"What a funny house!" Rhia exclaimed. "Where is the hayloft? And the barn? And where are the animals?"
Julina couldn't suppress a smile as her friend stared in wonder at the building with the brightly painted sign hanging in front. It was, of course, one of the many commonhouses they would pass by along the way- small inns with a tavern room or two.
"What on earth! Is there water nearby? I cannot see any."
It took Julina a moment to realise what had prompted this outburst from Rhia. In the distance stood a whitewashed stone garrison-house with a tower attached to the main building. It was late afternoon now. The farms were becoming fewer; their buildings stood out in sharp relief, as did the fences, trees and haystacks in the afternoon sun.
"Those towers," Julina explained to Rhia, "are for sending messages over long distances. You see that hole? There is one on the other side as well. Each is the opening of a horn that is winded from the inside of the tower. They are used to send urgent messages by day. And those windows? Each garrison tower has its own bright lamp and reflector, which are used to send messages at night by way of their being covered and uncovered. And those big doors are the livery stable, in case riders need to be dispatched, or given the use of a fresh mount. There were seldom fewer than a dozen soldiers manning each house. In this way, messages that would take days, or perhaps weeks to arrive, do so in hours."