What We Need

Writers: Aaron, Miriah
Date Posted: 9th January 2020

Characters: Wirnan, Wicoran
Description: Wirnan and Wicoran discuss what the Holding needs
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 13, day 8 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Bryvin, Yriadha

Wirnan

There was a light rap on the Steward's open door, the wizened older
man peering in with interest. "Sorry to interrupt you, Steward, I'm
Wicoran. Lady Yriadha and Lord Bryvin thought I might need to meet
with you to discuss the orchards and produce that her lands produce."

"No need to apologize!" said Wirnan amiably as he stood, walking with
his cane to the door to greet Wicoran. "Welcome. Please, have a seat.
Can I get you anything? Refreshments?"

"Thank you. Klah please if you have it. " He took a seat across from
the Steward, peering at him as though trying to weigh and measure him.
"Been a Steward long?"

"This go 'round, not all that long," said Wirnan as he walked to his
sideboard and began preparing a small, portable stove to boil water.
"But I've done the job long enough before."

Once the pot was heating, he sat back down.

"There we have it. So, what's heaviest on your mind? Output? Upkeep?
Where shall we start?"

"My family's been Stewards to her lands as long as her family has had
them. " Wicoran announced proudly. "But we've only been able to work
with the little we have. Right now, upkeep and restoring or replacing
systems is what we're need the most. Our irrigation system is older
than me, we've no technicians, no healers, and only one road into
the holding. We've got the hands to work, but not efficiently or
safely at this point. "

Wirnan nodded, taking in the overview of the problem. He pulled out
paper and pen and then began taking notes.

"If you could have everything and exactly what you wanted, cost being
no concern, what would you require to set everything to rights?" he
asked. Getting the best case scenario down on paper would help them
whittle down to some compromise between the ideal and the realistic.

"We can start with the irrigation system and then work through all the
way to the roads."

"Start with the people." Wicoran corrected. "Our tools are old. We
need pots, pans, harvesting tools of all types. At least three new
wagons. We breed sturdy draft runners, so that's not a need. A brand
new irrigation system, tools for building new buildings. We need
skilled craftsmen, weavers, woodcraft, miners Faranth, we need a
Harper to teach our children more than what we can and then crafters
who'll take apprentices. We're isolated." He paused, drinking his
fingers. "And I know the Lady won't say, but the main house, the
burned section needs to be rebuilt for when our heir comes back to us.
Seeing it everyday, empty and scarred, it's debilitating for morale."

Wirnan nodded, chiming in with acknowledgments as he wrote, quickly
scribbling shorthand notes beside each of the bullet points he had
started with. Once he had everything down, he stood and poured two
mugs of the steaming klah.

"Sugar?" he asked.

Shaking his head, Wicoran rose to retrieve his own cup, mindful of the
other man's cane and limp. "No, thank you. I prefer mine plain." He
returned to his seat, and sat, sipping the drink. "So, do you think
you could tell me if Lord Bryvin means to make do on his promises to
help us rebuild? The lands could be very profitable if they were
simply invested in, but we've hit nothing but barriers from Garnet
Valley. They don't want us to prosper and never have."

"Now, I've never in all my life known Lord Bryvin to make a promise he
couldn't keep, not one he didn't mean to keep," said Wirnan, patting
Wicoran's shoulder before retaking his seat with his klah mug in hand.

"Here's what I mean to do. I'll be drawing up several plans to present
to Lord Bryvin, from the pie in the sky, everything you could ever ask
for to the very conservative. Costs and benefits all laid out. And
he'll pick the one that joins what we're best suited to provide for
you with what you need to flourish. Leastwise, I can't see him doing
anything less, since that's what he promised. Lord Bryvin has a good
eye for profit, to be sure, but he also has a good heart for honor and
compassion."

Wicoran nodded, pleased by the Steward's plan. He sipped his klah
again, then cleared his throat. "Could he spare Lady Yriadha? For a
month or so? It would do the people good to see her. And she needs to
see the main house, decide what needs to be done with it and what she
wants to keep from what we were able to save. It's not much mind you,
but it's her family's belongings. I suppose one of her sons will be
taking the reins, but she's told me she hasn't discussed her
inheritance with either of them and one is at the Weyr, so he's..."
Wicoran coughed lightly, "not exactly what the holding needs."

Ah, very diplomatic, Wirnan thought to himself. He had known men of
the 'at the Weyr' persuasion to sire children when it was expected of
them before, but it did tend to create complications when they went to
find love elsewhere than their marriage bed.

"I will add one month of Lady Yiadhra's time, presence, and undivided
attention to the list of requests," he said. "But I can't promise
anything on either her or Lord Bryvin's behalf."

Wicoran nodded in satisfaction. "Good enough. Can you give me a time
frame to allow me to prepare for any arrivals and to let the people
know that there's supplies and aid coming?"

"I will present your proposal to Lord Bryvin tomorrow," said Wirnan.
"I suspect he will approve what he will approve shortly thereafter.
You should have a fair idea of exactly what's coming within the next
two days. Will that be enough?"

Appearing to think further, Wicoran finally nodded. "Yes. It will be.
I expect we'll be corresponding regularly, at least until my eldest
takes over. He's almost ready, and I'll send him here before the time
comes to meet you and Lord Bryvin, unless Lady Yriadha marries again
before that time."

"Of course," said Wirnan, nodding. "I'll make the time to meet with
him once you've decided the time is right. And I'll be sure to keep
you posted on whatever develops as it regards your home. More klah?"

"Thank you." Wicoran looked down at his klah and waved his hand. "If
you don't mind, I can get it. I know what it's like to have a leg that
doesn't want to do what it should." He rose, ambled over to the pot,
and poured himself another cup of klah. "You married?"

What a can of worms that question could unload. Fortunately, the
answer was simple and clean when it was a matter of yes or no. And he
was not above telling half-truths or even outright lies when it came
to the 'marriage' he had once found himself in.

"No, sir," he answered. There was no hint of displeasure or impatience
to change that fact in his tone. "You?"

"Yes. For nearly forty turns." His wrinkled face creased in a smile
as he returned to his seat. "Couldn't have asked for a better wife."
He studied the man across from him, eyes keen with interest. "Guess
you know Lady Yriadha well enough too don't you?"

"Well enough, I suppose," said Wirnan. If he were telling the whole
truth, he would have been more likely to say he scarcely knew her at
all outside of a professional context. But he had spent enough time on
the run to reflexively avoid correcting any misconceptions. Fishing
for corrections was a common enough method of eliciting information –
and one that tended to work as often as not.

"You aren't out to find her a new husband, are you?" he asked in a joking tone.

Wicoran doesn't even bother to hide the sly grin on his face. "Women
should be married. Besides, she's still got a few turn's left of
child bearing and she told me that her last match was more for the
Holding than any affection. Unfortunate, but that means she's not
grieving. She's not a bad match, is all I'm saying. Her father and
brother are gone and I've known her since she was a babe so..." he
puffed up his thin chest. "Can't really blame me for asking."

"I'd never blame a man for asking," said Wirnan. He felt he had enough
experience on the matter to know that marriage for political reasons
was a tough life to live. And he would not wish any such thing on
anyone else.

"And I'm flattered that you think she'd spare me a second glance." He
returned the grin with a warm smile of his own.

Wicoran shrugged. "She's insistent that she'll never wed again, but
she's got plenty left to offer a good man. Might want to think about
it, that's all." He took a sip of his klah. "Guess that'll be up to
Lord Bryvin now." He sighed and shook his head. "I keep wishing and
hoping we'll stand on our own someday, to grow outside Garnet Valley's
shadow and influence, but if it happens, I'll likely not live to see
it. "

"I've lived just long enough to know it's best to take a woman at her
word when she says she means to remain unwed," said Wirnan. "And that
it's best not to give up on any dreams you'd like to see come true
before you die. It's not over until it's over, after all."

Wicoran scoffed. "Old grudges die hard, lad. Even more so with Lord
Holders. Garnet Valley's not going to let us grow and be a potential
rival and they've got the power to do it. Lord Bryvin might have the
running of the place now, but we're still technically a part of them.
I imagine once they find out that another Lord Holder has control of
the place, they'll be worse. "

"Maybe," said Wirnan. He would not count Bryvin out until it was all
said and done, but nobody could know everything ahead of time. There
would always be something left unaccounted for even in the most well
thought out plans.

"You'll just have to be more stubborn than old grudges when it comes
to refusing to die, then, won't you?"

That brought another half-smile. "Why else do you think I've lived as
long as I have?" Wicoran finished his klah with a flourish.

Last updated on the February 1st 2020

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

What We Need