I can only shrug. She has a valid point, but still, it would be nice if she were interested in something. "If you feel you must learn something you can sell, I would beg you to choose something you would enjoy knowing, and enjoy selling, rather than picking something you loathe simply because there is money in it. Just because someone must make a living, does not mean they cannot be happy doing it. Mostly that is what I want to know. What would it make you happiest to do, if you had your choice of absolutely anything?" I lower my eyes a moment, then look back. "Knowing you would be supported, whatever it were? Eh, hypothetically, of course." And I finish on a smile, once again, perhaps a mix of sheepish and conspiratorial, given the direction I kicked this with that last line.
A moment of heated talk is no reason not to still be on good terms, and she has a pretty laugh, even if she is making fun.
She does have a pretty laugh, and there is nothing really heated about the discussion. It seems more like whimsy, as if you asked her what she would do if she had the opportunity to visit the moon.
"Well--all my life it has been textiles and business, and of course helping Mother at home, cooking and cleaning and all those things. I suppose if one wanted to learn something just because it would be fun to know, that should start with some sort of study of what there is to know. I mean, there are trades in mining and metalworking, but how much different is a smelter from a blacksmith from a goldsmith? Or for another example, I expect that there are many trades behind the meat at the butcher shop, or is it just the butcher and the knacker, and of course the cattlemen and pig farmers and such? Farmers bring grain to the mill, and then you have the millers and the bakers, but are there other things involved? What do engineers do, and how do they do it? I mean, knowing what you want to know really has to start with knowing what there is to learn, doesn't it? I might think I'd like to know how to build ships, but it may be that building ships is not at all as interesting as it looks to someone who knows nothing about it, and that building houses or bridges or or mills is the real interesting work. How would I find out what is interesting? It seems as if in order to go to school to learn whatever I find interesting, I would have to start by going to school to find out what I might find interesting. Does that make sense?"
--M. J. Young
I nod. "I suppose there is some truth in that." That's a dangerous direction. That kind of thinking back home is what led us to mandatory schooling, and no good can come of that... I barely want to entertain the thought.
"Maybe there will be time for that, too. Who knows? Maybe you'll find your passion in something you've never even heard of before. Or maybe business really is worth pursuing. That is... hypothetically?" She's actually interested in things! That's... so rare in my experience.
(Bah, sorry Boss, but OOCly I have issues writing good dialog, and I'm a bit running out.)
"That sounds like--fun. Just learning for the sake of knowing something? Why, it's like a game.
"So, how does a girl get into this game? What do I have to do to be able to learn things just because I'd like to know them?"
--M. J. Young
"The easy way is to marry a man who has enough money that you don't have to do anything else, or one who works hard enough to support you," I say, still grinning, "There are other ways, but somehow I think they involve more work, and less fun. Of course, being curious enough to find that sort of thing fun, that helps, too."
That sounded playful, perhaps flirty? I like her even more.
Still playfully, she asks, "And how would the daughter of a textile merchant find such a man, or persuade him to marry her? It's a wonderful thought, Mr. O'Sevens, but I'm sure that such men are, shall we say, in short supply and high demand? I would have a better chance of delivering a bolt of purple silk to a dress shop--at least I know who might have such a thing available."
--M. J. Young
Just a small aside, to my recollection I've always been John Sevenwind here, not O'Sevens.
"This is true. But then, where would a hard-working, wealthy man find a curious, intelligent woman, worth settling down with, and supporting? And convince such a one as she to marry him? I would have a better chance of being paid for my work in jewels - at least I know a port where they do that," I tease her right back, though I'll also somewhat subtly lay my hand palm-up on the table between us, and see if she takes it. Arabelle is definitely a girl worth leaving the sea for, if we've moved past hypotheticals.
Your chaperone speaks up.
"Well, it sounds to me like we have a match--a well-to-do world traveler and an intelligent and curious daughter of industry. Are you going to propose to her, and shall we start planning a wedding?"
--M. J. Young
I couldn't have imagined it, but, yes. It seems I am.
Trying my best not to grin like a schoolboy, I nod, and look Arabelle in the eye. "Shall we stop speaking in hypotheticals, and start planning the future, then?"
"Why, Mr. Sevenwind--I suppose I shall have to start calling you 'John', then, shan't I? Marta, what's the next step?"
"I expect that Mr. Sevenwind will need to finish his current contract before he can settle in the city, and your father will want more than overnight to plan a wedding, so if the two of you are agreed, Mr. Sevenwind should meet your father in the morning before he departs. I will, of course, have complete information on his ship by then, and he will receive from me complete information about your family once our business is settled. I gather that you've agreed to live here in or around Durnmist. Mr. Sevenwinds, I believe you are with the Mary Piper, Sardic Registry, is that correct? Depending on wind, weather, and other interruptions, it should be about three months before you reach Sardic and settle your accounts, and you can probably make it back in the same time. We'll want to give a bit of leeway to this, but the Sardic Trading Company offices here can keep us up to date on any problems that you encounter. Shall we plan the wedding for nine months? No, there are too many potential problems. Let us say, then, one year from today, Mr. John Sevenwind shall be wed to Miss Arabelle--oh, but I won't give the family name until the deal is sealed, will I.
"Permit me to serve dessert, and then Miss Arabelle will have to take the carriage home, and Mr. Sevenwind and I can settle our matters between us before he returns to his ship for the night."
--M. J. Young
I nod. "Just so, I suppose." Though it would be nice to have longer than just dessert to continue talking with her. Dessert already? I didn't even notice dinner going by. That, too, is a good sign.
"And, yes, I'll tell my captain when I get back. I'll be returning to Durnmist, post-haste. One year should be more than long enough." I'll agree with all of her details, though how she knows so much... well, it's her business, I suppose.
You don't think she'd have introduced you to one of her clients without knowing more about you, do you? You gave her enough, she sent her assistants to find out more. Given that she introduced you to the daughter of a wealthy businessman, she probably also knows you've got a bit more net worth than your average seaman.
Dinner was luscious, but the company more so, so no one is offended that you hardly noticed the food.
You can still have some last words during dessert.
Marta would like one hundred fifty diktar for her services. She also would like a two hundred diktar deposit insuring your return; after all, people are going to go to some significant expense to plan and prepare this wedding, and if you should happen not to be there for any reason or no reason at all, she would need to defray some of the cost. She can guarantee that the money will remain on deposit in a local bank, and that you will be authorized to withdraw it on the day after the wedding. Arabelle's father will be making a similar deposit, which will defray your expenses if you appear and she does not. Besides, she says, it makes a good nest-egg--you'll have money the next day no matter how broke you are when you get married. She says this last as if it is a joke.
--M. J. Young
I'll smirk at the joke. Considering I get paid again before I leave - and at a full year's rate of a higher rank than I began - it's not likely I'll be /too/ poor. I'll give her all that she asks, and fifty more to show my thanks.
I will continue to talk to Arabelle for as long as I may, until Marta throws us out. I'll even be so bold as to ask if I can walk her home, if an opportunity to ask presents itself. I fully know Marta will probably whack me upside the head, being a good chaperone, but it couldn't hurt to offer.
The problem with you walking her home is a matter of event sequence: Arabelle leaves before Marta tells you what you owe her and settles the accounts, and you may not know Arabelle's familial connection until after you have made that payment. Besides, she is leaving by carriage, so there is no walking her home.
Arabella is the younger daughter of the owner of the Fabri textile company; you have seen the name on cargo carried by your own vessel. Her grandfather is Fabri, and her father is Jacob, his eldest and now head of the business. She has no brothers, but her older sister is married to someone who has some understanding of the textile business and is being groomed to run it in the future.
Settling your accounts (are you keeping track of your diktar?) you return to the ship early in the evening. Abbas, security on duty at the gangplank, is surprised to see anyone returning so early, and sober, and asks how your night went.
Or are you not going back?
--M. J. Young
(Not keeping careful track, no, but I can go back and do the math easily enough. I know right now I have a bit less than 5000 on me and a bit less than 6000 in the bank back home.)
I am indeed going back to the ship.
I'll tell Abbas all about it. Seeing as it's likely I know him from sparring, I'll talk till he gets tired of hearing me gush, then go down to my quarters. How exactly am I going to tell the Captain I'm leaving...?
To answer the last question, it's not really that big a matter. When the ship reaches its home port of Sardic, the crew is released and a new crew hired, with old crew having first shot at their old posts and then at any gaps that open. You are welcome to stay aboard for a day at any rate, and longer if you sign for another tour, but are expected to vacate the ship if you are not going on the next voyage. In essence, crewmen are obliged to tell the captain if they are not leaving the crew, but in practice most who are also let him know.
You also certainly do not have to tell him before you reach Sardic, although probably it won't hurt anything if you do.
I believe you were interested in some other task while you were in port, and you have until mid-afternoon before the ship is underway.
--M. J. Young
Oh, yes. I wanted to find a sword shop that might sell me a higher quality - particularly, lighter and/or faster - off-hand weapon, rather than this pirate cutlass. The ideal weapon for this task, for my purposes, would be a short-sword perhaps eighteen inches in blade length, with either a deeply curved blade or a double-edged wedge. Other than that, anything of better quality than the cheap pirate standard-issue cutlass I'm using now couldn't hurt.
You find some cutlasses that are very nice, very decorative, and a few that might be of higher than average quality. You do not find swords of any other design. Ones of the quality you already have run around a thousand diktar. There are cheaper ones, of course, but the ones that catch your eye range up to twenty-five hundred, maybe three thousand. It looks like the "cheaper" more expensive ones are mostly priced on decorative value, and only the most expensive are truly better quality.
--M. J. Young
I'll spend a bit of time testing them out. One of those expensive ones does catch my eye - one with not much in the way of decorative value, but genuine quality. I'll sink 3,000 diktar on a new sword and consider it an investment in my future. And if the shopkeep will take it, I'll sell my old one to offset the cost. If not, well, surely someone in Security can make use of it. I'll make sure I have a scabbard for it as well, and a second belt to hang it from, unless my current sword-belt will work with two (I doubt it, especially since I'm already holstering a gun on it).
With all my business in town done, I'll head back to the ship.
I'm assuming you mean to sell a used cutlass taken from a fallen pirate. They'll give you three hundred for it. It will take a bit of work to restore it to quality and it will still have to be sold as used, so he'll get maybe six to seven hundred for it if it doesn't have any defects or damage he can't fix, and it will take maybe a hundred, maybe more, to do the restoration--all of which might be wasted if there's a major flaw somewhere he hasn't discovered. (He makes it clear that he does not mean you would knowingly sell him defective goods, but rather that not knowing you he cannot say whether you would have discovered such a defect.)
You acquire a cutlass. It is well-balanced, good steel, a fine edge, with a comfortable grip and curved guard. You should be able to deliver a much more damaging blow with it, as compared with the old one.
--M. J. Young
Thus satisfied, I return to the ship. Ooo shiny.
You have an uneventful trip toward Tempest, and fourteen days later when navigation says you're about a day away the announcement goes forth that all personal weapons must be secured in preparation for boarding by Tempest customs officials.
--M. J. Young
I really hate Tempest. Really I do.
I'll stow my weapons however they require, and spend all my time while we're in port drinking. Here's to the last time I ever have to see this bloody town. And if I drink myself sick I'll make sure to be sick on their docks, before I go back aboard.
What will you drink? Fermented or distilled? Grain or fruit?
Fermented beverages include such as wine, bear, mead, sake, cider--beverages which contain relatively low quantities of alcohol produced by storage in fermentation tanks until the level of alcohol is sufficient to kill the alcohol-producing organisms. Distilled beverages take fermented beverages and contain them over low heat such that the alcohol "boils" off leaving the water behind; the alcohol vapor is then captured and cooled into a separate tank, such that the percentage of alcohol is considerably higher. It is an imperfect process, as much of the water and some of the other elements of the fermented liquid transitions with the alcohol, but these are considerably stronger beverages.
Typical grains for fermentation include wheat, rice, barley, hops, and rye. The most commonly fermented fruit is grape, but apple, peach, apricot, and a host of other fruits (and vegetables) including watermelon and pumpkin have been used. Historically honey has also been fermented with water to create alcoholic beverages, but I am less informed on that subject.
Fermented grain-based beverages include beer, ale, and sake; distilled grain-based beverages fall mostly in the whisky class, although I believe vodka is also a distilled grain-based beverage. Fruit-based fermentation produces wine and cider, mostly, and distillation produces brandies and liquers, although these latter are produced mostly from the more unusual fermented products such as chocolate, mint, nuts, and spices.
Most of which you probably already knew and do not need to know to tell me what you're drinking; but I thought I should let you answer as to your preferences in some detail. Also, since things like "Scotch" are particular national variants of the basics, I wanted to get you to name things that don't have specific national connections. If you ordered "Scotch" (or Irish or Canadian) the people of this world would not know what you meant. If there's something particular about Scotch whiskey that distinguishes it from other whiskeys (and there must be, for so many to reference it by that name) you'll have to define what it is.
--M. J. Young
I prefer beer fermented from honey, a type of mead brewed as beer rather than the more common wine.
If that is unavailable, then I prefer hard apple cider.
If neither, then distilled fruit alcohol such as brandy, in any flavor but raspberry.
The customs check runs reasonably smoothly; your new sword is secured along with your pistol in security.
You settle into a place that seems pretty quiet, and find they have a wonderful house mead, sweet and smooth, which leaves you in a mildly intoxicated state after a couple hours during which you are accompanied by a couple of crewmen who flirt with the waitresses but don't make any trouble.
You return to the ship safely with an extra quart bottle of the mead tucked under your arm, and the entire night cost only three diktar.
You start the next day at the wheel as you pull out of port by noon, feeling very little aftereffect from the partying.
--M. J. Young
As I take the wheel, I wonder absently if my Remove Fatigue spell could be used to cure a man of a hangover. Seeing as I have a quart bottle of good mead and rather many friends who like to drink, I may have to try this out before long. I doubt they would object to a spell that did that! I make a mental note to find someone amenable to try it out on (as casting on myself while hungover seems like a bad first experiment), and go about my usual business.
Sixteen days later as you enter the harbor at Tristar, the harbor flags signal volcanic instability--that ships are not being permitted to stay in port, although standard cargo deliveries and pick-up are permitted.
As you put in, security secures the hatches against boarders, and the captain goes ashore. Chief of Deck starts his men offloading cargo and handling the transfers, loading more cargo aboard, but Balcon checks each crate personally.
The Captain returns in the midst of this, and addresses the Chief Engineer. "Alright, Mr. Dermott, you've got three days. Get started. Mr. James, inform the crew that we are in port for three days, but no one is to leave the ship. Let Mr. Balcon know that we're going to need a tight watch for that time."
He heads for his cabin.
--M. J. Young
During those three days, I'll make liberal use of the holy ground on the deck, dosing the men on watch with Remove Fatigue spells to keep them alert.
Whenever I'm not on duty a a pilot - and really, if we're in port for three days, when would I be? - I'll stay on deck, focusing on my Psionic Vision Modes like Night Vision and Telescopic Vision. If there's a danger of being boarded, I feel obliged to be on hand. Noblesse Obligee? Maybe. At least the wisdom holds true, with great power comes great responsibility. I may not be a great power yet, but the small advantages I do have I feel duty-bound to use.
It occurs to me - and I will attempt this at least once a day over the three days - if I can enhance one sense, why couldn't I enhance another? Specifically, I want to try to enhance my sense of smell, sufficiently to be able to track someone by their scent.
Interesting. It is certainly something you could reasonably do; the question in my mind is, how do you test it to see whether it's working? The deck must be littered with the scent trails of all the crew, and it must be worse below--and you're not permitted ashore. So I guess the question is, what do you expect will be the indication that it works?
--M. J. Young
If there is nothing but the scent of the crew, all of those scents would be familiar to me - unconsciously, I've been smelling them all along.
I'll know it's working if, for instance, I'm able to sniff out a stowaway by tracking an unfamiliar scent. Or if I am able to tell what one of Balcon's crates contains just by the scent (provided it's something that doesn't have a strong scent to begin with).
You shift your sensory resources into olfaction. The first thing you notice is that there are a lot of really bad odors in and around the ship. The second thing you notice is that you are able to distinguish these more specifically than you ever could before--you can smell, for example, that Doc Evan smells of garlic, and of onion, but also of parsley and sage, and of several different kinds of blood (that is, human and animal), which you can distinguish. You can also smell the brine of the ocean, the stench of dying fish on the warf, and more.
The third thing you notice is that you cannot see or hear quite as well while your sense of smell is so enhanced. It seems to be a re-allocation of resources from a limited pool, in which you normally put considerably more into vision and to a lesser degree hearing. You also realize that you are a bit numb while you are doing this.
It lasts most of half an hour, and then fades, unless you either end it sooner or attempt to extend it.
--M. J. Young
The numbness is useful. Could serve as an ad-hoc pain editor if I ever needed one. I'll make a mental note of that.
In fact - while I'm playing with my senses anyway and have three days to recover if anything goes wrong - I'll try to do that, counting it as a new use of my Enhanced Scent too if I manage it for combining it with another power. I'll try to transfer attention from my sense of touch to my vision.
I'm a bit unclear exactly what you're trying to do here; let me restate it to make sure I understand aright. You are going to maintain your heightened olfaction and attempt to shift more of the tactile resources to your vision, which you expect will increase the numbness of your body and restore your vision to normal. Is that correct?
--M. J. Young
Just so, yes.
You attempt to redo the skill with the new parameters, but fail to do so.
--M. J. Young
In that case, I'll spend however long I have sniffing around on deck. I don't want to go below while there's a chance I may be useful.
Whenever anything is going on or off the ship - if Balcon doesn't object to me being around - I'll give it a sniff-over. See if there is, in fact, the unfamiliar human scent of a stowaway.
Your intensified olfaction lasted about half an hour, unless you attempt to refresh or continue it. You can of course try again later, even if you fail now.
Balcon considers your presence on the deck a welcome addition to his too-thinly-spread security. With the crew cooped up inside wanting to get out and the locals outside fearing the volcanoes and wanting to get in, plus the fact that your engineers are hanging over the side on lines working on the exterior of the hull during daylight hours, just keeping track of everything is more than five men can do--and particularly five men who all need to sleep sometime. So he figures you are helping him unofficially. Of course, if when your sensory abilities fade you retire to quarters, that's not something to which he can or would object--you're a volunteer.
--M. J. Young
No, when it fades, I'll stay handy. Practice with my other vision modes. While I'm at it, I'll try for a new one - Thermographic mode. Why not? Try shifting my visual acuity from visible light into the infrared spectrum.
As for Balcon and his men, I'd like to keep them all dosed on Remove Fatigue if it's at all possible. I know I can use the Holy Ground on the deck from inside the map room where they don't necessarily have to know I'm doing it, so I'll try that, too.
Your attempt to shift into infrared fails. You realize that you have to affect the receptors themselves, somehow, in order to get the information from which to form the image, but that's not at all like anything you've ever done, and you're not certain how to do it.
Several times you go to use the map room to cast your one-hour spell, and you keep running into one of the navigators going over maps and charts there. You are interrupted once in the middle, and waste three emeralds on that attempt. Finally you cast it--but there are only two security officers on deck when you do, so the other three are not affected. However, they should be quite wakeful for most of two days, as should you.
--M. J. Young