119 Chances Missed, and Taken (1/2)
”What an impressive piece of work this is.” Even though they had moved away from the clock maker's painting, it appeared as if Egidius wasn't the only one in the new king's Saniya capable of great feats. What Tawo turned in his hand was a piece of pottery as delicate and beautiful as a seashell. As the stars were his witness, for the first time in his life he held real Chutwa glaze in his hands.
”They say that the product has been imported from Chutwa itself.” to his side, Khuno, the loudmouth village chief from before, sneered.
”Oh, where did you hear that, chief Khuno?”
”The foppish foreigner told us not too long ago. Look at this as well.” Again he raised another product. This time, it was a bottle, one which appeared to be sculpted from pure crystal. With great admiration, Tawo took the object into his hands and turned it, to see the iridescent sparkle of the material in the orange light of the torches spread throughout the hall.
”How did they manage to shape one crystal in such a manner? Has a new master entered Saniya? And is this not an incredible waste of material, to hollow it out like this?” His eyes still focused on the bottle in his hands, Tawo tried his best to unlock its mysteries.
”This is no crystal. It is simple glass.” With a raised finger of his free hand, Egidius stepped up to complete the last part of their little trio. ”In its original form, this is technology of Arcavia. When King Corco returned here, he brought many skilled craftsmen with him. Though I don't believe there were any glass makers who held the secret of clear glass. Maybe the king managed to purchase the technology from Whiteport instead.”
More focused on his own theories than the people around him, Egidius began to mumble and was only brought back to reality by a light cough from Tawo. ”Either way, I am quite sure that this glass has been crafted here, in Saniya.”
After they had bonded over that painting of his, Egidius and Tawo had stuck together. While the warrior would never mind the company of a great artist, the clock maker had wanted to meet more of Saniya's locals. For either purpose, the other's company would be beneficial. Although many of the country folk had been cautious around the fair-skinned foreigner at first, a bit of Tawo's persuasion, together with Egidius' natural talents, had been enough to endear him to the locals.
”Although this chief is very glad for the explanation from master Egidius, none of this matters!” loudmouth Khuno brought himself into the conversation once again. ”Yes, the crystal bottle is pretty too, but just smell the contents inside!”
In response to the loudmouth's request, Tawo looked at the bottle again. Only now did he see that it was filled with a liquid as clear as the glass around it. Intrigued by this discovery, Tawo looked up to the village chief, only to find the younger man look at him with eyes that were as expectant as those of Egidius were curious. Encouraged, he released the clear stopper from the bottle and took a whiff. At first he reeled back from the strong smell, but soon the sting in his nose was replaced by a pleasant scent, one he couldn't quite place.
”What is it?” he asked.
”I'm surprised that chief Asto wouldn't recognize the smell. It's lavender, the smell of summer.”
*Exposed again!*
Although Tawo had gone through the summer in the Chawir marshes this year, he had been stationed in a camp, many miles away from Saniya. Thus, he had never seen, or smelled, the full bloom of the lavender the town was so famous for. In frantic search for an excuse, his eyes spun around, to find something, anything, to distract the men before him from the topic and his own inadequacies.
”So it is a form of rose water,” the painter spoke out of turn. At least Egidius had the basic decency to help out his friend. ”Nothing special then.”
”Nothing special?” Khuno turned away from Tawo, just in time to miss the warrior exhale in relief. Too busy with the foreigner's comment, he failed to notice anything unusual about his fellow chief. ”The old Vorao over there tried the smell before he tried the food, the weirdo. You know he still smells like he rolled in the stuff, even now? How long has that been? Hours, got wine spilled all over his robes no less! No scented water lasts that long!”
”Again, it is not unusual in Arcavia,” Egidius explained with a second raised finger.
On the other hand, Tawo was lost in thought. Astonished by the overall levels of skill he had witnessed today, the town he had left a mere two seasons prior was unrecognizable. Meanwhile, he almost failed to notice the developing conflict between the two parties before him.
”What does that mean? Everything's better over in Arcavia, is it?” Khuno bit at the innocent Egidius.
Although Tawo respected the young chief for his passion, his attitude and temper were problems. Even though they had known each other for less than a day, Khuno had presented himself as irritable throughout, even more so whenever someone styled themselves as superior. At the same time, Egidius was terrible with people. Or rather, he himself was a nice enough fellow, but time and again he failed to notice the angry responses some of his answers garnered. Stuck between the two like a wet paper between spark and powder, Tawo had to mediate once more.
”Ahah, surely there are many things the great Yaku people have over the eastern foreigners as well,” he tried, and included a wink towards the painter for good measure. Brought back to his favorite topic, Egidius began to rave.
”Of course there are. The paper production for one. I suspect that this very technology is the reason why there are so many more literate men in Medala than there are in Arcavia. Not to mention, the architectural achievements of Medala are one of a kind. I have only been here for a short time, but I feel as if a lifetime would not be enough to understand the intricacies of their craft. There is also a certain feeling of honor within Medala quite unlike what I have seen anywhere else.”
”That may be true for some, but not everyone knows honor like we do.” Even though things had gone so well moments earlier, Khuno's face had soured further. This time, not even the astute Tawo could understand why the village chief was dissatisfied. At least he didn't have to guess for long.
”Aren't these sort of things sickening to anyone else?” he said as he pointed to the bottle of lavender water still held within Tawo's hand.
”If chief Khuno could please enlighten the unenlightened,” Tawo said with the calmest smile he could muster. Already he could tell that whatever thought Khuno tried to conjure was dangerous. However, Tawo himself relished the chance to expose a radical, a rebel. This was the reason he had come here after all, in spite of how much fun his time so far had been. Only if he could impress the local forces in some way, make some great achievement in service of the new King of the South and distinguish himself in front of all the locals here, did he have any chance to meet with his target.
”You don't believe this sort of gloating is ugly? Here we are, the simple commoners of Chawir, and are presented with all of those treasures from all over the world, and for what?”