Dream d2532-s: The Gate Left True

I had a dream where...

I had a dream where the Hall sent me to Elderhaven with a counting-cloth and no other instruction, Lano at my heel, and the first thing to be done was the gate. It was a wooden gate, heavier than expected, and it swung on a hinge that had been oiled recently enough that the oil had dried to a thin glaze. I held it half open and stood in the gap for a moment, not looking in but checking that the latch mechanism was understood - how it caught, what position it rested in when shut. Then the gate was opened the rest of the way and propped with the stone that was already there for that purpose.

The yard was quiet. There were no animals. The flagstones were unbroken. A water-barrel stood at the corner of the house with its lid on straight. I walked the outside of the structure first, as the count requires, then the entrance room, then the inner rooms in order, with Lano ahead of me the whole way. Each room was written on the cloth: dimensions as paced, condition of the floor, condition of the ceiling, whether the window-shutters were latched or merely rested closed. In the second room a shutter had been left resting. I wrote this down. The shutter was not adjusted.

The Convener's seat in the front room was a high-backed chair positioned at an angle to the hearth. It was noted as present, condition sound. The inscription-shelf in the back room - the Scribe's working surface - was clear of materials and dusty in a way consistent with the season. Both noted. Neither seat was occupied. Neither seat was moved.

The count at Elderhaven came to four rooms, one yard, one gate, and the water-barrel. Lano walked back out ahead of me, and I removed the stone from beneath the gate and closed the gate until the latch caught. The position of the latch was checked against what had been noted on entry. It matched. The gate was left exactly as it had been found.

The cloth was folded. Elderhaven was written at the top and the date below it. Four cold houses remained.

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