A New Shipment

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 5th March 2014

Characters: Chaysea, Dreymin
Description: Dreymin comes in with a new order of barrels for the vintner hall
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 5, day 28 of Turn 7

Whistling softly, the driver of the newly made wagon pulled into the
loading area of the Vinter Hall, pulling his two runners to a halt in
their traces. Behind him, strapped carefully down and under a heavy
leather cover, were a cargo of finely made barrels of fine grain wood
and Dreymin hoped that the Vinter Hall would find them to their
liking. He had sent a message ahead of him last sevenday to let them
know that he would be coming. He needed them to want this
shipment...or at least like it enough to make it worth his while to
have moved to the area.

He climbed off the wagon and patted the runners with a gentle hand
before moving to check and made sure the barrels had survived the
jostling of the trip.

Chaysea bit back a curse as a blast of cold air nearly bowled her
over, catching in her thick, full skirt like a sail on a ship. It was
at times such as these that she was reminded of her late husband and
how he would have complained about the cold "seeping" into his bones.
Dothran would have been cursing up a storm by this point and probably
whipping at her legs with his cane to get her to "hurry up" and take
him inside. The old wherry had been demanding, that was for sure.

Pulling her coat tighter around her body she raised her hood up,
catching sight of a stranger in the process. As the Headwoman at the
Vintner Hall, Chaysea basically knew everyone there was to know at the
Hall, but not this man. **I make it my business to know good looking
men.** She told herself as she walked over to where he stood with his
wagon.

"You need help?" She asked.

The cold wind brought a flush to his already tanned skin as he lifted
the leather to check the barrels. The flare of cloth caught his vision
in the corner of his eye and he turned, brows raising as he sighted a
pair of very shapely ankles. He offered a smile and his hand.
"Dreymin, Senior Woodcrafter. Can you be so good to direct me to your
Headwoman?"

"You are in luck, good sir, you are looking at the Headwoman." Chaysea
flashed the man a smile. She reached a hand to keep a hold on her hood
as another gust of wind whipped through, "What can I help you with?"

That surprised him. "You?" He blinked at her and then suddenly smiled.
"That's pleasantly surprising." The last Headwoman he'd dealt with had
been a withered old prune of a woman who'd thought men were nothing
more than dirt she had to sweep away. "It's a pleasure....Chaysea,
isn't it? I sent a message last sevenday about some barrels I was
making. I thought you might have a look at them to see if they'd meet
what your Hall might be needing."

Chaysea just nodded. She'd heard that several times. "I know, hard to
recognize a Headwoman without the warts and bossy attitude, right?"
She joked as she peered into the wagon, "Ah, yes, I remember the
letter now. You are Dreymin?" Chaysea looked over the barrels, it was
obvious that the craftsmenship was high quality, "They look good to
me, but I know that the Mastercrafters will want to have a look at
them before I set up a contract."

"I've yet to see if you're bossy yet." He bantered easily. "But I've
yet to meet a Headwoman who isn't. It's part of the job, I think." He
lifted the leather to allow her to get a better look and gestured her
closer. "These dark barrels are crafted specifically for red wines.
The pale woods for whites." He pointed to the middle barrels. "Those
are for spirits. I'm working on barrels now for beers."

"I'm impressed." She said honestly, just from looking at the barrels
they seemed far better than the ones that the Hall was already using.
"Come inside and we'll talk prices. I'm sure the Mastercrafters will
be pleased with what they see. I mainly just let them look to let
those big strong men feel as if they had a choice." Chaysea winked and
motioned for him, "I'll send out the crafters to look while you and I
discuss this from the warmth of the Hall." She flagged down one of the
stable hands, "See to the runners while we go inside." She instructed
the youth, who nodded eagerly.

"Thank you." He nodded. "I was hoping you would be." He had no qualms
about his craftsmanship, but he had to make his marks for his cothold.
He smiled at her wink, already liking the young headwoman and her
perky demeanor. The pretty face and ankles helped too. He chided
himself for that thought. He was here for a contract, not to ogle
women. He thanked the stable hands, and followed Chaysea in; if his
eyes happened to fall to her hips he hid it very well. "You'll find
that my prices are reasonable."

Chaysea wasn't afraid to spend money on something worth it, but she
wasn't going to tell Dreymin that, after all, she did have to try to
get the Hall the best price possible. Her late husband had taught her
a lot about business, and one of those things was how to have a poker
face and haggle. As they passed into the Hall, Chaysea stopped a
drudge, "Bring refreshments to my office please."

"This way." She instructed Dreymin, tossing her hood bag and shrugging
out of her coat as she went. Draping it over her arm she led the
woodcrafter to her office and opened the door, "I'll try not to keep
you long. It smells like snow out there."

"I'd appreciate that. It's a day's wagon ride to my cothold. I may
have to travel in the weather regardless." He shrugged out of his own
coat and stepped into the office after her. "But the longer out of it,
the better, in my opinion." He offered a wry smile. "I'm just glad I
got here before it started. I wouldn't want the barrels to be
exposed." He took a longer glance at her and his brows raised. How did
the Vinter Hall manage to snag such a lovely Headwoman?

Chaysea rolled back the sleeves of her silky black tunic that was
tucked primly into the narrow waistline of her black skirt, "Well, if
you don't get out of here in time you are always welcome to stay. I
can get a room prepared for you," she washed her hands in the basin in
the corner of her office, "and that's the perks of knowing the
Headwoman." She grinned at him as she dried off her hands and tucked a
stray strand of hair behind her ear, "Alright now, let me put on my
Headwoman face so we can talk prices." She snatched her ledger off of
her desk and took it to the table where she gestured for Dreymin to
sit.

He sat, face schooled into an expression of obedience, but mirth shone
in his eyes. "I would enjoy staying and not freezing my limbs off,
thank you." He tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck, tightening
the tail with a deft twist of his fingers. "I hope the Headwoman face
is as nice as the regular face, though...I can see it would put me at
a disadvantage during bargaining."

Chaysea's lips tilted as she fought to keep the full blown grin from her face,
"Flattery will get you everywhere with me." She teased before opening
up her ledger. Before the business could commence the drudge arrived
with a tray of fresh klah and small finger foods.

Dreymin laughed, his head tilted back in full mirth. "Oh, I doubt
that, but it's a nice thought." His eyes sparkled merrily as he looked
at her, then took a cup of klah. "Here's to a good bargain, Chaysea."

"To a good bargain." She agreed raising her cup of klah before
bringing it to her lips. When Dreymin raised his cup she noticed that
his ring finger was absent a wedding band. **A good looking man around
here that's actually single? Too good to be true!**

Last updated on the April 13th 2014

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A New Shipment