Chapter 3: The Surveyor's Strange Machine

Chapter 3: The Surveyor and His Portable Carto'granomical

Jarl woke with the sun shining in his eyes. Sitting up he could tell it was well past dawn, for Wilfreng, at least. Past dawn for most any other place except the Southern Mountains. He could see they were on a long ridge. This spot was near the top of a rise that dipped then rose up to a small mountain close by. There were several small mountains in view, as well as more of these ridges. Jarl had never been to the Boar's Back but they were more than a week's ride from Wilfreng and still looked taller in the distance than these did from Rombol. Jarl knew it was well past dawn because the sun was rising over the mountain that the camp's ridge led to. Looking about the camp he could see people sitting idly, chatting or drawing in the dirt. Guess he missed breakfast. He reached in his backpack for a hard roll and some cheese, good food when you didn't have it every meal of every day. A guard and five other people were watching toward the other side of the wagon in front him.

Finishing breakfast, Jarl got up and joined them. He could heard that strange metallic sound again. Rounding the wagon was that device that stranger was using back in Rombol. From the dyed color of his clothes, Jarl was certain he was the one inside this one now. Like before, the chair with the overhead arches swiveled around, facing back the way they came, mostly. Only this time, whatever it was he was moving up and down those arches was now below the horizontal rings. He turn the top metal wheel once, causing the chair to move slightly to his right, the move the metal piece attached to the arches down, as if he were looking at the valleys, canyons, and crevices below. Then the stranger would make some marks on a piece of paper, move that metal attachment up slightly, make another marking, and keep moving it up until it was in line with the rings. Then he would move the chair slightly to the right again and repeat the process. Sometimes the sunlight reflected of a piece of metal. Despite how complicated it was, its parts were actually quite plain, as if it were made as simply as possible, as quickly as possible.

A woman in front confessed to her companion ”I still don’t know what Portable Carto'granomical means. He shook his head, replying “I don’t know what a hand driven machine is either, except that it’s one of those.” Jarl had no idea what they meant, either.  Malindimal. Was that the stranger's name or another name for the thing he was in? It was not like any name he ever heard of.

Up close, the whole thing was huge. What's more, Jarl was certain he had seen this exact same one, complete with large wooden legs and sturdy platform, inside that empty warehouse two days earlier. Thinking of that weird event, Jarl looked closer at the people around him. One man was leaning with his back against one of the wagons, not really paying attention to the goings on that held the others attention. Jarl was sure this was the man who said there was time to go set his affairs in order. After his conversation with Lan a few hours after the event, Jarl was not sure if he should claim having had talked to this man, in that building, when in truth this entire group was gone an entire day at the time. Jarl chose a different tact. Turning to the man he asked "Excuse me. I feel like I've met you somewhere before. Is your name Wrennel?"

He eyed Jarl up and down, a bit of a frown on his aged face. He had light brown hair and eyes a darker shade of brown. He was shorter than Jarl, perhaps half a hand. The man still reminded Jarl of the warehouse workers in Rombol. "Yeah, I'm Wrennel. How do you know me?"

Wrennel remained leaning against the wagon as he replied, but now he looked right at Jarl, expecting a believable response. There was no recognition in his eyes.

Now what? How I explain how I know this guy?

Jarl's thoughts were a jumble, trying to think fast and clearly failing. Wrennel was starting to look at him funny. Jarl thought about how Wrennel looked like many of the warehouse workers. "I was looking for work around the city, talked the foreman for a warehouse near the Poor Quarter. He turned me away, but I thought someone matching your face answered to the name Wrennel. I'm new to the city, new to anyplace outside my home village of Wilfreng. And..."

"I was working the docks, not a warehouse. Wasn't me." Wrennel relaxed some and seemed to go back to his own thoughts. Jarl went back to trying to puzzle out the whole thing. Surely it could not have been a dream, or even a vision. He felt like he had lived it. Jarl remembered four men and women carrying the top piece to the platform, then another four raising it up over the chair to position it. It was clear in his mind, even now. Jarl started walking around the camp. He noticed quads sitting or sleeping just like yesterday, relaxing as they waited their turn guarding the camp. Even relaxed they appeared ready to act, armor on and weapons either equipped or close to hand. Neither Lan was not in camp just now. Neither was anyone large enough to be Petrum. The workers, laborers, or whatever they called themselves, were just as idle. A stocky man was going around checking the wagons, was his name Fylp? As the large man went around, he glanced at people, spoke a few words here and there, but likewise showed recognition upon seeing Jarl. He wasn't sure, but he thought he recognized a few other faces belonging to those he had seen assembling that...machine, the other day. No one acted like they had ever seen him before last night.

The quirky young woman from last night was returning from the direction of the horses with two other women all chatting and laughing, often at the time. Fylp shushed them whispering that the Surveyor doesn't like too much noise while he's working. The girls acted like he should mind his own business, but they quieted down just the same. He remembered Starella was the tall one, almost as tall as Jarl. Her hair was dark to the point it could be mistaken for black. She tended to defer to the other two, leaning down as if trying to pay closer attention. Gresta looked like a smaller version of Eleane but slimmer, with longer hair a lighter shade of brown.

Seeing Jarl, Eleane waved him over. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk with her, she seemed odd, but she claimed to have answers and he really needed some about now.