The Darkstone Bay Consortium, with the coordination of Kayse Thaellien, is hosting a series of talks about trade in and around Wehnimer's Landing and the greater Darkstone Bay region. This presentation on the spice trade is part of the series, but its links to Faendryl culture and history are clear.
[Alabaster Spire, Dining Hall]
The alabaster walls alternate between a series of haon-framed mirrors and sconces that illuminate oil paintings depicting historically significant Faendryl and officers of the Enclave. A massive ebonwood dining table set for a formal meal traverses the length of the narrow room. You also see an elegant silver incense burner with some black cardamom incense on it, a vibrant canvas, a keystone marble arch and an ebonwood doorway.
Lylia begins, "More precious than gold."
Lylia continues, "More compact than silks. Hotly desired by all, from paupers to Patriarchs, and yet renewable to meet these endless appetites."
Lylia says, "Of course I am talking about spices."
Lylia authoritatively states, "That humble shaker of pepper on your table or the dusting of cinnamon that graces a sweet treat has noble lineage and a storied history -- a history that now includes our own Wehnimer's Landing and the Darkstone Bay region."
(Lylia paces as she talks, her gestures becoming broader as she warms to her subject.)
Lylia says, "Tonight, we shall learn more of the spice trade's past, present and future. We shall discover why spices hold their value so well and how often we enjoy them, often without even realizing all the ways in which they give life its savor."
Lylia insists, "For what would a banquet be without taste, a romantic outing without the beguiling scent of perfume, a gala without color?"
(Lylia seems to notice her hands in mid-gesture and clasps them in front of her instead.)
Lylia clears her throat.
Lylia confesses, "My obvious passion for the subject is personal as well as professional."
Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a stylized Faendryl crest illusion.
Lylia turns to face a stylized Faendryl crest illusion.
Lylia explains, "Many of my family members are in the spice trade in New Ta'Faendryl as part of the Emporion, the mercantile aspect of the quintipartite Faendryl structure known as the Pentact."
Lylia says, "Ensconced among the Spicers, I grew up around elegant women perfumed in cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. Saffron stained my uncle's hands, and it was a mark of prestige that he dealt in such a rich commodity."
Lylia says, "While New Ta'Faendryl's wealth comes from many sources, spices were one of the first. I admit that the Lapidaries and Jewelers are probably wealthier, but the Spicers hold their own."
Lylia winks.
The sharp scents of ozone and ash linger briefly before a passing breeze dispels them, leaving only a trace of incense in the air.
Lylia briskly says, "So, let us talk a bit about how great wealth could be built from a few handfuls of fragrant spice."
A stylized Faendryl crest illusion unravels into prismatic silken streamers before fading away with no trace.
Lylia suggests, "You can undoubtedly think of some reasons yourselves, so sing out. Let me hear what you think about why spices are so sought after, how they are used."
Lylia surveys the area.
Lylia raises an eyebrow.
Claede asks, "Some of them are medicinal?"
Lylia nods once.
Nazarr says, "To improve the flavor of our traditional food."
Lylia says, "Yes, good."
Lylia nods at Nazarr.
Missoni says, "Dyes, perhaps, as well."
Lylia nods in agreement at Missoni.
Perigourd says, "Some are used in combat."
Lylia exclaims, "Keen eye for fashion, you!"
Yipsy says, "Y' said salt b'fore."
Lylia says, "We are all awash in salt."
Lylia smiles wryly.
Lylia says, "Right, then."
Nazarr asks, "Perfumes and colognes?"
(Lylia ticks each item off with a well-manicured finger as she repeats them.)
Lylia says, "Culinary. Medicinal. Aromatic. Other, more specialized properties that some rare spices have."
Lylia nods at Nazarr.
Lylia says, "Just so."
Lylia says, "You have touched on many of the reasons the spice trade is so lucrative."
Lylia explains, "When we think of spices, of course we think first of the pleasure they bring to dining. Spices delight our senses, none more so than that of taste. To a talented chef, they are their own kind of magic, adding fire or ice to a dish."
Lylia turns to face a dining table.
Lylia suggests, "Try the brownies, if you have not already. You can see the dusting of cinnamon -- yes, it is cinnamon and not cassia -- but they have a bit of heat to them too from locally grown and dried peppers."
[You help yourself to a square of dark chocolate brownie dusted with cinnamon.
You take a bite of your dark chocolate brownie. Biting into the dark and luscious treat, you discover that it has a bite of its own from dried chiles and a generous dose of cinnamon. Equally lavish amounts of boozy vanilla and sugar keep the fire from overtaking the sweetness.]
Speaking amusedly to her dark chocolate brownie, Kayse whispers aloud, "I have been hearing so much about you."
Lylia notes, "You catch that little bit of fire? Without that unexpected kiss of heat, they would just be...ordinary."
Khyrion surprisedly says, "Heh, not bad."
Speaking to Blades, Lylia says, "Ah, hello! Just in time for snacks."
Blades exclaims, "Halflings?!"
(Lylia magnanimously waves a hand in the direction of the plate of brownies.)
Lylia says, "Brownies."
Lylia continues, "But food is not the only use for spices. We are familiar, sometimes too familiar, with medicinal herbs to heal wounds and cure scars. Some such plants could also be classed as spices -- that is, the seeds, dried flower buds, bark, or other parts of the plant aside from its leaves."
Lylia says, "The ginger that grows in such abundance here, for example, is an excellent preventive for an upset stomach."
Lylia dryly remarks, "Some of you may need this knowledge if you continue to gobble all the brownies."
Lylia smoothly says, "Not that I judge. They are delicious."
Speaking to Khyrion, Kothos says, "See. No judging."
Lylia says, "And some of you noted that spices can appeal to other senses, too..."
Lylia lights the cardamom incense, which flickers and begins to burn.
Lylia waves at an elegant silver incense burner.
Lylia says, "Scent is a poorly understood sense, yet our insatiable appetite for perfumes, incense, and scented oils suggest we pay more attention to it than we may consciously realize. Fragrance lifts the mood, evokes nostalgia, and -- as perfume -- attracts all the right kinds of attention."
Kothos says, "...I normally avoid sweets, but you all look so satisfied..."
Kothos helps himself to a square of dark chocolate brownie dusted with cinnamon.
Speaking to Kothos, Lylia says, "Never pass up a good indulgence."
Lylia explains, "What you are enjoying now is a cardamom incense, sweet and warm with an almost resinous note. It is one of my favorite flavors and fragrances; I am not alone in this affection as it is sometimes called the 'Matriarch of Spices' in the Faendryl tongue."
Kothos asks, "Ah, yes. This comes from your family, Imperatrix?"
Some black incense emits a tendril of cardamom-scented smoke, which forms a lacy pattern in the air before fading away.
Lylia says, "Yes, I import the cinnamon."
Lylia says, "From cozy bakery fragrances to lush, exotic concoctions that would delight Ivas herself, some favorite perfumes have spices at their heart. Combined with rare woods and resins or softer floral notes, they take on a wholly new character as a composed fragrance."
Lylia says, "I know we have many lovers of fine fragrance here."
The incense emits some black smoke which disperses, leaving a faint scent of cardamom.
Lylia says, "While some spices' fragrances are notable, others have unique characteristics that make them particularly valuable. Missoni noted one."
Lylia continues, "Saffron, for instance, transforms into a lambent sunset orange as a dye, and although it is wildly expensive, nothing else quite compares. The gown I wear tonight is dyed with saffron, which comes from crocus blossoms such as the ones comprising my circlet."
(Lylia runs a hand over silken skirts dyed a golden orange hue so richly saturated that it almost seems to glow in the ambient light.)
Lylia brushes her fingers lightly against her silk gown.
Lylia says, "If I do not miss my guess, our coordinator Kayse is wearing it as well; it is unmistakable to those who know and love it."
(Kayse runs her hands over her saffron silk scarves.)
Lylia says, "Turmeric also produces a yellow color, but it is less vivid, less intense. It also requires a good deal more of the raw ingredient and certain mordants to produce lasting color than saffron."
Lylia notes, "It has, in fact, been used as an adulterant in saffron dyes, although any member of the Spicers or Dyers found responsible for this is treated almost as harshly as if she had poisoned someone -- which in a sense, she has, by poisoning the public trust."
Lylia narrows her eyes.
Lylia carefully says, "Speaking of which, it is said it is the dose that makes the poison; this is true of spices as well as toxins, and it is one reason why the spice trade has sometimes been closely monitored, even harshly controlled."
Lylia says, "Innocent nutmeg tastes of holiday sweets and the warm, mellow coffee that Gert Fessel serves in Jastatos, but it is a potent hallucinogen, creating visions in those who consume a great deal of it. This is ill-advised, however, as a slightly larger dose is a lethal poison."
Lylia lightly says, "Of course, in ports such as our own here at Wehnimer's Landing, onerous regulation is not an issue. It is one of many reasons why the town is poised to occupy a more important position along key spice trade routes."
Lylia grins.
Lylia rotates a silver-framed bracelet inset with skyglass panels around her wrist until a map of Elanthia panel is on top.
Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a map of Elanthia illusion.
(Lylia waves a hand at her illusory map and traces lines along it that glow in saffron gold. When she begins to talk again, her brisk tone signals a shift in topic.)
Lylia says, "Speaking of trade routes, let us talk about how those have formed, and where, and why."
Lylia says, "While I do not wish to give a lecture on the entirety of history, especially as we might not wish to be here for a fortnight -- sorry, Xorus, my dear -- it is vital to understand the past if we are to obtain full value for the resources we have here today."
Lylia says, "Old Ta'Faendryl, our ancestral land, was also home to an abundant array of spices, both cultivated and wild."
Lylia explains, "The Elven nations have always had their specialties. While Loenthran vintners produced the finest wines and Ardenai graced tables with delectable fruits, the Faendryl added savor to it all with spice."
Lylia says, "Cinnamon groves in the south, black pepper in the lowlands near the Lake of Shadowed Sorrows, and the crocus flowers that produce saffron once thrived in the region. Formal gardens were fragrant with herbs, and the city's spice markets overflowed."
A map of Elanthia illusion unravels into prismatic silken streamers before fading away with no trace.
Lylia tersely says, "But that was not to last."
An officer of the Rogue Guild arrives and glances around. "Ah, there you are, Juspera!" he says in a slightly agitated tone. "I have come to formally declare that your membership privileges have been revoked." He then makes a note on his parchment and leaves.
Lylia says, "We were just --"
Lylia gazes in amusement at Juspera.
Blades points at an ebonwood doorway.
Juspera sighs.
Blades says, "Get out."
Xorus says, "Rogue knavery."
Speaking to Juspera, Yipsy says, "S' always happenin' t' ya."
Khyrion swears, "Bleed and bury me, they 'ave no tact."
Juspera says, "They find me threatening."
Cryheart says, "Sorry for the delay, Mercantylr Duvernith came and gave out pins for the repeal of Chaston's Edict."
Lylia says, "No worries at all. I am happy to see you whenever you arrive. And we are just getting into the history."
Lylia exclaims, "Well, that is cause for celebration!"
Lylia asks, "Now, where were we...?"
Lylia says, "Perhaps we need a map again."
Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a map of Elanthia illusion.
Speaking to Lylia, Raelee states, "History."
Lylia says, "During the period of our exile, it is said, some those who tended and harvested these precious spices were able to carry something of their home with them."
(Lylia traces a jagged slash from the northeast to the southern part of the map. Unlike the golden lines earlier, this one is an angry red.)
Lylia adds, "Many Agrestis Faendryl will regale you with stories of how their ancestors smuggled cardamom pods or caraway seeds all the way to the Southron Wastes as one of the few belongings they could carry such a distance."
Lylia wryly observes, "Some of these stories may even be true."
Lylia says, "Nothing grows easily in a desert, yet with careful husbandry and over the course of decades, it began to bloom."
Lylia proudly says, "Eventually, those handfuls of spices became some of the earliest planted seeds of New Ta'Faendryl's wealth. Discoveries of new plants that grew regionally, including balsam and sandalwood, enriched Faendryl perfumes and dishes. Within a mere five centuries, growers began to export."
Lylia rotates a silver-framed bracelet inset with skyglass panels around her wrist until a moon and stars panel is on top.
Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a distorted night sky illusion.
(Lylia traces thin, sparkling lines between the stars in constellations that are subtly different, shifted from the night sky outside to reveal more southerly stars in unfamiliar configurations.)
Lylia says, "Guided by the stars and lit by the moons, traders traveled mostly at night, in part to avoid the searing heat, but also to evade other travelers; spice merchants were notoriously secretive about their sources and routes."
Lylia continues, "Eventually, Emporion trade routes carried Faendryl spices that thrived in our new home everywhere, and imports from lusher climes, such as vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger, have made these routes even more extensive."
Prismatic silken streamers flow outward from Lylia's bracelet, dancing through the air majestically. She makes a complex gesture and the streamers coalesce to reveal a moon and stars illusion.
(Lylia waves a hand through the illusory constellations, and they spin to match the more familiar perspective of the night skies above the Alabaster Spire.)
Lylia says, "Today, some of these roads reach the Landing and our port."
Lylia notes, "My own connections have aided in forging such links, and we are all fortunate to have capable trading partners and negotiators within the Darkstone Bay Consortium to manage affairs locally and maximize the value of the spice trade here."
Lylia carefully says, "As I noted earlier, we are not an Imperial port, yet we are near Imperial ports. That fact makes us a valuable point of trade, especially as we can carry it out on land or over water."
Lylia diplomatically says, "Direct trade with the Elven nations is sometimes...complicated for Faendryl spice merchants, but indirectly, cargo from Wehnimer's Landing is welcome. The benefit there to the Landing is clear, particularly for industries that can process raw materials into finished goods."
Lylia says, "This is even more exciting now that Chaston's Edict has been lifted, allowing those of Faendryl and Elven blood to own businesses and property within Imperial lands."
Lylia continues, "And the region produces some of its own raw spices for drying and perhaps even processing into the essences that are at the heart of perfumes and incense."
Lylia says, "Ginger grows exceedingly well here, as I noted earlier, and is reputed to have better flavor and a less woody rhizome than that from other sources. We supply North Hendor with it, and in its dried and powdered form, it travels as far south as New Ta'Faendryl itself."
Lylia says, "Galangal and iris, more specifically orris root, grow well along the Locksmehr River and are highly sought after by perfumers and makers of incense."
Lylia says, "During my tenure as mayor of the Landing, it was always my goal to build more centers of manufacturing to transform these raw materials into something more valuable for export."
Lylia smoothly notes, "It seems that ambition to make something greater of our town's economic status is reaching fruition with the Darkstone Bay Consortium, and I applaud the merchants and traders who are part of it for seeing the wisdom in these plans."
Lylia folds her hands.
Lylia concludes, "Let us then continue this work of planting the fragrant seeds of a burgeoning spice trade that has a place for Wehnimer's Landing as a vital port of call."
Lylia inclines her head.