Lines in the Sand

Writers: Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 15th June 2006

Characters: Cyrek, Shadux
Description: Cyrek's first day on the job does not go well, and lines get drawn in the sand
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 11, day 10 of Turn 3
Notes: Follows 'Yes' and is also ridiculously late. Also my fault.

Cyrek stared at the desk. Compulsively neat, filled with files and hides in another man's hand. Filing cabinets full of information he didn't even begin to know where to retrieve, and that was implying that he knew what was there for him to look at anyway. Shayven's art was on the walls, a small carved insect on the desk top, his pens, his memories. Being here felt like an invasion.

When Alalir had married Jerandra, and later became Lord Holder, taking over his office was nothing like this. Cyrek knew the Hold, the Hold's inhabitants, their quirks, exceptions, expectations, crafts, and produce as well as he knew himself. Amber Hills Hold was similar, but... different. Not home. He felt a lump rise in his throat at everything he'd lost and ruthlessly shoved it down. There was no room for grief. A knock at the door surprised him out of his reverie; it had to be Shadux. The young man had been working as Steward in lieu of his father, and Cyrek had asked to meet him in his father's - in _his_ -
office. "Come in."

Shadux swallowed hard and took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. It felt so wrong having to knock and wait for permission to enter the room that had once been the office his father, and his father's father, and his father's father's father had occupied. Shadux had practically grown up in that room, and now there was a stranger there that he had to ask _permission_ of. He wasn't even of this Hold!...

No, he couldn't fault Cyrek for what had happened. Chupsin yes. Benaroy, most definitely. But Cyrek hadn't caused the earthquake, he hadn't given his father a heart attack... The only thing he was guilty of was agreeing to take a part in this farce. He _agreed_ to it, without even seeing his father for himself! If he had just _visited_ with his father he would have seen that...

No, he couldn't think about that now. Lord Benaroy had spoken. Cyrek was Steward. And he was Cyrek's _understeward_. He, Shadux, who was supposed to be next in line, in an _unbroken_ line of stewards...

"Shard it," he whispered as he turned the knob and walked through the door. "You asked to see me... sir?" he asked in what he hoped was his normal voice. Shells, but he was sitting in his father's desk as if he _belonged_ there!

"I did. Thank you for coming." Cyrek waited until Shadux closed the door behind himself before continuing. "I- can't imagine that this is.. comfortable. It's certainly not for me."

**Good!** Shadux pushed down that uncharitable thought. But didn't the man know by now that when you're in an uncomfortable situation, pointing out the fact that its uncomfortable just _adds_ to the discomfort. "How can I help you?"

The Steward felt slightly deflated at the young man's lack of empathy, but berated himself for hoping otherwise. He gestured for him to sit, and then crossed the desk to claim the chair behind it for himself. There was no going back. "Lord Benaroy appointed me Steward due to your father's... ill health. But your Hold is-
unfamiliar to me. I know very little about the details that your father would know, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. Lord Benaroy's put me at a bit of a disadvantage." He smiled a little self-depreciatingly. "I _could_ step forward, seize the reins uninformed and probably make a right mess of things, but I owe both Holds more than that. Which is why I need your help."

**To not look like a usurping idiot. Got it.** Shadux cleared his throat and tried to tell himself to be a bit more charitable towards the man. "What would you like to know?"

"It's not quite as simple as that. My daughter tells me that you've been your father's right hand for quite some time. I'm asking if you'll do the same for me until I'm settled."

"Of course," he nodded. That he could answer with all honesty. He may not like having to be his right-hand man, but it was his duty to the Hold to make this whole transition go as smoothly as possible, and despite his feelings on the matter, the Hold must come first. His family honor was more in the balance now than it had ever been, and Shadux knew it.

"Thank you." The Steward picked up a piece of paper in front of him.
"Unfortunately, however, some things cannot wait. The Hold is bursting at the seams and we're facing a resource shortage that can't be ignored. As I understand it, some of the outlying cots are empty and the fields are fallow. Amethyst Cliff has farmers without land to farm, and although its pushing it, there is still time to get a harvest into the ground that will hopefully ripen before the frosts come this turn. I know its short notice, but can you give me a list -
and a map - of farms and pastureland that can be allotted to Amethyst Cliff holders by tomorrow morning, along with annotations of what can be grown where most successfully and in what condition the farm is in?"

Shadux nodded. "Certainly, I can make a map for you. We also have plenty of crews who can help the farmers clear the land. I think that should be our top priority for them. If your Amethyst Cliff residents can be divided into work crews as well, so much the better."

"That's not a problem. How are grain stores for this summer?" He frowned briefly. "It's a bit of a gamble, but I'd like to take about three quarters of the grain set aside for the animals to replant. Not the best solution especially since there are more animals here than there were budgeted for, and it will reduce their market value if they're not grain-fed, but that will cut costs of importing more grain and get something into the ground before its too late."

Three quarters?! "I would rethink the amount, sir. We _need_ those animals to retain their value. The only thing we have in surplus right now is _them_. Until we can get the Halls running, the people settled, repairs made, fields cleared and planted, they are really the _only_ thing we have to trade. And not only that, but if we trade animals that are not up to Amber Hills standards, we risk damaging our fine reputation which will follow us for turns! Three quarters is too much."

"Then where do you suggest that this grain comes from? I'm reluctant to trade meat animals when we're facing a food shortage. Is there something else to sell, and somewhere that we could trade it to that would get the grain here quickly enough to get it into the ground with time to mature?"

"Our meat animals coupled with yours leaves no shortage. And we don't only have meat animals to think of, but the racers as well." Of course, Shadux could not fault the Steward of Amethyst Cliff for not taking the racing runners into account. "What about Amethyst Cliff's minor Holds?"

"Most of them suffered just as much damage, if not more so, than Amber Hills Hold, and have half the population to cope with it. I can't ask them for much right now," Cyrek said gently. "And while the animal population has doubled, so has the human population. While it seems that there is a surplus, its a tenuous one at best. We have a food shortage looming and those animals are milk and cheese as well as meat." He paused, debating tackling the issue of non-useful animals such as racing runners, but decided against it. It could wait.
"Animals can graze, Shadux. People cannot. Right now I'm more concerned about the people, and grain needs to get into the ground so that we can get through the winter. The animals can graze until such time that we can import grain again." He smiled, briefly. "Your pastureland, after all, is renowned."

"_Your_ animals can graze, sir, but not all of ours can. That is just a truth," Shadux said firmly. It was obvious that Cyrek didn't quite understand how vital the reputation of the Amber Hills stock was. Their animals were of a considerable value for good reason. They could not afford to compromise that reputation! "We can cut back a bit, put our personal and draft animals out to graze, but we will have to find a way to _buy_ the rest grain we need. I'm sorry, sir, but on this point I must insist."

Cyrek reined in his temper, and refrained from asking what the young man thought more important - feeding a person, or feeding an animal.
"Let me put this another way for you, then. Let's say that we wait for a new shipment of grain to plant using marks gained by selling off animals. With the price of grain the way it is, about two hundred and fifty head will have to be sold to buy enough seed. It would take two weeks at the very least to start getting grain in, and probably a month to receive all the grain necessary to plant a full harvest.
Which pushes the maturation date well into the fall, and means that an early frost or snow has the very real possibility of ruining half the harvest. An unnecessary gamble. In this scenario we'd end up with fewer animals to sell, and them with no grain to eat and no spring pasture to graze on, and us relying on the same output that you had last turn to feed twice the population _and_ pay for more grain to get us through the winter. Amber Hills' animals can graze for a month or two just as well as Amethyst Cliff's animals can, if it means that everybody's belly gets filled in the long run."

"In that scenario then, sir, I would suggest taking whatever grain we don't need for feeding the important Amber Hills livestock for a month, or month and a half to be safe, plant that, and use the bought grain to feed the animals for the rest of the turn," Shadux suggested. "It should satisfy both needs."

He felt like hitting Shadux - or himself - a good whack on the head with a book from the desk. But at least this was progress. "That's what I was suggesting, although the Amber Hills livestock is no more or less important than the Amethyst Cliffs livestock, and neither Hold's animals will get fed if there's not enough grain in the ground. The only animals that I see as currently being an exception would be draft animals, although the Beastcrafters will have the final say in that matter." As long as it wasn't unreasonable. He wouldn't sit by and let idle racers gobble up grains needed for draft animals. "I'll still need that report by tomorrow morning, and if you have the time I'd also like a list of what else is available to sell."

"Of course," his assistant nodded, fighting the very strong urge to get up and walk out of the room. The beastcrafter's roars would soon put him to right, since he obviously didn't trust Shadux's opinion. "I will need a list of what Amethyst Cliff is bringing with it."

"Not very much, I'm afraid. Much of our food stores were spoiled or buried beneath the cliff face when it came down, and most what was left has been left to feed the salvagers. Talk to Mariss; she'll have a good rough idea of what's available for sale and what's not."

"I was not talking about food, sir. I was talking about material goods. Desks. Chairs. Furniture. Tapestries. Saddles, and so forth."

"Those are not for sale." His people had lost everything else - he was not about to strip them of whatever scraps of history and home they could salvage from the wreckage. "Talk to Mariss. She'll tell you what is."

"Sir, we cannot only sell _food stuffs_ from your Hold. It's counter-productive if filling empty stomachs is our goal." Shadux was starting to lose his temper with the man who he was starting to have even deeper doubts about. "We cannot be expected to sell all _our_ things to feed _your_ people. You have to give a little here too."

"I was not suggesting that food stuffs were the only thing to be sold; there are a number of raw goods that can be salvaged for the market, and a limited amount of farm equipment and lumber. Marks from that, added to what Amber Hills has, can sustain us until the orchards produce. But I will _not_ have tapestries and furniture sold. My Hold has lost _everything_ and I will not strip them of their history as well."

"No, you would just rather strip us of ours," Shadux muttered through gritted teeth as he stood to his feet. "Is that all?"

The Steward reined in his temper; he would not be goaded by a man half his age with a chip on his shoulder. "Just be sure that the report is on my desk tomorrow, Shadux."

"Yes sir," the younger man replied with a curt nod and took that as his dismissal. He just wanted to get back to his office as soon as possible so he could scream all the expletives he was holding inside as loud as he like.

Last updated on the June 15th 2006

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Lines in the Sand