Dream d2523-s: Four Lines, Overgrown

I had a dream where...

I had a dream where the iron railing was wet from an earlier rain, and Lano took hold of it and did not release it for the duration of the count. The roof walk ran the length of the upper story. From it, on a clear night, the seven named places could be read in their positions across the roofline. Tonight was not a clear night, but the failure was not weather.

The first sightline ran south to Cinderfirth. Open. A light visible.

The second ran southeast to Ivorymere. Open. A smaller light, steady.

The third reached toward Nettleness and found it without obstruction. Three sightlines taken, three readings recorded.

The fourth reached for Elderhaven and did not arrive. A stand of growth, untrimmed through the season, had risen precisely into the line of bearing. What lay behind it could not be read. Lano entered the obstruction in the instrument column, not the place column. The place could not be judged.

The fifth to Glenholt. Blocked at the canopy. The same season's work.

The sixth to Mistgarth. One large growth, not present at the start of the season, now occupying the bearing exactly. Obstructed.

The seventh to Sablegate. Obstructed. Four of the seven unreachable, all by growth, none by darkness, all repairable with a pruning and not before.

The Council Hall was already recorded closed before the count began. The Convener's seat: closed. The Scriptorium Annex and the Scribe's office: closed. These did not require the sightlines. They were entered before the roof walk started.

What the count produced was not a map of cold places but a record of what the instrument could not read tonight. I noted four deferred bearings, listed the obstructions, and came back down the stairs, while Lano waited at the stair-foot. The work for the next session: clear the growth along the four affected lines. Until then, the ledger held a deferred column and not an empty one.

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