Bad Water

Bad Water is water that has been used by undertakers or priests to wash corpses. This is the first stage of most funerary rituals in Teleleli, and is especially necessary in embalming and mummification. Bad Water is widely held to be an ingredient in Paste of the Spirits.

Neck-Weasels: A Warning

The traveler should bear in mind that criminals are rumoured to train small snakes and dress them in the skins of neck-weasels. When a victim has worn one for a few minutes the snake chokes its wearer in the manner of a boa constrictor, and the criminals rob the corpse.

Neck-Weasels

These long, furry creatures can be trained to hang limply around a person's neck. In Teleleli, carrying a neck-weasel in this way is considered most fashionable.

Talking Foxes

Talking foxes are popular heralds in Teleleli. For many citizens of the city they are a primary source of news, despite their tendency to make things up.

The Guild of Wrestlers

In Teleleli, male wrestlers are forbidden to cover their chests during bouts. Legend says that this is because, in the distant past, a women disguised herself as a man and became a wrestler, defeating and humiliating all men who opposed her.

Rockets and Rationalism

The Seventh-Day Inventists are widely believed to be behind this popular game, in which participants are invited to "enter a world where magic is powerless and Science really works!"

Unspoken Water

Unspoken Water is an enchanted form of water which protects against harmful magic, and may heal the sick.

It is created by collecting running water from under a bridge that "the living have crossed and the dead have been carried over". Whatever is used to collect it must not touch the ground.

It is then carried in silence at dawn or twilight to the house of the sick person, or the area to be protected.

To give protection against harmful magic it must be sprinkled around the area in a continuous ring, then the remainder carried back to where it came and poured back in as thanks are pronounced.

To heal, a precious stone must be placed into the water. Then the sick person must drink three spoons from a wooden ladle. The remainder of the water must be carried back to its origin in the same manner as above. If the sick person's lips touch the stone, they will instantly die. The precious stone may be kept, although the sick person may never handle it, since the sickness will come back with twice its power.

Ransom

As a general rule, most cultures observe the custom of taking prisoners for ransom.

In areas ruled by a lord, even common folk may be ransomed (although they are paid for and released as a group, and their price is far lower than that of an aristocrat). If their lord fails to pay, the custom is that the prisoners become serfs of their captor. In this circumstance their previous lord loses much status, and it is this, even more than the value of their labor, that is the main incentive to pay.

Lords will generally not make prisoners of free peasants, as they are rebellious and unreliable, and unlikely to have the resources to pay a ransom. They will instead kill them.

Free peasants, by contrast, will generally take prisoners of serfs. They may let them join the community after a certain period. Otherwise the custom is to brand or tattoo them with a distinctive mark and let them go. Anyone with such a mark taking arms against them will be killed on sight.

Free peasants generally have a great hatred for aristocrats, and so may kill them on sight. However they may capture them due to their high ransom value. The disgrace of a lord being out-fought by, and surrendering to, peasants, can work both ways. Sometimes the aristocrats will pay an unusually large ransom very quickly. At other times they will deny that it happened at all, and hope that the peasants kill the lord.

Inanimate objects, such as important religious relics, may also be taken for ransom.

Outside of big cities, prisoners are generally expected to work as if they were members of the community.

Note that, since barter is more common than currency, most of the time ransoms will be paid in kind, for example with livestock.

Counting Coup

Many cultures, both rural and urban, have a tradition of 'counting coup'. This is the custom of delivering what could have been a fatal blow to an enemy, but with a harmless and symbolic 'weapon', such as a 'sword' of thin wood which is designed to break.

This custom must be distinguished from various kinds of mock-battle in which neither participant uses a real weapon.

Successfully counting coup on an enemy humiliates them, and raises the status of the warrior. It also puts the defeated one in the victor's debt.

Free Passages

The Brotherhood of the Coasts, the guild of longshoremen and dockside labourers, gives out tokens entitling the bearer to a free journey to those who render great aid to them. They are in the form of the bones of whales or other large sea creatures, inscribed with the bearer's name and the nature of their deed. These bones are also given to the high priests of Numen Mari and other gods of the sea.

The bones may not be sold or given away, even in a will. If the bearer dies it is expected that the bones will be destroyed. If they are used, they may be affixed to the prow of the ship in question.

They are honoured by all ships, even pirates, since anyone who refused would find all ports closed to them.

Measuring the Hours

In Teleleli and the islands around, 'hours' is a general term for a reasonably long time that is less than a morning, afternoon or night. The notion of an 'hour' as a specific length of time does not exist.

A 'day' may mean an exact day - usually measured from sunset to sunset - or it may refer to a working day, depending on context.

When Telelelenes need to co-ordinate exact time, for example in arranging to meet, they may use sunset or sunrise, noon, or 'moonrise' during that part of the year when the moon appears before sunset. They may also use the ringing of various temple bells. The timing of these bells, usually rung as a call to prayer, is in turn calculated based on the position of the sun, moon and stars.

The time between sunset and midnight is known as the 'Dog Watch', and that between midnight and sunrise as the 'Graveyard Watch', particularly in the context of piracy.

Swearing and Insults in Teleleli

Since religious oaths run the risk of attracting the wrathful attention of gods or demons, foul language in Teleleli is mostly sexual or scatalogical rather than blasphemous. Statements such as "by Ginnafort" or "by Father" (the latter indicating Father-on-the-Mountain) are not considered impolite.

An exception is the somewhat formal "may the Crone turn the water of your bowels to ice." This is known not to draw the attention of the Crone, goddess of winter and natural death, since it is her nature to act only in her own good time.

Those who swear by the Lady of Charity should be careful to say "by Charity" rather than "by the Lady", for fear of Beautiful Lady Sebastienne, the consort of the God of Unnatural Death.

A common insult is "go hock your box", or "go hock your box at the Cross", referring to a dockside district of the city. It is particularly used for those who have much to say, but are considered wearisome. It indicates that the target has no other way of compelling attention.

Shield Designs

It is the custom in Teleleli and surrounding areas to decorate shields with images of leering faces.

It is said by some that this is the remnant of an ancient custom, which may still be practiced in its original form other lands, of stretching the actual faces of one's defeated enemies across a shield.

Others claim that it is an imitation of the sorcery of the Great Race, who were able to trap demons within their shields.

Engraved Arrows

It is a common practice of criminals, the guildless and other persons who lead insecure lives, to carry an arrow engraved with its owner's name. This is a reaction to the superstition that each person has an arrow 'with their name on it'; that is, one which is destined to end their life. Since there is only one such arrow in the world, by possessing it a person ensures that it can never be shot at them. It is also believed that by stealing an enemy's arrow, one may have a weapon which is certain to end their life. The arrows themselves are believed to 'want' to be stolen and used, so that they may fulfill their destiny.

Vest of Protection From Frost

Vests of Protection From Frost are not actually magical. Mothers just say they are to get their children to wear them.

Magical Artifacts

There is no organised trade in magical artifacts. What shopkeeper would be foolish or powerful enough to keep more than a few such artifacts in the one place? It would be like a signal-fire, lit to attract wicked sorcerers, demons and worse things from all over the universe, if not beyond.

It is said that one does not look for magic items; rather, they look for owners. Whether this is mere superstition, certainly such objects are rare. One who goes forth expecting to purchase, for example, the Remarkable Mittens Puissant Against the Unquiet Dead, is like one who goes forth saying to oneself
"I hope I meet my true love today; but if she be named Annie or Alice I shall reject her, for I rather hoped for a Mary." Yet the meanest bazaars have a way of selling remarkable items; just as one may find love in the least expected places, and if it be fate or mere chance who can say?

Insurance Companies

Those who are undertaking a journey outside of Teleleli may wish to begin by visiting the offices of an insurance company. In most cases this will not be to take out insurance, but to find work.

Wealthy folk often seek insurance for long journeys; for example, a monarch sending a child to another kingdom to be married. The company stands to make a great fortune on such a policy, but they may lose a greater one if they have to pay out. Since these journeys are very rare, there is little data on exactly how dangerous these journeys are. Thus it is difficult for the company to know what conditions to offer.

To remedy this, companies will often hire groups of adventurers to make a particular journey, to see how many survive. They may have to make the journey under particular conditions, in order that their chances of survival more closely match those of potential clients. For example, the company may supply a wagon which appears to be laden with silks, or a child whose finery suggests they have great value in ransom.

The adventurers should be sure to negotiate their contract carefully, especially if they venture into an area where there are jackals or wolves. Insurance companies generally do not cover acts of dog.

Proper Behaviour During an Expedition

It is wise to bear in mind the near-universal taboo against failing to properly bury bodies. This is not only out of respect for the person, but fear of being haunted. This belief also applies to beasts. Hunters will perform a token funeral rite for their prey, burying a single bone.

This taboo includes taking posessions off a corpse. Even one who confronts a thief in their house and kills them will fear to recover their shells.

This state applies only to the recently dead. There is no fear in robbing the tomb of one dead for at least a century or so. Though woe to he who 'picks unripe fruit'.

It happened that the noted cat-burglar Edwina Tibbletibtub, when caught in the bell-tower of the Temple of the Crone, held on to the ancient and priceless bell as she died. Thus the relic was removed and buried with her in a secret place, until generations later when the temple was able to dig it back up and reinstall it (the event celebrated as the Return of the Bell).

Thus hirelings who are prepared to loot dead enemies, or tolerate others doing so, are rare. And they will always be desperate, unable to find other work, and will be wounded in body or mind. Yet they will still expect higher pay than normal hirelings. An aged cripple values their only life no less than a stout swordsman.

Engaging Hands for An Expedition

The guild members that the traveller will have most traffic with are, naturally, those who take part in expeditions to the wilderness, sea, or underworld. Some examples include

• Porters who carry equipment or treasure, or those who handle pack-animals.
• Guides and interpreters (two skills most valuable in a land where travel and maps are so rare).
• Those who hunt food (and usually also serve as cooks).
• Those with a specialised knowledge of plants. Depending on the prevailing flora they may be able to gather food, prepare poisons, or give some limited medical assistance.
• Sailors. This single word covers a variety of trades: navigators, helmsmen or -women, dressers (who maintain diving suits and assist in their use), rowers and so on.
• Caddies. Some creatures are resistant to particular weapons. Thus many travellers will have several weapons, and will engage an assistant to carry them and present the most appropriate one as needed.

One may be tempted to pay less than the going rate. I have heard that, with patience, one may as much as halve one's expense. Of course those who are hired at such rates will be more likely to desert in times of danger. They are also more likely to be incompetent, quarrelsome, or prone to theft. Paying higher than the going rate will not necessarily result in better applicants, but they will at least be more loyal.

Typically contracts involve a promise to pay the assistant's heirs if they die, and to make all efforts to bring their body back. One can of course break these promises. However this will result in difficulties hiring others. Further these contracts, like all others, involve a supplication to the gods to curse anyone who breaks their part, and it cannot be said with certainty that the gods never listen.

Contracts usually specify a minimum amount that must be paid, as well as a percentage of treasure, with the higher amount applying.

The Guildless

The traveller should expect to be feared or pitied by many for having neither guild nor clan nor temple. The adventurer, despite that he may have great wealth, is still cousin to the vagabond and the bandit (the word 'askaris', literally meaning 'swarming locusts', can be applied to mercenaries, groups of bandits, or any other band of armed outsiders). Indeed despite their curiosity about our world, I was almost never asked about it, for all assumed that I must have a great shame or great sorrow to have travelled so far alone. This feeling is more intense outside of the big cities, where rootless wanderers are less common.

The hemianthropoi are unique in that a few of them will freely choose to leave their homes to wander the world; albeit to the bewilderment and mortification of their more sedentary fellows. All other lone wanderers will not have chosen their life, but been driven to it by circumstance (I say lone wanderers, since those nomadic folk who travel in family groups are an entirely different class of person). Through lengthy enquiry, made difficult by the tenderness of the subject, I have identified several common reasons, here appended.

• Fleeing an unwanted arranged marriage.
• Chosen for human sacrifice.
• Rejected in love and set out to prove themselves a hero, to find forgetfulness, or to die.
• Exiled for a crime, or facing execution, slavery or imprisonment, or an escaped prisoner (whether innocent or guilty). Given the nature of society in much of the world, the law may be the custom and opinion of local people rather than a formal judicial body.
• Life made intolerable by an oppressive fuedal lord, or a slave-owner.
• Escaping an unpayable debt, whether of money, goods, labour, or honour.
• Deserted from an army.
• Life is forfeit due to their participation in a war (usually a failed rebellion or civil war, since these are the mostly likely cases where the defeated side will be persecuted after surrender).
• In the case of barbarians, became dependent on some aspect of civilised life and so unable to return to their own. Commonly the barbarian grows to need liquor, reading and the academic life, or the ownership of slaves.
• In the case of zeru, or albinos, fleeing the persecution that this condition often brings.
• Starvation, war, madness, disease, or some malevolent entity has destroyed their community.
• In the case of the wealthy, guilt about the source of the family's wealth has driven them forth. Commonly related to slavery, crime, war, a political objection to inequality of wealth, or a religious objection to luxury.
• Some cause or cult fired their passion and, having lost their faith, they are unable to return.
• Life or freedom is forfeit due to the actions of a relative, such as criminal or political activity.