Dinner for two (Pax, Chyril 27, ET)

[Luca di Fabro]

As Ophelia and Luca were walking away from the square, the Mouthie looked sideways to the Trothgardian girl and grinned. He didn't say anything, he just grinned. The looks that he gave her were way too obvious , but he was too much distracted by his own thoughts to even notice that he kept grinning at her.

After their little adventure at the stone cube Luca was pretty satisfied with himself that he had managed to get Ophelia onto the cube. It hadn't actually felt like a challenge though, it had been way too much fun for that. And now that it was time to actually collect the reward, which was supposed to be the real fun, he was already feeling like his first day in Pax was totally freakin' awesome. And the evening had yet to begin...

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"What're you grinning on about? You look like the village idiot," she snickered and jabbed him playfully in the ribs. "Keep the drooling to a minimum and we'll be fine." Followed directly by some unsupressable giggles, once more, at the Mouthie's expense.

Quick steps had taken them away from the scene of their fun in the center of town, but left Ophelia somewhat unaware of where they were going. She'd only just gotten to town, and her sense of direction was limitted to knowing where her new house was, the Provost's office and Nether's Gate Tavern... none of which would be the best location for a relaxed dinner. "So," she began slowly, her pace declining to something more in time with a gentle stroll. "What do you think we could fill that cube with? Water or something? I mean - it's a long way down in the middle of it. - You know, you said you were sort of scared of the cube, and now you want to go dumping stuff inside it? Is that the best idea?" It was the first moment of hesitation from the generally bold and bull-headed young woman.

[Guido Cercatoro]

As they made their way from the stone cube down a small alleyway, the two companions arrived before the door of an establishmnet that might meet their needs...

The only dining place of any quality in Pax is located down a small alleyway off the main square and only a stone’s throw away from the stone cube. A protruding sign above the front entrance proclaims the name of the establishment in bold lettering - Castro's. From the outside, it is rather unprepossessing – just a small wooden shack similar to many other buildings in Pax. However, it is rumoured that both the food and décor belie its outside appearance.

Standing bolt upright outside the front door is a tall human, dressed in a bright red tunic. The fellow sports a huge, bushy and rather impressive moustache. Anyone approaching will be greeted with the same few words. “Do you have a reservation?”

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Wandering through the streets of Pax conversing about their adventure with the Stone Cube was the perfect way to find such an interesting place. "Reservation?" Her eyes narrowed and she glanced toward Luca, then back to the mustached doorman. "I'm Ophelia the Muse - traveling musician of renown," she said haughtily with a raised chin implying her purpose and elevation of stature. "I've come here to Pax at the request of Commander Michel Carbonneau," she finished and looked at Luca, then once again back toward the doorman. "I was told your employer could be looking for entertainment - seeing as there's so few bards in this town. Is he in?" She asked with honest interest. There was a chance the farse could procure her with more steady employment than doing an occasional show at the local brothel.

Her mother had insisted that if her daughter left home unmarried that she would end up in some brothel somewhere, and she really didn't want to live up to that premonition. Infact, her initial zeal of landing the job at the Nether's Gate Tavern was already wearing off as the idea of it settled in. She knew the clientel who would be frequenting the pub, and they weren't the sort to just enjoy a good bit of music. Maybe this unknown place offered something more to her liking.

[Luca di Fabro]

The jab in the ribs definitely woke Luca up from his little daydream, but he couldn't resist to keep the grin on his face. "I was actually just thinking about that whole stone cube thing. It seems we both turned around on our opinions, doesn't it? I was being cautious about the whole magic cube thing and you were completely unafraid and seeing no harm in any of the possible powers the cube might have. But now, you're asking me if it's the best idea to fill it up?" His eyes widened as he took a short leap up in the air. "Heck yes! We need to get back there.!" He stopped jumping around and got back into pace with Ophelia, continuing his thinking. "I'm actually in doubt of what to put in there. The way the surface goes down towards the center, you would think that it would have a purpose of catching rain water to fill it up or something. So water would be the first thing that comes into mind. However...." His eyes became bigger now as he looked at Ophelia. "We could also fill it with something flammable!"

Since they had already arrived at the tavern, he would have to wait on an answer on that thought. Now a new challenge arised. Reservations.. Even though scheming was Luca's main business, he felt like he had been doing it all day long and now there was yet another challenge. How to get the guy to believe we are important enough to go in without reservations here... As he was thinking about this, Ophelia actually took the lead. He listened to her explanations. They weren't bad..not bad at all. He decided to keep quiet and just look at the doorman as if they had every right to be there and that he would not have a lot of patience to be standing there much longer.

[Guido Cercatoro]

The doorman appeared unimpressed with Ophelia’s revelation that she was a musician. However, the mention of the Commander’s name immediately drew the moustached man’s interest.

“The Commander? I had heard that he had arrived in Pax with a companion.” The doorman puffed out his chest. “I had the honour of serving with the Commander before I had my…er…injury.” He appeared embarrassed for a flicker but quickly recovered his equilibrium. “We do have some tables free, I believe, for an acquaintance of the Commander. As for employment here, you will have to see the boss.”

The doorman stood aside allowing the two companions to enter. Inside, a small dimly lit hallway led away from the entrance. At the end of the hall a wide set of white stone steps led downwards. The steps appeared to be made out of the same stone as the walls of Pax and the stone cube. To one side of the hall was a small counter, staffed by an elegantly attired and rather haughty looking woman. The woman’s nose was held high in the air and she looked at the two newcomers with evident disdain.

“Two friends of the Commander, no reservation,” shouted the doorman.

The woman sniffed. “There is no need to shout Frederick.” Her voice cut through the air like ice. “You are lucky we do have a table free. Not one of our best but it will no doubt suffice.”

“You may leave your coats with me and please sign the book.” She pushed a large leather book and a writing implement towards the two new arrivals, scarcely acknowledging their existence. As she did so a smartly dressed waiter emerged from the stairs.

“Please escort these two customers to a table.”

Once the book had been signed, the waiter would beckon Luca and Ophelia and escort them down the stairs.

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Ophelia did her best impression of the young noble woman she'd met in King's Court. Her chin was held as aloft as hers had been, and she glanced around the room with disinterest as she was lead inside. It was a rather disinteresting room - aside from the stone stairs.

The musician's fingers wrapped around the quill and she signed with an elegant hand and precise penmanship. Glancing over to Luca she signed for him as well and then returned the writing implement to it's well. "Let's go see this place that Michel is so fond of," she commented mostly to herself but also out of genuine interest as to where the Commander dined.

Once their waiter had approached Ophy gave him a generous smile. "Is the boss in? I want to give him a chance at hiring me as a house musician." What a generous offer! Ophelia could barely contain her enthusiasm as she looked over to Luca with bright eyes.

[Luca di Fabro]

Her mentioning the commander seemed to be having an instant effect on the doorman. Suddenly the place was wide open to them and they were being led to their table. Luca had expected some reaction, but this exceeded his expectations. Apparently Ophelia really knew some important people!

Ophelia kept the lead and she wrote both their names in the book. Out of a more professional curiosity rather than a personal one, he glanced over the book to see Ophelia's handwriting. Her writing was elegant, something that might not have fit with her general posture of a true Trothgardian woman, yet it made sense since she was an artist. It just hit him that he was taking more and more interest in her when she mumbled something about Michel.
The cazzo....she seems to be really interested in him.. Although his nickname was Lucky, somehow he knew that the chances of him actually getting lucky tonight were slim.

Now the Mouthie didn't even have to pretend to be snobbish to the waitress as he suddenly got quite grumpy and just stood there. He had a look on his face as if he had been preparing for the hunt all day long and just realized after the quick four booze shots of courage that the rest of the night was going to be useless. At first he wasn't even listening to what Ophelia exactly asked the waitress, but when she said that she wanted to give him a chance of hiring her, he was once more baffled by this girl. oca! How much skills does this chica have?

Even though the grumpiness slowly faded away, he was contemplating the fact that with all of the human knowledge he thought he had there was no way that he had any idea what Ophelia was all about. Luca just shook his head and sighed deeply, making him seem even more snobbish and nobleman's like to the waitress.

[Guido Cercatoro]

“I will inform him of your interest,” the waiter replied in a friendly manner to Ophelia’s inquiry. However, he darted a quick glance of disdain towards Luca, as if he did not entirely approve of the man’s manner.

The waiter led the pair down the broad stone steps which ended in a wide pair of ornately carved wooden doors. The doors were of astonishing quality, decorated with a variety of carvings of small birds circling tall, proud pinnacles that reared up from a grassy landscape. The room into which the doors led was equally impressive in both size and décor. It contained sufficient space for a good thirty or so tables, widely spaced throughout the room. The floor and vaulted ceiling were of the same stone as the steps but the walls were decorated with an array of vibrant tapestries, interspersed with glowing globes of light. An enormous hearth stood at one end of the room flanked by two small doors; one presumably led to the kitchen for a waitress holding a tray emerged from the door. The other stood at the rear of a small, empty stage. To the right of the entrance door was a small bar behind which sat a jovial looking dwarf stroking an impressive and bushy red beard.

Roughly one third of the tables were occupied by quietly talking and well dressed persons of a variety of races.

The waiter led Ophelia and Luca to a small corner table adjacent to the stage and pulled out a chair for Ophelia to sit down. On the table was a menu inscribed in an elegant hand. “May I get you some drinks whilst you decide what you would like to eat?”

(OOC: you can assume that anything within reason is available as this is the best place in town!)

[Luca di Fabro]

As they were walking to their table, Luca took a good look around. It was obvious that this was the very best place in town. His mind was already working at full speed to think of ways how to make contacts during this dinner. This would probably be his only chance in quite a while to make connections of his own to be able to come here again.

Yet as he thought about that he wondered what the prices would be in a place like this. Probably more than he could afford to go here more than once. He ordered a glass of wine for himself, not wanting to make it all too obvious that he would actually never go to a place like this himself. Once the waiter had left, Luca leaned in and whispered: "You feel quite at home here, don't you, principessa?"

OOC: Let's not tell her that, please Guido! First he has to do a lot of work to be able to take her out to dinner and then he takes her to the BEST place in town, has to pay a shitload of money and still doesn't get any?? Suddenly he isn't that hungry

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

OOC: ANYTHING?! Perfecto! Just what a girl likes to hear...

Ophelia had been impressed by the opulence of the Laughing King in King's Court. This place was of an entirely different cut, and she felt it as soon as she slipped down the stairs into the cool basement warmed by the fire on the other end of the floor. Her fingers brushed along the cut stone in memory of times past as well as in recollection of the fine workmanship of the stone cube.

"Thank you," she replied politely to the attentive waitstaff and then put in an order for their house cider. She had want of something non-alcoholic just incase she was going to have to talk to this "boss". Once the waiter was gone O busied herself looking over the menu and smirked at his comment. "Not at all-" she whispered over the perfectly penned list of rich delicasies. "Isn't there a right pub in this town that isn't a brothel, but isn't like this?" Her big blue eyes affixed on Luca, her hushed tone bringing emphasis to the softness of her voice as well as to it's alto tone. "I heard there's a place for the pointy-ears, but I can't be coming here and singing my bawdy bar songs, that's fer sure," she said looking around at the well-dressed persons at tables that were far too close for comfort of a decent conversation - atleast by Ophy's somewhat barbaric standards.

She sighed dramtically, much in the manner a noble might over a disappointing menu (perhaps some would view it that way from afar) but it was really over the almost daunting place she was sitting in. "I don't even know what these foods are," she said dully and slid the list over to Luca. You have a look - I think it's written in demonic script." She could read, but not things she had no manner to have ever have learned, thus it put her at a bit of a disadvantage and it showed in her pouty expression. Though, she remained interested watching Luca in hopes he might have the secret of what was what.

[Luca di Fabro]

Not that he had really expected her to feel completely comfortable in this place, but Luca was definitely impressed by the way she was handling it. He couldn't have done a better job even if he put all his experience into it.

He grinned as she was saying something about her bawdy bar songs. For a flicker he could already see her standing there in front of all the fancy guests singing about a the adventures of a couple of blokes. There was no way that he would go in here just for the fun of it ever again, but watching that performance would be worth it! He couldn't completely suppress the laughter and his body started to shake a little as the twinkles appeared in his eyes.

That quickly changed however as Ophelia was reading the menu. He realized instantly that he wouldn't be able to read a damn word that was on there. And Ophelia was just reading away! Oh of course she didn't really have an idea of what the fancy meals were exactly, but at least she could read them! And then she slid the menu over to his side! For a flicker he felt like he was going to give her another reason to make fun of him, but then he thought of a way to get out of it. Without even turning the list around to be able to read it, he slid the list to the side of the table, away from them both. "You know, we are probably not going to be in this kind of a place very often. We should make the best of it." He smiled. "Let's get the cook's specialty of today. Let him surprise us."

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

"Surprise us? What if it's something icky?" Her mother had been known to make special surprise meals that were rather on the icky side, and it had caused for Ophelia to be almost dubious about unknown meals. Though, she had tried the pancakes. Wasn't she supposed to be out living an adventure life? She couldn't be stopped by the chance of a maybe-bad meal. Infact, the unknown was pretty exciting. "Oh well, it's worth a try," she decided, though the hesitance remained in her big eyes.

Not easily lent to awkward silence, Ophelia leaned in toward Luca. "Look at that lady's hat," she snickered. "I think she might've killed some poor little bird and stuck her head up it's butt." The pompus and nobility made easy targets for the crude young woman, and almost as soon as she'd finished her contained giggle she felt as though she'd taken away the need for a conversation starter, which made it easier to just talk. "I don't think I want to be like them ever, you know? Like.. all powerful and rich and everything. I just want to go places and see things and do things and -" she got herself all caught up, her hand moving in concert to her speech much in the style of the people of Luca's homeland, though with a bit less emphasis. "And I don't know, not be like them. You know?"

[Guido Cercatoro]

The waiter departed to obtain the drinks and left the two dinner companions to their own conversation. Ophelia found that the menu contained many interesting dishes including the rather intriguing “exciting pleasure of assorted fish”; “temptingly spiced vegetable pyramid”, “stone cube surprise” and “everything you always wanted to ask for.” The prices varied from expensive to exorbitant.

The waiter returned with the wine and cider both contained within crystal clear goblets. “Have you decided what you want to order? If not, may I recommend the “Howling Ice Special”, an assortment of 14 taster dishes giving you an excellent introduction to our cuisine.”

The waiter paused for a flicker as if assessing his guests. “Alternatively if you want something a little more modest, we have the house fixed price lunch – either a spiced fish stew or pork delight.”

[Luca di Fabro]

"Icky??" The Mouthie grinned. "How do you know that anything on the menu won't be icky? I thought you liked adventure! This is just yet another adventure awaiting us in Pax. Let's see what it has in store for us on the food department, bella!"

Luca knew better than to turn around immediately and stare the woman with the hat straight into her face, that would be far too obvious, so he took a good look around the place first, taking up the hat out from the corner of his eye. When he turned back to face Ophelia again he chuckled at the comments she had made. "Man..I really feel sorry for that bird now. Let's not...order anything bird like, ok?" It could have been a very weird situation, two strangers arriving in a completely strange town and suddenly having dinner together in a big fancy restaurant for which neither of them were actually suited. And yet it didn't feel weird. Luca immediately joined in the conversation with a feeling of ease. "Well...I won't deny that I wouldn't mind to have some power and money. But I certainly wouldn't be so stuck up about it." Maybe it was her hand movements...without realizing it he had started to make similar movements himself. "I don't necessarily have to be that powerful or rich, just enough to be able to do whatever I want. To like, be really free."

At that point the waiter came by and gave them their drinks and asked what they wanted to order. When he suggested the fixed priced lunch, Luca's male ego was immediately hurt and without any further discussion he ordered straight away. Instantly he had the urge to mock the accent of the rich and powerful and he just went for it. "We'll try the Howling Ice Special. It will be interesting to see what a little place like this has to offer in contrast to the restaurants in Worlds Mouth, the Citadel and Kings Court." Not that he had ever been to any of those places, but he certainly wouldn't be told what he should or shouldn't order by a pompous ass waiter.

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Luca was sharp and knew better than whip his head around to investigate the aweful hat. For that, Ophy had to give him credit. Her brothers had the wonderful habit of not being able to keep their mouths shut and being almost overwhelmingly obvious when making fun of those around them. "Haha, no, no bird-like anythings - I don't want her hat to fly over and attack us for it," she snickered to her companion.

The Mouthie was fairly on-par as to her interests as well. She didn't have a great desire to be a queen or anything like that, but she did want to make sure that she had everything she needed without being bothered by any of the stuffy nobles. That had been her inspiration for seeking out the palace to the North. Freedom. It was freedom from her siblings, her father and her mother - from their expectations and their demands.

Upon the arrival of the waiter, Ophy wrapped her fingers around her goblet, but didn't take a sip as she knew she wouldn't have been able to swallow. As it was, it wasn't easy to keep the smug grin on her face from bursting into belly laughter as the foreigner put on his well-off accent while ordering the Howling Ice special which sounded both interesting and expensive. To Luca's words Ophelia nodded in agreement. "I haven't had a good meal since King's Court - this town could use a place like Hugo's," she commented dryly to Luca as if the waiter didn't exist at all. Rich people were good at that. Lifting a brow she turned her attention to the cider and took a small sip while awaiting the servers departure.

As soon as he was out of earshot she grinned and giggled, shaking her head while licking her pink lips. "You're sort of a good liar, aren't you..." She asked, without it being truely a question. "Are you a con-man?"

[Luca di Fabro]

Either he had been overdoing his efforts, or she was a quick learner. Maybe a bit of both. Either way, Luca found himself for yet another dilemma that day. What was he going to do? Tell her that he actually was a con-man? He had just explained his wishes to get into the trading business that morning with the Provost. It would be best to continue with that story. And yet he didn't feel like denying it to her. He liked to play around with the truth and this was a perfect opportunity for it.

Before answering her, he grabbed the wine in the crystal clear goblet. somewhat uneasily. He wasn't used to these expensive goblets. It made him feel like he had to pay close attention to what he was doing with the goblet, instead of carelessly drinking away. As he had taken as sip from the goblet he carefully placed it back on the table.

Finally Luca leaned in, looking her straight into her eyes with his usual grin on his face. "Yes. I am" He said dryly. "And actually, I wasn't looking for a partner, but seeing you handle the doorman, the greeting girl and the waiter, I think I would be very lucky if you found me good enough to be your partner!"

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

Ophelia, not understanding the expense of the glasses, was not so cautious with them. They weren't as nice as the ones that the Provost had - his were crystal and cut and sparkled and were very beautiful. This lot were just glass, she could tell by how heavy they were, rather, weren't. Her finger ran over the lip of the glass while he spoke, and confessed, to being a conman.

Her bright, blue naive eyes widened in surprise as Luca said that not only was he a conman, but that he could see himself using her acting ability. "Are you really?" Ophelia nearly gasped, mouth left in an O of surprise waiting for a fascade to crack showing that it was some sort of joke being played on her. Luca did strike her as the type to play such a prank - but he also seemed like he could actually be serious. What a pickle! "You're just giving me games," she said and shook her head, her eyes narrowing to scrutinize him. "Right? - Yes? No.. you're serious," her words spilled out ever faster, though still hushed, nearly begging him to give a decisive answer either way, though not offering the opening for him to do so without cutting off her personal back-and-forth.

"You are aren't you? Did you do something dreadful in World's Mouth?" She remained fascinated with and fixated to the handsome stranger, but also couldn't decide what she believed or didn't and also couldn't reckon what she should believe as he would continue to talk. Wouldn't it all have a chance of being lies? She couldn't wait to hear more.

[Luca di Fabro]

Apparently he had struck a goldmine when it came to the interest of the Trothgardian woman. Suddenly she was all ears. He looked at her as she pondered about whether he was telling the truth or not, but he couldn't keep his laughter in any longer when she asked if he had done something dreadful. "No, no, it..wasn't dreadful, bella. It was a very serious matter."

He regained control and managed to put on a very serious look. He seemed to hesitate about telling her anything more. In reality he was just buying himself some time to come up with a story that could actually be true. The Mouthie sighed. "Look, it's difficult to explain and...we've just met. It's just that...the city is in chaos at the moment as the Council as well as the underworld have been completely thrown out of their balance. That's why I came here." He lowered his voice and looked down at the table "I couldn't stay.." After a flicker or two he looked up again. "Really, I didn't do anything bad. I only meant to do good."

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

At first, when Luca laughed, Ophelia frowned, thinking she was being made fun of. When he continued, she reconsidered, and her eyes remained affixed on him. Serious matter? Even the way he spoke, with his cryptic tone and building of apprehension, had the girl's attention. Her fingers knotted around the thick napkin that had been sitting in her lap, intertwining the corners between her joints and wrapping around her palm before unwinding and repeating the process.

Ophelia, for as much of an actress she wanted to be, and for how well she was learning to bend the truth, was not very good at realizing when someone was pulling her leg. Her parents' humor never involved much in the way of sarcasm - her mother infact wasn't even funny in the slightest. Her uncle and father had been tellers of 'tall tales', but most were grounded in some sort of truth. In all honesty, Ophy always believed the stories with her whole heart.

"Good?" Her voice waivered on the one word she managed to squeeze out of her tightened throat. Ophy's wide eyes, raised brows and bitten bottom lip screamed for him to continue, though she couldn't even ask. Instead, bright blue eyes flicked between his with the speed of a hummingbird's wings. She'd managed to quit her fiddling, but remained quite interested in what he had to say, and exactly what sort of story he was going to spin to her.

[Luca di Fabro]

Luca sighed again, his right hand running over his face as he closed his eyes. He kept his hand there as he inhaled deeply to really get some serious effect into it. Finally he laid his hands on the table again and looked at Ophelia again. "Yeah...You know, the Mouth is an awesome city. It's sights are beautiful." He grinned. "Plenty of songs for you to write about it, I'm sure."

"Behind that beauty however lays a deep, dark vile part of the city. Corruption runs through every part of it. It was difficult for my parents. We didn't have a lot of money and it was hard work to make ends meat. The corruption made it impossible. Blackmail, extortion, it was daily business for us." He paused, the look on his face absolutely serious. Inside however he really focused on making the lie [i]real[i], even for himself. That was the best way to tell a lie. Imagine to believe in it yourself.

"When I was young, I swore that I would somehow get rid of the corruption." His hands started to talk along with his mouth again, getting completely caught up in the Mouthie storytelling. "So joined in the corruption circuit and I kept planning." He snickered. "The plan seemed to be perfect. I was going to bring them all down. Things turned out differently." Another pause as he came to the conclusion of his little story. "My actions have brought down the Merchant Council as well as the underworld gangs. They are in chaos right now. But...they will rise again." He looked deep into Ophelia's eyes. "What I didn't realize was that it's a monster with numerous heads. Cut one off and two new ones appear." Another snicker before he reached for his glass of wine to take a big gulp. "Maybe I was just naive, thinking I could actually make a difference."

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

He's a hero! She thought to herself as he spoke of the corruption and oppression of his homeland. While he had mentioned the good things at first - things she could write songs about, those visions faded quickly in exchange for the gravesmark meetings beneath a thief's moon. She could envision their gnarled faces (for weren't all such underworld creatures disfigured?) and claw-like hands lit only by lantern-light outside a seedy tavern in the bad part of town. A painted sign over their heads with the carved likeness of a scantily clad blonde hangs ominously on an iron chain rusted beyond squeaking, swings with the creak of disrepair. A long, lonely cobbled street harbors only women of the night with fishlnet stalkings and rolled up skirts awaiting their next patron much like the pub beyond.

Then there was the figure of Luca, nesting himself withint their clutches but impervious to the wicked charms of their netheric life. He strove to take them down from within, but like so many others before him was presented with the power that is evil. An enormous hydra, it's heads removed and growing fresh flashed across her mind superimposed over a Council meeting where the wrong-doers were flushed out only to be replaced by their twins.

Quite lost in her personal fantasy, Ophy was disillusioned when the accented speech of her conman comrad ended with a slug of the expensive wine. "It all sounds so dangerous, Luca," she said somewhat awed. "But.. why come to Pax of all places?"

[Luca di Fabro]

"There was no way for me to come out of it with a clean sheet." Luca set down the glass again. "As much as I tried or thought about it, no one would ever believe my story. I have made many enemies there, Ophelia. Many who wanted, and no doubt still want me dead."

He started playing with the glass, as if he was totally lost in his thoughts. The Mouthie swallowed hard. "I fled the city right after things broke lose. I needed a place to go, but had no idea where to go. There was only one place that I knew. I had talked a lot about it with one of the only real friends that I've had in my life. He and I used to fantasize about all the trading opportunities that had to be here, in Pax." Now it wasn't all just a lie anymore as he started to talk about Amerigo. Immediately his eyes became a little watery and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Seriously, the man was a genius. He could sell anything to anyone. Our plan was to come to Pax together one day and jump right into the trade here. We would rule the world!" He grinned and then swallowed hard again.

"He uhm...he didn't make it. He actually saved my life." The emotions weren't hard to play because this was actually the first time he had really thought about Amerigo and what had happened since he had fled the Mouth. "So I decided that the best way to honor him was by coming here. I'm planning to start the trade that we talked about. I'm gonna live our shared dream to honor him."

[Ophelia da Yrsa]

The long con became more convincing as it continued, and Luca swiftly moved from the bulk of his lies into the comfortable territory of honesty. Talking of Amergio, Ophy nodded, but didn't say much until he was done. "That is a good way to honor him," she said quietly, not sure how to deal with his obvious heartwrenching memories concerning his friend. "If there's anything I can do to help.." she said with a shrug.

Snapping her fingers, she brightened up from the low of their conversation. "You know, if you get some sort of trade thing going on, well, someday I'm going to leave this place and go to Trothgard, and when I come back I'll have all sorts of things that need to be traded and I'll need someone to help me with that, because I'm rubbish for all that." It was a hopeful turn, and one she hadn't expected. Although Luca had been rather interesting up til now she didn't think he'd be someone who might be able to help her much further than assisting with fun at the Stone Cube.

"Maybe if you get all rich I'll let you buy into the adventure, buy a piece of it... my father told me the name of that, shares?" Her brows lifted. "That's right, right? When you sell a piece of something that isn't a real thing?" Ophy imagined that Luca would have a good idea of what she was talking about.

[Luca di Fabro]

The conversation shifted from his dark tales to a more lighter subject, much to Luca's relief. His casual smile and twinkles in his eyes returned quickly as Ophelia laid down her plans.

"Yes, those are called shares indeed. Although..I would not get your hopes up on me getting rich anytime soon!" He laughed. "I..am way too unorganized to get rich. I'm really just living my life right now without actually knowing where I'm going to go next, you know? And I'm liking it!"
He chuckled. "Besides..between you and me, I actually really don't know a lot about trading. It is something that I hope I can learn along the way. I mean..how hard can it be, right?"

It was time to change the conversation. He leaned back, feeling quite confident. Oh, I am SO getting lucky tonight! " He put on his most charming and playful grin. "But what about you, bella? Trothgard you say? Bella, bella. That won't do. I fear Trothgard is far to frigid for your passionate nature. The ice would melt right below your feet!"