In Viborg, Lockridge finds the sound of church bells and the sight of the cathedral lovely but:
"The wind shifted and filled his nose with graveyard stench." (p. 90)
In other words, the wind comments and reminds him that he is in danger of death.
Lockridge's ally, Fledelius, points his crossbow at the knight who has arrested Lockridge and Auri and suggests that they settle their dispute peacefully:
"A silence closed in that made Lockridge's breath more loud in his ears than the wind and thickening rain outside." (p. 93)
The wind often emphasizes significant pauses in the dialogue.
"Rain roared on the hut." (p. 94) (See also Rain, Wind And Saxon Galleys.)
They have escaped and are with friends although the elements continue to remind them that they are surrounded by hostility.
Wind and rain forever, it seems.
6 comments:
Also it just rains a lot in that part of the world.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I'm glad the weather was mostly nice the two times I visited the UK. Not
Denmark, but still the same general area.
Ad astra! Sean
And preindustrial cities and towns just stank. They didn't realize the link between filth and disease.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And that kind of nastiness can too easily come back, as the disturbing articles I read a month or two ago about the trash collectors strikes in some UK cities brought home to me. Gruesome stories about rats feasting on uncollected garbage and growing as large as that "giant rat of Sumatra" mentioned in one of the Holmes stories.
Ad astra! Sean
Yeah, it takes organization and constant effort to make cities habitable. We're designed for an environment in which we move constantly in a lightly-populated environment, so rubbish and exrement don't build up.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! Organization, constant effort, and sometimes coercion by the State is what keeps our cities habitable.
Ad astra! Sean
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