For the rest of the day the ferry across the river is free, and the ferry makes many many trips across the river and there is a substantial crowd on both sides, that have increased. Many people just go back and forth, and there is a festive atmosphere, not least because Maurr invites everyone to mead. Maurr spends many many trips sitting in the middle of the ferry and inviting people to mead.
I have now at least started to learn the difference between mead and beer. I've always thought beer, wine or alcohol taste like shit and seen no reason to drink it, and havn't been especially interested in learning anything about it, and it still applies to some extent. So there were several in my company who with the wedding planning and Reiekrône conversations told me what the difference is, and that much of what I assumed was mead is beer. Ordinary home-brewed stuff is generally mead made from various crops, but it doesn't last and can go bad in a few days to a week. Properly made beer on malt stays good and last well even during summer, and can last for 3-6 months. Reiekrône is known for its beer production and huge export, but the knowledge of how beer is made has spread, and since a couple of generations, there is now beer production in some places here in the region. So a lot of what we bought is beer, not mead.
Kari has on Iselin's suggestion sneakily brought some kites with her and Elvira shows how they work and lets the kids test. Kari can not relax and act 'childish' when it is so public, but otherwise she likes kites just like Iselin.
Since this is one of the few times I have good flowing water to try, I test fly fishing on the river, and I have a pretty good audience. The fishing line of braided strands from a horsetail is bad, but works. Fly fishing is not really my thing, but the fishing rod and fly work. The swinging rod and line whipping by at least makes people stay away from me. It must look rather absurd to see me fishing in this way, especially at a distance, where I stand in my pretty chain mail and wave a stick. But I get a couple of fish, which is a relief, and Ciara's applause gets accompanied by others watching me. I have to explain it several times, that the point is not to be the most effective way to get fish, but for sport, challenge and relaxation, and Maurr gets to try. The equipment can be absolutely be improved but it is cheap to make.
The ferryman I hired to take care of the ferry is annoyed over all the sweat and effort he put in for years and years to row people over - all the pain and ache he felt - when it can be so very easy and fast. He was afraid that he would have to quit in a few years as it is quite tiring to row and load goods, and it is very visible on his body how much he has worked in life. He does not look like he's just 38 years old, and the difference between us is very striking. When it is this simple and effortless, he will be able to work for many more years, and he is so grateful to be offered this work. For the time being, he will continue to live in his house as it is quite close and he will hear the bronze bells.
This type of ferry has already been popularly nick-named a current ferry, and that is quite logical. A ferry that uses the current: Current ferry.
It would have been nice to have larger weather protection on the ferry, but I am worried that it can catch too much wind and counteract the journey over. There is a couple of smaller spaces in the bow of each pontoon where passengers and the ferryman can sit and take shelter, partly to prevent rain and snow from filling the ferry's pontoons, but the roof is low and the space is open to the platform. Each is only suitable for four adults and a couple of children and goods. So I pay to have the boat builder add in a couple of glass panes on each side to shut out all rain and wind, and attach a small door over the opening with another glass pane. The corresponding rear spaces are storage space, but on the next ferry there will probably be small shelters there as well. So it is there if it is needed by travelers, otherwise it will be storage space.
Bresir is commissioned to make a rain and wind shelter on each side, where the ferryman and passengers can take shelter while waiting for the ferry. A couple of signs with pictograms that travelers should signal with a bronze bell will be put up, which also explains the cost of transport. Cheap for people, more expensive for goods, and if someone wants transport in the middle of the night, it will be much more expensive. To prevent someone from taking the ferry over at night etc, a large lock with a chain will be fastened on the side with his cabin, and in a small ceremony, the Ferryman gets the key.
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The inn will be located along the west shores road to the ferry, and only about a 2 minute walk from the ferry where the ground is more rocky and three to four meters higher, and there can be a basement in the stone foundation under the kitchen. I'm a little worried about the river flooding. It should not be a major problem, but why risk it? Beside the inn there will be a stable, barn and fence enclosing the inn's courtyard. The inn's area is 'large' in part because this ferry can become very popular as the main road to Borgarsandr and Tingshamn runs on the other east side of the river, and the road on the Inn side goes both west towards Lysesund and north before splitting to north east towards Storsjön and north west towards the coast. Kari's property should be somewhere over there too. But those roads mean that the inn can attract a lot of people. There are parallel stretches of road on this side of the river, but further down at Tingshamn the river splits in two, and the river to Borgarsandr is large and wide, but much slower. There Northmens Ting is on the east side, a day's journey downstream. Maurr will send someone to Borgarsandr to order windows for the inn and make sure the windows are delivered here. Considering how many horses I have, we will move two here, and there will also be room for a couple of wagons in the barn.
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All the people at the current ferry makes it easy to find those who can sell me some animals. Of course the inn needs it, and a large vegetable garden will also be arranged. That I employ a farmhand and maid from Maurr's estates to take care of animals and help with the inn is definitely appreciated, and there are several advantages to hiring locals. I have to hire someone who will be the host and manage the inn for me, but I can postpone it for a few months. Maybe one of the maids at the B-mansion is suitable?
Considering that the land I own lies against the river, and the rapids have a fall height of a couple of meters where a canal can lead water to a water wheel, Bresir will build a larger water-powered facility here. A sawmill, with extra buildings for flour mill, cloth stamping and maybe more. I make sure to add extra space for expansions. There is a lot of flow in the wide river, so that won't be an issue, and there might be some industrialization here in a few years. The stamper and flour mill won't take up much space, but the sawmill will be quite large as the potential supply of logs is huge. Due to the amount of work the sawmill will probably see and certainly require at least two men, there will be a small living area in the same building. Actually why not create a smaller adjacent building based on the new residential building? I can make them share a chimney, and it is a more luxurious larger apartment for the sawmill manager and two or three smaller ones for workers. I sketch the surroundings and take more photos and movies so I can plan the layout better. I miss Iselin's photobombing.
The sawmill interests Maurr very much, and I'm not surprised by how much forested mountains and land he seems to own. The mountains on both sides of the river valley are just forest, followed by more forest, with small lakes, streams and the occasional small plots of land around a farm, all the way to Svenlum about 12 km away to the west, and even more to the inland in the east. Most of the road here went through that western forest. So Maurr owns considerable areas of forested mountains, especially on the west side. Our agreement is that he simply pays for the road transport and sawing of planks. I will be able to buy all the timber I want, and he is responsible for timber transport out of the forest to a road. I will have a new type of wagon made as a timber wagon with a simple winch. They drag logs after horses, and it is practical in the terrain, but it destroys the roads, so they try to do it during winter when the ground is frozen. But Maurr's horses and men will drag the logs to a road, where the logs with their help are loaded on a timber wagon for travel to the sawmill during most of the year, and then the planks can be transported on the river or a regular wagon. About 60km downstream there is Borgarsandr and the whole coast. I better make sure that if the need exist, that I can increase production by adding many sawmills in the same industrial area.
Of course, I'll probably hire some more men from Maurr's land to work for me at the sawmill. It's definitely best to hire locals, and Maurr probably wouldn't recommend just anyone. The blacksmith in Maurr's village will be commissioned to make sawblades and other parts. So basically Maurr sells timber or planks, and pay me to transport logs and turn them into planks. Considering that Maurr owns lots of forest and is closest, he expects that I will buy almost everything I need here from him, which I will do, and he will be able to sell planks cheaper than others due to the amount of forest he has and that the forest is closer to the sawmill. However, log floating via the river should make it possible for other landowners upstream to sell timber, and it is an advantage to let the timber lie in fresh water for a long time to leach out sugar etc and so the planks don't split as easily, but it takes several years. Yeah, I should plan for a combination of drying on land and soaking, and I probably have enough land upstream for that. A relatively narrow dug canal can be used to float timber to different storage sites and the sawblades to make transport easier. I should probably look at making a simpler conveyor system or hanging route in the future.
But we will see how popular the sawmill will be, and how in demand the planks will be, which of course is affected by the price. But it should make shipbuilding and the like much easier, cheaper and faster. To brag and show of what planks can be used for, the Inn and other buildings will get a plank fence, and maybe a facade like A-mansion. Even without wood shavings as extra insulation, the log wall is protected and the still air provides an extra layer of insulation. There will at least be plenty of sawdust. Maybe I should consider selling sawdust as insulation? Or make paper out of it? Both?
Maurr's worker have been very fast in building the jetty, but they had material prepared. So the ferry take the carriage across with mounted horses, and it is so easy to just drive off once the ferry is tied to the jetty.
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Maurr has prepared a hearty feast, and Maurr has definitely learned from Jarl Naeswulf's mistakes with placement and my status. I'm there as Furst Arnesson, and the local Fjölkunnig woman is also invited, but there are a limited number of guests. Probably partly because he could not be sure when the feast would be, and his children live some distance away. Hence youngest daughter and husband. Maurr has not remarried since his wife died in childbirth, but the relationship he has with his concubine Lyngheida is definitely dear, and she seems to have been a good mother to his daughter. Both Maurr and Lyngheida believe that they are far too old to have more children. Kari and Gunhild's coddling and playing with the babies indicates how much they like children. I hope I don't have to disappoint Kari. Liv's disappointment was noticeable.
Maurr is drunk when he reluctantly says that King Asbjörn was a very wise man when he gave me land and title, and Maurr think that I is the best thing that has happened to the region in recent years. He praises Kari and Ciara, and regrets that Iselin is away. He congratulates me when I tell him we're getting married, and I invite him and Lyngheida to the wedding. Maurr is actually quite nice to talk too, albeit a little too lively and loud. His praise and volume only increase as he becomes more intoxicated, and he is boisterous, happy and enthusiastic about the future. He even complains that his own sons lacks such drive and vision. He at least whispers when he says that it is definitely true about his wastrel son-in-law further down the table.
I change the subject to fishing, and Maurr instantly bites, and as the evening continues it becomes clear he will try it.