As you might well imagine, I meet a lot of people, one way and another. It must be accepted that many of them are, to some extent, boisterous. When they are present, parties go with a swing, dance floors are rarely empty, and the level of the punch bowl drops rapidly enough to give a … More Quietly does it.
I have to start by mentioning a lady called Kitti. She was owner of an establishment where a lady could go and have her hair done, get a massage and numerous other small treatments that help boost a lady’s self-esteem. At various times I had read my poems to her clients as they waited for … More A knotty problem
I have lived in this city all my life, yet still there are things about it which surprise me. Walk the streets, observe the people, and all life is there. The good, the bad, the radiant beauty with graceful step, and the round shouldered usurer, weighed down with responsibilities. But as you walk, watch where … More A master of horses.
It has to be confessed that I am not one who rubs shoulders with the highest aristocracy of our fair city. Admittedly there are those who claim that as a group the Naainese aristocracy are so inbred that they can barely find their own buttocks with both hands. This is probably an exaggeration based on … More So who is in charge?
I have often felt that the real sadness in the life of Mordan Casketrule was that he had managed to fall into two entirely disreputable professions.In his youth he was regarded as intelligent with an analytical and enquiring mind. He was a success at university but was tempted into the study of the magical arts. … More Dubious Business Practices
At this point I think I ought to stress that Mistress Hillfire was not a witch. I think herbalist would be a better description of the profession she drifted into. For the overly pedantic I am willing to allow ‘herbalist with chanting and ritual’ but still she was not a witch. She was in point … More A Difficult Letter
Chocky Dungbottle, aka ‘Bluidy Bart’, ‘Daft Dann’ and ‘Cutthroat Caggan’, was a bandit. Admittedly this was in Partann where being a bandit has a similar social cachet to being a collector of customs, a journalist, or one of those who works as an enforcer for semi-public enterprises. It’s not that young ladies will spurn you, … More A friend of ‘The Lady.’
I insist that Hurbart Donk was not a bad man. He had redeeming features. Dogs trusted him absolutely. Small children doted on him. He was reasonably prompt in paying his bills and was even known to overlook small debts owed to him by poets. No he was not a bad man. In his youth he … More Travelling Hopefully?
Norran Talwintle was a pleasant enough chap. I remember him being on the fringes of various affairs I was performing at. He was born to a comfortably wealthy family. He had been conventionally educated; so he was well read, could play a couple of instruments reasonably well, and knew enough to peruse the accounts of … More Nice but not exciting
I wouldn’t say that Griser Dank had an undeserved reputation for meanness. Indeed he was probably one of Port Naain’s ‘leading’ misers. To be fair, this was a considerable achievement. The city has any number of such folk, many of whom seem to regard their inclusion in the list of those obviously aiming for the … More Careful with his money.
Tallis Steelyard 