Seven Dan Advice (How to be useful when you visit another dojo)
I have several students who are waiting for the chance to take their 7dan grades. The following is really not for them, I consider that they've been nanadan for years. If you know them you will probably agree that they follow the advice given here.
For the rest of my students who are just sitting on the edge of your seat, here's my list of 7dan stuff you ought to start thinking about.
Be of good will: There's really no more to be said but of course I'll say it. Be the person who cares for the improvement of others in their own way. Give them what they need rather than what you figure they should have.
You are a guest: That means that if you go to another dojo to teach, and you will, you should consider yourself a house guest. Leave the place more neat than you found it, within reason. Certainly pick up after yourself, but don't wash the walls and dust the shelves, that's a bit insulting. If you use a dresser, straighten things up that you may have been expected to be messing with. In the dojo, be very careful not to mess with the relationships, don't give advice on how to treat students unless it's needed or asked for. Of course you won't tolerate abuse of students any more than you would not unplug a stopped up toilet, but don't give advice on how to re-arrange the towels.
It's not your dojo, act like a guest, stick to what you're there for, be good company at dinner.
Etiquette is local: You should make an effort to understand the local manners, it's not up to you to show people how to greet each other, or even how to treat each other. That's not your job, no matter how much you figure bowing to an exact 15 degrees is correct while your host is trying to shake your hand and kiss you on your cheek. Save the etiquette lessons for the dojo where you can explain that bowing keeps you out of knife range and shaking hands and hugging should be reserved for people you trust.
If you trust your hosts, greet them in their own etiquette, lean in and get kissed. If you figure they invited you in order to stab you, don't go.
Go where you are asked: You are a member of an international organization, as such you take on certain responsibilities as you rise in rank. The 7dan rank means you can sit panels so you may be asked to do so in countries that don't have enough of their own rank to hold their own grades.
Do what you are told: You may be part of a group of instructors, sort yourself into the correct place and do what you're told to do. I know it's hard to shut up and assist when you have that great way to teach what the hachidan is teaching, but relax. He's likely as good at this stuff as you are. Listen and learn.
If you're the big shot, still do what you're told. You may not be there to teach some arcane part of the art, no matter how much you want to. You're there to teach what you were asked to teach. Teach that. Now, if you can't teach what you were asked because there are some basics missing, fill them in as fast as you can and get back to what you were asked to do.
Advance, don't fix: The locals may not have regular access to you. They may not ever see you again. Don't waste everyone's time by fixing small points, instead point them out and teach how to fix them. Four dans love to fix things, let them do it.
Concentrate on the seniors: You should be looking more toward the highest ranks in the room, rather than the lowest. Show them how to fix things and trust them to fix them when you're gone. In the meantime take those higher ranks further along in their studies so that they can pass that down as well.
Teach the beginners to listen to their seniors: Reinforce and support the local instructors, let their students see that their teachers know what they're doing. If you feel you absolutely must correct the highest local instructor don't pull them out on the floor and tell them they are wrong, instead suggest that perhaps there is a different way to do what they are doing. Maybe do it quietly, when everyone else is looking the other way. Even more delicate is to look at the students in general and correct them. If their teacher is listening he'll get the message. "All my students just got told to do it a different way, maybe I should fix that".
Take the hit: On the other hand, if the hanshi pulls you out in front of everyone and tears a strip off your back because you aren't doing things correctly, take it for what it is. It's a teaching moment, for you and for the students watching. "Wow, even a 7dan can get corrected, maybe there's something I can learn too". It's good for students to see seniors being corrected and taking it with delight. Why the difference? You're a 7dan, you have nothing to prove to anyone, least of all to your own students. But you may be in a situation where the local instructors are quite junior grades and they will know it. They may be a bit insecure and feel that what authority they have is being undermined by your corrections. Be careful of who and how you correct and take the hit yourself to show how.
There's always a senior: The local guy who is in charge of what you're teaching is automatically a senior rank and deserves the respect of a senior rank. It doesn't matter if the local group is being taught by a shodan, you should treat that shodan with the respect of a 7dan. Unless there is an explicit agreement that you are their sensei, these are not your students, their sensei is worth your respect.
Don't let anyone defend your dignity: You may run into helpful types who will tell their fellow students how to treat you. They may even do this in front of you. Gently suggest that you can take care of your own dignity and make sure that everyone understands that you are a formal/informal person in/out of class and you will let people know if they are offending you. Never be offended.
You are there to teach, if that involves falling over on the floor as you demonstrate the wrong foot placement, so be it. If someone fails to bow correctly to you, or (horrors) uses the wrong honourific, fail to notice and make sure others don't notice for you.
Don't take sides: Unless you own your dojo, you deal constantly with the administration of your space. You deal with your local organization as well. You know the frustrations. You local hosts may also have complaints, the best way for you to deal with those is to point out that they are the same everywhere. If you haven't figured out how to fix them back home it's doubtful you can fix them elsewhere. Just nod and say "yep, same".
Stick to teaching.
Teach more than you're asked: Try to give more than was expected, ways to keep learning, the next couple of kata, something that you can leave as a gift. Always try to teach ideas rather than just angles. The students can read books and manuals to learn the angle of this or that cut, but books can't always teach what a correctly aligned hip feels like. If you can teach that you will have a lasting effect on those students.
Those are some quick ideas on what to do as a 7dan. As always, it's just my opinion but I have noticed that my 6dans follow these already, so I leave the thoughts here for consideration.
Kim Taylor Dec 10, 2016
SEMINARS:
Sei Do Kai Seminars
March Iaido and Jodo seminar:
https://www.thepamurai.com/othe.../march-port-credit-seminar
May Guelph Seminar
https://www.thepamurai.com/the-may-seminar
Sunday SDK zoom/live seminars 11am-5pm Guelph Youth Dance Centre
February 9
March 16
April 27
Sei Do Kai practice calendar:
https://www.thepamurai.com/practices
The website includes more information and links to registration for each event in chronological order, here's a summary by type:
To Shin Kai, 6:30pm Port Credit:
Clarke Hall: Jan 6, Mar 10, Mar 31, Apr 14, May 12, June 16,
https://sdksupplies.com/
Sei Do Kai dojo Guelph:
Contact pam.sdk@gmail.com or https://www.thepamurai.com/ for details on live and zoom classes, for zoom classes, click the link at:
https://seidokai.ca/
Zoom classes: [Wednesday Jodo at 7pm, and Thursday iaido, at 7pm, Sunday Niten Ichiryu at 11am
Live classes Guelph Youth Dance: [Wednesday 7pm, Friday 7:30pm Sunday 1:30pm] Friday/Sunday - cancelled for some seminars.
Events: https://www.jodo-canada.ca/events
Free Books:
https://sdksupplies.com/cat_manual-free-ebooks.html
https://180degreeimaging.com/TaylorBooks.html
#freebooks
#budo
#seminar
#teaching
Hulder and Mouse
The problem (dis)appears
===
Art Disappears
“There it is, touch it.”
“You touch it.”
“No, no, you touch it.”
“Ray, every time I do something with you it goes all haywire, You touch it this time.”
“But I’m the one that gets you out of trouble, right, and besides, you said you would touch it.”
“I said I’d come along with you to look at this thing. It’s pretty ugly, I”m not sure I’d want to touch it even if I knew it wasn’t a fetish. All right, I’ll touch it.”
Art held out his arm...
“Art! Don’t manifest Excalibur in a thrift shop!”
“Oh all right.”
Art reached out and grabbed the fetish. As soon as he did, he disappeared.
Ray stepped forward and waved his hand through where Art used to be, just in case he had turned invisible. He was gone. Not only that, but Ray couldn’t feel him anywhere. “Oh oh, I’m in trouble.”
Ingrid’s head snapped up and her beer mug hit the bar top. “Now where has he gone, he’s like the opposite of a bad penny, always getting lost. Now where... Ray! I should have known.”
Ingrid stood up and Sam, who was tending bar that day, pulled the beer mug away and down the bar. A Goddess in full regalia had appeared, complete with her spear, which she grounded on the wooden floor with a massive thump. At that moment, Ray appeared. He wasn’t surprised.
“We were just investigating the fetishes, honest, I didn’t know he would disappear!”
Ray was eyeing the spear, which was slowly dropping toward his chest. “Honest, my Goddess, I didn’t know what they were or where Art has gone but we’ll find him, I promise.”
Ingrid looked like thunder, “Ray why is it that it’s Art that always disappears when you two are out on your adventures. Why is it never you?”
“He just jumps in there first, Lady, I swear.”
“Ray you know I can replay anything I want, right?”
Ray half cringed away as the spear point came level with his chest. Sam had pressed the button under the bar to alert Ken who came out of his office. In a quiet voice he said, “Ingrid, if you blast Ray we lose a major clue as to where Art went. Ray, get over to the bar and have a beer while the grown-ups talk.”
Ray sort of slid sideways out of the line of fire and went to the bar where Sam poured him a beer. Ken had kept his eye on Ingrid and his hand on the force projector in his pocket. He pulled a chair out from a table and sat, indicating the chair opposite.
Ingrid seemed to shrink in size about 20 percent and the armour, spear and sword were gone. She reached over and grabbed her beer from the bar with a scowl toward Ray and sat opposite Ken.
“I can’t feel him, I’d know if he was on this earth or the other, but he’s not in either place. Ingrid in my hall doesn’t feel him either.”
“Right, so he must be elsewhere. Any ideas? Where is he hidden from you?”
“If another God is involved, he could be hidden, but I don’t feel that sort of power anywhere. What do your instruments tell you, Ken.”
“They told me a major power surge was happening in the bar, but just before that there was a brief surge in the town, probably when Art disappeared. I know where the burst happened, but not where he is.”
Ingrid cocked her head, “Woden can’t feel him, he’s not in Woden’s hall or in mine, so he can’t be dead. And I’d know if his body was around anyway. Damn it Ken, where is he?”
Ray had muttered, “Megan” and she had appeared. She glanced at Ray and shook her head. Her meaning was clear, Ray was lucky to be alive and unsinged. She went over to sit with Ingrid and Ken. She put her hand on Ingrid’s shoulder, “I can’t feel him either, but we will find him. I promise you.”
“Thank you Nanabozo, I appreciate that. Woden is sending Michelle to the store to see if she can track him.”
“If anyone can track him, Michelle can.”
Kit walked in the front hallway and looked toward Ray, “You good father?”
Ray nodded and flicked his eyes to the table. Kit went over and sat down. “For what it’s worth, the St. George can’t feel him, and neither can I. This is rather mysterious. I have got rid of all the other statues or fetishes or whatever they are in all the thrift stores in town. Nobody else will be trapped.”
Megan smiled, “Thank you Kit, would you like a beer?”
“No thanks, I have to be back, I’ve got lessons and Dave is working. I just felt that Ray was in danger.”
Kit looked at Ingrid, who looked back without a trace of apology in her eyes. Kit nodded, she understood what a problem her trickster father could be. But still, “Thank you for not blasting my father, Ingrid.”
With that, Kit walked out of the bar and the temperature went back up about two degrees. Ray shivered as he thought what Kit would have done if Ingrid had fried him. Once again, he was reminded that his tricks affected others beside himself. It used to be a lot simpler, he’d pull a trick and it would rebound on him alone.
Sam had pulled several more pints and distributed them around the bar. As she dropped two in front of Mouse and Hulder, Mouse asked, “What is happening, this looks serious.”
Sam nodded, “Art is Ingrid’s partner. He and Ray get themselves into trouble regularly and this time Art has disappeared. Ingrid is scared, she’s been with Art for a very long time. Kit is Ray’s daughter and she would have had words with Ingrid if she had blasted Ray. Megan is sort of the headmistress around here, a very serious being.”
“They are all spirit beings?”
“Yes, all those in the bar now, except Ken.”
“And you? Are you a spirit being?”
“Me, no. I’m just the bartender. Just a human.”
Hulder had been watching, “I think you are a bit more than just a human, you move like a warrior.”
“I’ve had a little training. I work for both Ken and the St. George as an agent, and as a bartender. I sort of fly under the radar because of that.”
Mouse looked again at the table, “This town is a family, isn’t it?”
Sam grinned, “You could say that, a big, roiling, arguing family that comes together when it needs to. Guelph seems to be the focus of a lot of trouble but so far these folks have managed to deal with it all.”
Mouse thought of the spirits in the cabin in Whitehorse, “I understand.”
He looked at Hulder, so far from her family and he seemed to make a decision. He would give her this family to replace the one she had given up for him.
Mouse walked to the table, which had more or less run out of ideas. He looked down at Ken Kobold and said “I may know someone who can help.”
Ken dragged a chair over and waved Mouse into it. “This is Mouse and his partner Hulder is at the bar. What do you suggest, Mouse.”
“There are a couple of ghosts that use the cabin in the Yukon who seem pretty good at solving problems. One of the problems involved a place that was outside of this or any world.”
Ken brightened, “John and Louisa.”
Mouse nodded.
~~
Kim Taylor Feb 24, 2025
Hulder and Mouse
The Muskrat Monster
Art was startled, “This is the channel from South Africa. Is it another Grootslang?”
“That squashed monster? No this is different. Smaller, full of spite and venom.”
Mouse moved to stand beside Hulder, “Can we defeat it?”
“Easily my love, like most of its kind, it is cowardly, it relies on deceit and the ignorance of those it seeks to dominate. Shall we go meet it?”
“Why not? Art do you have a shovel I can use?”
“No need my love, I am Trollish, stay close to me.”
Art stepped back quickly as the area around Hulder’s body became incandescent with heat. Mouse was inside a bubble of heat that was strong enough to melt the dirt and rocks. The two of them began to sink down into the ground, leaving behind a tunnel whose sides were fused to a glassy surface. Mouse was grinning, he’d never seen Hulder do this, and he looked forward to the coming fight. “What is it called, Hulder? This monster.”
“I have heard them called Muskrats, but you showed those animals to me, they are rather nice looking, if a bit rat-like.”
“So not a Muskrat? We also have Musky fish and Muskox in this country. But I don’t think any of those come from South Africa.”
“Ah, it senses us, and it runs.”
Mouse, who had been getting larger and more dense, was disappointed. “Can we chase it back to its home?”
“You wish us to undertake the survey?”
“I just want a good run, but this seems the way to get it.”
“Very well, here is the tunnel, can you smell it?”
“It stinks, how can I not? Let’s go.”
The two of them fairly flew down the tunnel, the monster limping and lurching ahead of them. It began to yell gibberish, something about how it was a very important person, someone to be listened to. It was saying something about being a genius when Hulder’s field caught up with it. One short scream and it was gone.
“Do you smell that, Hulder?”
“I do, there seems to be more of them, but they have gone through here years ago.”
“Do you suppose they are the refugees that the St. George is expecting?”
“More likely they will be the cause of the refugee problem. Notice the side tunnel here, it leads somewhere south of Canada. If those things have gained positions of power, there will be those who are leaving on their own, and those who will be forced out.”
“Well that’s not our problem right now, let’s survey this tunnel to its origin and report back.”
This the pair did, and since they were mostly sliding along on Hulder’s bubble of heat, it was only an hour or so before they were reporting back to Art.
“We chased the Muskrat until we caught it, and then surveyed the rest of the tunnel. We can divert the channel, the tunnel, to as deep as you need it to go, so that the building can drop onto anything coming out the end.”
Art was delighted, “So you will take the job?”
Mouse laughed, “If you can promise us some monsters to fight, I’m all for it.”
Hulder nodded and put her arm around Mouse to give him a quick hug.
“Good, good. Ken has the details of the contract, the St. George will be paying you through him. I have been called away to the lunch counter, something about Thrift Stores. Can you make your way to the Keller?”
“Sure, we know where it is, one question, do we survey all the landing places for the St. George now, or wait for it to move.”
Art cocked his head, “The George says there is no huge rush, you can wait for him to move and survey then. After that he will know how deep he can go and you can adjust the channels. Since you’ve been here, you will know when he moves.”
Hulder smiled, “Fine, fine. No rush then. We’ll head to the bar. Can we use the train tunnel? It’s very near here, we can dig to it and fill in after ourselves.”
Art nodded, “I suppose that would be fine, listen carefully, those trains are fast.”
“Not as fast as I am.”
Art considered that, shrugged and said, “Thanks again you two, we appreciate it.”
A couple of minutes later, the pair were climbing the stairs from the train station to Ken’s Keller. Ken was minding the bar when he saw them coming up. “I see you two are finding your way around. Did you meet Art and the St. George?”
Mouse nodded, “We did, and we’ll take the contract.”
“Good, I think you’ll find the wages are generous, do you want to have an apartment as well?”
“I think we’ll wait for a while before moving. I get the distinct feeling that if we lived in the apartment building we’d be doing a lot of extra work.”
Ken laughed, “You picked up that vibe did you? Well you’re right, there are a lot of supernatural beings in the George that work for him.”
Hulder was eyeing the bar taps and noticed one written in Trollish. “You have a Troll brew?”
“We have a wide selection of beers here, and we just found a brew from Iceland. Here, let me pull you a pint.”
“Well, it’s a bit early isn’t it?”
“Not in Iceland. And how about you, Mouse, can I tempt you with a thimbleful?”
Mouse looked sharply at Ken, but he saw a wide grin and teasing eyes. “Just a thimbleful please, it’s still early in Whitehorse.”
The pints poured, Mouse ended up with a normal sized mug, the two sat at the bar while Ken settled down on the stool behind. “Are you two getting the hang of Guelph?”
Hulder drained half her mug and set it down on the bar with a smile of thanks, “It seems a friendly place, very welcoming.”
“It is, isn’t it? Nobody is quite sure why it’s so diverse, but some think there are crossings of ley lines or similar. On the surface it’s perfectly normal, but when you look a bit deeper...”
“You find a Kobold bar?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Ken why are you paying us, and not the St. George? And why the negotiations in New Zealand? Who exactly are you, you’re certainly not a barkeeper.”
“But here I am pulling pints for you in a bar.”
“Not only a barkeeper.”
“No, I suppose not. I’m a general-purpose fixer for the Kobold nation I guess. I run several agents in various places, and a while ago I realized the St. George was doing the same. We came to an arrangement, that building and I, and so we have sort of a loose organization. That means if it’s easier for me to pay you two, I do it. Ah, two more pints?”
“Uh, yes please, but we’re a bit short of cash at the moment. Could you take it out of our wages?”
“I’d be delighted!”
~~
Kim Taylor Feb 23, 2025
Hulder and Mouse
Ray discovers thrifting
===
Ray Goes Thrifting
Ray was in the thrift shop with Kuri and Kit. Kit pointed to the shelf, “There it is pops, what do you think?”
“Pops? Aren’t you a bit old for ‘pops’?”
“What do you think of it?”
“I think you were right not to touch it. The thing is not exactly a trap, but it carries a compulsion. You are bound to help those who sent it along.”
“So you know what it is?”
“Sure, I’ve seen them before. They are a kind of scout, a preparatory plan for those who are coming.”
“Who is coming Ray? Are we in for another fight?”
“Not yet, but maybe. These fetishes are usually sent by refugees. Spirit beings who are fleeing from hardship. Now, if whatever they are fleeing chases them here, we may have a fight.”
“So if someone picks one of these up they will just want to help the refugees? We’d do that anyway, right?”
“Oh goodness, look at this, it’s a mask from Indonesia, oh a whole bunch of them. Wow, they can really churn them out.”
“Ray...”
“And look at this display, there’s tea cups from all over the world, but they’re all blue. Isn’t that cute.”
“Ray you’ve never been in a thrift store, have you?”
“No, I’ve never thought to come look. Wow, those shoes are brand new, who buys this stuff and then gives it away?”
“Ray can we get back to the topic please. Where do these fetishes come from?”
“I’m not sure, Kit. The last time I saw one was about two hundred years ago in Japan. The Ainu bear spirits were being run out of Hokkaido. They moved to Siberia.”
“So there are bears coming?”
“No, not here I wouldn’t think. Not in Guelph. Maybe further north where there would be room for them. The little brothers are about all the wildlife this town can handle.”
“The coyotes. Would there be more of them coming?”
“I don’t know, probably not, they wouldn’t need to prepare the way, they’d just move into the area. Anyway, coyote aren’t very good with their paws, these fetishes are too delicate for them.”
“So who is coming?”
“I don’t know, love, I’ll ask around. Oh, look at the art supplies, a whole bag of acrylic tubes. Do you want to get those for Dave?”
“The George supplies him with everything he needs, Ray, put it back.”
“Let’s check out the jewellery, you two must want some new bling don’t you?”
“Ray!”
“OK, OK, but I’ve got a debit card just burning a hole in my pocket.”
“Thrift store rules say you can walk back out if there are no treasures.”
Kuri tugged on Kit’s sleeve and pointed to the artwork. Ray saw it instantly, a woodland print of wolf and lynx. He picked it up and led the way to the checkout counter. “My treat, this almost looks like you and Okami posed for this.”
“Thanks Ray.”
Later that afternoon Ray was sitting in the lunch counter with Art. “There’s some fetishes in the thrift store that would seem to indicate that we’ve got another wave of refugees coming Art. Have you heard anything?
“The George wants to add 30 floors to the basement, it says there are refugees coming.”
“Well we’d better keep our eyes open. The George would know I suppose.”
“Should we go ask Ken about it?”
“I hear he’s got a new beer, so I suppose we have a responsibility to go sample it.”
As the pair went down the stairs, Mike shook his head. “What have you heard Liz?”
His partner poked her head out from the back room where she was arranging the supplies. “It’s the usual from down south, the Puritans have gained power again and are going after everybody else, not just spirit beings.”
“Puritans?”
Liz sighed, “Half the original Europeans to the place were religious refugees. The other half were believers in the enlightenment. The place never really got over that split, all the later immigrants sorted themselves into the two sides. When the enlightenment folks are in power, the place runs on the rule of law. When the Puritans come to power they try to make the place a kingdom for themselves alone.”
Mike, a seer, a man who could see the spirit beings just grunted. “I don’t get it.”
“Of course you don’t, love, you can see those who are different and not be afraid of them. Fear of ‘the other’ doesn’t really register on you.”
“But I’m often...”
“Before you say it, yes I know you’re afraid of some of the spirit beings around here, but not whole classes of people. That sort of proves you’re on the tolerant side of things. I mean some of the beings around here are actually scary, it’s OK to be scared of them.”
“Well, to be honest, as I get to know them I’m not as frightened of those beings either. Like Megan.”
“Dude, you thought she was going to eat you until you found out she never had the intention. That was Jim playing tricks.”
In the bar, Ray and Art were enjoying yet another pint of the new brew. Ken wandered out to say hello. “Have either of you touched one of those fetishes you told me about?”
Ray shook his head, “Should we?”
“How are you sure it’s a preparation for the refugees?”
“Well it looks the same...”
Ken kept looking at Ray.
“Just let me finish my beer would you please, then I’ll go.”
Ken nodded and went back to his office.
Ray looked over at Art, “So partner, you want to go to a thrift store?”
“A what?”
“Oh it’s a wonderful place, junk all over but the hope of a real treasure, something someone threw out without knowing what it was. Oh and books inscribed ‘with infinite love forever...’ that have been chucked into a box and donated. Such a lot of fun.”
“You just want me to grab one of those statue things.”
“Well, yes, I’ll be there to make sure nothing bad happens.”
“Oh yes, that always works out so well.”
~~
Kim Taylor Feb 21, 2025
@Pauliinalievonen Tried it.
SEMINARS:
Sei Do Kai Seminars
March Iaido and Jodo seminar:
https://www.thepamurai.com/other-seminars/march-port-credit-seminar
May Guelph Seminar
https://www.thepamurai.com/the-may-seminar
Sunday SDK zoom/live seminars 11am-5pm Guelph Youth Dance Centre
February 9
March 16
April 27
Sei Do Kai practice calendar:
https://www.thepamurai.com/practices
The website includes more information and links to registration for each event in chronological order, here's a summary by type:
To Shin Kai, 6:30pm Port Credit:
Clarke Hall: Jan 6, Mar 10, Mar 31, Apr 14, May 12, June 16,
Sei Do Kai dojo Guelph:
Contact pam.sdk@gmail.com or https://www.thepamurai.com/ for details on live and zoom classes, for zoom classes, click the link at:
Zoom classes: [Wednesday Jodo at 7pm, and Thursday iaido, at 7pm, Sunday Niten Ichiryu at 11am
Live classes Guelph Youth Dance: [Wednesday 7pm, Friday 7:30pm Sunday 1:30pm] Friday/Sunday - cancelled for some seminars.
Events: https://www.jodo-canada.ca/events
Free Books:
https://sdksupplies.com/cat_manual-free-ebooks.html
To explain. There are many novels in this series called The Lunch Counter Series. This is from number 19, and is the third chapter. You can get the other novels and some poetry at: https://180degreeimaging.com/TaylorBooks.html
Hulder and Mouse
Chapter 3.
The St. George
“George you have to be kidding. You can do that?”
“I can, Art, I’m sure of it.”
“But what about all the extra dirt?”
“Same as now, the basement levels are filled in by the original dirt that was there when I landed.”
“Where is that dirt when you’re here on site?”
“It’s in the last site of course. I leave a site, dig out the dirt on the new site and put it where the old site was.”
The St. George was Guelph’s only sentient apartment building, and it could move. Art Pendry was the manager slash handyman for the building and so could talk to the building.
“OK but thirty floors underground? That’s a lot of extra dirt my friend, where are you going to put it?”
“Oh I’ve got that all worked out, I’m going to put it in the city snow dump. That way they think it’s from sanding the city streets.”
“But they don’t sand the streets, they salt them.”
“Spring clean-up? Street sweeping?”
“Look, I’m sure you know best. But why thirty floors underground?”
“Because we can’t go higher than the Basilica, local building codes.”
“I’m sure an appeal to the Province would fix that up. After all there are lots of exceptions already.”
“But if I go up, we’ll have to look like it was built, that would take months.”
“And...”
“And there’s a wave of immigration coming.”
“How does that matter to us? We mostly rent to supernatural folks and the mentally disturbed.”
“Lots of both ought to be arriving any day now, don’t you pay attention to the news, there’s a new government down south.”
“Oh, that. But thirty stories?”
“There’s a lot of them, it’s bad this time.”
“Well, like I said, I’m sure you know best. What do you need?”
“I’ve arranged for a survey of our usual spots. Talked to Ken about it and he has someone in mind to do the job.”
“I can see you’ve got this well in hand. All right, go ahead.”
“Thanks Art. Will you tell Kuri about the new plan?”
“Sure, when I get the chance, she seems to have some sort of project going on.”
Mouse was confused, “There’s a basement, does it have an office or something?”
Mike frowned, “What? Not just an office, there’s a bar under the lunch counter. Ken and his crew dug it out long ago, and there’s a railroad underneath that.”
“A railroad?”
“Sure, it goes from Europe to the West Coast. They built it during the Giant’s war to bring refugees over. Very high speed.”
“Uh, and we should just go down the stairs?”
“Sure, Ken’s office is off the bar, you’ll see it to the left as you get to the bottom.”
“OK thanks Mike. Hulder, should we go now?”
“If you think so, Mouse, then we should go talk.”
Ken welcomed them into his office and pulled an extra chair away from the wall. “Like I said, good to see you both here in Guelph, I didn’t know you were planning to come here.”
“Neither did we, but the cabin in Whitehorse seems cramped these days, and Joe Makwa suggested we might want to come here.”
“I see, good, good. I understand you’re newly married, have you had a decent honeymoon?”
“Newly... Oh, no actually we have been married since 1930. We took that amount of time to come back to the Yukon from Tahiti, by walking. We took our time, and had a great honeymoon. I guess we started back before you met the rest of the spirits in New Zealand.”
“You walked back here from 1930... underwater?”
“No, no, we used volcanic vents, we walked under the ocean and came up for large land masses.”
“I see. So you are comfortable underground.”
“Sure, Hulder is a Troll and I’m a mouse. Underground is our natural habitat.”
“Yes, we Kobolds are miners, we’re good underground as well, but not so far reaching as you and Mouse. So one of my partners here in town is doing some construction, and wants to have a survey done of some underground areas. Would you be interested in that job?”
“Perhaps, but why don’t you do it with Kobolds, how big could a basement be?”
“Thirty stories, but there are other factors, conduits, that is, tunnels that go as far as South Africa and elsewhere. Those would need to be surveyed and if needed, re-routed.”
“You can’t just close them?”
“We tried, but they are magical as well as physical. The thing is they aren’t 30 stories underground, they would exit into, say, the tenth floor basement level and be free to roam the halls.”
“Maybe you’d better explain a bit further.”
“Yes, perhaps. The St. George is an apartment building, and it can move, it often does so when something is coming out of the tunnels, it appears on top of the tunnel and crushes the monsters coming out. With a deeper basement, it would simply block the exit rather than squash it, and that would be a problem. So for all its landing sites we need to know where the tunnels are, and where they come from. So we can deal with it.”
“I see, and you need thirty stories of new apartment for what, exactly.”
“More refugees, more supernatural refugees, fleeing hate and injustice.”
“Is this a job? Is there pay involved?”
“Excellent question. Yes there is very good pay involved, from the St. George. It is very generous to its friends and workers. There might even be an apartment if you two want one.”
“Mouse? What do you think?”
“You’d be doing the heavy lifting, love. It’s your call, do you want to go check it out?”
Hulder nodded and turned back to Ken, “What’s the address, we’ll go have a look. Mouse can get along on the air, but I need to eat so a job would be useful.”
Having got the address, the pair set out to find the St. George. Once there, they were met by Art Pendry, who took them into the basement. “We have two levels of basement right now, George wants to add thirty, did Ken explain the problem?”
“He did, now where could I access the earth below the building?”
“We have a room that has a hatch you could use. It’s right next door here.”
Hulder was soon standing on the dirt under the open hatch, she closed her eyes and held out her arms, hands palm down and turned slowly in a circle. “I see the tunnel, its about three metres down, and I see a crushed something. Would that be one of the monsters Ken told us about?”
“I suspect so, George didn’t mention anything the last time we moved but if he can take care of a problem himself, he often doesn’t bother telling me.”
“Well I think I can take that monster. We can... Oh, something is coming.”
~~
Kim Taylor Feb 20, 2025
@rolle Thank you for the admission.