Who

Herik, Vitus

What

Vitus and Herik discuss the road project, and the fire that's destroyed The Night Flight. Vitus sees an opportunity in the wake of its destruction.

Slightly backdated.

When

It is midmorning of the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Administrative Offices (The Pit) - Igen Weyr

OOC Date 27 May 2017 23:00

 

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Administrative Offices

In the depths of the Pit, winding halls meander beneath the stands, carved from bare stone. Shortly into one such tunnel is a door of fine wood that opens up to a small room. Paneled all in dark woods, the room finds a balance between spartan simplicity and a reminder of the wealth of its proprietors. A singular polished desk stands as centerpiece, behind which sits a large chair of Steen scarlet. Shelves line the room with records of all sorts - matches, bet ledgers, improvements, and maintenance. To the side of the room stands a small table with an assortment of amber liquids, and upon the tiled floor is a large colorful rug, well-worn from decades of use.

Here, away from prying eyes, Steens manage the day to day affairs of the family and consort with whom they will, making deals to arrange fights or deals within the bazaar with equal interest.


Here, in the bowels of the Pit, it could have been immersed in the midst of summer, and Vitus would have known no better. A subterranean chill held the corridors beneath in its grip, ensuring a comfortable temperature throughout the year. Midmorning, Vitus is to be found here at his desk, a ledger before him. All the wealth of Steen is laid out before the reader in narrow columns and carefully drawn lettering. In a chair across the way, Mirana sits, practicing a flute with only the occasional mistake. The door remains slightly ajar, and the lilting music floats down the corridor like a soft breeze, inviting.

Duty carries Herik step by unwilling step down the corridors of the the Pit. He wears a jacket buttoned up to the chin to deter the winter's chill, though as he gets deeper into the Pit he undoes the top few buttons as the temperature becomes more comfortable compared to the conditions outside. The sound of a flute grows louder as he gets closer to his destination and, at last, Herik's dragging pace brings him to Vitus's door. The Steen lad raps his knuckles on it even as he pushes the door open a little more, to look just around it and see who's playing that flute. Ah, his sister. Mirana gets a little wave of a hand in greeting.

Abruptly, the music stops as Mirana turns wide eyes to the rapping at the door. "Good morning, brother!" Cheerful as ever is the young girl, and she grants Herik a broad smile. "Good morning, Herik." Vitus' greeting is somewhat more reserved. Brown eyes look up from under dark lashes as he studies his eldest before his face finally raises to greet him with a small smile. "Come in, then. Don't tarry outside." The latter is delivered with a soft chiding - something Herik will be no stranger to. "Mirana, give your brother and I a moment?" She nods and hops off the chair, moving to close it behind her, giving father and son privacy. Vitus leans back in his chair expansively. "So, what news do you bring this fine morning?"

"Hi Mirana," Herik says back, and then Vitus is greeting him, and the young man pushes the door open enough to step through, undoing the rest of the buttons on his jackt - the office is warm enough that he knows he won't need this much longer. "Morning, father," is his reply to the Steen patriach, and there's a smile for his only sister as she leaves. As the door closes, Herik moves to take her vacated seat, moving it closer to Vitus's desk before he sits. "well, I'm sure you know about the fire by now?" Might as well start with the most recent issue to talk about. Herik pulls his jacket off, letting it drape over the back of the chair as he rests his elbows on the chair's arms.

Vitus doesn't seem to notice the chill Herik returns to him, or if he does, he doesn't indicate it. He does give his son his full attention as Herik takes the seat, eyes clear and focused. "I did," is all he answers at first in a casual baritone. "But there were conflicting reports for some time. I thought it best to wait until the reality of the situation convalesced to a cohesive narrative." A beat. "What's the damage? With the scale, there were disruptions to the roadworks, no doubt."

Herik manages not to look sullen at least - he's sat up attentively enough, though his report is somewhat dull, as if he's reading off an imaginary piece of paper. "Of course. The Night Flight is ruined, and there's some minor damage to neighbouring shops. Some of the men helping with the road helped stop the fire, and a few have some burns or smoke inhalation, but we won't know how long they'll be out of action until the healers tell us." He pauses there, a line appearing in the middle of his brow as he thinks. Then his expression clears, and his eyes are focused again as he looks across at Vitus. "There'll be clearing up before the roadworks can continue, but that will no doubt begin today or tomorrow."

That catches Vitus' attention. The Patriarch sits up a bit, intrigued. "The Night Flight burned? Completely? Have you heard any plans to rebuild?" The Night Flight has never been a favored locale of Vitus - competition, as it is - so the sudden interest in its welfare is unusual, to say the least. "Any other shops or merchants affected?" He tilts his head to the side, glancing away for a moment, resigned. "Good on them to help," Vitus begins with a light shrug, but he doesn't seem that impressed, all told. "How have the hirings been going? Can we get anyone else in their place to speed up the cleaning? Winter'll last only so long and there's no amount we can pay to keep things going through summer."

Herik shuffles back in his seat, to have more support as he leans back against it. "A complete loss, as far as we know so far." Whatever Herik's personal opions on the Night Flight, he keeps his tone professional. "Too early to say whether they'll rebuild - I think they need to work out if anything's salvagable first." And by the way he says that, Herik seems to have his doubts there will be anything to salvage. "Some mobile vendors suffered, but everything was chaos - it'll be clearer today which ones were damaged the worst." He doesn't look surprised at his father's reaction to the workers' involvement. As to the hirings, Herik crosses his arms, lips twisting a little. "Rigo is getting men, but there's not as many as we'd hoped. All the men we had were on the project already, so we'd have to get new men in to replace them. Or move them from elsewhere." E.g. the Pit.

"A shame," Vitus answers with a light shrug. "I wonder what their finances are - a rebuilding that extensive isn't a cheap affair." Herik may very well see the following coming a mile away. "That old carper Gritta's still in charge, isn't she? Or is it someone else, now?" A beat. "Arrange a meeting with them, would you? Let's feel out whether they need funds. A stake in the place wouldn't hurt - or buying it outright. We're men and construction materials moving already, and it'd take little to divert them to building a new place." His expression turns sour and his tone, sour. "Ramita wasn't fool enough to exclusively employ him, was she? If he's not cutting it, then we need to step up efforts to recruit beyond him. Time is not our ally, and we risk losing a year's worth of profits."

Herik is no more in the know about that than Vitus. Unless Vitus knows more than he's letting on. Herik's look at his dad is a l'il suspicious, but he doesn't argue with Vitus's request. "Of course. As far as I know Gritta is still owner - whether she has someone doing the finances…" He can feel himself overthinking it, and starts again. "I'll get a meeting arranged." He looks troubled when Vitus sours as the discussion turns to Rigo. "He was our only hope of getting enough men for the work we had. He's brought in a good number, and men of good enough quality, but the road is a big project, with the time restraints…." He trails off, sensing himself straying too far into critical territory.

The Patriarch doesn't seem to know either way, and waves his hand dismissively. "Regardless. Whoever it is, see if they'll agree to a meeting. Even if she's not directly handling them, she should have an idea of whether they can rebuild or not. You and I will meet with them and see what can be done. It's an opportunity we shouldn't squander." Herik's answer seems to allay him little. "You're more worried about quality than you need be, Herik," Vitus begins, chiding once more. "So long as they can haul bricks to point A to point B, I'll give them a wage." He pauses a moment, and there's a hint of doubt, for once. "Surely there are enough able-bodied men around here to manage that?"

Herik's nod is acceptance of the meeting details; he files them away in his brain for later. His face has stayed carefully professional through this discussion. Then Vitus's chiding comes, and maintaining a neutral expression becomes more of a struggle, a twitch at the corner of Herik's mouth betraying his efforts. "If quality isn't an issue, I can have Rigo be less picky about the men he puts forward." There's his offer to try and appease Vitus, delivered with a tone of hopefulness that it's something.

"We can worry about quality later. For now, we need hands. As many as possible. If he can get that, then that's fine enough." Vitus even gives his eldest a small smile. He's not thrilled at the turn of events, but something is better than nothing, yeah? He looks expectantly to Herik, brows raised. "Anything else, then? No fires for us to put out, I hope."

Whatever argument was rising in Herik's throat, he swallows it down. Clearing his throat, he simply says, "of course." Let his dad deal with any problems that might arise from less savoury people being involved with the project. There's a pause as he considers if he has naything else to say. "No. And, no fires." At least he manages a touch of humour in his voice for that, and a slight smile in response to Vitus's. Then there's a feeling that he's waiting to be dismissed.

"Good to hear," Vitus says, as his smile warms all the more. He squares up to give the young man an intent look. "You're doing a good job, Herik, even if sometimes we disagree. Disagreement just means you're thinking. Differently from me, but thinking all the same." Leaning back, he waves towards the Pit at large. "And one day, all this will be yours, and it won't matter a damn bit what I think." Suddenly, he snaps a finger with remembrance. "Ah! Before I forget. With all those eggs on the sands, it sounds like they're going to be hard-pressed to find candidates for them all. Historically, we have not been keen on seeing our own Searched - and still aren't, purportedly." A beat. "But give the impression to our own that it won't be viewed quite so dimly, this time around." At this, his smile turns thin. "The reality is that those damn riders will probably convince some of them anyways, and maybe we can leverage it with the Weyr for more manpower. And now," Vitus looks down to the ledger with something less than anticipation. "I need to get back to this," he says, waving towards the hefty book. "Lest you want to join me." That's his soft invitation to leave. Flee, or do some accounting, Herik!

Forgive Herik if he doesn't look overwhelmed by the inevitability of eventually owning the Pit. But his dad's being nice about him, so he'll let his smile widen. "Thanks. If we can get this road built, all the better for the Steens." Family pride and all that! He looks intrigued when Vitus talks about Steens being Searched, but doesn't offer much in the way of his own thoughts, just: "that could be one way to work with them," in agreement with his father's thoughts. So he agrees with that - it's common sense, the idea. Numbers are really not appealing to Herik right now, and he stands from his chair, collecting his jacket to pull it back on. "Much as I'd love to - I've stuff to do with the fighters. I'll see you later, father." He'll make good his escape then, from the ledgers and the responsibility.

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