Logs:Wingleader Meeting
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| RL Date: 5 October, 2009 |
| Who: K'del |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Vignette |
| What: A couple of days following the announcement, K'del faces his Wingleaders and their less-than-enthusiasm over the Crom farmland deal. |
| Where: K'del's Weyr / Council Chambers, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 11, Month 12, Turn 20 (Interval 10) |
| He cut himself shaving, that morning. It'd been turns since he'd done that, but his hand was shaking; he grabbed for a towel to stem the flow, staring at himself in the mirror without really looking. He was nervous about the meeting. Not that that was surprising, not the way the weyr had been buzzing, the way some of the wingleaders had been approaching him individually... "At the meeting," he'd told them all. "We'll discuss it all then." And that meeting was today. When the blood had finally stopped flowing, he set the dirty towel down, and got back to business, losing him again in the steady action of razor against skin. He dressed, combed down his hair, rubbed away an invisible fleck of dust from his boot. It was still too early to go in, but he was restless and anxious, unable to contemplate breakfast, unable even to swallow more than a mouthful of klah. Finally, he could wait no longer. He descended the stairs, then headed down the tunnel to the Council Chamber. There were people already in there; he paused, listening to the voices. "He's lost his mind, hasn't he. Dealing with Crom. Riders don't farm, and not, not EVER, when it involves Crom." "Didn't you tell him what a stupid idea it was, B'sil? Didn't he ask your advice?" "Should've made him listen. We won't stand for it, it's not the way things get done." K'del felt his heart rise towards his throat, but right when he was beginning to consider just heading back to his weyr, to throw up and then call in sick, he heard B'sil's reply. "Actually, it was as much my doing as his. We need this deal. Maybe we can't completely trust Crom, but the deal is watertight, looked over by a harper, properly signed and lodged. Why shouldn't riders farm? Got to help support ourselves; it's interval, and it's not as though there aren't already hints that the holds may not remain so... willing to tithe." Thank shells for B'sil. Again - and it was not rare, not at all - K'del thanked himself silently for being wise enough to pick B'sil, thanked B'sil for being such a diplomat, such a negotiator. Best decision I could've made. He took a deep breath, and turned the corner, noting with interest the way everyone's heads shot up at the sound of his footsteps. He tried to keep his voice casual as he said, "Such eager meeting-goers this morning!" "We want to know what you're playing at. Dealing with Crom, all that." "Though I just heard B'sil explaining that much to you," said K'del, as he stepped around the table to take his seat, brows raising. He tried to keep his expression calmer than his insides were; he had a whole horde of butterflies in his stomach, desperate to escape. "Only in brief," said B'sil, drawing his powerful hands on to the table in front of him. "Think we're all here. Why don't you walk everyone through it, K'del?" K'del took a breath. "Crom approached me over a turn ago, not so long after I took the weyrleadership. Negotiations floundered for a time, while we worried about more pressing issues, but were resumed a few months ago. Lord Aughan had some land he couldn't farm; he offered it for us, in exchange for a percentage of the harvest." Interupting-- "What kind of percentage?" B'ren looked unimpressed. "His initial suggestion was sixty-forty, in his favour. I counter-offered fifty-fifty, and we've ultimately agreed at fifty-five-forty-five, and Crom will provide some basic supplies, though we'll need to organise the rest for ourselves. It's a good deal." "But we do all the work, and he does nothing." "He could put his own holders there and keep it all for himself," said Boreal's wingleader, with a shrug. "That's not so bad a deal." Thank you, thought K'del, taking a deep breath. "Right. And okay, riders don't traditionally farm, but we've an interval ahead of us, and we've already heard of weyrs having problems with their holds. There'll be more of that, too. Producing something of our own is a start, it's one of a lot of things we're going to end up having to do to keep ourselves afloat, if things go bad. Clearing the fields will be easy, with the dragons, and between all the wings, not to mention the lower caverns? No one will have to do all that much farming." "But most of us don't have the faintest idea. We're not all hold bred." "So you'll learn. We'll all learn. I want to gather together everyone who knows anything about farming, and use them as a knowledge base. If we need to, we'll approach the farmcraft for more help. We'll learn." "And if Crom does the dirty on us?" B'sil spoke up, this time, "The Harpers say the deal is watertight. If Lord Aughan tries anything that breaks it, we'll be able to call him on it. I honestly believe we're in the clear on this. If something goes wrong on that front? It won't be K'del's fault." "It'll be an investment on our part, though. Equipment, time, probably having to hire a farmcrafter or two." "Right. But a one-off investment, on the whole, if things go well. That's not so bad, if it helps feed us all, not to mention builds goodwill with Crom. It can't hurt to show that we're willing to work with him, despite our past." "You weren't even HERE for any of that, K'del. You weren't even old enough to care." K'del bit his lip, and opened his mouth to say something, but Mielline got in first. "Give it up, Taiga. It doesn't matter. Perhaps he wasn't, but he's here now, and I can't see that it'll hurt us too much to give this a try. What are our first steps, K'del?" The butterflies were beginning to calm down. Maybe this was going to go all right. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "First off, I want everyone to put together a list of anyone in their wing who has farm skills. Even if they haven't actually worked on a farm in turns, it's still worthwhile experience to work with. I'll be getting Milani to do the same with the lower caverns. Of that list, we'll put together a working group, to determine what we need, what we should be planting, and so on. After that, we'll start negotiating for the things we need. "Once the ground starts to thaw at Crom, we'll need to start clearing: need to get that all done as soon as possible, so we can plant in time for a proper harvest. After that... guess that depends on what the working group tells us needs to happen." Not everyone was sold. By the time that meeting ended, more than an hour later, there were still plenty of grumblings. But as the room cleared out, and K'del was left with B'sil, he felt calmer about it than he had since the announcement. Maybe even some of his earlier jubilation was coming back. "Good job," B'sil told him, tone even. "Did a good job, convincing people. You won't bring everyone around, but it'll be enough - and they'll be loyal. Even the ones who don't like it will still do what they need to, even if they do want you to fail." K'del made a face. "Wish they wouldn't. Bad for the weyr, if we fail, not just bad for me." B'sil shook his head. "It's never quite that simple, K'del. Never. But you did well, today. You'll see." He left, leaving K'del to stare down the empty table thoughtfully. Probably B'sil was right; the older bronzerider usually was. But-- oh. It had all better work. Crom better not be trying something; the weyr better be ready to do their best. We need this. We need to prove that we're not just going to sit around doing nothing all Interval. |
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