They hadn't come out just to meet the public, however. Jenna had them moving in a specific direction, across the crowded market square, towards what he realized was a tailor's shop on the far side. Ulger and Darvon were muscling them in that general direction, trying to get the throngs of people to back up enough to give the Keeper room to pass, relying on their armored weight to push out a path for those behind. "Next time we bring a phalanx!" Darvon growled.
"I forgot it was market day, Darvon, I'm sorry!" Jenna called back, pausing to shake a very old man's hand and accept a bouquet of roses from a gushing young girl who looked up at Jenna with total adoration.
They finally reached the tailor's shop, and Darvon pushed Tarrin inside as Ulger gave Jenna enough room to slip in behind him. Then the big Knight planted himself in front of the door and refused to let anyone in behind them, as the crowd of citizens gathered around the door and the windows, looking into the shop. The interior was a very small room with a counter on the far side, with a curtain behind it leading into the back. There were no wares or displays in the small receiving room, meaning that the tailor was either very good, very poor, or very bad. Given that Jenna had come all this way to come to this one particular shop when there had to be closer ones, Tarrin figured that he had to be one of the best in Suld.
"Why are they following us around?" Tarrin asked. "It's like they think Jenna is some kind of hero."
"She is," Darvon told him as Jenna straightened her dress, still holding onto the roses. "You don't remember it, but Jenna was one of the most prominent figures in the battle here. Everyone saw her, this little slip of a girl out there right in the middle of an army of undead and Goblinoids, and I guess it just stuck with them. Everyone in Suld thinks Jenna is a gift from the Gods. It's why I agreed to come out only with two Knights; nobody in this city would even dream of laying an ill hand on her. The people in the city would track anyone who did down and tear them apart."
"I doubt that it would come to that, Lord General," Jenna smiled. "I just seem to be the one they think did all the work, that's all. They have no idea that you're the one they should really be thanking, brother. Cass!" Jenna shouted.
"I'm here, Keeper!" a male voice called from behind the curtain. "I'll be out directly, if you'll pardon my audacity!"
"Take your time, Cass," she called with a smile. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon."
Tarrin absorbed that. It was a little hard to believe, but the reaction of the people to Jenna told him that it was true. He knew that Jenna had been in the battle at Suld, but he had no idea that the people had seen her and turned her into a folk hero. It was almost a little funny, actually. Jenna had never been one to like too much attention. She was a very sedate, quiet, domestic girl who, back when he could remember, really didn't think of anything more than finding a good man to marry and settling down. It was all she had ever really wanted in life, and now, here she was, the ruler of the katzh-dashi and one of the most famous and powerful people in Suld. Maybe even all of Sulasia.
Strange, how fate never seems to cooperate with plans.
The tailor Cass came out, and Tarrin was a bit startled. It wasn't a human being. Cass was a Wikuni, a silver fox Wikuni. He vaguely reminded him of Keritanima in his face and tail, but where Keritanima's fur was red, brown, white, and black, Cass' fur was silver, white, bluish, and a white-beige the color of bone. His muzzle was a bit sharper than Keritanima's, and he was taller and a bit more stocky than she, but that had to be because he was a boy. He had the strangest hair, for it was a definite shade of blue, cropped close and with silver ears with white and bluish tips jutting out from it. He wore a very elegant linen shirt under a blue doublet that was very well made, gored with red satin on the sleeves and with a strange crest of some sort on the left breast. His trousers were made of some kind of very sturdy yet soft-looking fabric Tarrin had never seen before, cut in a strangely baggy style that gave him lots of room. He wore leathers shoes on his feet, which was unusual for Wikuni, he had noticed. Of all the ones he'd seen around the Tower and such, only Keritanima and Miranda seemed to wear shoes. Both of them had very small, dainty feet, though, so it was probably no effort to put them in shoes. He bowed with fluid elegance to the Keeper, his tail flourishing behind him in a rolling manner. "It's good to see you again, Keeper," he said, looking down at her. "What can I do for you today?"
"This is my brother, Tarrin," she introduced. "He had an accident today, and lost all his clothes. So he needs a full set."
"I see. It is good to meet you, Tarrin," he said, looking Tarrin up and down in a critical manner. "I am Cassiter, tailor and leatherworker, but you may call me Cass. You are definitely the Keeper's blood. I can see it in you. What did you have in mind, Eminence?"
"Nothing fancy," she replied. "Functional clothes. Rugged would be good. Tarrin is rather hard on clothing."
"I have nothing right now that will fit him, Keeper," he said confidently. "I can have something ready tomorrow, and the rest done by the end of the tenday."
"Good. Tarrin, tell him what you want."
"Uh, nothing fancy, your honor," he said. "I don't like frilly things. Just plain old shirts and trousers will be fine."
"Plain can be challenging sometimes," he said, clicking his teeth in an eerie manner. "I can make them in the same style as the clothes you're wearing. It this alright with you?"
"Uh, fine."
"Very good. Is cost an issue here, Keeper?"
"Not really," she said. "But I don't think we need anything made of dragonhide."
"Not quite that exotic, but I do have access to some Selani fiber cloth. It's rather expensive, but it makes very rugged clothing."
"That sounds fine to me," Jenna smiled. "I think five sets would be good. And could you make a couple of cloaks?"
"I'd be delighted to do so, Keeper," he said with a nod.
"Then we're done?"
"I would say so, Keeper," he nodded.
"Don't you need to measure him?" Ulger asked.
"I've already done so, good Knight," Cassiter said mildly. "When he came in. I can guarantee his clothes will fit perfectly."
"Well, I'm not paying for them, so I guess I don't have much say," he said with a grin. "Then again, it doesn't sound like you've reached a price."
"It's very simple, good Knight. I charge twenty percent more than it costs for me to buy the materials. Flat rate, whether it takes me an hour or a tenday to finish the order. I find haggling to be very tiring and a waste of time."
"How do we know what that was?"
"For those who don't do regular business with me, they receive a bill," he said calmly. "My regulars know they won't be cheated."
"Cass is the best tailor in Suld, Ulger," Jenna said, a bit accusingly. "He's never cheated me on a contract. He made almost all the clothes I own."
"Well, that's alright then," Ulger grinned. "Though the idea of an honest Wikuni seems a bit far-fetched."
"Not all of us are money-grubbing cheats, sir Knight," Cassiter said calmly.