Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) by Toby Neighbors Page A

sealed on the inside, with space between the bottom of the wagon and the floor where the cargo is carried so that it can float. It also has these steel pins along the axle, so that if worse comes to worst, you can actually pull the pins and float the wagon off the chassis just like a boat.”
    “Who made these?” Stone asked.
    “My father designed them, and the Earl of Yorick Shire had them built. They work great though the marshes although they take a long time to build. The other kind of wagon is called a Mascogee wagon.”
    Lorik walked over to the other wagon. “It’s built for long hauls. I keep one here and one hidden on the far side of the marshlands so that if I have a long trip, I can swap the cargo over and make better time on the open road. In the driest summer months I sometimes take this wagon through the marshes. It has wooden axles, and the wheels are made of wood, too. If it’s really wet the axles can warp and have to be replaced, but the difference in weight is worth the risk sometimes. The Mascogee holds just as much cargo, but is much lighter than the marsh schooner.”
    “And that’s just a farm wagon,” Stone said, pointing to the small wagon in the back of the barn.”
    “That’s right. Let’s take a look at the horses.”
    They went out to the corral were there were six very large horses. Most of them were reaching through the wooden fence to nibble the grass that was growing on the other side.
    “Can you identify them?” Lorik asked, leaning on the fence.
    “They’re Shire horses,” Stone said. “Five mares and one stallion.”
    “Good, you do know your horses. The older two are broodmares now. I usually only take two horses out at a time. I have a boy in town who comes out to feed them when I’m away.”
    “What kind of harness do you use?”
    “Come on, I’ll show you.”
    They went back in the barn and looked at the harness and braces. Stone took his time looking at the tack, since he was less familiar with it than anything else.
    “So how do you see our partnership working?” Lorik asked.
    “I need to learn as much as possible, so I was thinking I would just ride with you. I’ll be your apprentice. I have a little gold set aside. I can buy my own horses when I’m ready for that.”
    “What about pay?” Lorik said. “I can always use the help, but the folks around here can’t afford for me to increase my rates. I was thinking you should keep your gold and when my mares give birth, you keep the horses. I’ll even help you train them. I’ve got an extra room in the house, too, where you could stay until you find a place of your own. Once you start running your own loads we’ll split the commission. How’s that sound?”
    “Do you think there’s enough business to keep us both busy once I’m ready to go out on my own?”
    “Sure, there’s always a need, whether it’s goods going out or goods coming in. The main crop in the marshland is rice. We can grow other things, but rice is our specialty. There are very few places in Ortis where it can grow. Most farmers get in two crops a year, and half has to be sent to Yorik Shire as taxes. Most teamsters merely haul cargo, but I usually sell the surplus rice at some of the smaller markets and trade for goods we don’t have. Timber is hard to come by in the marshlands. We have trees, but they’re usually short and crooked making them hard to mill.”
    “So you haul out rice, pay the tax, and sell the rest. Then buy goods for your clients and haul them back.”
    “Yes, and quite often I work on commission. I’ll take a percentage of their profits as my pay, rather than require money up front. Sometimes I work for trade, but not often. In the fall I usually make a haul or two just to bring back hay and oats for the horses. And sometimes I haul out trade goods from the craftsmen in town. It’s easier for them to let me haul it, since they don’t have enough to pay for freight on a ship.”
    “Enough