Demesne 365 - Settling Accounts (Patreon)

I woke up to someone falling on top of me. The feeling of a face slamming into my chest was immediately identifiable, even with my clothes in the way. A nose against your sternum was a distinctive feeling, though I had less experienced with confused mumbling.

"Kuw, stop kicking me," Lidzuga said sleepily in the annoyed but resigned tones of someone who's had this happen to him before.

Then Lidzuga, Kutago and I had let out pained cries as Taeclas had rolled out of her bunk and fallen on top of all three of us. Poor Lidzuga had barely escaped a knee to the clapper and clapper weights.

It was a novel way of waking up. I hope not to repeat it ever again. Or if I had to, hopefully not any time soon.

The commotion and exchange of embarrassed apologies was enough to wake up everyone else, and we had an early start to our day as Taeclas and Lidzuga did first their official bit of Deadspeaking and checked for serious injury, and then dealt with the aches and pains involved. They were… well, it was clear how much slower they worked compared to Shana. Oh, I’d been checked over and treated for injuries by Deadspeaker’s before—a lumberyard could be a dangerous place—but I’d gotten used to how quickly Shana did it. Just a touch, a strange squirming sensation around the injury or ailment, and then a few heartbeats later she was done.

“Where does it hurt?” Lidzuga asked as he fell into the same breathing rhythm Lori used to before she’d become a Dungeon Binder, and still sometimes did when she needed to calm herself. As far as I understood, it was how they drew in magic from the air, building up a reserve of it that they used to imbue their magic.

“Just here, mostly,” I said, gesturing at the center of my chest where Kutago had fallen face-first. The sudden impact still stung, especially where her nose had hit. There was also a pain in my thigh from where Taeclas had landed when she’d fallen, but as magic required direct skin contact… no. Off to the side, Taeclas was healing herself before she started on Kutago, which from the outside simply looked like she was sitting down and taking deep breaths. It made sense, I suppose. Just like Lori had special control over her internal wisps, Taeclas probably had special control of the life inside her body. There was no need to touch the injured areas, because she was already aware of what those areas were.

“All right, let’s begin,” Lidzuga said. “I’m going to touch you now. Tell me when my hand is on the afflicted area.”

I nodded as he reached for my chest, pressing his palm against the sore flesh. Another difference from Shanalore. She didn’t need direct contact with the afflicted area, even outside of her demesne. Sometimes she did it, but it seemed to be more for assessing the affected area than because she needed to use her meaning on it directly. Or perhaps Lidzuga's method was simply the most efficient? After all, they didn’t have the infinite supply of magic Shana had because of her core. There was time for me to contemplate these thoughts and more as Lidzuga did whatever Deadspeaking he was doing to my chest.

We all washed our faces with some of the distilled water to get the feeling of sweat and oil off it. Since we were leaving today, there was no point in heading out to bathe only to come back. We'd have a proper wash once we were underway.

After washing my face, I went out to buy breakfast for the last time, Hans and Yhorj accompanying me to help carry the food. There were no street vendors of skewered meat yet, but some walking led us to a bakery. Picking out some fresh bread—the thick, leavened kind—and meat buns, the three of us hefted the paper bags they’d been stuffed in, keeping the paper pinched shut in a silly and futile attempt to keep the warmth and freshness in. And also the smell, which was less futile and only slightly less silly, because if I had to keep smelling the bread all the way back to the docks, it would not reach its destination intact.

…

No, no eating before everyone else. That was the behavior of a bad leader!

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Once we'd eaten, I went back to the dockmaster's office, where I settled our account with some of the last of our beads. The parting was amiable, with Yhoe telling me how glad he was that the crew wasn't rowdy or caused trouble.

Either the people keeping watch at night weren't properly paying attention or they hadn't bothered to tell me something.

The other dockhands in the office—technically not taking their ease, but rather being a presence in case another gang tried to force themselves into the dock again—also said their farewells regretfully, though they would probably be missing the added food they were getting at night than our presence, but that was fine.

Then it was time to wait for Ravia to arrive.

"So we'll be leaving as soon as this merchant arrives and everything has been loaded onto the boat?" Taeclas said as we all sat around in the upper deck an tried to find a place where the morning sun didn't shine directly on us.

"Ship," I corrected. "And yes. He isn't bringing much, so we hopefully we'll be able to leave much earlier. Late morning, if we're lucky."

"Oh…"

If the tone wasn't obvious, the way she slumped slightly was a definite indicator. "Why? Was there an errand you wanted to do before we left?"

"Ah, I was hoping to say goodbye to everyone again, and apologize for not being able to find another Deadspeaker to take my place," Taeclas said.

"Take your place?"

"Yes," Rybelle said as she put an arm around her wife's shoulders. "Taeclas took care of some people in our neighborhood who occasionally needed some Deadspeaking to help them with some aches and pains. Master Dormed, for instance, sweet sickness, so Taeclas helps him deal with the sweetness in his blood."

"They said it was all right if we leave, but I wish I was able to find someone to help take care of them," Taeclas said. "Konfa said she'd stop by, but she has her own job…"

"I wish you'd told me sooner," I said. "We went to speak to a lot of different Deadspeakers in the last few days. Even if they weren't willing to move to a different demesne, they might have been willing to move to your neighborhood just to have their own room, especially the ones who live with their family."

"Why doesn't Taeclas go to the warehouse and ask if there are any Deadspeakers who want to live in her old neightborhood?"

I blinked, then turned towards Yhorj, who'd been sitting nearby. "What did you say?" I said.

Yhorj pointed at the warehouse. "Well, the ship came with new people, didn't it? Maybe they have Deadspeakers there who might be able to live in Wiz Taeclas' old neightborhood?"

…

Well, this was embarrassing. While I had dismissed the thought of recruiting any of those people for Lorian, Yhorj was right.

I turned towards Taeclas. "What he said? It's worth checking."

"That's a great idea!" Taeclas exclaimed with a wide smile, getting to her feet. "I'll go ask them!"

The only reason she didn't run excitedly was because she was still getting used to the way the boat shifted underfoot, as well as all the people taking their ease between her and the ramp.

"Multaw, Liggs, go with her," I said. "It's not I don't trust those probably very nice people, but… well, accidents happen."

"Right, L—Rian," Multaw said.

"We'll make sure no one steal her belt pouch," Liggs said.

Lidzuga stood up. "I'll go with them too. Any Deadspeakers or carpenters there would probably appreciate knowing where they could try applying for a job."

Kutago sighed and rose to follow her brother. "Maybe there will be a papermaker there," she muttered as if trying to justify herself. "Master Manira will probably appreciate not having to look…"

The five of them headed for the warehouse, Taeclas in the lead.

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They still weren't back by the time Ravia arrived with the cart containing the last of the goods I'd asked him to acquire. Most were plant seedlings in long trough-like wooden planter boxes. The seedlings had needed to be matured enough to be able to survive passing through Iridescence, which was why they had taken so long. There was also the two barrels, a big one and a smaller one, of sweet-tasting booze made from honey, which I'd heard about and put in a last order with Ravia. I was sure that Lorian and River's Fork would appreciate us bringing the drink back with us, even if the barrels would probably be emptied the same day it was opened. The day after at the latest.

I listened to Ravia giving me instructions about how to care for the seedlings while we were traveling. They shouldn't be washed normally, and instead any Iridescence should be wiped off with a soaking wet rag. Normally, having the seedlings out in the Iridescence for a day wouldn't matter. However, they also had experience with taking care of the plants when they were out in the colors long enough to gain a coating of crystals.

"Don’t wash them by just splashing them with after," Ravia said. "Use this instead."

He handed me what looked like a perfectly ordinary wooden ladle that seemed a bit on the small side. At a second glance, however, the bottom of the ladle was covered with small holes. "Ah. We should let water spray down on them from this?"

Ravia nodded. "It will be gentler for the seedlings. The planter troughs have holes in the bottom to let water drain, so you can rinse the seedling with this. Just quickly pass the spray over the seedling twice and don't linger. This will also help water the seedlings. Do't do it too much, or else the seedlings will become waterlogged and might die or develop root rot."

"Don't lose the ladle, understood," I said. Inside, I was sighing in relief. I hadn't thought of what sort of care Taeclas' plants would need, much less our own. If Ravia hadn't told me this, the seedlings we'd brought might have died on the way home, and it would have been wasted effort and money.

Huh, this meant we might have to make special arrangements when washing Taeclas' plants. At least we had several cloths that soaked up water well. We used it to gather up the water when we washed the inside of the ship so we could toss it over the side. Not all the water had to pass through the evaporator, after all.

…

And I just realized we hadn't bothered to cover up the evaporator bound tool. Well, if Ravia asks, I can just say it was directly powered by Lori.

"And that's everything, Rian," Ravia said as the last of the cargo was moved down to the lower deck. One more sheet of paper to be added to the folder was in his hands. I read it over, especially the sums, noting the advances of beads I'd asked for, and comparing it to the papers in the folder. My thumb kept all the sheets weighed down, as I did not want them being caught by the wind. The sums involved added up, and I nodded in satisfaction as I accepted the final copy of the contract. I was handed a reed—I supposed Ravia didn't carry pens on deliveries—and dipped it into the little bottle of ink Ravia held before signing off on two copies of he contract, indicating the sale had been completed to both party's satisfaction. Granted, according to the contract Emborin and Sons still owed Lorian Demesne—and Lori specifically—tens of thousands of bead-tani worth of beads, but there was a way around that. "And here is the preliminary contract you asked for."

I read over this contract too. It was similar to the order I'd placed before—more mesh screens, more cloth, other things—except we would pick it up next time we came back to Covehold. This way we could lessen the time we had to wait in Covehold by a couple of days, meaning we coud go back home sooner. None of the items were perishable, so the trading house shouldn't have any difficulty keeping them in storage for us. "Everything looks to be in order," I told Ravia once I as satisfied with the list, including the price that had been quoted. "We'll probably have another list when we get back, but at least we'll have these things ready to pick up then."

"Our business is almost concluded then," Ravia said. "We only need to balance accounts. If you'll please follow me, Rian?"

I blinked, but trailed after him towards the cart he'd brought all the goods on. Balance accounts? Did he mean…?

There was a box under a tarp on the cart. I couldn't help but stare. It was a nice box, almost a small chest really. The wood had been planed smooth and the corners rounded in a way that I recognized denoted skillful woodworking talent. The surface looked smooth as glass, and there were tasteful wooden handles on either side. Despite the skill that the box had been made with, instead of a lock the chest had been secured with a heavily knotted rope. The knotting was so secure, in fact, that Ravia removed the rope with a knife.

Glancing around even though there was no one near us, Ravia turned the chest towards me and opened the lid.

Inside, nestled on a recessed wooden tray made of lightweight wood, were rows on rows of large beads. There were cloudy-white wispbeads, inky-black thinkbeads, fallbeads that were clearer than glass and seemed to glitter with stars, and cloudy gray walkbeads. The beads had all rolled slightly, probably from being shaken by the cart as it had trundled through the roads, but enough denomination markings were pointed up I could identify them.

The tray was full of double-large beads, and though each bead was no doubt from a different demesne, according to the markings there were each worth two thousand bead-tani, the most common highest denomination of bead. As I stared, Raia picked up the tray and revealed another one underneath, and then a third. A fourth tray at the bottom didn't contain double-large beads, but rather small bead…

"What…?" I managed to get out.

"As agreed upon," Ravia said, "half of the full amount that Emborin and Sons owes for our purchase of you product. Would you like to count?"