Tosra & The Auction, day 4
Shopping trip
After an early breakfast, we send a slave from the building teams to announce around the islands farms that we are looking for a maid and a farmhand, with short description what the work entails, and those interested should show up at the mansion after sunrise in 3 days. We also want to buy animals, and want to let those who live on the islands sell first to us if they so wish, and which animals we want to buy. Its somewhat the wrong time of year to buy animals, but some animals are slaughtered before the winter because they don't want to feed the animals over the winter, and some may need silver. Offering them the option to sell is a win for everyone.
According to Asta, it is probably easiest to buy a boat in Borgarsandr, but there is a shipbuilder outside Lysesund just on the other side of the water, and we can see if anyone wants to sell some boat we want to buy, otherwise hire the shipbuilder to build one. My sambos have also found out that there is no man from the King in Lysesund, but then again, neither of us thought that there would be a sale before the Academy started next year, so we have to send a message to the King about it when we arrive in Borgarsandr.
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It is possible to buy a good sized boat for animal transport and other things. Asta and the shipbuilder call it a small Knarr, and the shipbuilder will be happy to sell us the one he made but has not sold yet. Silver changes hands, and he will deliver it to the harbor at Little Ackerek. He also takes on the job to build a smaller boat, slightly larger than the ship's boat, called a Faering. It is the common small boat here, with two pairs of oars for rowing, but can have a small mast and sail, so pretty much a baby Viking longship. He can deliver it in two weeks, and when he offers to lend a similar boat in the meantime, he quickly gets a deal.
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I'm laying exhausted in the cabin, hugging Kari. Kari's desire and sexual appetite is growing and changing. She alone can exhaust me in bed, or in another place like here in the cabin, where we use the floor, walls and table so that it will be easier to clean up. I'm starting to get a little worried that my sambos is starting to think that the sex doesn't count if I am not exhausted, and that there is some competition in it, or that at least Kari think so. Iselin called in reinforcements in the form of courtesan Caecilia, which made Kari want to show that she is enough. Which she definitely is, just not in the same way. Since she was a virgin two months ago, we have gradually gone through many different types of sex. With Kari, I've done more than ever before, and she seems to like everything, because she specifically wants to repeat things, and she's definitely found a kinky side she's enthusiastically started exploring.
I wonder if Jane enjoys talking a bit about 'options' and other things with Kari, because I don't think her wishes and ideas come from this world, and as far as I know, I never said anything. Last night included Kari's latest ideas about lighter bondage with cloth she arranged for that purpose, where she wanted to get blindfolded and have her hands tied. As usual, I 'aim to please', and it is not like I complain - variety is nice. It was a fun and an exciting new experience for both of us. Life feels pretty good.
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I'm laying in the cabin and feel disgusted, nauseous and irritated. Not from the ship rocking across the sea, but because Kari have just told me the details about the workers feast on the island. The feast that Pedr organized for them. Of course, the feast had grilled meat, bread, other food and barrels of mead, but there was also a dozen slave women from Borgarsandr, to help with the feast and be 'available'.
Some of the craftsmens have wives with them, and there are also some slavewomen to cook and wash for the workers, and I know and like that Pedr have forbidden the workers to have sex with the women, unless the woman come talk with him first, even though it is mostly so they won't become pregnant and thus become unable to work as usual.
So Pedr arranged to have the slavewomen brought there for sex. That there apparently is more than one 'troupe' to hire for events and feasts from Borgarsandr's feast halls does not make things better, because as I see it, those slave women are sexslaves who were raped on my islands by the workers, while we had a good time at the Tosra gathering. And I paid for it. Kari may not see anything really wrong with it, but she was quite right that I would.
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This fucking world.
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I need to learn more about normal life here, so Asta and a couple in the crew give me training in how to sail the ship, take care of sails, the rope and so on. While we work, we talk about my Spinnaker idea they are very enthusiastic about, and we discuss new spinnaker sails in more detail, and between sailing work a template is made of paper on a simple wooden model of the ship made by the crew. The masts, rigging and regular sails are correct. It is important that the spinnaker sail gets the right shape, made in parts with sewn reinforcements in the load direction. There will be a lot of sketches and I guess it will take a couple of tries to get it somewhat right. Asta and the crew are very eager to see how the new sail works, and we discuss fixing, raising and hauling the sail, as well as handling, trimming, and how to change sides in stronger winds and other uses. We cover a lot, like the possibility of using a fabric tube to pull the sail in to or that it is rolled up around a rope via a block system.
The real tests will also become interesting as they have to try sailing with or without the new sail in different directions and measure the speed with a knot water speedmeter, and I don't even have to mention it before Asta says they will write everything down on slate boards and repeat each attempt at least three times to get useful data. She has definitely learned how to think and test things, and it will make the longer distances more interesting. They will also try a more fixed sail in the future, but I have no idea if it is a Jib, Genoa, Genua or Gennaker. Or what is the difference between those. Odds are, it is probably one of the G words.
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Unn's house has inspired me to use it as a base for the inn I intend to build at the Laxlanda ferry. I actually do not know what the need is, so it will be based on Unn's 10x5 craft house but enlarged to 14x6m with two floors, which has a projecting extension on each long side. The building will be cross-shaped, with a smaller entrance and vestibule at the front with space to put away awkward goods the guests might have, and hang wet clothes. The back of the inn has a an extension for three separating dry toilets, bathroom, laundry room and storage. The layout inside is of course completely different because it will be a small inn with food and a common room on the ground floor, and sleeping accommodation on the second floor. There will be a small fenced yard, a barn and stable for about ten horses and a couple of carriages. Of course, the inn will also need to have the usual animals such as cows, pigs, chickens and probably geese and goats.
The inn will serve simpler food, and will serve as a pub in the evenings. As bedrooms are considered a luxury even if it is shared with two or three others, the basic level of the inn will be quite luxurious for this world, and there will be a couple of even nicer rooms. It will be possible to wash, bathe and shower, which is a nice bonus to be able to introduce to more people.
The inn's ground floor is mostly a 61m² hall with benches and tables for 26 people, a fireplace with benches around which also heats rooms on the second floor, and another fireplace that is shared with the kitchen, and with its back heats the room intended for the inn's host couple, and the second floor at that side of the building. The second floor has a curtain screened part above the stairs with a more luxurious seating for four with a sofa and two padded chairs. But the second floor otherwise is only bedrooms, eight of them and initially adapted for 19 guests. A really nice and luxurious 12m² bedroom with double bed, table and wardrobes, with a view to the front, which will be towards south. Two nice small rooms of 6m², one for one person, other for two people in bunk beds, and each room has a wardrobe and small table and a couple of chairs, and the rooms are above the quietest part with a nicer view of the river to the east. Then two rooms with double bunk beds and space to hang stuff for 4 people in each, followed by a small dormitory with three bunk beds. These rooms overlook the backyard. Finally, a small staff room with a bunk bed that also has the water tanks for cold and hot water. It is possible to take out a couple of chairs and tables from the rooms and put in bunk beds if more sleeping places are needed, and with that in all rooms there will be 30 sleeping places for guests, but it is unnecessary. The cheapest places to sleep will be to sleep in the common room on the ground floor, but it should usually be avoided.
I figure the Inn needs a man, and one to two women in the staff who cook, serve, wash, clean, etc. Because here in Alfheimr that is female work. Period. To even offer a man that job can be taken as an insult. Then there will be a small garden to take care of for fresh vegetables, and there are 2 mantal farmlands that will also be taken care of, and pastures for travelers horses to graze in.
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It is evening when the ship reaches Borgarsandr and it has just gotten dark. I take the opportunity to send a messenger with a short message to the Castle about the first November sale, although I cannot say how much and what will be sold. But there will probably be oil lamps for better illumination than candlelight, and more manageable and safer, as well as some sundials, monoculars, north arrows and maybe more.