Chapter 395: Where It Can Go

Tamsin sent the tide window, and Ren booked his passage.

He brought the hollow block’s sketch in his coat. The block remained at Verdance’s cove; the page showed its visible openings, the water positions he had tested, and the passages he could follow. Beyond those, he had left the paper blank.

Tamsin met him off the nursery’s boat and led him between the beds. A worker was checking beneath a mat while another held its stems clear. Near the end of the row, Tamsin stopped beside two beds whose runners had caught on their supports.

"These are the two I wrote to you about."

She crouched beside the nearer one. Ren held the stems aside while she passed her hand beneath them, checking the roots at the support without pulling the runner loose.

"Holding," she said.

He let the stems settle.

"Hadde’s at the inner wall. Go on up."

Tamsin stayed to check the second bed.

— • —

Hadde waited on the landward side of the wall, behind the rows. Ren could hear the sea beyond the cultivated stone.

She first showed him a stone closure across the passage connecting this branch to the sea-fed chambers. A bar held it seated.

"I’ve checked the closure. The sea-fed passage stays shut while we work. Our supply comes from the upper channel."

She pointed to its feed gate.

"I control that."

An approach passage divided into two routes, each leading to a receiving chamber. Inspection openings showed the water against scored marks. A low outlet from each chamber led onward to the nursery’s lower channel, its slide set at a marked position.

Hadde showed him the working band in each chamber and the normal range at the approach. Above that was a separate stop line.

"If the approach reaches this, I close the feed. Call if either chamber reaches its upper mark before the other is in range, too."

The levels rose when water entered faster than the outlets carried it away. Ren could check both chambers from the narrow walkway beside the approach.

Hadde held her hand beside each vent, leaving its mouth clear.

"Both open. We leave them as they are."

She took his sketch and followed the line to the broken end.

"You let it drain clear here. There’s no receiving chamber beyond that opening in your test."

She handed the page back.

"We’ll use the near route first. Watch the current at its mouth."

With the near chamber low and its outlet at the normal setting, Hadde opened the feed to a mark. She guided the incoming water toward the near route. The far mouth remained open, but she sent no share through it.

Water entered the near chamber readily. Its level rose while the approach stayed near its starting mark. Hadde stopped the feed before the chamber reached its working band.

"For the second run, I want the water higher in there."

She temporarily closed the near outlet and admitted enough water to bring the chamber partway into its band. Then she shut the feed and restored the outlet to its original notch.

"Same outlet setting," Ren said.

"Yes. Read the level now."

It was falling slowly, but remained well above the first run’s starting level. Hadde waited for the approach to settle back to its earlier mark. Ren checked the outlet notch once more while she checked the upper supply. Then she reopened the feed to the same mark.

She guided it toward the same mouth. Ren followed the current entering the route. It took less readily now, and the water in the approach began to rise.

The chamber still had room above its waterline. Nothing had narrowed the entrance.

’The mouth hadn’t changed.’

"The water beyond it is higher," Hadde said. "There’s less difference between the levels at the two ends. You’d need more pressure here to send it through at the old rate."

She indicated the rising water in the approach and closed the feed before it reached the stop line.

Ren watched the near chamber drain through its unchanged outlet. Its spare room had told him how much more it could hold. He also needed to know what flow the route would take while it filled.

— • —

"Now use both," Hadde said. "I’ll read the far chamber. You read the near one and the approach. Tell me when both are in their working bands, and I’ll close the feed."

They let the chambers drain below their lower working marks. Ren checked the outlet settings, then took over the division as Hadde withdrew her Water working.

She opened the feed at the agreed mark.

He guided a little more toward the near route and watched the response. Both levels rose, the near one faster. Hadde called the far reading while he checked the approach.

The near chamber entered its band. The far one was still below its lower mark, and the approach began to rise.

"How much higher is the water in there now?" Hadde asked.

He compared the readings. He had kept favoring the near route after its receiving level had risen well ahead of the other.

Ren shifted some of that share toward the far mouth, then checked the approach before shifting more. Its rise slowed and stopped. The near chamber remained higher; he was asking less of that route now.

The far level crossed its lower working mark while the near stayed within its band.

"Both in range."

Hadde closed the feed. Ren guided the remaining water through, then released his working as the approach emptied. The chamber outlets continued draining.

"For the next run, they’ll start uneven."

Hadde closed the far outlet and directed a short feed through its route, bringing that chamber into the middle of its working band. The near chamber drained below its lower mark.

She shut the feed, reopened the far outlet to its normal notch, and had Ren read both levels again. They were still changing as water drained away. He used those fresh readings rather than the ones from before she moved the slide.

"I’ll keep the same feed setting," she said. "This one is yours."

He checked the approach and took his position where he could read all three inspection points. Hadde waited for his nod before opening the feed to its mark.

The far chamber was already within its band. The near one needed filling. He began by directing most of the incoming water toward the near route, giving the far enough to slow its fall.

The approach stayed within its working range. Ren followed the near level upward, checking the far one between readings. As the near chamber filled, its route accepted the larger share less readily. He eased some flow across before the approach could climb far.

The far chamber had drained lower during the first part of the run. He watched it accept the added share, then checked the near mouth again. Neither route needed the same division for the whole fill.

Ren brought the near level clear of its lower mark, leaving room for it to fall a little after the feed stopped. The far remained inside its band, below the upper line. He checked the approach once more, then both chambers. They were at different heights, but each was within its marks.

"Both in range."

Hadde closed the feed. She had supplied no corrections.

"I’m taking what’s left."

Her working met his at the division. He withdrew as she guided the last water out of the approach, then watched her check both chambers herself. The remaining flow had raised neither past its upper mark.

She confirmed the outlet settings and the clear vents before returning to the service closure. After checking the water on either side, she lifted the bar and eased the closure open. She waited for the flow to settle before restoring the upper feed to the nursery’s ordinary mark.

Ren unfolded his sketch and turned the page over. On the back, he drew the approach and the two chambers, noting their starting levels and the division he had needed on each run. On the block’s drawing, the unknown passages remained blank.

"Keep that," Hadde said. "It isn’t finished."

Tamsin was at the landing when he came down.

"Write when you want another tide."

Ren thanked her and boarded. From the stern, he watched the headland pass, then asked the System privately for the result.

[WATER: 12.9% → 13.1%.]

A message from the Carrow survey post reached his slate before the boat tied up at the harbor.

Enna Lisk has requested you for further supervised work at Carrow. Reply if you’re available, and we’ll send the brief and reporting window.

Enna had supervised his crossings at the Offset Stretch. Her eastbound survey had gone ahead while he was unavailable, and he had since told the post he was free for further work.

He opened his reply.

Send me the brief and the reporting window.