Axe and The Wolf

Chapter VIII: Linen and Pine

"Beware the horns, beware the fangs, beware the eye and its angst, beware the devil and it's horrid violent plans" - Rural Gorokovan Nursery Rhyme

The day continued and Ulfrun went back to the inn, he checked his room and found it to be fairly well furnished and cozy. The dwarf saw his clothes, his tunic and pants, which were rather dirty and unkempt. Fuckin' hell, I look like a vagrant, he said to himself. With a piece of cloth and some water from his gourd bottle he tried to clean as best he could his boots, the leather of his boots took a richer tone of brown after the cleaning. 

He went down the stair into the main area of the tavern and there he found Master Engineer Jari drinking some ale and enjoying some scrambled eggs with a smoked sausage. "Ah there you are lad, how did the talk with the chief go?" Ulfrun greeted him "Well enough, I got the contract, now I need but to prepare, I wanted to ask, is there a gunsmith in the local guild?" the old dwarf pondered "Aye, we do, Herbert Schlattenbrahm, good eye for detail that one, very keen." The engineer continued drinking "Short fellow, gnome, of course, hair under a bandana and a groomed black goatee, if you want to see him, he's currently tinkering with some pistol I think, son" the young smith nodded and went on his way. 

Ulfrun set to the market and began to look for a haberdasher or a merchant that specialized in men's clothing, at least that way he could hope for something dwarven sized. There were plenty of merchants selling clothes, but not as a primary good, most had a vast array of items apart from the garments. He finally found a tent where an old couple sat, surrounded by tall piles of folded clothes, a small wooden plank read "We trade in men's and women's clothing" Ulfrun shrugged and thought well, they seem well stocked, might as well try here, and greeted the couple. The couple were a half elf man and a human woman, most half elf men allowed for facial hair to grow to distinguish themselves from elves, even if it's mostly unnecessary, since most people can tell at a glance. While the layman can tell who is and isn't an elf by instinct alone, they cannot put their finger on what the difference is, in reality it's the grace and dexterity of their movements. 

"Well, hello, sir, how may we assist you today? We have a fine array of clothes for sale, in fact, we have a fresh batch of clothes made with the dwarven frame in mind!" say the elf in a very well tuned and elegant tone, his accent sounded foreign to Niflheim, probably from the Empire, plenty of half elves reside there, Ulfrun knew. "I was looking for some shirts or tunics, and pants, if you have any that might fit me" the half elf giggled "Why yes, and even if you like an item and it doesn't fit we can tailor it, my beautiful wife here is a peerless seamstress..." he motioned with his hand and his wife smiled while turning her eyes upwards in faux exasperation, the man kept his well-crafted tone of voice, a clear mark of a professional merchant. "Here are some options that might tickled your fancy, master dwarf" the half elf laid out some items in front of the smith. 

The merchant seemed to have a very good eye at estimating the size of the tunics Ulfrun would need, some of the items did catch the dwarf's attention, among them a black long-sleeved tunic, a cream colored lighter tunic apparently made from cotton with a green bottom hemming and sleeve sections as well with a trim with embroided ornaments. "Maybe you are interested in a new overcoat? Not to say yours looks bad or anything, of course, but variety breathes life into our existence" said the merchant in his usual premeditated manner, holding a leather overcoat with leatherwork done, wo columns of engraved trim came down from each shoulder, almost forming the shape of a cathedral window, under them two wolf heads stylized in the way the northmen engraved wood and leather. Ulfrun took the garment and found it to fit quite well on his wide chest, nodding towards the merchant. "Do you have any trousers for dwarves, sir?" asked the smith, the half elf nodded and opened a bundle of clothes bound and covered by a paper. "We have these, at your disposal, good sir" Pants in a red weaved design, pants in an orange durable fabric and other colors were set in front of him, the dwarf went for the orange trousers, their fabric seemed resistant to damage and for a pair of baggy dark blue pants, much in the style of the locals.