by C. Litka
03
The wide plank-paved street ended at the edge of the city and Long Street took on its customary, four lane pattern. The center two lanes served the pedaled wagons and carts. They consisted of two sets of wide, wheel-scarred planks set to match the width of the wagons' and carriages' front wheels. Wood paving was used because the little barbs on the wagon wheels could dig slightly in for traction, which in the light gravity, allowed the wagons to travel at a fairly good speed. The rear steering wheels of the carts ran between the two plank strips, kicking up the soft dust between well-worn pavement stones, which, in the light gravity, hung in the calm air a long time - hence the need for dust scarves. Pedestrians, handcarts and wheelbarrows used the stone paved margin of the wagon road. Near the city, there was such a press of people that we could shuffle along only in single file - though with the dragons in the lead clearing out a space for us, we moved at a good pace - with a line of others following us. The other side of the road was reserved for mounted riders - government and army officials, and the wealthy. Their mounts looked to be the familiar lopemounts. The wide road was shaded by two lines of ancient fist trees, so that we walked through a green-tinted tunnel of dappled light and hanging dust - as thick as fog near the city. Eventually, foot traffic had thinned enough that we could take off our scarves and walk side by side.
Leaving the city behind, Long Street ran straight through a flat countryside dotted with countless fortress-villages surrounded by farm fields divided by thin strips of grass or tall woven fences to keep livestock in. These villages consisted of a single large fortress building similar to those in the city. Outbuildings - barns, sheds and corrals for livestock - clustered around the fortress-villages. And, as in the city, peace had allowed some of the villagers to move out to small dwellings on their land as well.. We loped along for several hours without seeing the scenery change. The fields may've grown larger, the crops changed from vegetables to grains and wood lots appeared, but the fortress-villages that dotted the horizon stayed the same.
The people we met were cheerful and friendly - bowing to Py and Naylea, commenting and questioning us on our two dragons as we passed them. Being on the poorer, pedestrian side of the road, they were dressed simply - both men and women wore baggy trousers that narrowed at mid-calf down to thin sandals on their feet. A loose, white, and often sweat-stained, shirt with several layers of lightweight, colorful vests, usually unbuttoned, was worn over it. The women wore jewelry about their neck and wrists and in their wide brimmed hats. Most of the men dressed a little plainer.
On the other side of the road, the riders - the wealthy merchants, government officials and military officers - wore richer versions of this garb, glittering and jingling as they loped along.
The faint blue line of the hills we were told to expect, did, in fact, appear on the horizon, and in time, rose before us in a mix of field and forests. When we came to the first fortress-village on the edge of these hills, we stopped to ask an old man mending the wheel of his wheelbarrow alongside the road if this was, indeed, the village of Kandiher.
He nodded, and noting the two Laezans, pointed down the narrow lane that led ran alongside the main building. 'Orchard Hill is seven leagues down this road. Look for the great wooden gateway, and the white buildings on the hill.'
We thanked him, and following the narrow, unpaved lane through the fields and woodlots along the base of the hills, we came upon the artistically carved wooden archway of Orchard Hill Community. Here we stopped to dust ourselves off, and then followed the mossy lane up through an orchard, up to a cluster of white stone buildings set amongst fields and pastures.
Chapter 40 Orchard Hill Community