[Summer – Parso]

Jennings held his outstretched hand containing the banana chips from Leeroy. He fed Poni while he and Penny rode on top leisurely, for the time being.

They headed towards the Fulk Theater in the heart of Parso where yesterday Leeroy had claimed the 'Coldsmith' frequented. He instructed Jennings to ask the front attendant for a “Show on the rocks,” before entering and that would be enough to secure a meeting with this unknown Agist.

Beyond that it was up to Jennings to convince the 'Coldsmith' to take him in for training.

“Uh- Miss May, do you...appreciate scars?” asked Jennings to his newest companion.

“What do you mean?”

He continued.

“I mean, you know the lifestyle I’m livin’. Some people lose blood, some just lose sweat, while most lose loved ones. I’ve always kind of wanted a scar, to show people how bad it got. Maybe I’m just too eager to feel something.”

“You got quite a weird sense of code in that mind, remind me of something I’d hear comin’ from Tozin.” she responded again with an uneasy look upon her face.

Tozin Territory, was a misrepresented plot of land that is run by tribal communities, east of Boythe. Only dozens or so remain in the canyons and desert that make up their territory.

They faced violence due to the initial expansion driven by settlers from the East. Not much is known as to why the settlers felt such urgency to commit a genocide upon the Natives, but due to such turmoil, fear and bigotry remained prevalent in the Shadow Valley Desert, specifically in certain societal bubbles.

The group approached the theater as the sun hit its highest point in the sky. The blistering heat had shown no mercy to the crowd of people that were lined up to see the performance.

Jennings and Penny joined the line as they awaited reaching the attendant. As they inched closer to the bland entrance with hardly a sign of distress, the structure’s integrity seemed to have been questionable at best, however that didn’t interfere with the mission at hand.

Jennings had noticed Penny's nervousness and directed his thoughts toward his young companion,

“Get a hold of your emotions lil' lady.”

Penny perked up from her slouched posture and stumbled forward to find words to say. Jennings proceeded instead.

“We don't know this guy. He's obviously a careful fella' if not much is sure about em’. We don't want him thinking we're someone we're not. So show that smile, you're about to see a show.”

As they finally reached the front, Jennings recited the keywords he was given from his friend Leeroy. The attendant looked up and down at the two, evidently giving a visual inspection before calling out:

“Ronald!”

The volume of his voice forced a wince of annoyance to appear on Jennings’ face. A young well-dressed man with short red hair ran up to them nervously and waited for further instructions from his supervisor. The front attendant whispered into the young man's ear. Ronald then turned his attention to Jennings and Penny with an energetic step.

“R-right this way folks,” he stuttered. Not only did he stumble through his nervous gestures, he almost fell completely after catching a decorative rug’s edge with his work shoe.

Ronald looked in-over-his-head for even the most remedial of delegated tasks presented to him. Bouncing between duties like an echo down a mineshaft, he persevered with perspiration as he led the way to the viewing ledge.

They followed him down a long hallway into an empty room with cut-rate amenities, including a frail-looking, rounded railing to outline the overlooking balcony.

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Two larger men entered the room from the opposite door and stood behind Ronald on the sleek red carpets placed just inside. He reached for a rather large basket that was on the table in the center of the room and handed it to Jennings.

“Sir and madame, if you could please empty any and all weapons into the basket so we can take you to your seats,” Ronald demanded, avoiding eye contact. A menacing gaze accompanied by a chill was returned by J.J. Cool as he was fessing up his weapon at command. He stayed quiet.

Jennings extended his right arm to his side of the firearm before pausing. The two men behind Ronald watched his every move. Jennings complied and lifted his gun from his holster to place it in the basket. Unfinished, he also reached into his back waistline.

The conspicuous guards began to reach for their weapons before Jennings calmed them down with a brief explanation.

“No need to be so jumpy boys, almost forgot about my knife.”

He placed the knife alongside his gun and handed the weighted basket to Penny who had a sunken-in look on her face. The knife was hefty, with a detailed handle painted black, yet taken care of poorly.

What seemed like used bandages were wrapped around and hung off. Ronald was careful to briefly touch the weapon as he adjusted it within the weapon basket.

He handed it to Penny next. Penny exclaimed nervously.

“Wha-, I don-, I don't have anything.”

They handed the basket back to Ronald.

The guards then approached the two and began a rough pat down to verify they weren't concealing anything else. After confirming their harmless status, the men pat Ronald on the back before leaving through the door they entered.

Ronald smiled steadily.

“Great, now that that's out of the way, let's get you to your seats. Follow me.”

Once again the pair followed Ronald down another hallway before being seated in the balcony chairs to the right of the stage. The hallways are lined with wind red amenities and relics of the theater past.

Immediately, Ronald left the room without saying another word. The two sat there waiting, anxiously, as the show began. The actors had started their performance and ventured to give their finest on stage. A coherent but dingy script was read, yet it captivated the audience quickly enough.

The stage actors stole everyone’s attention with a dramatic and clangorous introduction.

“No! My sweet, sweet Pete was supposed to be here. Where, I pray? Where?” exclaimed a bulky actress as she bellowed out her lines to the dense crowd of patrons.

As she finalized her frantic shuffling across the stage, another actor emerged, covered in a deep black mask. Void of any characteristics, he mumbled his lines inaudibly.

The muffled actor leapt forward, saying nothing but removing his mask in dramatic flair and tossing it in a seemingly random direction. The full-figured woman gasped audibly in response, dropping to her knees with a forceful thud and waving extremities. Aimlessly crawling backward, the woman hated the epiphany.

Mission accomplished, the masked visitor hopped into a forced shadow just past the forestage and conspicuously pranced off-stage.

About twenty minutes into the play and they hear a single pair of footsteps approaching, finally breaking Penny’s committed concentration. Emerging from behind a curtain came a middle aged man with medium-length brown hair and a tiny scar in the shape of a paint splatter across the right of his jaw.

The man took a seat next to Jennings and in front of Penny. Without hesitating, Jennings catechized the man seated next to him.

“Who tha' hell might you be? Why did ya’ have to drag your heels so long, huh?”

The man stared back at Jennings with a silent glare before answering.

“I'm C.C. the man you came here to meet.”

“You're the 'Coldsmith' then?” Jennings asked for confirmation.

“...”

The man opened his mouth briefly, then ate his words.

“I'm his confidant and the person that's going to grant you a meeting with him- if you don't piss me off.”

Jennings lowered his head and let out a deep breath, the closest he would get to apologizing for a stranger.

“So you can make the meetin’ happen then?”

“Hold your horse there Mr.,” C.C. paused, not knowing how to complete the sentence.

Jennings replied, “J.J., and this here is Penny May.”

The collected C.C. eagerly responded.

“Good. Now please explain why you two came out of the blue and want to eagerly introduce yourselves.”

Jennings answered with a jagged peculiarity to his voice as he spoke back.

“Well...I hear this Coldsmith is rather skilled when it comes to the way of the ice Agi. Something I too share a likin’ to. I ain't looking for trouble, shit, quite the opposite actually. I'm looking to become a student.”

The intrigued man leaned forward.

“Is that so?”

C.C. spoke in an apprehensive tone.

“To even make it here sitting next to me, you must know some people. I'd say you're at least worth a minute of time.”

He looked back toward the stage for a brief moment before uttering what Jennings truly wanted to hear.

“You got your meeting, Mr. ‘J.J. the Mysterious’, Blue Rock Cemetery at mid-Moon tomorrow night.”

He proceeded to stand from his seat and make his way toward the exit before turning back in Jennings and Penny’s direction.

“Oh and one more thing, sir, don't try to bring anything other than a desire to learn to the graveyard or else he'll be showing you a thing or two about ice Agi that you may not want to experience first hand.”

C.C. flashed a smile, adding, “Enjoy the show-.”