While Sera’s party was away at the native court, the heavy train reached its last Rootwell approach.
On day1646, the two Caldrin wagons stopped below the long ridge.
The trainmaster walked the final ascent with the local road keeper before committing a wheel to it. He had spent sixty days bringing the load east from Riven Gate, less the last day’s distance. He had no intention of losing a housing because the receiving yard had finally become imaginable.
The road keeper showed him the repaired bend, the current axle allowance, and the shelter where the teams could change.
The wagons were within the allowance.
The weather was not.
A crosswind had begun carrying pale grit along the exposed upper turn. It was not a storm that could lift a loaded wagon. It could blind a driver at precisely the place where the outer wheel had little room to wander.
They waited until morning.
