Itinerant: A Pilgrim Quest
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Alas, the only manner of reading known to you is aloud. Silent reading may be a thing in some monasteries, but it is not something you could have ever come into contact before (and do you remember that hermit early into the quest, who wanted to warn you against going into a city and send you to some monastery? Maybe if you had heeded his warnings, you would be somewhere else. Reading silently. Being educated. And unbloodied.)
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I read somewhere that the tight margins of words forced those who literate to have to voice the words they read in order to make sense of it as they went along.
Plus the different styles of font probably varied as well since there was no standard between writers except maybe the monks who copied in monasteries as best they could.
[X] Asking her why she is so insistent in her questions.
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Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
This is correct, as far as my own readings go; texts of that time had no spaces between words, which made audible reading more convenient. However, this is still more of a cultural thing, because silent reading was also practised in such times (particularly, the monastic literary culture was one which gave birth to reading a personal study).
Counter-intuitively, the answer to this is kinda-sorta. Well, the cursive mentioned previously was pretty varied, but the Carolingian minuscule which supplanted was at least to some level an attempt to standardize writing, and further into the ages, the palaeographers can point out to several writing standards/"fonts" which were widely spread and semi-universal across Europe.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
She is taken as a concubine from the land that has laws equating men and women in some aspects, as Cu mentioned, yet made to act in accordance to the laws of Liefs which she despises.
Seeing someone that acts like she is supposed to makes something stir in her heart, though I am not sure if it is good or bad for us.
Since others are already afraid we could put a spell on them, if our chat makes her rebel and do something, we would be the one blamed for it. However, it is true that we don't hold the laws in the same respect that we did when we embarked on a journey.
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Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
Perhaps that is too a scar!
Also, small PSA: there should be an update earlier than usual today, because of my evening being taken up by other duties. Therefore, if you want to vote, vote now!
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X] Saying that laws are good, but some may sometimes act against them.
If Deus Vults something, then it is right and just. Otherwise, consult your local lawyer.
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Asking her why she is so insistent in her questions.
4.9 The Feast Day III
Gargulec
impact!
- Location
- a garden
So, The Laurent's post broke the tie, and voting closed on it. Question time! Also, sorry Hannz, you posted your re-tie-creating vote the very moment was I actually posting my update, too late. Anyway, the update. Bad writing, self-depreciation, all that shit; don't mind me, read and vote!
Never free of curiosity, which urged you to always learn before judging, you did not rebuke the maid instantly, in spite of her insolence, but rather asked for the reason behind such spite in her voice, and in her doggedness in questioning the laws and customs which were hers as well. Upon hearing that, she asked if it was truly your desire to listen to her, and then, she led you to a part of the house where you would not be overhead, so that you could discuss the matter in peace. Usually, such thing would be hard to accomplish, but with the feast being prepared, some portions of the great mansion of Ulla had been left empty, and thus you found a place which was secluded. Also, as you searched for such a place, you were noticed by some, and particularly by Ulbert, mighty warrior, Ulla's first-born, who seemed displeased seeing you together.
Then, the red-headed maid gave you, in the manner of a long lament of complaint, the story of her life, and how she was made the concubine of Ulla. And her words were heavy with resentment and hatred, and she seemed to you to speak from a depth of sorts; dark was the tale.
She was born the daughter of a priest on the Rosemary Island, and lived by the eastern coast. At young age, she was found to have a beautiful voice, and was therefore taught to sing, and for that she had much fondness, and learned many songs and poems for the pleasure of others. She was also instructed in the harp; and in that as well she was found capable. And it as decided she would marry a king's man, which gladdened her, for she thought she could then live in his court. But her husband was also brutish, and she was not fond of him; however, she was never married, for when travelling to the place where the wedding was to take place, she fell victim to brigands, who slew others, but captured her and harmed her, and then they brought her to a port and, for a bit of gold, gave her to the Seafarer tradesmen, who harmed her as well, and then carried her away from home. And as they found her rather beautiful, they sold her off well to a chieftain of theirs, who was very mighty and warlike, and he took possession of her. For some years, she served as his concubine, warmed his bed, pleased him with songs, and served him in other manners. And three, she tried to run from him, but not knowing the language of the land, and being easily recognized, she was returned to him every time, and savagely punished. And she admitted to you that she also prayed to the Saints that she would be reprieved from her woes, and when she thought they did not listen, she turned to pray to idols, and in her heart abandoned the saintly religion. She also became pregnant with his child, and she took some herbs which were used by Seafarers in such situations, and thus did not carry the child; afterwards she fell very ill and nearly died, but her master, not wanting to lose such a prized possession, took her to a crone which managed to stop the fever; she was also declared barren.
Prizing her no less for that, the Seafarer chieftain took her along with him on a war; and during the war, he was killed, and what he had with him was captured by the Liefs. And when the booty was divided between them, she was given to Ulla the Hammer, in recognition for it being his blow that broke the Seaferer's skull. And although she explained to him that she could not be a mother to his children, he did not care for it. He already had many sons, and did not want more; and he also found the way she looked and spoke very appealing, and thus made her his favourite concubine, and often spending his nights with her.
Such was her story; although she told to you in a different fashion, which does not warrant relaying. Her words were rough and full of hatred, and she cursed the names of those around her many times, in very profane ways. Often, while speaking to you, she would also blaspheme in the most wicked way.
Next, she explained to you the true cause of her grief, and her words I will repeat here, so that her arguments may be known:
"And I sing to others the lay of heroes, and lament their passing, and I see them cry and grieve for them. But who will grieve for me? Who will sing the song of my grief? Who will record it? My suffering is not worthy of note; I will not be remembered, and I will not be written down. I am a woman and I am a slave; and for that those who made my life a torture will be written down as kings and chiefs, and by their name, they will be no mention of the injustice done to me."
And then she said:
"By the law and custom it is right and proper that I will be forgotten. And that is why I ask of you: is the law and custom right?"
And you knew that if you were to answer this question, you could never deny to yourself what you had said and thought. And you knew that you could not chose silence, for she would demand of you to answer; there was fire in her eyes. But you also knew that you did not have to answer; that the maid was insolent and hateful in her speech, and that you could rightly make her quiet, or punish her for that, and thus, be free of the burden of making a stand.
Therefore, you…
[ ] Punished her.
[ ] Said: "It is not just."
[ ] Said: "It is just."
4.9 The Feast Day III
Never free of curiosity, which urged you to always learn before judging, you did not rebuke the maid instantly, in spite of her insolence, but rather asked for the reason behind such spite in her voice, and in her doggedness in questioning the laws and customs which were hers as well. Upon hearing that, she asked if it was truly your desire to listen to her, and then, she led you to a part of the house where you would not be overhead, so that you could discuss the matter in peace. Usually, such thing would be hard to accomplish, but with the feast being prepared, some portions of the great mansion of Ulla had been left empty, and thus you found a place which was secluded. Also, as you searched for such a place, you were noticed by some, and particularly by Ulbert, mighty warrior, Ulla's first-born, who seemed displeased seeing you together.
Then, the red-headed maid gave you, in the manner of a long lament of complaint, the story of her life, and how she was made the concubine of Ulla. And her words were heavy with resentment and hatred, and she seemed to you to speak from a depth of sorts; dark was the tale.
She was born the daughter of a priest on the Rosemary Island, and lived by the eastern coast. At young age, she was found to have a beautiful voice, and was therefore taught to sing, and for that she had much fondness, and learned many songs and poems for the pleasure of others. She was also instructed in the harp; and in that as well she was found capable. And it as decided she would marry a king's man, which gladdened her, for she thought she could then live in his court. But her husband was also brutish, and she was not fond of him; however, she was never married, for when travelling to the place where the wedding was to take place, she fell victim to brigands, who slew others, but captured her and harmed her, and then they brought her to a port and, for a bit of gold, gave her to the Seafarer tradesmen, who harmed her as well, and then carried her away from home. And as they found her rather beautiful, they sold her off well to a chieftain of theirs, who was very mighty and warlike, and he took possession of her. For some years, she served as his concubine, warmed his bed, pleased him with songs, and served him in other manners. And three, she tried to run from him, but not knowing the language of the land, and being easily recognized, she was returned to him every time, and savagely punished. And she admitted to you that she also prayed to the Saints that she would be reprieved from her woes, and when she thought they did not listen, she turned to pray to idols, and in her heart abandoned the saintly religion. She also became pregnant with his child, and she took some herbs which were used by Seafarers in such situations, and thus did not carry the child; afterwards she fell very ill and nearly died, but her master, not wanting to lose such a prized possession, took her to a crone which managed to stop the fever; she was also declared barren.
Prizing her no less for that, the Seafarer chieftain took her along with him on a war; and during the war, he was killed, and what he had with him was captured by the Liefs. And when the booty was divided between them, she was given to Ulla the Hammer, in recognition for it being his blow that broke the Seaferer's skull. And although she explained to him that she could not be a mother to his children, he did not care for it. He already had many sons, and did not want more; and he also found the way she looked and spoke very appealing, and thus made her his favourite concubine, and often spending his nights with her.
Such was her story; although she told to you in a different fashion, which does not warrant relaying. Her words were rough and full of hatred, and she cursed the names of those around her many times, in very profane ways. Often, while speaking to you, she would also blaspheme in the most wicked way.
Next, she explained to you the true cause of her grief, and her words I will repeat here, so that her arguments may be known:
"And I sing to others the lay of heroes, and lament their passing, and I see them cry and grieve for them. But who will grieve for me? Who will sing the song of my grief? Who will record it? My suffering is not worthy of note; I will not be remembered, and I will not be written down. I am a woman and I am a slave; and for that those who made my life a torture will be written down as kings and chiefs, and by their name, they will be no mention of the injustice done to me."
And then she said:
"By the law and custom it is right and proper that I will be forgotten. And that is why I ask of you: is the law and custom right?"
And you knew that if you were to answer this question, you could never deny to yourself what you had said and thought. And you knew that you could not chose silence, for she would demand of you to answer; there was fire in her eyes. But you also knew that you did not have to answer; that the maid was insolent and hateful in her speech, and that you could rightly make her quiet, or punish her for that, and thus, be free of the burden of making a stand.
Therefore, you…
[ ] Punished her.
[ ] Said: "It is not just."
[ ] Said: "It is just."
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Curses! My dastardly plan, foiled! I'll get you next time Gargulec! *Shakes fist*
Normally, I'd go for the 3rd option, but, well, it's all but assured that saying that's gonna lead to a messy feast later on. Maybe we shouldn't have trained with the boys.
- Location
- ?
If this was just a talk between girls I wouldn't have that much problem with going "it isn't just". But I have a funny feeling we might get quoted where everyone can hear it, and wouldn't that be awkward.
We have stuff to do, and getting burned as a witch would get in the way of that, so...
[X] Said: "It is just."
We're a bit of a special case since a pilgrim is a pilgrim, and not really a woman, but otherwise? Women's lives suck, which is right and proper. Otherwise Saints would've done something about it, right? Right?
We have stuff to do, and getting burned as a witch would get in the way of that, so...
[X] Said: "It is just."
We're a bit of a special case since a pilgrim is a pilgrim, and not really a woman, but otherwise? Women's lives suck, which is right and proper. Otherwise Saints would've done something about it, right? Right?
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] Said: "It is not just."
Weird as it is to say, I don't think I can bear saying the alternative. This is gonna be painful, and I'm pretty sure someone's listening in.
Maybe we can whisper it and just have her agree to say the opposite of what we said? Otherwise, I'm pretty sure this'll be the 2nd time in a row where we cause someone to murder everyone around them because of what we said, and I'm not sure if I want a faith like that to befall someone who has been nothing but kind to us.
Weird as it is to say, I don't think I can bear saying the alternative. This is gonna be painful, and I'm pretty sure someone's listening in.
Maybe we can whisper it and just have her agree to say the opposite of what we said? Otherwise, I'm pretty sure this'll be the 2nd time in a row where we cause someone to murder everyone around them because of what we said, and I'm not sure if I want a faith like that to befall someone who has been nothing but kind to us.
- Location
- ?
Problem is, you can't simply say "It's not just" and go on your merry way, not without being a- well, something bad. To do nothing in the face of evil is not a neutral act. If the pilgrim believes there's an injustice being committed, there must be some sort of response.
We're not in a good place to fight for women's rights. We probably won't ever be in a good place to fight for women's rights in this quest, but this is extra bad.
Between sparring with men and reading our book and whispering with this girl we've already strained the goodwill owed to us. And sure, our status as a guest protects us, but that only holds till we cross the property line.
People killing bad guests once they leave the premises? It's been known to happen.
Just... Early Middle Ages? Women as property? Our name not important enough to be mentioned anywhere in the quest? Life sucks, then you die. Best not to feed any delusions here.
We're not in a good place to fight for women's rights. We probably won't ever be in a good place to fight for women's rights in this quest, but this is extra bad.
Between sparring with men and reading our book and whispering with this girl we've already strained the goodwill owed to us. And sure, our status as a guest protects us, but that only holds till we cross the property line.
People killing bad guests once they leave the premises? It's been known to happen.
Just... Early Middle Ages? Women as property? Our name not important enough to be mentioned anywhere in the quest? Life sucks, then you die. Best not to feed any delusions here.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
How encouraging.
EDIT: I wish we could like, pick her up and go "yo guys hope you won't need her anymore, PILGRIMAGE ADVENTUUUUUURE"
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