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home | contents | previous | next | index Chapter 28 - Zerika's PointThere is an unamed hamlet north of Wetrock: I was on my way to Zerika's Point ... when a sudden shift in the wind caused our ship to run aground near a small hamlet some four miles north of here [Wetrock]. However, I think it's actually more west than north, since the coast line curves west just north of Wetrock. Between Wetrock and Dorindom are two posts named Hargon's Point and Axelsbroke: [From Wetrock to Dorindom] your horse, Stony, to be saddled, and for supplies for a ride of a day to be packed in her saddlebags ... you wish me to leave at once? / Yes, this very instant. You are young, my son, and can withstand an all-night ride ... Should you arrive before to-morrow's noon, well, we hope that will be in sufficient time ... In order to accomplish this, I am now giving you ... a note to the post stable at Hargon's Point, and another addressed to the one at Axelsbroke, so that you need not spare your horse ... he set off at a good pace down the road ... after several hours of riding, then, he reached Hargon's Point ... he was given another horse, this one of the sturdy breed that comes from the plains east of the Kanefthali Mountains ... it was already morning when he arrived [at Axelsbroke] It was late in the morning, then, when he arrived in sight of Dorindom Castle, having covered a distance of twenty leagues in less than half a day. We're later told (in an indirect way) where Hargon's Point is: Some four miles northeast of the village of Hargon's Point--which is to say, less than thirty miles southwest of Wetrock [is] a peculiar hill ... the only hill within 20 miles in any direction. It is, in fact, the very Hargon's Point for which the village was named ... After the turn, the road continues through a lightly wooded area for some two or three miles, at last emerging into grasslands. I think Paarfi meant "southeast," as southwest puts this hill in the middle of Redsky Harbor. I guessed that Axelsbroke was halfway between Hargon's Point (the post, not the hill) and Dorindom. Paarfi says he traveled "a distance of twenty leagues in less than half a day"; he left the night before, and arrived in the morning of the next day, so the "twenty leagues" here is the distance from Wetrock to Dorindom. However, on Steve's Map, Dorindom is 112 miles from Wetrock, so these leagues appear to be equal to five miles each, almost twice a "normal" league. [From Dorindom] The ground was flat for the most part, with some gentle hills, and no smell of the sea ... [Eremit] eventually deduced they were traveling north ... He would never have a clear memory of the next month, as the iron wagon rolled steadily northward. It gradually became colder, both from the failing of the year and the steady northward motion; during one stop, of which there were four a day as well as a longer one at night ... after a full month had passed, he nevertheless looked out of the windows. Through the right-hand window he saw farm country, with rows of strong trees protecting plowed fields, though now, after the harvest, they were empty ... he realized suddenly that, once more, he was smelling the sea, only there were differences: there were more intense sulfur notes to it, and the seaweed seemed sweeter, and there was less of the odor of iodine that he was used to ... he now calculated as best he could and concluded they had come north something like a thousand miles. If in addition to north their journey had taken them slightly west, then, from his memory of the maps he had once studied, they should be near the metropolis of Northport, the upper point of the Great Southwest Triangle of which the other two were Candletown and Zerika's Point. Here, it could be said, truly, that the south ended and the north began ... When he was next let out ... he could see a long, sandy beach with gentle waves rolling in ... The ride continued for several hours ... they were now in Northport itself, and, in fact, at the very port, which was proved by the oddly shaped harbor that is known so well. Northport is 600 miles from Dorindom on Steve's Map in a straight line, but Eremit can't smell the sea, so presumably they didn't follow that straight line (which would have brought them past the coast north of Wetrock). I might be making too much of his guess that it's 1,000 miles, but Dorindom to Aussiar to White Harbor to Candletown to Northport is about 1,150 miles if you go around the bay White Harbor is located in. I had earlier theorized that the Great Northwestern Road ran from Candletown around the southern tip of the Kanefthali Mountains and then towards Kana, but it could just as plausibly run from Candletown to Northport and then from Northport past Kana. There's even mention of a road that runs from Aussiar, which is connected to Candletown via the White Harbor Pike: The town of Aussiar was built not far from Wirton, where ... surface iron deposit was found ... as it was the closest iron to anywhere within the Zerika's Point region, and ... on the White Harbor Pike, which meant that coal could easily be brought in from Candletown and the Grand Canal. Later, Livosha travels from Candletown to Ivaacim: [From Candletown] It was two or three months after that, which is to say, the middle of summer ... four days later ... we can easily use the posts in order to arrive the sooner, and stay in the best inns to arrive the more rested ... In a single day, all of the preparations were complete ... The next day ... they took a carriage to the first post station [from there they] set out for the northwest, leaving behind Candletown ... one might pick a more-or-less typical day and discuss that they switched horses four times at post stations [or on another day] to return fifteen miles in order to have strong words with the post master ... after a ride of some days, during which summer ended and autumn began [they] arrived safely at the small port of Ivaacim. The first post is probably on the outskirts of Candletown; they actually meet up with another member of their party there, and Paarfi refers to them leaving Candletown after this post. They are almost certainly on the Great Northwestern Road at this point. Ivaacim is 1,380 miles from Candletown, and that's in a straight line; the absolute shortest path I could find that went around the Kanefthali Mountains and Cold Sea is about 1,650 miles, but again, I think they were probably on the Great Northwestern Road, which I think passes through Northport. It appears the nearest post to Ivaacim is about 8 miles away: Upon arriving (on foot, as they had left the horses at the nearest post station, some eight miles distant) It's possible that there are multiple roads equipped with posts in this area, but they are obviously in a hurry (Paarfi describes a typical day as 4 posts), and the Great in Great Northwestern Road suggests it is a (if not the) major road in the area. I extended the Great Northwestern Road from Northport to just west of Mount Kana (I can't see it actually going up into the mountains), then north around the Cold Sea, passing through Dinshouse and then heading northwest to Ivaacim. I calculate the entire trip was a little over 2,000 miles. "The middle of summer" (I'll guess the 109th day of the year) + four days + 1 day + the next day means they left on about the 115th day of the year. Paarfi says they arrived when autumn began (I'll call that "early autumn"), which is about the 157th day of the year, so their entire journey took about 43 days, which works out to be about 47 miles a day. Paarfi describes a typical day as 4 posts, which, at 47 miles a day, means the posts were about 12 miles apart, but this apparently varies somewhat, since at one point, they were at least 15 miles from the previous post. home | contents | previous | next | index Questions? Comments? Please contact me at dragaera [at] bryann.net. 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