City of Laura
The City of Laura is situated on the banks of the river Laurius, up river from the Port of Lydius, in the Great Northern Forest and is a thriving trading centre primarily shipping goods downriver to Lydius and other ports on the Sea of Thassa.
There were other barges on the river, some moving across the river,
others coming toward Laura, others departing. Those departing used only the current. Those
approaching were drawn by land tharlarion, plodding on log roads along the edges of the
river. The land tharlarion can swim barges across the river, but is not as efficient as
the vast river tharlarion. Both sides of the river are used to approach Laura, though the
northern shore is favored. Unharnessed tharlarion, returning to Lydius at the mouth of the
Laurius, generally follow the southern shore road, which is not as much used by towing
tharlarion as the northern.
On these barges, moving upriver, I could see many crates and boxes, which would contain
such goods, rough goods, as metal, tools and cloth. Moving downstreamI could see other
barges, moving the goods of the interior downriver, such objects as planking, barrels of
fish, barrels of salt, loads of stone, and bales of fur.
We could see stone, and timber and barrels of fish and salt stored on the docks on the shore. Behind the docks were long, planked ramps leading to the warehouses. The warehouses seemed constructed of smoothed, heavy timbers, stained and varnished. Most appeard reddish. Almost all had roofs with wooden shingles, painted black. Many were ornamented, particularly above the great double doors, with carving and woodword, painted in many colors. Through the great doors I could see large central areas, and various floors, reached by more ramps. There seemed many goods in the warehouses. I could see men moving about, inside, and on the ramps and about the docks. Various barges were being loaded and unloaded. Except for villages, Laura was the only civilization in the region. Lydius, the free port at the mouth of the Laurius, was more than two hundred pasangs downstream.
Yet I had little doubt that the strong, large-handed men of Laura, sturdy in their work tunics, who stopped to regard us, would not appreciate the body of a slave girl, provided she is vital, and loves, and leaps helplessly to their touch.
