The Kinstrife
Part
57
In
which our heroes sail for Umbar where we provision for a much longer voyage and
replace crew killed in the Benish-Armon boarding
action. They stock up on cash (which will be in short supply where we’re going)
and Brand renews his friendship with the society of floaty-dressed
women. Then they weigh anchor for the Raj, taking the opportunity to assemble
the Key of Fuinur’s Well and examine how it operates.
On arrival in Bozisha-Dar it becomes apparent that
logistics will be a problem due to sheer distance, let alone travelling in the
desert.
Ilviren’s arm is
badly mauled and will take several weeks to recover. Aerin
took a flesh wound from an arrow but it should heal quickly enough. Six crew were killed by the Benish
Armon raiders but thankfully none took serious
injuries – crew frozen by spells seem to have been ignored and a significant
portion of the crew stayed below decks…sensible rather than brave but then we
can’t sail the ship without them and we saw off the boarders without them.
At dawn we ship
the bodies ashore and weigh anchor.
We make Garadport, Ilviren’s home port, by evening. Ilviren goes ashore with her arm in a sling to talk to her
father, who invites us to dinner. Interestingly, when Neithan’s
death enters the conversation, Garad’s thoughts turn
to Estel; it seems Ilviren’s father thinks along
similar lines to my own.
Ilviren having recruited 3 new
crew, we sail on the morning tide for Umbar.
Aerin tells us that the Raj operates on a barter
economy and coins are relatively scarce. Land is rented, notionally, from the Raj
crown, although this is a political fiction as there has been no king in the
Raj since before the end of the second age. Instead the Raj is governed on
behalf of the king by the regents' council who collect the rents on behalf of
the royal treasury. These rents apply to houses within Bozisha-Dar
itself and the other towns and cities. (Rural land is owned privately.) Since
rents are demanded in coin there is a consequent demand for coinage, which has
the effect of increasing the purchasing power of coinage tenfold compared to Pelargir.
Thanks to Aerin’s advice I take the precaution of converting Castaher’s letter of credit to cash at the Cor Aran headquarters, since coinage goes so much further
in the Raj. Ilviren recruits another 3 crew, so we’re
up to full strength again.
Brand takes the
chance to renew his acquaintance with the Tindómë-Lië,
the society of women in chiffon dresses, and learns that they’ve been having
‘visions’ of Brand in a hot, dry place, but also deep under water…but not
drowning! ‘Hot’ and ‘dry’ seems more than likely but neither of us can make any
sense of the rest.
Brand says he’s
looking for an apprentice, apparently he’s reached that stage of his career
where a flunky is useful, or perhaps he feels the need to pass on his
accumulated wisdom. Alas, apprentices are in short supply but he’s prepared to
accept a monkey instead! Perhaps I heard that wrong but it seems Brand holds a
poor opinion of apprentices.
Aerin contacts her Al-Tayyib
relations and we’re all invited to a banquet of Raj cuisine at Zimrakhil’s (evidently he has close contacts with the Umbar
Al-Tayyibs). Asking for information on the Mirror of
Fire, Zimrakhil recommends that we visit Tûl Póac, a city right on the
edge of the Mirror of Fire and the best place to seek information or guides.
Turning to the
subject of Harad, it seems the military expeditions against the dark cult threat is meeting with the
usual success as the ‘enemy’ melts away. It seems to me that it would be much
better for Harad to set its house in order than for Gondor to attempt this from without, so I ask what Gondor can do to encourage the formation of a formal Haradic state.
Zimrakhil doesn’t think the people are naturally
prone dark cult worship, he’s sure these arise as the result of enemy agents
operating possibly out of south Mordor. He feels Gondor’s
overtures will be perceived as ‘interference’. I can’t see that military
outposts are the answer – they are difficult to establish and expensive to
maintain – but perhaps new settlements could be placed on the banks of the
river Herren?
We sail south;
the winds are friendly and we make excellent time, Ilviren
steering out in to the ocean and then back in to the coast to avoid possible
pirates.
Now beyond
Umbar, we take the opportunity for the first time to assemble all five
components of the Key to Fuinur’s Well. It actually
fits together well. Several parts move in a sort of clockwork, causing a disc
depicting the winds to rotate with the seasons. There are some unlabeled marks
that must be towns and oases but hopefully these will fit with maps of the Raj
when we get there.
We arrive in Bozisha-Dar, an interesting collection of buildings ranging
from tents to grand Numenorean palaces. Most buildings are of mud-brick centred
on a dome-like hill called Katedrala, which is
surprisingly green compared with the surrounding terrain. The Katedrala is dominated by the seven palaces of the regents
but otherwise is covered in wells from which the common-folk seem to be
continually drawing water, hence the verdant appearance of the hill.
Aside from the Katedrala the streets of Bozisha-Dar
are narrow and maze-like. Aerin’s father, Padua Al-Tayyib, is the First Officer of the Visi,
a cross between an army and police force – Visi means
‘the Enforcers’ in Apysaic.
Aerin tells him of our interest in the Mirror of
Fire and he produces maps of various scales. Tûl Póac is roughly 530 miles to the east! This more than twice
the distance from Pelargir to Osgiliath and back;
about a month by camel – clearly we had not appreciated the distances involved.
The other danger
is from a semi-legendary beast. There is water beneath the sands of the Mirror
of Fire and recently some intrepid folk have tried to sink wells to find it.
However they have been attacked by a fearsome beast called ‘Razarac’,
an Apysaic word meaning ‘the Destroyer’. Descriptions
differ but they all agree on its size – huge!
Padua recommends
we join a caravan going to Tûl Póac
via Tresti, a centre of religion about ten days
journey – it seems of the Valar, Manwë,
who controls the winds, is revered; Varda, the Queen
of the Stars, and Yavanna, the giver of fruits.
Obviously we
need to travel to Tûl Póac
but it seems we’ve just missed one caravan and we don’t know when the next one might
leave so we shall have to amuse ourselves until then – I shall offer my
services as a bodyguard or perhaps someone needs witchhunter?
To do list:
35 crowns to all
employees - Aerin, Ilviren
and Sern
Find employment
or at least diversion as a bodyguard and witchhunter
Take a caravan
to Tresti and Tûl Póac
Visit Minas Ithil – probably not going to happen now
Talk to the
survivor of the 1st Mordor expedition before entering Mordor
Survey my estates and produce a plan to improve
them – consider Pimm’s offer but be cautious