In the morning, after he had rested adequately, Lumière followed Thomas Hawthorne's instructions, going out to feed the Dwindlers.
He had gone to the bank of Leiden before the sun had risen, exchanging the boundless envelope of coins received by the Madame for thirty square-shaped iron pieces with the face of the Emperor of the Nation carved into them - Lune coins. They were a simpler and larger denomination of the hundreds of trest coins given to him—— they were circular copper coins with the symbol of head royalty engraved on their surface.
After he had left the middle borough, he had made his way to Etten-Leur, the stacked district of the lower borough. He spent fifteen trest to procure a hardened clay strip that was smaller than his palm, engraved with symbols to indicate that he had paid for a return trip by boat through the waterways. He walked until he came to a small dock at the edge of a street, where a small wooden boat had been tied up at the edge. He didn't speak a single word to the attendant of the boat, as was customary, instead flashing the hardened clay strip to signify he had paid before stepping into the boat. It rocked a slight bit as he stepped into its interior, sending churning black water splashing up around him.
The attendant nodded slightly to confirm Lumière's readiness, and soon they had set off. It was dark in the waterways of Etten-Leur, illuminated by small lamps that were manually lit by the boatmen each morning. The waterways mimicked the streets above, which were stacked endlessly on top of one another like sky bridges. They were all reinforced by wood and concrete, the product of one of the middle borough's craftsmen. All craftsmen in the Forger Empire were servants of the orthodox deity known as the 'Architect'. Of course, any craftsman would prefer to refer to her by the name of the master of their craft. For those who worked with stone, she would be the 'Stonemason'. For those who worked with wood, she would have been a 'Carpenter'. For the purposes the craftsmen had been hired for by the leaders of the criminal groups to build Etten-Leur, she was the 'Architect', and it was sure that she had formulated the blueprints for her craftsmen to meticulously assemble by her will.
After he had exited the boat and slightly bowed to the boatman, Lumière began walking through the bustling streets of Etten-Leur. The magician flipped a coin haplessly in the air as he whistled. It spun through the air, expectant to land flat in his palm with a satisfying slapping sound, but it seemed to suddenly vanish from the air as a shadow passed him quickly by, brushing against his sleeve. A man had swiped it from the air as he had passed, but it didn't perplex the magician in the slightest.
Lumière quickly extended his hand in a quiet motion behind him and pulled a square object away from the shadow that passed him inconspicuously. It had a rich leathery surface and was filled with the jingling sounds of a handful of coins- the wallet of the thief. It was a common occurrence in the lower borough that anything not stuck against one's skin would be stolen away from their person, and more so if it was wealth that carelessly cascaded through the air.
He had never thought himself a thief, but more a bastion of fate's exacted karma. So, for the coin he paraded openly, the wallet of the shadowy thief had been stolen in turn, a ten-fold return of his lost wealth. He didn't mind the concept of theft- it was just a way for one to survive. Although, he needed to survive, and he had a lot of people depending on him to live as well. So, he didn't view thieving from himself as a personal slight, but a slight against the people he cared for, so he didn't mind stealing from the thief in return.
Lumière let a satisfied smile creep up his face as he waltzed joyfully amidst the crowd, eventually arriving at a small wooden stall illuminated in the evening lamplight.
There was a tall woman with a face as soft as a full moon, of round gently-curved cheeks, and a beaming smile that radiated cheerfulness. She had a joyous sense of life about her that wasn't fleeting; she was like a sunrise.
In her presence, Lumière felt his heart grow warm, and he smiled back in turn.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hammond."
She immediately walked from behind the stall, wrapping her arms around Lumière tightly as she lifted him into the air. She had the strength of a bear, and as he wrapped her arms around her rotund form in return, he thought it was wonderful that his hands could not touch each other.
She was a woman like a cloud, so inviting in her mannerisms and bright atmosphere. In her forties, she still carried an air of young and graceful beauty.
"I'm here to purchase potatoes, Mrs. Hammond." Lumière smiled softly, looking down at the woman who still held him up high in the air with her bear strength.
Her aloof and happily distracted gaze contorted with wonder and confusion upon hearing Lumière's words.
"Potatoes? Is it a particularly special day?" Mrs. Hammond wondered aloud.
"Father Benedict would have me believe that every day is such a special day." Lumière spoke gently. "If that's the case, then today of all days is a good day to eat potatoes in the monastery."
"Surely you can't afford to feed the entirety of those in the monastery?"
"Today, I can do so. I've run into means suddenly. Although it's not enough to secure something actualizable, I can at least afford this much." Lumière laughed. "Now, I'm more than happy to spend the day in your embrace, but I'm sure your arms will quickly grow tired. I'm not so much a child anymore, Mrs. Hammond."
Her face flushed with realisation, and she quickly set Lumière back onto his two feet.
"Don't doubt my arm strength for a second, little Lumi." Mrs. Hammond winked. "And you'll always be a small child in my eyes, just as you were when you first came to us."
Lumière averted his glance in embarrassment and continued speaking.
"Eight-dozen potatoes, Mrs. Hammond, how much will that be?"
"Ten Lune and Eighteen trest, but I'm sure my boys will have something else to say about that matter, as would I." Mrs. Hammond grinned.
'A third of what the Madame gave me… I'm sure such an expenditure will anger Sister Alinde and Father Benedict, but maybe working in the gift of Lord Sinner will appease them slightly. They really are cheap bastards…'
Her towering figure immediately turned towards a shop behind her that seemed carved into the depths of the stone building, and with a lively and booming voice, called out into its halls. Without hesitation, pots, pans, and the clattering of glassware seemed to erupt from the shop as two men came bolting out into the street.
They were both about Lumière's age, the twin sons of Mrs. Hammond, Artier and Letis. Artier had a thick and bushy black beard and bright green eyes, and Letis had a clean-shaven face and darker eyes obscured by crystalline glasses. Despite the handsome appearances of the two, which looked as if they would catch the eyes of both women and men walking by, their aesthetic was messy and misplaced, likely from their mad sprint to the door of the shop. With faces covered in dust and debris, they looked over to the woman who towered over them with kind but weary expressions.
"Yes, Mother?" They spoke curiously in unison.
The two of them saw the form of the magician standing before them, and their eyes widened with joy as they shot forward.
"Lumi, you bastard!" Artier shouted, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as he forced Lumière's head towards his chest playfully, ruffling a hand through his already messied chestnut hair.
Letis immediately stole Lumière's gaze away from his brother, holding the magician's head by the side as he pressed his forehead against the former.
"You fool, never writing or visiting… do you know how much mother worries?" Letis chided before pushing Lumière away.
"I'm sorry." Lumière smiled softly as he looked at the three standing before him with a pervasively joyous aura. "I've been a bad ward, haven't I?"
"Former ward." Artier joked. "You're a little churchgoer now, aren't you, Lumi?"
Lumière shook his head in response with a guilty smile, looking over towards Mrs. Hammond as he spoke once more.
"Eight-dozen… the cost will be ten Lune, Eighteen Trest?" Lumière asked again to confirm the transaction.
Artier and Letis looked at the man before them with confused expressions.
"Cost…?"