Friuderich stood on the deck next to the steersman as the Trident pulled out of the port of Ivernis in southwestern Hibernia. His journey from Rome had been a lengthy one...but less so than it would have taken in the early days of the Imperium! Thanks to the paved roads and regular ferry service, he had journeyed from Rome to Londinium in just over a week and a half...and another three days had seen him on the ferry from Segontium crossing the Oceanus Hibernicus past the island of Mona to Eblana, the Hibernian provincial capital. Such a journey in the time of the Divine Augustus would have taken more than a month...perhaps two. With the improvements to harness and carriage, more work could be achieved from horses, and thus greater speed.

He watched as the green fields and rocky beaches of Hibernia slid away to the northeast. He could see why the land was a favorite posting for the governors sent out by Rome...greenery abounded and the land had many fine lakes and rivers...and forests were not oppressive, as they were on the mainland. Though he had spent less than two weeks in Hibernia, the land had somehow worked magic on his soul, and he longed for Susannah and the children to see it.

Friuderich had stayed in the capital just long enough to greet Titus Alexander, the praetor...and again he was struck by how much the man resembled his imperial father; from Eblana on the eastern shore, he had journeyed southwest through Teamhair, the seat of the Ard Ri or High King Eoghan...a man who carried the name of 'Black Leg' for no reason that Friuderich could discover...and on through the towns of Rheba, Regia Alterior and Castellum until he reached Ivernis where Rome had her westernmost port.

The sailors had reported good fishing and sealing west of here in Thule...and that the currents would carry an unwary man right off the end of the world...which caused him to smile--for he had seen the maps, and knew that if a man went with the currents, he'd wind up on a shore where the name of Rome had never been spoken, much less feared. The likeliest outcome of such a voyage was to end up as dinner in some barbarian's pot, not falling into the Abyss.

His gaze took in the ships following him...six large merchantmen, well-founded and ready for any storm...and two sleek naval galleys with greek ballistae mounted fore and aft. He had hoped that the ships would be fuelled by the pneumatic engines coming into use...but those hadn't yet been sent this far north. Once Titus received his report, Friuderich was sure that that would change!

The stoney banks of the estuary slid by like the jaws of some egyptian reptile about to snap closed on unwary prey, and Friuderich shivered just slightly at the image--not a good one for a journey into the unknown waters of the western Atlanticus and the shores of Nova Italia! He fingered his amulet of Thor's Hammer around his neck for luck, and stared ahead at the greyish waters of the deep Ocean.