Meeting back up at the Markets – 3C-HH

Chapter 3 – Getting Underway

When Kaylen and Alanthea approached the entrance to the town market they saw Lyria waiting on a bench to one side. “Where are the others?” Kaylen wondered aloud when they drew close enough and Lyria stood to greet them.

“Ursa’s coming up just there.” Lyria pointed past Kaylen, who turned to see the towering frame of the half-giant strolling down the street just a dozen or so paces behind him. “Alayni and Vesili should be here any minute. Everyone split up to retrieve their personal gear before meeting back up here.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Kaylen agreed. Then he gestured toward their new healer, “This is Sister Alanthea, a priestess of Mortanius, the only healer in residence at the Cathedral who was looking to join an adventuring team. Alanthea, this is Lyria Gallowglass, my older sister and the team’s greatswordsman.” Lyria gave a nod as she was introduced.

“And this…” Kaylen turned as Ursa caught up to them, “Is Ursa Cloudwalker, our shield maiden.”

Ursa laughed, “First I’m a lady, now I’m a maiden?” She asked, bemused.

“What would you prefer?” Kaylen asked.

The half-giant shrugged, taking a moment to examine Alanthea.

“Well, Ursa, this is Sister Alanthea, our healer. She is a priestess of Mortanius.”

“You’ve picked a lot of women.” Ursa pointed out.

“I noticed that myself, I didn’t set out with that intention, but I guess it worked out that way.” Kaylen explained. “As I mentioned to the others, Alanthea was the only healer candidate available at the Cathedral. I considered a variety of candidates for most the positions, and those of you I picked were the best among them, regardless of gender.” It was mostly true, even if he’d left out a few details and decisions along the way. There may have been one or two candidates that would serve just as well as Alayni or Vesili, but they weren’t better choices, and he didn’t regret any of the decisions he’d made.

“Wow, is that natural?” They all turned to face Alayni who had arrived unnoticed before she spoke, looking up at Alanthea’s slender frame. “Never seen a human with hair that color before.”

“You found a healer?” Kaylen spotted Vesili moving up next to Alayni, both of them looking up at Alanthea.

Alanthea merely nodded to the pair of them. “Not very talkative, this one.” Alayni continued after a moment, turning to address Kaylen this time.

“She can be, when you get her going.” Kaylen replied. “Alayni, Vesili, this is Sister Alanthea, our healer, priestess of Mortanius. Alanthea, this is Alayni Swiftfoot, our marksman and outrider, and Vesili Tenorei, our team’s rogue and scout.” He gestured between the three of them, and Vesili exchanged a subtle bow with the priestess, while Alayni executed a short curtsy.

“Will you buy me some armor now?” Alanthea asked, turning back to Kaylen.

“Yeah, we can get to that.” Kaylen assured her before addressing the curious looks he was getting from the others. “Alanthea doesn’t have any armor of her own, or money to buy any. It came up as I was recruiting her, so I said I would ensure she was protected using funds I’ve saved from selling magic items over the last few years.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Lyria agreed, glancing at the others then back to Kaylen, “Are you going to be able to afford that? What’s your budget look like?”

“I’m not going to be able to buy her fitted plate armor, but a simple chainmail tunic and some adjustments to make sure it works for her should be fine.”

“You aren’t secretly rich, are you?” Alayni asked, both eyebrows raised.

“I wouldn’t describe myself as rich, but I’ve been able to save up enough to get us started.” Kaylen explained.

“Well, let’s get spending then!” The halfling said cheerily. She turned and started off, and Kaylen decided she must know the marketplace better than him, so he followed, as did the rest of them, though it was trickier for the taller of them to maneuver through the bustling streets.

Kaylen glanced to one side as Vesili fell into step beside him, meeting her gaze as she told him, “I don’t really wear armor.”

“Do you want to?” He asked.

She shook her head. “It slows me down.”

“Some armor is pretty light.” Kaylen replied. “I wear chainmail, and it doesn’t really hinder me.”

“I might need to squeeze through a tight space or jump to a hard-to-reach ledge; even an extra ten pounds could make a difference.”

“Alright well, the rest of us still need something, I guess if you don’t want to accompany us you could meet back up with us afterward?”

Visili blinked at him, then looked down, “No, I’ll stay with you, I guess.”

Kaylen offered her a warm smile, and she smiled back briefly before looking away.

In short order they were entering a low stone structure that echoed with clanging hammers and other sounds of craftsmanship, but the front room contained a few armor stands and a young woman reading a book behind the counter. She looked up as they entered and quickly put on a smile, setting her book down. “Welcome to Ander’s armory, my name is Marian Ander!” She said, then blinked when she saw how many of them filed into the room. “Are all of you looking for armor?”

“The priestess here requires some chainmail.” Kaylen waved Alanthea to the front. “Some of the rest of us might also need to purchase something, or have some armor adjusted.”

“I just need some leather maintenance oil.” Alayni said.

“My armor could use some repairs.” Lyria pointed out, gesturing to a couple places where the steel plates she was wearing were dented.

“Let’s get you set up with some armorers then.” Marian said. The six of them followed her as she approached the second largest man in the room who was working over an anvil on what appeared to be a fancy breastplate, comparing it to a mannequin he had next to him before hammering at it a little more. “Hey dad, this group is looking to buy some armor, and this warrior said she needed her armor repaired.” She gestured towards Lyria, then turned back to Kaylen and his group. “This is my father, Master Rolph Ander.”

“Adept Kaylen Gallowglass. A pleasure to meet you.” Kaylen extended a hand to the master smith.

Rolph set the breastplate aside and shook Kaylen’s hand. “The pleasure is mine. Now, which of you needs new armor?” He asked, and several of them pointed to Alanthea.

“Alright, I’ll see to your armor, you can follow my daughter, Marian.” He pointed to Lyria. “She’ll introduce you one of my apprentices who will look after your needs.”

So while Kaylen, Vesili, and Alanthea followed Rolph into a small side room, the others went with Marian. Kaylen noted that Ursa was having to duck her head to avoid hitting the ceiling and wondered if she would have been more comfortable waiting outside.

“So what kind of armor are you looking for?” Rolph asked as he sized up Alanthea and brought out a mannequin from a closet that was close to her size, though broader in the shoulders and chest and without her subtle bust.

“We don’t have the time for fully fitted plate mail, so we’re probably just looking for a chainmail shirt and cowl, similar to mine.” Kaylen pulled back his robes to show his own chainmail shirt to the armorer.

“Should be relatively easy, though it will need some adjustment. We don’t get a lot of people as slender as you are.”

“I understand.” Alanthea said, nodding.

“First step, is fitting you for an aketon.” Master Rolph informed them.

Alanthea nodded again, and quickly took her satchel off her shoulder and set it aside before unbuckling her sword belt setting it and all five blades next to her satchel. Next came off her cloak, and finally her robe, leaving her in a thin chemise that didn’t conceal much of the priestess’s figure.

“Wow, you’re bold.” Vesili observed.

Alanthea glanced at the half-elf, a curious expression on her face.

“You probably don’t need to take off quite that much.” Kaylen added.

“They are correct. You can leave the robe on.” Master Rolph agreed.

“But I will be wearing my robe of office over the armor.” Alanthea countered.

“Very well.” Rolph picked out an aketon from the wardrobe, and handed it to the healer without looking at her directly. Then as she put it on and began buckling the straps in the front, the armorer went to the door and called out for an assistant. “I’m not as good a tailor as my cousin Hali. She’ll take some measurements while I size you up for the chainmail.” He explained.

He took a step back as Alayni slipped into the room past him, and held up a stoppered bottle. “Got my maintenance oil.” She explained before moving to one side of the room and sitting down on a box next to where Vesili was leaning against the wall.

A moment later a portly woman entered the room with a definite family resemblance to the master smith. Both had dark curly hair, and both had sturdy frames with agile fingers. “Oh my!” Hali said as soon as she saw Alanthea in the ill-fitting aketon.

“Indeed, Hali.” Rolph concurred. “I picked out a coat that had the right sleeve length, but she’s so slender that it’s practically hanging off her shoulders. Think you can fix that?”

“I’ll take it in at the sides and see if that is sufficient. I can always pin it in back too if it requires a bit more slimming.” Hali agreed, and got to work.

Rolph started taking some measurements while Alanthea stood with her arms out to either side. Kaylen glanced back and forth between his three party members. The priestess was a bit of a mystery to him. She seemed sheltered, and naïve of certain social norms. But she was also unflappable, uncaring if she made others uncomfortable. The outrider, on the other hand, seemed equally unflappable, but was perhaps the opposite of sheltered. The Halfling flashed him a grin when she noticed him regarding her, but otherwise didn’t offer any conversation or other interaction. Vesili had begun wandering the room shortly after Alayni had arrived, looking at various things that caught her interest. She was reserved but curious, keeping her hands gripped behind her back as if to prevent herself from yielding to the temptation to touch anything.

“Try to keep your companion from touching anything.” Rolph said after a moment, while Hali worked.

Kaylen glanced back at the smith’s who was regarding Vesili as well, her hands still behind her back. “She’s my teammate, not my servant. You can address her directly.” Kaylen responded, and Rolph looked chagrined, as he turned back to Alanthea.

Vesili met Kaylen’s gaze and shrugged, and continued to wander without getting in the way, while Kaylen and Alayni stayed in their positions and watched as stitches were sewn, rings were removed and added, and eventually Alanthea had a new shirt of steel links that would protect her and even fit her moderately well. The whole process took about an hour, at which point the four of them sought out their companions.

They found Lyria getting the finishing touches put onto her own armor repairs, and she informed them that Ursa had elected to head outside to wait more comfortably than she could indoors once she had some of the banding on her shield replaced. So once Kaylen had settled with the other armorers for their work, they all joined the half-giant, ready to get to their next errand.

“I assume we’ll need rations and travel supplies?” Kaylen asked.