Continuous Improvement
Year of the Golden Gilled Boar, 1983, Veeratha, Mosp 9th
Silence. I craved for it. I went to great lengths in my past life to grab every opportunity that ensured I get time alone. After spending decades going out, hanging out, and partying, I began to long for moments of quiet. Over time, I even felt a bit of pride being able to live alone, survive alone, spend lengthy periods just by myself, alone.
It wasn’t until I truly had nothing to do and nothing to look forward to that I began to question if I would really survive being alone. I worried more, became depressed even more, and not even the enormous sum I have won was able to lift me out of that mindset. But silence was fun, silence was nice. If only for the, now seemingly, endless supply of things to distract me from myself.
That wasn’t the case here. No books, no games, no TV, and no internet. All I had was a pile of maps and parchment from days ago. Instead of focusing on my goals, my mind drifted to a hundred different mundane things. Things like, Bira and her supposed gifts.
I questioned Jibel late the previous day about what he meant before our conversation got interrupted. His answer was more or less the same as his statement. Bira was good, really good at guessing. It did not take long before I started to raise an eyebrow. The answer was perhaps due to the limited knowledge the kid had prior to meeting me and, maybe it also had something to do with just being around it all the time that he took it for granted. Just another display of how good his sister was at guessing. Except it wasn’t just guessing.
Was Hanni right?
The thought led me to think of Hanni, of where she was exactly. The previous day, she was not in the castle nor its grounds from midmorning. I didn’t ask where she’d been. It wasn’t my business. Nor could I blame her. Now that the children were having lessons from morning until midafternoon, and with Cheki and Besien around to look after Jibel, there wasn’t much to do. Everything was boring, in fact. And now, she was out again.
I took the map of Silaron and laid it out on the table, forcing my mind to consider what I was supposed to have been doing. In all my working days, I’ve always taken pride in being called a big thinker, one that always has the big picture in mind. That was true to some extent, most of my mistakes were on the small things. Easy to miss things. Staring at the map, I could not help but wonder if they’d been giving me false praises. Or was it true only because the rest of my workmates really didn’t care about the job? Perhaps. One thing was true – this was as big as it gets and I had no idea how to finish it.
A knock came. One knock and the door swung open.
“Ah, yer majesty I’m here! It’s me yer trusted vassal!”
“Oh shut up Litoc.” I replied, beckoning him over to sit opposite me.
“So, what’s this important thin’ ye called us fer?”
“Yes, ‘us’. I can’t help but notice it’s just you.”
“’es comin’ in a bit. Damn nobles an’ supplicants won’t stop arrivin’.”
“How long till they stop coming?”
“Figured about a month or so.”
“How many more nobles till then?”
“Six, probably seven more. At least three before it all ends. Why?”
“Are you still in touch with the, ah, farmers?”
“Now I ask again, why?” He finished with an insistent tone, leaning forward.
“Because I need a rumor started, fast. I need your help with that. Anyone coming over from remote towns would be hearing it and will be keeping an eye out. Anyone leaving Osmouth should be spreading it. And so on.”
“I like a good mystery. Tell me about this plan o’ yours.”
Litoc got up and poured himself a cup from the other table. He came back bearing another and placed it beside me before sitting down. I relayed to Litoc the specifics of what I had planned to spread, asking for his input from time to time.
“Jorj- are ye sure yer not, an’ I mean this as a compliment, Atoshakamoth ‘imself?”
“Who?”
“Blasted Kulipu,” he muttered, “Atoshakamoth? Yer not knowin’ ‘im? Even a babe’s knowin’ ta fear ‘im.”
“Children’s story then? A monster to scare the kids?”
“’es not just a story, igom. Well, actually ‘e is. But that’s beside the point.”
Litoc went on to, I would say briefly but that was not his style, acquaint me with the other side of the kingdom’s religion. In short, he was asking me if I was the devil himself.
“I see. If I were, and not that I’d ever tell you, this whole thing would be over by tomorrow.”
“Well, if not ‘im then definitely one o’ ‘is underlin’s.”
“You believe in all that then? Gods and demons and monsters?”
“Makes sense ta believe in somethin’ although no one’s ever dropped dead cursin’ the gods.”
“That reminds me, how many religions are there?”
“There’s at least a drak o’ different gods, an’ if ye ‘ave ta believe each kin’dom, they’re more powerful than anythin’ else. I’m not rememberin’ the exact count but ha, I think about a drak.”
“If I remember correctly, you said there are only twelve kingdoms.”
“Some o’ them are old, leftover from fallen kin’doms. Then there’s the thirteenth kin’dom’s religion, claims it’s the oldest.”
“Again. Twelve, remember?”
“Well, they were fourteenth before the Astoki kin’dom fell. That makes the Umedai thirteenth now.”
Umedai. Much like any other word in this world, it seems, I recognized it. The word roughly translated, meant gypsies. Formally, it meant people of the land.
“Haven’t heard of them.”
“Haven’t he- everybody knows the Umedai! From Seenaw to Dwilde! Marekata’s mysteries! Where’d ye come from Jorj?”
“I came to in the middle of a road in this form with knowledge of everything in this world in my head.”
“Ye must ‘ave bumped yer ‘ead then ‘cause ye don’t seem to be knowin a lot… while knowin’ a lot.”
“That is indeed what happened.” I replied with a grin, pointing to my scar. “Now, where’s this mountain with the three peaks in this map?”
Litoc pulled the map towards him and traced it with his eyes then pointed to a spot roughly southwest of Osmouth. I took a new sheet of parchment and tried to copy a rough semblance onto it.
“Can you finish this? I need to know the towns, villages, whatever it is all around it.”
“Yer not done with yer plans eh?” He remarked, taking the sheet and sketching out places.
“Done, not done, I don’t even know what that means nowadays.”
He nodded absentmindedly as he filled the area around the Annun’s Rake with symbols and script. He handed it back to me once he was satisfied.
“I need you to tell me what these places are called.” I said, pointing to a spot in the sheet.
“I already p- oh! Right. Ye can’t read.”
Litoc proceeded to name the places as I wrote down their names. His eyes went from squinting to glaring in disbelief.
“Ye can read that?”
“Of course I can read that, I’m writing it aren’t I?”
“Annun’s pitiful beard! What in the wavin’ mysteries is that?”
“Writing, I think it’s called.”
“’snot like any writin’ I’ve seen.”
“Do you know all of them then?”
“Yes. Well, I used ta. ‘ad ta learn almost all o’ it.”
I tried picturing the surroundings of Annun’s Rake. I could only remember the clearing on both sides of the waterfall. Everything else was trees and the outline of a river. I gave the sketch another look, drew a semicircle around the area and plotted three points along the line.
“How’d you like to make the guild rich?”
“We’re not about that but coin ta spare is always welcome.”
“San. I’ll need you to put up an inn on each of these three points, or close to it that it.”
He took the sheet again and examined my addition. His eyes darted up and down then spoke.
“Yer out o’ yer mind! There’s nothin’ in these places. A traveler once or twice a month but nothin’ else. An’ why does it always got ta be an inn with ye?”
“I really don’t care if it’s an inn or not. Put up a pleasure house if you like, but I’m telling you this first as your friend. If you don’t want it, I’ll ask Jakeli to put it up there and claim it for myself. These places will soon be crawling with people.”
“I ‘ate it when ye do that.”
“Do what?”
“That thin’! Always baitin’ me in. Now I’m knowin ye got somethin’-”
Litoc was interrupted by a series of knocks on the door followed by a soldier opening it. Jakeli stepped in, beads of sweat glistening in his forehead.
“Abrak, abrak. Have you been waiting long? I apologize, I’ve only just been able to get away from my guests.”
“Ye been runnin’ Jak?”
“I had to. I can’t miss this. Must be terribly important if you summoned me here.”
It sounded funny in my head - me, summoning a king.
“Must be tiring being king.” I commented.
“You have no idea Jorj, you have no idea.”
“Good,” I replied, “because I need you to step aside.”