"Well, sometimes I do sing and play in the lounges, and in the dining hall, but for the most part... I'm in the freakshow." She shrugged in a matter-of-fact way.

Virgil looked her over, she seemed completely normal, ten fingers, two legs, nothing on her face... So he just assumed that she was joking, "maybe it's some kind of showbiz humour" he thought to himself. "So what sort of things do you sing and play?" He asked her.

She grins. "That depends entirely on which half of me's performing, of course. One must keep with one's image. It simply doesn't do to look like I normally look when I'm doing a lounge act. Or walking down a market street, for that matter. I came here to shop, after all. Didn't you?"

Virgil didn't quite know what to make of this. She spoke very cryptically, was this more showbiz humour or was she trying to tell him something?

"Uh... No. Well, yes I did come here to shop, but only for a short while. I actually came here to find a way to travel outside Dolora. I've never been outside the city before."

Now her entire demeanor seemed to change, from slightly introverted to an almost tomboyish attitude.

"Well if it's travel you're after, you couldn't do much better than that," she said, pointing above their heads.

"And there's three ways you could travel aboard that ship. First is as crew, but that is very hard to do. The ships run by carnival clans, and to work on it you've basically got to be adopted into one. And carnie folk's a very particular kinda folk, if you get me.

Second way, of course, is to pay the fare. Everybody pays a one-time fare before we ship out of a place and rides as long as they want because we make all of our money on the gambling at the Midway, and other such amenities. But if you don't want to pay the fare, you could always ship out free as the guest of a billed attraction, such as myself."

She faked modesty as she polished her nails on her shoulder strap and glanced at them.

Virgil stared at her in astonishment. "You'd really do that for me?"

He couldn't believe his luck. On the very day he decided to leave his homeland, not only did a vessel of impressive proportions come to visit his town, he had bumped into a member of the crew who seemed to be willing to get him aboard as her guest.

"Is there anything you'd like me to do in return?"

She thought about this a moment.

"At first, I wasn't even thinking about it, but since you said something I want you to cook me something unbelievable, from whatever you can find in this market."

"Right, give me a moment."

The day was just getting better and better, not only had fortune given him one hell of an opportunity, but now he got the chance to cook for a performer. In his mind this was a high profile job. The weight of his pack forgotten, he weaved in and out of the crowd going to all the market stalls he knew so well gathering assorted ingredients, fresh beef, various assortments of vegetables and legumes. He was very quick as he knew both where everything was and how much each trader would take to part with them. He had done this so many (maybe too many) times, the market place was practically his second home.

He quickly returned to her side, a side compartment of his pack now bulging. "Ok" He said confidently. "Just show me to the kitchen."

She led him to a nearby area where a gang is clearing a space for one of the crowd elevators to set down. It descended on cables that guided it down to the cleared spot. As they waited for it to empty, she handed him a bronze token. The obverse side of it had an image of the prow of the Extravaganza, Winged victory with her arms extended forward. But the front had a profile image of a double-faced head, a face in profile on both sides of it.

"That's my marker. As long as you carry that, you don't need a ticket."

Virgil looked at the token, turning it around and around in his hands, letting the sun reflect of it. Truly, he thought, this was the most exciting coin he had ever seen.

The nearer they got to the elevator, the more extravagant it seemed. Virgil never imagined that in a million years he'd have the privilege of ridding inside it. This was almost too much to bare.

He looked back at Jan and said with suppressed excitement "Should we go inside?"

"Of course. Anyone can come up and see, and play, you only need a ticket to stay aboard when the ship starts moving. Come on aboard."

{exit to Crowd Elevator dock}

Virgil looked up, soon he would be inside this colossal beauty. He took a deep breath and followed Jan into the docks.

<Moving to: Crowed Elevator Dock>