Friday 24 February 2023

Hex Crawl 23 # 55: Dry River, Wet River, Bridge

 Three hexes southeast and one northeast of Alakran.

 

What we have here is two usually dry river beds joining, from northeast and south, at a point where groundwater wells up and forms the source of the river Gasshadu, which is only dry at this point in the summer months. Regardless, all three watercourses have carved themselves canyons four to six feet deep at this point, so the ancient Urigs who built the road provided it here with a bridge, a single massive slab of gneiss supported by four pillars.

Almost exactly halfway in the two-day trip between Alakran and the city of Gesshed, this spot was always a convenient rest stop for commerce. Old timers will tell you there was once a village of tents catering to the caravans with barley cakes, roast locusts on a stick, and beer. Brush the dusty earth aside, and you may come across a dropped coin, tent peg, amphora shard, or discarded locust skewer from those times. Still, in the side of the canyon near the bridge, the cliff had been dug out into a gentle ramp so that camels, oxen and the domesticated antelope used instead of horses may drink. And the immemorial camp marker, a hearth of charred stones, sits in plain view for the use of today's much less frequent wayfarers, though you must bring your own firewood, for there is none to be had here. Even in hot weather the importance of a campfire, to cook a reviving meal and to keep hyenas at bay, cannot be dismissed.

No comments:

Post a Comment