THE SHERIFF OF HNUT / CH. 24: BUILDING
MID-AFTERNOON, SKYDAY, 11TH WINTER
“I know you said there might be stone. I didn't expect this, Yalb.” Dirak said, looking at the stone they'd cut down into. “I'm no expert but it looks like perfect building stone.”
“Where did you think the stone came from for the church and the school and grandma's home?” Yalb asked, with a smile.
“I assumed it had been imported. This is sandstone isn't it?”
“Just like the church, yes. We know it's here, in the valley, we know there's a mix of stuff up on the ridge, volcanic stuff, and we know how hard it is to get a well into it. Some of it is fractured, so it's not perfect stone, but it's pretty good.”
“Where's the water table?”
“Half way to the river is the general rule of thumb I've heard if for wet feet, deeper you want a usable well.”
“And if we decided to dig a cellar...”
“Rather your back than mine. That's a lot of digging!”
“I'll let wizardry do it. But you don't expect water problems?”
“All I can say is try it and see. You really want a cellar? It wasn't in the plans.”
“Well, not in the bits you could read, no. OK, well, we'll get out some rock for the inner walls and see what we get.”
“We're going to look really silly if we dig a cellar and it turns into a well,” Lenepoli said.
“Worst case scenario I'll line it with crystal.” Dirak said confidently.
“You've got no imagination!” Sithini accused. “The worst case scenario, you hit a vein of super-heated sulphur-rich steam and we have to evacuate half the village.”
“Why not go the whole hog and say I find radioactive lava?” Dirak shot back.
“Be reasonable! It'd melting the snow if there was lava that close to here.”
“You can tell why people don't doubt they think of each other as siblings, can't you?” Lenepoli commented to Yalb.
“I wouldn't dare to comment. From what I understand I'm going to be learning from these honourable wizards quite soon.”
“Dirak, how about you stop arguing and decide if you're going to dig foundations or a cellar?” Lenepoli suggested.
“Sithini thinks we all need safety gear we don't have,” Dirak said.
“I didn't mean that. I just meant don't put yourself in a situation you you can't run away, like digging a tunnel. What are you going to dig?”
“Oh. OK. Well, we don't need foundations as deep as we want privacy panels, but shall we see if we can get a panel from this trench, Dirak?” Lenepoli asked.
“Why not avoid interfering with the foundations?” Sithini asked.
“Curiosity and impatience,” Lenepoli replied with a grin, “But OK, Dirak, move mud please. Let's see how good a quarry our house might be.”
“Plan B?” Dirak asked. Plan B was that if they found shallow rock, to remove the soil from on top of it, so there was no wet soil under the house. “Exactly, or at least let's start and see how long it takes to move it.”
“We'd better start where we want the cellar then,” Dirak said, picking up the rock mover.
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LATE-AFTERNOON, SKYDAY, 11TH WINTER
“Hey, you're getting confused, Dirak, houses go up it's mines that go down!” Rangar joked, peering into the hole.
“Cellars and wells go down too, Rangar,” Dirak called back.
“You're starting your home by digging a well?” Rangar asked, confused.
“I think he plans an entire underground tunnel system,” Yalb said. “No, that's Sithini,” Lenepoli said, keeping on working a hand-pump. “The well is sort of her fault too. She wanted to know how much deeper the water table is than the cellar, so we decided to find out.”
“And the answer is?”
“The answer is, urmm.. see that trickle by Dirak's head? That's where he hit the first water, and as you see, I'm getting about a bucket every three or four minutes out of it now.”
“So you're going to have a bucket to drop down under the kitchen floor?”
“Probably not; Dirak's planning to make an automatic pump. But at the moment, we've just got this manual one.”
“And the plan is you'll keep on digging until you can't keep the water out easily?” Rangar asked.
“No, this is filling fast enough. But Dirak wanted a bit more margin for summer, so the plan is to dig out the cuts he's making now.”
Rangar looked around and saw a stacked pile of smooth stone slabs, beside the mine-tailings he'd seen unloaded earlier. Where was stone from the cellar? “You're not telling me those slabs of dressed stone are your diggings are you?”
“Did you hear about Dirak's adventures into the veneer business?” Yalb asked. “Miners can be equally glad that wizards are too busy to branch out into mining too.”
“Well! If word of this gets around then your school could be quite busy. Who's been doing the hauling, surely not you alone, Yalb?”
“Oh, Dirak and Lenepoli have chased away any offers to help so far. I'm just here spectating and adding occasional silly questions,” Yalb said, then as there was the sound of a splash, and Yalb called “What are you doing now, Dirak?”
“Cutting some hand and foot-holes,” Dirak replied. “I can fly out, but I don't want someone getting stuck down here with no way out.”
“See?” Yalb asked. “I've another a silly question, Dirak. Have you thought about adding some side holes or similar, so there's more effective area to your well?”
“Yes. I did, but assuming we're still in rock at the bottom then I'd like to keep it rock all around. I'd feel really silly if I cut through the rock to get more water and ended up letting mud come in.”
“Not entirely dumb, my betrothed,” Lenepoli said, smiling her approval. “But refusing all offers to help wasn't entirely thoughtful when that leaves me pumping all the time.”
“Would you like me to pump, Lenepoli?” Yalb asked.
“Yes please, Yalb. Then I can start moving some more rock.”
“More wizardry?” Rangar asked.
“Oh, very much so,” Lenepoli replied. “Ready, for me to get the first slab out, Dirak?”
“Just about. We're getting a bit more in-flow from below, by the way.”
“I should hope so too!” Lenepoli said. “Otherwise, you don't get more water in summer.”
“But anyway, I'm finished,” Dirak said, climbing out using the holes he'd made.
“OK, here comes chunk one... And it's out. See how useful this wizardry is, Rangar?”
“Very,” Rangar agreed.
“Wow! Dirak, look!” Lenepoli called, as the water was rapidly welling up in the hole where the vertical slab she'd just removed had been.
“Hmm. Is Sithini still around?” Dirak asked, looking at the flow.
“She went to talk to Keldi.”
“Oh well, she might have wanted to see this. She warned us about artesian wells, didn't she?”
“That's what that is?” Lenepoli asked.
“Slightly, at least. Step one: we ought to move this stuff out of the cellar, in case it gets deep. But I doubt it will, just a precaution.” He didn't move though, watching the water climb up the well.
“You don't seem very worried,” Lenepoli said.
“I'm not,” Dirak said, “not really.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don't need a pump if we've really got pressurised water.”
“Flooding our cellar?”
“I actually doubt that'll happen. Given that it was stopped by the weight of that slab, the water's probably not under that much pressure. Except it might have been on a small plug, I suppose, but let's not worry until we know we have a problem, beloved.”
“Right, because when we have a river where our cellar ought to be there's going to be plenty of time to act,” Lenepoli said, exasperatedly.
“Exactly,” Dirak confirmed with irritating confidence, still looking at the rising water.
“Rangar, can you hold him down while I pummel him?” Lenepoli asked.
“Not the best idea.” Rangar said. “What's your plan, sheriff?”
“Maybe start on some walls while we see if we've really just found an artesian spring, or simply a nice fast-filling well. If it is an artesian spring, then I want the water static or almost static before I start dealing with it, in which case impenetrable walls around it are a really good step.” Finally taking his eyes off the rising water he said “OK, the well's three and a half steps deep, roughly. And although it was impressive in the slab hole it's only really rising at about two centisteps a minute, or two buckets a minute. So, giving myself some margin for error, maybe forty five minutes per step. In that case, we ought to have something like two hours before it reaches the top of the well, assuming it will. Plenty of time to decide what to do, and no need to panic, but maybe we won't have time to do a full set of walls.”
“You've got another idea?” Lenepoli asked.
“Several. If the flow's constant, we might win ourselves some time if we removed the rest of the slabs I cut, but that might speed up the flow too. Or we could put that slab back and see if that slows it down again.”
“Let's do that one.”
“If we do that, then it might not slow it down much, and if it is an artesian supply, then that little trickle we got before we moved would be really frustrating for taps.”
“So you think leave it be?”
“I don't know. We can still use the rock mover, but only for another five minutes or so before the water's too deep. If it is artesian and we move the other slabs then the flow might double or something, which would mean we have an hour or less to make a lid. That'd be pretty tight, I think. If we put the slab back and it doesn't help, then the water will be too deep to lift the slab out again, I expect.”
“Get a bigger pump?” Yalb suggested.
“We can haul out more than two buckets a minute, easily.” Rangar pointed out.
“Let's leave it be, and make a lid.” Lenepoli said. “We're going to want the lid eventually anyway, aren't we?”
“Well, yes.” Dirak conceded, “But a grate to stop people falling in isn't the same as one to keep pressurised water in.”
“If I were you, I'd want a lid that stops kids posting things into the well,” Rangar pointed out.
“Oh good point. Right, so, shall we aim for an airtight lid, see if needs to be airtight and if it doesn't then we make it not-airtight afterwards?”
“What does that do to pipes?”
“Not much. Pipes need to happen afterwards anyway.”
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About an hour and a half later, Sithini came along. The water in the well was just below the cellar floor.
“Ah, did I miss something exciting?”
“Sort of.” Dirak replied. “The greatest excitement happened a few minutes ago, when I tweaked the rock mover to get all the cut rocks out, and we decided that we ought to put the lid back quickly. My guess is we need some kind of pressure gauge and a drain pipe. But there's certainly a fair amount of inflow right now.”
“How much?”
“Once we lifted the last rock, it started coming in at about quarter of a step a minute, would you say, Lenepoli?”
“Something like that. I wasn't looking too long.”
“You've basically found an underground stream then?” Sithini said.
“It looks rather like it.”
“There is that spring down beside the ford,” Lenepoli pointed out.
“Hmm. So if your cellar floods then everyone will know to blames you for their wells running dry? Why didn't you put the slabs back?”
“I did. Not much effect, so I guess there was some kind of small plug being held down by the weight.”
“And you've got no pressure relief at the moment?”
“At the moment, I've got this lid, and we can undo the clamps a bit if we want to let our the air.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Which you do, I presume?” Sithini asked, adding “Just to reduce the chances that things goes flying if something breaks, I mean.”
“Yes.”
“What fun. Try not to get too soaked without me being around to watch, I've got to go to the college to get some things for Keldi; shall I bring you up pressure gauges and pipes and things?”
“Yes, please. What does Keldi want?”
“Piped water for starters. And then she wants a home to move into as soon as her eggs are hatched. Hint, hint, Yalb.”
“If the council of wizardry are happy with the plans, then so am I.” Yalb said.
“You'd better keep tomorrow morning clear in your diary then, the Doctor's already given Keldi strict instructions about how long she's allowed to be talking to people rather than eating and sleeping. Keldi told Thuna, so the council will be looking at your plans sometime soon after dawn.”
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COLLEGE OF WIZARDRY, EARLY SKYDAY EVENING
“Hnah! Great, just the person!” Sithini said as she opened her door to the knock, “Please can you warn the other apprentices that first-thing lectures from council members are cancelled, and building work is quite possibly starting tomorrow lunchtime, so make sure they're packed. Actually, no, I'll find someone else to do that, you get to go home and tell your mother that rather than burn her letters Yathin put them in the oven since that's part of the stove, isn't it? And that Yanepoli has finally read them, and sends this in reply.”
“Do you know what it is?” Hnah asked, looking at the package.
“Not at all, but I presume your mother will once she gets the chance to open it. Oh, you can also tell her that there'll be a lot of coming and going to Hnut, and travel is not going to be a problem.”
“I was at home for the weekend, I've only just got here,” Hnah said.
“That explains why I didn't find you earlier. So, how long would it take you to walk home?”
“I suppose I might be back here by midnight.”
“And it's not the safest time to travel is it? How are you at giving travel directions if I fly you there?”
“Urm... can I just say about half way along the north side of the royal park?”
“Yes, you can,” Sithini agreed, “Have you eaten?”
“Yes,” Hnah said.
“OK, let's find someone to warn the other apprentices, and then I'll take you back home. Oh, and I'm supposed to tell people that Keldi will not be teaching for a while, despite what she might have said last week; Doctor's orders.”
“Is there a problem?” Hnah asked.
“Just a precaution. The doctor's sure she's carrying more than two eggs.”
“Oh!”
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HNAH'S FAMILY HOME, SKYDAY EVENING
“You surely didn't forget something and turn round half way there, did you?” Hnayagelah asked her daughter.
“No mother,” Hna said, “I got all the way to the college when I got a message to find wizardess Sithini here, who has a message from Hnut.”
“Yanepoli of Hnut says that Yathin followed her instructions to throw your first letter in the stove, and then to burn the others in the same way, but she's read them now, finally, through tears of remorse. In return she sends this.”
“How...?” Hnayagelah asked, “Oh! Yathin put them in the oven?”
“Yes. Your mother spent a lot time weeping over her stubbornness, and hopes that you will forgive her.”
“And she sent this box, not Yathin?” Hnayagelah hadn't moved to open the package.
“She sent it,” Sithini confirmed, “Yathin helped her wrap it.”
“What is it, mother?” Hnah asked.
“Sorry, I'm being rude, do come in. And what's your name, wizardess? I'm afraid my brain froze on hearing about the message.”
“My full name is Sithinilakiina, but I go by Sithini.”
“You honour my home, most noble one. Bob, my husband, has mentioned you. Hna, you should open the packet.”
“It's addressed to you, mother.”
“It's the size of my old jewellery box.” Hnayagelah said, “and my hands are trembling.”
Hnah gave in and unwrapped it. There was a note and a carved box. “Your old jewellery box?”
“Yes,” Hnayagelah read the note, and smiled. “To my proud, stubborn and older rebellious daughter, from sinfully proud and stupidly stubborn Yanepoli of Hnut. Yathin has rebelliously been keeping your rooms ready and other treasures clean. Parliamentary rules say nothing about you and your husband visiting your family by wizardry for a night or a weekend. Please come.”
“There will be a lot of coming and going,” Sithini said.
“Thank you.”
“And since I'm here, I'll add that little Yalinth said it would make your mother very happy if you came tonight, but there's no way she'd say it.”
“What did grandmother say to that?” Hnah asked. “'Of course I wouldn't tell her that. If I said that then I'd be asking Sithini to bring her,' Yalinth replied it was my idea anyway.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. Keldithanapoli probably won't be visiting but she's in the village, and Lanthithanapoli isn't often far from your nephew Yalb, as they've reached an understanding.”
“Meaning Yalb won't be around?”
“Meaning he'll probably be around and Lanthi, too. Keldi is due to clutch on Motherday, so won't want visitors. Unless they're delivering food. The doctor says she expects three or more.”
“Then we'd better come.” Hnayagelah said. “We hosted a lunch today and there quite a few cancellations. I'm sure Bob won't object to feeding a hungry mother. Run and get your father, please, Hnah.”
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HNUT, DIRAK'S LIBRARY. LATE SKYDAY EVENING.
“Knock knock!” Sithini called. “I come with an offering of very tasty meats and cheeses.”
“And you've eaten some of it?” Keldi asked, outraged. It had been at least an hour since she'd last had a proper meal.
“I think there are limits to even your appetite, Keldi.” Sithini said, coming in with a laden tray. “Compliments of Bob, Hnayagelah and Hnayalinth. Thirty people invited to lunch, catering for forty, in case there were more kids with their parents than expected, Three couples sent late apologies due to suddenly getting another invitation, and less kids than expected.”
“Bit rude to swap invitations like that.” Keldi said, spearing two slices of meat.
“Bob says that being a low-grade politician says he's used to it.” Sithini replied “A minister's invitation is better, apparently.”
“Hmm. Bob and Hnayagelah serve good meat. Thank them for me. Dirak probably thanks them too, I was about to raid his larder again.”
“Not getting up, I hope?” Sithini asked.
“Have no fear, I'd have sent Kand to do the actual thievery.”
“Don't call it thievery, Keldi. It's just meeting the needs of your fragile little ones. Is there anything else you need?”
“Just a button I can press to summon Kand.”
“I'm right here, Keldi.” Kand said, looking up from his book.
“But you're not always here.” she said, plaintively. “And I might need you.”
“What about a simple, stand-alone radio, Keldi?” Sithini suggested, “For instance the one in the rugged box that Dirak's got on the front desk for when he's not in?”
“You'd better check with him first.”
“Naah. I'll check with him second or third.”
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DIRAK AND LENEPOLI'S BUILDING SITE, EARTHDAY 12TH WINTER, DAWN
“You didn't stay here all night did you?” Rangar asked Dirak.
“Morning Rangar. No, I've been here about half an hour, Lenepoli's just come to bring me that cup of tea in her hands. What do you think of our walls?”
“Very straight. But I'm wondering why your cellar's floor's icy. That fancy lid on your well leaked?”
“Oh, this isn't ice. It's a layer of what the walls are made of, but at the moment it's a bit too smooth, which is why I'm doing this.” 'This', was shaking looked like ash over the surface.
“You sure you're not putting ash on a sheet of ice?” Rangar asked.
“Oh, it's ash. The aliens had a cleverer way of doing this, but this way is much easier. I'm going to burn the ash off and as burns away it'll make the surface rougher.”
“Ash doesn't burn, Dirak,” Lenepoli said, seeing Rangar's look of confusion. “Everyone knows that.”
“I'm using burn in the non-technical sense, beloved. I'm going to get it so hot it turns into whiffs of the same stuff you get in flames. Except it's going to be hotter than the sun, so if you look, you might well damage your eyes.”
“What about your eyes?”
“Oh, I'm not going to look either,” Dirak said, fiddling with his staff's controls.
“How do you know what you're doing with that staff, Dirak?” Rangar asked. “It looks like you're always holding it in the same place, but different things happen.”
“Mostly I am. I've got one button that means go, one that means stop, and a few others that do some simple things like fly if I press them at the same time as go. For complicated things, I need to hold down stop and press them in the right sequence.” He peered at the end of the staff. “And sometimes I get it wrong, like just now, oops. Let's start that again.”
“I'll leave you to it. Oh, the reason I came by, it looks like some kid's walked off with your 'press this button if you need the sheriff' thing again.”
“Oh, yes! Sithini said this morning that she'd lent it to Keldi.” Lenepoli said.
“OK. Well, If someone needs me they'll just have to resort to good old-fashioned shouting then.” Dirak said, “Kand said he'd radio me if anyone shouted, so that starts to make sense. Sithini's gone back to round up the apprentices?”
“And to take Bob and Hnayagelah back. They apparently had a good chat to and cry with Yanepoli.”
“Was good to hear of that family reunion,” Rangar said. “Keep up the strange stuff, Dirak, it gives us locals something to talk about.”
“My pleasure, Rangar!”
“And let me know if you want any help. It's always good to have something useful for the farm-helps to do.”
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DIRAK'S LIBRARY, EARLY EARTHDAY MORNING.
“Thuna? Please can we start?” Keldi asked her friend.
“Yes, certainly. Everyone put Dirak's books back where you found them, please! This is meant to be a quick meeting to say yes or no to the plans, not a raid on Dirak's books. Keldi can't move, under doctor's orders, and Kand is going to kick us out before we can tire her out. You've all seen the site as you got here, I assume?”
“The thing that worries me it the scale of all this. Are the village really happy about it?”
“Yes,” Lenepoli said. “It'll be a change, we know, but we've long had a by-law that said strangers and Zerkers were free to walk here and live here without fear as long as they helped their neighbours, and now this has were has been modified. Now wizards, winterborns and aliens are also covered. We treasure Yalinth and those like her, we hate the attitudes that led to the hool in Qnut, we like the thought that wizards will intervene to protect them, and really like the idea that kids don't need to go to the city to learn wizardry. I'll add, however, that various local guilds such as veneer-makers and stone-finishers are likely to be asking this council to ensure that whatever wizards might be able to do for themselves, they don't ruin the livelihoods of others. Of course, there are laws regarding that, but they want to ensure that if someone raised in, say, veneer making, thinks they can learn some wizardry and use that to get rich, they get told they can't.”
“Indeed,” Thuna said. “It's an issue we've faced before, of course, but a timely reminder. Especially since there will be obvious examples of what we can do if we build this school. Any other questions?”
“I actually have one,” Lenepoli said. “Dirak's been asked about his title of sheriff and wizard-at-large. Will the school teach people who are thinking of similarly combining wizardry and law-enforcement as a career plan, or is he a one-off? I think it does relate to building the school, in that the village's understanding is that we will be active members of the community.”
“Dirak is a unique person,” Keldi said, “this library is evidence of that, but sure, let's extend the training we already give to police, and let the police training school teach wizards the legalities of investigating crimes if they want to. I have no objections.”
“Nor do I.” Thuna agreed, “But Dirak's said that it might be better to have a combined 'wizardry and law enforcement' course. We'd have to negotiate the details with the police school, but they seemed interested. There was a suggestion that applicants start with an ASC and then do basic police training, or the other way round. They'd need both, whatever. So, if there are people genuinely interested when it gets to near ASC time, we can start those discussions in earnest.”
“Excellent!” Lenepoli said.
“Any questions directly related to the school plan?” Thuna asked.
“I was going to ask if we really need the second lecture hall, since we've always made do with the one in the city,” Brm said, “But yes, if we might end up with specialist courses then we will. And more lecturers.”
“The city school is going to end up the smaller one, isn't it?” Steev mused.
“Yes, in terms of research area and teaching space, since the village has been generous with land.” Keldi said, “Maybe not in terms of fully trained wizards. But can we approve these plans or not?”
“I've got one suggestion.” Lenepoli said, “And that is that we start with some of the smaller buildings first. With Sithini's help we did the cellar floor and walls of our new house last night and even Sithini was saying setting up the extruder to get the corners right was hard. If we'd started with something as huge as that lecture hall-complex with all those side doors and arches and other fiddly things, I'd have been saying let's just make slabs and cut them into bricks, it'll be faster. Practice on simple stuff.”
“You're just saying that because Dirak wants his library back,” Keldi accused.
“Actually, no, Keldi,” Lenepoli replied, “because we hope to have moved the books into our new house before your eggs have hatched.”
“There are some techniques that perhaps even our resident genius Sithini doesn't know,” Ranth said, “But they're best practised in smaller places, I agree with our youngest member. Start small, make some housing to enable staff to have some privacy and get a decent night's sleep, some research buildings next, since they're just bigger versions of the houses, really, and not that complicated, and then the lecture hall last of all. I say this, because classes can happen in research buildings but research shouldn't happen in the lecture hall.”
“Thank you, Ranth,” Thuna said. “Does anyone have any issues with the design, or the layout?”
“Just the sequencing,” Brm said, “If we're going to make the lecture hall last, that means that all the supplies will need to go through these gaps, or be flown in. That doesn't sound great.”
“These buildings marked with a three are extra possibilities, Brm, in case we decide we don't have enough space.” Ranth said.
“Ah! Right, I'd forgotten that. The twos are for a second round of building too?”
“We hope to build everything that's a one before the teaching starts, twos after ones are done, based on priority determined at the time, and then pause to see how student and staff numbers are doing.”
“And if we get invitations from other villages, then we probably never need to build the threes at all.” Thuna said.
“So we end up with the same density as the rest of the village, and the school, church and lecture hall making a clear triangle?” Brm said.
“Exactly what Yalb wanted, yes.” Lenepoli said. “He realised that the school exit points towards the site and decided to make the lecture hall's main exit point to the church. He tried to do the same for the research labs too, that's why they're angled as they are.”
“So every time we start work, we need to turn our backs on church?” Brm asked, facetiously.
“No, so when you're leaving you're reminded that there is choir practice or Bible study,” Thuna said, “and when you're in the upstairs office-kitchen, you're reminded that there are important things happening outside. You'll also notice that Yalb has windows looking towards the woods, in case there are growlers around.”
“Because we protect our neighbours,” Lenepoli said.
“The design is perfect.” Steev said. “And so after lunch we start building our most beloved queen Keldithanapoli's village palace from which she can rule us in peace and tranquillity?”
“Ignore him, Keldi,” Brm suggested, as she tried to sit up to reply “firstly, he's just trying to be funny, secondly, we all know his grammar is horrible, and thirdly, urm, and thirdly, we'll set Sithini on him if you wish him punished.”
“Brm, you know what Sithini thinks about violence. As a resident of this village, Keldi,” Lenepoli said, “I'd like to point out my Zerker speed is promised in defence of the innocent, and there are none more innocent here than your fragile ones. If you need him shredded a bit for that, just tell me.”
Keldi settled down and smiled. “It's nice to know you take your vow seriously, Lenepoli. I don't want him shredded, just educated about protocol.”
“Oh, so shall we set Lanthi on him then?” Lenepoli asked.
“Sorry,” Steev said. “I didn't mean to cause any offence.”
“This used to be called Hoom of Yant, Steev. The Yant's noble seat since before the conquest.” Lenepoli said. “The only palace here is Yanepoli's.”
“Kand and I will borrow a house from the new school, Steev, just like all the other married couples who choose to be based here. Don't call it a palace, and don't suggest I should rule. We thanapolis don't know how to rule in peace and tranquillity. We have been bred to innate bellicosity, and to rule in blood, mayhem and noble pigheaded stubbornness. My ancestresses chose not to rule because ruling means wading in blood, often on a monthly basis.”
“I am corrected, Keldi. Sorry.”
“Good. Now can we vote and close the meeting, please, Thuna? My stomach is craving calcium and I don't want to have to chew Steev's leg bones to get it.”
“Oops!” Lenepoli said, “Sorry Keldi, I put your cheese down on the wrong table, here it is. There's some meat too, if you want it.”
Keldi didn't reply immediately, just sank her teeth into the offered slab of meat and chewed, with a look of pleasure on her face. After the meat, the large slab of cheese slowly vanished too.
“If no one has any queries about the plan we have in front of us, I suggest we vote before Lenepoli needs to get Keldi some more food,” Thuna said.
“Just one query,” Brm said, “and it's about scheduling again, I think.”
“Go ahead, Brm.” Thuna said.
“We have thirty volunteer-apprentices, I see urm, it looks like ten buildings marked one, we also have lectures to give, which presumably means work stops while apprentice-lectures are happening, and the apprentices need to do their assignments. I might have missed the memo, but how does this all work?”
“Ah! Sorry, Brm,” Magz said, “I guess you missed that announcement. Group projects for all apprentices — building work or lab-work; essays or step-by-step guides based on discoveries and cultural notes on the village and-or social notes on the teamwork; lectures for apprentices will all happen on Sisterdays, in the city.
“So apprentices go home for weekends?” Brm asked.
“It's a possibility, not a requirement,” Lenepoli said. “Dirak thought it'd be good to give them time to chat to family, and to friends who aren't coming up, but host families are happy for them to stay, too.”
“More clarifications? No? OK, is anyone not happy with building this?”
“Me,” Keldi said, just as Thuna was about to declare the decision unanimous. “Just in the sense that I've got used to this place being a quite backwater where nothing ever happens, no one's ever arrested or found smuggling anything or...” she started laughing. “Sorry. I was just teasing. It's going to be wonderful.”
“But you raise a point, Keldi. Are the villagers happy, Lenepoli?”
“No, they want to be able to gawp at it being built while they're in the fields, far too busy to be invited to help. My pupils, on the other hand, are really looking forwards to 'helping' in the sense of watching or maybe throwing some snow, and using that as an excuse to not do their studies. Can we declare the decision made and the meeting over? I'm about due to hand out some surprise geometry tests.”
“All in favour of these plans?” Thuna asked. “Motion is carried unanimously, and the meeting closed. Thank you for fitting us in, Lenepoli, and letting us invade, Keldi.”
“Urm, No chance for 'any other business'?” Magz asked.
“Not unless we reopen the meeting.” Thuna said.
“Bother. Oh well. Informally, I'll tell you that Sithini's smell-seeker has let me find the only other place that straight angar is growing, and that's on the far island, in what look suspiciously like two cultivated rows. Something to ask our alien friends about, I think. Otherwise, the trees here need guarding and the seedlings ought to be spread.”
“Thanks, Magz.” Thuna said, “Now, let's let Keldi rest.”