “Let’s!”
The
pair quickly threaded their way through the town
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