B-425: Zarg’s World, Downport, Restricted Environ, Prandial
The box is filled with a foam insert to hold the stick in place.
The shaft is of real wood, red-brown with the irregularity and imperfections of a natural material adding character. Thick coats of lacquer add lustre and protect the material, forming a hard surface – casual use will not scratch it. Along the shaft are inlaid strips of metal, coloured with a deep blue. Lia’s guess would be titanium with some sort of coating. Thin strips of gold separate the titanium inlays from the timber. Small blue gems in swirl patterns add highlights here and there. The handle is a metal piece, probably titanium again covered in a gold plate. The metal formed into an ornate and intricate pattern, again with highlights of gems, the part actually held inlaid in reverse of the shaft with small wood panels, this time coated with a soft, transparent lacquer-like coating making for a comfortable handle. The tip is a small cap of decorative gold-plated metal cover with a non-slip, clear material.
When she lifts the lid, she gives a very soft sigh at the sight of the contents of the box. She will spend some moments simply studying it before finally reaching out and touching it reverently.
Lia’s fingers are long and elegant and the way she caresses the cane gives the impression of an artist appreciating another’s work. She admires the piece for some time before removing it carefully from the box.
She rises fluidly and comes to stand next to South’s chair, leaning slightly over his shoulder.
Those nimble fingers shift his meal across the table and place the cane carefully in front of him.
“See the grain of the wood, here?”
Her face is quite close and her voice is softly reverent as she speaks.
“How it swirls around the sapphires? It’s almost as if they are growing right out of the natural pattern…”
Her pinky finger follows the pattern along the shaft, her perfectly manicured nail a pale pink contrast to the blues and golds.
“And this opal?”
The nail hovers but doesn’t touch. Her breath comes out in a soft sigh.
“The soft pink with tiny flashes of blue and yellow… it’s like a miniature galaxy all on its own…so much beauty contained in something so small.”
She is silent for a moment. Her finger brushes over the jewel with a feather light touch.
“It’s exquisite…”