Silver Moon
Adventurer
Chapter Eleven, “The Upper Floors” September 1st, 1882, 4:30 P.M.
Outside, Nanuet follows Alsoomse’s lead and brings the next pair of horses right behind Alsoomse. "So you had a human husband? I too spent time with a human lover although we've parted ways since. It's difficult, the whole aging thing. I never got past it I guess."
She replies, "I was fortunate, as my husband descended from a long line of Portuguese wizards and druids, who had access to a rare life enhancing magic. As a result my human husband lived to the age of one-hundred-seventy-two. My daughter, grandson and great-grandson have also used the same form of magic. My great-granddaughter has refused but she still inherits some of the benefit from her father. So my relatives of part-human blood will still be long lived compared to most."
She pauses and then says, "Do not tell the others, but James plans to offer the same magic to all of you here who are of full or part human blood. It would not work for either you or Roy, so for the two of you he will offer the option of using the magic on somebody of your choice at a time in the future. Perhaps your human lover could be the one that you select?"
Nanuet replies, "That is a generous offer, but not a decision I can make for her. It has been quite some time since I have last seen her and last I knew she has gone to California seeking her place in this world. I can't say I fully agree of the use of magic to extend one's life, mostly because I am ignorant about it. I can see how it would be tempting though, especially when it concerns one that you love dearly."
Meanwhile, Alsoomse and Nanuet guide the carriage into the barn and unhitch the horse. Alsoomse then faces the carriage and casts a spell. Naneut sees what looks like thin waves of light radiate out from her fingertips and through the air, surrounding the carriage. There is a creaking sound and the body of the coach then appears to sink an inch or two lower to the ground and thin puffs of dust quickly push out from the wheels and then dissipate.
He asks, "What exactly what that Alsoomse? Arcane magics?" She says, "Yes, I am versed in both arcane and earth magics. What I was doing just now was deactivating magical devices on each of the coach wheels. The sandy soil of this region makes vehicle travel harder, so pulling this large coach with all of the passengers and luggage would have been a burden on the animals as well as taking twice as long for the trip. These arcane items reduced the overall weight of the coach and contents by seventy-five percent." He replies, "Impressive, your knowledge in both arcane and earth magics" Nanuet says while he continues his work on the horses. "I have been learning divine magic but only have begun relatively recently."
She has him help her with the six horses, first grooming them and then bringing each to a stall where food and water await. She says that the students gave each a Timucua name, which she then used a Speak with Animal spell to explain to each horse. She says, "The gelding that is the lead horse is named Yobo, which means 'stone' as it is the cornerstone of the team. It's mare counterpart at the front is Becha which means 'tomorrow', as she is always trying to get ahead of where she should be. The middle two horses are a stallion and mare who are a mated pair, named Biro and Nia which are the Timucuan words for 'man' and 'woman'. The final mare is named Ela, which means 'sun' as she enjoys running around in the sunlight. The last is a gelding that is named Ocho which means 'behind' as it is always the straggler of the group."
Nanuet listens to Alsoomse explain the names of each of the horses and then uses each of the animals names as he tends to them. "Magnificent animals, and well cared for. Is this usually something you do or has this become your task since the students departed?" She says, "I have always loved horses, tending them is not a task it is a pleasure. We have riding horses here as well." Once the six horses are attended to, Alsoomse has Nanuet help her with a bale of hay, which they then bring outside corral with four other horses. They all hurry over and begin to eat.
She tells him “The silver quarterhorse is mine, she is named Sooleawa which translates as ‘Silver’ in my native Algonquin tongue. She is not comfortable with any rider except for myself. The dark brown thoroughbred is Mina’s horse, James had her brought here a month ago and he has been riding her around since, giving her time to get used to the trails and climate. I originally found her out not far from near where you are from, in the Arizona Territory. He had originally been raised by the Navajo and is named Nizhoni which is the Navajo word for ‘beautiful’. Mini only rides her occasionally, so doesn’t mind others using her as well.
The other two horses were purchased here in Florida for the students to ride and will be available for any of you to use.” She points to a brown and white one saying, “The painted stallion was rather spirited at first but we’ve had a number of long conversations and he now knows my expectations and rises to meet them. I have named him Ahote, which means ‘Restless One’ in the language of the Hopi centaur tribes. The appaloosa mare is named Peta, which in the language of the Blackfoot tribe means ‘Golden Eagle’.
He says, "You'll have to teach me your ways of communicating with the animals. I have a bond with Maska but have little experience with other animals, though I would certainly like to learn. It seems you also have a lot of experience dealing with other tribes, that too is something I would like to become involved with.” She says, "Learning the history and culture of the elvan people has been my lifelong project. I attended the Great Conclave of the elvan people with the Algonquin in both 1759 and 1835."
He states, “There is little of my tribe left so I feel I may be in a good spot to work as an ambassador of sorts amongst the various tribes remaining. I saw a structure that looked like it was Elven in nature on the way to the house is that yours or are there other elves living on the grounds?" She states, "That was my home here for the past summer, the students lived outside in canvas tents and I wanted to be near them. But they are gone now and I plan to move into the fine house that Luiz, James and Sol have constructed. You are welcome to live in it if you would like." "That is very kind of you and at least for now I think I will take you up on your offer."
Back in the Transportation and Logistics room Ruby says, "Hey, are we getting to see our rooms soon?" Sol states “Yes, we have now seen all of the first floor." He gestures towards the stairs and says "This is one of the other main staircases up to the second floor. From the second floor up until the roof the staircases are all along the central hallway. The four bedrooms on the second floor have been designated for corporate officers and our attorney. The remainder of you will reside in bedrooms on the two upper floors.
Each bedroom is spacious, varying from 350 to 450 square feet in size, although the angled roof on the two upper floors gives them the illusion of being smaller. Each pair of bedrooms has a shared bathroom with a sink, water closet and bathtub. There is also an adjoining door between each pair of rooms, so please give some thought as to which person you wish to be roomed beside.
All rooms are currently furnished with a bed, wardrobe closet, dresser, corner table and chair. The furniture is new and unfinished, so we can paint or stain them to your specific desires. We can also order any additional furniture that you may want.” Ruby exclaims, "Bathtubs! I love it! And really? Anyway we want to decorate it and furnish it? That's... fabulous. I feel spoiled already. It sure seems like you plan on us staying here a while. Is there a um, room for George?" "There is a room for each of you," Sol replies. Hearing Ruby speak of bathing, Fish continues to keep his sordid thoughts to himself.
Abigail says, "As I'm the only unattached lady, I guess I'll have to trust one of you gentlemen to be in the next room. Just remember whoever you are, sharing a bathroom with a woman might make you wish you'd chosen a different room," she laughed. Sol replies, "Actually no Abigail, there is one other unattached lady. Alsoomse hasn't chosen a room yet, having been living outside in her elvan lodge. With all of the items that she's collected she has already outgrown both it and her office so has been thinking of taking an upper room as well. She could room opposite the room of your choosing."
They climb up the stairs to the second floor as Sol unlocked the door at the top and opens it. They enter a room that is thirty feet on the south wall, twenty-feet north to south on the west wall, ten feet on the north and the remaining wall running diagonally from southeast chimney to the southeast corner. The room is a scientific laboratory, with a door on the north between the chimneys. It has the latest equipment used by the top Universities. One shelf has what look to be wooden and metal Timucuan artifacts. Bookcases in the room have books focused on both General Science as well as the specific subjects of Anthropology and Archeology.
Trout saunters over to the shelf, and surveys the items. He thinks to himself, "What's this little gimcrack I'm holding for Lady Wilamina really worth?" He concludes that the items here appear to be of the standard clay pottery and stone arrow tips commonly associated with ancient Native American elvan villages, while the other items he's seen are heavier stone objects with runes carved into them.
Sol leads them through the door between the two southern chimneys and into a second floor hallway, seven feet wide and running the full thirty-five feet to the other pair of chimneys where it then branches off to both the east and west to form a ‘T’ shape. Towards the opposite end of the hallway is a staircase up is along the east wall. The hallway also has a water closet.
He points to a door on the east wall near the chimney and says, “This will be your room Attorney Hardin. My room is the next one. We will be sharing a bathroom in between.” He does not open the door, instead leading the group further down the second floor hallway. The eastern end of ‘T’ top is a five-by-eight foot alcove with the base of the staircase up on the south side and doors on the east and north sides. Sol says that the eastern door is to the Parker’s room and the northern door is to Doctor Chernotz’s room. The western is a five-by-eight-foot alcove ending in a door.
Ruby noted where Nana's room was located, hoping to stay somewhat close to her when it came time to choose rooms. As they continued to walk Ruby commented to George, "Since they gave you your own room we'll have to make sure it's across from mine. You never know when there might be a midnight emergency," she laughed. "Or moving furniture around, I'm already getting ideas for decorating."
Sol opens the door to an eight-by-fifteen foot hallway with a window on the east wall and doors both north and south of the window. Sol tells them that opposite the northern door is the staircase down to the lobby. Ruby asks, "Hey Sol, what kind of stuff is there to do at night around here?"
"Reading," he states as he opens the south door up to a large room, twenty-by-twenty-seven feet in size. It is elaborately-furnished room with floor to ceiling bookcases along all of the walls except for the three windows on the west wall and one section of the south wall that has a filled liquor cabinet. Half of the bookcases are filled, and there are several stepstools to assist in getting to books on higher shelves. A dumbwaiter down to the kitchen is along the center of the northern wall. The other three corners of the room each have a plush chair. In the center of the room is a long rectangular cherry wood table. The table has fourteen chairs, two on each end and five on each longer side.
"Reading?" Ruby laughed before seeing the serious look on Sol's face. "Reading? Really? Well... I am sure THAT will be exciting." She kept the rest of those thoughts to herself.
Sol states, “This is the library and main conference room. We will be meeting here tomorrow after lunch to discuss all of the details of this project, including salaries and benefits, and determine then if you either wish to actually join our Guild or if you would prefer to remain as an occasional consultant and guest.” Lawrence rubs his hands together and says, "Excellent. Then we can get down to brass tacks." “Free food is always good, my man," Fish quips, "but count me in: no discussion is necessary!" He shifts his weight from one foot to the other excitedly.
They return to the central hallway and now take the stairs up to the third floor. It reaches a landing in the center, with the staircase then continuing to the fourth floor. Sol says that the only rooms on this floor are the six bedrooms.
Immediately east of the landing are two doors, which Sol opens. Each is a large bedroom, with a wall between the two doors running to the eastern side of the building. There is a large dormer window fifteen feet wide with a flat roof, the rest of the room with the upward slanted roof. The side walls of each room run diagonal from the chimney to ten feet before the corner where the bathroom doors are located. Each diagonal wall also has a door to another room.
This view from the southeastern room shows a distant Bay a few miles which Sol says is where James and Mina were riding their bicycles to. The view from the northeastern room looks out upon the eastern shore of the Saint John’s river leading to the peninsula and Bay. "Oh!" Ruby headed to the window, opening it wide and leaning out, straining to see if she spots her grandmother and her husband riding their bikes. "This is a beautiful view, you can see a lot from here." Sol replies "And even more from the rooms on the fourth floor."
They head out into the central hallways, which also has a hall water closet, and head to the southern door between the two south chimneys. He opens the door which reveals walls running diagonally from each chimney to the southwest corner of the building and most of the way to the southeast corner, the room thereby occupying nearly all of the south wall. From the large dormer and picture window is a spectacular view of the distant countryside as well as the horse corral beside the barn.
There are two doors on the southeastern wall, one of which is opens to the southeastern room that they had just viewed and the other to the ten-foot-square bathroom in the southeastern corner of the building that is shared by these two rooms. Ruby asks, "These are very nice, you were right. The bathrooms alone are worth a room here! Do you expect that we, or the people who join the corporation, will be here long periods of time?"
Sol says, "That's somewhat up to you. I believe that James was talking about the Exploring side of the business taking on projects that are a few weeks in duration then taking a month or so off between assignments. Not everybody would be needed for every assignment also, it would depend what the specific project and what skills were needed. Ruby replies, "I suppose we'll have to wait until tomorrow and what our jobs will be to figure that out. I don't think George can be away from work too long. And eventually we'll be getting married," she grinned.
They exit this room and go to the opposite end to a room between the two northern chimneys. This room is identical in size to the one they just saw on the southern wall, with this one sharing the corner bathroom with the northeastern room. This room has an excellent view of the river, front yard and dock with the three boats.
Sol says, "Let's look at the last two bedrooms on this floor." There are two doors on the hallway western wall, each near the northwest or southwest chimney. Sol unlocks the northwestern door, opening into the northwest bedroom. It is similar in size to the one opposite on the northwest except for the bathroom is not in the corner but rather on the central wall between this room and the southwest room. The western view from here is of the road they arrived on, with Mill Cove in the distance.
Sol leads them to this room’s bathroom, which extends out from the wall opposite the central hallway, with the adjoining door between the two rooms further west along the slanted roof. They enter room which is eight-by-twelve feet in size. Sol says, “Each of the shared bathrooms is approximately one-hundred square feet in size, but this is the only one with a mostly flat instead of slanted ceiling due to the roof. James was thinking that you therefore might prefer one of these two rooms Thomas due to your height. He also had the largest tub installed here with you in mind.”
The tub is porcelain with iron footings. There is a drain plug in the bottom. At one end of the tub mounted on a box-like platform is a hand pump. Sol says, “All of the bathrooms have pumps identical to this. A person not knowing the special tricks of these pumps would have to hand pump cold water one gallon at a time. However, let me show you the trick.”
He reaches down towards the pump mountings, which have four bolts on each side. He says, “First you need to lift the hand pump into the up position.” He raises the pump, leaving it up. He they says, “The control mechanism is built into the four bolts on the northern side. Once the pump is up just place your fingers over the front two bolts.” He demonstrates, as while his hand covers those bolts water pours from the pump on its own. When he lifts his hand the water stops. He says, “That’s the cold water.”
He then places his hand over the middle two bolts and the water resumes again, Sol saying, “This is an even mix of hot and cold water.” He then moves his hands to only cover the back two bolts and the water pouring out now has steam coming from it. Sol states, “And this is the hot water.”
They exit the door on the opposite side of the bathroom into the remaining room on the southwest side. The view from the window here also shows the distant Mill Cove, as well as a closer view of the barn and horse corral. He leads them out the door to the hallway and to the staircase up. Thomas opts to remain behind and start to unpack in his chosen room.
The fourth floor consists of four bedrooms, each running from a corner of the building to the central hallway. The angled roof is closer in on this level and Thomas has to stoop a bit inside of the rooms to keep from bumping his head when away from the flat-roofed dormer sections, which on this level are ten-feet wide rather than fifteen. The northern and eastern rooms share a bathroom and the southern and western rooms share a bathroom. The view from the windows in each of these rooms is similar to that from the third floor, although from here you can see further in each direction.
Ruby says, “George and I will take two of the first connected bedrooms we saw downstairs, if that is alright with everyone.” John says, "I am fine with any of the accommodations...they are a far sight better than my last."
A wry smile follows. " Abigail says, “I think they're just trying to lull us into a false sense of security. The accommodations when we travel won't be nearly so nice. I'd like one of these rooms up on the third or forth floor overlooking the water. A little exercise never hurt anyone and I like to be up high."
Sol says, "Okay, that works. On the third floor Abigail can take the north room facing the river, Alsoomse can take the northeastern room, Ruby can take the southeastern room and George can take the southern room. That would leave either of the western facing rooms on that floor, with the bigger bathroom, for Thomas."
"I'd like a room on the fourth floor," says Fish, still grinning. "It'll give me easier access to the roof!" Sol states, "Speaking of which, let's go take a look." From the central hallway they climb up to the roof level. It is ten feet wide and thirty-five feet long with the chimneys in all four corners and an iron gate in between that has been painted brick red. Four telescopes, similar to those used on ships, that are mounted in the center of each of the four gates. Each is on a swivel base. In the very center of the roof is a much larger telescope, similar to those that astronomers used at observatories. It is pointed skyward, with a padded chair mounted beneath for a viewer to sit almost horizontally to the roof when looking up.
Ruby's mouth dropped open at the sight of the telescopes and stayed that way for quite some time. "Stars...," she said dreamily to herself, enthralled as she moves to one of the telescopes to inspect it, trying to see if she can figure it out. Sol replies, "Oh yeah, I guess there is another thing to do around here at night. James spends a lot of time up here looking at the stars. He said that both of his grandfathers taught him about the night skies. They were both seafarers. His paternal grandfather captained a great sailing ship in the 18th century. His maternal grandfather worked on a whaling ship captained by James's father." She exclaims, "Oh, I hope James will teach me too, I have always adored the stars! It's really wonderful up here, I'm going to be here a lot I think." She whispered to him and grinned, "If you ever can't find me, look here."
Lawrence says to Sol, "I'd like a room with plenty of natural light. Something on the southern side, if there's one left. These aging eyes prefer it to lamplight." Sol says, "Okay then, why don't you room adjacent to Thomas then, him in the northwest room and you in the southwest room. That'll fill the third floor, so you'll have your choice up on the fourth Roy, either east sharing a bathroom with Fish, or you could take north or west by yourself for the time being."
Outside, Nanuet follows Alsoomse’s lead and brings the next pair of horses right behind Alsoomse. "So you had a human husband? I too spent time with a human lover although we've parted ways since. It's difficult, the whole aging thing. I never got past it I guess."
She replies, "I was fortunate, as my husband descended from a long line of Portuguese wizards and druids, who had access to a rare life enhancing magic. As a result my human husband lived to the age of one-hundred-seventy-two. My daughter, grandson and great-grandson have also used the same form of magic. My great-granddaughter has refused but she still inherits some of the benefit from her father. So my relatives of part-human blood will still be long lived compared to most."
She pauses and then says, "Do not tell the others, but James plans to offer the same magic to all of you here who are of full or part human blood. It would not work for either you or Roy, so for the two of you he will offer the option of using the magic on somebody of your choice at a time in the future. Perhaps your human lover could be the one that you select?"
Nanuet replies, "That is a generous offer, but not a decision I can make for her. It has been quite some time since I have last seen her and last I knew she has gone to California seeking her place in this world. I can't say I fully agree of the use of magic to extend one's life, mostly because I am ignorant about it. I can see how it would be tempting though, especially when it concerns one that you love dearly."
Meanwhile, Alsoomse and Nanuet guide the carriage into the barn and unhitch the horse. Alsoomse then faces the carriage and casts a spell. Naneut sees what looks like thin waves of light radiate out from her fingertips and through the air, surrounding the carriage. There is a creaking sound and the body of the coach then appears to sink an inch or two lower to the ground and thin puffs of dust quickly push out from the wheels and then dissipate.
He asks, "What exactly what that Alsoomse? Arcane magics?" She says, "Yes, I am versed in both arcane and earth magics. What I was doing just now was deactivating magical devices on each of the coach wheels. The sandy soil of this region makes vehicle travel harder, so pulling this large coach with all of the passengers and luggage would have been a burden on the animals as well as taking twice as long for the trip. These arcane items reduced the overall weight of the coach and contents by seventy-five percent." He replies, "Impressive, your knowledge in both arcane and earth magics" Nanuet says while he continues his work on the horses. "I have been learning divine magic but only have begun relatively recently."
She has him help her with the six horses, first grooming them and then bringing each to a stall where food and water await. She says that the students gave each a Timucua name, which she then used a Speak with Animal spell to explain to each horse. She says, "The gelding that is the lead horse is named Yobo, which means 'stone' as it is the cornerstone of the team. It's mare counterpart at the front is Becha which means 'tomorrow', as she is always trying to get ahead of where she should be. The middle two horses are a stallion and mare who are a mated pair, named Biro and Nia which are the Timucuan words for 'man' and 'woman'. The final mare is named Ela, which means 'sun' as she enjoys running around in the sunlight. The last is a gelding that is named Ocho which means 'behind' as it is always the straggler of the group."
Nanuet listens to Alsoomse explain the names of each of the horses and then uses each of the animals names as he tends to them. "Magnificent animals, and well cared for. Is this usually something you do or has this become your task since the students departed?" She says, "I have always loved horses, tending them is not a task it is a pleasure. We have riding horses here as well." Once the six horses are attended to, Alsoomse has Nanuet help her with a bale of hay, which they then bring outside corral with four other horses. They all hurry over and begin to eat.
She tells him “The silver quarterhorse is mine, she is named Sooleawa which translates as ‘Silver’ in my native Algonquin tongue. She is not comfortable with any rider except for myself. The dark brown thoroughbred is Mina’s horse, James had her brought here a month ago and he has been riding her around since, giving her time to get used to the trails and climate. I originally found her out not far from near where you are from, in the Arizona Territory. He had originally been raised by the Navajo and is named Nizhoni which is the Navajo word for ‘beautiful’. Mini only rides her occasionally, so doesn’t mind others using her as well.
The other two horses were purchased here in Florida for the students to ride and will be available for any of you to use.” She points to a brown and white one saying, “The painted stallion was rather spirited at first but we’ve had a number of long conversations and he now knows my expectations and rises to meet them. I have named him Ahote, which means ‘Restless One’ in the language of the Hopi centaur tribes. The appaloosa mare is named Peta, which in the language of the Blackfoot tribe means ‘Golden Eagle’.
He says, "You'll have to teach me your ways of communicating with the animals. I have a bond with Maska but have little experience with other animals, though I would certainly like to learn. It seems you also have a lot of experience dealing with other tribes, that too is something I would like to become involved with.” She says, "Learning the history and culture of the elvan people has been my lifelong project. I attended the Great Conclave of the elvan people with the Algonquin in both 1759 and 1835."
He states, “There is little of my tribe left so I feel I may be in a good spot to work as an ambassador of sorts amongst the various tribes remaining. I saw a structure that looked like it was Elven in nature on the way to the house is that yours or are there other elves living on the grounds?" She states, "That was my home here for the past summer, the students lived outside in canvas tents and I wanted to be near them. But they are gone now and I plan to move into the fine house that Luiz, James and Sol have constructed. You are welcome to live in it if you would like." "That is very kind of you and at least for now I think I will take you up on your offer."
Back in the Transportation and Logistics room Ruby says, "Hey, are we getting to see our rooms soon?" Sol states “Yes, we have now seen all of the first floor." He gestures towards the stairs and says "This is one of the other main staircases up to the second floor. From the second floor up until the roof the staircases are all along the central hallway. The four bedrooms on the second floor have been designated for corporate officers and our attorney. The remainder of you will reside in bedrooms on the two upper floors.
Each bedroom is spacious, varying from 350 to 450 square feet in size, although the angled roof on the two upper floors gives them the illusion of being smaller. Each pair of bedrooms has a shared bathroom with a sink, water closet and bathtub. There is also an adjoining door between each pair of rooms, so please give some thought as to which person you wish to be roomed beside.
All rooms are currently furnished with a bed, wardrobe closet, dresser, corner table and chair. The furniture is new and unfinished, so we can paint or stain them to your specific desires. We can also order any additional furniture that you may want.” Ruby exclaims, "Bathtubs! I love it! And really? Anyway we want to decorate it and furnish it? That's... fabulous. I feel spoiled already. It sure seems like you plan on us staying here a while. Is there a um, room for George?" "There is a room for each of you," Sol replies. Hearing Ruby speak of bathing, Fish continues to keep his sordid thoughts to himself.
Abigail says, "As I'm the only unattached lady, I guess I'll have to trust one of you gentlemen to be in the next room. Just remember whoever you are, sharing a bathroom with a woman might make you wish you'd chosen a different room," she laughed. Sol replies, "Actually no Abigail, there is one other unattached lady. Alsoomse hasn't chosen a room yet, having been living outside in her elvan lodge. With all of the items that she's collected she has already outgrown both it and her office so has been thinking of taking an upper room as well. She could room opposite the room of your choosing."
They climb up the stairs to the second floor as Sol unlocked the door at the top and opens it. They enter a room that is thirty feet on the south wall, twenty-feet north to south on the west wall, ten feet on the north and the remaining wall running diagonally from southeast chimney to the southeast corner. The room is a scientific laboratory, with a door on the north between the chimneys. It has the latest equipment used by the top Universities. One shelf has what look to be wooden and metal Timucuan artifacts. Bookcases in the room have books focused on both General Science as well as the specific subjects of Anthropology and Archeology.
Trout saunters over to the shelf, and surveys the items. He thinks to himself, "What's this little gimcrack I'm holding for Lady Wilamina really worth?" He concludes that the items here appear to be of the standard clay pottery and stone arrow tips commonly associated with ancient Native American elvan villages, while the other items he's seen are heavier stone objects with runes carved into them.
Sol leads them through the door between the two southern chimneys and into a second floor hallway, seven feet wide and running the full thirty-five feet to the other pair of chimneys where it then branches off to both the east and west to form a ‘T’ shape. Towards the opposite end of the hallway is a staircase up is along the east wall. The hallway also has a water closet.
He points to a door on the east wall near the chimney and says, “This will be your room Attorney Hardin. My room is the next one. We will be sharing a bathroom in between.” He does not open the door, instead leading the group further down the second floor hallway. The eastern end of ‘T’ top is a five-by-eight foot alcove with the base of the staircase up on the south side and doors on the east and north sides. Sol says that the eastern door is to the Parker’s room and the northern door is to Doctor Chernotz’s room. The western is a five-by-eight-foot alcove ending in a door.
Ruby noted where Nana's room was located, hoping to stay somewhat close to her when it came time to choose rooms. As they continued to walk Ruby commented to George, "Since they gave you your own room we'll have to make sure it's across from mine. You never know when there might be a midnight emergency," she laughed. "Or moving furniture around, I'm already getting ideas for decorating."
Sol opens the door to an eight-by-fifteen foot hallway with a window on the east wall and doors both north and south of the window. Sol tells them that opposite the northern door is the staircase down to the lobby. Ruby asks, "Hey Sol, what kind of stuff is there to do at night around here?"
"Reading," he states as he opens the south door up to a large room, twenty-by-twenty-seven feet in size. It is elaborately-furnished room with floor to ceiling bookcases along all of the walls except for the three windows on the west wall and one section of the south wall that has a filled liquor cabinet. Half of the bookcases are filled, and there are several stepstools to assist in getting to books on higher shelves. A dumbwaiter down to the kitchen is along the center of the northern wall. The other three corners of the room each have a plush chair. In the center of the room is a long rectangular cherry wood table. The table has fourteen chairs, two on each end and five on each longer side.
"Reading?" Ruby laughed before seeing the serious look on Sol's face. "Reading? Really? Well... I am sure THAT will be exciting." She kept the rest of those thoughts to herself.
Sol states, “This is the library and main conference room. We will be meeting here tomorrow after lunch to discuss all of the details of this project, including salaries and benefits, and determine then if you either wish to actually join our Guild or if you would prefer to remain as an occasional consultant and guest.” Lawrence rubs his hands together and says, "Excellent. Then we can get down to brass tacks." “Free food is always good, my man," Fish quips, "but count me in: no discussion is necessary!" He shifts his weight from one foot to the other excitedly.
They return to the central hallway and now take the stairs up to the third floor. It reaches a landing in the center, with the staircase then continuing to the fourth floor. Sol says that the only rooms on this floor are the six bedrooms.
Immediately east of the landing are two doors, which Sol opens. Each is a large bedroom, with a wall between the two doors running to the eastern side of the building. There is a large dormer window fifteen feet wide with a flat roof, the rest of the room with the upward slanted roof. The side walls of each room run diagonal from the chimney to ten feet before the corner where the bathroom doors are located. Each diagonal wall also has a door to another room.
This view from the southeastern room shows a distant Bay a few miles which Sol says is where James and Mina were riding their bicycles to. The view from the northeastern room looks out upon the eastern shore of the Saint John’s river leading to the peninsula and Bay. "Oh!" Ruby headed to the window, opening it wide and leaning out, straining to see if she spots her grandmother and her husband riding their bikes. "This is a beautiful view, you can see a lot from here." Sol replies "And even more from the rooms on the fourth floor."
They head out into the central hallways, which also has a hall water closet, and head to the southern door between the two south chimneys. He opens the door which reveals walls running diagonally from each chimney to the southwest corner of the building and most of the way to the southeast corner, the room thereby occupying nearly all of the south wall. From the large dormer and picture window is a spectacular view of the distant countryside as well as the horse corral beside the barn.
There are two doors on the southeastern wall, one of which is opens to the southeastern room that they had just viewed and the other to the ten-foot-square bathroom in the southeastern corner of the building that is shared by these two rooms. Ruby asks, "These are very nice, you were right. The bathrooms alone are worth a room here! Do you expect that we, or the people who join the corporation, will be here long periods of time?"
Sol says, "That's somewhat up to you. I believe that James was talking about the Exploring side of the business taking on projects that are a few weeks in duration then taking a month or so off between assignments. Not everybody would be needed for every assignment also, it would depend what the specific project and what skills were needed. Ruby replies, "I suppose we'll have to wait until tomorrow and what our jobs will be to figure that out. I don't think George can be away from work too long. And eventually we'll be getting married," she grinned.
They exit this room and go to the opposite end to a room between the two northern chimneys. This room is identical in size to the one they just saw on the southern wall, with this one sharing the corner bathroom with the northeastern room. This room has an excellent view of the river, front yard and dock with the three boats.
Sol says, "Let's look at the last two bedrooms on this floor." There are two doors on the hallway western wall, each near the northwest or southwest chimney. Sol unlocks the northwestern door, opening into the northwest bedroom. It is similar in size to the one opposite on the northwest except for the bathroom is not in the corner but rather on the central wall between this room and the southwest room. The western view from here is of the road they arrived on, with Mill Cove in the distance.
Sol leads them to this room’s bathroom, which extends out from the wall opposite the central hallway, with the adjoining door between the two rooms further west along the slanted roof. They enter room which is eight-by-twelve feet in size. Sol says, “Each of the shared bathrooms is approximately one-hundred square feet in size, but this is the only one with a mostly flat instead of slanted ceiling due to the roof. James was thinking that you therefore might prefer one of these two rooms Thomas due to your height. He also had the largest tub installed here with you in mind.”
The tub is porcelain with iron footings. There is a drain plug in the bottom. At one end of the tub mounted on a box-like platform is a hand pump. Sol says, “All of the bathrooms have pumps identical to this. A person not knowing the special tricks of these pumps would have to hand pump cold water one gallon at a time. However, let me show you the trick.”
He reaches down towards the pump mountings, which have four bolts on each side. He says, “First you need to lift the hand pump into the up position.” He raises the pump, leaving it up. He they says, “The control mechanism is built into the four bolts on the northern side. Once the pump is up just place your fingers over the front two bolts.” He demonstrates, as while his hand covers those bolts water pours from the pump on its own. When he lifts his hand the water stops. He says, “That’s the cold water.”
He then places his hand over the middle two bolts and the water resumes again, Sol saying, “This is an even mix of hot and cold water.” He then moves his hands to only cover the back two bolts and the water pouring out now has steam coming from it. Sol states, “And this is the hot water.”
They exit the door on the opposite side of the bathroom into the remaining room on the southwest side. The view from the window here also shows the distant Mill Cove, as well as a closer view of the barn and horse corral. He leads them out the door to the hallway and to the staircase up. Thomas opts to remain behind and start to unpack in his chosen room.
The fourth floor consists of four bedrooms, each running from a corner of the building to the central hallway. The angled roof is closer in on this level and Thomas has to stoop a bit inside of the rooms to keep from bumping his head when away from the flat-roofed dormer sections, which on this level are ten-feet wide rather than fifteen. The northern and eastern rooms share a bathroom and the southern and western rooms share a bathroom. The view from the windows in each of these rooms is similar to that from the third floor, although from here you can see further in each direction.
Ruby says, “George and I will take two of the first connected bedrooms we saw downstairs, if that is alright with everyone.” John says, "I am fine with any of the accommodations...they are a far sight better than my last."
A wry smile follows. " Abigail says, “I think they're just trying to lull us into a false sense of security. The accommodations when we travel won't be nearly so nice. I'd like one of these rooms up on the third or forth floor overlooking the water. A little exercise never hurt anyone and I like to be up high."
Sol says, "Okay, that works. On the third floor Abigail can take the north room facing the river, Alsoomse can take the northeastern room, Ruby can take the southeastern room and George can take the southern room. That would leave either of the western facing rooms on that floor, with the bigger bathroom, for Thomas."
"I'd like a room on the fourth floor," says Fish, still grinning. "It'll give me easier access to the roof!" Sol states, "Speaking of which, let's go take a look." From the central hallway they climb up to the roof level. It is ten feet wide and thirty-five feet long with the chimneys in all four corners and an iron gate in between that has been painted brick red. Four telescopes, similar to those used on ships, that are mounted in the center of each of the four gates. Each is on a swivel base. In the very center of the roof is a much larger telescope, similar to those that astronomers used at observatories. It is pointed skyward, with a padded chair mounted beneath for a viewer to sit almost horizontally to the roof when looking up.
Ruby's mouth dropped open at the sight of the telescopes and stayed that way for quite some time. "Stars...," she said dreamily to herself, enthralled as she moves to one of the telescopes to inspect it, trying to see if she can figure it out. Sol replies, "Oh yeah, I guess there is another thing to do around here at night. James spends a lot of time up here looking at the stars. He said that both of his grandfathers taught him about the night skies. They were both seafarers. His paternal grandfather captained a great sailing ship in the 18th century. His maternal grandfather worked on a whaling ship captained by James's father." She exclaims, "Oh, I hope James will teach me too, I have always adored the stars! It's really wonderful up here, I'm going to be here a lot I think." She whispered to him and grinned, "If you ever can't find me, look here."
Lawrence says to Sol, "I'd like a room with plenty of natural light. Something on the southern side, if there's one left. These aging eyes prefer it to lamplight." Sol says, "Okay then, why don't you room adjacent to Thomas then, him in the northwest room and you in the southwest room. That'll fill the third floor, so you'll have your choice up on the fourth Roy, either east sharing a bathroom with Fish, or you could take north or west by yourself for the time being."
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