A Little Work, A Little Play

Writers: Anika, Paula
Date Posted: 14th November 2014

Characters: Gautrek, Keayd
Description: Gautrek tenders an invitation to Keayd.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 10, day 3 of Turn 7

Gautrek

Gautrek made his descent into the wine cellar, inhaling deeply and
taking comfort in the humid oak scented air. To him, this was the
inner sanctum of the Hall. He took a moment to allow his eyes to
adjust to the low light which was required for the photosensitive
wine. Light would cause pigments to fade in reds or darken in whites
so the soft light was essential.

Once his eyes were adjusted he proceeded down down the rows of casks
until he saw the man he was seeking. Approaching slowly, Gautrek
watched the younger Journeyman inspecting the casks. He seemed intent
on his task.

Keayd heard the steps and turned his head. He gave the fellow vintner
a hand waive to indicate he had noticed him.

"Just the man I'm looking for." Indeed, the boy he remembered was now
certainly a man grown. Gautrek had come back briefly after the
earthquake, when the new Hall was being established but he didn't
remember seeing much of Key during that time. Of course everyone had
been very busy then. Since his recent return to the Hall, he often
took evening meals in his cot with the children instead of the dining
Hall and he had not had the opportunity to reconnect with many of his
fellow vintners yet. "I haven't seen much of you since returning to
the Hall, Key. Have you been busy trying to impart knowledge to the
apprentices?"

"Gautrek. I heard you were back among us," Keayd answered. "Oh, yes
and trying to earn my seniour journeyman's knots."

"Ah, yes, the very reason I sought you out or one of them at least. I
don't know what area of focus you've chosen while working toward
senior journeyman, but I know you used to be quite sharp when it came
to theory. If you have the time and the inclination, I have an
adaptation to the wine making process that I would very much like to
discuss with you."

"I've developing new flavours for fruit brandy," Keayd said. "Not the
most popular drink, nor the most sold, but it does have it's
clientele. I find the liquour making process fascinating."

"Oh, you must get on well with our new Hallmaster then!" Gautrek said
with a laugh. "And it most definitely does have it's clientele, a
distinguished one at that. The Lord Holder from my previous placement
was quite the connoisseur. Though wine will always hold first place
in my heart, I do enjoy a fine brandy. Well, you'll not have much
interest in my new process, then. You see I'm looking at refining the
extended maceration process for some of our reds. Working with fruit
brandy's you'll be well versed in maceration, but you won't be facing
the same challenges since other fruits don't tend to have the same
harsh tannins or produce the acetic acidity during maceration as
grapes. I would still be most interested in hearing about the new
flavors on which you are working and the preparation of the fruit mash
needed."

"Now, what says I'm not interested? I use distillation method in most
of my brandies," Keayd replied with a grin. Anything that offered work
to his intelligence interested him. "Although I've used maceration
too, to compare which method brings out the best flavour."

"Ah, just what I love to hear!" Gautrek smiled broadly. "You see, I
would love to have you read over my notes and put that keen mind of
yours to work on any flaws in my theory. Should this process work as
I hope, the resulting wine would have an impressive complexity of
flavor once it was laid down which I might add were you then to
distill and age would make a most excellent brandy."

"I would love to look over your notes," Key said. "Although I have a
juniour apprentice class to teach, so my time is rather limited. I
hope it's not urgent?"

"Not at all. Actually, I was hoping you might look at your calendar
and see if you had an evening free to join me for a meal at my cot.
I'm there now instead of the main Hall because I've taken charge of my
brother's children. That will give us an opportunity to catch up and
you might be able to give my notes a cursory glance. I do have a copy
that you could take with you to look over at your leisure, though."

Key nodded. "Can I take my canine with? She's very good with
children," he asked.

"Absolutely. The boys would be thrilled to meet her, though they'll
undoubtedly be after me for one after they do. Is there anything you
find intolerable or even less appealing in respects to food?"

Key shook his head, "I'm not picky." Half of his childhood he had been
happy if there was something for a food. His family had to struggle to
get everyone fed.

"Excellent! Cooking is a bit of a hobby of mine and my niece seems to
have taken to it as well, so we like to have some fun when we are
entertaining. I promise not to get too adventurous, though. Take a
look at your schedule and let me know if there is a particular day
next sevenday that might work for you."

"I will," Key promised. "I'm curious to meet your nephews." He had
heard of Gautrek's situation. Pretty much every one at the hall had.
Vintners gossiped like all people.

"Oh, they are a handful. Full of energy! Geirolf is just now twelve
turns and he's trying to decide where he wants to apprentice. I think
he's most seriously considering the Hall here or the Harper Hall,
which makes sense as I am a Vintner and his father was a Harper.
Geiran is still in Harper classes."

Keayd nodded, listening with interest. Part of him wanted to have
children of his own, but that would require finding a wife first.
Women weren't very keen on marrying a cripple.

"Well, I should let you get back to your task and I should seek some
productivity as well. Do let me know what evening is best for you."

"Yes, sir, I'll get back to you."

Last updated on the November 16th 2014

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A Little Work, A Little Play