Arrival

We have reached the City of Venna, some two hundred pasangs north of Ar. The longer, summer days have meant longer days for the drivers and guardsmen in the employ of Habib. The stature of the gate of Venna, of course, is a mere nothing when compared to the high, white walls of my own city, but it is beautiful in its own way. This is a resort city, with manicured shrubbery and straight, orderly thoroughfares. The shoppes cater to a wealthy clientele, many of them citizens of Ar. I have said, often in jest, that it was my greatest ambition to own a villa in Venna as so many of my so-called betters, men and ladies of High Caste in Ar do. That is part of the reason I have traveled here. I have property in the hills north of the city. It is a simple field of dina purchased with the proceeds of the exertions of whores. Further construction, when it occurs, will be done with similar profits, but also with the more respectable earnings of a more respectable profession, that of playwright. On the lower slopes, I have planted both ta-grapes and olives in the healthy, black earth. It should be noted that my property is not in Venna's exclusive Telluria District, which is in the hills on the Northwest side. I can see those properties from my field on the Northeast side. Many of them breed the tharlarion Venna is known for on sprawling ranches. My aspirations, once made in jest and now becoming a lucid reality, are for a simple villa. A small home with a porch from which I can survey my field of dina and the gentle sloping earth planted with olives and ta-grapes.

I have other business in Venna, of course.

I will speak with Vesutto about our future business ventures. With The Good Citizen having had its day on the Great Stage, he may want to produce it on a smaller scale in the playhouses and small theaters of Venna in the near future. Having anticipated this, I have brought a copy of the script and stage directions. There are other ventures, investments and the like that I have entrusted Vesutto with that I will check upon. It is shamelessly responsible of me considering my caste, but several years ago I chose not to entrust my future to the ethics of the men of higher castes in my city. Far too many of them are corruptible in the worst manner and have proven to be shameless sycophants... I will refrain from writing about that again. It darkens my mood and there is much reason for being in good spirits.

I have other property in Venna at the moment, for the record, besides a field of dina and a gently sloping hill planted with stakes of olives and ta-grapes. I have something tall & auburn-maned, tanned and tone of limb, smelling of sandalwood. I call her Joy. These past months she has been living in the House of Vesutto, escorted each morning to toil the fields. In the afternoon, she paints. It was something she showed an interest in and an aptitude for during our stay in Thentis. I have asked Vesutto to look in on her progress and, from time to time, bring in an Artist to critique her process and instruct her in methodology and other such things as color theory and technique. A few of her paintings already hang on the walls of Samsara. A landscape in the greatroom. An abstract in my den. It pleases me to encourage her in this endeavor.

The wagons of the caravan will remain parked along the Vosk Road outside the gates of the city when we enter, waiting the whim of Habib should he wish to linger. I know that Phineahas has tentative plans to continue on with the fellow when he heads north to the Vosk Port of Lara and points beyond the Salerian Fields. It is my hope the estimable Habib finds reason to indulge in the offerings of this beautiful city. Who knows when my path will cross with that of a grumbling fish-monger turned story teller and occasional actor again?