Grantville Gazette, Volume 73 Read online

  Then he fled, dropping the club and running as fast as his legs would carry him, towards the entrance to the village, and out into the cold, bitter night.

  ****

  "I've failed you," Fast as Lightning said, staring into the dying embers of the fire. "I've failed us all."

  Speaks His Mind shook his head, coughed. "No. You showed Raging Wolf mercy. That is more than he would have shown you."

  "Sun Rising will go to war, now, once he learns of his nephew's death. Once he learns that Raging Wolf is still alive."

  "Perhaps. But I will advocate against it, for now. And maybe he will listen. You impressed Raging Wolf, I'm sure, with your bold raid on his village, under the favors of the Red God, and he won't be so quick to move on any more of our villages." Speaks His Mind chuckled. "His broken nose will remind him. Sun Rising will want vengeance, yes, but I must remind him that the Ring of Fire is real, and its people are coming. War amongst ourselves can wait. A greater war is coming from across the sea. Unity is what we need to face it."

  Fast as Lightning cringed at the young man's warning. "With respect, I do not agree, Speaks His Mind. I do not believe that the Ring of Fire will bring war to our land. I do not know what it will bring, but something in me says that it will not bring death and desolation. The Red God comes from the future, and I have faith in Him. He does not fill me with fear. Our future may be complicated, yes, but it will not end when the up-timers come."

  Speaks His Mind paused, nodded, and adjusted himself near the fire. "I pray that you are right. One thing is certain: whatever power flows in your blood, it has given me purpose to live."

  Fast as Lightning nodded. "And me as well. I am glad to see you alive. Can you walk?"

  Speaks His Mind nodded, and Fast as Lightning helped him to his feet, saying, "I will help you walk. I will take you to Sun Rising so that you may tell him of Good Hawk's fate, and the glory that he achieved before he fell."

  "No," Speaks His Mind said. "We will tell him together, as brothers."

  ****

  Magdeburg

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  25 March 1635

  Sunday

  Breakfast–

  Fasted

  Lunch-

  1 sausage 2 pfennigs

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 cup sauerkraut 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Dreamt last night, but nothing that I remember. Just enough to remember I dreamt.

  Attended church today. Music was surprisingly good. Sang with a will. Reading and homily were about like usual.

  Must be getting used to rejection. Herr Gronow's letter not a great surprise, not a blow. Disappointing, but not crushing. Pinned it up on the wall next to the others. So, will learn from it. Still determined to see my story in Der Schwarze Kater.

  Read four pages from The City of God. St. Augustine uses—used—words well. Plus, my Latin is getting better. I need to learn from him as well as from Martin Luther. Was hoping to see Johann today, because he is supposed to have been back from Jena by now, but no word of his return yet, so spent the evening alone.

  I am a writer. From what Herr Gronow says, I am not very good yet, but I will learn. Wonder if Herr Poe and Herr Lovecraft had their stories rejected? Surely not. If they did, wonder how long it took them to sell? How many words did they write?

  Will sell something to Herr Gronow someday.

  Recited evening prayers. And now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  28 March 1635

  Wednesday

  Breakfast–

  1 cup morning broth 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 sausage 2 pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Dreams, dark at first. Reminded me of The Ore of the Gods story from Der Schwarze Kater, Issue Three. By Augustus von Hohenberg, I think. Another down-timer writer. Story wasn't bad, but was set in a mine, dark underground. Shivery. Dream woke me at least twice. Then it shifted and Max appeared. Slept easy after that. May be something to this guardian angel thing after all.

  Was doing cash entries today, something looked wrong. Entry was linked to a contract, but did not look right. Pulled contract from shelf behind me, read through to the part about payments. Note for payment did not agree with contract terms. Showed to Herr Schiller. He agreed, said he would show to Master Gröning. Gave me an extra two dollars at the end of the day.

  Stopped by Syborg's Books on the way back to the rooms. Herr Matthias was there. Asked about the next issue of Der Schwarze Kater. He grinned, told me first part of next month. So, need to save the money for it. Really want to read it now.

  Think I have an idea on how to change the story to make it work better. Will not try any more stuff to make it fancy. Should have realized that would not impress Herr Gronow. Stupid idea. Make the story good. Make the copy good. Nothing else matters.

  Read The Gold of the Rhine from Issue One again. Another down-timer writer, Herr Klaus Wolfenstein. Meh. Not very scary. Dwarves were more like comedians than evilness. Made notes about making characters.

  Recited evening prayers. Now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  30 March 1635

  Friday

  Breakfast–

  1 cup morning broth 1 pfennig

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 barley roll 2 quartered pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 wurst 2 pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Dreams last night. Didn't wake up. Only thing I remember is Max telling me I'm a good writer and he enjoys being my guardian angel. Dream ended before I said anything, I think.

  Herr Schiller had me reviewing the Hamburg contract, the one I found the problem with a couple of days ago, and looking back through the earlier cash entries to see if there were any other problems. Didn't find any today, but not done yet. Master Gröning not happy about the problem, Herr S says, but is happy that I found it. Guess that's good.

  Continued work on new version of the story. Is working so far. Considering new title—Portia in Tauris. Lines up with old play someone told me about. We'll see if Herr Gronow likes this one. Long way to go before he sees it.

  Weary.

  Recited evening prayers. Twice, because fell asleep the first time. Now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  1 April 1635

  Sunday

  Breakfast–

  Fasted

  Lunch-

  1 cup sauerkraut 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 bowl fish stew 3 pfennigs

  1 barley roll 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Lord's Day, Lord's work.

  Began the day with church. Music was good again. Two Sundays in a row. Unusual, but enjoyable. Sang with a will. Reading was good, Pastor Gruber did the homily. He spoke on the young boy who gave the loaves and fish to the Savior for the feeding of the five thousand. Everyone talks about the miracle of the feeding, but what about the miracle of the boy being right there, right then, with just that much food, and being willing to give up all that he had? From the smaller miracle came the larger one. Small things come first. No one does great things without doing small things first, not even the saints. Must think on that. Think that's true about lots of things.

  Still haven't heard from or about Cousin Johann. Though he was supposed to be back from Jena by now. Starting to get worried.

  Five pages read from The City of God. Beginning to love St. Augustine's words. Not sure I understand them all, but the way they flow, the way he can say such grand things, makes a chill run up my backbone sometimes.

  Spent some ti
me reading in Kings in the Bible, finished the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal. Glad that he won. Think I'm glad he killed them. Had to be a bloody mess, though. But it wasn't enough. Elijah wasn't the king's favorite then. Should have been. Should have won the fight with that. But didn't. Had to run for his life. So sometimes the story doesn't end up the way that people think it should. Sometimes the story is dark, or hard. How do I apply that to my life? How do I apply that to my writing? Think about that, too.

  Oh, no dreams last night.

  Recited evening prayers. Three times. Needed that many to be calm for some reason. So now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  3 April 1635

  Tuesday

  Breakfast–

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 sausage 2 pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Dreamt I was sitting at the Green Horse and Herr Poe was sitting across from me and we were talking about writing. Wish I could remember what we said. I'd write it down.

  Finished reviewing cash entries at work that tied to the Hamburg contract. Found a couple of other entries that didn't look right to me. Showed them to Herr Schiller. Could tell he wasn't happy that I'd found them, but he said he'd show them to Master Gröning. Gave me an extra dollar at the end of the day.

  Stopped at Syborg's Books. Herr Johann was there. Asked him about the next issue of Der Schwarze Kater. He said maybe in a month it will be in their store. Showed him my extra dollar from today, told him I had my money ready. He laughed and promised I would have a copy.

  Worked on Portia in Tauris tonight. New opening is done. Think it works better at getting reader's attention. Think I know where the story is going next. Will work on that tomorrow evening. Must remember to get some more candle stubs.

  Recited evening prayers, and now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  6 April 1635

  Friday

  Breakfast–

  1 cup morning broth 1 pfennig

  1 barley roll 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Supper–

  1 bowl fish stew 3 pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Dreamt I was listening to Herr Lovecraft and Herr Poe talking. Some about life, some about writing, remember that much. Really wish I could remember everything they said. Stupid dreams. What good are they if you can't remember anything from them?

  Herr Schiller told me today that Master Gröning was very pleased that I had found the other problems with the Hamburg contract. Proves that the bastards in Hamburg, as the master put it, have been cheating for some time. He was ready to sue for breach of contract before, but his regular lawyer died, and he wasn't happy with any of the regular lawyers in Magdeburg. But there is a new lawyer who has opened offices in the city now, and the master is impressed with him, so they will probably act on this.

  Hope the master wins, and hope it doesn't affect me.

  More work on Portia in Tauris tonight. Seems to be going well—but then, I thought that about the first three versions of the story. Only time and Herr Gronow will tell.

  Recited evening prayers. Now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  9 April 1635

  Monday

  Breakfast–

  1 cup morning broth 1 pfennig

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 cup sauerkraut 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 barley roll 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Raining today. Cold rain. Dislike being wet, dislike being cold, really dislike being both wet and cold. Took a longer way to work so I could stay on the graveled streets rather than deal with the mud. Heard the city was going to gravel the rest of the streets before too long. Hope so. Really don't like the mud, but seems like cobble stoning it all would be expensive. The up-time finished roads are nice, but I heard they weren't cheap either.

  Herr Schiller made us clean and sweep this morning, because Master Gröning and his new lawyer were going to come by later. Since we got the contracts organized, lot easier to dust and clean and sweep. Good thing, because they arrived just a few minutes after we got done. Martin was putting the broom in the closet when they stepped through the door.

  Was surprised. Expected lawyer to be big imposing serious man. Short, not much taller than me, very lean. Dark eyes, hair almost black, no beard. Wouldn't want to be facing him if he was angry, but he was laughing when they came in the door and smiled a lot during the conversations.

  Herr Wulff, the lawyer, wanted to talk to me about how I found the problem. Showed him the first cash entry I saw, showed him what looked funny about it, then showed him the contract and the part of it that the cash entry seemed to not match. He looked back and forth between them, then took the contract file and read through the entire thing. He read fast—a lot faster than I do. Then he went back to the part I had pointed to and read it again.

  When Herr Wulff got done, he put the file down. He had a serious expression on his face and gave me a nod. He told Master Gröning that I was right and that there were grounds to sue the Hamburg partners. Then he looked at me and wanted to know who had trained me to read contracts. I said Herr Schiller had told me some things, and the rest I had figured out for myself. He looked very surprised at that and told Master G and Herr S that I was really good and they should take care of me.

  They left not long after that. Herr S didn't say anything, but he gave me ten extra dollars at the end of the day, plus told me to take as many of the candle stubs as I needed.

  So, long day. Stopped at Syborg's Books on the way home. Herr Matthias told me before I could ask that it would be another few weeks before they would get the next issue of Der Schwarze Kater. Getting really anxious again.

  Worked on Portia in Tauris a little. Slow going, as I am rethinking everything before I put it down again. Lots of stuff being changed. Different story now—very different.

  Recited evening prayers. Twice. So now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  12 April 1635

  Thursday

  Breakfast–

  1 sausage 2 pfennigs

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Supper–

  1 wurst 2 pfennigs

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Had a dream that Herr Gronow was chastising Herren Poe and Lovecraft for not being better writers, not writing more and better stories. Couldn't see his face, but knew it was him because he talked about Der Schwarze Kater. He was pretty rude, too. If he's like that really, not sure I want to know him.

  Spent today like yesterday, teaching Martin how to do the checking of the entries to make sure they were done right. He had a lot of trouble yesterday, but today, after the first couple, he caught on and was able to see what I was telling him and figure out what the error had to be. Smart kid. Looks healthier, too. Filling out a little. Doesn't look like a walking skeleton now.

  Raining again when work was over. Not good. Not heavy rain—not much more than a mist, but wet and cold, with a bit of east wind blowing.

  Recited evening prayers. Now to bed.

  ****

  From the Journal of Philip Fröhlich

  15 April 1635

  Sunday

  Breakfast–

  Fasted

  Lunch-

  1 cup morning broth 1 pfennig

  1 winter apple 1 pfennig

  1 wheat roll 3 pfennigs

  Supper–

  1 wurst 2 pfennigs

  1 barley roll 2 quartered pfennigs

  1 mug beer 1 pfennig

  Lord's Day, Lord's work.

  Church was good.
Music wasn't as good as last week, but better than usual. Sang with a will. Reading was okay—up-time word, I know. Not sure what it really means, but it seems to be used as the same as all right or satisfactory. Okay is shorter, faster to say. Lots of people using it now. Anyway, homily wasn't as good as Pastor Gruber's last week, but have heard worse, and recently.

  Read several pages from The City of God. Read the story from Kings about the young men mocking Elisha and the bears coming and ripping them apart. Seemed harsh. But on the other hand, if you are faced with someone who is very close to God, it may not be wise to mock him. Even if the man doesn't take offense, God might. There's a reason why Jesus taught the Golden Rule, after all.

  Was very surprised when Johann appeared at my door late in the afternoon. Immediately went to The Green Horse. Had food, some beer, talked and talked about all sorts of things, but mostly his travels and my readings. Turns out he was traveling with a wealthy companion in a great circuit around the important cities. They even went to Vienna. His friend was talking to many of the renowned teachers, and wanted someone to travel with him, so Johann went.

  He was surprised at how far I have come in reading St. Augustine and in the sense I make of it. He said there are doctors teaching who have no better understanding than I do. Then he grinned and said there were a couple he could think of who didn't know as much. Unsettling thought. If a man doesn't know more than I do, why would anyone want to pay him to teach? Especially in the Grantville era. Doesn't make much sense.