I returned to our living room in between and went through the food order list seriously. After all, the best way to lie convincingly was to live as if there was no lie. I picked all the items that might make food a little more familiar. Whole fish and unprocessed pieces of meat. Whole vegetables, including an assortment of root vegetables that might approximate potatoes or at least carrots. All sorts of things to make up salads. I didn’t allow myself to care that most of them were on the ‘dragon treat’ side of the list, as long as they were also edible by humans. Once I was done, I passed the list on to Lilianna with a quiet explanation, and she did the same. She didn’t precisely hide it from Branneth, but neither did she go out of her way to explain what it was. He didn’t ask. Branneth had found a folder of his own and was busy making lists about the future training he intended to do. As soon as Assistant Oxenden knocked, I jumped to my feet. I couldn’t wait to get the clothing situation resolved.

“Heading somewhere again?” asked Branneth, as if that was some great personal flaw of mine.

It was, of course. He was entirely correct. Still, he had no proof and I had no intention of admitting it. I unilaterally included Lilianna in the trip to provide additional cover. She wouldn’t notice anything suspicious. I had ‘warned’ Assistant Oxenden and Lilianna that I was going to order some clothing. I ‘wanted to hide my investigations so as not to tip anyone off’.

“We’re going to a robe maker,” I said pleasantly. “Do you wish to come with us?”

“Of course not,” said Branneth. “What kind of Hero cares about what they’re wearing?”

“This kind of hero,” I replied with a smile.

Try to argue with that. Pure shamelessness was hard to get any handle on. We were out of the door before he had any chance to, anyway.

The robe maker was in the old section proper. Lilianna stared straight ahead crossing the bridge, not letting it defeat her. We followed Assistant Oxenden up the stairs and to a two-storey building. The robe makers were in a small room in the corner. On reflection, the room probably wasn’t that small. It was just that every wall was packed with fabrics and haberdashery cabinets and possibly-magical tools I didn’t recognise. The air was filled with the dust of fabric fibre, but there was a sharpness that I was coming to associate with recent magic use. Since both Lilianna and I were there, we were attended to by both the husband and wife of the robe maker team. Their own embroidery was exquisite, but it was on robes of loosely woven musty pink and orange. Even with access to better materials, they didn’t risk wearing it themselves. They led us to a table under the window that I suspected had been cleared for our visit.

“You’ll have to forgive us,” I said. “We’re probably going to be asking very stupid questions. I’d like you to remember that we’re very much strangers here, and let us know if we’re asking for anything inappropriate in any way. Or even just not what you’d personally recommend in the same circumstances. We don’t know enough to know what we don’t know.”

They fell over themselves reassuring me they’d help me in any way possible, but I suspected they wouldn’t truly risk themselves by contradicting us. Luckily, that wasn’t why I was really there. Or even why I was pretending to be there. I mentioned that I’d seen some embroidery selections I admired, but I didn’t know what symbolism, if any, they had. The robe maker pulled out a large folder of designs. I described the leaf pattern, and he paged through until I found the match.

“I’m very sorry,” he said. “We don’t offer this pattern. This was the work of the previous robe maker, and they took the tools and the rights with them when they left.”

So much for that, then. There wasn’t any point in asking who had bought it previously if it hadn’t been them that sold it.

“But if you want the same meaning, we now offer the vines with clusters of berries?” he turned to the appropriate page of the sample book. A very familiar pattern of berries.

Well, well. I see you, Academy Leader Darkwater. That was interesting. Academy Leader Darkwater didn’t have the same vitriolic relationship with Minister Greenfield that Academy Leader Silver or House Holder Fairbanks had, but I hadn’t expected them to be on private conversational terms. Perhaps that was precisely why they’d had it stealthily in the shadows.

I expressed my disinterest and asked more broad questions. I listened patiently to a round down of the most common symbolisms, and the embroidery colours that would be considered appropriate – white in the same shade as the fabric, white in a different shade to the fabric, grey or silver. If I’d had any intention of staying, I would have investigated just how much of a social blunder it would actually be to wear something in pitch black or bright crimson instead.

> Closer to the cloak of office we all know and love, but still not quite there. Sorry, everyone.

“I will have consider it further,” I said. “Thank you for all the information. Do you have any clothing that is pre-made?”

“Not in the appropriate white,” he said.

I should hope not. That would defeat the whole purpose.

“That’s fine,” I said. “I’d rather get an idea of what is possible.”

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“We only really have mantles and cloaks pre-made,” he said, his glance involuntarily moving to the relevant rack.

“Not a problem,” I said, moving over before he could protest. “Can I have a look? Hero, Lilianna do you have anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Well, I do have something,” said Lilianna. “But I’m not sure who the right person is to ask about it.”

Excellent start, I thought. Lilianna was doing a good job of asking for a favour.

Lilianna continued, “You see, I don’t know how I’m supposed to handle haircare.”

Ah, right. She wasn’t diplomatically requesting. She genuinely had no idea who was most appropriate. The wife of the robe making pair might be the first adult female she’d had the opportunity to speak to, outside formal suppers.

“We do sell some products,” said the woman. “Ribbons and ties and such. What is your current system, if I may enquire?”

“I don’t think what I used in my previous world translates very well,” Lilianna said. After a little more prompting, she reluctantly described it anyway. “Twice a week, I used a potion and water to strip everything from my hair, then another potion to repair it and make it shiny. Then I use a heating tool to dry it straight, and another potion to keep it that way. That took about an hour, hour and a half. Daily, I used a fourth potion and the heating tool to correct any wear and tear. Maybe ten minutes. And every three months or so, I went to a specialist who used stronger potions and stronger heat tools that made keeping my hair straight and not tangled easier. That would be an entire morning or afternoon. There were other procedures for other types of hair and desired outcomes, but that was my normal process.”

That description made me doubt whether she had come from a similar world to mine, like I had originally assumed. That sounded like a great deal of work. A few questions later, and she revealed that wasn’t even considered a lot of time to spend on hair care. Some braided styles would take multiple people all day to put in. Either Lilianna was personally wealthier than I’d assumed, or her entire civilisation was wealthy enough afford to spend time on pure trivialities.

> There is plenty of evidence that women from the home world of His Devotion, Saint Percival the Investigator, had very similar hair-care routines to those described here. This is either an unusual example of lack of awareness on his part, or a subtle condemnation of his own culture.

The wife conceded that there was nothing that would easily duplicate such a procedure. If Lilianna’s hair was not naturally straight, there was no device, magical or otherwise, that could do so artificially. She was instead recommended magical ribbons that could be braided into the hair that would keep it clean and in good condition. They disappeared off for further consultations about that. And, from the high colour on Lilianna’s face, I rather suspected more ‘personal’ questions. With the academy’s disorganisation, it would not surprise me that another piece of vital information had been missed.

While we waited, I had the perfect excuse to look through the selection of outer cloaks. I was relieved to find exactly what I had hoped for. A grey floor length cloak. It had a hood to disguise my face, it was long enough to cover my white robes entirely, and it was a muted enough colour to be hard to spot from the air. It also had a sheen to it that I suspected was some kind of waterproofing. I asked about it.

“Yes,” said the husband. “Most people don’t recognise it. It’s a special technique. The normal waterproofing spells slowly fail in the academy’s wards, you see, so it can be a bit tiresome to keep reapplying them. We offer this instead.”

It was perfect. It would disguise me when I was walking, and it would double as a cover I could sleep under if I had to take refuge overnight.

“I’ll take it,” I said.

I think the robe maker thought I was buying it as a way to tip him for his help, because he tried to tell me it wasn’t necessary. I let him think that, but also took the cloak away with me when Lilianna returned. I had to conceal the wide grin that was threatening to break out. Things were coming together.

Memo to Self

Stuff to avoid

· Becoming a dragon rider Joining the official dragon rider forces

· Participating in bonding

Information gathering

· Find out about alternative occupations and opportunities

· - Speak to Minister Greenfield in private [not useful]

· - - Find out when he is due to leave before he leaves in four three days tonight, to fix injury

· Investigate other countries and cultures to see if they’re a better fit

· - Determine just how far heroic independence goes

· - - Legally, very far: complete diplomatic immunity

· - - Practically: assistance can be withdrawn

· Track down itinerary [no point]

· Check safety / security of funicular

Opportunities

· Sneak out when harvesting night flowers [7 6 5 days]

· - Walk out down dry river bed towards Cammions

· Deliberately failed bonding [not an option]

Preparations

· Beg, borrow or steal clothes of a different colour

· - Use investigating embroidery as excuse? [Meeting planned with artisan] [done]

· - Use grey waterproof cloak

· Delay the bonding ceremony as much as possible

· - Extend investigation

· - Imply maximum psychic pollution

· Acquire or fake travel documentation?

· Find way to transport food and water

· - Talk to House Holder Fairbanks about food [done]

· - Book a packed lunch for Monday [done]