She smells the potion and takes a tentative sip ("Proverbial Sip") to ascertain it's potency. Nodding, she hands over the coin and puts the potion into her pouch.
As she does, she asks the Gnome for the location of any dressmaker shops. Turning to Jaliera she says, "To the dressmaker then shall we?"
DM (Kriv) Armed with new information, Kriv stepped out and looked at the riverboat. There was some activity. A wagon was pulling up to it and a member of the crew greets the driver. The pair start carrying sacks and bags which appear to be food, up the gangplank into the boat. From this distance, the boat seemed ostentatiously ornate.
(Jalierra & Zhu) "The two best are Winter Winds and Firelust Fabrics & Tailoring. They have stores there and there," the gnome merchant says, pointing a stubby finger towards them.
ooc: Let's see, there's your Walmarts and your Bloomingdales/Harrods and then you've got the types of shops like the Beverly Hills shop from that Pretty Woman clip posted earlier However, you can use that as a fair baseline.
DM (Jaliera & Zhu) The ladies make their way towards the edge of the Fishmarket towards the shops. Just be happenstance, they come upon Winter Winds first. There are various dresses, ]gowns, robes, cloaks, boots, vests, pants and other clothes to pick from for both men, women. While most of the clothing is appropriate for human sized people, there are smaller items for halflings and gnomes.
The pair look through the window and then walk through the door. A bell over the door rings as the door opens and two men, both with short brown hair, smallish ears and pug noses walk out from a back room. They have the look of siblings, similar but different. Both were dressed very stylishly but their tastes were quite different. One was wearing tight brown leather trousers and a matching vest made of the same material but where trousers met vest, the brown rose like branches from his waist up to wards his arms. Under the vest he wore a pale green blouse and over the entire ensemble he wore a cloak was a forest green with and embroider with various fruit. The outfit made him look like a tree. The other man wore black on white. It was somewhat simpler, just a long, white silk robe tied at the waist by a black and gold rope belt and a black shirt whose sleeves were tight at the wrist but puffy everywhere else.
"Welcome! Welcome to Winter Winds!" said the one that looks like a tree. "My name is Felassal."
"And I am Thuorn," added the one wearing black and white, "How may we help you today?"
(Kriv) Having found the riverboat, what is Kriv doing now?
The dragonborn stays and observes. Food keeps coming, people pass by. As time moves on, he sees people, all dressed similarly, arrive. They walk up the gangplank, mostly alone but a few pairs walk up together, chatting. He determines that this is the help. No patrons approach, which tells him that the business has specific hours of operation.
His study of the ship provides him with a good picture of it. It has three levels he can see. The plank leads to the main deck. There's another deck above it and portals for oars, which have been pulled in, are beneath it and indicate a third deck. There are no windows or portals. Steps from the main deck to the lower deck are fore and aft.
"We are looking for an appropriate dress for my friend, Lady Jaliera here, to wear to the Grand Dame this evening. Thus, it must fit. No time for any major alterations."
She turns to Jaliera. "Do you have any requirements as to color or style?"
He counts the help to get a decent approximation of the ship's complement in casino mode, but with time advancing, it seems best to get back in time to share the details with the others.
She is a little startled to hear herself described as a lady. She hopes it doesn't put the price up. And she has no idea what her preferences might be. In later years when she has had some control over her clothing choices, she has picked functional garments, ones that help her blend in.
"Nothing too.. ostentatious."
That is a good word. She is pleased with that. Then using her eye colour as a guide.
"This lovely lass? How terrific!" the one called Felassal said. "Not a challenge. Not at all! Blue? Wonderful, wonderful!" Thuorn said as the pair descended on Jaliera with unrivaled enthusiam. They gathered rolls of fabrics, robes, tunics, boots, furs, scarves, socks, leggins - all of the finest looking materials that the young girl ever saw. They tossed the furs and strips of cloths over her shoulder, startling Jaliera. But all the time the two argued about everything they tried. "No, no! She's too tall for that", "Eeeeks! That looks horrid on her!", "Just use some of that so-called imagination!", "A light blue she said. Do you call that light?". Even as they argued incessantly, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing.
(Kriv)
An hour before dusk, after observation, Kriv sees all of the staff, now fully uniformed with different matching outfits descend the gangplank and line up, almost like an army unit would, in neat lines, groups separated by uniforms. He counts thirty-two individuals that are the least consistent in their uniforms other than the fact that they all wear thick leather gloves. These he determines are rowers. They wouldn't mingle with guests and so they need not wear fancy outfits but the gloves are needed. There were six individuals all wearing white smocks and a puffy hat that covered their scalps. These Kriv determines are chefs. There were a half dozen individuals all of whom were wearing black pants, and clean, white shirts and white gloves. These he guess are servers. There were also a dozen men wearing black pants with silver trim running down the side of the legs, blue shirts and black vests. These he assumed were the card dealers. There were a dozen women dressed in very tight-fitting and revealing outfits. Kriv has guesses that they had escorts. Finally there were three musicians. One carried a lute, another a fiddle and a third had a flute in his hand.
They all lined up and when a final individual emerged, taking a step onto the gangplank and began walking down, the crowd below all hushed up and stood at attention. The individual, evidently the captain, a Tethyrian, was dressed immaculately in a royal blue outfit with black pants. His tall black boots were lined with gold trim he wore a fur scarf and a fur cloak. He also bore a sharp black goatee and carried a fine looking sabre at his side and a dagger was sheathed in his belt. He strode down the ramp with a commanding aura and made his way to the first group, the rowers. He looked them over briefly, waved a hand and they all moved as one to the ramp and ascended. Kriv watched as that group made it's way around to the aft of the boat where they then went out of view, apparently down to the lower level. The captain was fussier about the next groups, singling out several individuals for things like smudges, wrinkles and unpolished buttons. The individuals singled out all hurry to correct the problems and eventually, the entire staff marches up the gangplank. None of these groups headed to the stern. Kriv had seen others, the crew before they arrived. By his estimation there were nearly 100 individuals that worked on the ship.
She sits quietly and watches. After a time she can see that amidst the chaos these two do seem to know their business.
As Jaliera's expression becomes more and more overwhelmed, she chuckles lightly to herself and stands.
"Alright. Enough. Lady Jaliera preferred the third outfit. The light blue with inlaid silver pattern. Now lets move on to fitting. We do not have all day."
She moves closer to Jaliera once the men acknowledge her instructions. "It is not too ostentatious, nor too revealing. It is only ankle length so it should not trip you up if you need to move fast, has sleeves that can easily conceal a weapon, and the patterning could be used to conceal weapons as well. I will have them cut pocket slits at the hips for even more options."
She looks at Jaliera carefully. "It would pair well with a circlet or choker, if you desire?"
DM (Jaliera & Zhu) "Oh no. Oh no! Wearing the dress alone is like, like, well, owning a quiver and not having a bow," Felassal said. "Accoutrements! Baubbles! Trinkets! You need those."
"What are you talking about?" his brother, Thuorn asked with a great deal of incredulity. "They would take away from her her distinct beauty! What do you want to do? Hide her pretty face? Bury her in so much stuff that she can barely walk?"
The two bickered and argued, disregarding anything that Zhu or Jaliera say as their arguments escalated. Just when the loud debate was becoming unbearable, Flassal sighed, "Alright. You're wrong, I'm right, but no trinkets. No pretty things. Let her look like the girl selling flowers in the Fish Market!" He folded his arms across his chest and had a sour look on his face as he plopped himself down into a fluffy chair and sulked.
"Don't mind Fel. He likes pretty things and he thinks adding pretty things to a pretty thing is a good idea. I think simple lets your prettiness shine, like a twinkling star in the night sky. This look is perfect for you. It is you!" Thourn said.
When Jaliera looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but be shocked. She looked so different. She looked like royalty, at least in her minds eye. The pair had worked extremely hard to put together the outfit. It had taken quite a bit of time and they had settled on matters it was getting late.
"That'll be 25 gold pieces, without any of those gaudy things that Felassal was going to hang off of you", Thourn answered.
Felassal stood up immediately and marched over to his brother "Are you insane? Can't you see that this is her first dress? Are you so quick to chase away new customers?" Felassal asked loudly. Then he turned off his anger, turned to Jaliera and fussed with the sash around her waist and evened out how the dress sat on her shoulders and said, with a sweet, calming voice. "You are pretty, and we do so want you to return for your second dress. This one is yours for 20 gold."
It was more than expected but everything in this town was expensive, well above prices in Neverwinter or Silverymoon. It was a fair price for Yartar.
A sizeable discount? That really seals the deal for her, though paying that for a dress seems extreme. But it is pretty.. and she needs to be out in the fresh air.
"20 gold. I accept."
She counts out the coins carefully and hands them over.
DM Thourn accepted the coin and asked, "Are you wearing it or did you want to, ummm, primp yourself first? We can package it for you if you like."
In a moment when Thourn turns about, Felassal hands a Jaliera a small box and raises a finger up vertically over his lips. "Shhhh!" he whispers as he closes her hand around it. "A little present."
He immediately feels the stress fade away as he finally finds a spot to transform into a wolf that brings a whole new range of smells to him. Not wanting to spook the guards horses by the river bank, he quietly slips away putting his nose to the ground and following any interesting scents along the river banks for a time. At his half-way point he will find a spot to lap up some clean river water and just watch the hills for a bit before breaking off to run back across open fields. Lying down in in the long grass panting heavily, he will reluctantly shift back into his human form and leisurely walk back to pass back through the southern gate as the sun starts dipping below the horizon.
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However, you can use that as a fair baseline.
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