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k_a_webbPart 8, seventeenth continuation
Author note: we might actually be moving somewhere new in the next part. Lucille is right. There are too many questions that the Quiarans have that she doesn’t have time to answer. If she is going to write a book what would you like to see in it, because I’m sure you have as many questions as the Quiarans.
The bonus story poll is still tied, although it’s now a four way tie. Anyone have any ideas what I should do next, so I can get the bonus story written and posted.
“That’s going to be a great help,” Sini said, feeling relieved that Lucille had her own way into talking to the pup birds. “Personally I think you’ll learn the most from the Fasachi quarter, because the majority of my mother’s hame are traders. If anyone’s going to know anything about where the counterfeits are coming from it’s them. Unfortunately the problem the guards have is the fact they have no one from that hame working for them, so they have no one there who relates to the races, and that means no one will talk to them. As I’m not a guard I try not to ask too many questions, instead waiting for the rumours to come to me, because I’m not pure Fasachi. They don’t hate me because I’m a chimera but due to my Motharan blood they don’t trust me as they aren’t sure where my loyalties lie.”
“I’d say they lie with your family and the people you care about.” Peric smiled at Sini and she smiled back, grateful he understood. “The same way most people’s do. It’s just normal for us to care more about the people we happen to spend the most time with.”
Nodding, Sini looked back at Lucille. “Due to the way Quiar works it’s normal for races who are similar to spend the most time together and in Seahorse you’re more likely to see one race flare up at another for one reason or another. Sometimes they’re logical reasons, but at other times even I can’t make sense of why they’ve decided they hate each other. In other cities it will be different, because very few cities are like Seahorse Port.”
“Everyone thinks of Seahorse Port as a hub, where people from different hames come to travel to Larnach, but it’s also a wonderful place to come if you’re Larnachi and want a holiday,” Peric said, even though Sini knew it wasn’t his idea of a wonderful place to have a holiday, and she wondered if he ever really took time off. The mouse seemed too focused to do anything fun. “In general. Not everyone likes places that are this chaotic, but coming here is the safest way to get an idea of what the other hames are like. I could never travel to Fasach because I’m a white mouse, so here I could, if I wanted, get to know some Fasachis without worrying about being killed by them.”
“Seahorse Port is also one of safest places for you to get to know people from the other hames, Lucille.” Sini smiled at the Moonjumper. “Travelling to the other hames wouldn’t be any safer for you that it would be for Peric, because of what you are. Here you’ll be accepted as a neutral party because we have very few of them, but you’d be seen very differently if you went to any of the hames.” She thought for a moment. “You’d be safest on Theas, although they wouldn’t trust you, or Inish. On Fasach you’d be killed and I dread to think what you’d have to deal with if you went to Mothar.”
“I don’t think I’d be permitted to go to any of those hames,” Lucille said, still picking at a pastry. “The Council’s doors only come to Larnach, because they know it’s the safest hame for us and for me to get there I’d have to travel overland.” She shrugged. “There are Moonjumpers who have travelled the world before, but no one knows what happened to them, and I don’t think it’s happened since the Council attempted to kill all the natural Moonjumpers. They spend too much on training us for them to allow us to do something so dangerous.”
“Maybe that’s another reason for the first rule,” Peric suggested.
“Possible.” Lucille bit her lip. “Actually that’s probably the most likely reason for they first came up with it and then realised it would allow them to keep more control over us. When the natural Moonjumpers were trained things were very different, because there were no tattoos so all the Council was really doing was teaching them about the other worlds in an attempt to keep them as safe as possible. Even then, though, the Council didn’t know as much about the worlds as the Moonjumpers did. They had no way to get the information and they didn’t really care all that much.”
“They don’t care now, either,” Bertram commented, and Sini looked over at the raven who had been very quiet for a long time. He didn’t look unhappy, so he’d probably just been gathering information for later from what Lucille had been talking about, because he seemed to collect information just as much as he did shinies. “I don’t doubt that sending you to the worlds to write their histories is just a way of giving you something to do.”
“It also means they can keep the training they give new Moonjumpers up to date, so I don’t mind doing that for the Council. I’d rather any true Moonjumpers that come through have all the information they need, because the job is difficult without finding out that there’s been a war or something that no one had written about, even though we don’t always know everything.”
“How much information are you going to give the Council on Quiar?” Sini asked, a little worried about what they might learn from Lucille that they wouldn’t like.
“As little as possible, Sini, I promise. The thing I’ve learnt is how to best use the general dislike of Moonjumpers in general to make it seem like no one talks to me either. No one knows that I have family on Kniroch who can travel to the sibling worlds or that I happen to be friends with a couple of the Day Knights. If they did I’d be accused of breaking the first rule, arrested, questioned, and then they’d remove my tattoos. So I keep my mouth shut.”
“Who are the Day Knights?” Peric asked.
***
Lucille laughed. Every time she mentioned something she was asked more questions. “When I get back to Athare I’m going to make a start on that book, otherwise we’re going to be sitting here for another week before I’ve managed to answer all of your questions about all of the worlds I’ve travelled to.” She nibbled her pastry as she tried to work out the best way to describe the Day Knights. “During the war of Beshaki the Day Knights were the Lumen’s main attack force. Now they do their best to keep law and order in the Lumen’s third of Beshaki and every year on the day that the war ended they go to the river and beg forgiveness from the Umbra. The Umbra give it every year now, as part of the ritual, although there was a time when the Umbra refused to forgive the Lumen.”
“There’s a barrier between the Arctus and the Umbra that stopped the war, but what was it that stopped the war between the Lumen and the Umbra?” Bertram asked.
“No one really knows for certain, but I have a feeling it was because the Lumen realised that they didn’t want control of the twilight third of Beshaki.” Lucille shrugged. “For the Arctus the twilight third was a step up and then they were planning on moving onto the day third, but the Lumen were uncomfortable in the twilight. Even now they don’t often travel to the twilight.”
“Have you ever asked?”
“The Lumen hate talking about the war. If it wasn’t for the Day Knights they’d try to pretend it never happened, but the existence of their old battle force means they can’t. Some day I’ll get into the council building and find out why they decided to end the war, but that’s not going to happen any time soon.” She smiled at Bertram. “Now, if we’re going to get anything done today I think we’re going to need to head out into the city and see what happens.”
“Durai sent a report about what happened last night,” Peric said, “so I’ll stay here and read that.”
“Don’t eat too many nuts,” Bertram replied. “You’ll get fat.”
Peric threw a nut at Bertram, who caught it in his beak and laughed at his mouse friend as he ate it. “Never forget how fast my beak is. Your puny mouse arms will never beat them.”
Neither of them looked at each other, but somehow both Peric and Lucille threw nuts at Bertram at exactly the same time. It surprised Lucille when he caught both of them. “Mammals.” Bertram shook his head, laughing more. “You will never beat the wonder of a bird’s beak.”
“Unless we tie it up,” Lucille said, smiling at the raven. “I’m sure I could find some shiny silver ribbon and make it another shiny for you.”
“Don’t be mean.” Bertram tried to look hurt, but she could see the amused glint in his eyes, and shaking her head she tossed another nut at him. “I do love nuts for breakfast. Even if I do have to catch them to eat them.”
“Where should we head first?” Lucille asked Sini.
“Well, if we head into the centre of the city we’ll find the markets and the shops. It’s the best place to be at any time of day, because it’s where you’re going to hear the most information and be able to shop at the same time.”
Lucille sighed. “If I do go shopping I won’t be able to take anything back with me.”
“How much money do you earn in a year?” Peric asked, and when Lucille turned to look at him she could see what he was thinking.
“I have no idea how much it would be here and…” Lucille bit her lip. “I’m already renting a small place on Beshaki. That takes up a little of my wage each month, but much less than I was expecting. I can’t help wondering if they’re charging me less because I’m a Moonjumper.”
“The mayor and I had a chat before we left for Seahorse Port and if you wanted to rent a small cottage in Sheepshank we could sort it out for you. Along with an income for being Quiar’s Moonjumper.”
“I couldn’t take your money for doing a job I’m already paid for doing.”
“Okay, how about we call it a bonus? It doesn’t really matter what it’s called as long as you have a place you can stay if you are planning on coming back here regularly. Spending all your wages to rent a room in one of the bed and breakfasts seems silly.”
Nodding, Lucille told herself to stop biting her lip. It was a bad habit. Maybe the Arctus knew she’d argue if they offered her more money for being their Moonjumper, so they just took it off the rent she paid for her cottage, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable with it. When she got back to Beshaki she was going to have to talk about them about it. Then she had the room her aunt had set aside for her on Kniroch where she could keep anything she needed for that world.
“I’ll think about it, Peric. I’ll work out how much my wage will become here and what I can afford, while I’m also paying rent on Beshaki.”
“You’re lucky you’re even getting to pay rent. The mayor wanted to give you a cottage when I told him what you planned, especially as I think he talked to both Serafina and Ethelinda.”
“Being a true Moonjumper makes you something special, Lucille,” Sini said. “We’ve told you that before. Quiar’s never really had a chance to be a proper part of the Web before and having you here changes that. You give us something we’ve never had before, so we’re going to make the most of it. I’m certain the races in the other worlds will feel the same way, which is why they want to help you as much as possible.”
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.
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Date: 2013-04-26 12:21 am (UTC)I think I'd go first for the kind of cultural information people jot down for travelers -- things likely to come up when you visit a place. Like, 4 is an unlucky number in Japan and sleep cycle is a prevailing influence in Quiar.
>>Anyone have any ideas what I should do next, so I can get the bonus story written and posted.<<
Roll a die. You probably don't have enough readers to compensate for the scatter in this poll.
>>“Never forget how fast my beak is. Your puny mouse arms will never beat them.”<<
That should say "beat it."
*laugh* Funny scene.
It's nice that they're trying to help Lucille integrate as much as she can in Quiar.