Read Online Trullion: Alastor 2262 by Jack Vance - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jack Vance
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said Glinnes, “my problem is this: I need nine thousand ozols to repossess Ambal Isle, which my brother incorrectly sold to a certain Lute Casagave.”
“Yes, Lute Casagave; I recall the transaction.”
“I wish to make a loan of nine thousand ozols, which I can repay at a rate of a hundred ozols per month. This is the fixed and definite sum I receive from the Whelm. Your money is perfectly safe and you are assured of repayment.”
“Unless you die, then what?” Glinnes had not reckoned upon such a possibility.
“There is always Rabendary Island, which I can propose for security.”
“Rabendary Island. You are the owner?” “I am the current squire,” said Glinnes with a sudden sense of defeat.
“My brother Shira disappeared two months ago. He is almost certainly dead.”
“Very likely true. Still, we cannot deal in ‘almosts and very likelys.’ Shira Hulden cannot be presumed dead until four years have passed. Until then you lack legal control of Rabendary Island. Unless, of course, you can prove his death.”
Glinnes shook his head in vexation. “By diving down to consult the merlings? The situation is absurd.”
“I appreciate the difficulties, but we deal in many absurdities; this is no more than an ordinary example.”
Glinnes threw up his hands in defeat. He left the bank and returned to his boat, pausing only to re-read the placard announcing the formation of the Fleharish Broad Hussade Club.
As the boat drove toward Rabendary, Glinnes performed a number of calculations, all with the same purport: nine thousand ozols was a great deal of money. He reckoned the utmost income he might derive from Rabendary Island: perhaps two thousand ozols a year and insufficient by a factor of five. Glinnes turned his mind to hussade. A member of an important team might well gain ten thousand or even twenty thousand ozols a year if his team played often and consistently won. Lord Gensifer apparently planned the formation of such a team. Well and good, except that all the other teams of the region strained and strove to the same end, scheming, intriguing, making large promises, propounding visions of wealth and glory-all in order to attract talented players, who were not plentiful. The aggressive man might be slow and clumsy; the quick man might have poor judgment or a bad memory or insufficient strength to tub his opponent.
Each position made its specific demands. The ideal forward was fast, agile, daring, sufficiently strong to cope with the opponents’ rovers and guards. A rover must also be quick and skillful; most urgently, he must be skillful with the buff that padded implement used to thrust or trip the opponent from the ways or courses into the tanks. The rovers were the first line of defense against the thrusts of the forwards, and the guards were the last. The guards were massive powerful men, decisive with their buffs. Since they were not often required to trapeze, or leap the tanks, agility was not an essential attribute in a guard. The ideal hussade player comprised all these qualities; he was powerful, intelligent, cunning, nimble, and merciless. Such men were rare. How, then, did Lord Gensifer propose to recruit a tournament-quality team? At Fleharish Broad, Glinnes decided to find out and swung south toward the Five Islands.
Glinnes moored his boat beside Lord Gensifer’s sleek offshore cruiser and leapt to the dock. A path led through a park to the manor. As he mounted the steps, the door slid aside. A footman in lavender and gray livery appraised him without warmth. A perfunctory bow expressed his opinion of Glinnes’ status. “What is your wish, sir?” “Be so good as to tell Lord Gensifer that Glinnes Hulden wants a few words with him.” “Will you come inside, sir?” Glinnes stepped into a tall hexagonal foyer, which had a floor of gleaming gray and white stelt.* Overhead hung a chandelier of a hundred light-points and a thousand diamond prisms. In each wall a wainscot of white
“Yes, Lute Casagave; I recall the transaction.”
“I wish to make a loan of nine thousand ozols, which I can repay at a rate of a hundred ozols per month. This is the fixed and definite sum I receive from the Whelm. Your money is perfectly safe and you are assured of repayment.”
“Unless you die, then what?” Glinnes had not reckoned upon such a possibility.
“There is always Rabendary Island, which I can propose for security.”
“Rabendary Island. You are the owner?” “I am the current squire,” said Glinnes with a sudden sense of defeat.
“My brother Shira disappeared two months ago. He is almost certainly dead.”
“Very likely true. Still, we cannot deal in ‘almosts and very likelys.’ Shira Hulden cannot be presumed dead until four years have passed. Until then you lack legal control of Rabendary Island. Unless, of course, you can prove his death.”
Glinnes shook his head in vexation. “By diving down to consult the merlings? The situation is absurd.”
“I appreciate the difficulties, but we deal in many absurdities; this is no more than an ordinary example.”
Glinnes threw up his hands in defeat. He left the bank and returned to his boat, pausing only to re-read the placard announcing the formation of the Fleharish Broad Hussade Club.
As the boat drove toward Rabendary, Glinnes performed a number of calculations, all with the same purport: nine thousand ozols was a great deal of money. He reckoned the utmost income he might derive from Rabendary Island: perhaps two thousand ozols a year and insufficient by a factor of five. Glinnes turned his mind to hussade. A member of an important team might well gain ten thousand or even twenty thousand ozols a year if his team played often and consistently won. Lord Gensifer apparently planned the formation of such a team. Well and good, except that all the other teams of the region strained and strove to the same end, scheming, intriguing, making large promises, propounding visions of wealth and glory-all in order to attract talented players, who were not plentiful. The aggressive man might be slow and clumsy; the quick man might have poor judgment or a bad memory or insufficient strength to tub his opponent.
Each position made its specific demands. The ideal forward was fast, agile, daring, sufficiently strong to cope with the opponents’ rovers and guards. A rover must also be quick and skillful; most urgently, he must be skillful with the buff that padded implement used to thrust or trip the opponent from the ways or courses into the tanks. The rovers were the first line of defense against the thrusts of the forwards, and the guards were the last. The guards were massive powerful men, decisive with their buffs. Since they were not often required to trapeze, or leap the tanks, agility was not an essential attribute in a guard. The ideal hussade player comprised all these qualities; he was powerful, intelligent, cunning, nimble, and merciless. Such men were rare. How, then, did Lord Gensifer propose to recruit a tournament-quality team? At Fleharish Broad, Glinnes decided to find out and swung south toward the Five Islands.
Glinnes moored his boat beside Lord Gensifer’s sleek offshore cruiser and leapt to the dock. A path led through a park to the manor. As he mounted the steps, the door slid aside. A footman in lavender and gray livery appraised him without warmth. A perfunctory bow expressed his opinion of Glinnes’ status. “What is your wish, sir?” “Be so good as to tell Lord Gensifer that Glinnes Hulden wants a few words with him.” “Will you come inside, sir?” Glinnes stepped into a tall hexagonal foyer, which had a floor of gleaming gray and white stelt.* Overhead hung a chandelier of a hundred light-points and a thousand diamond prisms. In each wall a wainscot of white
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