Sayana goes to the Bazaar to purchase several needed items for her trip to Sunset Falls
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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]
Sayana awoke with the warm presence of the Akalak next to her. It didn’t take him long to stir as well but she smiled at his peaceful sleeping expression during that short moment. “I’ll get some breakfast started,” she murmured with a soft kiss on his lips. She took long sip of the midwife’s miracle tea she had prepared the previous night and was glad of the calming effects it provided for her stomach. It didn’t take her long to get a fire started in the hearth and she set one of her pans on the hot coals to warm up.
Remi had said that eggs could be fried in a pan as well as boiled, and since it had gone quite well boiling them last time she decided to try frying them. Getting out a few eggs, Sayana cracked them over the pan and watched as they sizzled loudly from the heat. Once they were all in, the Eypharian watched them carefully and after a little while decided to flip them. She didn’t have the best of utensils for flipping and attempted to do such with one of her serving spoons. Not only did it start to fall apart as she tried to flip it, but the egg got stuck to the bottom of the pan. Oh shyke… But then Sayana suddenly remembered that oil was supposed to be good at ‘unsticking’ things when cooking, and she quickly jumped up to get her grapeseed oil. After pouring a generous amount, it helped a little with flipping the eggs but by then they were quite a mess.
With a grimace Sayana scooped the contents of the frying pan onto a plate. Most of it was cooked but a good portion of it had burned. Glancing over her shoulder at Aren she hesitantly spoke, “Uhh… Aren? Maybe you should go to the Rearing Stallion for breakfast if you want something nice. This didn’t really turn out. Besides, I’ll be going to the bazaar today to get a bunch of things.” Despite the eggs not working as well as she had hoped, she still sprinkled salt on them to help with the flavour and quickly ate her breakfast.
After cleaning up, Sayana packed her backpack with a healthy number of coins and was ready to head out. There were plenty of things she’d need for the trip to Sunset Falls including a tent and bedrolls as well as a basic set of medical supplies should something go wrong. With a quick kiss to her lover, she let him fend for himself that morning and headed to the Stormhold Salves. Through the winding corridors of the Maiden District she walked and then across the street towards the bazaar. Before reaching the stairs to go down to the fourth tier where the bazaar was, she turned a corner and headed to the apothecary shop.
With the soft sound of a bell, Sayana opened the door and was greeted by the Eypharian shopkeeper. “Good morning Sayana, how can I help you today? You’re not out of the midwife’s miracle already, are you?” Mistress Sahfri asked as the dancer stepped into the shop. “No, I’m actually planning to go on a trip to Sunset Falls and I thought it would be a good idea to bring some basic medicines and herbs in case something happens,” Sayana explained to Sahfri. “What sorts of herbs would be helpful in the wilds?”
“Which ones do you know?” Mistress Sahfri asked as she started looking through the bottles on the shelves. “Sometimes it helps to start with the ones you know and then build on your collection.” Sayana had to think for a moment as she recalled that fearful incident when Aren had come home bleeding. “There was Krolar paste, vyfox, and… lidgefar,” Sayana listed and was pleased with how much she remembered.
“So those ones are really good for wounds and injuries,” Sahfri said with a nod. “In the wilderness you might also come across other circumstances like burns or poisons. If you need a quick remedy for a mild poison, jile berries are good for that. Whereas rhinedale ash mixed with water can create a soothing paste to help with burns or blisters.” Sayana nodded eagerly at both these herbs. They seemed rather useful should either situation occur. “Also, if you get sick with something minor like a cold or a fever, bon’mur can help with that. And it can also help wake someone who is unconscious.” The herbalist continued to explain. As she mentioned each of these herbs she started to collect various bottles from the shelves. “Lastly, Tolm is a nice all around soothing herb. It’s not very strong but it helps ease pain, helps you sleep, and also eases aching muscles. There are plenty more herbs, but I think these should cover you quite well on a short trip.”
“That sounds wonderful Sahfri. Could I have a couple doses of each?” Sayana asked the shopkeeper. “And maybe some extra vyfox? Do you have bottles or jars to put them in? I wouldn’t want them to get mixed up in my bag.” “Yes of course, my dear. I can get you ten jars in five different colours. Then you’ll have jars for when you come back for more.” Sayana nodded eagerly at the suggestion and the shopkeeper began preparing the herbs in various jars. “Could you also write a note reminding me which is which?” Sayana asked tentatively. Mistress Sahfri nodded and with a smile she went to get a piece of parchment as well.
“That’ll be 8 golds and 7 silvers,” Mistress Sahfri concluded. “But that was mostly the price of the jars.” Sayana thanked the shopkeeper and handed over the appropriate coin. She was about to go when she suddenly had a question for the woman. “Would I be able to find any of these herbs when I’m out in the woods?” “And leave me out of a job?” The shopkeeper replied with a laugh. But she was rather good natured and helped quench Sayana’s curiosity. “There are two herbs there that are fairly common in the woods and that you might be able to pick out. Vyfox, your favourite, grows with tall thin stems, long skinny leaves and hundreds of tiny tiny leaves connected to the long ones. It also has clumps of white flowers at the top. There’s also jile berries that grow on evergreen shrubs and they look like black or brown berries.”
Sayana focused on remembering the two descriptions but inside she was very excited at the prospect of coming across either of the herbs out in the wilderness. She had hardly considered where Sahfri got the herbs to begin with, but it made sense that she must simply collect them from outside the city walls. And to be able to find such a useful herb like that in the wilds… Sayana smiled to herself at the possibilities and then gave the herbalist a gracious thank you.
With the bottles packed away in her bag, the Eypharian left the apothecary to head to the bazaar. The moment she stepped into the busy market area, her face lit up. It had been a while since she had visited the bazaar but it never ceased to remind her of the bright colourful market stalls of Ahnatep. Trinkets and fabrics and spices and perfumes and… A set of mirrors suddenly caught her eye and she found herself drawn in without even thinking about it.
“All the way from Alvadas! Get a crystal clean view of yourself and all your charming features.” The stall keeper called out to all those passing by. However, what was clever was that he had set up his stall right next to one that displayed all sorts of cosmetics from lip pomade, to rouge, to the black kohl to line one’s eyes. Sayana eyed some of the larger mirrors with longing but eventually decided on one that had rounded edges and was about the size of her face. She exchanged the ten gold mizas for it and wandered over to the cosmetics stall. Until now, she had been very stringent about her spending habits but after working for a couple of seasons at the Rearing Stallion, she was far more open to spending a little on her face.
Sayana sampled some of the face pastes, the lip pomades, and the skin creams. She was rather pleased with the products and the prices that went along with them. After a rather indulging purchase of the beauty supplies she took the time to apply some bright red lip pomade using her newly bought mirror. She added some green colour to her eyelids as a sharp contrast using the coloured face paste and ever so carefully painted a line of black kohl along the bottom of each of her eyelids. The kohl was perhaps a bit too thickly done but she smiled at the overall impression.
However, she really needed to get to finding the supplies for the trip. As the Eypharian passed another couple of stalls her heart fluttered at the sight of one displaying a huge arrangement of jewelry. Again she couldn’t help but get drawn in. The armbands were what caught her eye first. It was something she missed having but knew when she arrived in Syliras it wasn’t something she could afford. But when she looked at the prices of the copper ones, the ones that might actually look the best with her skin, she was surprised at how reasonable they were. “How much for, uh…” Sayana had to pause and count up three fingers on each of her six hands. “How much for 18 copper armbands?” “Two gold and seven silvers,” came the smooth reply of the stall keeper.
A beautiful silver necklace suddenly caught her eye with intricate designs made from the silver. “And the necklace is five gold mizas,” the stall keeper supplied as he watched her attention go to the piece of jewelry. They Eypharian hummed and hawed for a moment and then finally said, “How about seven gold coins for the armbands and the necklace?” “Seven gold and seven silvers is the price. Unless you want fewer armbands,” the stall keeper replied firmly. Sayana pursed her lips but then figured that the owner would unlikely change his mind. She handed over the appropriate coin and decorated each of her arms with three armbands while the owner put the necklace elegantly around her neck. She let out a soft contented sigh. Now it was time to get to the supplies for the trip.
“Jewelry, trinkets, canvas!” Another svefra called out, harking his wares. Sayana now had the first, but she recalled Intarus saying that canvas was a great material for the outdoors. “Pants…” she muttered darkly under her breath but nevertheless she went over to the svefra stall to see what it was about. The ‘jewelry’ on display was hardly even worth mentioning. It was merely strings of shells or decorations made of driftwood or something of the sort. She nearly scoffed aloud but managed to hold her tongue.
However, they had a wide array of canvas as well as simple garments too. Most of it was a bland beige colour but she spotted a couple hints of colour. “Is the fine lady looking for some canvas or some clothing perhaps?” The svefra asked. He was tall and had long hair in braids with sea shells adorning them. “I was looking for… some pants,” Sayana admitted hesitantly. “And I suppose some sort of top to go with it. A little more casual than this one.” She made a gesture to the beaded top she wore.
“Nothing wrong with a sturdy set of pants, deary. Thinking of becoming a sailor?” “Oh no, just taking a trip through the Bronze Woods,” Sayana replied quickly. “Well then, I have some fine pants here,” the stall keeper said as he held up a pair of beige pants to Sayana’s hips. “These are eight silvers each. And I have some nice linen blouses for twelve silvers. Red, yes?” The svefra fished through some of his wares and produced an elegant yet plain linen blouse. Sayana smiled at the colour. That would do rather nicely.
“So eight and twelve… I’ll give you fifteen silvers for both of them,” Sayana haggled. “Eighteen.” “Seventeen.” The svefra pondered it for a moment. “You might need a second set if you’re going out into the wilds. Even with canvas it can get torn or muddied.” Sayana recalled the time she had gone out and almost completely muddied her skirt. He did have a point. “I’ll give you my last and best offer,” the svefra continued. “Four golds for both pairs, plus a vest for only three additional silvers.” “I’ll take it.”
As they exchanged the goods and the coins Sayana had a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. However, it was only when she started walking away did it all click together. There were ten silvers to a gold, so that was forty silvers. Eight and twelve was… She quickly confirmed the math on her fingers. Twenty. And two twenties was… forty. He had charged her the original price plus added in some vest that she had no idea what the price was. Her expression turned to one of outrage as she realized she had been conned.
She quickly turned around and marched back to the svefra. Drawing her cobra hilted dagger she pointed it at the man. “You listen up, I don’t like being conned by the likes of you,” Sayana spoke darkly. The stall keeper merely gave a grim smile in response. “Are you really going to start a fight here in the bazaar? There are plenty of knights about on patrol. A deal’s a deal. If you didn’t like it, you should have given me your coins.” Sayana let out a soft sigh and reluctantly returned her dagger to her belt. “In any case, I won’t be coming by your stall anymore,” she replied lamely as if to save face.
Still rather upset at trying so hard to haggle but being bested just the same, Sayana searched through the bazaar for supplies for the trip. At last she came across a stall with various pieces of equipment for the wilderness. There were tents, traps, a couple of choice weapons, bedrolls, lanterns. Perfect. She caught the stall keeper’s attention and listed off the supplies she needed. “Yes yes, I think we have all that,” he replied eagerly. “Do you know how to set up a tent?” Sayana hesitated. She hadn’t thought about needing to know how the tent was setup. The Eypharian gave a shake of her head.
The man spent the next fifteen chimes unfolding the tent and explaining how the wooden poles worked and also how to hammer in pegs. It didn’t take long for the experienced man to set it up with a little help from the Eypharian and she tried her best to remember all the steps. It wasn’t that large, but he said it would fit four people. He also suggested that she buy a canvas tarp to put over top of the tent (if there were enough trees around to tie it to) or to put underneath to help keep the water out should it rain. She was a little hesitant but due to her own inexperience in living outdoors, she decided to take the man’s word for it. Finally, she helped him fold the tent back up and she was rather pleased at how compact it was.
She took a look at the bedrolls, blankets, lamps, torches, a handy little folding stool, a case for her map, a sturdy rucksack, and even a bit of spare tinder should it be too hard to find outdoors. “Oh, do you happen to have some kind of fabric I could use for bandages?” She asked as she tried to remember the last few items on her list. He nodded and set some canvas aside for her. “Will that be everything?” “Yes, but I might have to take a second trip since it’s a lot to carry. Can you set it aside for me and I’ll be back in less than a bell for it?” He nodded and she thanked him graciously.
There were a couple things left that she needed. She found a large spice box to hold all her herbs and jars, with space for some bandages. She also found a much needed pail for use around her home. And then a stall with several small weapons caught her eye. She looked over the knives and dagger with longing. She was well over-due for a proper replacement, or addition to her dagger collection. A hand strayed to the cobra hilted dagger she had, but without its twin, she was no longer as effective in combat by using them together. It was definitely time.
Sayana spotted a pair of tamo daggers that slid perfectly into sheathes attached to the other dagger’s handle. They were rather curious and she found as she pulled them apart she suddenly wielded the two daggers at once. “How much for these?” She asked. “25 gold mizas.” Pricey… but still, they looked well made and exactly what she was looking for. “How about 20 gold mizas?” “Deal,” the shop keeper replied. “And do you need sheathes for your other daggers?” Sayana looked down at the daggers in her belt. Although she was usually very careful with them, it wouldn’t hurt to have proper sheathes. Sayana nodded and the owner held out his hand expectantly for her blades. She hesitantly passed them over and he found sheathes sized appropriately for them. “That’ll be 26 gold mizas,” he stated firmly. It was still a reasonable sum, but she was glad to have haggled down the price a little, and with much more success than with the svefra.
All in all, she had done well today. After dropping off most of her things at home, she came back a second time to pick up the tent and other supplies that she had reserved. She also managed to spot a target board and a punching bag, and decided to take a third trip to the bazaar to pick up those as well. It was one thing to merely practice her daggers and combat skills whenever danger arose, but it was entirely different to practice regularly to keep herself sharp. At last she made it home with the punching bag and target board and by this point her arms ached from all the carrying back and forth from the bazaar.
The Eypharian flopped onto her bed and examined her new pair of daggers. The wooden handles were beautifully carved and the part that was the sheath to its twin was hardly noticeable when she had the blades drawn. She stood up and positioned herself in front of her new target board. Gauging the distance she made a careful throw with her left mid, followed by a fast and confident throw with her right. The first dagger struck near the bottom of the target and the second went in along the edge of the middle circle. Not bad. She’d have to set up the board properly on the wall, but for now it was big enough to sit on the floor.
She sheathed the pair of tamo daggers and walked over to the punching bag. It felt like a big bag of feathers but densely packed. She decided to prop it up on a chair and lean it against the wall before trying anything. It had been a long time since Garland’s lesson but she managed to remember that there was the jab and also the hook. Jabs were fast but not very strong. She aimed several at the punching bag using her mid arms and then did a few more quick punches with her high hands. Hooks came in at an angle. She threw a solid hook with her high hand and knocked the punching bag right off the chair. Maybe this wasn’t the best set up for practicing her hooks. As she put the bag back on the chair, she decided just to keep to straight punches. She aimed a couple more with her low hands and went back to a set with her mids.
Wiping sweat from her brow Sayana finally decided that was enough. She’d have plenty of time later to practice her punching. Besides, she would be dancing in a few bells and didn’t want to start feeling exhausted. At least now she was sure she had everything she needed for the trip ahead.
Herbalism: Jile Berries are a remedy for mild poisons
Herbalism: Rhinedale Ash with water for burns and blisters
Herbalism: Bon’Mur for colds/fevers and waking the unconscious
Herbalism: Tolm is a soothing remedy
Negotiation: Mathematics can be invaluable
Wilderness Survival: How to put up a tent
Comments: This thread had a simple idea, getting supplies for Sayana's thread, but rather than just being a bit of a filler it was surprisingly fun to read. The introduction to haggling was interesting and as it turns out mathematics isn't just for negotiators... Lovely stuff! Just a quick note in case you didn't do it on purpose - one Tamo knife can serve as the sheath for the other so you may not need all three sheathes that Sayana's purchased.
Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread.
by Sayana on April 9th, 2015, 7:52 pm 
