Frostbitten Wayfarer

Zoe wandered through the racks of cloth, looking for somebody who could help her. She found a man tending to some vibrant bolts of cloth resting on a shelf.

“Excuse me, I was told to buy some clothes from you?” Zoe asked as she approached the man.

“Yes, of course. What are you looking for?” The man turned to face her, with a bright smile on his face.

“I’m not really sure. I was told to get something I can work in? At an inn, I guess. Do you have anything that would be good for that?”

“Sure, we could do that. What kind of work are you doing at the inn?” The man asked, looking up and down Zoe’s body. She felt a tingling sensation run over her for a moment and shivered.

“Um. I guess dishwashing and filling people’s drinks?” Zoe replied.

“So something sturdy but movable, easy to clean and presentable. Do you have a preference for pants or dresses? Does your employer have a particular… dress code for you?” The man asked, rifling through some of the cloth near him.

“No dress code that I know of, I’d prefer pants, I guess? Though if you have a dress to try on I’d be interested in seeing maybe.” Zoe replied.

“Right, so lets get you in a dress first and if you don’t like it we’ll get some pants for you then, sound good?” The man asked, looking back to Zoe.

“Sure, that sounds fine.” Zoe said.

The man gestured for Zoe to follow and started walking towards the back of the shop. There was a large room with an ornate silver divider towards one corner.

“What is your budget for the clothes?” The man asked, closing the door behind them.

“Just this, I guess.” Zoe said, pulling the silver coin out of her pocket.

“Wonderful. Would you like one nicer set of clothes or multiple plainer sets then?” The man asked as several racks of cloth were summoned around him, along with a small table and chair that he sat at.

“I guess multiple sets would be good? I don’t really need anything fancy so much.”

“Lovely, we’ll keep it to just a couple of colours. Do you have any preference of colour?” The man asked.

“Blue? I like blue. Does that work?” Zoe asked.

“Of course it does. Blue it is then.” The man said, his hands a blur as he grabbed bolts of cloth and threw them on the table. Zoe couldn’t follow what was happening, but a few minutes later the man lifted the pile of cloth on the table up and revealed a blue dress with long flowing sleeves. “Here, try this on.” The man said, handing her the dress and pointing to the divider.

Zoe took the dress and went behind the divider, stripping her now very dirty and worn leggings and tie dye shirt. She looked at her underwear for a moment, cursing. She hoped they would sell bras here, or at least something to give her some separation. She put her dirty clothes back on and stepped out from the divider.

“Uh, do you have undergarments available too?” She asked the man, watching his hands in a blur as he worked with more fabric.

“Yes, of course. Would you prefer a female assistant for this?” He looked up from his work.

“Do you need to measure me or does magic take care of it all?”

The man looked at her with a hint of surprise, “Magic handles it, of course.”

“Then that’s fine, I guess. I’d like a new bra? Don’t really care how it looks, I just want some…” She gestured to her chest, “separation.”

“Yes of course, try on the dress if you like and I’ll have it ready for you soon.” The man said, his focus returning to the fabrics on the table in front of him.

The dress was simple, just a plain light blue fabric with a few creases in it near the waist. It wasn’t form fitting, but it wasn’t so loose as to get stuck in everything as she worked either. The dress came down to around her knees, and the sleeves rested just past her elbows. It was comfortable enough, she thought.

Zoe grabbed her leggings and stepped out from the divider. “Do you think you could make pants like this?” She asked the man.

He took her leggings and stretched them a bit, feeling the fabric. “Probably not, I’m sorry. Where did you get these from?” He asked.

“Oh uh, my mother got me them a while back. I’m not really sure, sorry. Thanks anyway.” Zoe said, taking her pants back from the man.

“Sure. Do you like the dress? It looks beautiful on you if I say so myself.” The man said, smiling at her.

“Yeah, I do. I’d like to take this. But could I get some pants and a shirt too?” Zoe asked.

“Of course, I’ve already gone ahead and made you an outfit along with your undergarments while you were getting changed.” The man said, handing her another bundle of fabric.

“Oh, thanks.” She said, taking the clothes behind the divider again.

Zoe looked at the clothes she had. A light blue pair of pants that felt almost like denim, but softer, and a thick darker blue button up collared shirt with short sleeves covered a pair of black underwear made from some soft fabric.

She tried the clothes on, and found the underwear much more comfortable than she expected. The shirt was heavy and rugged, fit for labour, but felt cool and breathable at the same time somehow. The waist of the pants rested exactly where it should, and she felt free and unrestricted in her clothes, as though they were made for her. Which she realized they were.

She stepped out from the divider again, looking at the man. “This is lovely as well, thank you.”

The man nodded, “Perfect. For the one silver you have, you could have one more of either of these outfits if you like. Perhaps another pant and shirt in another colour for something to play with?” He suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds fine with me. Whichever colours you think would look good I guess then works for me.”

“Lovely.” The man said, grabbing a mixture of reds and black to make another set. His hands blurred for a few minutes again before he handed another bundle of clothes to her. “Feel free to try this on as well if you like, although it should fit exactly the same.”

Zoe did try it on, and was surprised to find they felt identical, not just somewhat similar. This time she had dark red pants with black fabric near the buttons and waist, and a slightly lighter red shirt with dark red on the collar and near the buttons. She stepped out from the divider once more.

“Yes, I thought this would look lovely with your eyes.” The man said, smiling at her again.

“Thank you for everything.” Zoe said to the man.

“Feel free to come back any time, thank you very much.” The man said, handing her 12 copper coins back.

Zoe headed back to the inn with the bundles of clothes in her arms and the coins clattering in her pockets. She wondered if she should have asked for a bag. Or maybe a storage item of some sort. How much would one of those cost, anyway?

The walk back was uneventful, not much time had passed since she left anyway and the road was still pretty desolate. She wondered if people were sleeping, or if maybe this was just a less populated area.

She entered the inn, seeing a few more of the tables filled. The man asleep on the table had left, but the merchant lady was still there reading her book. Most of the tables had one person at it, but there were a couple that had small groups sitting together chatting.

“Nice picks,” Joe said, looking at her new clothes. “I’ll get you a box you can put your stuff in later, but you can just put it wherever you find space in the kitchen for now.”

Zoe found a corner of the kitchen and put her clothes in the corner of a cupboard nearby, before she sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall.

She felt fancy, wearing custom tailored clothes for the first time in her life. Or at least it was her first time wearing good custom tailored clothes. Her mother had made her a dress not long after she came out as trans, but it was lumpy and didn’t fit very well at all. Zoe smiled at the memory.

She spent a few minutes relaxing, enjoying the feel of her new clothes against her body. Clean and soft, she felt great, and almost found herself dozing off.

Zoe stood up from the floor, ready to get to work and earn her place in the kitchen bedroom that she’s made her home.

“Hey so what do you actually want me doing here anyway?” She asked Joe as he was cleaning behind the bar.

“I’ve been down on my luck before, I know what it’s like. Least I can do is help out when I can. I can’t get you a room but you can stay in the kitchen as long as you like.” He pulled out one of the mugs and wiped it with a cloth before he put it back on the shelf under the bar.

“As for what I want you doing, well you don’t have a class so it’ll be a bit tricky. Just clean up any messes you see, and help people fill their drinks if they need it, clean up tables or dishes that are left around. That kinda stuff. I might send you on some errands as well if I need something picked up.”

“Okay, so I just like, stand here and wait for a mess or somebody who wants their drink filled and that’s it?”

“Yup. I’ll let you know if I need you to do something else so just relax and take it easy for now. A word of advice for you,” Joe leaned in to whisper to Zoe. “If you’re not gonna pick a class, at least get your identify as high as you can first.”

“Oh, right, yea. Thanks.” Zoe said, looking around the inn at the few customers sitting inside. She tried to identify them as she glanced around, seeing most of them as blue or green question marks, but there was one person in both of the small groups that had red question marks. One of the younger people sitting alone at a table showed something other than question marks for the first time.

[Warrior - 13]

Zoe turned her focus inwards, to her identify skill and saw small text popup in the corner of her vision.

- Identify (5)

Zoe wondered if thirteen would be the highest she could identify or if that was just a coincidence. She turned her focus to her Vampyric Empathy skill instead. A flood of emotion hit her as it was switched on. Excitement, anxiety, loneliness. She tried to narrow it down, focus her attention on one person, but the best she could do was feel general directions.

The larger groups felt more excited with twinges of anxiety, the lower level warrior she identified felt anxious and lonely. The rest of the people she couldn’t get much of a read on unless she walked around the room to get them more separated for her skill, which she felt awkward doing.

Zoe closed her eyes, focusing on the smells and sounds that surrounded her. It smelled comfortable, to her. She expected sweat and grime but there was this pleasant smell of wood drifting through the inn, meshing with the smells of the eggs and freshly baked bread. A slight body odour drifting throughout, drowned out by the smell of whatever spell or chemical Joe was using to clean.

She could hear the conversations, though they all bled into one jumble of sound that she couldn’t quite piece apart. She thought she heard the word dungeon mentioned a few times from one of the groups, which excited her. The sounds of horse hooves stomping on the ground outside whenever they passed was oddly relaxing for her.

She opened her eyes again and looked around, peering into every crevice she could find, under every table and shadow. Things seemed bright to her even in the farthest corners of the inn, every stone and crack visible as though it were out in the midday sun. And it all looked clean, not a piece out of place.

It was impressive, Zoe thought.

The day carried on like this, with Zoe taking the time to examine her new abilities, focusing on every smell and sound, every person who she could see. Occasionally she’d fill somebody’s mug with whichever drink they preferred. She figured picking a class could come later. Maybe she’d go visit John’s Books again and see if he had some books she could poke through to find something that fit her.

Lunch was served as the sun rose in the sky, some meat stew Joe started making about an hour prior. It was filled with vegetables and served with more of the brown brul. People came and went, some stopping by just for some food or drink and then leaving, others loitering around for a while before heading upstairs to their rooms. Dinner was more of the same stew, sat on the stove bubbling away for hours. The smell was near intoxicating, almost overwhelming her with the savoury and slightly sweet smell.

Zoe identified everybody she saw, trying to read all of their emotions. She didn’t see anybody else she could read the level of, nor any new colours of question marks. But she felt like she was getting better at directing her [Vampyric Empathy] as she focused in each direction, narrowing it down more and more.

She looked at her skills after she finished her dinner.

Class 1: Earthian (8)

- Identify (8)

——

General Skills:

- Vampyric Regeneration (3)

- Vampyric Senses (8)

- Vampyric Resistance (3)

- Vampyric Immortality (1)

- Vampyric Charm (6)

- Vampyric Empathy (8)

Resistances:

- Mental (7)

[Vampyric Charm] didn’t make sense to her. She never focused on it, but it was still levelling up. The skill said something about her eyes being able to twist her prey’s emotions at will. Perhaps a general ‘likeable-ness’ effect? The skill made her uncomfortable, but she carried on with her evening.

The night dragged on, the sun setting as the road fell back to darkness. The customers had all left or gone to their rooms, leaving Joe and Zoe alone by the bar.

“Good job today,” Joe said, tossing her a large copper coin.

“Thanks, but what’s this actually worth anyway?” Zoe said, turning the circular coin over in her hand. One side had a star imprinted on it and the other was just flat.

“That’s a copper star, worth 5 copper.” Joe said, looking at Zoe.

Zoe opened her mouth to ask more, but joe interrupted her.

“Right. A copper is the smallest amount. A hundred copper to a silver, and a hundred silver to a gold. A bigger coin with a star on it is worth five, a coin with a circle is worth ten and one with a square is worth fifty. So two silver squares to a gold, make sense?” Joe asked.

“I think I get that, yeah. So what’s a copper anyway? What can I buy with this… copper star?” Zoe asked.

“Well a silver got you almost four sets of custom fitted clothes earlier. The same silver would get you a couple weeks of food or a few days stay at this inn.” Joe said.

“So a meal here would be like a copper star?” Zoe asked.

“Well not exactly. I need to make a profit, most of the meals here cost ten copper, but they’re included with a room as well. And before you ask, a room is usually twenty five copper a night.”

“So that lady who paid a silver coin earlier tipped you a lot?”

“She’s a regular and I just let her pay whenever she has the money. She owed fifty seven copper so she’s paid up and good for a little longer with that.”

“Oh. I see.” Zoe said.

Their discussion was interrupted by the door to the inn swinging open, a younger man with red hair and ragged, torn clothes that showed his scarred body below walked in.

[Worker - ??]

“Hi there. Do you have a room for tonight?” The man asked, gripping a book between his arm and his stomach.

“All out of rooms for right now, sorry.” Joe said, looking at the man.

“Oh, I see. Sorry to bother you then.” The man turned, and limped back towards the door.

Joe sighed under his breath, “I tell you what, you can spend the night out here, just pick a table or corner or something.”

The man turned around, “Oh thank you so much. I promise I can help clean or cook or anything you need.” The man said.

“I’ve already got a gopher,” Joe said, pointing at Zoe who slunk back as he did.

“I see. Well if you’ll let me stay here I can help out however you need. Anything at all. Thank you so much sir.” The man said, bowing his head deeply.

“Well for starters, get yourself some new clothes tomorrow. Something presentable. We can talk tomorrow about what you’ll be doing. Just keep quiet and don’t bother the girl,” Joe said, pointing at Zoe again. “She sleeps in the kitchen.”

“Right, yes sir. I can do that.” The man said, taking a seat and opening his book. There was a picture of a rabbit in a vast field on the cover of it.

“Alright then, you two have a good night, I’ll be up cooking again in the morning for breakfast.” Joe said, heading up the stairs.

“Goodnight Joe!” Zoe said.

“Goodnight sir!” The man said.