In which yo’Lanna achieves a crush and Surebleak achieves a coup.
After Val Con commenting at the first inspection that the decor in the entrance hall was unsubtle but mendable, I was looking forward to seeing what had been done with it, but the narration skips past it and straight to the ballroom. Then again, perhaps Lady yo’Lanna hasn’t had time to do anything interesting with it yet.
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Mercantile Building
In which the Boss Vote is concluded.
And that, more or less, is that. There’s still the outcome of the TerraTrade survey to be announced, but that’s looking more predictable now than it did a few chapters ago. And Lady yo’Lanna’s housewarming party. And, maybe, a progress report on Memit’s rabbit hunt.
Surebleak Port
Office of the Road Boss
In which Miri’s day suddenly gets more interesting.
So, Pat Rin did send the alert to both Val Con and Miri, regardless, which makes perfect sense and is what I would have assumed in the first place if the narrative hadn’t implied otherwise.
It annoys me that this is what I’m thinking about when there’s a dramatic climax going on.
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Surebleak Port
In which Boss Surebleak’s plan is revealed.
So, no shocking twist regarding Boss Surebleak’s identity. Different shocking twist instead.
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On the Road
In which Emissary Twelve appreciates flowers.
Even while Boss Surebleak stirs up trouble, life goes on. Somebody said, earlier in the book: that’s the only way to do it. You have to keeping planning for life After.
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Surebleak Port
Emerald Casino
In which the Portmaster is late for lunch.
I guess maybe it was too much to expect that we were going to get an answer just like that.
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Surebleak Port
Portmaster’s Office
In which the portmaster and the survey team leader go for a walk.
The portmaster’s probably right that the port can survive if TerraTrade doesn’t grant them the upgrade. The question that’s hanging just now is, what if TerraTrade decides the recent unpleasantness means it has to downgrade them?
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Jelaza Kazone
In which we cannot know whether Cheever would like to be Road Boss until we ask.
All these chapters where the delm and the Road Boss are getting ready to start the day provide some structure and sense of time passing, but it makes it hard to keep coming up with new chapter descriptions.
I was still a bit worried about the scene in Flourpower, because it felt a bit more significant than the scene itself warranted — I don’t know if that makes sense — as if in addition to the actual events it was also setting up for something. But if what it was setting up for was a Turtle visiting Flourpower and meeting the Hooper, I’m less worried.
Basalial
In which the pilots receive their instructions.
A short chapter, even in a book with many short chapters, and again I don’t have anything to say about it.
The Bedel
In which the kompani prepares for departure.
Udari defers to Droi as the luthia, which suggests she’s been accepted as the one who will serve that role for the kompani staying on Surebleak. It doesn’t appear that Udari has been chosen as the headman for the kompani; Droi tells him that a decision is the headman’s, not his. The way she says it suggests that the headman is somebody who has not yet had a chance to think and speak on the issue — which I rather think means that it’s Rys.