Tabula Rasa: Adventures In A New World

Krvavy can’t help but scowl as she makes her way through the busy streets of Raseyne, the loose crowds mercifully splitting around her.

The various people who are out and about don’t seem to be quite as uncomfortable in her presence now that she is wearing actual clothes and not just a few scant fur pelts. But they would still quite clearly prefer it if she didn’t go anywhere near them. Which is very inconvenient when she needs to constantly ask where to find certain things and how to get to those places...

The more people Krvavy has to ask for directions, the more annoyed she becomes. Because they’re all so skittish, stammering out excuses to leave or trying to send her away as quickly as they can, regardless of how (in)accurate their directions end up being. And the clear frustration gradually filling her face makes anyone she interacts with even more worried and afraid of her...

It is just a vicious cycle...

A tiny bit of Krvavy’s exasperation is abated as she finally sees what she is looking for just a little further ahead. A bakery.

D-ding...!

“Hello, hel-lo...” That warm greeting quickly peters out as the plump woman standing behind the counter lays her eyes on this grumpy Drakling.

“Do you have any yeast?”

That question seems to catch the baker off guard. “Y...yes...?” She hesitantly mutters back, sounding thoroughly confused. “Give me... a moment.” Moving slowly, as if afraid that any sudden movement might anger Krvavy, she takes a step back and passes through an open doorway, out of sight.

The barbarian idly taps an inhuman foot on the ground as her eyes trail around this little storefront. There is a single table off to the side, with three seats clustered around it, but that is pretty much it. On this side of the counter, at least. Back there stands a tall shelf absolutely stuffed full of bread. Loaves, buns, a bunch of big pretzel looking things...

A rather weighty thunk snaps Krvavy from her thoughts.

“H-here...!” The plump bakerwoman gasps, pushing a fairly large clay jar just a little further across the countertop.

The barbarian furrows her brow and steps forwards. She has a feeling that this isn’t normally for sale, especially not in such a large quantity, but she isn’t going to complain. “How much?”

A look of confusion crosses the woman’s face, quickly passing as she sees the coin purse in Krvavy’s hand. “Uhm... Fourteen stoats...?”

If Krvavy had to guess, that is probably the price that this baker herself payed for the jar. So she likely won’t be making a profit for selling it like this... “Here,” the barbarian places a single silver hawk on the counter, “keep the change.” Not that there would be much of that, just two stoats, but it does save Krvavy the effort of having to count out those coins.

The plump baker slowly takes that piece of silver, looking a little uncertain as she awkwardly stands behind the counter.

Krvavy just ignores that obviously uncomfortable woman as she slips off her backpack. The fact that this jar is made out of clay is... rather inconvenient. She doesn’t want to break it while making her way back home. Hopefully wrapping it up in her bedroll will be enough to stop that from happening. At least it looks like the cap is sealed in place with some wax, so she won’t need to worry about accidentally spilling it...

“Thank you.” The barbarian politely bobs her head as carefully slings the backpack over her shoulder once more, turning to leave the store without waiting for the baker to respond.

That’s one thing checked off her list. Now... What’s next?

Ti-tiing...!

Another bell gently jingles as Krvavy walks through the door beneath it, entering into yet another store.

At a glance the barbarian can’t see anyone else in here, so she simply decides to have a look around. Rows upon rows of shelves fill this store, each one covered in clear glass to protect the items on display. And looking into these displays makes Krvavy realize something.

She can’t read.

Well, she can’t read whatever language they use here. Which is pretty significant. Not only does this mean she can’t read the various labels on these displays, but it also kind of defeats the purpose of her even being in here. This is a bookstore, after all.

It’s honestly kind of surprising it took her this long to realize that she is basically illiterate, considering just how many signs she has seen here in Raseyne... Granted, she never really noticed writing on any of those signs, her gaze always drawn towards the shapes and images they displayed instead. Like the big picture of an open book hanging in front of this building.

Still, this complicates things.

But maybe...?

The Rites of Rynbog: This book details the rites and rituals involved in the worship of Rynbog, minor God of ice and snow.

A victorious smile spreads across Krvavy’s face as she reads that pop-up. Sure, it sounds like the most vague synopsis ever, but it is more than she would be able to understand on her own.

One by one, Krvavy uses Inspect on the other nearby books. Each time she gets a very similar description, just with a few different words here and them. Every single book in this row seems to be, in one way or another, a liturgical text.

Her brow knits together. Are these shelves sorted by topic, or has she stumbled into a store that exclusively sells religious books...?

While she isn’t really interested in scripture, the Drakling does have to admit that these books are beautiful. The ones that are open behind the crystalline glass show off amazingly illuminated pages with intricate borders and ornate patterns. A few even seem to have been gilded with bits of glossy gold...

Compared to that, the next row of shelves is really quite boring. At least at a glance. Rather than anything religious, there seem to be exclusively almanacs over here, which all claim to contain information on so many different topics. But these almanacs aren’t really much to look at. Only two of them seem to have any colour shown, and none of them are what Krvavy would call fancy.

She takes a couple minutes to Inspect each and every almanac on display. Not a single one really interests her. Krvavy doesn’t care about learning exactly what time the sun rises and sets for each specific day, nor does she care about the proper time to plant certain crops according to the cycles of the moons. That information would almost certainly be useless for the grotto garden.

Though some of the stuff these almanacs claim to contain does sound a little neat. Mainly descriptions and dates of various festivals and celebrations. But she doesn’t care enough to pay to learn about that stuff. And, much more importantly, Thea definitely wouldn’t care about any of it.

That beautiful brat is the reason why Krvavy is even in this bookstore, after all. She thought it’d be nice to get the girl something to read. A book or two isn’t all that much, but it’ll at least entertain Thea for a while.

The Drakling pauses as she steps into the next row of shelves. The books on display here don’t seem to have quite as much text as the previous ones, at least not on the pages that they are open to. Instead they seem to be mostly filled with images depicting men, typically wearing armour, fighting with various weapons.

Her interest is immediately piqued.

Krvavy has proven to be pretty good at fighting, so she doesn’t really need one of these manuals to teach her what to do. But, then again, she doesn’t exactly fight with any particular technique. She just swings her axe down at things. Sometimes she stabs with the spearhead.

So maybe she would benefit from reading some of these?

Or, at the very least, she could use these to learn how to read. They are essentially picture books, after all.

Krvavy slowly walks down the aisle, using Inspect on all of those fighting manuals. Most of them aren’t actually all that interesting. Not to her, at least. So many of them focus on weapons that she simply doesn’t use or go way too much into detail about very specific fighting styles. But there is one book that stands out to her.

A Comprehensive Treatise on the Efficient & Effective Use of Various Long Poled Weapons, Such As Axes, Beaked Picks, Catchpoles, Clubs, Forks, Hammers, Halberds, Hooks, Javelins, Morning Stars, Spears (Both For Hewing & Thrusting), Staves, Swordstaves, & War Scythes, As Well As Overarching Techniques: A martial arts manual detailing the use of various polearms in combat.

If Krvavy was being completely honest, the long and rambling title is what really caught her eye. It isn’t the only manual that doesn’t seem to know what the word ‘concise’ means, though it is by far the most... descriptive... of the bunch.

But even beyond that, the book itself actually looks pretty promising. Not only is it quite thick, with hundreds of pages, but the images shown also seem fairly detailed and realistic, making it quite easy to tell what they are supposed to be depicting. And that isn’t something that can be said for all of the other manuals. Some have images that are rather... flat, with very little depth.

This isn’t what the barbarian came here for, but maybe she can see about getting a copy? If it isn’t too expensive.

With a light shake of her head, Krvavy steps away from that shelf and continues wandering through the store. After passing through a couple more aisles, looking at the various books filling these glass-covered shelves all the while, she finally finds something that might be interesting.

Judging by Inspect, these shelves contain books that are pure fiction. Not religious texts, almanacs, or manuals. Just various stories and such, purely meant for entertainment. And to make it even better, a lot of them seem to be tacky romance novels.

That would be the perfect gift for Thea.

Not because Krvavy thinks her brat will like that kind of book, though she probably will, but because of how annoyed Thea will almost certainly be when she receives a romance novel of all things~. She’ll pout and act all adorably snooty, as if she reading such a thing is beneath her, but that’ll all just be that: an act~. An indignant mask to hide her appreciation~. After all, Thea wouldn’t really be upset about finally having something to occupy her time.

So... what kind of trashy romance novel is Krvavy going to get for the girl...?

If the brief synopsis’ that Inspect displays are accurate, then most of these books are pretty much the typical young adult inexplicable love triangle type. Though as she walks down the aisle they do seem to be getting more and more explicit...

“Heh...!” The barbarian can’t help but quietly laugh at just how ridiculous a lot of these stories sound. It is kind of funny to think that, even in a medieval fantasy world, there is a market for these kinds of things. Suppose that, no matter how much things change, some things will always be the sa–

Krvavy abruptly comes to a stop, freezing in place as she sees a certain book. Visually, there is nothing special about it. There don’t seem to be any images or fancy illuminations, as she’d assume that it would have been left open with those on display. It just appears to be full of text, as novels tend to be. But what Inspect says about this book has caught her attention.

Love Upon the Icy Shores: An adult romance novel about a beautiful Human princess who is shipwrecked upon the icy shores of the far north, where she is found and left at the mercy of a Drakling wildman.

That... is... perfect!

She can just imagine the look on Thea’s face when the girl realizes just what this book is about...! Even if it isn’t lewd, like it is implying, then the parallels will still be enough to make that brat so wonderfully flustered~! She’ll just have to ask Thea how the book is, from time to time, and she’ll have an amazingly adorable show of annoyed embarrassment basically on command~!

And, to make it even better, Krvavy has the perfect excuse to feign innocence too~! She is, after all, illiterate~! So Thea can’t even get mad at her for this, because clearly it is the fault of whoever would have recommended this to Krvavy, not that degenerate of a Drakling herself~!

Yes, Krvavy eagerly nods, this is the book she wants to get for that girl~!

With a wide smile filling her face, the barbarian straightens up and looks over the shelves. There are a few more aisles that she hasn’t checked out yet, but is it even worth doing that? She is unlikely to find anything better over there. She already has the perfect gift for her beautiful brat, and using Inspect on each book will just be a waste of time...

The barbarian’s smile begins to wane. Because now she just needs to figure out how to buy these books. Or, more likely, how to buy copies of these books. The shelves are almost certainly just for display, at least judging by how there is pretty much just one of each book out here, sometimes two or three if they have some nice images that want to be shown off alongside the covers.

Taking a quick look around, Krvavy spots an area on the far wall that appears to have a counter built into it, so she heads on over. There doesn’t seem to be anyone behind the counter though, just a small space and a closed door, but there is a silver bell resting right in front of her.

Diiiiing!

The barbarian winces slightly as she taps the bell, that sound so sharp and clear that it actually hurt a little... And, to make it even better, she can still hear the ringing echoing in her ears long after the bell goes still...

Nothing seems to happen for nearly a minute, leaving Krvavy completely alone in the store. But, just as she is considering hitting that bell again, the door behind the counter swings open.

An old woman with a slightly hunched back hurries up to the counter, stepping onto a short stool. Which still leaves her at barely half the height of this large customer. “Hello, how can I help you?” She asks while squinting up at the Drakling, a pair of rather thick glasses resting on her grey hair and not in front of her narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, I’d like to get, uh...” Krvavy pauses as she tries to remember the rambling title of the fighting manual. “A Comprehensive Treatise on the... Efficient and–”

“Effective Use of Various Long Poled Weapons, so on and so forth, yes?” The elderly woman quickly finishes the title. “Well, you are in luck, as we happen to have quite a few extra copies of that. We had an order for a few dozen a couple months back, but the buyer did not need that many, which means we’re willing to sell you a copy at a discount and you can get one right away. Assuming you do not want any changes made to it, that is. Now, is that all?”

“I’d also like get... Love Upon the Icy Shores...” A bit of embarrassment wells up inside Krvavy, as she is pretty much asking to buy sleazy porn, even if it isn’t for herself. Not that that excuse changes a thing...

The old woman closes her eyes and quietly hums to herself, taking a few moments before responding. “I do not believe that we have any of that particular book in stock. It will take us approximately three to four weeks to make another copy, longer if you want any alterations done or if we have to serve a priority client.”

Well... That is kind of inconvenient. But it isn’t too bad. Thea doesn’t need this gift right away. And it doesn’t matter if it takes a while either, as Krvavy probably won’t be coming back to this city for quite some time...

“Okay,” the barbarian nods, before pausing as a thought pops into her head. A slightly devious smile begins to creep onto her face. “What kinds of changes can you make to the book?”

Krvavy rolls her shoulders as she walks down the wide street. She probably should have saved getting the yeast for last, as the jar is pretty heavy and not the most comfortable to carry around all day. But, then again, she does have to carry it all the way home... So she’d best get used to it now.

“Haaahhhh...” A long sigh passes through her parted lips, her emerald eyes glancing up at the cloudless sky above.

It has been a pretty long day, made all the more boring by the amount of walking she has done. And to make it even worse, a lot of this city is beginning to blend together in her mind. Obviously the rich part of Raseyne doesn’t look anything like the outskirts, but the individual streets are becoming difficult to tell apart. She is getting fed up with this place, with having to cross from one side to the other again and again and again...

At least Krvavy is almost done her errands, as there is just one shop left to visit before she can head back to the Countess’ estate. And, thankfully, she can see her destination up ahead, with its familiar green sign trimmed with silver knotted lines.

The bell above the door jingles as the barbarian steps into the store.

“You’re cutting it close.” Thilanea dryly states, hardly giving the Drakling more than a brief glance as straightens one of her displays. “We are closing in a few minutes.”

“That should be enough time for me to pick up the clothes and pay for them, right?”

The tailor simply sighs and immediately begins to make her way deeper into the store. “Yes. Now come along. Your order is over here.”

Krvavy can’t help but smile as she steps into one of the private rooms. Resting on a table is a stack of rather unassuming canvas packages. But the Drakling knows what is inside, and she can hardly wait to see her girls wearing these gifts~.

“Here,” Thilanea holds up two wooden clothes hangers, each with a different dress attached. “These are the ones you provided little input on. Which do you prefer?”

“Hmm...” Krvavy considers that question, closely inspecting the dresses and trying to imagine what they would look like on the girl that they are meant for. “The yellow one. It feels a lot more cheerful.”

Thilanea simply nods her head and places the chosen dress on the table, before hanging the other on a nearby rack. “What about these?” She turns back to the barbarian, holding two more hangers.

“That one.” The answer comes quick to Krvavy, even though the differences between the two pieces of clothing were rather minor.

“And finally, which of these do you prefer? They both fit the requirements you provided.”

The barbarian takes a moment before answering, carefully looking over both beautiful negligees. “The lacier one, here.”

Once again, Thilanea simply nods and places the outfit on the table. “It will take just a moment to package these.” She states, already starting to neatly fold the yellow dress. “So now we simply need to discuss payment.”

“Okay,” the Drakling nods, grabbing at her coin purse. “How much did you say it would be?”