Saturday 11 August 2018

Morning In Arvarnneth

Poul Anderson, The Winter Of The World, VI.

"Morning brightened [the chamber], coffee steamed delicious, windows stood open to mild air and a cheery sound of traffic." (p. 65)

Brightness, mildness, traffic sounds and the smell and taste of coffee: five senses in one sentence.

We read a morning conversation that begins to reveal more about the Lairs. We already knew that the Rattlebone Brotherhood organizes thieves, swindlers and cutthroats. Now Ponsario mentions that the Rippers train assassins. How many Brotherhoods are there and what do they do?

Cleaning out the Lairs would harm many innocents and create more problems than it solved.

"'Drastic changes cannot well be carried out overnight.'" (ibid.)

More wisdom, this time from the fat merchant.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Well, I can't really APPROVE of the Rattlebone Brotherhood and the Rippers! And some Temple Councilors, such as Ercer en-Havan, did look with approval on how the Rahidian/Barommian conquerors had been cracking down on organized crime. That said, I CAN see the need for caution and the desirability of avoiding harm to innocents.

And the fact coffee was being drank in Arvanneth shows how both civilization and trade had revived enough for coffee growing areas to again able to export the beans. Perhaps from what used to be Jamaica?

Sean