(no subject)

Change of Plans [17 Hispis 4385]

Thank you, O monsters and such who read and reply. I was going to stop at the nearest port and toss the stowaways off the ship (from a height of about five feet) and let them fend for themselves. But after reading and musing on all the discussion, I will not. I will let them off at my next port of call in the ordinary course of things, which, with only a minor change of plans, will be in Srineia. In the meantime, I need to borrow a few envelopes from Vae.

Borrowing Envelopes

I tracked Vae down! She was playing The Serpent of the Vortex with Ochirion and Quendry. She was in the shape of a serpent with a row of butterfly wings down her back, unmatched both stylistically and aerodynamically.

Me:"Hallo ... will you be much longer at the game?"

Quendry:"Yes! We won't be much longer! No! Yes! I'm going to roll a seven and then I'm going to win!"

Me:"Are you now? I was actually talking to Vae."

Vae:"Not so long will the game be if Quendry rolls a seven!"

Me:[in the Nice Language -- a horrible language which Vae forced down my mind a long time ago, and which nobody else around here speaks.]"And you wouldn't dream of ensuring that Quendry rolls a seven, just so you could get out of the game?"

Vae:[also in the Nice Language]"Not that! The happy game it is, and already have I asked Quendry and Ochirion for a rematch!"

Ochirion:"What? Whaa-aa-aat? Did you call me a porcupine, Vae?" I suppose "for a rematch" sounds a bit like "is a porcupine", if you are seven years old.

Vae:"Not that! And would you like to be a porcupine this afternoon, Ochirion?"

Me:"I hope you ask Zascalle or Thiane before you transform their children."

Vae: [suddenly rueful] "The I hope I do too."

Quendry picked up the dice and rolled a seven, completely fairly. He moved his pawn the obligatory seven steps to the serpent's head.

Quendry:"I win! I win the game! Can you believe it? How could I roll a seven? I rolled a seven and I win the game! How did I do that? It was a seven! It was four plus three! How can that be seven? It is seven!"

Vae:"The very good move, Quendry! Congratulations!"

Me:"Not that he was at one of the three places in the game where the player can actually choose what to do." I hate that game.

Quendry:"You are both very good players! I am happy to play with you! You make me happy! But how can I win? How can I roll a seven and win? It was three plus four! I mean four plus three! It is seven!"

Me:"Vae? While he's drunk on his victory, could you give me some envelopes, to write to Kzip La Hish and Nangbang back in Oorah Thrassen?"

Quendry:"I am making up the dance for seven! Here it is! The dance for seven!" He cavorted awkwardly. "Ochirion, come dance the dance for seven with me!"

Ochirion:"I'm dancing the dance for seven!" He might have been, too, but I couldn't see how his dance and Quendry's were at all the same.

Vae:"The certainly!" She transformed some cookie crumbs into ferocious Locador scroll-tubes.

Diplomacy at a Distance

Here's the first:

Dear Kzip,

Your indentured servant Dorze the spell-scribe has stowed away on my skyboat. I'm afraid I was unaware, and, indeed, unconscious at the time that it happened. The Sky Pilot's Guild, of which I have the honor to be an associate member, recommends that I put him aground at my next port of call, which will be Eigrach in Srineia. But I recognize your particular interest in this stowaway. If you like, I will lend you (with Dorze as your agent) the money to buy him passage on a skyboat from Eigrach to Oorah Thrassen -- when I can find one; Srineia has little direct commerce with Ketheria. I am not sure how likely he would be to stay on such a skyboat all the way back to Ketheria, since he has, already, recently attempted once to leave your service. Various other arrangements are possible as well. I expect to spend at least two months in Eigrach; you could, e.g., send an agent here to collect him -- assuming of course that he does not wish to flee further; I have few effective and legal means of restraining him. Or at any rate, you can send a letter to him urging him to come home (or whatever course of action you wish); I enclose two return envelopes, courtesy of the nendrai Vaisessasilmin.

With apologies for any perplexities or expenses I have directly or indirectly caused you, I remain, your hmbl srvt, Sythyry.

And here's the harder one.

Dear Nangbang and family,

I regret to inform you that your daughter Lost-Eyes was discovered stowed away on my skyboat. The Sky Pilot's Guild, of which I have the honor to be an associate member, recommends that I put her aground at my next port of call, which will be Eigrach in Srineia. According to Guild rules, that should be the end of the matter for me. However, I recognize that you may wish for your daughter to have better treatment than that. I would be happy, for example, to lend you (with Lost-Eyes as your agent) the money to buy her passage on a skyboat from Eigrach to Oorah Thrassen -- when I can find one; Srineia has little direct commerce with Ketheria. I am not sure how likely she would be to stay on such a skyboat all the way back to Ketheria, since she has recently left home and shows no great eagerness to return. I expect to spend at least two months in Eigrach, and would be happy to keep your daughter comfortable and safe there. My sky-yacht lacks prison facilities, and my friends lack suitable training; I'm afraid that, if she stays with us, she will do so of her own volition. In any case, I enclose two envelopes; you may write to her as well as me, and urge her to do what you think best.

With apologies for any perplexities or expenses I have directly or indirectly caused you, I remain, your hmbl srvt, Sythyry.

Perhaps I can behave morally and legally towards everyone concerned, even.

(no subject)

Change of Plans [17 Hispis 4385]

Thank you, O monsters and such who read and reply. I was going to stop at the nearest port and toss the stowaways off the ship (from a height of about five feet) and let them fend for themselves. But after reading and musing on all the discussion, I will not. I will let them off at my next port of call in the ordinary course of things, which, with only a minor change of plans, will be in Srineia. In the meantime, I need to borrow a few envelopes from Vae.

Borrowing Envelopes

I tracked Vae down! She was playing The Serpent of the Vortex with Ochirion and Quendry. She was in the shape of a serpent with a row of butterfly wings down her back, unmatched both stylistically and aerodynamically.

Me:"Hallo ... will you be much longer at the game?"

Quendry:"Yes! We won't be much longer! No! Yes! I'm going to roll a seven and then I'm going to win!"

Me:"Are you now? I was actually talking to Vae."

Vae:"Not so long will the game be if Quendry rolls a seven!"

Me:[in the Nice Language -- a horrible language which Vae forced down my mind a long time ago, and which nobody else around here speaks.]"And you wouldn't dream of ensuring that Quendry rolls a seven, just so you could get out of the game?"

Vae:[also in the Nice Language]"Not that! The happy game it is, and already have I asked Quendry and Ochirion for a rematch!"

Ochirion:"What? Whaa-aa-aat? Did you call me a porcupine, Vae?" I suppose "for a rematch" sounds a bit like "is a porcupine", if you are seven years old.

Vae:"Not that! And would you like to be a porcupine this afternoon, Ochirion?"

Me:"I hope you ask Zascalle or Thiane before you transform their children."

Vae: [suddenly rueful] "The I hope I do too."

Quendry picked up the dice and rolled a seven, completely fairly. He moved his pawn the obligatory seven steps to the serpent's head.

Quendry:"I win! I win the game! Can you believe it? How could I roll a seven? I rolled a seven and I win the game! How did I do that? It was a seven! It was four plus three! How can that be seven? It is seven!"

Vae:"The very good move, Quendry! Congratulations!"

Me:"Not that he was at one of the three places in the game where the player can actually choose what to do." I hate that game.

Quendry:"You are both very good players! I am happy to play with you! You make me happy! But how can I win? How can I roll a seven and win? It was three plus four! I mean four plus three! It is seven!"

Me:"Vae? While he's drunk on his victory, could you give me some envelopes, to write to Kzip La Hish and Nangbang back in Oorah Thrassen?"

Quendry:"I am making up the dance for seven! Here it is! The dance for seven!" He cavorted awkwardly. "Ochirion, come dance the dance for seven with me!"

Ochirion:"I'm dancing the dance for seven!" He might have been, too, but I couldn't see how his dance and Quendry's were at all the same.

Vae:"The certainly!" She transformed some cookie crumbs into ferocious Locador scroll-tubes.

Diplomacy at a Distance

Here's the first:

Dear Kzip,

Your indentured servant Dorze the spell-scribe has stowed away on my skyboat. I'm afraid I was unaware, and, indeed, unconscious at the time that it happened. The Sky Pilot's Guild, of which I have the honor to be an associate member, recommends that I put him aground at my next port of call, which will be Eigrach in Srineia. But I recognize your particular interest in this stowaway. If you like, I will lend you (with Dorze as your agent) the money to buy him passage on a skyboat from Eigrach to Oorah Thrassen -- when I can find one; Srineia has little direct commerce with Ketheria. I am not sure how likely he would be to stay on such a skyboat all the way back to Ketheria, since he has, already, recently attempted once to leave your service. Various other arrangements are possible as well. I expect to spend at least two months in Eigrach; you could, e.g., send an agent here to collect him -- assuming of course that he does not wish to flee further; I have few effective and legal means of restraining him. Or at any rate, you can send a letter to him urging him to come home (or whatever course of action you wish); I enclose two return envelopes, courtesy of the nendrai Vaisessasilmin.

With apologies for any perplexities or expenses I have directly or indirectly caused you, I remain, your hmbl srvt, Sythyry.

And here's the harder one.

Dear Nangbang and family,

I regret to inform you that your daughter Lost-Eyes was discovered stowed away on my skyboat. The Sky Pilot's Guild, of which I have the honor to be an associate member, recommends that I put her aground at my next port of call, which will be Eigrach in Srineia. According to Guild rules, that should be the end of the matter for me. However, I recognize that you may wish for your daughter to have better treatment than that. I would be happy, for example, to lend you (with Lost-Eyes as your agent) the money to buy her passage on a skyboat from Eigrach to Oorah Thrassen -- when I can find one; Srineia has little direct commerce with Ketheria. I am not sure how likely she would be to stay on such a skyboat all the way back to Ketheria, since she has recently left home and shows no great eagerness to return. I expect to spend at least two months in Eigrach, and would be happy to keep your daughter comfortable and safe there. My sky-yacht lacks prison facilities, and my friends lack suitable training; I'm afraid that, if she stays with us, she will do so of her own volition. In any case, I enclose two envelopes; you may write to her as well as me, and urge her to do what you think best.

With apologies for any perplexities or expenses I have directly or indirectly caused you, I remain, your hmbl srvt, Sythyry.

Perhaps I can behave morally and legally towards everyone concerned, even.