Gondioque is with Florian and Swift, the group having arrived in a carriage (which has been told to wait).

She mentions Swift, tonight I think you should be my tongue. I wish to avoid anything which might be considered an official act.

Swift looks over at Gondioque and mentions the men with the lanterns and the other ones scouting people. "Are they here to thief or protect, I wonder. But yes my lady, just let me know what you want said and I will say it, I am far from official"

Gondioque looks around. Few thieves carry lanterns. We may find out what they do, but I rather hope it won't be by a disturbance. Just act and talk however is natural for you. We're here to have a good time.

Florian glances at his little entourage at the puppeteer's question, and flashed the other performer a sly half-smile.  "I think it's fairly safe to say that the interests of the house remain very well focused on Massilia.  Far be it for lowly me to speculate that they have gone for good, but they were quite particular about making sure their affairs are attended while they are away."  The faun replied in a low tone.  He reached out and gave the puppeteer a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder if the more subtle had not succeeded to give the man hope.

"They freed me to partake in their business.  I'm not going anywhere, friend."

"Well then you will have good luck in managing their affairs!" the puppeteer tells Florian.  "As I said, House Palantus is one I hold in esteem.  Their businesses never lent themselves to the Orcs' purposes.  They were honest folk and those are harder to find by the day.  Just out of wondering... were you taught for it?  The reading and writing the traders have to do?  If not... I know a few people.  They can be clerks, if you need them."

Florian knows that while the upper class, and those who work in their offices, are quite literate, it is considered a rare talent by the lower class.  There are no schools, and if there were, Orcs would probably decide that teaching the children of poor laborers to read and write is a waste of time, and shut the school down.  After all, if it's serving the children of the poor, it obviously can't be making much money, and therefore can't be taxed.

Every now and then, he's run across a youngster who was literate.  It's generally understood that some families, even though poor, struggle to teach their children.

The puppeteer does a few skits with his various puppets.  When a patrol of Orcs comes close, he switches to the traditional "Punch and Judy" pair.  Most Human entertainment bores Orcs, but the sight of two little puppets beating on each other is something they seem to find funny.  Plot isn't necessary, neither are jokes- just the sight of puppets attacking each other with clubs elicits heavy, growling Orcish laughter.

Swift nods to Gondioque and looks around, watching the puppeteer some.

When she sees the ocrs, she just watches them. They don't bother her, she has killed worse.

Gondioque, obviously a person of means, walks around examining what vendors have to offer (from a distance greater than arm's length).

"I was, but send them my way anyway.  A good clerk is hard to find, and I'm sure we can due for having a few more.  Or even a or two kid ready to learn the role."  Florian gave the performer another squeeze and a wink, and led a lingering withdrawal.  Too much casual talk with a performer, and the orcs might get suspicious.  Or interested.

The satyr's height sank a few inches as he approached the women from the luncheon party.  "How are you finding the city?"  He asked in an awkward attempt of small talk.

Gondioque smiled. Busy, orderly, and redolent. I think that, as soon as we can find somebody, including Titus, who can speak for House Mercator, we should arrange a meeting in my suite.

Swift looks at the Florian "Greetings, good to see you again."

The problem with being an obvious "Person of Means", as Gondioque is, is that one doesn't get to observe people's "natural" behavior in their presence.  People stop what they are doing and pay attention to them.  Hence, the stories of rulers and even nobles walking around "incognito", to get a better feel for what is really going on in the city streets.

Gondioque becomes a topic of whispered speculations, people turn to watch, even the young men with the lanterns.

When she gets to the vendors, there is a clear pecking order among them.  Those that believe their wares to be unworthy of the upper class stay quiet and even shy away, trying to avoid eye contact.  Those that think they might have something she actually likes try to get her attention, clearly making her a priority customer.

"Stuffed clams, miss, from a family recipe that graced the tables of senators!"

"Light wine with citrus, very refreshing!"

The puppeteer waits for the Orcs to pass, and returns to his "regular" cast.  He keeps talking to Florian.

"The Orcs closed down the school, you know.  At least, they closed down the building.  The priestesses of Minerva were a resourceful bunch.  They believed in what they do. Schooling is the way they revere their goddess... so a few still do it, you know. Quietly.  They can't use their school anymore, the building's abandoned twenty years now.  But they sneak into the shrine, offer a prayer or two and then go off to meet up with their students.  See the young man with the lantern, there?  His brother gets schooled, he says.  Ah... Florian.. you have a friend."

The puppeteer smiles at Swift.  But he stops talking, not knowing if Florian regards her with trust, yet.

Gondioque replies to the offers with a smile and replies. I'm from Burgundy, and many of us have simple tastes. To be fair and honest, I wish to look at many wares. Therefore, she stops at those who have not solicited.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:58, Tue 23 Oct 2018.

Swift will walk along behind Gondioque, guarding her and watching. She wanted to stay close in case Gondioque wanted her to say something.

There are a half dozen vendors in the area who are not enthusiastic about selling their goods to someone in the Upper Class, for whatever their reasons.  Or perhaps just not to Gondioque, but what reason would they have to single her out?  But she goes to them, and looks over their offerings.  Four of them are food and drink sellers- that’s always popular in the evenings.  She can find:  weak, bland ale (but a wineskin of two large mugs full will only set her back a copper piece!), a grilled sausage maker (please don’t even think about the contents), a fried sweet roll vendor (greasy, 6th century donuts)  and a vendor selling pear cider (AKA perry).  Aside from food, she can buy small wooden holy symbols, some of which double as wind chimes, and necklaces made from sea shell and coral.  These are on colored cord, not precious metal chains, but some of the shell work is intricate.


The fact that she is doing this attracts interest.  Different people react in different ways.  The necklace maker is an old woman and seems almost insulted- perhaps she thinks Gondioque is "slumming", looking through the cheap, poor merchandise to remind herself how much better she has.  On the other hand, one of the lantern carriers is now shadowing her, watching intently, while the entire family running the sweet roll cart (a woman and her three children) decide that well, maybe they are good enough, and enthusiastically try to talk Gondioque into buying.

The man with the wind chime holy symbols offers some advice:  be careful of flaunting wealth near Orcs, if you are a foreigner.  Too easy for them to decide on some new tax or penalty you should be paying.  Most people try looking poorer than they are.

To the stuffed calms and the citrus wine, she replies. Another day if your wares are suitable for a picnic. The weather here temps me to eat outdoors.

Gondioque buys the ale and hands it to Swift. She Asks Swift to buy a dozen rolls and chat with the woman about how business is while she, taking a roll and then a manageable bite, goes to one knee to face the children. I'm called Gondioque I don't bite except like this roll. May I please know your names? She asks about how the children (if any answer her) help their mommy...and she praised appropriately.

She carries the rolls and buys a jug pf perry. It's a pleasure to find this in Massilia...a refreshing change.

She buys enough holy symbol wind chimes to put at every door and window of her suits. "These will remind us of the most essential of all goods: The air we breathe. And I shall dedicate at least some to Njoror. ... Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I remember kindnesses."

And she comes to the shell-and coral ornament woman. As she fingers them (after eating the roll and cleaning her hand), she begins talking. See, Swift, this one and this one, each has its own beauty. So do flowers dawns and sunset each in its inherent beauty. Or like maidens such as you. And older folk have their own kind of beauty; it is no men a feat lo live long; for, alas, many die young—it is a grief. And these creations...I possess jewelry accounted precious, made of rare stuff. These, though, have equal art, and the artistry deserves equal praise."

She now addresses the woman. "Mistress, here are two rings suitable for necklaces and for head-rings. What price do you ask for them? And I do not see ones that could serve as belts or anklets. Could these be contrived? Maidens adorned and girt with these would, I deem, seem as Nereids come smiling from the bountiful sea."

Swift takes the ale and wanders over to the woman with the bread and buys a dozen rolls. "So miss, how are things here? I came in with the lady so I know little of these lands. And orcs scare me so" she says though she really is not afraid of them.

She continues to watch Gondioque to make sure no thieves get close. After talking with the woman, she will follow Gondioque to the woman with the jewelry.

"Put me in contact with one of them.  I think I can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."  Florian replied in a hush, internally beaming with pride over the Minerva worshipers.  Surely there could be no greater charity than what they were doing in risking life to continue to dispense education.  It would be a worthy end for the stipend Florian didn't want anyway.  Between himself and a priestess or two, they could no doubt spin a convincing enough cover story, wrangle a few spare scribes and errand boys, and possibly even make it overall profitable for house Palantus's business interests.

The puppeteer checks the surroundings before speaking about certain things, and then double checks before getting back to Florian.  Some things you do not say when Orcs are close.

He gives a very subtle nod in the direction of one of the young men with the lanterns.

"The one with the curly red hair is Gallus," the puppeteer says.  "His younger brother has been schooled for years now, and knows the writing and the numbers as well as any clerk.  Gallus...  well Gallus had the chance, but thought it was his duty to look out for people along the water.  It's a thing, these Lantern Boys, they are... well they are like the constables we would have if there weren't Orcs.  They try to keep people safe.  Good kids."

Meanwhile, the baker woman talks to Swift.

"Orcs enjoy scaring people," she says.  "They get some kind of joy out of it.  Very strange.  You know they had a muster today.  Sometimes, the Orcs gather to get instructions from their chiefs.  Not usually Harridog himself.. he's like the Over Chief.  But under him, there are the war-bands, and each war-band has a chief.  Things have been quiet but sometimes, when they have a muster, it's because they are planning something, and that can be bad.  So right now we are all waiting to learn what it was all about, and what it will mean for us.  And for me... times have been better.  The children are growing, and I don't have the room for them, but what can I do?  Bake and try to earn enough for a larger space, that's all."

And Gondioque sets about explaining how to make anklets.  It's not hard, for someone who can make necklaces.  It's puzzling... "you want to look at your feet?"  but not hard.

(As for prices and things, make up something.  Whatever it ought to cost, it does)

Yes. Anklets. Come to think of it too, bracelets. So shells like a tiara whose cord can be intertwined wit the hair. A necklace. Bracelets, a belt the hangs on the hips. Anklets. Now, suppose a woman has all this and practiced a dance. The sounds she could make...if the shells are cunningly selected and arranged....

[ The children?]

Gondioque talks to the jeweler about what else she could make.  The concepts are simple, and they are certainly within her level of ability, its just that there hasn't been demand.

And the jeweler, like most "normal" people, finds a comfort zone in life, and stays in it.

Besides, who goes around showing off their feet?  But, she will make them if that's what Gondioque wants.

After a while, one of the "Lantern Boys" walks over.

"I haven't seen any of you before," he says.  "And you don't look like sailors.  Where do you come from?"

Gndioque makes arrangements to meet the jeweler in her shop the day after tomorrow.

Gondioque gives the "Lantern Boy" a smile. You're correct; I've not tried my hand at sailing. As for where, Burgundy. I was born in Divio, but my family travels around a lot. And to anticipate a possible next question, my father sent me here  to promote good relations between Massilians and Burgundy. I've helped start a messenger service. Interested in applying for a job?

At the boy's approach, Florian lowered himself down to eye level with the boy.  It was easy enough to do, and it was Florian's understanding that they liked being spoken to at eye-level.

"Is there a woman who looks out for you and your brother?  Knows her figures and letters?"  He asked, cautious to avoid an orc hearing as well as the boy understanding too much and blurting it out to the wrong person.

The youth looks surprised, and looks to Florian, and then the puppeteer, who nods.

"She doesn't look after us," the Lantern Boy says.  "She... she's a teacher.  From the old temple of Minerva.  She's not supposed to teach, they don't want her to, they closed the temple.  But she teaches... young ones.  Reading, writing, numbers, history, poetry.  Not me.  I'm not the book type. But my brother."

"I should very much like to meet her."  Florian gave the lad a smile and ruffled his hair, then rose.  He glanced in his tourist's direction and waited, his buisiness at the the Breakwater concluded for now.

Florian has something the other characters, for all their skills, do not.  Yet.  Local trust and reputation.

Even people who don't know him know of him, and the feelings towards him, especially by the younger generation of Masillea and especially by the poor and working classes, tends to be good.

It's unusual in a way.  After all, he is a faun, and elsewhere a faun might expect to acquire some suspicion, of the "not one of us" kind.  But here, the "not one of us" roles are all filled enthusiastically by the Orcs.  They abuse everyone else, presumably fauns included (or else why would Florian have been a servant to a trading house?).  So here in Masillia, "they" are Orcs and "us" is pretty much everyone not an Orc, and not working for Orcs.

As Florian is the only Faun in town, there's no question of his identity. Even among people who don't know his name (most of the city).  To very many people here, he is absolutely, positively known as "the Faun, you know, the one that works for House Palantus".

So after some mental deliberation, the Lantern Boy decides he can set it up.  He thinks he can, at least.

"Yeah, she'd want to meet you," he says, sounding like he's saying it to reassure himself.  "You know you can't be seen, though.  Can you come back here tomorrow?  Mid day?  Find me, and we'll go to the Beach Market, and that's a good place not to be seen.  It's crowded."