Late Afternoon Musings of Hoskuld the Wise, tribal Lawspeaker of the Sambari Tribe. Earth Season. He communes with his dearly beloved ghostwood tree and the spirits of his ancestors, and formulates his thoughts for memorising...
The king called a small meeting just before the Althing. I advised him to ensure that his enemies were not present in force. Only those chieftains and godis present at Roundstone were called. Still, it turned out remarkably less troublesome than even I could have hoped for. I fear that there may be something more to this harmony than meets the eye. I will ponder on that...
There was argument however. Vamastal gave reign to his chief head kicker (sometimes his headkicker of chiefs!), Gheryd Bloodblade . Over the last few years the forceful words of Vamastal's wife, Rinia, Ernalda's High Priestess, have held sway over the tribe's policy. She has curbed the king's youthful vigour and bound him to rule his tribe wisely in the face of the overwhelming Lunar domination. I had no small part in this if I do say so myself. But now Vamastal is showing increasing signs of restlessness. Despite, or perhaps because of, the troubles surrounding our tribe, he has been itching to let loose. The Dundealos massacre no doubt cautioned him in the immediate term. However, he has been allowing Gheryd's tirades go on longer and longer these days. Our most loyal housecarl is called 'the Bloodblade' for a very good reason. One minute he urges raids on the Balmyr and the new Lunar-loving Enstalos, and the next he is urging a tribal revolt and the purging of the entire Lunar occupation force, followed by a march to relieve the siege on Whitewall! I must say he showed remarkable self-control in this meeting. He avoided calling _anyone_ a coward! It does seem that Vamastal is letting him run on to allow him to voice the king's own true feelings. I worry for our people if this is so.
Personalities aside, we achieved some sensible decisions at this ad hoc meeting. The refugees filtering into our lands from the south and east were the main problem. Skapti the Badger, that young upstart from the Vale Treader clan, came bleating that Dundealos refugees had entered his lands and those of the Firebulls. "What to do?" he cried. Truly I fear for our people if that pup becomes lawspeaker after my death! Later, he even had the gall to leer laughingly in my direction, as though to point out my ill health to all present. I was pleased to be able to rub his nose in the long lives of all of you, my dear ancestors. That mountain boy will be ancient himself before I join Orlanth in the bosom of the wind!
After some discussion, we agreed that these refugees, our kin by cult, custom and blood, but nevertheless hunted by the Lunars, would be helped. We would need to help them find safe and sustainable shelter in the hills beyond our lands. We would of course deny that we had any knowledge of them. But privately, how could we object when they begin raids against the Enstalos settlers and their Red-loving ilk? No doubt there will be Sambari arms found in their midst. Gheryd was pleased by this! Likewise for the Volsaxi. For those people we have little love. They have raided us many times in the past. But now they pose a more complicated problem to our southern clans. These too, we thought, would best be served in an independent refuge from where they might revenge themselves on their oppressors (and ours). "What can we do about bandits?", we will say to the Lunars. "They pose as much of a threat to us as to you. We must spend our resources guarding our flocks. You must hunt them down by yourselves."
As for Whitewall... There was less agreement about this. It stands as the last city of free Orlanth. Well did Gheryd make this point. While the Lunar armies were busy in the south we should revolt, he said! Pah! Wiser heads prevailed. I do not wish our tribe to join the Dundealos in extinction. Rinia, and Olvir the Stout, chieftain of the Icy Wind, pointed out the stability of our borders since the invasion of Volsaxiland, and the need for peace. The emissaries from King Broyan must be turned back without aid. It was agreed that to send weapons would be a death sentence to our tribe. But Rinia still wanted to send food to these poor defenders. Maybe the Lunars would allow humanitarian aid? Pish! Our good friend Gwai from Wilskirk took this opportunity to turn our minds towards money. "Trade!" he said with a glow in his eye. "Of course the Lunars ban it, but this ban is only successful with our complicity. We might be able to find a secretive route. The Heortlanders would pay great sums for food and weapons he said. Through this we could fund our assistance to the refugees and help our own clans too." "Line your own pockets you mean" said the rest. And not without justice. Gwai tried to defend his position but was supported a little only by Skapti. Unfortunately, Vamastal seems to be looking for trouble. He picked up on this idea with vigour. He wants to know if it can be done safely. So we will send an expedition to Whitewall to bear back our official refusal of aid to King Broyan. On the way, though, they might be able to find secret routes for trade. Skapti and Gwai pledged support, and the others remained neutral. Here I saw my chance. Someone would need to head this mission. My eyes turned to my young rival, and I knew that Skapti would make an excellent choice! Later in the evening, during a private discussion, Vamastal agreed with my reasoning. As I knew he would...
For the Firebull clan we could do little. The Lunars are threatening to take compensation for unpaid taxes. Most of the chiefs felt that it was provocation. Everyone knows that the Firebull chief is the loudest voice against the Lunars. He is a good friend of Vamastal's, and the king is worried. The others were less concerned, and inclined to pass it off as further political skirmishing between the Lunar swine and our chiefs. I am not so sure. I worry greatly, thinking that the Dundealos revolt was sparked off by problems with tax-collectors...
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #14
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