1 Soul Bound
1.2 Taking Control
1.2.3 An Enchanting Original
1.2.3.10 ...and how to wield them
Signora was dressed in the height of fashion… men’s fashion.
She was much older than the portrait, in her fifties, but well preserved and full of vitality. Her hair was now in a precision styled garcon cut, with a hint of something like a quiff at the front, rather than in long flowing tresses. Her silvery-grey doublet covered a salmon pink silk shirt that subtly emphasised her bosom, her matching paned breeches slid into knee-length turned down boots that were polished to within an inch of their lives. The only ring she wore was a signet on the middle finger of her right hand and, at her waist, was a very functional scabbarded rapier. In short, she looked like a roguish pirate - a successful one.
She moved onto the catwalk with a bounce in her step, and then prowled towards them as Bartola introduced the Wombles to her. Signora timed her approach, stopping as Bartola’s words finished and giving Kafana a full gallant bow, with elegant arm flourishes and unbroken eye contact, before speaking her first words.
Signora: “You are surprised, perhaps? But these clothes serve very well at sending my husband the message that I am no longer the sheltered girl he married, and I have discovered also that they are very me.”
Bulgaria: “Clothes maketh the man?”
Signora: “Almost. We make ourselves. But clothes let us see ourselves with fresh eyes.”
Kafana produced the regal borrowed dress from her stash, its blue and green falls folded as neatly as she’d been able to manage. She held it out to Signora.
Kafana: “Thank you for lending me this dress. I’m amazed you had something that fitted so well on the rack. Is there much call for this design?”
Signora: “None whatsoever. I am a couturier. Every outfit produced at Signora Moda is a one-off piece. We collaborate with our clients in deciding upon colour and fabrics, based upon what is possible and what they wish to achieve. It is then up to us to create a design that bridges the two, and to tailor, pattern and sew the garments, as perfectly as time, magic and ingenuity allow. The dress you hold in your hands was made for you personally; it will fit no other, it will suit no other. So please, keep it as a gift to mark the start of our acquaintance. Besides, now I have seen your glory in person, I can do better still.”
Tomsk: {Couturier? It feels more like she is courting you.}
Bulgaria: {Yes, but not for sex I think. Or at least, not for sex primarily.}
Kafana tried to sound winsome: “Your words are as elegant as your clothes, and I feel great temptation to ask you to take me ... as a client and demonstrate your skills upon me, that I might give you a financial recompense that is commensurate with your stature. But is that really all you wish to be to me? A couturier?”
Signora grinned wolfishly. “Perhaps not all, but let us start with clothing. I can provide and, forgive me for saying so, you and your party are in need. Columbina tells me I simply must ensure her friends have the wherewithal to sit with her in public, without disgracing the Speckled Dove’s reputation. We can discuss payment or other things, after I have had a chance to impress you.”
Kafana put the dress back in her stash and opened her arms in a show of vulnerability. “I am in your hands. How shall we start?”
Signora: “Let us start with your enemies. Whom do you wish to offend, and where do you wish to do it?”
Bungo: “Do we have to offend people?”
Signora: “Of course! Those who achieve things will always offend some people. So it is best to choose your enemies carefully in advance - they are how others will judge you.”
Wellington: “Why’s that?”
Signora: “Words are mere air. And it is hard to judge a man by his friends, because when he is rich, many will claim friendship who have no loyalty or right to it. Judge a man by his actions; there is no action more honest than making an enemy, because it comes with such cost.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Alderney: “We go many places; rich and poor, safe and dangerous. I myself have some small interest in designing clothing, but my current focus is upon armour protecting against assassins and other monsters. So, as to your ‘where’, can we initially concentrate upon the venues and events frequented by nobles, such as the upcoming ball to mark the start of the new Season?”
Bungo: {Alderney, have you been rehearsing that speech?}
Alderney: {Yep! I’ve noticed the NPCs react more favourably towards you, if you mirror their style of talking. I’ve switched Tink, my tiara expert system, over to speaking in the convoluted pseudo-renaissance speech patterns the game uses here, to get in practice.}
Kafana: “As to whom, I would thoroughly enjoy offending Fra Nerone Drago, and others of his ilk, who would deny me voice or access because they see themselves as being superior to me, even though my blood is good enough for the deities themselves to choose to hear my words.”
Signora clapped her hands together, decisively. “You have excellent taste in enemies. I commend you. House Drago is powerful but waning, and they already hold enmity towards you, because your party embarrassed them by revealing those cultists of Bel beneath their lands. Nerone is a member of the Cups, but only some will rally to him.”
Tomsk: “It is good to know of an enemy’s potential allies. Can you tell us more about these Cups?”
Bartola steps forwards, carrying a tray of drinks and nibbles. “There are four major social sets among the nobles. The Cups are named after the traditional welcome goblet that’s offered at social gatherings as a symbol of Cov’s hospitality. Their season is in the spring, when the land turns fertile and the minds of matriarchs turn to arranging marriages. They are the set which tends to host the social events designed to let eligible bachelors meet up with carefully chaperoned damsels, and their strength is dynastic alliances.”
Bulgaria: “So someone doesn’t necessarily remain in the same set all their life?”
Bartola: “No indeed. Many who are Swords when young become Coins later in life.”
Bungo looked around the room. “And the remaining set is Wands. Are they interested in crafting, books or magic?”
Bartola nodded: “All three. They spend all winter at home administering their estates and long for new things to relieve their boredom. The Swords are competitive types, who roave far in the summer when the roads are free from mud, and the Coins rule the autumn when the winds are most favourable for trading voyages. Members often give a nod towards their allegiance by their choice of colours or symbols.”
Wellington looked around the room: “Signora, which set are you a part of? I find it hard to tell. Is there a list somewhere, that says who is in which?”
Signora laughed gaily. “Where would be the fun in having a list?”
She continued: “My salon is one of the few that’s unaligned. Depending on who I invite for a particular evening, it may turn out to be a demonstration of a new crafting technique, a fencing lesson, a poetry reading or the founding of a new business venture. The only rule I set myself is ensuring the attendees never end up bored. At a minimum, by the end of the evening, at least two luminaries will end up swearing to never speak to each other again or stabbing each other. “ She paused a moment, then added thoughtfully “Or, on one occasion, rutting with each other on the floor.”
Kafana: “Does that happen a lot…” she purposely waited until Signora was about to answer, then innocently added the clarification: “arranged marriages?”
System: [Skill “Verbal fencing” acquired.]
System: [Skill “Verbal fencing” has reached level 1.]
Signora: “Too often. I’m proud to say that my son, Lelio, seems to be as annoyed at the idea as I was, when my parents promised me to a toad without so much as asking me. I hope he can stick by his refusal. If all else fails, he could try stabbing Pantalone, but he’d lose his job if he did that, and he is so very fond of rules. I was his first fencing master, did you know? He was very earnest and hard working, but far too predictable.”
Tomsk: “He mentioned, once, that his first teacher was an example of skill being more important than physical strength. He didn’t name you, though.”
Signora sighed. “I embarrass him. And he feels this absurd duty to try to please Pantalone, as though he owed him something. He owes more to Scaramouche who taught me to fight, when I was new to the city and friendless, and he was the Captain of Pantalone’s guards.”
She added in reminiscence: “I loved his sword. It was long and hard.”
Alderney scowled: “I’ve heard bad things about Scaramouche’s swords.”
Signora: “He is a bit full of himself, but he’s very entertaining when he puts his mind to it. He never bored me. You’ll just have to judge him for yourself. Reputation is fleeting; character lasts.”
[You discovered a new milestone on the Lovebirds quest chain: The Dutiful Son. Help Lelio gain his father’s blessing.]