Suthreced

Suthreced is the local name for a specific type of vessel used to carry bulk cargo on the Autumnvale's longest, yet often rapid-strewn, rivers. Unlike the finer examples of Fyscwyne construction, the Suthreced is a thoroughly workaday vessel, generally constructed in boxy form with tapered ends, from large, rough timbers logged during the winter in the Autumnvale's highlands.
As spring arrives and the logging season comes to a close, the villagers and woodsmen of the region's backcountry band together to construct these barge-like boats from the most suitable timbers acquired in recent months in time for the snowmelt, which swells the rivers and makes the series of rapids leading down from the higlands more navigable. The capacious hold of the completed Suthreced is then loaded with goods; any surplust harvest that has lasted through the winter, animal products such as horn, hides and furs, as well as raw materials such as quarried stone, finer timbers, and ore mined in the hills. Those who have helped build the boat or furnished goods for her to carry then select of their number a man who has sufficient trust and respect to guide the ship downriver to towns such as Ardingly, sell the goods therein, and return to give each man the value of his sold products. In common cases where the items carried by Suthreced are material feudal dues to a local lord, each full day of labour a man commits to assisting in the vessel's construction translates to some form of compensation, most by often easing quotas by a set amount or recieving additional holidays later on.
The master selected for the downriver voyage also takes one or two other strong young lads to help guide the vessel along, to learn the "river business," and become familiar with using the heavy 25-30 foot oars or poles from the bow and stern required to navigate the rapids and bends. Such voyages often take several days and offer challenging, physical work: but they compare incredibly favourably to overland travel in terms of speed and the quantity of material able to be moved. Once at their destination, the crew makes arrangements to unload or sell the cargo, and then take charge of local hands to disassemble the Suthreced piece-by-piece, whose sturdy timbers are then sold as well. Then, unburdened save by any payment recieved and provisions for the treck home, the boatmen can make their way back home on foot via well-trodden riverside paths.