Troubled Waters: Day 2

Word Count: 12,017

Summary of Events:

Thanks to her father's intervention, Bergljót was sorting berries outside while her sister made jam when a local widow came to call and warned that a storm was brewing because her bones were aching. Hallbjörn talked with Maria and learned that she hadn't met a lot of people because her father was paranoid King Ármann would claim her and use the claim to bully her father. It was Bergljót's turn to make supper, but when she went downstairs to get the sausages she was going to make she found they were gone, and she couldn't begin to figure out where they would've been used. Hallbjörn was reluctant to get out of bed in the morning, but eventually his stomach told him he needed breakfast, so he got up and sent for it . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

With that, he went over to the windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling; several hundred small square panes of glass leaded together, the only thing separating him from the heaving saltwater stretching out endlessly behind them.

A curved brass bar hovered a few inches from the glass, secured to the wood of the ship, as well as to four metal bars that divided the glass vertically — although they were narrow enough that their presence was quite discreet in among all the leading — allowing only a small portion of the great window to have to be removed if a piece or two got damaged somehow.

Most of the time the windows weren’t actually damaged at sea — the glass they were made of wasn’t so thin that it couldn’t handle the occasional oblivious flying fish or seagull — but in the harbour.

The damage in harbour could be something accidentally striking the glass as a neighbouring ship was moored or loaded, but more commonly it was the act of daring Young Revolutionaries, who threw rocks or other heavy objects through the windows, as well as occasionally lighting ships on fire and otherwise engaging in general misdemeanours.

Hallbjörn knew little of the Young Revolutionaries aside from their mischievous activity, although he’d heard they were a group that actively wanted to kill King Ármann — as to merely overthrow him would allow him to come back — and replace him with his brother, Hinrik, presently the Crown Prince of Ena because King Ármann had no known son.

The issue, Hallbjörn was sure, was the taxes.

Ena’s taxes were among the highest in Ureonaiea, and the young people that were the Young Revolutionaries were loathe to pay them.

Although there were many others who were loathe to pay the taxes too, but didn’t go engaging in criminal activity to prove their displeasure, most of whom were people that didn’t do enough to get paid well, or didn’t manage their money wisely.

For someone like Father, paying the taxes was easy because horses were valuable, people paid well for them, and Father’s horses were some of the most quality horses available — as proved by the king of Deuschbren’s having purchased some — and Father also managed his money well, so he had enough money to live on and pay the taxes.

If people like the Young Revolutionaries would spend their time working hard at profitable things, instead of rioting and protesting all the time Hallbjörn was sure that they would find the taxes weren’t really all that bothersome.

Of course, still living in his father’s house, Hallbjörn didn’t pay taxes, thus he didn’t really know how much of his money taxes would take up, so he wasn’t really informed by experience.

Even still, that was what Father and his friends said when they got together to discuss things and go on hunts. If the Young Revolutionaries would just spend their time working instead of griping and would be masters over their money instead of letting their money master them it would all be fine.