Pleasure

I was not aware of this the first night, but there is exactly one permanent feature of the Ginga hall other than the walls - the platform upon which the lord sat. Lord Ginga seemed so small sitting there without his wall of officers, and the room seemed empty in a sense beyond that of the lack of inhabitants. I sat where a page should - to one side, out of the way, facing the dozen or so seated knights and advisors.

Kemawari was at point, the closest among those who faced his lord. On the dais he was so imposing, but here, with his hunched back, his face scowling at a tiny scroll, and no sounding block in hand, his presence was diminished to that of a scuttling crab.

His voice, though... his voice put a bit of the respect of him back into me. "Last night was pleasant, Lord Ginga, but tomorrow we must gird for negotiations."

Lord Ginga, to my surprise, held himself lightly, his shoulders relaxed, with just a slight lean onto his right thigh. "Pleasant is the nightly wine; Gentlemen should wish for bitter cabbage."

Kemawari looked up from his note, possibly a tad perturbed (though with him it was difficult to tell), and continued. "Aye... an apt expression, my lord." He paused a moment. "It should start light; Lord Utani was competitive with your father, but he was enormously fair. Expect a trick, however - the lord is wily, and he wants nothing more than to gain an advantage in position. The face you show tomorrow may set the tone for years to come."

Lord Ginga tilted his head. "Why is that, though? I thought that these meetings were for our mutual benefit."

Lord Kemawari's head popped up, but it was Lord Hashitomi, the burly gentleman who had spoken to me the night I had first met Lord Ginga, who spoke. He had the demeanor of an uncle, but kept his head low. "That is what we say, yes. And when it is all said and done, it does end up having mutual benefit for each of our fiefs. However... our field of negotiation is not ever flat. We need Utani ships, as we have none of our own, and they need Ginga iron, as they hardly have enough to make their own nails. If we overvalue their ships or undervalue our iron, or in the same way lose the value of their grain or our hard woods, it can cause problems for us in the long run."

Lord Kemawari had calmed down. "Indeed. In any case, my lord, you will not be alone. I will be using hand signals to assist you, though I must admit that it would be unseemly to have you looking down for advice every few moments. I trust that your judgement will carry the day." Here he bowed.

Lord Ginga grinned and leaned his chin on his hand. "So, Sir Kemawari. Do you happen to know the price of pearl-incense?"