Lundi 16 novembre 1768 (Saximilian, lemmingfolks, bateau)

Il retrouverait le navire et son occupant dans des dispositions similaires à celles qu'il avait pu observer précédemment.

Sailor after some reintroduction:

-Ain't seen him yet, sir.

Un membre du clergé, l'homme sévère à l'entrée, viendrais voir Mouquet tard en soirée pour l'inviter à passer au dortoir et/ou à la salle à manger commune:

-Vous n'avez pas à vous isoler Monsiur Sansregret. Vous serez traité avec la même bienveillance qui est due à chaque citoyen. Un repas chaud et un lit propre vous attendent pour peu que vous l'acceptiez.

Si Mouquet ne souhaitait pas quitter le temple, le prêtre l'inviterais tout de même à quitter le jubé et à aller méditer au rez-de-chaussée. Le temple restait ouvert pour la nuit, mais il n'y aurait probablement pas grand dérangement aux heures tardives. Méditer plus près de la statue de Sergonéus était généralement préféré alors la suhhestion se voulait accomodante.

- Voyagez-vous fort loin? Je ne connais pas tellement ces mers du nord, et j'ignore où l'on va par ici.

Matelot:

-We're... this boats pretty much only goes to St.Cuthbertsburg. But 'tis a vast sea alright for those who want to sail far. maybe someday I'll board one'a those ships.

Dit-il en gesticulant vers d'autres bateaux.

- This boat goes back and forth between two cities only? How long does the trip take? I know I need to get to St.Cuthbertsburg, but I'm still unsure of how far away that may be. Also, how safe are these waters?

-We're sister cities. There's a lot to be traded from one to the other especially since the are not Sergonians like us. The deal with the city states which, is my understanding, aren't super open to do business with Sergonia under normal circomstances. So they do lot of middlemanning which gives us uh... opportunities... So there isn't too much of a point for us to go much elsewhere as long as they take what merchants are willing to sell and they are willing tosell what our merchands here are willing to buy. Small crew, no need to learn new waters just to master those between here and there...

The waters' not too great if I know anything. It's cold like hell. Full of ice floats, sharp as rocks. usually it takes 'bout a week to get there plus an other one gettin' back we usually stay there a while so we can get a full shipment to come back with. Not the most excitting life, but the pay is decent and the job is fairly secure and safe... which are advantages you don't get whaling for example... If you go out of the safe ways to hunt whales... well let's say whales aren't the biggest baddest thing people have seen out there!

- This trip sounds rather tranquil. I could do with a week of tranquility, I suppose. And my friend and I are quite resourceful. We might come in handy in case of unforeseen and unfortunate events.

I never did go whaling, however. The idea of it sounds rather risky, and quite exciting. I suppose the whalers need to much further at sea, hence the risk of weather and of other creatures.

Any pirates around these parts?

-Ha! Piraties! Funny man! Me gran'daddy he used to tell me 'bout them unruly Nhamerians pillaging the coasts and raiding ships back in the days... They haven't been trouble for quite some time though them Nhamerians. Now, I woddn't take no ship sailing to their horrible lands though no reason to trade wit'em barbarians so I'd rather not park a boat in wanna them's ports an see if it's anythin' like kickin' a nest of mean wasps if you know what I mean...

But yeah, as I said. Them icebergs are more of a danger 'specially if they have crew you know?

- I beg your pardon? Manned icebergs? What manner of crew would that be? The fey?

-Well The Feys are probably the ones who taught the lemmingfolks... that would make sense, yes.

- The lemmingfolk. First that I hear of them.

Hmmm.

Are those the people I saw in town earlier?

-Small sort of Voooooles?

Il avait laissé traîné le "o" du mot "voles" avec une sorte de curiosité.

- I suppose so, yes.

-Yeah, they are everywhere these days!

- And a group of them are pirating seas aboard... icebergs. What a keen way of making sure your ship cannot be sank.

-didn't say that they are. I said Icebergs are dangerous. Those little voles are Iceberg riders. Now any conclusions you take from that are yours... right?

Dit-il en faisant un clin d'oeil à Mouquet.

-We, humans, wouldn't entertain such racist thoughts haha... but... being suspicious around unknown critters... that's just common sense SOME would say, would you not?

- I didn't even know they existed before I came around these parts. Who or what they are, is inconsequential to me, unless they hurt other people. I would be, however, curious to learn more about their culture. Do they have some kind of nation, or capital city?

-You'd probably be better served asking one of them... but seeing how they just came in one gigantic swarm I'd say they are probably monstrously populous wherever they came from.

- We'll see. It's not a priority right now, just me being curious. Did they come around rather recently?

-A bit less than a year maybe?

- This is a rather recent phenomenon, then. Fascinating. I wonder if there's a reason for such a massive migration.

-I I weren't paid to stay on the boat comes hell or high water I might have a clue about that. All I know is that they have not been kicked out by the authorities so either they are not an enemy, which is possible or the authorities are in to the rodents.

- Time will tell. And I might well strike a conversation with a few of them soon enough.

-If anyone can get to the bottom of it... well I heard of you a bit... seems like a thing you'd do.

- Have you, now? Tell me. What am I like?

-Well... I've ne'er heard you preach, just heard from your reputation and speechs second hand y'know? But when the coin falls, you are not afraid to call head or tail no matter who it inconvenience. Like... you'll say it when humans are being a bit more human than what is acceptable, but you'll also defend them when they get attacked unfairly. You say it like it is, right?

- Hmm. It does sound like me.

Rumors tend to deform more wildly one's character.

-Yeah, but you were here, it's not like you only did speak in the next town over... and you did talk to a lot of people when you were here...So i'd guess you did a pretty good job at uh... managing your reputation... and the bards tend not to deform those things too much. Information is their trade.

- I haven been around quite a lot, haven't I.

What about your captain? Is he an honest man of the trade?

-You sure did! A god of travel would suit a man of your kind quite well. Ever consider'd one?

The captain's alright, n'er gave me no grievances that weren't justifiable thinkin' back about 'em. Always pay on time too. Which isn't nothing.

- I serve existence itself more than I serve a god at this point. Ideally for the greater good. A god of travel might suit me, but my current faith is, I believe, the highest calling I could ever serve.

Good to hear, about the captain. Worst thing for a man of leadership would be for his crew not to trust him. Terrible fates await such men.

-Don't we all think we serve a greater good eh? Well, maybe not, but the right sort of company always does. There quite a bit of self service in the port though. If you know what I mean...

As for terrible fates... I'll have to agree, but hey... bard gotta live too and cautionnary tales are just as fun to listen to as any other... even more in some cases!

- Men live another day to hear another story, and will often live to create tales of their own. Isn't it what glory is all about?

Good and evil are... more set than we think they might be. Creatures from different planes can testify to that, and so can magic and other strange powers. Not everyone think they work for a greater good, and they sometimes revel in that notion. Being utterly convinced you are doing good without ever questioning your motives is what is truly dangerous. Dogmatism. The staling of the mind. This is what's truly dangerous.

A man doing good, wondering regularly if what he is doing is truly good, sometimes doubting himself for it will be better for it than the one who never stops to think of the consequences of actions he makes for the greater good. We are not perfect, we are flesh, and flesh is weak and corruptible. Discipline is what's required to maintain good. The world is fluid, flexible and changing. Reacting with sturdiness and an unmoving heart and mind will make you an alien to you and your own.

You know what this is about. You're a sailor. Water flows, is unbroken, and with time and patience, will erode and break anything. It can be peaceful and bring prosperity to those who drink from it, or it can bring destruction and misery to those who defy it. Water adapts to its environment, and so must we adapt to water, in order to endure. So must our minds to whatever circumstances befall us.

-Huh. I guess you did not know what I was talking about. At least you have interesting view, I'll give you that.

- What, pray tell, were -you- talking about?

-Like.. we'll -say- we serve the greater good, sailors 'specially, we're terrible at this. But in the end most end up serving a god of the sea mostly because deep down we fear for our life and don't want to drown; and farmers, they pray agrarian gods to get good crops and because they don't want to starve; and soldiers, they pray warlike deities... to prevail in battle because they are afraid of the pointy sticks wielded by the Wøltans? There's a pattern and it feels opportunistic and self serving. Like... I like people who serve the greater good even though it doesn't line up too well with their occupation. Because they have to be the true believers, right?

But then, their god probably isn't too pleased at them, because they don't live according to what is considered ideal by that faith. Like... the whole system seems to be built on hypocrisy.

- People serve gods, because are easier to understand than larger concepts. They are also closer to the down-to-earth toil most people must contend with every day. Seeing how gods and their priests can -and are- useful and beneficial to every day lives, it's not surprising, nor can you blame people for it, that gods are more praised than the concept of good itself.

Good itself is praised by many, but isn't useful in the very concrete task of extracting vegetables out of the ground. Also, for most people who don't have much of an education... gods, who are mostly relatable figures, are easier to grasp and have feelings for than general concepts. While the virtues themselves make for a great people on a personal level, I believe it's understandable that they would need the help for their more menial tasks.

And as far as I understand things, gods and goddesses don the mantles of somewhat relatable figures. They could have been (and indeed, some of them were) living people who ascended to godhood, meaning they had a personality, vices and virtues as well as personal priorities and preferences.

If you are trying to follow a god, and that is your sole goal, I believe you are correct. Living up to a "pure ideal" solely would not make your god most happy about you, unless they were a god of comprehension and social and mental flexibility, or liberty, for example. Some gods are quite chaotic (perhaps verging on the insane from some points of view) and can be pleased with a variety of contradictory actions and words.

Gods themselves are as individualized and contradictory in nature as we all are.

Mouquet fronce les sourcils un peu, pas contrarié, mais un peu par curiosité.

- I haven't met a lot of sailors or laborers who gave half as much a thought to religion as you do.

-'t's just a thing that kinda bothers me. See, I was raised on a farm and I pray to Pelor the sun father, a traditional choice for farmers and the god of most of my kin. But I dinna inherit the farm so I became a sailor and I've been pushed and pressure by my peers to worship so-and-so of the sea for which I literally couldn't care less and it bugs me to no end.

So yeah, I may have thought of faith slightly more that the average sailor.

- Gods mostly intervene in this world through the pulse and action of their followers. Are you considered a purveyor of bad luck for your faithlessness in a given sea god your fellow sailors follow? How has it affected your life? I don't know much of Pelor, but it seems to me praising the sun wouldn't be a bad thing for a sailor.

-Yeah, I've been explaining that a lot. Like you'd think they'd like it if we are blessed with sunlight instead of hail and freezing cold rain eh? They aren't to heavy on the bad luck thing... it's mostly just nagging, but it gets old when you are out on the sea with naggers most of your time. Other ships might have better or worse conditions for those who don't pray to a sea god, but it's not so bad on this one, they are not hostile, just a bit erh... tiresome.

- I see your point. It still leads to reflect upon the role of gods and mostly of religion in our lives. Which is a good thing, keeping your mind sharp. Significant evolution often comes at the price of pain.

We might discuss more of this, if I ever come to board the ship. What is your name, pelorian?

-Yeah, I guess you are right, torment is the essence of self reflection as they say. The name's Silvester Vilhelmson.

- Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Vilhelmson.

Is it always so calm around these parts? The war rages to the south, but here... time seems to pass in a strangely slow flow. Perhaps the weather is to blame for this impression?