Shorter, because I’m working very hard to get ready for a big Bach rehearsal tonight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This snippet shows some of the background stuff that some of you appreciate and some, perhaps, skip over.\u00a0 That’s fine…but there’s a reason for the background to show now and then.\u00a0\u00a0 This is as spoiler-free a snippet as I could find this far into the book (Chapter 20.)\u00a0\u00a0 But those who want to know nothing, not even the pattern on the wallpaper, should avoid it anyway.<\/p>\n
The book itself is out here and there in Europe, so it’s time for another gentle reminder that everyone’s asked to observe spoiler space for those who haven’t got it yet.<\/p>\n
Where: Valdaire, Arcolin’s banker’s offices<\/p>\n
Who: Arcolin and Kavarthin, his banker and Guildmaster of the bankers in Valdaire.<\/p>\n
………………………………..<\/p>\n
“I assume you will need a letter of credit to take north?” Kavarthin said.<\/p>\n
“Yes,” Arcolin said. \u00a0“I must attend Autumn Court, and I need court clothes.”\u00a0 He grinned at Kavarthin.\u00a0 “They tell me I cannot become formally Lord of the North Marches without a fancy robe edged in fur and a ruffled shirt.”<\/p>\n
Kavarthin smiled back.\u00a0 “Well, Captain–my lord Captain, I suppose that will be next season–you may find you enjoy such clothes.\u00a0 I’m certain you will enjoy your new rank.\u00a0 Most men do.”\u00a0 He glanced at the sleeves of his traditional banker’s black gown, where four narrow rows of velvet decorated the black cloth.<\/p>\n
Arcolin had not noticed them before and was moved to ask.\u00a0 “If it is not impertinent–and forgive my ignorance–what does that signify?”<\/p>\n
Kavarthin smiled.\u00a0 “That I am of the first degree in the guild.\u00a0 And this–”\u00a0 he pointed to the ring on his finger.\u00a0 “This says I am Guildmaster here in Valdaire.\u00a0 All members of the Moneychangers’ Guild answer to me.”\u00a0 His smile broadened.\u00a0 “At a certain profit to me, of course.”<\/p>\n
Arcolin remembered the merchant stripped of his Guild membership in Cortes Vonja.\u00a0 “What happens to those you dismiss?”<\/p>\n
Kavarthin shrugged.\u00a0 “It matters nothing to me.\u00a0 Of all the trades, my lord captain, the trade of money itself must be most closely observed.\u00a0 It is too easy to cheat, too easy to shave a coin or pass false coinage, too easy to take as one’s own the money entrusted to us by others.\u00a0 We must be diligent, we must be honest, and we must be unfailingly harsh with those who lie to or steal from those who trust them.\u00a0 Else no one will trust any of us, and when that trust fails, we are all back to trading a cow for two pigs or a shirt for a loaf of bread.\u00a0 Commerce would cease; cities would fall; it would be worse chaos than Siniava’s War.\u00a0 And so I, and the other city Guildmasters, keep watch over our guildmembers.”<\/p>\n
And who kept watch over the guildmasters?\u00a0 Arcolin did not like to ask, but Kavarthin was already answering.<\/p>\n
“You will wonder who watches over us–we also are men, and all are tempted at some time or other.\u00a0 At any time, members of my guild, or certain other guilds, may demand to go through our accounts, and even count what is in our vaults.\u00a0 If I were not honest, this would keep me so, for the penalty for a Guildmaster’s dishonesty is unpleasant in the extreme.”\u00a0 He paused, his nose wrinkling.\u00a0 “Public torture and death.\u00a0 It is that serious.”<\/p>\n
…………………………………………..<\/p>\n
Self-policing by professional groups in the modern age does not work with the efficiency possible in smaller societies…especially fictional ones.\u00a0\u00a0 We usually see bankers defending other bankers, and teachers defending other teachers, and so on…even when, to the outsider, the wrongdoing is obvious and indefensible.\u00a0\u00a0 And yet the argument is constantly heard, that the people in a profession are best equipped to know what good practice is, and enforce it.\u00a0 I think most of us have our doubts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shorter, because I’m working very hard to get ready for a big Bach rehearsal tonight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This snippet shows some of the background stuff that some of you appreciate and some, perhaps, skip over.\u00a0 That’s fine…but there’s a reason for the background to show now and then.\u00a0\u00a0 This is as spoiler-free a snippet as I could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,81,115],"tags":[106,28],"class_list":["post-1104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contents","category-kings-of-the-north","category-snippet","tag-contents","tag-snippet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1104"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1105,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1104\/revisions\/1105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}