(no subject)

[sythyry]

Srineia [Vheshrame; 22 Trandary 4385]

The Treasurer of the Smith's Guild stared at me over his long black muzzle. "I beg your pardon, Master Smith?"

"I am trying to pay my guild dues, Master Smith. If you are incapable of accepting them, you should resign your guild post and go back to making crude glass knives full-time." The Treasurer and I have been feuding for some twenty years, for various reasons, ranging from stupid (I flirted with his mate at a formal guild dinner) to intensely stupid (I tried rather vocally to get someone competent elected as treasurer in the last election, and failed). I am not recording his name because I do not want to encourage anyone to think of him very much.

"I am quite capable of accepting guild dues, Master Smith. I am simply not used to payment quite this far in advance," he said.

"Master Smith, your powers of foresight are an excellent match for your powers of accounting," I noted.

He glared at me and lashed his tail. Insults are rarely lost on Cani. "Master Smith, one might almost be tempted to treat this so-called 'payment of your dues' as some attempt to bribe or otherwise influence our honorable Guild."

"Yes. I am attempting to bribe or otherwise influence our honorable Guild to keep me as a member in good standing while I am away on vacation. Wicked of me, to be sure."

"But, paying your dues a century in advance?"

I breathed a little needle of fire at nothing in particular, to point out what species I am, and how planning a century in advance makes sense for me.

He jumped back. "Our accounting system only goes three years ahead!"

"It is you, not I, who claimed that you were an adequate treasurer," I pointed out.

He bristled. "You have something in mind. What if the guild dues go up over the next century? You are planning to underpay, Master Smith!"

"What if the guild collects interest on my advance payment? That should cover the increase and then some, Master Smith!"

He groaned. "Well, at least you will be gone for a century."

"Only a few years, I think, but planning ahead is often worthwhile."

"I advise you to travel longer, Master Smith! A pity to waste your century's prepayment of dues. Stay away long enough for me to be dead by the time you return, a state which I prefer to your presence," said the treasurer.

"Alas, Master Smith, that your stock of glass knives are too crudely-made to permit you hasten your transition into that state which you prefer!" I commiserated. He just sneered at me.

Zistacarri, his Rassimel apprentice, asked me, "Where are you going?"

"Srineia."

"Where?"

I explained to her. I shall explain to you as well.

Srineia

Eleven world-branches down from the top of the tree (that is, on the twelfth ring of world-branches) is a ring of six branches; Srineia is the northmost of these. It is fairly newly colonized. I think that the oldest city on it, Eigrach, is younger than I am. It is still a frontier branch in many ways -- though Eigrach and Bephengy and Heleshario do boast some fairly high culture, including, crucially, plenty of excellent restaurants.

The Language: Srineia was colonized from several places, including Araldy on Aradrueia. The Srineian language thus isn't too far from Ketherian. Castle Wrong is conveniently provided with a Srineian exchange student Jyondre, who has been giving us lessons in Srineian. Yerenthax got the best of those lessons, which is how Jyondre ended up in Castle Wrong in the first place. (Jyondre is an Orren boy, and Yerenthax is a Gormoror girl, and their liaison is Highly Inappropriate.)

The Waters: Merklundum, the god of water, is a sleepy beast, and leaves the management of quite large and important aspects of his element to his angels and elementals. The water elementals of Srineia are particularly playful. So the branch is blessed with a variety of exotic aquatic features, like a braided river, some impressive waterfalls gracing otherwise flat terrain, and an exceedingly deep lake with a restaurant at the bottom. As a consequence, Orren are plentiful in Srineia, and, yes, that has something to do with my choice of destination.

The Monsters: This topic is quite important to Vae, since she will be intruding on someone else's territory. The dominant monster of Srineia is a chromodon named Shadrate. Vae has already sent a messenger, and gotten permission to vacation there for a time. There are, of course, lots of other monsters there, even on the flat upper side of the branch; the place is not very civilized really.

The Cuisine: Brightly-colored and strongly-flavored fish! Brightly-colored and strongly-flavored crustaceans! Brightly-colored and strongly-flavored insects! Brightly-colored and strongly-flavored spices! Dull-colored and strongly-flavored cheeses!

The Treasure: I expect I will want to collect a variety of whatnots useful in Aquador enchantments. Not that I do that many Aquador enchantments, but some, and it's never a bad idea to plan ahead. Jyondre says that some adventurers in Heleshario have recently found a Glory of Hren Tzen, which would be endlessly useful for me: I do do Sustenoc enchantments in great numbers. So I shall see if I can do some shopping.

I don't entirely know if it rates a two-year vacation all by itself. If not, I shall go somewhere else, or return home. I haven't had that much freedom of choice in ... ever, maybe.

Comments

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Two years is a long time to spend in one place on a vacation. Perhaps you should make an elemental vacation of it! A half year in a place of water, a half year in a place of fire, a half year in a place of air, and another half year in a place of earth.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

You're missing eight elements!

But no, an average noble taking a tour will spend a year or two on a vacation. Once or twice in a century-long adult life.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[Bard notes that travel on the World Tree is slow and dangerous. While Vae could pop down to Srineia for an afternoon, Sythyry couldn't, and the concept of a 'short vacation to another branch' is beyond zir conception.]

[rowyn]

Paying your dues in advance? How very Wrong of you!

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

More or less. I have been extremely proper in my dealings with all four guilds I belong to. People may, and do, complain about the way that I choose to conduct my private life, but it is very difficult to find any flaw in my public life.

No virtue of mine is implied there! But I have a good secretary and a good accountant to take care of such things.

[kensan-oni.livejournal.com]

I don't know. It's not like they are visiting, oh, France for a weekend. it's more like Touring Africa. You could take ten years there, and still not see it all. Two years seem a short visit to me, when you are looking at travel time too, and stuff there is to see.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

A whole chromodon? Or just a nendrai in disguise?

[otter3.livejournal.com]

[By the way, thanks for the frequent updates! It sounds like the wheels are turning again...]

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

Is this that branch that got colonized by the missing Skyship the crew of which everyone thought was dead when they were really stranded?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I know of no such branch! Everywhere that's like that, everyone's dead!

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

Maybe you just think they're dead... ;>

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Of course I do, for I am IC.

*laugh*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Shucks, Sythyry, you missed an opportunity to suggest that the guild hire a Zi Ri accountant so they could have proper bookkeeping!

[ruscumag.livejournal.com]

I've never had the slightest trouble getting an organization to take money... The only trouble is making sure that they remember it month later. I've never tried for years (much less a possible century). Hopefully Sythyry will keep several copies of the record.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Or perhaps they will get confused and think I have paid my dues in perpetuo, which would save me a great deal of money.

[ruscumag.livejournal.com]

Well, if they actually do consider the excess to be invested at interest, they probably should: even at 1%, a century in advance would pay the membership fee every year without touching the principal. If there were more Zi Ri running about, that might be accepted as standard.

On the other hand, just think of how an organization might react to an attempt to get them to admit that you will never owe them any money again. Even if they could swallow that, they might not like the idea that a Zi Ri could blow into town, point out that he’d paid four hundred years ago, and thereby had every right to open a shop on a moments notice.