A Tidy Little Sum

Writers: Eimi, Suzee
Date Posted: 28th May 2012

Characters: Morin, Bryvin
Description: Post Gather meeting
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 7, day 21 of Turn 6

Bryvin

It seemed to him that he'd been doing nothing but calculations for
days. But he finally had the figures for the Lord Holder and the
results of their profits for the recent gather.

He tapped the rolled parchment against his thigh as he walked into
Morin's study. "M'lord," he said. "I have the final figures from the
gather for your review."

"Ah, excellent," Morin said as he set his other hidework aside. ?It had
obviously been a success, but just how much of one he did not yet know.
"We came out ahead, I am sure."

Bryvin smiled. "Aye we did, and then some." The reason he'd checked
his figures over and over again was he had to be absolutely certain
the good news was spot on before he presented them to Lord Morin. The
figure at the bottom of the ledger included every mark earned from the
races, taxes on the vendors and even some impromptu runner races
Bryvin had spied and looped into the hold's coffers.

Morin's lips curled into a bit of a smile. ?"Good. ?Enough to pay for
that blasted tunnel we had to carve out of the rock for our guests?"
That hadn't come cheap. ?Of course, it would have had to have been done
at some point anyway to open up the second harbor for future use, but
rushing the job cost marks Morin hated to spend.

"Yes Sir," smiled the steward. "And a tidy little sum to add to the
coffers as well." He unrolled the document and turned it so the
figures would display for Morin.

Morin followed his finger down the columns of numbers, nodding
thoughtfully. ?His eyes grew brighter the further down he looked. ?"This
is fantastic, Bryvin. ?It really is." ?That could go a long way to
paying for the completion of the new Hold building. ?"Now, how about our
sea-faring friends? ?Did any of them stir up trouble?" ?Morin had made
sure to make it clear that there would be no ships known to be carrying
out illegal activities welcome in his harbor leading up to and in the
sevendays following the Gather. ?While he welcomed their business, he
did not want to risk the reputation they could give his Hold.

"We had all of that under control. I made arrangements to send some of
them off on special acquisitions that would keep them out of our
vicinity for near a month. All of our traffic remained of the proper
variety for the preparations and duration of the gather."

"Good. ?We might want to think of some sort of annual Gather that we can
use to attract business in once a Turn." ?They probably wouldn't pull in
as many people as this Gather had, of course, since it was an
extra-special occasion. ?But still, even if it was only two-thirds, that
would be quite a revenue generator!

"Indeed," he agreed. "Perhaps during the most pleasant months when we
can make a great impression. It could mean attracting more of the
right kind of settlers in addition to a windfall of profits."

"Certainly." ?Morin stood and reached for his map, which was always by
his side. ?"Come look at this," he said as he spread it out over a
table. ?"That tunnel has opened up a lot of good land that can be used
now near that new harbor. ?And I have an idea of what I might like to
put there."

Bryvin walked around the table to look over his Lord's shoulder at
their updated area map. He knew better than to ask questions until
Morin had laid out his thoughts. So he made an interested sound and
waited.

"Wouldn't that be a good spot for a Seacrafter Hall?" he said, pointing
to the spot on the map. ?A conversation with another Lord Holder had put
the thought in his head. ?At first he had dismissed the idea, worried
that it might disrupt the flow of shipbuilding and other business in his
main harbor. ?But with that peninsula to separate them, they could
maintain some of their autonomy while still enjoying the benefits of a
Hall. ?It was a thought that had been on his mind ever since the Gather.

"It certainly would," Bryvin leaned closer. "I know that stretch of
coast. The waters are deep here and here," he pointed. "And this part
is fairly level and protected from storm wash."

"I think there could be space for all the buildings a Hall would need."
Though he had never been to a Seacrafter Hall himself. ?Their needs were
probably a little different from any other Hall he had visited. ?"I want
you to do a bit of research for me. ?Send someone out there to survey
the land, find out what buildings are already there, what buildings are
inhabited, what each holding consists of, and where those people could
be moved. ?And how much that would cost us. ?Are you writing this down?"

He had indeed pulled out a small hide he always brought with him for
meetings with Morin. The man's thoughts sometimes moved so quickly
from one topic to the next his notes were the only thing to refer to
once dismissed. "Yes M'lord," he answered. "We could induce them to
join the main hold by providing some cots and fields for them to
work."

"Well, that's the next bit of information we'll need." ?Morin's mind was
threatening to go faster than the Steward's hand could write. ?"We need
to know how to best approach a new Hall. ?Should we try to tempt an
existing Hall? ?Can we form a completely new Hall? ?What would a new
Hall need, and how can we tempt one to us. ?More importantly, _who_ do
we need to tempt and are there ways we can smooth the process."

"Well that I may be able to help with," he replied. "There has already
been at least one inquiry. I can pull my notes from that meeting and
go over them with you if you'd like. Or I can see if that ship is
still in port for a direct meeting with your Lordship."

Morin waved a hand, dismissing the idea. ?"I don't want to go into a
meeting without all the information. ?The last thing we would need to do
would be to rush into an agreement only to find that there were better
options out there."

"Yes, M'lord," Bryvin responded with a short bow. "With your leave I
will gather that information for you." He took a step back just
waiting for the dismissal he figured was coming.

"Yes, yes, you may go," the Lord Holder muttered, leaning back over the
map, his eyes already imagining all the possibilities held in that empty
space. ?But his mind quickly turned back the previous line of thought.
"But send someone up with a chart of Sunstone's annual weather by month
and a list of all the annual Gathers held at major holdings on the
Southern Continent."

"Yes sir," floated behind him as he left the Lord Holder to his
thoughts about his new venture. There were lots of possibilities with
a seacrafter hall and an annual gather. He wanted to rub his hands
together in delight.

Last updated on the May 30th 2012

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A Tidy Little Sum