Shralestan Shopping - RPLOG
Participants
Date
22/6/477
Log
It's just past noonday mass, and the various churches of Shralesta are sounding the bells in commemoration of this fact, the entire city a cacaphony of ringing, clinging sounds as one church after another heralds the closing moments of their mass. The visitor-church at the waterside traditionally takes the longest, finally ringing its bells as the beings flood out, some heading to the waterside for a relaxing dip, others heading into the city to browse spices and clothing, and yet others lingering a little longer or heading to another church to marvel at the various sights.
Helfer stretches. He was ill most of the airship trip, more accustomed to the comforting seas. And he found that accomodations were not provided from him. Still, he has been to Shralesta before. He settled by in a shoddy Inn, all that he really wanted to afford anyway. Luxuries were unnecessities. He had a few hours before the convoy would move on again, and he decided to stop by the local marketplace.
The 'local' marketplace is still a good distance off, but well worth the walk, with various stalls offering shralestan spices, along with dyes and clothing that one can only truly get in the desert-country.
The marketplace even holds one or two beings in the employ of LongTech Industries, one of them browsing the clothing, another browsing through the lone weapons-stall offering scimitars and recurved bows, while the third and fourth are being intrepid, trying out some of the offered spices, which are a bit too hot to handle for them both, judging by their reactions.
Meanwhile, there's an elderly newt, another member of the expedition, in the company of the duo at the spicebar, heartily enjoying some of the spiced meat, and practically laughing at two younger beings... "Ah, young'uns. Don't bite off more than you can chew there. Shralestan food has quite a bit more bite than the food anywhere else on Promise. Here, take a few crown and buy yourself a piece of fruit."
Helfer is a little overwhelmed by the full activity of the market. He normally visited in the very early mornings after his swims, and now, with little such water to spare, he is treated to the sights of the crowded place. "So much to see..." He heads off towards the spices shop first to look for a gift. He picks a nice looking store. "All cooking spices?" He asks, peering at the heavily scented collection. He was hoping for perfumes and the like.
"All cooking spices, sir. Feel free to try them out, for a nominal fee, I can cook you up some meats," the bear behind the stall explains, gesturing at the various spices. "It goes from tepid... To hot... Although, you don't appear to be from here, eh? I should note that those are Shralestan tepid and Shralestan hot, rather than whatever you might be accustomed to," the bear adds with a smirk. "First chunk is on the house, other try-outs will cost a nominal fee... Take your pick as you see fit!"
The stall next to the bear's appears to stock clothing, with various wraps and dresses, and other loose-fitting outfits.
"Shralestan hot." Helfer was feeling the heat in the place anyway. Rumors are that eating Shralestan spices helped to relieve some of the heat by inducing heavy panting and he wanting to try it himself. A chunk is eaten. And his eyes tear up as he coughs for a while, but manages to swallow it. "Is hot..." He manages, voice strangled to a whisper. Though he eventually recovers after a minute or two. Or ten, still tearing. "Got a packet I can buy? Dry powdered spice? Hot." Dancing with the devil, he peers over to the other side, looking at the clothing store. "Got anything for the hands and legs?" He almost whispers, voice betrayed by spice.
A grin from the bear, and a heavy pat on the back as he readies a bag, before gesturing at the prices. "About how much? Full bag? Half bag? Two bags?" he rumbles with a broad grin, before the lioness at the next stall shakes her head. "Most of our garments are full-body wraps or robes. Keeps the sand and sun out, while allowing you to enjoy the desert-air cooling you down, y'see?" she explains, gesturing at the various garments.
"Half a bag please. I will be using it to spike drinks." The Cozumel grins wide. Then he nods at the the lioness and picks up a robe with a nice pattern. "Both genders?"
A small smirk, another heavy pat on the back. "Just be careful... And might I suggest /this/ one instead?" he notes, gesturing at the white spice besides it. "It's a little less potent, but it won't change the drink's color," he adds with a smirk. "Also, keep in mind to be careful with the spices. Some beings can react badly to pranks like that," he adds, before looking to Helfer for an answer.
Meanwhile, the lioness chuckles and shakes her head at the exchange, before looking to the robe. "That would be a female robe, sir. You can tell by the brighter colors, and the spiraling flowers embroidered on the design. In addition, this one is more padded around the upper chest, to preserve modesty," she explains. "Although traditionally, one'd wear white under-robes in any case, so that's mostlysveta for show.
"Much better, yes. Always trust a local's reccomendation, they say. Except on the price." A controlled amount of crown are slid over to the bear while he turns back to the lioness. "That one is nice, yes. And the material? Silk? Linen?"
A nod, a grin, a chuckle as the bear counts his money and hands the bag of spice over, before letting Helfer run off towards the lioness, who begins explaining how a typical Shralestan dress consists of a loose-fitting linnen under-dress around the torso and legs, followed by another linnen over-dress for your average being, or a layer of silk for those that are well-off. "Both wraps and simple cloth are common, depending on how much you're willing to spend. You'll notice those that aren't too well off wear just the under-cloth, whereas those that can afford it will investin a second cloth to cover their extremities. Most beings prefer an over-cloth with hood, to help keep the sand out of their eyes, though it's not uncommon to find a being without one, either... I'd say... two-thirds of the garments sold to the local populace have one... Maybe even a little less. Visitors tend to buy garments without one, due to their shorter stay in the country."
"Just simple cloth. The girl I'm buying this for is a noble and she has her own fantastic clothes. I just want something of a local flavor to give her as a gift. Not a lover's gift too, just...something to wear. Got anything like that?" Helfer asks softly.
"Out of your league, eh?" the lioness offers with a smirk, before rumbling and stalking off for a moment, returning with a light blue, translucent silken robe and a white linnen under-cloth, holding the second up first. "This will keep her warm in the mornings and evenings, and that one will keep her cool during the day. A good combination." she notes with a smirk, before gesturing towards the waterside. "The left arm of creator Erick is a perfect spot to watch the sunset. If the only issue is that she's out of your league, take her out there," she murrs with a smirk. "If not... Forget I said anything."
"As for simple... All our clothing is simple, and yet, it isn't. These dresses are our streetware, even if they do look fancy by most standards."
"Out of my league, yes. Well, well beyond my league. But still. I think she deserves a gift." Helfer nods as he listens to the explanation, though his attention has mainly wandered over to the spice storekeeper for a bit to make sure that he hasn't been shortchanged. "Ah, that sounds like a fantastic idea. Some sightseeing would do her some good, yes." He picks up one of the robes and fingers it, enjoying the feel. "How much?"
"Take her all the way to the hand. It's the absolute best spot, and it's hardly ever visited due to the sheer size of the arm... As for the dress... One-hundred crown for the linnen under-dress, two-hundred for the silk overcloth. For fifty more, you can get a matching, silken cowl, and the veil for that is ten crown."
The set please!" Helfer is more than excited at hearing the prices. He murrs softly as he slips the cash and then an extra tip to make it a nice round number. "Anything else you would reccomend? Perhaps...a mask to go with all of it? Surely there must be some for religious ceremony..."
"Masks are... Far from tradition here. The veil obscures the eyes somehat, and it shields one's face from the elements, but masks... They are... Far too solid. The trick, in this weather, is to go with the flow, to let the desert-winds cool you down," the lioness mumbles, before shaking her head. "The whole of Shralesta is one big religious ceremony, sir. We pride ourselves on that, after all."
"Fair enough. And I guess it would be very disrespectful to keep one's face covered by something so opaque." Helfer lowers his head abashedly, paying the crown and then picking up the clothes and tucking them carefully under an arm, nestling the packet of spices atop it and making sure that he's holding everything securely. Then he decides to head off in the direction of the weaponry! Home of the original creator inspired equipment after all. The swordshop is his goal!
The weapons-stall is remarkably similar to those in other parts of the world, displaying the weaponry of the area in all its glory. Curved swords, broadening towards the tip, recurved shortbows, whips, both magical and not, and other similar weapons. Staves with a scimitar-like blade at the top, and so on...
Helfer has quite the carved figure, but even then he seems to want to gravitate towards the simpler side of the weaponry. Namely, those small swords with the sickled blades that drew most of his interest. "Have anything creator inspired?" The Cozumel draws one of his own blades and shows it to the peddler to let him know exactly what he was looking for.
"Creator inspired? As in the enchantments, I would take it?" the almost scrawny-looking wolf mumbles, rummaging through racks of scimitars, before grinning faintly. "We have... Various weapons that might interest you," he mumbles with a smirk, gesturing at a blade in his hand, and another bladestaff still on the rack. "We have what you're looking for. Lightweight weapons, heavier ones."
Hmm." Helfer ponders. He gives the wolf a polite smile to let him know that he won't be buying, though he just browses over the weaponry for a moment. A foul smell catches his nose and he wrinkles. "Ugh." He points to a dripping blade. "Where does all that poison come from for that sword anyway?" He quirks a brow, rather inquisitive about such things!
"Hah. You expect me to give up the secrets of the trade this quickly, sir?" he murrs with a smirk, before shaking his head and grinning lightly. "If you must know, a bit of water magic and a reservoir in the hilt... It does wonders.:
"Haaah. You won't have to worry about divulging secrets to me. It's just a well of venom that never runs out...amazing things." Helfer still refrains from touching the weapon just yet though. He finishes looking at the weapons, squinting very long in particular at one of the weapons and then deciding against a hasty purchase of the bladestaff. He still had quite a while. His last stop is at the fruits section...where he was hoping to maybe find something new. Perhaps a nice, juicy peach.
"Oh, it's not that it never runs out. It's just that you don't see it, and we teach those that buy or wares how to fill it. Usually," the wolfman mumbles, before nodding along and smiling, before Helfer leaves the store again, without a purchase.
As for the fruit... Peaches are not among the produce, and the only things that appear to be available are several types of citrus, and a few thorny desert-plant renowned for their high water-content, although some... Well, they can occasionally play tricks on the mind.
Helfer wonders what he was expecting. He peers, and then he hears about some of the more...fantastical fruits as he peers. Avoiding the citrus clearly for now. He had spent quite a lot of time sailing, and had quite enough of the citrus stuffing to avoid falling ill after long periods of time away. He looks at one of the strange desert fruits and points at one, getting a barb to the fingerpad and yelping. "People eat /these/??"
"We do. There's a lot of water in 'em!" the sound of another lioness comes, rumbling deeply. "They're also quite sweet, once you get into them... How did I miss that thorn?" she mumbles, clipping it off with a small clipper, before grabbing a knife and cutting the thing in four bite-sized parts. "Go right ahead. I would stay away from the orange ones, they make you see things if you're new to 'em."
"Dangerous things?" Helfer thought about bringing one back home, then shakes his head. He picks up the fruit and then pays the price on the sign, sinking teeth into one. The moment he does, juice just trickles down his chin and makes a mess on his clothes. "Uhm." He shakes his head, a little embarrassed. "Oh wow. Can I have a few more please? Some of those citrus as well...and just one orange fruit. Maybe half, if you serve that."
The lioness chuckles. "See? Ain't that bad now. Any ones you want in particular? As for the orange ones... Not dangerous, just not a good thing to get you started on before you're ready... The first time can be a hefty experience for some. These would do it too, to some degree, but they're far less harmful," she explains with a smirk as she offers him a cotton napkin. "The juice makes for a good drink, too. Now, when you handle them, be sure to cut them such that you can easily access the inside, the skin, you don't want to eat. It's rather bitter, and you won't enjoy it."
She quickly packs up a few limes, before looking at the orange fruit. "Halves... Don't sell well. The water stays inside because they're closed. once you cut it up, it /has/ to be eaten as soon as possible, or you risk them going inedible. You don't want to eat the dry pulp, either. Ain't bad for you, just doesn't do the trick.
"Fair enough. The whole fruit." Helfer pays! And that's really all that he can carry right now. Barely able to see ahead of him, he heads back to his inn to drop things off.....
