Chereads / Of the Stars, Sun, and Moon / Chapter 73 - Gillian House 2

Chapter 73 - Gillian House 2

This would be something he COULD give advice on.

"Might I ask the nature of his travels?"

"He is a courier, so long distance in harsher environments."

So the conditions would be that it had to be durable, light, and space efficient all the while still being entertaining, useful, or holding sentimental value.

Realistically, he could remove things of sentimental value from his considerations as he knew neither the experiences or preferences of Breda's husband. He could probably rule out some of the most basic things that a courier might need such as a water bottle or boots. A good courier would have their essentials be high quality regardless of their rank as those things would be responsible for both keeping them alive and doing their job.

The only thing left was something that would provide some degree of entertainment value to him while on the road.

That might actually be difficult. A form of entertainment that could be taken on the road with you was by nature space efficient and light, but as a result were usually somewhat less durable.

Puzzles fulfilled all those criteria, but could only really be solved once before they lost their charm and became dead weight.

Cigars and such were certainly and option as they were light and only get lighter as they are used, but they could easily be ruined on the road so that was not an option either. The same could be said of most other consumable items, especially something like tea which was easy to make and carry but high quality leaves could be ruined by exposure to water, dust, and even air.

Wine was out of the question. Any alcoholic beverage that approached something even resembling top quality would have somebody wasted after a single mouthful. That would be unacceptable for someone on a delivery mission.

"Does he perhaps have any interests?" He was grasping at straws by now.

"He does say he quite enjoys seeing new sights and new places. He always complains that he can't take me to see them too."

BINGO!

He knew exactly what he would enjoy!

If he was unable to bring her to the sights, then he would just have to be able to bring the sights to her. A crate of photostones would be perfect for a man like him.

"Have you considered purchasing a set of photostones for him?"

"Photostones? What are those?"

"They are a helpful little tool that can be used to capture images of scenery. Usually they are shaped like a cone and have layers that can be peeled off. If you put a small gemstone known as a Glimmer Globe on the tip and coat the two in Xan, the scenery directly opposite of the flat of the cone will copy an image of that scenery. If you were to peel that layer off and bring it to a special shop, that image can be expanded onto a bigger canvas and framed."

The Gillian house possessed one such shop, so he was actually quite familiar with Photostones.

"Interesting..." To Breda, this sounded perfect! She too had always wanted to see some of the sights Nofafi had described to her. Majestic mountain ranges. A forest of rainbows. A sparkling sea in the dark of night. All of these had been witnessed by Nofafi, but he was unable to describe their true beauty with his limited vocabulary.

Something like this would be ideal.

"I would like to look at them and see what they can do. Where could I go to buy one?"

"We have a shop in this very building. But I am afraid we cannot go there for the moment as we are waiting for the master. If you would like, I can show you the works after your meeting."

"Please. That would be lovely."

There was little conversation after this. Breda was tired, to the point of nodding off, and was struggling to remain conscious. Maintaining a conversation was far from her capabilities, so she succumbed to the sleep.

At this point she had not slept for a whole day, and the stresses of her normal work, her assistance in the creation of the gel, and her escapade in the city had all worn at her energy reserves. The nail in the coffin was the tea. As it relaxed her and cleared her mind, she at last fell asleep.

When she awoke, she found herself on a bed that was not her own. Most immediately apparent was that she was no longer in the lobby, though the color theme remained the same. She could even smell an incense that smelled like a sweet lavender.

"I see you are awake."

The voice of an older man startled the groggy Breda. In one of the corners of the room, next to a window, sat a man who's clothes could only be described as gaudy by anyone with at least half a brain. To those with less than half it would only appear to be flashy.

Should someone have no brain at all it would appear quite fashionable.

A rainbow tiled robe, yes, tiled, as in it seemed to have scales, with bright golden seaming. Sandals of a bright glossy red. Glasses that clearly lacked lenses with a frame of a blinding yellow, fashioned to look like the sides of his head had wings. Even the book he was reading was a revoltingly showy shade of green.

Upon matching his gaze through the eyeholes of his glasses, Breda could not help but laugh. This man was ridiculous.

The man did not seem to mind though. Merely smirking and letting her get it out of her system.