Out and About (Theying)

[Bladewyn]

Fourteenth Candlemark of Lunaria
Brightening 20, Second Cycle of Junctior
Autumn of Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum
Paradigm: Selheim

It was a surprisingly beautiful day in Jaedaxia. Imperos had been filled with surprise showers and dark, chilly nights, but in Junctior, the city seemed to be apologizing for all the strange weather with a succession of glorious mornings and afternoons.

Bladewyn came out onto the front steps of her house and breathed in happily. La Rue Felix was filled with the smells of freshly baked croissants, the sounds of musicians playing, and urchins in berets scampering barefoot. Jaedaxia certainly was an exciting place to be.

She hadn't yet seen all of it, though. Most of Bladewyn's adventures had taken place in La Rangee du Negociante, Le Cloison Arrondissement, and the immediate area around her own home in Le Quartier du Sud. She began to walk, contemplating each of the areas that she'd already visited. To her left when exiting La Rue Felix were the Ice Gardens and Jaedah's Mirror. She would revisit that spot, but not this brightening. Then, making a right, she came to the arts centre, where one would find La Chambre de Verre, La Grandiose Theatre, and La Couloir de Musique. Strangely enough, the usual group of musicians who frequented the square were absent, and the only sounds to be heard were those of the water from the fountain quietly splashing.

*Well, that won't do,* Bladewyn thought with a smile, and sat down along the edge of the fountain. She removed from her courier bag the pan flute that she had bought for herself a few months ago. She hadn't had a lesson in quite some time, but she had been practicing in her house when she had a moment to spare. She put the flute to her lips and began to play a simple song she had written, deftly moving between each of the twenty pipes to produce a pleasing sound.

[Theying]

Theying was in a rather sour mood. Marguerite had told him to go and learn more about the statuary of Jaedaxia and what not. All the skilled craftsman did was suggest that there really wasn't a point to most of it, and then she got all mad. The young man couldn't for the life of him figure out what he had done wrong. So, off he went, she had told him not to come back until he had a deeper appreciation for Jaedaxia's fine culture. Not for the first time he wondered why that cat infested portal had brought him here those patterns ago, there was still just so much about this city that hadn't become second nature even after all that time.

The young man knew that it wasn't worth fighting over, and had been wandering more or less aimlessly for several candle marks. Inside he was just counting off time until he was fairly certain that Marguerite had calmed down to the point where she would let him back in the house. It wasn't anywhere near that point yet, if past experience was any measure. This odd sound began to penetrate the aura of depressed gloom that surrounded Theying and prompted him to swipe vigorously by an ear, as if to brush a particularly noisy insect away.

[Bladewyn]

Bladewyn sat cross-legged on the edge of the fountain, still playing. By the time Theying came into view, she had switched to a different tune, one that her instructor had taught her. That lesson had been a few months ago, however, so she was having trouble remembering how it went. She would play from the beginning of the song for about a minute until she fumbled and forgot which note came next, and no matter which one she tried, they all sounded discordant and strange.

So she couldn't help thinking that when the young man came wandering past, then waved a hand by his ear, that he was expressing displeasure with her attempt at playing a little ditty. Bladewyn uttered an offended little "huh!" in response, as in "huh, let's see you play it better!"

Coincidentally, her lips had been poised to play the last of the twenty pipes she hadn't tried yet, and that pipe happened to be the one that played the correct note at last. Bladewyn smiled in surprise and continued playing until the song's end.

The man still seemed depressed, or at least lost in thought. So perhaps he hadn't really been listening after all. "Something wrong?" she asked, putting down her pipe to catch a breath.

[Theying]

A vague alarm went off in the back of Theying's mind. It seemed that someone was talking to him despite the protective cocoon of gloom he had surrounded himself with. Without thinking he turned towards the source of the intrusion. His eye weren't focused at first, but after a blink he came to notice quite suddenly the presence of a pretty young woman holding an instrument of some kind looking at him funny.

"I'm sorry," Theying began in as diplomatic a tone as his current funk would allow. "Did you say something? I was rather lost in thought." He wondered what had prompted this conversation, since he had definitely missed the genesis of this situation.

[Bladewyn]

The man gave Bladewyn a spacey look, and she returned it; there were a lot of raving lunatics in Jaedaxia, especially around the bohemian area, but there weren't many quiet ones. Those were the ones you had to look out for.

When he began to speak, though, she thought that he might be at least a little bit normal. That was good. "Oh, I was just asking if anything was wrong," she replied. "You seemed... troubled." Was that the right word? He didn't seem upset, but most people didn't do deep amounts of thinking while walking about.

[Theying]

Theying gave a wan smile, it was kind of hard toe explain. He'd give it a shot, but he wasn't sure if he was going to communicate it. There were some things that were just that hard to make others understand.

"Apparently," the comparatively short human began. "I don't appreciate Jaedaxine Culture enough, and I will remain in the dog house until I develop it. The thing is that I don't know what 'cultural appreciation' is." He shook his head sadly, trying to express exactly how bewildered he was by all of this. It was something that had come pretty much from nowhere, at least from his perspective. "Do you happen to have the answer to this dilemma?"

[Bladewyn]

Ah... romantic troubles. Troubles of the heart seemed to be popular around Jaedaxia. Luckily for Theying, however, Bladewyn did have an answer.

"If you're looking to appreciate Jaedaxian culture, you've come to just the right place," she told him. She gestured straight ahead. "There's La Couloir de Musique, the music hall. There are concerts there every night, and they offer music lessons too. In fact, that's where I learned to play this." She held up her pan pipes briefly, then continued her little tour. Bladewyn pointed to La Grandiose Theatre and La Chambre de Verre to their left. "There are the theatres, opera house, and the glass and crystal shop." She then indicated the Socrates de Ambergois Universite. "And that's the university of the arts." Most people didn't know this area well, but Bladewyn frequented the place through interest and proximity: she loved the arts, and La Rue Felix was only a few minutes' walk away.

"You could visit any of those places to learn about Jaedaxian culture... arts-wise, anyway." Bladewyn's eyes inadvertently flickered to Le Cloison de Pleurant, the Wall of Weeping, just barely visible between the buildings ahead of them. Yes, there were much darker facets to Jaedaxia's history.

[Theying]

At least he had stumbled in the right direction. Maybe there was a more proactive solution to all of this than just moping until Marguerite calmed down and let him back inside. The question here was, where to start... Something that the skilled tradesman still had no lead upon.

"I'm afraid that I have a very weak background in this area," Theying answered. "I guess that's something of a mistake when marrying an actress. Now that I think about it we have a lot in common in how we approach things, but not in what we do. She still refuses to come out to the garden, and I know nothing of the arts. How would you suggest proceeding?"

For someone who bets his life and livelihood regularly on being prepared for anything, neglecting a whole range of knowledge, skills, and abilities was beginning to look more like folly the more he considered it. Even now he had three kinds of poisons, four kinds of medicinal herbs, and a couple of herbal items of pure utilitarian value on his person on the off chance someone might need them. In case of a mugging or fight he also had throwing daggers, a dirk, and his signature bwod all concealed upon him, even though he wasn't expecting a fight. Theying had always considered himself more or less ready for unexpected circumstances, he had FAITH in that belief. Finding himself at a loss like this could be a crippling blow if the realization had dawned on him suddenly, but he was prepared for a gradual epiphany like this.

[Bladewyn]

"An actress, hm?" Bladewyn pondered the thought carefully. After a moment, she stood and spoke.

"I'd suggest starting at the theatre, then. In fact... Is this where she works?" La Grandiose Theatre certainly the largest theatre in Jaedaxia, so it wasn't a far-fetched thought. Bladewyn gestured to the largest building to their left. "I'm almost certain that they offer daily tours, or at least impromptu explorations. I could come with you, if you like." Bladewyn loved her random explorations, but she understood that some people weren't as aversed to walking into strange places just for fun. She awaited his reply with a smile: if he accepted, she'd be glad to go on another adventure. If not, she was just as happy going back to playing the flute, happy to have helped him... whatever his name was... on his way.

[Theying]

Theying shook his head with a somewhat pained smile. "She used to," came the answer. "She gave a lot up when we married, and then some more when we had children. So, I don't know if that that's the best of ideas... Although it would be nice to know exactly what purpose the statuary around town serves."

Theying had risked his life for their relationship, but he hadn't had to put his passion on the back burner as she had. Maybe he should be more supportive of her plays. He had encouraged her to continue, but he hadn't taken practical steps to help her out. He needed to get her some kind of help with the kids. Maybe a nanny, maid, or slave... something along those lines.

[Bladewyn]

"Statuary?" Bladewyn looked around them, and sure enough, there were quite a few statues to be seen, one of which was right in the middle of the fountain she had been sitting at. "I'm not too familiar with the statues," she admitted, "but I'm more than willing to come with you to find out more about them. I always like finding more things to learn."

While she waited for a reply, she absentmindedly practiced her fingering on the pan flute that she still held, proof that even when she wasn't playing, she was devoted to mastering the skill.

[Theying]

The skilled tradesman stared at a statue nearby, as if he was trying to see into it. It would be nice if there was a convenient clue to its meaning or origin. Maybe it was obvious and the young man merely needed a swift crack of the head with the clue bat, but the herbalist just did not see it.

"The truth is that I didn't notice them at all for the longest time either," Theying responded. "But now that I SEE them I can't for the life of me figure out who put them there, why they are here, or where they are coming from. I don't know where to start, although your company would be quite welcome."

[Bladewyn]

Bladewyn directed her attention to the same statue. There didn't seem to be any obvious sign as to its origin or purpose, but it was certainly beautiful, and there were many more to be seen around the city.

"Perhaps there's a sign on the base?" she suggested. "Shall we have a look?" If Theying agreed, she would lead the way to the statue they were both inspecting, and she looked all around the statue's base for some sort of plaque with information, or perhaps a little self-guided tour map.

[Theying]

The master herbalist examined the statue carefully, not finding any plaque or explination yet again. Theying was simply at a loss for what people were trying to communicate with the artwork. Maybe he was thinking about it wrong? The artwork could be a visual reference to a story or piece of music that all people in Jaedaxia were expected to know, but if that was the case it meant that Theying TOTALLY missed something.

"Maybe they're in a pattern or something?" Theying asked, his voice betraying the fact that he was very doubtful of that hypothesis. "I'm just grasping at straws here, maybe we should just ask someone."

[Bladewyn]

Bladewyn was certainly unaware of any link between this statue and all the rest. At Theying's last comment, though, she had a thought.

"You know who might be able to help us? The people at Chateau Mavloix." She gestured to the west, and indeed, beyond businesses and homes of Le Quartier du Sud, one could see the clock tower and towering rooftops of the castle. "I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's an art gallery of sorts. I'm sure that if they don't have someone there who know about the statues, they'll at least be able to tell us about any culture you want to know about."

If Theying was game, Bladewyn would lead the way, taking them across Le Quartier du Sud to the dark and beautiful castle.