A Ladder Too Short

Karven needed to reach a row of crates stacked too high. The ladder brought from the storehouse was too short. Setuk, tall and strong-armed, set it against the wall, climbed to the highest usable rung and pointed to the space still beyond reach. “I could extend it,” he offered. Shalen, the grey-templed stonemason called to inspect a cracked doorjamb near the warehouse, measured the wall's height and the distance along the ground. “Or you could fetch one that's the right size,” he replied. The ladder was returned to its place, with a mark on the wood showing its height. Karven wrote an order for a new tool, crossing the word “urgent” out of the register. The crates showed no intention of falling that day, but that was no reason to build one's balance upon two missing rungs.