Wandering around

These pasts days after the party had been hetic; Irina had the sensation of that this was the first moment of relaxation that she has been able to steal in a while. Since Duke Curwen's death now she had to initiate the tedious task of finding a new job and while being a sage meant that she didn't lack offers the brunette wanted to make sure that she made the best choice. In addition just because she wasn't actively working for someone that didn't mean that she could stop her research, the crack was an important matter after all.

But now she was wandering around the streets of Seraphane, not thinking about science, jobs or any important matters. The sage merely walked, her mind empty of any tought as she moved from a street to another without going anywhere specifically. This was an habit that she had picked when she was a child, either walking or reading managed to calm her mind and since she didn't feel like reading she decided to go for the first option.

She arrived to the harbor marchet and stopped, looking at the sight and for the briefest moment she felt nostalgic; she missed Krev a little.

The sounds of cheering broke the silence Irina was experience, as a crowd of people were gathered around a makeshift stage that was performing one of the ever-popular Euryens Cambridge, Crimson Champion plays. These were international favorites among the commoners.

The lead actor was a handsome man wearing a green wig with long flowing hair, and an opulant red silk long coat trimmed with gold patterns. He guffawed theatrically as he slew the dastardly dragon king in the arena. The crowd cheered wildly as 'Euryens' then drop kicked the dragon's corpse off the stage. "Finally! The tyranny of the dragon king is at an end! From now on, the people of Seraphane can sleep soundly with the knowledge they are able to sleep soundly and that their daughters will be returned to them safely!" he shouted and then looked upward at the sky. "What ho! A new challenger approaches! Who is this blackguard who challenges me?"

While Irina knew that Seraphane often made public shows in order to enterain people she rarely saw them; the sage was always busy with research or work and she rarely indulged herself with free time. She looked at the play with mild interest, it was about Euryens an hero whose story had thousand of versions; some of them more credible and other ones that went beyond what could be believable. Which was Irina's opinion in this matter? Well, the sage tought that likely the truth was in the middle.

The actor fought his enemies and saved the world from the so called blackguard. The public clapped enthusiastically and Irina joined them with a small smile on her face. The play had been enteraining even if it wasn't her style and she had to admit that the actors were talented.

An old man in a battered, worn and faded crimson wool coat, with a cream colored tunic beneath and well travelled brown trousers and boots adorning his lower body. His green eyes regarded the play in a mix of amusement and embarassment. The fight against the Bandit King Uvenk was mutated over the decades, changing Uvenk into a Dragon, as there was much anti-Cymru sentiment lately. Propaganda, the real Euryens Cambridge thought to himself, that is not how it really happened, but at least it is amusing to think I slew a dragon. He was standing next to the woman in black and white who was decidedly more well dressed than most of the spectators, but not necessarily out of place either.

The old man, scratched at his graying brown beard. For some reason, plays depicted him with green hair but he didn't mind so much, it helped him stand out a little more he supposed, as if the coat itself wasn't enough. Most discounted the man Euryens himself as a fan of the plays due to his manner of dress, even though it very little resembled the costumes the performers who played him wore. "Fanciful things, aren't they? Makes you wonder what is real and what is embellishment." he said aloud, mostly to himself.

Irina's attention towards the play was interrupted when the man next to her spoke; he wasn't speaking to her exactly but it was a curious comment. The few times that she had seen these kind of shows really few people questioned the veracity of such legends; questioning things while enjoying them was not a common attitude but one that she could agree with. "Generally these plays doesn't stand out because of their veracity but...behind the greatest embelishments there's always a hint of truth" Irina replied with a small smirk. Perhaps the man wasn't interested in her opinion but she had said it anyway.

She turned her head briefly to look at the man standing next to him; an old man or at the least older than her who wore clothes not meant to draw attention minus perhaps the crimson coat. Irina had never fancied a lot colours, she rarely wear anything that wasn't black or white but she had to admit that crimson was appealing in a way like violet and dark green.

The man chuckled at the woman standing nearby's response. "Mm, true. One cannot fault that logic." he mused to her, scratching at his bearded chin, green eyes now fixed on the woman in black and white. "Have you seen many of these plays? They're very popular in rural areas. The cities too, if what is before us indicates the average amount of audiences." he indicated the huge crowd around them watching the play. He drew his dark red wool coat closer about himself, as if to fight a chill. Something about the woman was setting him on edge, but he couldn't think of why. Curious...

"My logic tends to be quite good, or so I have been told" Irina said with a smile. The raven haired woman wasn't one to play humble; if she was good at something why would she deny it?. Fake modesty was a bit of a waste of time in a way; while she would never boast about a skill she didn't posess why would she play coy about her talents such as inteligence?.

"I haven't, whenever I am not working I am researching thus I rarely indulge in free time" she said with a srugh. In fact this was the first time that she found herself without employ since she left the academy and that's why she could afford to take her time in her new work choice. A part of her was aware of that being a workaholic didn't benefit her but she was way too stubborn to change. "And you?" Violet eyes returned his gaze; in the past she had heard multiple opinions about her eyes from beautiful to even terrific.

What would this stranger think about them? Irina didn't care particulary about it but she had always been amused at the wide variety of reactions she caused in other people.

The man in red smiled wearily as his gaze regarded the players. "I've retired some years ago, I have plenty of time to watch these plays in my travels." he mused, scratching at his beard thoughtfully. He could feel her violet eyed gaze on him, and he used his practiced mind to shut out any mental probing. His green eyes slid over to her again. "Time was once, that you could make a name for yourself fighting in the arenas." He mused again, hands resting on the hilts of the blades at his sides hidden under his coat.

"Well you don't seem to be very old but again each work has a retirement age; in mine to be old is prestige in a way althought I am not looking foward my first grey hairs" While Irina didn't want to be taken into account only because of her looks she would lie if she said that she wasn't a little bit vain, or well more than a little bit.

Out of curiosity she touched his mind for the briefest moments but it was completely closed and Irina smiled, retiring a dark lock from her eyes, violet gleaming with amusement with a hint of curiosity. "I know little about arenas so I can't say a lot about the topic"

He nodded, hands in his pockets. "Oh, grey hair on a dark haired lady of your beauty would be quite handsome instead of ugly, I assure you." he chortled and looked up towards the greying sky. "The arenas are a harsh place to work in. You are constantly endangering your life for the entertainment of others. You don't know if you wil live to see the next sunrise, but the cheer of the crowds...the roar of applause...the clang of steel on steel...those were always beautiful." he smiled wistfully, reminiscing.

He shook his head and coughed politely. "Ah forgive me, an old man just lost in memories of times long gone." he bowed in apology to her.

Irina smiled at the man "My, aren't you charming; I think that I will have to disagree with you in the grey hairs thing but thanks for the compliment" said the sage with an amused smile. "I preffer the silence of a library, the thrill of feeling the magic on your fingertips and the excitement of finding a clue that puts you in the right direction in a research but to each one it's own."

"Well can I know the name of the old man? Or it will remain as a mistery?" asked Irina. During a normal conversation she wouldn't have asked about her interlocutor name but she had to admit that this stranger was interesting, more than most of the people that she had met in Seraphane.

Euryens chortled, and gave a theatrical bow. "A few grey hairs would not tarnish your looks, I assure you." He said while knuckling at some of the whiskers of his beard. "Alas, I have no gift for magic." He stated, though his eyes glinted knowingly. "That having been said, I have encountered enough magic users to be able to mask my thoughts." He stated.

At her request of his name he shook his head. "My name is not for others to know, anymore. But you are a bright girl, I am certain you can figure it out. A simple bit of deduction." he bowed to her, though his eyes checked the crowd watching the play.

It was basically time to go home. However, the plans to go home were derailed a certain individual's health concern. Mintaka woke up in the early morning to hearing her sister worse-than-usual coughing fits and tended to her until the sun was up. With Sarnai finally sleeping in their inn room, Mintaka decided to wait one more day before going back home. Orsk would have to yell at her about it, but she didn't care.

Mintaka was happy to just wonder about. She was back in her warrior threads again, and her weapons near her. Her axe was wrapped loose cloth, not as alarming as the stage performance going on. Her eyes narrowed at the actor proclaiming himself Euryens, a wailing fire stirred within her.

She managed to beat it back down. However, the sound of Euryen's name made her mind flashed away from the performance and shouting crowd. Next thing she knew was that she was really small child, barely five. The surrounding were the steppe camps of her father and she ducked around the corner as she spied her father speaking with another man. An outsider. The red coat that didn't stick like a sore thumb, and few people didn't seem to mind the presence of someone different.

Mintaka closed her eyes, barely hearing the strange dialect that the man spoke. A loud cheer ruptured her dream, bringing her back to the crowded streets again. She looked at the play, while having nothing better to do.

Irina rose an eyebrow at his comment, how was she supposed to discover what was the man's identity? Likely it was related to the play considering that he was looking at it as he spoke, althought perhaps it was a simple coincidence. Violet eyes were fixed on him, a touch of confussion in her expression.

Suddenly she was distracted from her toughts with the presence of another woman that ha situated herself next to her, her face was familiar, perhaps from one of the parties that the nobles arranged from time to time.

The old man scratched at his beard thoughtfully. There were several faces in the crowd that seemed to be listening in on his conversation with Irina, his jaw clenched a little bit as he felt his paranoia start to get at his heckles. Then amongst the crowd of play viewers, he spotted a young lady, familiar to him. She was very young when they last met, but then so was he, barely 18 years old at the time. He was meeting the Golden Khan and participating in some friendly competition amongst the Khanate's best fighters.

It was good fighting back then, he was fit and while not yet at his peak, he had the reputation for being undefeated even back then. His mind snapped back to the present and he caught himself smiling nostalgically. He cleared his throat at Irina. "You'll figure it out eventually, ma'am. I assure you."

"Nah, that's not even close to that one." Mintaka concluded with a whisper, as if responding to someone talking to her. She watched the fake theatricals with impartiality. She couldn't really take the actors seriously. The swordplay was fake and the fact that she knew that made the show less enjoyable. It could be blamed by her living in a world where weapons were almost as close of a possession as the clothes.

Her thoughts brought her to the event from the previous night. The noble who won that duel troubled her greatly. It was too well done..too well done.

She closed her eyes as if to blot out some distraction in around her.