Tycho smiled a touch. "I also fear your cat, most Imperial Majesty. And the wrath of my lady-wife, but so do all wise men."
The emperor laughed, green eyes dancing. Beside Ewoud, Count Mangus chuckled as well, shaking his head a little. "There are too few men who will speak so forthrightly to us, Meester Tycho. Our fathers swore not to compel the men of the Five Cities unless it was a time of dire need, so we cannot order, only request. Will you come with us as an observer and adviser?"
Tycho looked to Ewoud, then back at the emperor. "Yes. My wife and son will have legal right in my absence. However, most Imperial Majesty, I ask one condition."
"And that is? A monopoly on tamman we cannot grant."
Ewoud drooped a little.
His father tipped his head toward Count Mangus. "I ask that your ambassador keep an eye on my son and inform me the instant he gets caught sneaking into the house over the back wall again. Because I will tan his hide for scaring his sister and the maids, master or no."
Laughter filled the room as Ewoud tried to sink into the floor. "So that was the young man Hugan saw. He was most impressed by your leaping skills, Ewoud Truthspeaker."
The cat talked to the emperor? "Um, thank you, most Imperial Majesty."
Count Mangus rustled a little. "I will certainly be willing to keep an eye on Ewoud Truthspeaker, but I cannot be responsible for his good conduct or lack thereof."
"My lord, no one has been able to be responsible for him, including himself, since he was old enough to let himself out of the nursery and get into the sweet buns his mother had prepared for the feast of port opening."
Now Ewoud truly wanted to melt into the floor, ooze into the cellar and never be seen again. The north-men chuckled.
"I will accompany you, most Imperial Majesty," Tycho repeated.
Later that day, Tycho pointed to the box of poppets. "How do you propose to sell those?"
"I have rented a booth just outside the port gate, honored father. As soon as the last one sells, I will turn the booth over to one of the sweet bakers for his use." The little ritual cakes and pies sold inside the gate benefitted those in need. The ones outside the gate only satisfied the sweet tooth, and were not considered competition with the sailors' confraternity. The baker had agreed to wait, and they would divide the cost of the booth.
"Hmmm."
"I want one!"
Ewoud held his hands apart. "I'm sorry good sir, miss, but that was the last one." Count Mangus had purchased one of the kittens just after the ceremony finished, shaking his head a little as he did so. That had started a flood tide of children and parents, leaving only three cats. A boy with curly black hair trotted off after his parents, clutching the last cat by the neck. One kitten remained.
Large blue eyes filled with tears, and the little girl's lower lip quivered. Ewoud felt worse than he had when Hanka died. He shouldn't. The father and daughter wore good but plain clothes, and the man's hands showed that he was a craft worker of some kind. His father would kill him by lecturing him to death about profit and charity.
Ewoud reached into the box and pulled out the second kitten. "One vlaat." He had intended to save it for his older sister's first child.
Tears turned into a huge smile as the man counted part-coins and pieces of silver ring. Ewoud leaned forward and handed the girl the kitten. She hugged it to her and bounced on her toes. "Thank you!"
The man put the money into Ewoud's hand. He murmured, "Thank you, Meester, for your mercy. That is the first smile I've seen since the winter cough took her mother."
Ewoud blinked hard, vision blurring. "You are welcome, and Yoorst of the Beasts bless you and your household." He packed up and joined his family by the Great Fir, just in time to receive a blessing and then eat the fancy buns.
The next morning his mother called up the steps, "Ewoud Galnaar Rhonarida get yourself down here! There's three lambs and two calves and their owners at the gate all looking for you."
Already? Oh no! Ewoud threw on clothes and almost broke his neck trying to get down the steps. He didn't have the credit letters ready yet.
His father watched him fly by and made no offer to help. Instead Tycho munched on bread and preserves and sipped small-beer, untroubled by the woes of the world.
Author's Note
Between 1200-1500, fur from Novgorod, Rus, and later from Muscovy formed a major part of the Hansa trade in the Baltic and North Sea. Squirrel fur was especially prized, and subject to sumptuary laws in many places. Most of the on-the-ground trade for fur took place at the Novgorod kontor, a city-inside-a-city within the walls of Novgorod that operated under the rules of the Hanseatic League and had its own church, courts, and other institutions. Young men served years at the Novgorod, Bergen, or London kontors before being allowed to begin business for themselves or marry. Hanse traders also had offices and warehouses in other cities, most famously Bruges in what is now Belgium.
Medieval children played with poppets, or dolls, made of clay, wood, or cloth. By the mid 1400s, the city of Nuremberg had workshops mass-producing doll heads and arms and legs for sale elsewhere. Out-of-date fashion dolls sometimes served as toys for girls once clothing styles changed. Clay animals were also popular. Although no evidence for "stuffed animals" of the modern kind has been found, it is possible that some were made of cloth for household children.
For further reading, in addition to the books mentioned in Merchant and Magic:
Rice, Patty C. Amber: Golden Gem of the Ages 4th Edition. (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006.) A dissertation about amber, its chemistry, history, and folklore.
Martin, Janet. Treasure in the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and its Significance for Medieval Russia. (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2004.) Another dissertation with great detail about the trade, what was traded, and where various pelts came from.
Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (New York: Belknap Press for Harvard University Press, 2016) Kindle Edition. A magnificent, thematic overview of the institutions of the Holy Roman Empire. Highly recommended but not a chronologic history. Also over a thousand pages in print.
About the Author
Alma T. C. Boykin great up on the High Plains and Great Plains, and was delighted to discover that the lands around many of the Hanseatic League’s cities are just as flat as home, if far greener. She teaches and writes, when not waiting fore foot and hind foot on a mature calico cat. Her hobbies include travel, reading, cooking, and hiking.
For information on upcoming releases and Alma’s musings on whatever stray topic catches her fancy, visit Cat Rotator’s Quarterly:
www.almatcboykin.wordpress.com
Also by Alma T. C. Boykin
Merchant and Magic Tyco Rhonarida just wants to conduct his business and return home. The gods have other plans.
The Scavenger’s Gift: A Merchant Short Story All men save miners fear the Scavenger. A trader from Maans’hill learns why.
Elizabeth of Starland A young woman, a mule, and an empire under siege. Science fiction with a history twist!
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