QuestionTimeQuestion TimeWhen Espérance goes to seek Huttner, the trip to his lodgings in The Green Arms, on the Street of Tulips is another relatively smooth trip in the company of the loyal Hugo. Relatively. Perhaps its the early morning, or the proximity of the River, but Espérance notices a fog in the area which is not dissimilar to the fog from which Huttner emerged and introduced himself. She can't help but be a little suspicious. It may still be morning, but it's well past dawn, and an early-morning fog should have burned off by now. Still, even with the fog, finding the Green Arms does not prove to be too difficult for Espérance. The city is her home, and she sometimes thinks she could find her way around it blindfolded. Mistress Benita comes to the door almost before Espérance can knock. "Good morning, Miss St. Vier." she says upon greeting. "What brings you to my humble establishment?" "I'm looking for a man named Huttner," says Espérance. "I believe he's staying here? I'd just like to talk with him," she reassures Benita. "You're sure?" Benita looks at Espérance a little skeptically. "A bit of a strange bird, he is. Keeping to himself. Not talking to most of the other residents at all." "Worst of all." she looks at Espérance with a conspiratorial gaze. "He doesn't even like fish!" Espérance suppresses a grin. "No accounting for taste," she remarks dulcetly. "Come on, he's up this way." Benita opens the door to allow Espérance and Hugo in, and leads her to the rickety looking spiral staircase that leads up the other floors. The steps feel loose with every step of ascent. At the second floor, Benita leaves the stair, which spirals up to a third floor above, strides down a narrow hall to a door on the far left, and knocks. "Huttner. Someone here to see you!" she calls against the green painted door. After a moment or two, the brass knob turns, and the head of Huttner pokes out. "Mistress St Vier." Huttner says. Although the narrowly open door obscures him from below the shoulders, he manages a bow of the head anyway. "I had not expected you so soon. Will you come in?" "Thank you," says Espérance. "You don't mind Hugo, I trust." "Hardly." Huttner assures her. "I will leave the two of you then." Benita says. "You know the rules, of course." She briskly passes, after hovering her head over Hugo, as if to pet him, and then heads to the staircase, and ascends it. Huttner steps aside to allow Espérance entrance. Espérance waits until Benita is out of sight, then enters the room. The room is relatively plain and unadorned, the simple, plain rooms that Espérance knows is a feature of the Green Arms. A few chairs, a bed, a table, and a dresser are the major features of furniture. Huttner gestures for Espérance to choose a chair if she wishes. He decides to sit on the nearby bed. Espérance takes the proffered chair, though she doesn't relax into it. "I visited the Duchess Tremontaine this morning," she tells Huttner, "and as I suspected, she was able to give me some idea of where my father is at present. She will also be arranging passage for us on a vessel going that way. How soon can you be ready to leave?" "Enough time to arrange my scant clothes and possessions and settle the bill with my hostess." Huttner says, gesturing with a hand around the room. "None of the furniture or the like is mine. Besides clothing appropriate to Riverside, and a few other things, I have no real possessions and thus it would not take long to arrange my affairs." "That's good," nods Espérance. "It will probably take me a little longer ... but not much. I'll send you word when we're ready to leave." Huttner nods. "Agreed. I will collect my belongings so as to be able to leave with even more alacrity, if required." "I am pleased to learn" Huttner adds. "That you have some clue as to the location of your father, as per her highness' request." "Her Grace's uncle and my father are ... old friends," Espérance explains. "So she gets word, from time to time, of their whereabouts. "This is well." Huttner says. "Another matter came up, while I was speaking with her," she goes on. She draws from her pocket the paper the Duchess gave her and unfolds it for Huttner to see. "Does this symbol convey anything to you?" she asks, watching his face closely. Huttner steps forward to study the symbol. On his face, Espérance sees wariness and disbelief, followed by a brief sense of alarm, and then a suppression of his emotions. His voice is calm when he does speak. "I do recognize this symbol." Huttner says, looking from it and focusing on Espérance. "Where did you see this?" "I didn't see it myself until Her Grace sketched it for me," replies Espérance, "though apparently I was instrumental in, er, bringing it to her attention. What does it mean?" Huttner looks at the image one more time, as if trying to will it not to be what he thinks it is. Finally, he gives a sigh and steps back to regard Espérance. "Mind you, my travelmate was intended to be the better educator and interlocutor of matters regarding the Courts for the duration of our journey." Huttner says. "With that said, however..." Huttner pauses for a moment. "In the Courts, there are Thirteen Great Houses, of which Sawall, the House of your mother, and my House, is but one of, and the Greatest since it is the Royal House. There are Twelve others, who jockey for power, and influence and strive against each other. They are known by their proclivities, and their colors, and their signs." Espérance nods and says wryly, "That sort of thing sounds familiar." "An obelisk, in blue and orange, is the sign and symbol of one of these Houses, a particularly ambitious, scheming House: House Jesby." "How were you instrumental in bringing this symbol to her attention?" Hutter asks. "The man who wore it as a tattoo was the only survivor of a band of seven masked horsemen who attacked Her Grace's May Day party a couple of weeks ago," Espérance informs him, then adds coolly, "With odds like that, I didn't have the option of leaving more than one of them alive." "You are well within your rights not to have done so." Huttner says with a serious tone, giving a grazing nod of the head. "Since there is no declared vendetta between House Jesby and House Sawall, officially the attempt against you by these masked...men in the shape of equines, you say?...did not occur." Espérance shakes her head and corrects him, "Masked men riding horses." Then she comments, "Silly of them to send the tattooed fellow on a mission like that, if they didn't want to be identified." She raises an eyebrow. "Or did they?" "That is possible. It is also possible, milady, that its likely a matter of House Pride." Huttner says. "And they did not expect their targets to understand the symbol." Huttner reaches into his shirt, and pulls out a medallion on a silver chain. The circle of silver has a raised engraving of a crenelated wall, with accents of black. ck. "This is the symbol and colors of Sawall," Huttner says. "His Majesty the Emperor wears the Imperial symbols and colors instead, of course." "And what are those?" Espérance asks him. "I expect the more information I have on the players in this game, the better off we'll be." "As the Emperor, he is entitled to employ the Royal Purple, which is different than the purple of Helgram or the purple of Wererathe," Huttner says. "There is no secondary tincture, and the official symbol of the Emperor is the Scepter." "No one, not even Jesby, dare try to impersonate an agent of the Emperor by using his color and symbol," Huttner says. "To do so without leave and being on His business is punishable by death." Espérance nods. "You said the current Emperor was of your House? Or allied to it anyway, since ... the lady Dara described herself as the 'Queen Mother'? Would that mean that if we did see someone bearing those symbols, they'd be on our side? Or not?" "The Emperor is a member of House Sawall, but he is also the Emperor and stands alone in a sense. Its a complicated sort of arrangement and I don't understand the law entirely myself." Huttner admits. "We can trust members of our House should we come across them, as far you can trust anyone anyway. We're not as backstabbing a bunch as some other Houses are as far in intra-House politics." "The Jesby use a variety of methods though," Huttner continues, putting away the medallion. "My senior knows more of such things, but their reputation rides high in the Courts for using creatures and assailants of various sorts," he adds. "The fact that they have discovered you suggests that we should find your father quickly." "They will not be content with failure," he adds darkly. "How soon are they likely to know of their failure?" asks Espérance. "We didn't leave any of them free to report... although I suppose there could have been observers we didn't see. In any case, there haven't been any further attempts, yet. "But, as you say ... all the more reason to start as soon as possible, and with the least amount of fanfare." "If all of the Jesby were captured or killed, it will take them some time to learn of it." Huttner replies. "If any survived, word could, if they have the right means, reach the Courts quickly. A response would take longer, however. Time differences, and a reassessment of your threat level." "However," Huttner finishes. "I concur. As soon as we are able, we should depart, and as quietly as we can." Espérance nods, then inquires, "Do you have any idea how they might have located me -- if it was indeed me they were looking for -- and whether there are additional precautions we can take to cover our trail?" "That I don't know," Huttner says, shaking his head. "Lord Cazaril would know, or guess better, on both accounts. Although there are a few things I might try when we actually start traveling between worlds." =Between worlds.= A slight shiver runs up Espérance's spine at these words. From sheer frequency of repetition, if nothing else, she's actually starting to believe this. She straightens. "Very well. We'll leave as soon as possible. Do you know where the docks are?" "I have a grandfather who was once a member of the Minor House Euphrates," Huttner says with a small smile. "I have seen and noted the River docks' location. And anyway, I disembarked in your city there, you see." "Ah. I wasn't sure which route you'd used. I'll meet you there tomorrow morning, then. Look for a ship bound for Panaji. That will be ours." Huttner smiles slightly. He gestures around. "As I said earlier, it will not take long to gather my few possessions and depart. Perhaps the next boarder of this room will not be as timely informed as I was about Benita's cuisine." He rises and gives a bow to Espérance. "I will be there. On the morning." Espérance can find her way out, and back to her quarters without too much difficulty. As she heads further and further away from the river and Mistress Benita's establishment, the weird fog becomes less and less pronounced, until it proves to be more more hindrance at all. And so the swordswoman of Riverside can make her own plans and preparations for herself and Hugo to leave the city... Backlinks |
