Timothy was so involved with his experiments on sound production that he never noticed how many pages of notes and diagrams had accumulated until it came time to consider making the long journey North towards the Barrier.
This presented problems in itself because the Kings Highway was more closely watched than ever before because of smugglers and other n'er do wells looking to evade tolls, taxes and possible capture. Eventually he decided that taking ship along the coast would be the best way to avoid being noticed.
He had nothing to hide except his eventual destination because the Barrier was transparent to all except the chosen few. Disappearing without trace might raise the hue and cry whereas anyone setting sail was considered foolhardy at best. Storms and nautical hazards like uncharted rocks and piratical rogues were common to all voyagers whose failure to return went unremarked in general, so commonplace it was almost expected.
Fishermen were the exception to the rule, their untimely end would be noticed and reported to the relevant harbour master whose duty was to keep the Citadel aware of shipping losses in case it signified more than just misfortune. Such as the opening moves in a possible invasion which was increasingly likely as Brythan accumulated wealth from its trading with the continent and increasingly further afield as the latest ship designs were more ocean capable than their flat bottomed forebears made for coastal beaching where no harbours existed.
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