{"id":35590,"date":"2016-11-22T23:22:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T03:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/?p=35590"},"modified":"2016-11-22T13:26:36","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T17:26:36","slug":"master-of-firin-sword-ch2-pole-to-pole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/?p=35590","title":{"rendered":"Master of Firin’ Sword CH2: Pole to Pole"},"content":{"rendered":"

I did say that heroes come from humble origins. Well, my humility will be the stuff of myth. <\/em>Those bandit left me with nothing but ten thaler, my clothes, my Erik, and my Fanny. And I know what you’re thinking. Rutger, wouldn’t a hero have murdered those poor bandits? Wasn’t it cowardly to spare their lives?<\/em><\/p>\n

Prudence, my friend, is what separates captains from flotsam. If I had shot them all there would be a chance–however slim–that they would have shot back.<\/p>\n

No–this was the correct choice to ensure I survive to be commemorated. This is how a legend begins: by surrendering to bandits. Then, running away.<\/p>\n

You will tell no one.<\/p>\n

After some happy hours trekking across the unmilled Polish countryside, I am delighted to find A Town. I believe it has a name. More directly relevant to my personal fortune, it has a Warlord.<\/p>\n

Jan is a busy man, and cannot be expected to extort EVERYONE.<\/div>
Jan is a busy man, and cannot be expected to extort EVERYONE.<\/div><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My new friend Jan has the right to tax the village Snechko. He finds this duty burdensome, and offers to appoint me his ad hoc revenuer.<\/p>\n

As I understand it the situation is this: if I go to the village on his behalf, invoke his name, and collect his rightful taxes, I will be able to keep absolutely all of it. He does offer to let me give him four-fifths of his money, but privately I’m not sure I see the percentage in it. Ah, no, there it is: twenty.<\/em> Twenty percent of the money. No, I believe that is less<\/em>. I believe I will take more money. <\/em>If you’d like to renegotiate afterwards, you’re welcome to find me in Sweden. <\/em>We offer some very approachable apprenticeships in mercantile, if you’d like to be a businessman <\/em>someday.<\/p>\n

Now–I believe I still have a debt to collect from Casmir at Castle Lodz. So I ride, and after many more <\/em>happy hours trekking across the unmilled Polish countryside I come to…<\/p>\n

Another Town. Marvelous.<\/p>\n

Shooting a fleeing man? You have my attention.<\/div>
Shooting a fleeing man? You have my attention.<\/div><\/p>\n

Someone killed one of Warlord Janusz’s men, which naturally came as a shock to the military, and he has put a bounty on the head of the culprit. He believes I might be the man to collect it.<\/p>\n

“Let me understand you,” I say. “You wish me to kill this fugitive–a defenseless man?”<\/p>\n

“He is not defenseless,” says Janusz. “He is a vicious and desperate thug who does not hesitate to kill.”<\/p>\n

“Ah,” I said. “Well.”<\/p>\n

After the brief and uncomfortable silence, Janusz says, “He’s not well armed, though.”<\/p>\n

“You have my steel.”<\/p>\n

I am once again thrilled to tatters by the unmilled Polish countryside, and after many happy, happy <\/em>hours, I at long last reach Yet Another Town. I’m delighted to hear that a man named Kasimir is in residence, but upon presenting myself at the manor I discover it’s not the Casimir I’m looking for. It’s just this <\/em>fellow.<\/p>\n

What a tedious disappointment.<\/div>
What a tedious disappointment.<\/div><\/p>\n

Since I wasted my time coming here, I ask him if he has any work for me. He says that I might deliver for him a correspondence of some urgency, should I be journeying to Krakov. I accept the letter and his gratitude.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

I’ve always been taught that if a king asks you to do something, you say yes. So I said yes. I’m not going to Krakov, but that’s not really what’s important.<\/p>\n

“Where are you bound for?” he asks.<\/p>\n

“Well, Krakov<\/em>, obviously. But at some point, once that obligation is dealt with: I am bound for your beautiful and indomitable fortress at the southern border, Castle Lodz.”<\/p>\n

“It’s pronounced \u00c5\u0081à\u00b3d\u00c5\u00ba<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

“Are you certain?”<\/p>\n

Once my horse is refreshed, I set out, again.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you gave me a mill I would personally grind every inch of the Polish countryside into powder. Ah, look–it’s Lodz Castle!<\/p>\n

Her walls were built to last centuries. Which is fortunate, because THAT IS PRECISELY HOW LONG THIS TOOK.<\/div>
Her walls were built to last centuries. Which is fortunate, because THAT IS PRECISELY HOW LONG THIS TOOK.<\/div><\/p>\n

I sweep inside and beg an audience with Casimir. At last, a chance to get my hands on some real <\/em>legend. This poor fellow doesn’t know what’s about to hit him.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

“Count Casimir Tyszkiewicz ,” I say. “I come to you humbly on behalf of your old friend, Warlord Obukhovich, to collect the debt of four thousand thaler you owe him. When can you have it prepared?”<\/p>\n

“That again?”<\/p>\n

“So it seems.”<\/p>\n

He shrugs. “I’m not going to pay.”<\/p>\n

“Well, can I persuade you otherwise?”<\/p>\n

“Can you?”<\/p>\n

I lick my lips, consider the question. Then: “No.”<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

I began this enterprise with a hundred thaler. Now I have traveled Poland from cap to clog, and I find myself with: ten thaler.<\/em><\/p>\n

I really think I’m going to have to relax my principles a bit.<\/p>\n

NEXT WEEK: STAND, DELIVER, AND PLEASE DO NOT SHOOT BACK.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I did say that heroes come from humble origins. Well, my humility will be the stuff of myth. Those bandit left me with nothing but ten thaler, my clothes, my Erik, and my Fanny. And I know what you’re thinking. Rutger, wouldn’t a hero have murdered those poor bandits? Wasn’t it cowardly to spare their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lets-play"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35590\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shamusyoung.com\/twentysidedtale\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}