054 – Go To Market, Buy An Outfit

They walked into the square with the flow of customers and merchants going about their daily business. A line of wagons stood off to the side, demarcating the road; behind and within the wagons was a small stock yard.  Booths lined the road side of the wagon line.

Steven briefly glanced around, both looking for damage and checking for familiar territory, as he looked at the upper stories of the structures, and above to the super structure of the city. Most all of the damage had been elsewhere or already cleaned up.

Abey approached a wagon and asked for the local group leader, then asked him where the cloth and leather workers and traders were. The group leader reported that that part of the caravan was down a level, closer to this district's warehouses.

Thus informed, Abey led the four into an alley, and to a stairwell that descended to the city level below, circling one of the support columns. As they descended it was apparent that this column marked the corner of a light well, and that the group they were looking for were in the square below them. Abey looked over the square as they descended, and headed out directly once on the ground.

Caspian did not bother to be impressed, being wrapped up in his own thoughts, and mostly just coming along to ‘hold the bag.’ His previous experience in shopping with Steven in the various villages and towns they had passed through had assured Caspian of the Caplan’s capability and adaptability. As for Abey, he felt that he had vaguely similar immediate background, and so had little about her to be impressed by.

Rox was mildly impressed at Abey’s ability to navigate so confidently for being so new to the city.

Steven had dealt enough with Abey to not be overly impressed with her being a quick study. As well he figured that she had probably come this way earlier, when she had not been in company at the palace.

Abby stepped up to a specific booth, with the company flag over it. “Mildred.”

A middle-aged woman who was helping a customer glanced when her name was called, she nodded in recognition then went back to her customer. As soon as the customer left, the plump mother of some came over to the group.

“Abey, welcome back; are you here to stay?”

Abey shook her head. “Not yet. But I am working on it. You remember Steven,” Abey gestured. “This is his Wife, Roxanne. She needs to be outfitted for the road.”

Mildred looked Roxanne over top to bottom, front to back, in her palace drape and chains. She went back to Rox’s feet, and started.

“Boots: tall or short, my lady?”

Rox paused, “Um, what’s the difference, so that I may answer correctly?”

Mildred looked at Abey, then at the others here; then hitching her own skirts up she placed her left heel on the nearby table. “These are short; a little past the ankle.”

She put her leg down and pointed at Abey. “Those are long, or medium if you prefer, below the knee. Very long would come above the knee.”

Rox nodded. “Medium. Below the knee, relatively close fitting on the legs.”

Mildred nodded. “Trousers or skirts?”

“Trousers. But I would not be adverse to a skirt or two.”

“Waist coat? Apron? Something else?” Mildred gestured to her own apron with its assorted pockets and pouches, and toward Caspian’s vest, and Abey’s belt with its pouches.

“A belt with pouches, maybe a kind of shorter apron, or a longer one matched to a skirt.”

“Sleeves?”

“Varying with environment. I usually wear short sleeves, but detachable long ones might also work.”

Mildred had been mentally forming a list and picture in her mind as she went, and was pleased to find that Rox appeared to have a very flexible mindset, while still knowing what limitations she wanted to impose, fashion not being one of them.

“Weapons?” Mildred motioned briefly to her own knife in her apron, and Abey’s at her belt.

Roxanne had given this thought over the weeks, and checked her skills against the available things. She had visited the Palace Guard training grounds, and tried the spears and staves. She found the bows were almost uncomfortably small, simply due to the stature difference between herself and the average person.

“A bow and arrows, if I can find one that fits; a walking stick, or stave; a knife or two for defense and domestic use. Maybe a pair of smaller clubs, or sticks.”

Mildred took this all in, and let it work itself though, as she continued to appraise Rox’s physicality. “I can comprehend your problems. You can get boots and gloves, and even belts easily enough, being careful to instruct that they be long enough. Covering your limbs is the challenge. Come with me. Abey: you stay here, Holly will run the booth, and you will help her.”

Holly, a younger, slimmer version of Mildred had been aside keeping busy. She now stood to and took Mildred’s place at the table, as Mildred stepped out, taking Rox in hand.

Caspian took the moment to wander away as the Caplan’s were ushered to another stall. Here Mildred helped them select two overlarge tunics, one skirt and a pair of trousers. The man and woman running this booth then had Rox put these on in succession, and with chalk and pinned gathers sized the garments. The trousers and skirt were obviously too short in height, and too generous around. As these were fitted, notations were chalked on for how much more material in what direction to use. The tunics were both generous around and marked for Rox's size accordingly. One had sleeves deliberately overlong, the other deliberately short. The one with long sleeves was marked for Rox's wrists,  the other for how to attach to her shoulder and for a round neck.

Following Mildred’s advice, Steven and Rox went to a local canvas merchant and had a rucksack and water bag put together. This same merchant was able to quickly put a hooded cloak with a few pockets on the inside with matching lighter cape, and a bedroll together. The water bag and bedroll hung to Rox’s left side, if not secured elsewhere. The pieces would not be finished this day, so she would have to come back for them the next afternoon.

Coupled with Mildred’s advice the merchant sent them to a local leather worker; he was able to skillfully measure Roxanne’s feet, hands, and waist for boots, gloves, and a belt respectively. Upon learning of her weapon preference he was able to quickly design a set of Archers Bracers to protect her wrists and fingers, and work with the gloves. He added his recommendations for an Arrow Maker who made quality arrows, and recommended a man who could make a good bow quickly. Once they had the weapons, they were to return and he could put a quiver together and attach any other equipment they wanted.

The bow carver started by seeing if there was anything already made that might be cut down, to save time. He quickly found a recurved war-bow in his inventory that was initially consigned for The King’s Archers. This was tall enough, and recurved; it was large enough for Rox’s stature. With the bow and four strings paid for, they went back to the Arrow Maker, who had to dig around for blank stock long enough. Shortly he had enough for two dozen shafts. Taking an arrow that was completed, The Caplan’s went back to the leather merchant.

They gave him the completed arrow, and Rox reported on her preference for a hip quiver. Leaving him to his work, they went back to the various knife sellers and looked these over. Caspian, Cyrril on his shoulder, joined them at one of the sellers. They soon found a good belt knife that would do duty as a combat and utility knife, and a smaller domestic knife.

The leather merchant attached the larger knife to the belt, in front of her left hip. The smaller one was put in an underhand wrist sheath on her right bracer, so as not to interfere with her archery. The quiver was hung by a shoulder strap across her torso, and secured with a belt loop to her belt on her right side. The finished belt and quiver would be available the next morning. The gloves and bracers by the afternoon. The boots would take another day, mainly in getting the hard leather to shape, and the wool liners in.

This afternoon done, they picked up Abey. She was caring for her mule, Miri. As they talked about the day’s doings, Abey led the conversation to other camp equipment and how to carry it. By the time the conversation was done, Abey had all but convinced the Caplan’s to get a mule, a tent and some cast-iron cookware. What Abey did not realize until later was that Steven did not need convincing, that had already been done by her example over the prior weeks. Roxanne simply needed to be convinced to spend the money and that these could be used and worth the investment of time and treasure. That Steven had always been the animal person in the family was beside the point.

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 49

It is inexpressible the joy of having Roxanne back at my side.

The plan now is to head to the coast, then south by boat. Right now, we are getting shopping done.

Looking back through this, I have so many full pages that I need to get a new notebook to write in.

The next day they went back to the Wolves. Holly took them in tow, and between her and Abey they got two mules. Holly mentioned a relationship to the Mountain Wolves, and the merchant gave them a mild reduction in price, essentially cutting his profits by two thirds. Then they went to one of the local outfitters who also displayed a Mountain Wolves pennant over his establishment. Here the girls got the Caplan’s equipped, for essentially wholesale prices.

The mules had their tack already; halters and leads, pack saddles, and feed bags. To this was added a tent, with space to attach the Caplan’s bedrolls; a smaller single occupant tent was attached for balance and in case Caspian decided he wanted to use it. Several cooking tools were added, all approved by Rox as they were purchased; a fry pan, a pot, a dutch oven, all of which nested together; a cooking/serving spoon, a comparable fork, two good sized cooking knives, some metal bowls for eating or meal prep, and a spit and frame that could also hang the pot or dutch oven. Some other things were suggested, but were down checked by Rox or Steven. Most of this was secured to the first mule.

Holly and Abey quickly got more shopping done in the nearby market. Again, this section of the city catered to travelers, instead of locals, so things were packaged differently. Rox and Steven bought food that they would eat, and in portions and forms that Abey and Holly recommended. They finished with a sack of flour, several days worth of vegetables, dried meat and other portable food stuffs. Water sacks, some cooking oil, some spices, and even some eggs.

On a final market stop, Rox purchased a handful of domestic things; some towels, soap, some cord, and the first of her clothes. Of the two tunics, one was ready, the other still being used as a pattern to adjust a third. The skirt and trousers were in pieces, and being used as patterns for new ones. The trousers were being made from a soft canvas; the skirt from a thick linen, the same as the third tunic. The leather merchant just had the boots to finish. The Arrow Maker had several of the arrows done and the bow ready.

That afternoon Steven made a loaf of dutch oven bread to demonstrate he knew how to do so. Abey approved it, after critiquing the loaf. They spent the rest of the time with Rox chatting with a committee of the women from the Wolves about food on the road. Steven returned to the Palace, retrieved his crossbow and went to the practice field with it. Rox soon showed up with her bow and the half dozen arrows for it, and joined the practice.

As she practiced with the new bow and compared it to the others being practiced with by the Guards, Rox quickly realized that her bow was essentially one of the war-bows of the army, for use in cross-battlefield archery. This led her to wonder that the arrow maker needed to make new ones, as opposed to just raiding the army’s extras. Asking about this later, she learned that the army’s stores were kept elsewhere, and that the Palace Guard was not privy to it. So at this moment it was just as well she get new ones, these would be less likely to be aged out of usefulness anyway, and marked with her own fletchings.