Journal of Miyara Kyosuke (44)

    We set off from Eyrie towards the troubled town of Curutsofen. When we arrived, our inn had been reopened and seemed to be doing well.  Ashu did not come with us into town -- I cannot blame them -- but would meet us along the road.  Bark looked longingly at him as he walked away, but his duty was to look after Shon and he would have to come with us.  It was not until Miyara pointed this out to him that he finally sighed and gave in to his responsibilities.
    We met the new inkeeper, a Tai Lin.  Miyara introduced all of us to him, but as soon as would started talking day to day business she planned to hand it over to Carimera.  They talked for a while in the barbarian tongue.  Miyara told him that we would stay one night, provision our group during the day, and stay the following night to leave the morning after that.
    We took three rooms -- three in the manager's room, three in the cook's room, and the women in the best room in the inn.  Dinner was decent, as clearly the manager had retained a reasonable cook.  It turned out to be Mongo, who had returned to take up this profession.  The bread had returned to its fine quality, and the beer was safe to drink again.  The manager himself welcomed us to dinner and engaged in what no doubt the barbarians think of as entertaining small talk.  Shon played, tunes and songs that the barbarians thought good.  Perhaps to their ears this is music.
    The manager pointed out to Miyara a Captain Vincetti, a Tai Lin, who graciously gave up his room for her.  Hosei talked with the manager for a while in the Tai Lin language.
    After dinner, but before the evening had wound down at all, the Captain came over and spoke in a barbarian language.  Clearly he was introducing himself, very politely and graciously.  Hosei invited him to sit with us, and introduced us all to him.  The Captain bowed deeply to Miyara, and bowed to the other women, and shook Hosei's hand.   He nodded to acknowledge the rest of us individually.  This Tai Lin had a very aristocratic air for a barbarian, as if he was a noble.  Hosei asked him several questions about our reputation (using his tongue spell), which he answered in barbarian.  Apparently we were known as the saviors of Curutsofen up and down the river.  Miyara thanked him for giving up his room.  Hosei apologized for driving him out of his room, and of course Miyara and I shot him disapproving looks for it.  As they talked, it turned out that the Captain was a riverboat title, not a military one.
    They continued to chat about local events, catching up on the gossip like peasant women.

    We retired for the night, posting guards as we would normally.  Unusually it was a peaceful night.

    The next day, Miyara arranged for us to be fully provisioned for our trip.  Thank goodness it was not a barbarian organizing this trip.  She then went to see the dorufurikata to discuss matters, and several of us came along at Miyara's invitations and requests.
    The dorufurikata invited us in and took us to his sitting room.  Miyara had told him it was a social visit rather than on official business.  There was small talk to start.  The town has been recovering, and trade has returned.  There has been some trouble finding people to work in the inns, but that too was improving.  Gehrig's case was still in progress thanks to the many lawyers he had hired, and the other two were also sent off to Noln for trial but did not have expensive legal support.  Martin had disappeared, but Stapmi had hired the first round of lawyers for Gehrig.  Miyara asked if anyone had been sent to replace Sir Theodocius, but was told that his heirs had not been indentified.  Gehrig still owned half the town, and in fact one of his lawyers was staying at the Black Eagle collecting rent from those properties.  As for Doctor En Tesan's estate, no-one had yet come to collect; if none did, it would be possessed in the name of the Countess of Noln and sold off.  Reefugo had left town some time ago, presumably having finished his business.  They returned to small talk which Miyara did not translate for me, and I certainly had no reason to ask.

    We returned to the Red Bull for the night.  Carimera had been going over the books at Miyara's direction.  Rabena tended the sick and hurt in the absence of a doctor in the town.  Carimera found that the record keeping was in good order.  The new manager was not charging as much as the old, mostly because he had not been able to hire people to the previous standard.  The inn was barely breaking even, with the manager not paying himself.  In time it would rebuild to be the fine inn it once was.