Paying a debt

Almost an hour of walking later she felt Asho's connection, "What is wrong with these stupid stones?"

"Huh?"

"I can't reach Lenni or anyone else in this place without bumping into one of these travelstones that lie like... oooph, ouch. I hate this lying place and its so very stupidity hard secretive floors."

"Asho, stop,"

"Stop what exactly,"

Stop swearing for one thing you do it weirdly, just like everything else. "Stop touching anything until you're sure it's a mind and not a reflection of the fact that you are searching,"

"Umm, Alright,"

"Second, you could listen to me invite you without actually blinking to me, can you still do that? Does that work on stones, or only on minds?"

"I don't know,"

"Well never mind that, You can check when you are somewhere that blinking won't drop you too far."

"Good plan. How do I go about getting out of here?"

"Normally you beg the soldiers guarding the trap, explaining that you weren't actually after whatever secret or treasure the trap or traps are protecting."

"Alright,"

"If there are soldiers guarding it."

"Yeah, there are."

"Well?"

"They let me out the first time,"

"Oh,"

"And the second time they searched me, found the travelsight blindfold that Jergan gave me. They took that away from me and laughed at me falling into the trap again. I think they're just laughing at me now and not bothering to let me out, since they know I can't actually get home on my own, even if they did let me out."

"Oh dear,"

"Any suggestions?"

"Any chance that they'd send for Jergan if you asked them?"

"I don't know, I wondered about their accent earlier."

"So you might be hours' blinking away from Jergan's. Hmm, can you try to talk to them again and let me hear it?"

"I can try, what shall I say?"

"Ask for your blinderclamp back because you want to sleep, preferably without getting dropped again."

"Ugh... are there real people here who have to worry about that."

"Yes, though usually it's only children under eight who blink out of bed, though usually houses or at least bedrooms are lined with brown travelstone to stop them from getting somewhere unexpected."

"So they think I'm an idiot who can't ... walk straight, and I confirm it by asking for the blindfold in a way that says I'm untrainable. By the end of the week I'll seem so harmless they'll lock me up where I won't even be able to blink high enough to break my neck if I wanted to."

"Thats the idea, only we want them to also send for Jergan... unless,"

"Unless what?"

"First go talk to them,"

"Alright,"

She heard him shouting, various things, in various tones of desperation.

"I haven't heard a word," he said, "though I thought I heard laughter once,"

"Alright," she said, "Well anyway that can wait, do you want to try coming to me,"

"What? Oh,"

The connection vanished.

He sighed, not a full pace to the side.

"Thank you," he said, "I don't know why I didn't think of that,"

"Have you ever blinked before today?"

"Not that I remember,"

"Have you ever blinked between... planets before the first time you fell in that trap?"

"No,"

"Then it's not surprising really," she said, "You just learned the wrong lesson."

"What?"

"The trap, getting stuck it in taught you the wrong lesson. The lesson for you isn't 'don't blink between planets,' I think it is: don't blink anywhere near the planet where Jergan's bindry is."

"Ah," he frowned, "or maybe don't blink toward it."

Perhaps?

"So," he said after a moment, "While I've been dropping myself repeatedly, all afternoon? You've done what? Decided to take your travelstones with you?"

"I spent the morning, blinking to the capitol, finding work, blinking back, and am going to mail my travelstones to my employer."

"Oh," he said, "well done,"

"Thanks,"

"So you haven't had trouble with the language?"

"Not very much, they recognize that my accent is off, but so far I haven't been unable to understand anyone, or vice-versa."

"Good,"

"Yes, I think I'll be happy here."

"Good," he said again, "Uuh, where are we?"

"We're heading somewhere between south, and down hill. Whichever way the paths seem most willing to lead. There's a village up ahead that is on the river, where I'm hoping there are boats that will take on mail."

"Can you give me directions how to get back to our landing spot or the prayer garden?"

"I... thought I could but ... maybe from the village over there," she pointed back and slightly off to her right, toward the village where she'd sold the metal from the hobble, and bought breakfast.

"I can find the villages," he said after a moment, "but not the melon grove... without people in it."

"Yeah,"

"Any other ideas?"

"Is there anyone else you can look for besides Lenni, since he's probably still too dangerously close to travelstone traps,"

"Hmm," he said, "Maybe Aledni,"

He stopped walking. Toda stopped and turned to watch him.

He turned slightly and lifted his head at an odd angle.

She concentrated, took careful control of her blinking reflex and focused on him, while he looked and searched through myriad minds, some closer than she could sense, some farther away than she could comprehend, most in directions she was certain she didn't believe existed. Except they might be necessary to explain how she was here and not working in Jergan's book bindry.

"Hello,"

"Ashokan?" replied a mind younger than his, "Turning scraps into potholders today, since not all of us are Ifna,"

"Good choice of colors on that one."

"Thanks. What are you up to this afternoon?"

"I'm lost in EthÄddainakhas, and I was wondering if I may come there,"

"Of course you may, don't you mean can you come here? Because if you're lost how are you going to ..."

Asho waved to Toda, and smiled.

"Like this," and he was gone.

Her connection still could not stay anchored to someone while they blinked, she still didn't know how Asho's travelsight could be so different.

When she reached her destination, she bought the smallest crates she could find, and filled them with dried fruit. She buried a travel stone in each and carried them to the docks to get help shutting them and addressing them properly.

The shipper wanted more to ship each of them than she thought she was supposed to be willing to pay, she tried to dicker, but he crossed his arms and said she could go talk to ship captains herself, if she could find any that were going the directions her boxes needed to go. She'd been watching his mind and saw how much dickering he expected to use to keep the fare where he thought it belonged, but that she wouldn't know what that was.

Well, now she knew what fares to ask for, but she also knew that there weren't boats going up river as far as she needed, nor any going down river and back up the other branch. She had to convince a captain to drop it off in the correct village with enough money attached to transport it back up stream the other way. Only a few companies and a few big houses shipped things that way. And the man who faced her knew she wasn't wearing house livery.

"Does Phrintha have an account here?"

"Not with me, but with someone in the village I'm sure."

"You should be spending just under one of these," she put two of her master's coins on the table between them.

He opened his mouth to protest.

"And you want one of these for your trouble." she put down two of the medium sized coins, that she thought was silver but wasn't sure because it was too small for her to be comfortable that she was accurately estimating it's density.

He shut his mouth and nodded.

"And you're asking for even more because you're not willing to take a loss."

He nodded.

She put a third of her master's coins on the table.

She separated the five coins, "These two send the packages, these two are yours now. This one you deposit to Phrintha's credit once you've sent them, along with half of what you don't spend on sending these."

He opened his mouth.

"I'll check in a month or two, but I don't have time to stay here." she continued

"Let me get this straight." he said, "This is mine," he slid the silver coins to his side of the table. "This pays for the capital city package," he slid the next coin to the side, "if it costs more, the extra comes from here, he tapped the center coin, "if it costs less I get to keep half of the leftover."

"Half the leftover from this," she tapped just the gold coin on the end.

"And the same for the other package."

"Yes," she tapped the coin on the other end.

"So you reward me for dickering on your behalf, but allow for cost overruns, without rewarding me for worrying that cost overruns might happen."

"Yes,"

"Fine," he said and scooped all the money up and placed it on a shelf behind him, then moved the crates onto the floor in the next room. "Pleasure doing business with you,"

"I expect," he said, returning to the table and began writing a receipt. "They should arrive in about a month, could be as little as two weeks, if they don't have to wait on the dock too long."

"Alright,"

"Are you sure you're from house Phrintha not Thris?"

"I'm not telling anyone where Phrintha got me from."

"Hmph, how were you planning on checking that I deposited the correct amount into Phrintha's accounts?"

"How closely do you keep track of your receipts?"

She saw that he normally just piled them up in a crate, most of them anyway, and hoped the package got delivered, if not, and someone investigated, they would be all neatly in age order from the bottom to the top, but he'd hate to go digging for one.

"And anyway, you'll be careful to remember, since I'm going to come back and check in a month or so."

"Careful to remember?" he said.

How was she supposed to say I'm a mind reader? Oh yes, but she was in violation of the rules.

She looked at the floor and rubbed her forehead, "Master hasn't fixed my headband yet."

"Ah," his respect for her changed size and color, "Yes, I'll remember," if it means saving digging through a month's stack of receipts. "And you'd better have it on when you come back."

"I will," she said, "I hope I'll have it by then,"

"Alright then," he straightened up and slid the paper to her.

"Thanks," she said and took it.

Remedial Social Dynamics

Outside she walked upstream until she was in the trees again and felt ahead until she found council-member Phrintha's mind. She blinked to him and held out what was left of his money and the shipping receiptHe and examined the shipping receipt.

"I promised to come back in a month to make sure he'd found boats for each." he nodded, "And that I'd be wearing a proper headband when I came."

"Oh, yes. That would be wise." He stood and motioned for her to follow him. He led down the hall and up some stairs and around a corner into the room where they'd talked before.

"I was lucky this time," she said handing over what was left of her change, "but I should learn the values of your coins, and especially their names."

He blinked, "You really are from another place. I had not thought properly about that. I'm sorry."

She shrugged. After a moment's consideration she pulled out the last two coins from selling the hobble the first time.

"These are yours?" he asked in verification. So he had been reading her mind, then again he'd implied most of the mind readers couldn't help it.

"I got them selling stolen government property," she said, picturing the remains of the hobble.

He nodded, "Don't make a habit of that,"

"If I hadn't been wrongfully convicted..." she started, and he made a motion with his hand that he seemed to know meant stop immediately! She'd never seen it before but tried to memorize it.

"Our government on the other hand owns one building in this city, and a militia parade ground in every village larger than two thousand people,"

"That's all?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, "the people own the rest, their villages protect them from criminals, and their houses protect them from fraud."

"Who protects the villages and the houses?"

"They ought to settle their own differences, and usually do but if they can't the villages can appeal to the warlord-general, the houses appeal to the council of houses."

"Hmm,"

"The warlord-general also leads the militias into war, if needed, as well as any house guards that wish to follow him. The council of houses also provides a forum for houses to beg for, plan, and donate towards infrastructure projects that each deems beneficial for it's own interests."

"So there's no taxes?"

"Some villages have a tax, some don't. Some houses have a tax and others ignore you until you cost it money, and then they invoice you for that amount, and may enslave you for whatever portion you don't or can't pay."

"What?"

"In some parts of the country, it's a very good deal, no taxes mean more to invest in whatever your business is. In other parts of the country, getting enslaved and dragged off to your house's council for non-payment might be the cheapest possible boat ride to a much better place to find work and money, or even food."

"What about Phrintha?"

"Phrintha charges very little tax, so we have a reputation in the capital for being a much poorer house. You'll notice my home is decorated with polished wood, not copper or lead, definitely not gold."

"My father-in-law's house on the other hand, where you sent the other crate, has copper everywhere that it's strong enough, and where it's not, the iron is decorated one way or another."

"So the house members may be very wealthy, but the house doesn't take... doesn't try to take more than it needs?"

"Yes."

"Hmm,"

"And now," he said rising from his desk, "I think that you're about as hungry as I am."

She nodded, and followed him through a door disguised as a wood panel, down a narrow staircase, through an empty kitchen and into a half stocked pantry. He offered her jar of a dried fruit she hadn't met yet, and picked up a large pot a quarter full of soup.

"I usually eat my soup cold," he whispered conspiratorially, "before the servants and my wife get here, and start hosting all sorts of events."

Couriers weren't picky when it came to food temperature, cold meant she could down it faster and be on her way again, "What kinds of events?"

"Parties, feasts, games, dances, whatever may make sense. Events where the council-members from different houses can find each other and talk about nothing often enough that no one can tell when they are talking about important things, like fraud cases that must be decided soon, or how much benefit will come from this project or that project, and 'won't you try to convince your house to tax itself to support my project, or at least ask your house's council to inform your house members that they are welcome to make donations towards it.' And other such things."

"That sounds exciting, or tedious, or..."

"Both by turns, when not both at the same time?"

"Yes."

"You are correct."

"I've always much rather be the one carrying letters and gifts from one end of the country to the other in a day and a half, rather than sitting all day waiting for a letter to be read, argued over and its reply written and argued over and re-written."

"That does sound preferable, the way it looks in your mind."

"Sometimes I'd stop at the last big city before a package's destination and pretend I needed a meal or a nap, so that someone else would go the last blink or three, and I could be sent on with the next letter as soon as I'd finished, rather than sit and wait in a small village where the only royal correspondence for weeks would be the reply to the letter I'd just brought."

"That suggests a strong but slightly twisted work ethic."

"Yes, sir,"

"That's it? No justification?"

"Sure, my justification is that I was the fastest in the kingdom. And very good endurance too. If I was stuck for three days waiting for a reply. The courier who was not stuck would probably only deliver half or three quarter's as much mail as I would, in the same time."

"And you're conviction?"

"I was innocent, now of course I'm guilty of fleeing the country, having my hobble removed, and soliciting work from an organization who does not have a formalized agreement to deliver my pay to the warden tasked with tracking my debt and releasing me when it's paid."

"Right,"

"Usually of course those are accomplished in the opposite order, but I met some interesting friends."

"Who helped you flee far beyond any hope of pursuit."

"When you're discussing the fastest courier in at least two nations, hope of pursuit would have been zero. I think however, I'm possibly even beyond fear of pursuit."

"Yes," he set down two bowls and spoons and sank onto the bench where he most often sat when there was no one to catch him eating below stairs. "I must say, your bragging does not improve your reputation of loyalty."

"I'm not bragging, I was making sure you had the explanation of the things I'm sure you can find in my memories." she said, "I was the best. I tried to make the best use of myself for my king that I could. I was innocent. I was convicted in spite of giving all the loyalty and service that I knew how. I was going to live the rest of my life without ever blinking again. And then two children took pity on me, one with wise eyes and inhuman strength, and another half travelblind and half travellame who had to be hobbled to keep from blinking into the air whenever his reach accidentally brushed a travelstone that was not set within a leg's distance of the floor."

"And both who had access to books that travel farther than travelstones ever ought?"

"I suppose," "Travelstones pull, those books push, it's the people who travel, not that it matters, are you even listening to me here at the moment."

"So, even if I am to believe that your loyalty isn't irreparably damaged by living a year hobbled," he said, "you keep reminding me that you could steal anything from anyone in the world, and even if you were seen doing so, no one could catch you, or at least no one could hope to catch you without a dragnet of linked emoi blanketing not just the nation, but the whole globe?"

Toda started, "I'm not used to thinking in terms of the whole globe being hobbled, except me. That's why ... you didn't want me to let anyone know what I could do!"

"How many have you told?"

"Just a council-member for Thris,"

"Why?"

"Thris was the first House I was recommend to check for work. He listened longer than any except you. The other two council-member's I tried assumed I meant that I was emoi, and would not even consider me for the position exactly because I had applied for it."

"Of course. Let me see, there may be some way of making him keep quiet. Or maybe if we just keep you out of sight, he'll forget eventually."

She nodded.

"Well never mind that for now. We have enough to worry about already, you need a headband, maybe more than one, and livery-of-the-House. And a place to sleep, actually that may be first on the list. Can you draw?"

"Well enough to make the maps you want?"

"Yes,"

"I expect so, I used to help my brother, until my schooling was finished. He learned he could blink high into the air and look down, then blink back to the ground and draw what he saw, he was already the best map maker in the province before I graduated. It was while learning to help him that I discovered that the higher I blinked the farther around the bulge of the planet I could see, and so the farther I could go each blink."

"So were you fastest because you could go farther each blink, or because you could blink more rapidly."

"Both, and the two multiplied, also I could blink more times before I needed to take a break and that could multiply again, depending on where my schedule overlapped the next courier that I might could hand off to."

"And now it's all irrelevant because you can blink anywhere on the planet in a single blink?"

She paused, "I think so. I haven't actually tried to blink to the far side yet." Just seen to the far side and been surprised to find minds big enough to belong to people, but that live under the sea.

"Alright, we need to get you calibrated, and figure out the best way to use your talents for everyday tasks. Also make up the most accurate lie we can manage for your headband."

She could see him adding details to his idea of trying to communicate with her travelsight only and never needing her to blink.

"We should also visit the house council seat, and determine if the breeding program contains any young men you find eligible."

"Breeding program?" she coughed, and put down her spoon.

The council-member giggled. He just giggled! At me or at his own joke?

"We're not a rich enough house to have a real breeding program. There is a joke that the council is the breeding program and the breeding program is the council. It's half true. It's more true if you assume that the most gifted in any particular area is trained for and eventually appointed to that duty. Myself as an example. Those who are not chosen for a particular duty, stay behind to run the council, like my brother. Or eventually choose a career, albeit one with strong ties to the house's honor, and probably the council's knowledge base too. My father-in-law as an example."

"So it's more like, 'let us find you the best possible husband so that you'll breed the best possible kids?' Rather than 'we're going to give you to six possible husbands, so that when you've raised your family to old enough for us to see how each turned out, and it's too late to have any more anyway; we'll yell at each other about why you weren't allowed to just have the one who fathered the best child?"

The council-member had the decency to shudder.

"We can't afford a real program," he said again, "But Please, please don't talk when the topic comes up. Just choose and let me know, and let me talk. If you remind them how valuable your talent is someone will try to bully you into agreeing to things that I think you won't like, at least not long term. If you remind them how easily you can run away, someone will take it as a threat and it could cost you your reputation if not your life."

She blinked, and dug deeper into his mind, Say that again?

He did. She found many concepts about how to expect someone would think if they were trying to think in a way that could be labelled 'loyal.' she found other things, and a couple memories of his close family members.

"So," she said when she thought she understood each of these ideas, and pushed them into a tower labelled 'thinking like a house' "So when it comes up, I pretend that there is no breeding program, because there is no breeding program that will affect me unless I choose to submit to it. I pretend that I'm just wanting to be introduced to all the eligible young men, because I want one. Which is also true. And I don't talk about why my talents are valuable, at most I remember that you said they were valuable, and that I think that means you will get me anything I want. I don't think about how my talents make me difficult to control, I think about how loyal I am because Phrintha fed me, when all the other houses chased me away?"

"Good," he said, "Better than I had hoped."

"I'll try," she said, "I don't know how well I can control what I think."

"Practice," he said, "If it makes you feel better, but mostly don't worry. We'll take care of each other."

"I am loyal," she thought as she lay that night in the room that would belong to the cook staff, as soon as they arrived, "not to House Phrintha, but to council-member Phrintha. He reminds me of master Jergan, who respected me in spite of my conviction. Except Phrintha sees both me and my talent. I respected Jergan as a employer, but never like this. I haven't respected anyone like this since ... not since I believed that my talent and my service would get me recognized by my king."

"And council-member Phrintha is a very important man. Maybe as important as anyone in this city, except for the warlord-general, but I'm not even sure what power he has."

"I hope I'm not setting myself up for more disappointment. But council-member Phrintha already knows me. The king never noticed me, not for my service, not when I was accused or wrongly convicted."

"To bad Asho isn't in the list of eligible young men, or Lenni either. What am I thinking? Lenni is too old and both of them are too small. Actually I bet both of them are too young. And Asho already likes that Aledni girl, and Lenni talks about Ngirran and Deliah all the fevered time."

Aftermaths

"Wait, what?" said Aledni.

"Hello," he said again, this time aloud.

"Buh-?" He watched her focus on him. Intrigued again that unlike Toda's focus he couldn't feel her when she anchored, unless she chose to send him thoughts or sensations.

Sharissa sat up straight staring at him, "There a book pointed to the butchering middle of the room; is? why? where?" he only understood because Aledni did.

"Hello, Ashokan," said Eegan, wandering over. "Your art is finally waking up I see."

"I guess,"

She patted Sharissa on the back and whispered, "We've been expecting that Ashokan would become able to visit people he knows without a book. Just as Ifna is strong and Aledni can see and hear from eyes and ears that don't belong to her."

Sharissa glanced at Aledni, then to Eegan, "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"What will I be able to do?"

"I have no idea," said Eegan, "I rescued you because you were being mistreated, not for what you could do, or might become able to do in the future. It was the same with Ifna recuing Aledni, or my brother rescuing Ashokan."

"Oh,"

"What were you doing in EthÄddainakhas?" said Aledni.

"Umm, rescuing myself from a trap where I was before that."

"What sort of trap?" said Eegan.

"One that forcefully made me practice what I'd just barely learned how to do."

"I didn't know that was possible."

"I been warned about them but I didn't understand ... couldn't have understood before I learned how to travel."

"Ah, Are you alright?"

Aledni moved her focus, from Sharissa to Ashokan.

"Just bruises I think. I'm really tired of being dropped."

"Do you want to wash up?" thought Aledni, "Tlinthra has the best places for that, and I don't think anyone has been washing anything since yesterday afternoon."

"That's alright," said Ashokan, "I need to get back before Lenni and the others start worrying where I've been."

"So no one suspects you of ... Playing Adda," thought Aledni, "Oh, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Lenni helped."

"Alright, good bye," said Aledni, "Feel free to ask me again, any time you get stuck or lost,"

"Yeah, Thanks,"

"I'm glad I could help."

And he was off.

{End Chapter 2}

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