Chapter 1 Part 1: (SOCIAL) Make Friends With People For Bonus Points

[Admin]

Irrelonde is a bustling little town at this point, with people hanging garland, setting up displays, turning the town square into a decorated festoonery of colour and shape and music and noise. There's a little band playing on stringed instruments and a magician displaying Tremendous Feats of Magical Skill for an enraptured audience, mostly children and mostly elven but not exclusively either. There are a couple of street food vendors and one ragged person shouting to all who'll listen that the Sacred Elk is the demon spawn of Aklzor the Ever-Hungry and that the Festival exists to dupe decent folk into being eaten. All the usual kinds of things.

There are a few inns, of varying levels of quality, and shops for all manner of items. Irrelonde isn't a mercantile metropolis like Emmerport, so there aren't a huge number of rare items available - certainly the magical side is slim - but there's enough for a good selection. There's also a good few hours until the sun goes down to have any amount of fun in the entertainment district. And besides that, you're apparently signed up with a bunch of strangers to do tasks in the runup to the Festival; maybe you want to talk to them?

[Flidget Jerome]

Lacking any particularly interesting architecture to disparage, Vlie is making small-talk on their other favourite subject.

Glass-blowing.

I jest. Vlie is of course getting effusive on the subject of cats.

There is one odd thing, though. While Vlie is happy to discuss toe-beans and their upkeep with Cly their eyes dart about seeking something else. Their whiskers twitch slightly anytime a passerby seems interested in the conversation. Possibly, Vlie just welcomes any interloper who may have a interesting new herbal remedy for keeping a cat's paws resilient and yet soft. Or, just possibly, Vlie is seeking cat-related information of a different sort but isn't sure yet on how to go about collecting it.

[twigcollins]

"How d'ya keep their coats so glossy?" Cly says, with admiration. "I have a comb for the donkey, but it doesn't work at all well on my tail. Not that I don't like my tail, it's a perfectly good tail, although I'm always getting burrs and sticks and hard candies stuck in it. Makes it a bit unseemly for proud display."

[Flidget Jerome]

"Brushes," Vlie proclaims, running an expert's critical eye over Cly's tail, "one must always choose a suitable brush for their particular fur!"

"In more august times," Vlie continues, warming to their subject, "one would easily be able to acquire a brush of metal, with bristles as thin as a maiden's whisker set most cunningly into a bed of soft resin, but alas in this cruder age such craftsmanship is not to be found. You must make do with a wide-tooth comb for the tangles, then to sprinkle all over with a concoction of pumice, most finely powdered, mixed with essence of old man's pepper and the oil from the seeds of the hindmost tree. That will clean and . . . er, clean. Yes."

It will also help with fleas but Vlie feels it would be undiplomatic to mention this. Not that Cly has fleas. There may just be a chance that she doesn't.

Vlie clears their throat, "Finally, brush the powder out with a wide brush made from the bristles of a boar, ones that are not too hard or soft, to ensure shine and gloss."

Their eyes are gleaming now, it seems like Vlie may only just be getting started, "Now, for the good Freckles here, several stiff brushes of different lengths are most necessary, for as a beauty would not wear the same cloak in summer as he would wear in winter a donkey also changes their garb to suit the seasons. And above all, water is fatal to the charms of those not meant for it, though of course very efficacious to those who are, such as those of elvenkind or the magnificent tiger or . . . "

It is becoming increasingly obvious that if no one stops this Vlie may continue all evening.

[soranokumo]

Sayahi is fascinated by the rat's particular wide breadth of knowledge on combs. At one point though she can't help but chime in.

"Where I'm from, we do something similar with the combs. After washing, we use a comb carved from boxwood that has been treated with a particular kind of flower oil. It works wonderfully for smoothing out tangles and keeping your hair--ah, fur?--nice and straight. I'm not sure if you would want to use that with any powder, though..."

As Vlie continues on with their effusive response to donkey grooming, Sayahi pipes up helpfully, "There are some vendors here--shall we take a look? We have time before we have to meet the ranger, after all. It seems as though Vlie would be just the one to help you pick out some brushes for your fine donkey."

Maybe while they're at it she can look for a new comb for herself, even if it won't be the quality that she's used to. Some day, though... A tengu can dream!

[twigcollins]

Cly agrees that finding some of these fancy brushes and powders and oils sounds like a good idea, especially as an apology to Freckles for... well, Freckles keeps a mental list.

She doesn't have a lot of spare coin, but maybe they can share a currycomb. It would probably be better not to let anyone know about that plan.

[Flidget Jerome]

When Sayahi voices her doubts about dust-bathing Vlie briefly gives her a look so dubious she can almost hear their ancestors questioning her ancestors about what sort of hygiene standards they imparted to their descendants. It's a swift, fleeting thing, though, and Vlie quickly recovers their previous enthusiasm once Sayahi suggests a shopping trip and Cly agrees.

Vlie, of course, has an adequate collection of brushes, combs and toiletries within their travelling pack for both the cats and themself, but they wouldn't mind the chance to buy something suitable for someone a little larger. They were intending to do so anyway, it would be convenient to get it out of the way now.

[Admin]

Besides the shops, Irrelonde has taken advantage of the foot traffic approaching the Festival with market stalls, and the result is rather like a craft fair... without the silkscreened T-shirts, at least. Some stalls offer handmade toys and decorations crafted by amateurs or talented children, some are more professional, with tinkers and smiths and woodworkers offering useful household items. There is, of course, also a great amount of food: most of it sugar, honey, or fruit baked or boiled into a sweet confection.

Brushes and other beauty supplies are spread around; a few stalls sell brushes, some also selling various toiletries. One stall sells stable goods with a great many large, rough brushes for the care of horses. A general store on the main market thoroughfare might also be promising, as might a clothing store beside it. Given Irrelonde's nature, both stores probably collect goods from the entire village and distribute profits likewise.

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