(D8, LE) Boring you about a Badger?

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji considered his answer over the drink.

"There are countless marriages conducted within the Empire every year. Some are for trade, some for peace, and some for love. Some of the couples love each other without limit, some hate each other without bound, and for many it is simply another assignment. Secure the treaty, produce an heir, and beyond that, little else is expected. So I would not say I am happy in my marriage nor unhappy. It makes me no more happy than introducing a treaty to the court on the behalf of my clan does. It is what is expected of me." he replied.

He looked curiously at the Tortoise.

"But what of your spouse, Kasuga-sama? Despite your position, I would suspect you fall into the three categories above. The stakes are merely higher. Wed for an apple orchard rather than a barrel of apples were I to make the comparison." he asked.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"My husband, Zurui, is a good man," Izumi says. "He is an accomplished sailor, having never failed to bring his ship and crew back to home port. I'm fond of him, and he of me, even if the nights apart grow long and cold."

She takes a pull from her drink.

"That said, he did take getting used to. Came from the Otomo, if it can be believed. Had quite the wedding gifts along with him, though, which admittedly eased things."

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji offered a gentle smile.

"Now that must be quite the story, Kasuga-sama. Had he trained as a sailor before the match was decided? Was he wearing a little peaked courtier cap when the two of you met? My apologies for prying, but it strikes me as quite a romantic little tale of a quiet, gentle love tossed upon the sea." he asked.

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi laughs.

"He was wearing the hat," she says. "Silly-looking thing, too, at the time. I still have it, though, and he still wears it sometimes.

"And he did have some skill with watercraft, if limited. Evidently, there was a fad for sailing Golden Sun Bay around the time of his gempukku, and, well, the Otomo do try to be fashionable."

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji nodded.

"Indeed, but now he is a fine captain. Did you personally instruct him in the finer points of sailing? Or did he work his way up on a ship learning the ropes as he went?" Eiji asked, curious about the story unfolding.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Some of each," Izumi replies. "There're better captains than I am--different skill sets for different duties, but enough cross-training to fill in in a pinch."

She grins.

"I've been pinched a few times. Have you, Soshi-san?"

[Soshi Eiji]

"A time or two." he admits. "And I've certainly been in a pinch a time or two to boot."

"And yourself, Kasuga-sama? Any interesting crises you've been through and managed to come through with a little quick thinking and a lot of luck?" he returned.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Storms are the obvious things for that," Izumi says. "There are ways of getting around or away from some of them, but they can't always be done, and then a ship and her crew are in for quite a ride.

"Suitengu will have his due."

A cup is poured and set aside.

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji nodded.

"Emma-O's spear always finds it's mark." he said. "Empress or peasant, he does not miss."

He toasted the Tortoise.

"To the those who have gone on to their next life ahead of us."

[Kasuga Izumi]

"May they make the way smooth," Izumi replies, and drinks the toast. The men around do the same.

"Now, Soshi-san," she continues, "I hear that the Scorpion have been looking for things to help them with their duties. The Tortoise happen to have a few things that might be contributed to their efforts."

[Soshi Eiji]

"May they make the way smooth," Izumi replies, and drinks the toast. The men around do the same.

"Now, Soshi-san," she continues, "I hear that the Scorpion have been looking for things to help them with their duties. The Tortoise happen to have a few things that might be contributed to their efforts."

Eiji had not expected this to turn into a business meeting. But the business of court did not keep banker's hours.

"Indeed, Kasuga-sama? I fear you have the advantage on me. While I'm sure the Scorpion could offer some sort of aid to the Tortoise as a show of appreciation for such aid, I'm not aware of what would best help." he admitted.

He smiled a bit.

"But I'm willing to learn the words if you're willing to teach."

[Kasuga Izumi]

snip

"As you might imagine," Izumi says, "it takes a lot of support to fund ongoing oceangoing. Coin, crass as many find it, is the language spoken on most every coast, and the Tortoise do have to confer with a great many people."

[Soshi Eiji]

snip

"As you might imagine," Izumi says, "it takes a lot of support to fund ongoing oceangoing. Coin, crass as many find it, is the language spoken on most every coast, and the Tortoise do have to confer with a great many people."

This revelation prompted a small shrug.

"A samurai should not overly obsess about coin, devoting their thoughts to bushido instead....but the Sparrow clan was not brought into existence because the Emperor really loved yams. Only the most blindly idealstic would feel otherwise." he said, acknowledging that money was a thing.

"But contacts on every coast certainly gives one a world of opportunities to chose from, rather than a village's worth."

[Kasuga Izumi]

"It is not only with samurai that the Tortoise contend, either," Izumi replies. "And for the world of opportunity, well, it can be a wide world."

She drinks.

"Much of it produces teas, which the Tortoise are pleased to gift to their benefactors, being a small Clan and thus only being able to drink so much ourselves."

[Soshi Eiji]

Ah, now that did catch Eiji's attention.

"Ah, that is an interesting contrast, Kasuga-sama, a small clan with much tea, and a large clan with too little. The Scorpion plantations do produce very fine blends, but are much smaller than the plantations of the Lion for example. And so when the plantations suffer a poor year, the effects are felt much more readily. And while some might rejoice to replace the tea ceremony with their own 'sake ceremony', I can't see it catching on among the more traditional clans." he mused.

He looked to the Tortoise. She'd tossed her bait and there was definitely a nibble. Now how did she plan to reel him in?

[Kasuga Izumi]

"How fortunate, then, that we can help maintain the traditions that bind the Empire," Izumi says. "As much as five times over, we would gladly help with it, especially with good friends."

[Soshi Eiji]

Eiji inclined his head.

"That would certainly be a great help indeed, Kasuga-sama." he agreed, thinking a moment.

If she wasn't going to present the other side, he would.

"You know, Kasuga-sama, for an outsider of the markets, such as myself, I can't help but notice how much information alters people's perception of the value of things. When the warehouses are full, people are happy and feel that it takes but a few coins to fill their carts. And when the warehouses are empty, people are anxious and will part with a great many coins to fill those same carts."

He paused a moment to sip his drink.

"But really, not everyone knows just how full the warehouse is if they're not actually inside. They must ask those who go inside how much remains. Now imagine, if you will, a warehouse full of dye. Useful stuff, wide array of uses, something everyone needs, not to eat but to bring color to their life. Now further imagine, if you will, that due to a paperwork error, those inside the warehouse believed it not literally empty, but all spoken for. And so when everyone came to ask for the dyes they needed, they were turned away with full purses, but empty carts."

He shook his head sadly.

"Now finally imagine a boat with a hull filled with tea and a clever captain who happens to know, for a fact, that those dyes are not spoken for. If she were to exchange her tea for dyes, even though there is, in reality, much dye in the warehouse, would not those dejected merchants being willing to part with much coin rather than little?"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"A clever captain might well think it worth her while to take on dye, clearing room for it by donating her tea to good causes," Izumi says. "Especially since that clever captain isn't prone to traipsing about the warehouses of those she would have as friends--at least, not without an invitation to do so."

She grins.

"It's always better to go behind closed doors with the willing, after all."

[Soshi Eiji]

"A clever captain might well think it worth her while to take on dye, clearing room for it by donating her tea to good causes," Izumi says. "Especially since that clever captain isn't prone to traipsing about the warehouses of those she would have as friends--at least, not without an invitation to do so."

She grins.

"It's always better to go behind closed doors with the willing, after all."

Eiji nodded.

"Indeed it is. Now, I am no master of the ocean. I assume that a ship carries as much tea as it would dye?" he asked, seeking to nail down some specifics.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"There's a ship in port that has tea in its hold," Izumi allows. "Enough to share with as many as five good friends, as I recall. And I'm sure it could carry at least so much dye, did some need to be relocated.

"Although it could be that that ship also has sake it might share with as many as three good friends, and silver it might share with as many as two, in addition."