[Mkguild] The Merry Marriage: Hospitalities

[Rimme the Weasel]

Going to chip in my part, now that I finally had a stress-free morning in
which to write. Hope this jives with all the discussions I've seen!

----

There were three roads into Metamor from the South Midlands. The west road
went through Llancarfan, but it was an overgrown deer trail, generally used
by those on foot who had business with the tiny western villages near the
coast. The east road passed by Jetta, but it was a rocky road perched close
to the mountains, and it was a favorite hideout for bandits and brigands.
This meant that most visitors to Metamor took the middle path, one that
joined the roads from the seaport of Menth and from the sizable city of
Midtown. Where these roads joined, a small city took upon itself the status
as the unofficial gateway into the valley.

Lord Farlamere himself never boasted this status, for he had been raised to
respect his liege, the Duke of Metamor, even after a decade of war and
magic had twisted Metamor's reputation. But even more important was
maintaining friendly relations with Laselle's many neighbors, all of whom
relied on Laselle's roads to do business with each other, and all of whom
were eager to find some weakness to exploit in each other. The burden of
being the center is always keeping each side balanced.

Metamor had always been far wealthier than its neighbors. Menth was a
distant second, and only then from the harbor fees they imposed on ships to
and from Arabarb and Whales. Most businesses in the Midlands were market
stalls or taverns. So when Misha's proposal arrived in April of a chance to
attract some wealth and business, Farlamere could hardly say no.

Unfortunately, neither could Lord Donel of Midtown. Thus began the great
debate over who should play host to Misha's wedding guests.

The problem was simple. One hundred and eighty guests from around the world
needed a place to stay until the 21st of June. In a perfectly-run world,
all the guests would arrive in Metamor on the 19th or 20th, enjoy three
days of merriment, and then make their own ways home. Such a world would
require instantaneous communication, perfectly reliable journeys, no
delays, and no miscommunications. Not even the gods could create such a
world -- and if Eli could, it wasn't theirs to have yet.

Inevitably, some guests were to arrive weeks in advance. No one could risk
being late for such an event. A far bigger risk awaited anyone who stayed
in Metamor all that time. But how would they ensure those who arrived early
would not simply strain the resources of Laselle and Midtown? And how could
they be sure the other was not benefiting more from the idle wealth of
their guests?

Finally, a deal was reached. Misha provided each of them with a wagonload
of supplies, a week's worth for ninety people each. He told Farlamere and
Dorel that he had worked out an agreement with other cities, Bozojo and
Ellcaran, to house the earliest guests until just before the festival. All
Laselle and Midtown needed to worry about was quartering their guests.

Misha had made no such agreement. Most of his guests (the ones who weren't
Lutins) would be staying in a tiny hamlet named Lapis just outside
Llancarfan. With only two dozen people, it was more a watering hole for
local shepherds than a significant polity of its own. But many of the
residents had family up north, and Keepers of all kinds had visited and
mingled in Lapis. And it was for that reason above all else -- Lapis's
acceptance and friendship with Keepers -- that Misha directed most of his
guests to travel there. With the provision that they avoid Laselle and
Midtown and travel through Menth instead.

Farlamere and Donel were both dismayed when their first caravans arrived in
the first week of June, but they could hardly turn their guests away. By
the time they realized the legerdemain, it was barely a week before the
summer festival. Guests had already settled in, and both lords were too
occupied with keeping peace between Keepers, locals, and foreigners -- at
least, for the ones not in Lapis.
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