Returning

I don't really intend to turn much, if any, profit with the small crop of olives and ta-grapes on the hills northeast of Venna. That is not, truly, the goal. With the men under Vesutto's employ tending and harvesting those fields much of the year, I assume I will just break even with the sale of the crops in the local Vennan shoppes. I've arranged for a certain amount to be brought into Ar as well, part of the regular cargo of Merchant Wagons plying their trade to and from Venna along the Viktel Aria. Finally, I've asked Vesutto to distribute a certain percentage of each harvest to the local peasants. There will be a time when I can expect to reap a modest profit from this endeavor, but I do not anticipate it will be for several years. At the moment I am pleased to have the property and the small villa that will soon stand atop it.

With all these arrangements in place, I have decided it is time to return to Ar. I have a duty there as Magistrate of the People and, moreover, it is my city. Though I enjoy the niceties of Venna, the clean and orderly streets and well-manicured parks, I miss the grit and honesty of the meaner warrens of Ar, such as the Anbar District. With the Love Feast fast approaching, there will be an influx of foreigners within the gates of Ar looking to buy and sell female slaves of all origin and types. Blonde girls from north of Laura, swarthy sluts from the interior of the rainforests and, courtesy of fellows like Habib, smoke-eyed women from the Tahari, amongst hundreds or even thousands more. It is always a festive time, but more often than not I have found myself out of the city at that time. It might be nice to attend an auction at the Curulean or one of the other large houses, perhaps even buy something nice. As I've written before, it is a good time of year to add a girl to one's chain. Like as not, however, I will probably just attend an auction for the spectacle of the thing. A skilled staff at a prominent house makes this unique mercantile experience as much a show as anything one might see on the theatrical stage. The women will often be dressed to accentuate natural features or to exploit a demand in the marketplace. There are often dancers at these auctions and raw, exciting sluts with limitless potential.

Coupled with the decision to return to Ar in the morning is the news that Phineahas will be returning with me. I do not know what has changed his mind, the lure of Thassa seemed rather strong just a few days ago and, of course, returning to Ar will negate the opportunity to earn quite a bit of money performing in the playhouses of Venna as well. Still, it will be good to have company on the trip home. In the morning, we will leave with a small caravan of wagons bringing slave flesh into the city. Nothing like the mobile city that Habib travels with, but enough men to offer reasonable assurances of safety along the Viktel Aria. Within a hand, perhaps a bit more, I will be home again.