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[sythyry]

Sythyry's Delivery Service, part 2 [24 Chirreb 4261]

The Toasted Almonds of Cousse-de-la-Thrunge

After scooting many many eggs back to Threeze, we were then sent to Cousse-de-la-Thrunge. Cousse-de-la-Thrunge is off in Ulmarn, more or less where Yarwain comes from, and it would be the farthest I had been for home, if I could forget Bfelmykh. Naturally, the best toasted almonds on Choinxeia come from Ulmarn. The best of everything on the branch comes from Ulmarn. According to the Ulmarnese, and to Thery. I daresay Levande has a different opinion.

I must remember to see how the three ... um, four ... of them are doing. After I assault one of the most doomsomely sorcerous cities on the branch with dessert, of course.

Vae:"It's no horse that I'll be this time, Sythyry."

Me:"Why not?"

Vae:"It's embarrassing, like, and thrice embarrassing when someSleeth finds me out."

The conversation that I, finally, know enough not to have goes something like this: Me: "Well, someone needs to carry the almonds home, and I'm tiny.". Vae: "Not anymore!" Me: (insert The Conversation here).

Me:"Well, you can't look like a nendrai when we go visiting villages, Vae, and you can't imitate a prime well enough to put people at peace."

Vae:"No, that I can't. It's some noble beast I shall look like."

Me:"How about a blossomary? You can't get much more noble than a blossomary." I mean that literally -- Vae, herself, can't get much more noble than a blossomary. Blossomaries are not very noble, of course.

So we popped over to Vheshrame, and Vae waited outside while I got Sprillet for Vae to investigate. Two-thirds of an hour later, we were ready to go to our errands.

Cousse-de-la-Thrunge

Cousse-de-la-Thrunge looks like your basic Rassimel village, except that it smells very strongly of roasted almonds.

Me:"Hallo! I am Sythyry! "

Random Cousse-de-la-Thrungian, or, perhaps, Coussian-de-la-Thrunge:"Hallo! I am Marthonwy!" Marthonwy was a green-furred Sleeth [representing nekomavin!], and she was not the person I had intended to talk to. I had been intending to catch the attention of the cute chubby Orren girl at the next table of the quaint rustic outdoor cafe in the central square of Coussian-de-la-Thrunge.

Me:"I have come to pick up a huge order of roasted almonds for the duke of Vheshrame!"

Marthonwy"You look supremely well equipped to carry a huge order of roasted almonds to Vheshrame."She continued lapping kathia at her friends, who were both Orren, and who were both smirking.

Me:"I, um, have mighty magic. Available to me."

Marthonwy:"But of course. For this reason you are hauling roasted almonds."

Me:"Yes, in fact."

Marthonwy:"Excellent! Then by all means, O Zi Ri, you may now collect your almonds in your mighty magic."

Me:"How shall I go about this?"

Marthonwy"Go to the almond factory, which is yonder."

Me:"By what portents shall I recognize the almond factory?"

Marthonwy:"By the big sign reading 'Almond Works of Cousse-de-la-Thrunge' that is found over the front door."

Me:"I cannot see such a sign."

Vae:"It's on the opposite side."

Marthonwy:"Your blossomary is as wise as she is talkative."

Me:"My blossomary should keep her mouth shut."

Vae:"In glad!" She said this by means of transforming a breeze to the sound of her nendrai voice. This at least distracted her enough to say it in the Nice Language, so nobody but she and I on the whole branch could understand it. I'm sure she did it by mistake. She's not that cagy when she's doing things on purpose.

(No, I'm not either.)

Marthonwy:"Your blossomary is exceedingly good at Mutoc Airador Illusidor."

Me:"My blossomary would be better off as a Herethroy horse."

Marthonwy's friend:"Or perhaps a wudgeon? Marthonwy can arrange that quite cheaply."

Vae:"There is no wudgeon that I shall be!"

Me:"Vae, please be quiet."

Marthonwy:"Ah, you are the spare Vheshrame Zi Ri, and that is the Vheshrame nendrai."

Almost everyone else:"We scream! We run away!"Which they did jauntily, and with considerable leisure. Very few of them actually escaped.

Marthonwy:"Your almonds surely await you, m'lord."

I took the hint, and the nendrai, and -- unlike most of the inhabitants of Cousse-de-la-Thrunge -- we escaped. The inhabitants, still jauntily sipping kathia, were discussing their best escape routes from the monster.

We collected the almonds and rather angrily teleported them back to Threeze.

Comments

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

I know you were trying to get across some under the surface concepts with this journal entry, but I think there may have been a problem with the translation. I am having difficulty figuring out exactly what happened with everyone in the Marthonwy conversation, with the emotional undercurrents and the unspoken words and such. Also, I have no idea what saying people are screaming and running away jauntily means. I think you were insinuating that, for some reason, no one is scared? Why would that be?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

My translator is an utter twit and loser. Still, it is all that is available.

I wouldn't say that nobody was scared. Of perhaps fifty people in the plaza, five or six left in a hurry, and another five or six left while we were there. They seemed less terrified than people in Vheshrame. Since we are far braver in general than the Ulmarnians, I attribute this to a lack of terrified broadsheet editorials about Vae.

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

So the question is, how does an enterprising Zi Ri get the powers that be to spread terrified broadsheet editorials to each and every nearby settlement that deserves to be terrified?

[kris-schnee.livejournal.com]

Infiltrate the enemy's network of broadsheet writers to spread word that their leaders are thieves and murderers who should be killed, and that their cause is unjust and doomed. We've practiced the technique here on ourselves. How about teleporting each course of the meal separately, so that each one generates its own round of alarm? Or reviewing the meal and concluding that Veshrame's food really is superior?

[waywind.livejournal.com]

Evidently huge kaiju monsters don't do stealth very well.

Even when they don't look like huge kaiju monsters.

[oliver-otter.livejournal.com]

Aww, poor Vae.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

What does 'in glad' mean?

[bard-bloom.livejournal.com]

"gladly"

[kensaro.livejournal.com]

Is it just me or do sleeth seemingly make up their lack of manual dexterity with an overabundance of verbal dexterity?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Well, they are all storytellers.

[And, well, did you think Sythyry was a reliable narrator?]

[nekomavin.livejournal.com]

Whee! <waves to everyone> I'm on TV! Hi Mom! Um, sorry. <blush>

Please thank your narrator for the lovely cameo - it was much more than I expected. I'm quite giddy.

As to the leisurely fleeing - perhaps those who are used to the presence of Sleeth are less disposed to fleeing in terror? (That or those so disposed have already done their fleeing.) The corollary, of course, is that you should become quite impressively brave due to becoming used to Vae's presence. Perhaps overly so.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[Yay! I'm glad you liked it!]

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Such jaunty and leisurely running away! They must do Marthonwy quite proud.