48: Down with this sort of thing

[Ebiris]

[14:14] <@Ebiris> Zeus's Folly is nicer on the inside than the outside, with sumptuous carpets and lush furniture, and various paintings of honoured guests decorating the lobby where Kora goes to register the party. In short order everyone is moved up to the floor rented by Lavinia while horses are stabled and baggage unpacked. Not only does the place have hot and cold running water, there's even a third tap for wine! As the servants bustle around to unpack and arrange the rooms, Lavinia has both the Jade Ravens and the Irregulars attend her in the sitting room where warmth emanates not from a roaring fireplace, but from heated pipes and sparking electrical globes on the wall that also provide crystal clear light. "I'm sure everyone wants to rest and wash up after so long travelling, and I'll let you get to that in a moment, but first I'd like to discuss our plans for the rest of the day," she begins while sitting before the group.
[14:16] * @Lucie avails herself of some of that wine as she settles in to listen.
[14:17] <@Henrietta> More than impressed by the tap for wine to the point of distraction, Henrietta still musters a nod of acknowledgement to their employer, taking her seat once Lavinia had done so herself.
[14:22] <@Ebiris> It's pretty decent wine, too. A faintly plummy red that might not be of the finest vintage but cheap rotgut it most certainly is not. "I intend to look in on a few old friends first of all," Lavinia explains, "But I'd like the rest of you to split up and get out in the city, both to get yourselves acquainted with it and to try and get an ear for the local gossip," Lavinia explains. "Things that could help me in my dealings with other nobles in residence, whether it's background information on their tastes and habits, or leverage I could use to gain their backing. Is everyone all right with that?" Various nods and agreeable noises come from the Jade Ravens in response.
[14:24] <@Lucie> "Any special names we should listen for?" Lucie asks.
[14:24] <@Henrietta> "Perhaps, anyone who holds land near the border?" Henrietta suggests.
[14:33] <@Ebiris> Lavinia thinks a moment. "I wouldn't concern myself much with those people, no. Most with holdings there would live in the same region, and likely won't appear in Thanellar until the New Year Parliament in a few months. For now I'm looking more for support from those who live close to the seat of power. Duke Thade, the King's uncle - he has a lot of influence and tends to be a bit of a warmonger anyway. Countess Franesca tends to lead a coalition of nobles in the highlands and might need some swaying... Of course anything you can find out about the King might be helpful, so long as it's nothing treasonous." She shakes her head afterwards, "Don't feel obligated to focus completely on anyone I mention. Sometimes fortune can smile in unexpected quarters, and I'm mostly looking for you to get a feel for the city as much as anything today. No doubt I'll have to perform any number of favours to win the support I need."
[14:37] <@Henrietta> "As you wish, Lady Vanderboren," Henrietta responds. Getting a feel for the city is something they could quite easily do, and if nothing of note crosses their way they could always try to look into those nobles afterwards. "I was already thinking of looking into the fashions here, and it may well be a suitable place to pick up on a few rumors. Is anyone else interested in coming along with me
[14:37] <@Henrietta> for that?"
[14:39] <@Lucie> "Fashion?" Lucie says skeptically. "Well, I hadn't any other plans. Throw in lunch someplace along the way and sure."
[14:41] <@Ebiris> "You'll probably find fashion here disappointing after living in Salerno," Liamae tells Henrietta with an air of superior knowledge, "But I'll come along anyway. We can dazzle these stuffy inlanders with our stylish ways!"
[14:42] * @Henrietta considers the suggestion briefly before she gives a slight shrug. "I suppose, well, we all must eat? It should be alright." She smiles at Liamae. "And I still believe that there must be an avant-garde artisan here, and it is up to us to find them!"
[14:43] * @Lucie glances around, settles on the remaining woman in the group. "Zani, up to tagging along? We need a fourth wheel here."
[14:46] <@Ebiris> The elf shrugs laconically, getting up as Rudy groups with the male Jade Ravens and then collars Trucy before she can escape. "Two groups it is?" Tobin suggests. "How about we go volcanoside and you guys go lakeside?"
[14:47] <@Henrietta> "It sounds perfectly fine," Henrietta responds, before leaning closer to Trucy and asking her, "What is your favorite color?"
[14:47] <@Lucie> "Suits me," Lucie says with a shrug. "Might feel more like home on that side."
[14:47] <@Ebiris> "Blue!" Trucy replies without blinking.
[14:48] * @Henrietta smiles. "Blue it is. Do enjoy yourself today."
[14:51] <@Ebiris> "You too!" the young girl waves as everyone heads out into Thanellar's wide and cleanly paved streets to go their seperate ways.
[14:51] <@Ebiris> "I remember coming here once when I was a kid. Mom said the arts scene was better, but she ended up getting bored and we went back to Salerno after a few months," Liamae fills in, attracting a few looks in her abbreviated purple robes.
[14:51] <@Ebiris> "It's much bigger than Salerno, or any city back home," Zani puts in for her own part, looking around and blinking her ebony eyes curiously.
[14:53] <@Henrietta> "It feels very... comfortable," Henrietta decides, nodding to herself afterwards. "Yes, that is the right word."
[14:54] <@Lucie> "Get more bustle in a port city," Lucie concludes from Liamae's comments. "Shakes things up. Easy to fall into rut way out here, landbound."
[14:56] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, well I mean in Salerno you'll see people from Jovar," a gesture at Henrietta, "People from Cimmeria," a gesture at Zani, who wrinkles her nose, "People from Anowia," a thumb jerked back at Rudy as he walks in the opposite direction, "All over. Like a big spicy stew. This is more... I dunno, meat and potatoes?"
[14:58] <@Henrietta> "Is this city divided like Salerno?" Henrietta wonders. "That is, would it have a poorer district and then one reserved for nobles and the like?"
[14:59] <@Lucie> "Well, maybe you can teach the locals a thing or two about style while we're here," Lucie says as they walk, keeping an eye out for any interesting-looking establishments.
[15:10] <@Ebiris> "Everywhere is divided, even if they don't all have canals and walls for it," Zani says, studiously ignoring the few stares her pointed ears sticking up from pure white hair are garnering. "This must be the rich area." Indeed everyone around seems well dressed, and even if nowhere seems as outlandish as Zeus's Folly, the buildings are all clean and well presented, standing imposingly over the sides of the streets with blocky symnetrical construction in tan stone dominating. As far as establishments go, Lucie can see several kinds of signage on either side along the street. Tapster's Tavern, D.D Bailnurn Law, Merideth Haberdashery, The Adept's Atelier, Empress Boutique, Blackstone Books, J. Kellistoe Doctor of the Mind... all seem to be quite high class establishments given the well kept frontage and the upper class surroundings.
[15:12] <@Lucie> "True enough," Lucie agrees while scanning the local shops. She's stuck on the book store for a moment, but that's not exactly what the group came out here for. Later, perhaps. "Empress Boutique?" she points out to the others.
[15:13] <@Ebiris> "Clothes fit for royalty?" Liamae sniffs. "I suppose they'll be well made, if nothing else..."
[15:13] <@Henrietta> "We should take a look," Henrietta finds herself agreeing, once Lucie has pointed the store out.
[15:15] <@Lucie> "Just a name, I'm sure," Lucie says. "Couldn't expect royalty to walk in daily, could they? And definitely not today, unless one of you's got something she hasn't told us."
[15:16] <@Ebiris> The door is closed but the sign says it's open, and people are seen inside through the wide glass windows where manniquins pose in the latest fashions. They seem to be traditional ballgown types or fairy tale princess dresses... nothing particularly exciting or outlandish, but pretty all the same. Liamae sees fit to favour Lucie with a secret smile while Zani studiously looks away.
[15:18] * @Lucie carefully notes both expressions before continuing. "Though maybe it is a touch too fancy for us after all."
[15:19] <@Henrietta> "I'm afraid not." Henrietta shakes her head. "The royal lineage of Jovar is very closely monitored, as you may expect." Her attention is drawn to the fairy tale dresses, and she decides to enter and take a closer look.
[15:25] <@Ebiris> The two female Jade Ravens obligingly follow Henrietta inside. The place has a rather sterile feel in the front room, with the walls all painted a crisp and featureless white which contrasts heavily with the heavy and ornate gowns on display. A young and smartly dressed man stands off to the side conversing with an older woman, her hair pinned back severely and a simple pale dress robe worn. A matronly woman with a warm smile and a similar robe all but swoops in on the group as they enter. "Good afternoon, and welcome to Empress Boutique!" she greets pleasantly, raising an eyebrow at Zani and then slipping slightly to show a momentarily appalled expression at Liamae's outfit before quickly replacing her sales expression. "I'm sure you're looking for the finest fashions in Isernia to clothe your lovely selves in, and you've found the right place for it. My name is Nora, and I'll be happy to help you find exactly what you need."
[15:28] * @Lucie trails in after the others, immediately feeling out of place in such an austere establishment and doing a poor job hiding it. It's hard to suppress a little grin on seeing the saleswoman's reaction to her companions.
[15:30] <@Henrietta> As she is the one who lead them there, Henrietta steps forward and returns Nora's pleasant smile. "I am looking for something that would not look out of place in... well, in Countess Franesca's wardrobe," she states, looking about the shop. "Something more on the unique side than the casual and traditional, if you understand me. Could you, perchance, help me?"
[15:37] <@Ebiris> "Hmm..." Nora gives Henrietta an appraising eye. "She favours yellows and golds, but that's just all wrong for your colouring, I'm afraid. Darker tones are definitely to your advantage, perhaps with silver gilding. Come along and I'll show you through or design book, you can tell me what appeals, and then I can take your measure?" she offers, escorting Henrietta over to a white-panelled counter where she opens up a thick leather-bound book, filled with sketches of various gowns and dresses in traditional Isernian styles. Nothing nearly as daring or fabulous as Jaraunt Fashions in Salerno outfitted her with, but it's not hard to imagine Lavinia getting her wardrobe here.
[15:38] <@Ebiris> Liamae yawns and goes to look over an extremely heavy looking ballgown on one of the manniquins. "Take out all the under-dresses and quilting, cut up the skirt a bit, this might not even be so bad..."
[15:40] <@Lucie> Lucie wanders along with the Ravens, voicing her opinion on the same (quietly enough that it doesn't reach the proprietor's ears). "Looks expensive for something you could barely move in. Wonder if Henri's walking out of here with any money left."
[15:41] <@Henrietta> "Then I was correct?" Henrietta asks, quite happy at the discovery. "The Countess shops here?" It might come in handy to have a local design, and she laborously goes through the book until she settles on one that would be easy to move around in while still appearing like it would fit well with Lavinia's wardrobe.
[15:41] <@Ebiris> "None of it is to my taste," Zani agrees quietly, seemingly quite happy to leave the shopping to Henrietta. "My skin needs to be able to breathe."
[15:44] <@Ebiris> "She has on occassion, yes," Nora smiles genially at Henrietta, cooing and nodding at her choice. "She was last in for a gown to wear for the King's birthday in July. Lovely woman, very generous to her servants as well," the older woman goes on. "Why don't you come into the back room with me to take your measurements and we can talk colours? I was thinking black and silver for the outer layers, with a rich deep red for the under-dress and petticoats, to bring out your lovely hair..."
[15:44] <@Lucie> "Well, yeah, I doubt most of the customers need to worry about slipping through haunted tombs and the like," Lucie says. "It's about making sure everyone knows you can pay this much for your clothes..."
[15:48] <@Ebiris> "Oh, you'd be surprised about that," Liamae grins, leaning close to Lucie. "You know this place is absolutely riddled with caverns and old magma tubes under the sewers? I heard a lot of people fell into them during the Conflagration of sixty six. Bet they wished they'd worn more practical clothes then," she concludes, smug in the face of mass death and terror.
[15:48] <@Henrietta> "Oh, certainly," Henrietta agrees, following Nora into the back. "And silver sounds very interesting to me."
[15:50] <@Lucie> "The...what?" Lucie says, taken aback. "That sort of thing happen often here?" She looks more disturbed by the possibility of the ground opening up beneath them than by tales of past carnage.
[15:52] <@Ebiris> "It's well known for its beneficial properties," Nora agrees, taking Henrietta into a similarly sterile seeming room through the back where she invites the sorceress to strip into her smallclothes while getting a measuring tape ready.
[15:52] <@Ebiris> "It was over a century ago," Liamae waves blithely, "That's why all the buildings here are so modern and the streets so spacious, they completely rebuilt from the ground up."
[15:53] * @Henrietta follows her instructions, even as her mind is preoccupied by Nora's earlier words. "Would it be possible," she finally inquires, "to order a dress for someone without bringing her in for measuring? If I, that is, if I knew her size fairly well?"
[15:56] <@Ebiris> "Oh, of course," Nora smiles. "A lot of ladies have their servants make orders for them that way." She busily starts taking Henrietta's measurements while talking, "Of course it's nice for us to talk to the person who's going to be wearing the dress, but we can manage just fine without it. What sort of shoes do you plan on wearing with this one?" she asks while working down Henrietta's leg.
[15:56] <@Lucie> "Just so long as it's not due to happen again." Something else catches Lucie's attention. "Caverns and tubes, huh? Bet you good odds some gang's put those to good use since. City this big's gotta have someone sharp or desperate enough to see advantage in hiding out down there."
[15:57] <@Ebiris> "Or ghosts of all the people who died before are waiting down there to bring suffering on people who live ignorantly above," Zani suggests with an unhappy look below her feet.
[15:58] <@Henrietta> "A pair of slippers?" Henrietta muses, wanting to follow the fairy tale theme. "And she prefers blue. I would like to surprise her, so bringing her around for you to talk to her might be a bit counter productive. I do know that she prefers to dress conservatively." At least, Trucy seems to refuse anything remotely daring that had been offered to her to date.
[15:58] <@Ebiris> "Entire streets collapsed into sinkholes opened up in the disaster. Must be rich pickings for scavengers down there," Liamae's thoughts turn in a different direction. "But you don't often hear about anyone striking it rich down there, either. Must be some unpleasant reason..."
[16:01] <@Lucie> "...Or that," Lucie agrees with a nod to Zani. "Seen enough of ghosts for a while."
[16:01] <@Ebiris> "We'll take the back up a bit so it doesn't drag too much, then," Nora nods. "I'm glad high heels are going out of fashion, to be honest. Such a pain to wear, aren't they? If you have the details of what your friend wants we can take a dual commission and have both ready at the same time," she adds, finishing up with her tape and writing some things down on a notepad as she invites Henrietta to dress herself again.
[16:04] <@Henrietta> "I, well, I don't really need to make myself look taller," Henrietta admits. "So I am happy over that as well." Choosing something for Trucy that she would feel comfortable in and sharing her measurements doesn't take long, and she does so while dressing herself once more.
[16:06] <@Ebiris> Nora takes all that down and tears off a sheet of paper which she hands to Henrietta. It's a receipt, and the total bill comes to one hundred and twenty gold for both dresses. "They should be ready for collection in three days, if that's suitable?"
[16:07] <@Henrietta> "Certainly." As she pays, though, she wonders whether Liamae was right and they wouldn't be able to find anything more daring while in the capital. Still, maybe it's a bit early to give up?
[16:08] <@Ebiris> Nora escorts Henrietta out and approaches the other three ladies. "Have the rest of you decided on anything?" she asks hopefully.
[16:08] <@Ebiris> "Oh, no. We were just looking, thanks," Liamae gives her a false smile back.
[16:09] <@Henrietta> "Then we can go," Henrietta suggests, holding the door open for the others.
[16:10] <@Ebiris> Zani and Liamae are happy enough to exit the shop, the former asking afterwards, "What kind of dress did you buy, Henrietta?"
[16:10] * @Lucie shakes her head, evidently also committed to window shopping today, and exits with the others.
[16:13] <@Henrietta> "A traditional design," Henrietta responds. "You never know when you might need one to blend in, or support Lady Vanderboren unobtrusively. We might have to look...." She trails off, thinking things over briefly. "This city, would it have a district for artisans? Maybe we could find something more suitable there? Or a poorer section, to learn more about those in power?"
[16:16] <@Lucie> "Don't think we'll blend well walking through the slums, Henri," Lucie says. "Chances are any man on the street talks to you there isn't gooing to know anything of use anyway. Remember Shadowshore? Most of what goes on outside their neighorhood could be across the sea for all they know."
[16:21] <@Henrietta> "Perhaps, then, we are approaching this from the wrong angle?" Henrietta muses. "From what I could tell, the Countess Lady Vanderboren mentioned treats her servants well. If this is reciprocated, then we may well learn something by going to a place they would frequent and merely listening in. Or, perhaps, striking a conversation about their employer."
[16:23] <@Ebiris> OOC: go ahead and roll GI for restaraunteur servant gossip?
[16:25] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+15 sure
[16:25] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+15 sure and gets 27." [1d20=12]
[16:31] <@Ebiris> Having lunch at the Leaden Platter, the foursome sadly can't find any servants of a certain countess, but on the other hand their waiter proves to have some useful information regardless! "My wife actually works as a scullery maid at the Countess's estate. She always gets a nice present at new year from her, and something for the children, too," the young man remarks fondly. "Lovely woman, doesn't forget her responsibilities to her subjects - that's what a true noble's about, isn't it? Mind you, I heard she's got a real bee in her bonnet about some sort of theatre production someone's planning in the city... must be something scandalous to get a woman like her upset, I'll say."
[16:34] <@Henrietta> If Liamae was bored by what the Countess liked, then would she actually like something the noble finds scandalous? Wondering about that, Henrietta asks her, "Would you like to go and see what this theatre production is all about?"
[16:36] <@Ebiris> "We should find out what we can, but better not get involved until we've run it by the Baroness," Liamae cautions, nonetheless seeming intrigued.
[16:36] <@Lucie> "Sounds a fine way to kill an evening," Lucie says.