172. CITY BOY: WIREMU

Tabitha thinks I should die. It does have its advantages. She will organise some new identities for the three of us. She doesn’t like my current name, though. I can’t see a new identity working for Modrica and Težka, and Tabitha’s Skygge identity is tied to both the Elemental Traders and the Comedic Rhythm. It is best to be prepared. Modrica’s enlistment is a problem. Tabitha will work on it. A lot can happen in a month.

The Escapee dude was staying at Otto’s townhouse. I will need to find out who Otto’s heir is. I also now have a Hunter's Mark on Escapee dude. I heard someone call him Todd. There are six people in the house. One is obviously a manservant. Two well-dressed people looked like a brother and sister. Possibly one of them is the heir. There were two experienced-looking guards and Todd. Otto’s townhouse was larger than Samantha’s and Gilbert's. It had a stable with a barracks above it out the back. The house was also larger, with a third floor. I couldn’t tell if it had extra basement levels. I will watch it for a while and explore it soon. We will leave it for tonight.

On the way back, I swung past Samantha and Gilbert's places. I caught Samantha’s maid leaving. It was close to midnight, so I followed her. I also put a Hunter's Mark on her. I had eight marks available. With their permission, I had one each on Tabitha and Težka, so I had four left. The maid went to a poorer part of town, entered a house, and seemed to settle down for the night. I guess it is only occasionally she is required to stay over.

I went past the compound where the caravan was and did a circuit. I set a couple of extra traps in places where I would enter. These were standard poison traps, but I kept in mind they were for intelligent beings, not animals. I put extra care into concealing them. Then I went back to my room for some sleep. Big day tomorrow.

Veneer was an interesting skill. It could only make surface changes, hair colour, skin colour, etc. At apprentice, it could add features like scars, moles, and beard, but only small things. It couldn’t change my height or build. I got the impression larger changes were available at Journeyman Level, like orc tusks. The Skill was upper Apprentice now, and I found I could lengthen my hair. I normally had it cut short for convenience, but Veneer could make it appear shoulder-length.

This meant I needed to go shopping. With the right clothes, I could Roleplay being female. Tabitha often said her mimicking a male often put people off her trail. The reverse is also true. I would be a tall beefy female, but there are plenty of those in the Mercenary Guild. First, I went and purchased a nice dress “for my sister.” I then put it on and padded my chest. I watched the local woman in order to imitate them. When I tried it, Roleplay finally went up to Apprentice Level. I got more insight into the role. Women tend to walk and sit differently. I practised, and I was not getting so many funny looks before long.

My voice was a problem. It took a bit of practice to get my voice right. Deceive and Roleplay worked together to help. When I successfully went into a shop and purchased female undergarments, Roleplay levelled again. This would help give me a better definition of the chest area. I also had to purchase a corset to reduce my waist and emphasise my hips more. I purchased several outfits, mostly to imitate the poorer and middle class. I never realised there were so many options for shoes.

I also purchased some semi-armoured leathers, which would look feminine, but allow me to pass as a mercenary. I was wearing the leathers in a bar close to the Mercenary Guild when I was hit on twice. Admittedly the guys that wanted to buy me a drink were already drunk. I don’t think I handled it very well, as I wasn’t expecting it, but I didn’t break character. Roleplay levelled again.

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I switched back to male clothes. I had one more thing to do before the shops closed. I needed good quality armour. My Hide Armour was fine in the wilds, but I needed good armour that wouldn’t stand out in town. We were only here for three weeks, but we would be three months or more in Kirghiz. I visited some high-end armour shops, but fashion is more important than function there. I wanted both function and fashion. Fashionable armour should be a thing. I will have to keep looking tomorrow.

I got to the Otto place just before dinner, dressed in my female leathers. I caught a dwarf leaving with cleaning gear, and two people were working in the kitchen. It looked like they employed a number of day staff. I stayed watching to get an idea of their routine. All went quiet after midnight. I stayed for another hour and caught sight of a shadow moving in the windows. One of the guards was patrolling. That would make things more difficult. I stayed for another two hours but only saw him once. He probably didn’t have a set routine.

I headed home to sleep later than I anticipated. I am going to have to make adjustments to these leathers as, after a few hours, they are too uncomfortable in the crutch. I guess it is not a problem women have.

When I changed in the basement of my shop, I looked at the piles of clothes. I am going to need to buy a trunk, or two, to store it all in.

Armour. I want armour that protects but fits in with the fancy city people. I also want to find hides to make my own hunting armour for away from the city. We are moving away from the cold north. Beitemark and Kirghiz are in a much more temperate climate. After Kirghiz, we will keep heading south to the tropics before skirting up the edge of the Great Desert to enter the Empire from the south. It is going to get warm.

My resistance is getting up there. Heat, cold, crushing and poison are all 20 plus. What do I need in armour? Otto’s wind still cut, even though the Snakeskin. The Acid was bad. Armour is really only important for the really bad fights. The Death Shaman and Death Assassin were still killers for me. Hence I need a set of armour that will stand up to the really bad stuff, and some self-repair sounds good. The Troll armour was the best I ever owned, and it got burned by fire. Maybe all I need is cheap armour that can be easily replaced, and work on strengthening my Snakeskin and creating Rock or Lava armour. I don’t want to rely on armour that needs my energy to make. That is how I killed the Lavaman. He didn’t have the energy to create his armour.

Hides are cheap here. This area is full of ranches, so deer, bison, and cattle are all plentiful. I am going to stock up on deer hides and reinforce key areas with Bison hide. I might also incorporate metal, as heating and shaping is no problem now. While we are in Kirghiz, I might look to get some Blacksmithing Skills.

Having thought this through, my fancy armour does not need to be functional. I am not going to wear it to fight. It really is just for looks. It does need to be comfortable. That made buying easy. My Repair Leather Armour Skill can handle small adjustments.

What I do need is a replacement Bow. Being in the open plains, archery is very common here, and there are a lot of good Bowyers. I got a strong Recurve Bow for my hunting to replace the one I lost. The Bowyer had a range I tested it on, and I was very happy. What I also discovered were shorter Horse Bows. They were designed to be shot while riding but were smaller and less conspicuous for carrying in town. The arrows were also shorter, but I got good power and accuracy, and all my skills worked. I got two of those.

Two days of shopping and I am adequately supplied. There is definitely something to be said for larger cities.