Chapter Sixteen
Helostir, the capital of Arthulais. Ross stood by the window, looking over the city, a bit overwhelmed by the number of people and the exotic architecture.
Keidrych looked him over. "Are you going to dress that way here?"
"I'm comfortable in it. And I don't know the styles -- I don't want to dress like someone's grandfather."
Keidrych nodded. "I have some duties here, setting up the new shop. Let me see... you need casual, formal, shop... and I think some hunting clothes."
"Do you expect me to need those?"
A half-smile on Keidrych's face. "It might be embarassing if you didn't have the right clothes if you decided to go hunting."
Ross heard a spin on the word "hunting" that he wasn't sure about -- then he blurted out, "What would I be hunting in a city?"
"Mates. Eventually, you'll get tired of me, and look for a replacement. I might as well show you where and how to hunt."
Ross turned bright red.
---
Ross, what is your problem? You know what you like -- do you just expect them to hunt you down every time?
I don't want to get myself pounded into oblivion because I asked the wrong person.
Keidrych is going to show you where "that kind" hang out. If you have the courage to walk into one of those places.
Courage has nothing to do with it.
Laughter.
---
He was almost a younger copy of Keidrych. "This is my brother Jaferia. He's been in the capital for a while, while the rest of us were in Trafford. So he's up on the current modes of dress."
Jaferia looked Ross up and down. "Have to be a lot of custom tailoring, I think. You aren't proportioned like the rest of us."
Ross grinned, shrugged. "If it's loose, that's okay. I'm not used to clothing being really tight."
"I'll see what I can do. What's the budget look like?"
Ross stopped. "I have no idea. I had a salary in Trafford... I haven't had any money converted here. Maybe we should put it off until I get some funds."
Keidrych pulled Jaferia a little to the side and whispered to him. Jaferia's eyebrow lifted. Then, "Keidrych says you're good for it, so I'll cover you. Ready to go?"
"Sure."
---
First stop was an eatery. "Have you tried this? It's a variety of spiced coffee."
Ross sipped. It was sweet, and there was a bitter undertaste, an interesting combination. "I could get to like this."
"Most of my friends do."
A clothier. Ross asked to sit down -- he wasn't used to the heat. "Certainly." The shopkeeper offered a cooled fruit juice, which Ross sipped carefully, remembering his headache from years back.
"Blue, I think, and gold. You have the presence to wear more embroidery than most of your people... Your men don't wear jewellry at all, do they?"
"The occasional ring, that's all. Keidrych said to rely on your tastes."
"So he did."
Ross peered from the shade of the shop into the marketplace. Most of the men were wearing at least the same kind of bracelet. A pair of passerbys had wide belts, decorated with medallions and inset stones -- probably glass, who would wear real rubies and sapphires on the street?
"What about one of those?"
The shopkeeper started to say something, Jaferia held up a hand. "No. You don't want to wear any jewelry, not yet."
Ross sighed -- he really liked the way the sun glittered on the gold. "I'll do what you want this time. It won't hurt me to wait."
"Let's get you dressed."
Silvery-blue silk undertunic. Deep blue silk overtunic with gold embroidery. Blue silk trousers, loose enough that Ross was reminded more of pajamas than clothes.
Jaferia spoke to the shopkeeper. "He needs boots, hat, undergarments. A cloak."
The shopkeeper bowed and started to pile things on the counter. Jaferia looked through them and picked out a set and handed them to Ross. "Go get dressed."
The silk was much more luxurious than anything Ross was used to -- anything but the touch of skin against his skin. And he was still light-headed. He took his time dressing, smoothing the cloth against his skin.
Everything was easy to figure out except the drape of the hat. There was a mirror waiting in the other room for him.
"Interesting. You aren't one of us, but you are definitely not just an outlander." Jaferia reached and took the hat from Ross and placed it properly, with the sun-drape easily accessible. "Do you know how to use any weapons?"
"I shoot a pistol and a rifle. But you don't think I should carry firearms around the city?"
"Not until you learn more about us, no. You might decide that something's a mortal insult instead of a polite request."
Ross sighed. "I understand that problem. There are some polite requests that _I_ need to learn how to make."
The shopkeeper stopped, took a long look at Ross, and then smiled at Jaferia. "And the purchases?" he asked.
"Yes. All of it." Jaferia waved at the pile. He reached into his pouch and drew out a signet ring. "Do you recognize this House?"
The shopkeeper looked it over closely, bowed. "Yes. There will be no problem. Should I have the goods delivered?"
"Yes. And, perhaps, in a week or so, we will return."
---
A recommendation for a restaurant for an evening meal and conversation. Jaferia seemed to have an endless supply of friends -- every few minutes, someone would sit down with them at their table and chat, usually in the hruss language. Ross minded a little, but he was picking it up. The wine glass never seemed to empty -- he was losing track of how much he was drinking.
"Have you tried this?" An older man, perhaps in his fifties, unlike Jaferia's other acquaintences. His clothing was a bit more heavily embroidered than Jaferia's, and he was wearing both one of the ornamented belts and wide bands on his wrists. He smiled at Ross.
"What is it?"
He poured a tiny amount of a dark liquid into a cordial glass. "It stirs the blood -- something I can appreciate at my age. Younger men... also appreciate it."
Ross lifted the glass to his lips, tasted it... The older man was watching him intently. Ross put the glass down, stood up. "Jaferia, I think it's time we got back to the shop."
Jaferia looked up. "Ross? Are you feeling ill?"
"No." That came out a bit more harshly than he expected, but... "I just need to head back."
---
There was a stack of packages waiting in Ross's rooms. He rooted through them until he found his old clothes, to his relief.
A tap on the door -- Keidrych. "How did the shopping go?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to go native yet."
Keidrych looked Ross up and down. "I don't know -- it looks good on you."
"The clothier was decent. The other place... when I was in school, the girls would look at me that way, like hunters. I'm not used to it in other men."
"I'll speak to Jaferia about that -- it was inappropriate to take you there."
"Are you jealous? Don't you want me hunting?" Ross found himself grinning.
"You are still a stranger here. There is an expression in your language -- the bride of the regiment. Are you familiar with that?"
A vague memory, something snickered about behind the barn. "Yes. Someone who's been with too many partners, no one decent wants her any more." Ross's face froze. "Were they going to..."
"You had the sense to leave. I'm told that Araslanei warned you the liqueur was an aphrodisiac."
"I guess he did. I didn't hear it that way." Ross licked his lips, remembering the taste. "If I had..."
"We might have found you in a few days. Maybe not -- I think Araslanei would have carried you off for his own instead of letting everyone in the room have a go at you."
Eventually, Ross thought, he would stop blushing so easily. He croaked out, "Everyone in the room? I wouldn't have done anything like that!"
"With that drug in you, you would have tried. Some of the brothels use it with reluctant employees."
Ross shuddered. "That's horrible."
"Ross." His name in Keidrych's voice sounded strange, altered. "Eventually, you will learn our ways, or at least not find them utterly alien. Until then, permit us to guard you. You'll find your life... less uncomfortable."