The First Meeting

Writers: AmajoS, Eimi
Date Posted: 30th May 2019

Characters: Kefnek, Capwick
Description: Hallmaster and Hallsecond hold the first of what is sure to be many meetings as the new Hallmaster settles into his new role.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 10, day 22 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Rayan, Keayd

Kefnek stood in the doorway to the office looking in. The desk was
still covered in hides and papers - reports waited on no man, it
seemed, but all the personal effects one might expect to see were
gone. The room had an empty, waiting feel to it, where just a few days
ago it had seemed as full of life as the man who had held the office.

Rayan was gone now though, moved up to the Northern Continent and
Kefnek didn't envy him any. It would be autumn up there soon, instead
of spring. He'd have two winters in a row. Kefnek shivered at the
idea.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see the Hallsecond approaching.

"I'd be careful when you open the top drawer if I were you. I
wouldn't put it past Rayan to have left you a little parting prank as
a gift," the Hallsecond said with a bit of a twinkle in his eye. It's
what he would have done at any case.

Kefnek frowned at the desk suspiciously and then sighed. It really
would be like the former Hallmaster to have left a surprise for his
successor. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied.

Then he entered the office and gestured toward one of the seats,
offering it to Capwick, before taking the one behind the desk himself.
He gave the top drawer another quick glance and then said, "So, where
should we begin?"

"Well, it looks like there's no shortage of paperwork left for you,"
Capwick said with a nod at the pile in the corner. "What's on top?
That's where I would start."

"It looks like there are a few people due to walk the tables," Kefnek
replied, pulling a sheet off the top. "Journeyman Keayd, for example.
Do you have any qualms about going ahead with that?"

"None at all. I'd say it's long over due." The Hallsecond thought
Keayd had more than proved himself with his work over the past Turn.

"Excellent. I think, unless the journeyman has a problem with it, that
the sixth of the new month should work? It will give him time to
gather any family or friends who want to witness and since the seventh
would be the Rest Day, the celebration shouldn't be a problem."

"That should do," Capwick nodded making a mental note. "Just him, then?"

Kefnek shuffled some of the papers and hides around with a frown, "Do
we have more waiting?"

"No need to rush anyone," Capwick said with a shrug. "I'm sure the
Masters will tell us when someone is ready. Keayd, I know, has been
ready for a long time."

Kefnek nodded, relieved. He hadn't thought he'd missed anyone, but
things were a bit hectic with the transition, and anything was
possible. "Good." He made a note on the list he'd written out for the
meeting and then moved to the next item. "I'd like us to do a thorough
inventory of the store-rooms. How many casks and barrels we have
ready, how many are still aging, and so on. I'd like to confirm the
last counts and how quickly we're going through the stores. Do we have
enough journeymen free at the moment or can we pull a few for the
project?"

He had noticed in the records he'd gone over that demand had been
growing, but production was increasing much slower, based on previous
inventories and invoices and wanted to see if the pattern was still
holding. If it was, it was worrying. He wanted them to have a decent
surplus in storage and if they were having to pull more from the
stores than was going in to meet demand, that wouldn't happen.

"You've got a monthly report on the count in one of the cabinets over
there," Capwick said, pointing a thumb in the direction of where
files had obviously been kept in some sort of system, "but if you want
another visual inspection, that's apprentice work. A journeyman can
check their findings against the existing records, but you definitely
don't have to pull anyone away from their work for that. If you want
to know our Hall's business trends, I can have a journeyman working
with the accounts draw you up a rough estimate, but their end of Turn
reports will be coming out soon. The previous Turns' would be in
those cabinets, too."

Kefnek nodded, "I've looked at those, and I can wait for the end of
turn reports to confirm, but I would like rough estimates at least
from accounting. And I'd like that visual inspection too."

Capwick gave a nod of understanding though he kept to himself the
thought that it was a waste of time. He was well aware that new
Hallmasters were often a little over eager to put their stamp on their
new Hall. Kefnek would soon settle down and grow wise to the
limitations as well as the powers of the office he held, Cap was sure, and
until then, there was nothing to do but to humor him. "Anything
else?"

Kefnek debated mentioning his plans for expanding the orchards and the
grain fields and hiring the necessary farmercrafters to help maintain
them. But he decided that that could wait till the next meeting. He
realized was some small dismay that there was going to be some
politicking and marketing involved in implimenting his plans. Neither
were his strong suit. Still, he would see his plans come to fruition.

"I think that will do for now. Did you have anything you wanted to bring up?"

"Anything I have can wait a few days. I will let you get settled."
Capwick looked at the pile on the desk. "Have you appointed a
personal assistant yet?"

"Not yet," Kefnek grimaced. He knew he would need someone to help him
keep everything sorted, manage his appointments and so on, but that
didn't mean he liked it. "If you have anyone in mind, send them and
I'll give them a go."

"I know a couple people." There were always journeymen and Masters
looking for advancement, and having a front row seat on Hall politics
was a good way to see what it took to run a business and manage a
large staff. Not all of them would become Hallmaster, but they might
be given charge of a large operation elsewhere.

"Alright, send them and I'll give them a shot and pick the one I like
best," Kefnek nodded. "If that's all, we'll meet again in a few days."

Last updated on the June 3rd 2019

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The First Meeting