Rancid Chronicles: part 18

There is a little Sun Tzu in all of us.
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Lo Ki
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Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:24 am
Location: Michigan

Rancid Chronicles: part 18

Post by Lo Ki » Tue Jan 06, 2004 2:55 am

It’s hard to believe it has only been seven months since Rancid first entered my shop. So much has changed! I have always been poor. My father scraped hides in a tannery. My mother washed dishes in a local tavern. Our neighbor hood was poor; but totally different than the one where I set up practice. My childhood neighbors were all poor but would share what little they had with those who had less. If someone took ill or was injured, the neighbors would make sure the family had food and shelter. We children knew we were poor and occasionally went to bed hungry and woke to empty cupboards; but it did not matter much. We were safe and had lots of friends and plenty of adventures throughout the neighborhood. Of course childhood did not last long and at the age of eight I was taken on as an apprentice to the local scribe, our neighborhood could only support one. When I reached manhood, my mentor was still going strong. I was too impatient to wait and take over his practice, so I found another neighborhood which had no scribe. I couldn’t have made a worse choice.

My mentor gave me a few coins to get me started, and they all went to rent my first shop. I would be stuck in that shop for the next sixteen years, I couldn’t afford a place anywhere better. My new neighborhood was also poor; but it was nothing like the one I left. There was no sense of community, largely due to the lawless scalawags who lived there. People did not make any effort to get to know each other. Some people you did not want to know, others could be liabilities. How could you call someone your friend and then turn your back as some thugs beat him senseless? Any attempt to save him would just get you beaten too. The only thing that brought the community together was the threat of fire. Everyone would turn out to man the bucket lines; but not to save the building that was burning, it was usually too late for that. No, they turned out to keep the fire from spreading and burning them out as well. Even the local scumbags often pitched in; for many of them, it was the only honest work they ever did.

Life was cheap and often short. When I opened shop, I was the only scribe in the quarter. There was barely enough business to keep me going. Many of my customers paid me in trade. Coins were hard to come by and barter was the order of the day. Food was welcome, though sometimes barely edible. Some small trinkets and trade goods I could trade with others for what I needed. I looked forward to those rare occasions I was able to trade services with the local streetwalkers. What little hard cash I got went to pay my rent. I quickly learned that rent was more important than food. I saw too many people make the mistake of buying food instead of paying rent. The landlords live far away and cared little about the people who lived down here. Actually they lived only a few streets away, but it might as well have been a hundred miles. People would be turned out into the street with little provocation. In summertime, this was not too bad; but in winter, lack of shelter was a killer. I once had competition for a short while, but there was not enough business to support us both. I went hungry but paid my rent. He was new to this life and opted for food. His landlord not only kicked him out; but also took his pens, ink, and paper to pay the back rent. The poor fellow no longer even had the tools to ply his trade. I’m not sure what happened to him, I didn’t want to know.

Now my life is better than I had dared to dream it could be for many years. As a child, I dreamed of being rich. As a young man I dreamed of being comfortable. A year ago I dreamed of not having to worry about my next meal. Now, I have achieved the dreams I had as a young man and am on my way to the dreams of my childhood.. My patron provides more money than I need and, aside from a few luxuries, I stash most of it away. I brought the barter system with me to this new life and it is serving me well. I have taken on a second student. His father is a carter and is paying by supplying us with a large block of ice each week. Come winter, he will supply the extra coal we need to heat the building. I also take food as payment. It is much better quality than in my last neighborhood, and since the local grocers and butchers have more food than coin, I get more than if I were paid in coin and bought the food. I share the bounty with the ladies upstairs, after all, they are much better cooks than me! And I have benefited well from their cooking perhaps too well.

I used to have spare time because work was scarce; now I have free time because I choose to; what a luxury! Other luxuries include books and a daily bath. My mentor taught me that people expect more from a man of learning. They would not have much faith in a scribe who was as filthy as they were; so I would bath daily from the small basin in my shop. Now I have bought a full sized tub and put it in the spare room. This I also share with the ladies. They used to curtain off a corner of the kitchen each morning and use the last of the water from the previous day to wash. They invited me to do the same but I was always nervous and self-conscious with only a thin curtain separating me from a room full of women cooking breakfast and gossiping. The spare room with its solid door is much better. I have even started making a second trip for water every day so there would be plenty of water for the baths. And even the burro that pulls the water cart has benefited from my bartering. He now gets grain daily with his usual hay. He has also put on weight. The extra trip for water each day keeps our stomachs from getting out of hand.

I have also started taking long walks in the evening after closing my shop but before supper. Some evenings I even have dinner at a local tavern; usually when the ladies are cooking liver or kidney pie. It’s wonderful to have such options! On one such stroll, I found a place called a park. There were trees and grass and flowers! I had never seen such a wonderful place! The closest thing was a burnt-out lot where green weeds were relief from the drab grays and browns of the city. In winter snow would occasionally brighten up the place; but all too soon it would be trod into grungy slush. Even where feet did not tread, the snow would quickly grow dingy from the soot and ash of hundreds of chimneys. My walks now often end up passing through the park.

I also have friends again. Some are area tradesmen, others are fellow scribes I met through the scriveners guild. I used to only visit the guild to pay my yearly dues. I felt too self-conscious in my neat but often patched clothes. I had one shirt that was more patches than original material! With my new clothes I felt less out of place and freely strike up conversations with my peers. I am even learning dwarvish from one in exchange for teaching him elvish.

And then there are the ladies. Aside from the food, just sitting at the table listening to their gossip and banter is a pleasure. I also enjoy reading to them as they clean up the kitchen after supper. They treat me like a long lost cousin; I would say brother except for the occasional teasing flirtations. I was always awkward around women, even the streetwalkers I traded services with. However, I have grown comfortable in the company these ladies although they still sometimes make me blush. I am still drawn to Madaly and she tolerates me. I think I amuse her. I was never much good with the ladies.

All in all, life is good.
Lo Ki Level 80 sword
Brion Level 46 spear
Ahn Lo Level 49 four school mage
K'tellen Level 52 trade mule

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