Previously:
The morning after the night beforeMarketplace, Silver Trailings, outside the Realm Below the Mountain
Jyslyn led the two younger members of the group through the after-lunch crowd milling around the market. Both looked far better than they had in the morning though still worse for wear. To their credit, they both avoided the dwarven spirits at lunch. The general din, punctuated by merchants hawking their wares, didn't affect either Leomund or Wren. The young elf stopped at each stall just long enough to look over the goods on sale. She passed on dry goods, but lingered over the trinkets. Leomund kept watch over the two elf women. Jyslyn also kept an eye out, watching the crowd for threats.
Wren squealed at one booth. "Jyslyn! You need to see this!"
The cloaked dark elf threaded her way to Wren's side. "Did you find something?"
"This!" Wren held up a rose metal statue of a dwarven warrior, his axe the green of aged copper. "It's almost the same colour as your hair!"
The merchant stepped forward. "Hello, gentle ladies. I see your daughter is impressed with the statue."
Jyslyn held up a gloved hand. "She's my friend, not my daughter."
"My apologies. It is so hard to tell with elves." He ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Did you carve this?" Wren asked.
"Oh, no, nothing like that." The merchant winked at Wren. "This was cast from molten copper." He flicked a fingernail against the statue with a plink. "See? Solid, but still light."
Wren hefted the statue. "How much is it?"
"For such a lovely young lady as yourself?" The merchant beamed. "A mere five silver shillings."
The young elf opened her pouch and pulled out five silver coins. She handed the money to the merchant. "Thanks."
The merchant examined one of the coins. "Oh, I am so sorry, my dear. These aren't from the Realm Below. I'll have to charge one more shilling."
Crestfallen, Wren dug through her pouch. Before she could find a coin, Leomund passed one over to the merchant. "Here," the squire said. "Wouldn't want to disappoint the young lady."
"Thanks, Leomund." Wren clutched the statue close to her chest.
"Let me wrap that for you," the merchant offered. "It'll be safe for your travels home." He took the statue from the young elf.
Jyslyn made a slow turn while the merchant packed the statue. "You're in a good spot," the dark elf remarked. "You must see everything happening from here."
"I wouldn't say everything," the merchant said, "but I do see enough."
"Is it me, or is the town guard watching far closer than before?"
"Before when?" The merchant leaned in to Jyslyn. "I mean, you're visitors here. We don't have any elves living in Silver Trailings."
"I'll grant you that, but I've heard from others, all hearsay, mind, that the town guard is a lot more careful now than even two weeks ago."
"You've heard right." The merchant shook his head in dismay. "Lose one ambassador and Silver Trailings loses its mind. No one's found his body. If you ask me, and, really? You did. If you ask me, he's gone off with some woman, having the time of his life. If the right woman came along and asked me to run away with her, I'd be right out of town before she finished asking."
Leomund laughed. "Must make the market safe from thieves."
"You'd think that." The merchant spat on the ground. "Pickpockets still work the crowd. The petty thieves, grabbing knick knacks from stalls, they're still around and costing hard working men like me money. No, the Shields are looking for someone. I've heard rumours, from Accursed boiling up from below Silver Trailings to a Nicean thieves' guild trying to move in. I don't believe any of them, not right now."
"Who do you think they're looking for?" Jyslyn asked.
The merchant shrugged. "Niceans. Not a thieves' guild, but one of their wizards. It's the first step to taking over Silver Trailings. They take over here and on the coast, they get a safe port to ship their goods to, crowding out us locals, and prime access to the dwarven mines through the canal."
"We should get going." Jyslyn clasped the merchant's arm. "Thank you for your time." She herded Wren, her package under her arm, and Leomund back into the crowd.
Once the merchant's voice joined the din of the crowd, Leomund said, "That was not as helpful as I'd expected."
"This is just the first we'll talk to," Jyslyn said. "I needed him to stop thinking about the Accursed before he could work out what one of us would wear up here."
"Where do we go now?" Wren asked.
"I need clothes. Something less constricting."
"Does this have something to do with what you talked about with Kazimier yesterday?" Wren shifted the packed warrior statue from one arm to the other. "It's fuzzy, but you were in a blanket?"
Jyslyn silently thanked the Gods Above and Below for the cloak hiding her features. "It's related. I do need something to wear in our room."
Leomund pointed at a booth with women's dresses on display. "What about those?"
"That's far too much fabric. I'm still trying to get used to the number of layers everyone wears up here."
"Oh, I know!" Wren said. "You're looking for similar to what you wore back home! But I don't know if anyone sells that here."
Jyslyn stared at the young elf. "Just how do you know about what we wear in the Sundered Chasm?"
"I read about dark elves after Wildwood took me in. The sages didn't know what to make of me, so they left me alone. They thought that as long as I wasn't disturbing them, they could let me be." Wren moued. "But aren't all those clothes racy and revealing? Where would we find clothes like that."
Leomund coughed. His cheeks grew rosy. "There are shops that sell underclothes. Some are for ladies only."
Wren cocked her head to the side. "How do you know about these shops?"
"Let's not look too deep, Wren," Jyslyn said. "I'm sure it's because Dame Nyssa shops at a similar shop back in the Seven Dominions. Isn't that right, Leomund?"
"Yes." Relief could be heard in Leomund's voice. "Yes, that's right."
Jyslyn scanned the stalls around her. "Where do you think the shop would be?"
"In most cities in the Seven Dominions, they're in a shadier part of the market," Leomund said. "The clothes aren't considered respectable and are usually too expensive for the common folk. Those who can afford them send someone to do the buying for them. The, uh, the," Leomund's voice trailed off as he blushed, "the streetwalkers make use of the clothes, too, so we could start in their district."
"Streetwalkers?" Wren asked.
"I'll explain later," Jyslyn said. "We need to find that district. Back home, it'd be near the travelling merchants, but that's where we are."
Leomund snapped his fingers. "The canal! The crews from the barges and boats will have money to spend and are miles from home. It's the perfect spot for streetwalkers to work their trade."
"How do we get to this canal?"
"It should be lower down, away from the gates we came in and away from the entrance to the dwarven realm.." Leomund turned in a slow circle. He pointed out the direction. "That way."
The young squire led the way through the crowded market, the elves keeping close. The crowd thinned out as the group approached the canal, but the throngs of people were replaced by carts loaded with crates, the horses drawing the wagons being pulled along by handlers both human and dwarven. Leomund dodged between carts, stopping only to let Jyslyn and Wren catch up. Through breaks in the traffic, they could see the canal, its water brown. Barges lay docked, tied to posts along the canal. There were several stalls set up; the variety of goods offered didn't match the kiosks in the marketplace.
Jyslyn took over the lead, marching past stall after stall, giving each a cursory examination. Wren pulled on her sleeve, getting the dark elf's attention. "What about there?" Wren pointed at a shop in the ground floor of a thin two-storey stone building facing the canal. Revealing dresses hung on display In the shop's window.
"Perfect." Jyslyn dashed across the road to the shop. She entered, a bell over the shop's door chiming.
"Be right with you," a voice called from the back.
Jyslyn browsed the selection. Wren stayed close to her, peering over the dark elf's shoulder. Leomund remained outside. The dresses on display were all sized for human women, too large for either Jyslyn or Wren. The dark elf fingered the fabric of a dark green gown. "This is close," Jyslyn said. "Not sure of the colour, and it's too big."
"You don't like the colour?"
Remembering the awkward conversation she had with Kazimier yesterday, Jyslyn answered, "It's not what I need. I'm looking for something," she searched for the word, "brighter."
"Like white?" Wren searched through the gowns hanging in the shop. "Or what about a light blue?" She held up a short dress. "This is robin's egg."
Jyslyn turned to see the gown. "That's closer."
A tall woman, her dirty blonde hair tied back out of her way, appeared from the back. "Good afternoon! Don't get many elves here. Not sure if I have anything that will fit, but have a look. Anything in particular you want?"
"I'm trying to find a dress for an intimate moment," Jyslyn said. She ignored the questioning look Wren gave her.
"Well, honey, take off your cloak so I can get your measurements."
"I can't." Jyslyn produced an exaggerated sigh. "I have a problem with my skin. It's horrible. A curse marred me, but my betrothed loves me for being me." The dark elf patted Wren's arm. "My friend is close to my size, maybe a little smaller."
The shopkeeper eyed the young elf. "How intimate are we talking about? Presentable to pleasant company? First night together? Perhaps for your wedding night?" The woman winked at Jyslyn.
"Definitely for my wedding night."
"You've probably haven't seen the sun since your curse." The shopkeeper searched through her offerings. "You must be pale. White is right out. I heard you wanted something brighter." She pulled out a red dress with a long slit in the skirt. The shopkeeper held the dress up to Wren. "This is close. A little large, but that's what we're looking for, except for the chest."
Jyslyn took the dress, feeling the fabric. "I'm not sure," she said. "I need something softer, for my skin." She gave the dress back.
"No problems with the style?" The shopkeeper placed the red gown on the counter. "I think I have something." She returned to the racks and pulled out a shimmering grey dress. "This is the same size and a bit more revealing." She held up the hem to let the elves see it. "And gold trim. Not real gold, but thread dyed to look like it, but anyone close enough to notice will be focused elsewhere."
"I like the colour." Jyslyn felt the fabric of the dress. "And it feels good. Wren?"
The young elf examined the dress. "I like it."
"Great! How much?"
"Seven gold cogs."
Wren opened her coin pouch, taking out seven gold coins. "We don't have cogs. Will crowns be enough?"
The shopkeper smiled. "Crowns are fine." She received the coins from Wren. "I'll package this up for you." The shopkeeper returned to the back.
Wren stared at Jyslyn. "Intimate? What were you and Kazimier doing yesterday?"
"I'll tell you back at the inn." Jyslyn waved a hand at the door to the back room. "Where we have privacy."
The shopkeeper returned, the dressed wrapped in a black cloth. "Here. I hope your betrothed enjoys the dress." She handed the dress to Jyslyn.
"I'm sure he will." The dark elf wrapped her arm around Wren. "We should get going, before he wonders about us." Jyslyn guided the young elf out of the store.
Leomund leaned against the stone wall, watching the traffic pass. He pushed away from the buildingas the elf women returned outside. "Find what you needed?"
Jyslyn held up her package. "We should get back to the inn and see if Kazimier and Nyssa have received anything from the dwarves."
Next Week:
The visitor.
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