Secondly I appriciated Peter Larsens original writing-in-glorantha-posting. And I do agree with the suggestion that Kralori are probably the ones that actually use paper, (except at least IMG the provincial bureocracy).
Thirdly expressing myself in english is a actually a new thing to me. I can read and understand english fine. Why is my writing so insecure and slow?
Andrew E. Larsen:
> Hmm, if paper is a Mostali product, it's presumably quite expensive
> for the Lunars to buy it. Why would they want expensive paper is parchment
> or vellum is more readily available and presumably somewhat cheaper.
My thought was that Dragon Pass Dwarf Mine would be the source of mostali made paper. Now we are talking about Isilidian the Wise's trading practises - I've gathered he's one of the most openhandist mostali under lozenge, certainly not one of the astronomers of Bad Deal.
I had never thought the paper to be expensive for the provincial goverment. If the paper was nevertheless expensive to everybody else, some rumours could begin to circulate. There must be several good explanations, why it would be thus. Perhaps it is because of political reasons. Anyone with a good idea?
I presume turning wood into paper and stuff costs next to nothing to the dwarves. The only costs come from getting the wood. (Since we're talking about mostali: "labour" does not coun't among costs;)
There migth be a scenario/job proposal here. Dwarf Mine trades some goods for lumber. "Clan" can go lumberjack! Menfolk from the "clan" venture to the Stinking Forest during the storm season (most aldryami still sleeping) and "swim" logs they cut down the river marked with a seal the dwarves gave to the "clan". The dwarves count and collect the logs near the Dwarfford. The workers get free dwarffood while they work. At the end of agreed workperiod dwarves compensate "clan" for their efforts.
This could be a way to avoid hunger after bad year and bad harvest. The payment could actually be dwarffood for the rest of the "clan" as well, plus maybe some metal too.
The mostali of the Dwarf Mine would have to worry less about grower-dysfuntions up north, since their consern would be to plant the forest back (job for sea season as per Elder Races book).
Of course aldryami propose a threat. Therefore guards are needed. (adventurers also not from the "clan"). (What if the guards are the same people that helped elves last sea season?)
And there would be special red-black tartan for the lumberjacks. :)
Peter Larsen:
> I can't imagine that the Mostali have much use for wood-pulp paper.
> Anyway, unless the Mostali have an enormous need for paper, wood pulp is not a
> very practical source.
Dragon Pass might produce all the paper mostali need in Glorantha. In my vision the mostali paper is never blanc. It is allways produced with millimeter lining or hexagons (for maps) and other features needed for mostali teaching and magic (engineering).
The paper sold to the empire would be the very basic clack-sized squares paper.
I can throw in a thought that the silver-mostali (the teachers) use paper in excessive amounts. They have copyist nilmerg's (or whatever). And necessary information is constantly given to not-yet-ready-to-work dwarves to digest (possibly quite literally).
> It occurred to me that Topi Pitkanen's Mostali might want groundwood
> for purposes other than paper. Distrusting the natural world as they do...
Good idea there! Certainly mostali must have numerous uses for groundwood. After all it is "fixing the machine", when one turns a grown thing to made tool.
I think that the major product made from the groundwood is the DWARFFOOD! Yes, they use solvents and chemicals and turn the cellulose into starch containing extra vitamins and minerals. No wonder dwarffood tastes like carton.
Of course until approved all this above is just my maunderings. Comments?
Powered by hypermail