How far away were they that they were writing these letters to request a single item? They are all in the same village, right? Wouldn't you just go ask? Or have someone go ask for you and pick up the goose fat while they were at it? It makes me think of a whole network of couriers running these little, sometimes unnecessary, messages all over the village. Texting.
A very good question! Since Khay and Babi were two other villagers, you would expect them to be living nearby. As you say, why not go ask, or send someone? While hard to say for sure, it could be that Nakhtamun (and other villagers writing letters to other villagers) wanted to show off their ability to write. It could be that it was also considered the formal thing to do!
