The World's Fair, at night

The first thing most people noticed when it came to the fairgrounds was how remarkably dry the entire premise was. Closer examination of the dome overhead would reveal glass paneling covering the area (and a little bot of the area surrounding it). While there was some cross moisture from the edges, the glass seamed to do it's job of diverting the water into a make-shift waterfall on the rim.

The second thing worth noticing was the large, tall building in the center. It was a large, pure black building with rods and wires hanging off of it like a tree. Electric lights shone up it's sides, between the many windows that made up the base. In fact, the entire fair itself was lit up by a mixture of electric lights and magic lights, some lining the streets while other created various displays along the walls and roofs of the convention builds. However, none shone as brightly as the center structure.

Several smaller buildings littered the premise, each a small convention hall offering wonders in their own categories of science, culture and magic. The entrance was also quite decorative, a large archway covered in bronze and gold alloy embellishments. Even this late at night a polite line had formed in front of the ticket booth and in front of the professional aquamancers offering their service to get rid of any excess water on the patrons. A large decorative but functional gate surrounded the perimeter, its fifteen feet walls and its sharp tips serving as a deterrent for people who didn't feel the need to pay admission.

Dmitri and company were the first to arrive on the scene. Juliana herself stared in awe and excitement at the decorations of the fence, like the young adult in a new and exciting environment that she was.

Lavinia stood in line with the other two, eying the aquamancers, quite glad to see them there. She had not been pleased about having to share her umbrella with two other people and getting partially soaked. "What shall we see?" she asked the other two.

Dmitri was also glad to see the aquamancers, even though he was probably the driest of the three. Of course, he was more glad to see that the fairground was dry. He noticed Juliana's reaction, a smile playing on the corners of his lips. In response to Lavinia, he looked around, shrugging as he said, "Whatever catches your eye."

Juliana looked around the fair. There wasn't really much in the way of competitions going on, though she could see indications of shopping booths. With a Cheshire grin, she began to head for a lone of carts, each carrying strange devices. She looked over her shoulder to say, "I'm looking at those. Come if you like, or don't. Doesn't matter much me."

---

Not far behind, Lucas Fairchild stared at the gates in some awe. This wasn't what he had expected when he heard the word "fair". Back on Phiah, a fair was a gathering of little villages and merchants there for the fun of it with silly games and more than enough swindling to go around. Here, it looked like the product of a rich noble getting bored, finding the nearest mad scientist, giving him a large sum of money and a track of land, and telling him to have at it. The price for admission was pretty steep by his standards as well. "A whole kenetra just to walk around?" He balked.

"That's no problem for us," Alistair answered with a sneaky grin at Garrett. The money they'd gotten off of him earlier would be paying for this. "We did have something of a windfall today." He pulled the water from their clothes. "I daresay that if there is anything that catches your fancy, we may be able to afford it."

******

"I believe I shall accompany you," Lavinia answered, following behind the girl. She might save the exhibitions for when Perry would join them.

Dmitri followed both Lavinia and Juliana, saying, "I'll come along as well."

Garrett glared at AListair, the soaked stub of what was once his cigarette still handing in his mouth. "Just don't buy anything stupid."

"I don't think I could really buy anything in there if the entrance fee is an entire kenetra," Luke grumbled.

---

Ana spent a good amount of time floating from booth to booth, gazing at the equipment like a kid in a candy shop. Finally, when she was done looking, she turned to Dmitri and Lavinia with a grin. "Lets see the centerpiece. I hear they're got a restaurant at the top."

Dmitri nodded at Juliana's statement, saying, "Sounds like good plan to me." Dmitri hadn't originally come to the faire to enjoy it, but as they went from booth to booth, he did find himself taking pleasure in the trip, though he knew he wasn't as excited as Juliana about it.

"You have a hundred and fifty on you. Given that, it's a pittance," Alistair answered. "Beside that, I still have about 50 tiels left over from our stay in Phiah. Put things in perspective, Lucas."

As they talked, a rather burly-looking gentleman stared at Luke with a slight bit of puzzlement on his face.

------

"Yes, I could use some dinner. We never did finish making it on the ship," Lavinia added. "An unfortunate oversight."

"I am. I'm in the perspective that wasting money is not exactly a good idea," Luke grumbled, removing his wallet from his pocket and staring down at the ill gotten funds with some thought. He had always tried to save up for a better life, scrap together enough money for a new house or someway to be eligible to be a new husband. And what had that gotten him? Taxes, thefts and being conned out of every penny he had. No, this time he was going to indulge himself before it all disappeared from under his nose.

With a sigh, he amended his statement, "I guess it can't 'urt to indulge just a little." He took out a bill and silently moved to pay for three tickets. He hardly noticed the burly man.

Garrett on the other hand was quite aware of them being watched. In fact, he returned the favor out of the corner of his eye in case there was someone ready to mug them or report them to the police.

---

Ana lead the way to the tall building, still quite energetic in her steps. When they went inside, they were greeted with a high class lobby heading to a strangely well decorated lift. She piratically skipped into hers, quite used to taking them with how common they were back on Central City.

Dmitri was far less enthusiastic than Juliana when he arrived at the lifts. He had been on them before, but he didn't like them at all. Hesitating slightly, and taking a deep breath, he entered the lift he was going to take. Had anyone been paying attention to him, they would have noticed that his body was tense, and that his hand that he held behind his back as he rode the lift was clenched into a tight fight. Dmitri's other hand lay on a handrail inside the left, holding onto it with a powerful grip.

"That's the ticket," Alistair muttered as Luke went to buy the tickets. "He really needs to learn how to enjoy life," he added as an aside to Garrett.

Meanwhile, the burly man waded through the crowd to approach Luke. "John Doe?"

*******

Lavinia had used lifts before, but she was still quite fascinated at how well built they were. She moved in beside Juliana.

Juliana watched the ride up with excitement, not used to such fancy concepts as hand rails or a shaft. Once they were on top, she waited for Dmitri to head up as well, looking quite worried when seeing Dmitri arriving with such a tense look. "Afraid of heights?" She asked.

Behind them, an upper-middle class restaurant stood. While it was no gentleman's club or place for nobility, it was obviously meant to be above to common man in both style and altitude. The entire surrounding walls were covered in thick glass, giving a 360 degree view of the storm clouds and the occasional spark of lighting from the "branches" that were mostly above but partially below the windows. And extraordinarily nervous human host stood at the entrance dressed in green server clothes, a pair of glasses hanging off his nose. He smiled and offered, "Oh, hello! It's lovely weather out there, yes, quite lovely, um... can I bring you to a table? Or, um, maybe a booth. I'm not trying to push tables over booths or anything."

Dmitri stepped out of his lift hastily, exhaling when he was clear of the doors. With a "hmm?", Dmitri answered, "No, not heights. Lifts themselves." He smiled, to show Juliana that he was fine, and that she needn't worry as he continued, "I can't get used to them, is all." When the man spoke to them, Dmitri wondered why he was so nervous sounding and looking, but decided not to pay much attention to it. Dmitri preferred booths himself, but he asked Juliana and Lavinia, "Which would you two rather? Table or booth?"

"Is there a difference?" Juliana asked, quite confused. Most places she had been to ONLY offered tables. Granted, she tended not to go to very many restaurants back home, period.

"Well, booths generally tend to be more comfortable, in my opinion," Dmitri answered. Dmitri had been in his fair share of restaurants, wooing women and taking them on "dates", and he had received a pretty good opinion of each type of seat.

"A table, please," Lavinia answered. Her bustle would be too much hassle. A lady did not scoot into a seat, she glided into it. At the least, that is what her mother had drilled into her since her early childhood.

Ana paused when Dmitri and Lavinia gave her conflicting advice. After a few seconds, she reached into her pocket and retrieved a coin, a keepsake from Central City. She then casually flipped the coin in the air and watched it land on the tails side of the coin, an image of the clocktower. She smiled and bent down to retrieve her coin, saying, "Looks like a table."

"Very good! A table, a table's good, right this way," The server responded with his nervous smile. He lead them into the restaurant, offering them a table with a good view to the outsides. The floor in the main room was grey, designed to mimic the storm clouds ahead and sometimes around them. Juliana was quick to take a seat facing the large windows.

Sitting in the corner was a gentleman with black hair, around 50 years in age. There was always a saying not to make certain faces or else one's face would stick. It was oddly true with Julius Ferne, who's wrinkles were tailored around an expression of judgement and disapproval. His carefully trimmed mustache also followed the same paths. His smile was working against those paths.

"So, my friend, do you have any opinions on the budding authors trying to garner interest in their works?" Ferne asked casually, a bit of a loaded question, though few questions form this man were with out an agenda.

---

"Yeah, live a little on my money," Garrett grumbled in reply.

Luke paused when seeing the burly man, his hand absently touching the iron brooch he had attached to his belt. "Lucas Fairchild now, but yes, that's me. Can I 'elp you?"

"Been meaning to challenge you," the man grunted. "You've got two days to back out, unless you're yellow. We meet at the room under Phil's Bar. What do you say?"

"Wrong. It's my money," Alistair answered with a wink. "Since it is no longer in your possession, you have no claim on it."

Dmitri followed Juliana and the server to the tables, helping both of the girls with their chairs before he would sit with his back towards the windows. There wasn't as much lightning, but what little there was still rather hurt Dmitri's eye, and he would rather not be staring at it directly if he could.

"I worked hard for that," Garrett whined. While it wasn't exactly the most noble of tactics, whining had gotten him places before. And the places he wanted to go now were for his money to flow back into his pocket.

A small smile appeared on Luke's face, his entire posture sulking a bit less. This was the sort of distraction he preferred, the kind that good hand eye coordination. "Challenge accepted. Meet you there in two days, I'll bring a judge."

---

Juliana looked over the menu with a bit of worry. She wasn't expecting the cuisine to be so expensive. To her, caviar was a mythical beast and steak was never tender. She was just going to have to go with a side order of chips.

Not far from the table, a pair of blue eyes had found Dmitri. The girl attached to them was looking puzzled as she flipped through a little notebook intently. There had to be some mistake, certainly not here...

The burly man raised his chin. "Good on it," was all he said before turning away.

"Stop whining," Alistair said to the other con man. "My brother worked hard for his earnings as well. Besides, whining is unbecoming in a man above the age of five."

******

Lavinia sat down delicately as expected off a lady of her station, then looked over the menu. It didn't take her long to decide on roast pheasant and spring vegetables.

Once he sat down, Dmitri looked over the menu as well, deciding on filet Mignon with potatoes on the side and roasted mushrooms cooked in garlic butter sauce himself. As per habit, he looked around the restaurant after he ordered, in the time before the conversations would start, and saw someone looking at them. Or were they looking at him? He felt a slight twinge of familiarity as he saw her, but he couldn't place her face. He didn't look at her too long, looking back to Juliana and Lavinia as he said, "So, thoughts on the faire so far?" He was mainly talking to Juliana, but he gave Lavinia a look that said he was asking her, as well.

Garrett's face rapidly changed from the pleading, poor kid to an annoyed look. Nothing. Not even some hesitation the statements. This tactic wasn't working well for him.

Luke waited for the other two to catch up, his shoulders no longer sagging. It was hardly what most people would call a smile, but it was a start.

---

Ana smiled widely, her voice hardly a good pitch for such a fine restaurant. "It's great! I liked the gadgets, especially the sort that glowed. Think I might have to invest in those nets and the foldable grappling hook..."

Meanwhile at the other table, the younger (relatively, at the age of 40) man sitting across from Ferne smiled, a smile that reached all the way to his soft grey-blue eyes. "I believe they've got great potential with a bit more experience."

Ferne snorted slightly, a look of smug amusement on his face. "Hacks, the entire lot of them. They leech off the ideas of other, more talented writers. The write the same love story over and over again, only changing the places and names."

"I don't know, I think they each have their own flavor and their own style."

"I was personally hoping I might see some of the exhibits. I heard Alset has discovered a way to use less electricity to run various appliances," Lavinia mentioned, eyes turning to the table with the two men at it. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar, but she could not quite place her finger on it.

******

Alistair walked up to Luke, "shall we go in, then?"