Passengers, if they notice that, decline to remark on it.

They have so much to decline to remark on.

One of them is too busy staring in fascination at the city to engage in banter about its announcements, anyway.

The city cut an imposing figure from the sea, but looking up at it from the river that cuts through its heart, this impression is magnified. Tall, imposing buildings of stone and brick line the busy river, dwarfing Karnaca's more modest and colorful arrangement of buildings with an almost casual ease. The city is as stately as it is vertical, cold and austere and intimidating all at once, and achingly beautiful in spite of them all. Perhaps even because of them. This is an old city, one that has withstood the test of time atop its rocky cliffs. It is anything but dead. Mechanical wonders have taken hold of the skyline, no doubt the latest works of genius of the many geniuses that make their homes within these walls. Newly built factories stand beside stately buildings and utilitarian housing alike, integrating them all into a seemingly unending urban sprawl. This is a city that is evolving as quickly as it can manage, one that holds every many wonders of the known world, and hungers for more.

Ahead, dwarfing the city that dwarfs all other cities, Dunwall Tower sits with exquisite grace, apart and above and at the center of this city. It is a silver beacon that shines like a gem against Dunwall's slate and brick backdrop, marred only by the black shrouds of mourning that darken its walls.

"Wonder who the sap was that had to hang those up," says the sailor. "Bet it paid shit."

His hands are sure and steady, offering some redemption for his mouth. The Wrenhaven river is calm, but it holds more than a few dangers. They've already passed one hapless boat where it beached on a hidden rock; the Empress's funeral brought a number of unworthy sailors to this river. Better to have a mouthy but skilled one than a silent fool. Even if it does rather ruin the effect.

"I don't know," says the teenage passenger. "I'd love to climb up there and hang drapes all day. Bet the view's amazing."

He shrugs. "No bet. Of course the view's amazing. Pretty view, only a handful of people that can see it. Typical."

He gazes thoughtfully up at the tower.

His mother taps him gently on the top of the head with a fingertip. "Down, Firasuvai," she says in a hard-to-place accent. "We haven't even landed yet and already you seek trouble."

"That one's better for nice views," the sailor offers, inclining his head towards the sight ahead, sounding almost affectionate.

Dunwall Tower recedes into the fog, and is replaced by another impressive sight; Kaldwin's Bridge. There's no question as to how new this structure is. The steel frames that makes up most of the bridge show no sign of rust, and so even in the overcast day it dominates the horizon as it dominates the river. Fortunately for passing boats, it takes after every other building in Dunwall, by being impressively tall.

"The Emperor provides for us all, and all that. By letting us look at pretty views." Then, because that probably wasn't cynical enough, he adds: "So we wouldn't be in danger of forgetting him, y'see."

"No fear of that," says the father of the family.

He shrugs, looking up at the bridge. It's rather unforgettable.

"Guess not," he agrees.

Unfortunately for the passengers, their stop is before the bridge itself, so they don't get to sail under it. Their talkative sailor falls silent in concentration, and deftly steers them to their port. Once there, he begins the process of displaying proper permits to the proper officials.

"Mind that you keep your papers on you," he warns, after he's handled this particular branch of bureaucracy for them. "The guards'll be on edge all week, on account'a the crowds. Don't expect patience from 'em."

"Hear that, Rani?"

"Yes, Father."

The sailor snorts, but for once, doesn't comment. He helps them get their luggage off of his boat, takes his pay, and then leaves.

There's a carriage waiting for them, and a driver to go with it.

"Lord and Lady Norwood will be ever so pleased to see you arrived safely!" says the slightly pompous man, who jauntily hops down from his perch to sketch an exaggerated bow. "Kent Oliver, at your humble service, it is an absolute pleasure to welcome you to our fair city!"

"Hi! Nice to meet you!" says the teenager.

"We feel very welcomed," says the teenager's father. "Thank you."

"It's a delight to meet you too, young man!" agrees Kent, brightly. "Oh, my pleasure, my pleasure, let me help you with those bags, you've come such a long way, wouldn't want you to get rained on now, after all that, and it looks like it might start soon." It's overcast, but one might get the impression that it often tends to be overcast in Dunwall. It plausibly might start raining at any time.

Mr. Oliver begins getting luggage into the carriage, babbling all the while. "It was drizzling this morning, and Lady Norwood was ever so worried that you might arrive half-drowned, and what kind of welcome would that be, really, we made sure to get the fires in your guest rooms ready and have the towels on standby but there is just no substitute for arriving to a new place and just being able to settle in and have dinner without having to have the servants wring all of your clothes out for you, such a bother -"

He is probably not going to stop talking unless someone intervenes.

He has an eager audience! In one family member, at least. He helps Mr. Oliver get all the bags into the carriage.

Then his eager audience will get to hear all about the arrangements they've prepared for them! They have extra warm clothes and blankets (because Serkonos is so much warmer than Dunwall, and they wouldn't want their guests to catch a cold) and by now dinner will just about be ready, he hopes no one has any allergies? They're having mutton as the main course, do they have any objections to mutton, he's sure the cook can whip up something else in a jiffy if any of them dislike it, and for that matter do they want to try to keep to familiar Serkonos-appropriate foods, or maybe experiment a little with local cuisine, you can get just about anything in Dunwall for the right price, it's very handy, they can get adventurous if they want to!

Bags are packed into the carriage. There are comfortable seats inside the carriage, and space beside Mr. Oliver outside of the carriage, if his eager audience is still feeling eager.

His eager audience is so eager! Mutton is fine and he's sure his parents will want to try a local food or two.

Oh, excellent, Mr. Oliver has so many recommendations, perhaps his eager audience has an idea of what sorts of things his parents will want to try, the obvious thing is whale meat prepared in this specific very well explained manner, has he had whale meat before? He knows it's not as common in Serkonos. It's becoming so very popular in Dunwall, though, practically everyone's having a taste, and their cook is quite good with it -

The conversation is probably not enough to distract from some of the people that are staring in the street. Their carriage isn't particularly noteworthy, and it's hardly the only one on the road, but Raniero himself is something of a novelty.

If he's paying attention to things that aren't Mr. Oliver, he might overhear that woman over there matter-of-factly telling her companion about that commoner that married some savage he found in Pandyssia, and they think themselves nobility! Followed, of course, by laughter.

Anizai Tasarni Kaolteleru Ivasicala Medina is a straight-up princess by any sane standard, but Rani has long since learned the futility of pointing this out. He does his best to ignore the gossip.

There's not much one can do about nasty gossip from a carriage, anyway. Ignoring it is probably his best option.

Mr. Oliver continues babbling, which probably helps with that.

Mr. Oliver's babble is fascinating!

He is delighted to have such an appreciative audience!

Soon enough, they arrive at the Norwood estate. It's not as tall as some of its peers, but this is Dunwall and 'not as tall' means it's still at least three stories.

"Here we are!" says their escort as they pull up, cutting his talk of fashion trends in Dunwall appropriate for a state funeral. (Black is traditional, but lately deep muted blues and steely grays have become more common.) He dutifully descends from his seat to open the door for Raniero's parents. "I believe you have time to get properly settled in before dinner, but if any of you are famished I can persuade someone to send any of you something to eat...?"

"Thank you, we'll be fine."

"Very good," says Mr. Oliver agreeably, busily moving on to getting them all settled in.

The Norwoods themselves are an elderly, austere pair, both well out of the prime of their lives and no less dignified for it. Lord Norwood's eyes are piercing and intelligent, and Lady Norwood speaks carries herself with a practiced grace and is even so kind as to address Anizai with the appropriate title. The guest rooms are spacious and well furnished, if a bit antiquated. The windows offer a nice view of the streets below; Raniero's room even has a modest balcony. Dinner is by no means lavish, but it is appetizing and filling, and it's clear that they can make reasonable requests if they give the cook appropriate notice.

Anizai smiles slightly when addressed as Princess, but doesn't mention it aloud.

Raniero is cheerful and friendly and unnervingly energetic. He is so pleased to meet these people!! Dunwall is exciting!!

These people are pleased to meet him, too! Their hosts seem to find such an energetic teenager more endearing than unnerving, though in a practiced and somewhat distant sense. The Medinas might get the impression that the Norwoods have successfully raised at least one child that could cause enough trouble to attract the Outsider. Lord Norwood introduces Raniero to the library while Lady Norwood quietly asks if his parents would perhaps like for Mr. Oliver to take Raniero through some of the city tomorrow.

Raniero is delighted by the library!

Yes that would be lovely. They seem to get along very well.

They do! They'll also send a guard to go with them. Nice fellow, retired from the Watch. Retired life didn't suit him, and he got bored and picked up some work with the Norwoods. Knows the bureaucracy and watch members, should be able to disentangle any trouble before it gets nasty.

The Empress's public funeral is still three days away, scheduled to take place at the West Fairburn Memoriam; the Norwoods have booked a location from which to watch the procession and ceremony, and the Medinas can either join them or set something else up on their own.

There's also an invitation to Dunwall Tower, for the day after tomorrow. If they'd like to go.

They accept the imperial invitation, of course.

Then Raniero doesn't even need to get into any trouble to see the nice view!

But first, he can see Dunwall from its streets. Here is The Clocktower from a closer vantage point! It's almost as tall as Dunwall Tower, but not quite. It's a foreboding, spindly, and mechanical construction, chiming every hour on the hour. It's also pretty recent; they have the Emperor to thank for it. Speaking of recent constructions that they have the Emperor to thank for: Kaldwin's Bridge! The view of the Wrenhaven is stunning, if one doesn't mind heights.

Mr. Oliver babbles about history, their armed escort occasionally muses philosophically but mostly stays quiet, and lots of people stare at Raniero. A number of people give them a wide berth.

This goes about as well as can be expected, until one devout looking man spots Raniero, stares, and then very earnestly runs off. He returns a little while later with an Overseer.

"- there, y'see, an agent of the Outsider! He must practice black magic, you can see it in his face-!"

- he is not going to improve matters any if he reacts to that before the man is in normal hearing range. He remains cheerfully engrossed in Mr. Oliver's latest trivia. Look at him, he's so small and nonthreatening!

Mr. Oliver is so good at providing trivia! One might wonder where he keeps it all.

The Overseer seems less than impressed with 'this guy has a weird face, he's an agent of the Outsider!' rhetoric. "Have you seen him carry any runes carved from bone? Display an unnatural connection with rats and other vermin? Make strange signs, speak in strange tongues?"

"W-well, no, but as soon as I saw him I went and got you! I bet he has, look at his eyes."

The full-face mask makes it hard to judge the Overseer's expression, but from his body language, he is not convinced. At all.

And now they are close enough for Rani to turn his sunny smile on them. "Hi, can I help you?"

The devout man flinches and looks to the Overseer for guidance.

"Good afternoon, citizen. Is it your first time in Dunwall?" says the masked man, a bastion of understanding and patience.

Raniero's armed escort is watching closely, but this seems to be working out well enough. He'll intervene if necessary, but it doesn't seem necessary.

"Yep! I grew up in Karnaca," he explains.

The Overseer nods understanding.

"I've only been to Cullero, myself. Nice in the summer, good wine - but I suppose you know that already."

He does not at all seem to care about the jumpy man next to him that's looking at him like he's insane.

He laughs. "Yeah. I've been there a few times. D'you know that one restaurant, on the cliff overlooking the beach, a little south of the watchtower? The food's great but I go for the view - when I was a little kid my parents brought me and I climbed the fence for a better look at the ocean and almost fell off the cliff."

Snort.

"I know it; ate there, once. It was nice. I suppose you've already seen the view from Kaldwin Bridge, so I don't need to warn you to mind the fences there?"

"I have! It was amazing!"

"It is," he agrees, nodding. "My apologies, but I have duties to attend to, so I can't stay to chat. Enjoy your visit in Dunwall."

His stray is disbelieving and looks like he might say something unfortunate. The Overseer gives him a Look, and the devout stray promptly swallows whatever inadvisable thing he was going to say.

"Thanks! Have a nice day!"

He smiles at the Overseer, smiles at the stray, and then cheerfully turns back to Mr. Oliver. "Have you ever been to Cullero?" he asks. "I admit it's the prettiest city in Serkonos, but I still like Karnaca better."

"I haven't! Travel doesn't sit well with my Lord and Lady, and I couldn't bear to leave them for too long -" says Mr. Oliver, brightening now that the potential confrontation has passed.

The Overseer subtly takes the arm of the devout stray, leading him to a quiet corner so he can say the following: "Your faith does the Abbey credit, brother, as does your vigilance, but harassing a strange-faced tourist helps no cause but the Outsider's."

"But -"

"'Restrict the Wandering Gaze that looks hither and yonder for some flashing thing that easily catches a man's fancy in one moment, but brings calamity in the next. For the eyes are never tired of seeing, nor are they quick to spot illusion. A man whose gaze is corrupted is like a warped mirror that has traded beauty for ugliness and ugliness for beauty. Instead, fix your eyes to what is edifying and to what is pure, and then you will be able to recognize the profane monuments of the Outsider,'" recites the Overseer, patiently. "The first Stricture does not merely refer to distractions of another man's wife, or material possessions. Do not let yourself be led astray by invented signs of the Outsider, giving his heathens a screen of innocents in which to freely hide true evil."

The stray nods, cowed.

"Look for strange runes, carved in the flesh of the practitioner or in charms. Watch for totems of bone and woven hair and darkened twigs. Be mindful of vermin acting in strange ways, or your neighbors behaviors suddenly changing, as if possessed. Your heart and mind are pure, but your will and eyes must be focused if humanity is to ever be safe from the likes of magic."

He claps the devout man on the back. "Stay vigilant, brother."

And that seems to be that.

That Overseer is good at his job. Rani approves. He chats happily with Mr. Oliver and gazes at the many sights of Dunwall.

Dunwall has so many sights to see!

They stop at a marketplace before they head back to the Norwood estate. There are a number of wonders here. Is there anything Rani might be interested in buying?

Ooh. Well, that depends on the exact wonders on offer, now doesn't it?

There are interesting foods and gorgeous paintings and wonderful mechanical gadgets! Would he like a lantern that can be safely submerged in water without going out? What about a spyglass the size of a man's thumb? Or a music box, aren't they fascinating, there are so many available songs!

He picks the prettiest music box for his parents and buys the tiny spyglass for himself because it seems like a fun thing to have. And tries an interesting food because he is always in favour of interesting foods.

There are many interesting foods! And some merchants are even selling reasonably priced sample sizes, so he can get an idea of what the interesting food is like without buying an entire meal's worth of it.

And then it's time to go back to the Norwood estate. Is their energetic teenage charge tired out enough to not do something inadvisable, like climbing from the balcony to the streets below to explore the city at night? Because everyone would like to avoid that.

...maybe.

He's more interested in exploring their library than Dunwall's nightlife, anyway, at least at the moment.

They'll take it. They just have to keep him from doing anything inadvisable for less than a week. That's probably possible. If they systematically keep him entertained.

The library's nice enough, though not the largest ever. It's mostly taken up by history books, but there's some variety if he does some hunting. Is there anything he'd like to study?

History is fun! Maybe they've got something he hasn't read yet.

Some! He hasn't read this book on the War of the Four Crowns, it has some interesting sociopolitical commentary on how the four islands settled in to the empire that they are today. There was more to it than the island of Gristol beating Tyvia, Morley, and Serkonos in a war. Killing a bunch of people is easy in comparison to building a stable empire.

It's kind of fascinating. And almost makes the phrase 'Empire of the Isles' seem sensible, as a way to emphasize and affirm the unification of the four islands. It's not their fault they hadn't heard of any other islands at the time. Most of them still haven't, as demonstrated by that man who tried to call an Overseer on him today.

Presumably the information will disseminate throughout the entire populace eventually. It just takes some time.

The library's not a bad one, but Raniero is very well read. He can probably read all of the books that interest him within the week. Less, if he skims or marathons reading for a day.

Maybe later. He hears they're invited to Dunwall Tower tomorrow; he's not going to miss that in favour of the Norwoods' library.

Dunwall Tower probably has a better library, anyway.

Tomorrow soon becomes today, and preparations must be made in order to meet with the Emperor. There's specific clothing to wear and traditions to follow and probably also a gift to bring if they'd like to be polite. And getting past the guards at Dunwall Tower will take at least half an hour. The Tower's grounds were recently open to the public, but they've been closed in wake of the Empress's death. Everyone is very on edge; while no foul play is suspected in the Empress Consort's death, her funeral and the crowds it attracts could cover all kinds of nasty people. The Emperor's people would prefer to avoid that.

Still, they have an invitation. It should get them past the front door, even if the guards in front of it look like they're very tired of sending people away. And not like they're going to get a break anytime soon.

"I'm sorry, miss," says the overworked guard, to a woman with a canvas and a paint kit who looks like she's been arguing with them for at least ten minutes. "Emperor's orders. The Tower's grounds are closed to the public until after the -"

"My work cannot wait!" shrieks the woman. "The Tower grounds are where I get my inspiration! The gazebo, the view, the air of royalty! It is the only place where I can think to paint!"

The guard looks like might have a place he'd like to shove this woman's paintbrushes. "Be that as it may, ma'am, they're not public property, and without the Emperor's permission you may not just wander into it without an Imperial invitation."

"My client wants my latest piece next week!"

"Find another place of inspiration. Kaldwin's Bridge, maybe. This one is not open to the public." The guard glances at the Medinas, and sighs. "I repeat, the Dunwall Tower grounds may only be entered with an invitation in hand."

Callisto displays their invitation to the guard.

After a few seconds of inspection, he nods and lets out a breath. It's hard to tell if it's from annoyance, or relief.

"All right," he agrees, "everything seems to be in order." He turns his head and bangs on the door behind him. "Open up, Emperor's guests have arrived -"

"What!" hisses the intrepid painter. "Why do they get in and I don't, I'll have you know that my aunt is -"

"I don't give a flying toss who your aunt is, they can get in because they have an invitation. Simple as that. Take your ruddy paint kit and go bother someone else, before I decide to evict you by throwing you into the Wrenhaven."

This seems to mollify her enough, and she splutters and huffs and inevitably turns and walks off.

"I'm sorry about that," says the guard, sounding very tired. The door opens behind him. "Just follow this woman here and she'll get you inspected and whatnot."

"Thank you," he says, smiling at the guard. The family proceeds in the door.

They and their papers are inspected! No weapons or explosives? All of their papers are in order, and they are who they say they are? Yes? Excellent, off they go.

It soon becomes apparent why the painter was being so insistent about being let in. Or, well, why she'd want to be up here so badly. It wasn't apparent from down in the Wrenhaven, but there's greenery up here. Carefully groomed and beautiful greenery - some gardener must work very hard to keep this all so well tended. Or several sets of gardeners. Combined with the view, of the city of Dunwall below, and the Tower above - yes, this is something a painter would fight to be.

It's quiet. Sad. The black banners are more striking, from up here, and there's a somber aura to this place of beauty.

Anizai keeps her hand on her son's shoulder to discourage unauthorized climbing.

They're lead up several sets of stairs, and to a gazebo with a breathtaking view, several comfortable looking chairs, and, most importantly, the Emperor.

Callisto and Anizai might remember him from when they first met him, years ago - bright, even brilliant, with an unstoppable energy steered by his analytical nature and tempered idealism. It was through his hand that the modern industrial revolution has taken hold of Dunwall and the rest of the Empire of the Isles. Instead of fearing and attempting to stiffle progress, he fanned the flames of it with scholarships and research grants to the Academy of Natural Philosophy, and pushing for interchangable parts and standardization to force industries to compete instead of monopolize. It was by his coin that the expedition to Pandyssia was funded, by his word that Anizai was even accepted as anything resembling nobility at all. 'Well,' he had said, smiling, 'since there are more than just these four isles, let's not go and upset the others by fighting over titles, hm?'

He is not smiling now. The eyes that once sparkled with intellect and mirth are clouded with grief. Where once he was constantly moving, now he sits, emptily staring at the horizon, looking to all the world like a man who has just had his heart cut out.

...yeah, Rani is not in a climbing mood all of a sudden. Is it inappropriate to hug your Emperor. It probably is.

He notices he has visitors quickly enough, and pushes back his fog of grief with a force of will. The Emperor stands, attempts a smile, and - stops doing that, it's not working for him.

"Your highness," he says, bowing slightly to Anizai. "Callisto." Another smile attempt, this one slightly less of a failure. He still stops that quickly enough. "And I see you've brought your son. Hello, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"- you look like you need a hug," he blurts out.

He blinks.

"... I probably do," he agrees, after a pause. Then, after a second of consideration, opens his arms for a hug.

The guard behind the Medinas splutters.

Rani smiles. He hugs the Emperor. He is small but very huggable.

The Emperor is surprisingly huggable, too. He probably did need this hug. The guard is still spluttering. Maybe he'll be able to form a sentence soon enough.

"Thank you, young man," says the Emperor, releasing him. This new attempted smile is even almost sincere.

He glances at the spluttering guard, and raises an eyebrow. "I'm the Emperor of the Isles." A glance to Anizai, then he corrects with, "... The Emperor of a number of Isles, anyway. I am allowed to accept a hug."

".... Y-yes," says the guard, looking like he wants to argue this point more but lacking necessary courage.

The Emperor of a Number of Isles probably should try to be diplomatic at this, but his wife just died and he's not feeling particularly diplomatic. "Thank you for your concern," he says, as his major attempt at diplomacy, and then he sits.

Rani grins.

"It's nice to meet you," he says. "I'm probably not going to get anywhere trying to get you to call it the Far-Beyond, am I."

"I'd have to change all of my stationery," he deadpans.

Giggle. "Can't have that."

"It'd be a lot of paper to replace," he agrees, sagely. "How has Dunwall been treating all of you?"

"Oh, it's been amazing," he says. "I love your bridge, it's my favourite. Someone tried to call an Overseer on me because he said I have an evil-looking face but then the Overseer was nice and we chatted about tourist destinations in Serkonos and he told me to have a nice day."

Anizai, who had not heard that one before, looks down at her son and raises her eyebrows.

"The bridge is my favorite too," says the Emperor who had it built. "And I apologize on behalf of some of my subjects, but I'm glad it worked out. Do you know which Overseer it was? The ability to chat about tourist destinations is a talent I'd like to encourage in the Abbey's Overseers. I sometimes worry that they can get a bit dogmatic."

He shakes his head. "I'd recognize him if I talked to him again, though, I'm good with voices."

"If you can get me his name I can see to it that he is praised for it. Being the Emperor of a Number of Isles has some perks."

"I'll see what I can do," he says.

"Try not to get carried away," says Callisto, ruffling his son's hair.

"Who, me?"

If his wife weren't dead, he'd probably follow up on this with clarification of what precisely getting 'carried away' would involve. But his heart's been ripped out of his chest and he's shambling along without it, so he estimates that a teenager cannot get so carried away with finding one simple name to the point where he would personally need to care. So he doesn't.

Instead he's just quiet, thoughtful, and quietly and thoughtfully heartbroken.

"Why don't you find a nondestructive way to entertain yourself while we talk to the Emperor about politics," Callisto suggests.

"Climb nothing," Anizai adds.

"All right, all right. I will read books. Quietly."

"Would you show him Dunwall's library?" the Emperor asks, of the guard that was spluttering earlier.

The guard nods, "This way, sir."

Rani smiles up at the guard and follows him.

Space is something of a premium, in Dunwall Tower, even if great care is taken to make it seem like it's not so, and even if its rooms are still larger and more comfortable than most buildings in Dunwall. This means that the Tower's library is not as large and expansive as it could be. This does not mean that the library is pitiful. It's efficient, bookshelves arranged to maximize the number of books that can comfortably exist in the library, its aisles narrow and its shelves stacked high. The large windows and decor mitigates this as much as possible, expanding the space with a sense of minimalism and one gorgeous view, complete with a comfortable set of chairs and a modest end table.

This is a library that knows what it's here for. Books, comfortable seating, and a breathtaking view of Dunwall.

...Okay he meant to read books but actually what he's doing is sitting as close to the window as possible and staring raptly out at the city.

The city looks so peaceful, from up here. Calm, even orderly. Fishing boats drift in the Wrenhaven at a pace that looks lazy, the crowds of people Raniero walked among the day before all as small as ants. Kaldwin's Bridge stands out, of course, but it is not so imposing from up here. Nothing is imposing from up here, except perhaps the weight of all of them, together. The sheer size of the city, the number of people that are affected by decisions made in this Tower - it can all be very humbling.

Humbling, but still very beautiful.

Well.

Maybe it's humbling to some people.

If he would like to not be humbled, that is his prerogative.

The guard will leave him to his non-humbling view. He'll still hover nearby and keep an eye on him, but from a polite distance away.

He thinks of ten ways to get out from under the guard's supervision. Two of them wouldn't even leave the guard suspicious.

He does not do any of those things. Or climb out the window. He didn't technically promise his mother not to, but he doesn't really want to make trouble for the Emperor.

The Emperor would probably appreciate this.

The door opens, and a girl a little younger than Raniero slides into the library. She's wearing black mourning and the slightly distant expression of someone that isn't wearing it because it's fashionable.

She spots the guard before Raniero, blinking at him in confusion for a moment. Then her eyes turn towards Raniero, and she - clearly doesn't know what to say.

"... Hello," she says, after a pause, for lack of a better idea.

"...Hi."

She kind of looks like she needs a hug too, but unlike with the Emperor, Rani doesn't feel like he can just tell her that.

She also doesn't look like she'd accept a hug from a stranger, either. She's looking at him a bit more like a thing to be wary of than a source of comfort.

But she takes a breath and curtsies politely. "Welcome to Dunwall Tower," she says, with just enough polite expression to get the phrase away from the description of 'wooden,' but not quite into 'sincere.'

"- thanks," he says, recalculating all of his escape routes in case he has anything for leaving immediately, politely, and without alarming anyone. He does not.

She hovers for half a second to be sure that no further social interaction is required of her, and upon this confirmation, immediately and politely retreats to an out of the way corner of the library.

He goes back to looking out the window for about half a minute, but it's not the same anymore. He picks a book off a shelf at random and starts reading it.

Does he want to know about the different types of fish found in the Wrenhaven River? Because that's what this book is about!

He wants to read literally any book. This is a book. It qualifies.

It is! It is a book!

Very dry, this book about things that life in the river. Average length of fish, what season they tend to be active in, best fishing times for acquisition of fish, bait to use. It's very informative. He will learn so much.

If he ever needs to fish in the Wrenhaven he will be so prepared.

So prepared!

The girl occasionally ventures out from her corner to retrieve books. She does not look like she wants to change her mind about conversing with anyone.

Raniero's guard is not quite so observant as Raniero himself, and seems to take it upon himself to cheer her up.

"Got a project in mind for all those books, or are you starting a collection of your own back there?" he jokes.

She glances at him, too emotionally exhausted to frown. She does not look like she wants to explain herself.

Oh look at that he's done reading his book.

"Hey," he says, catching the guard's attention, "where do I find the best view in Dunwall Tower, and am I allowed to be there?"

"Oh? Ah - it depends a bit on the time of day, and what the weather's like. Bit up for debate. You're definitely not allowed in the Emperor's suite or the Lady Annaveth's chambers, but there's a balcony on the east side that, um. Is probably fine. Lady -?"

Lady? What Lady? There is no Lady, he must be mistaken.

(She took the opportunity to use one of Raniero's possible escape routes.)

"- Ah. Um." He blinks confusedly, clearly not sure if he should be worried about this or not.

"Guess she was feeling shy. So, balcony on the east side?"

"I was only supposed to take you to the library," he says, glancing around a bookshelf to see if the girl's hiding behind it. She is not. He frowns. "I don't know if I'm allowed to give you an abridged tour."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I'd really rather know -" he looks behind another bookcase. "- do you know where she went?"

"...she stepped out while we were talking?" he says, blinking in an I-don't-see-what's-so-odd-about-that sort of way.