subplotkudzu | Emirikol, Part IV scene 7

After separating from Cybele outside of Signor Lajos' weapons shop Hiram continued his exploration of the city, committing intersections, landmarks and restaurants to memory. His focus for the moment was Ferrantino quarter - traveling Scornbul with the sum of money he had in his pocket, even with a nobleman's bearing and a sound blade at his hip, was an unnecessary gamble, and Ferrantino Quarter is well documented on the stage (given the financial ease of whitewashed sets pretending to be marble buildings).

This wandering led him past the Obelisk of the Winds, a supposedly haunted spire that, like many parts of thee scholarly quarter, predated the Chaos invasion and was used as a landmark designating the city in no fewer than 22 plays and cycles (again, because it was so easy to construct and store). It also led him inadvertently down a descending street and into the dwarvish community that that lies twenty feet below the streets of Ferrantino. Once he realized his error he, so obviously a minority in the realm of the bearded majority with their small metal caps and voices rumbling in a language unlike any of the republic, retraced his steps to the surface with as much grace as he could muster - and for the young lord Desaud, that was considerable grace indeed.

A florists storefront caught his eye, and he paused for a moment to purchase a small arrangement of flowers to do along with a hastily penned poem for delivery to the elvish flautist. Hiram is careful to avoid anything that might speak of, or even vaguely imply, any sort of commitment or promise while at the same time carrying a certain romance. It's a fine line, but he has done extensive reading to back up his own experience in this arena.

After securing some food he spent the evening looking for theatrical entertainment, eventually settling on one of the dramas common to the scholarly quarter: whereas Pedro and Pierre rely on broad physical comedy and regular tropes, and the legerdemain's performances no doubt have much alarums & excursions with their setwork, large stage and props, the dramas favored amongst the denizens of Ferrantino focus on talking - in this case the moral concerns and obligations of a family deep in debt but still struggling to send their youngest prodigy for proper schooling. The actors were riving even if the subject matter was dry, proving that there is much to be done with the face and the voice in an intimate venue.

That experiment complete, the young actor returned home, his pocket full of coin and his sprit full of hope for his future in this city and how it might help him to regain all that had been taken from him.

To be continued