• Closed • [Marketplace] The Julia Child of Idalos

[Sintih]

Vhalar, 62nd, 716th Arc
Andaris, Midtown Marketplace

The early bird saying applied to Sintih when it came to morning shopping. Up before first light, ready to leave at first light and arriving at the market in time to see it without the massive crowd of people that would be here in a break or so. Sin enjoyed these quiet mornings, which he made a point of arranging every other trial. He usually didn't buy supplies for more than two days as they wouldn't keep as fresh if he bought them for longer. The brisk morning walk he took to get here on time was yet another activity done to strengthen his physique and doing it this often only helped. Experiencing the city before all the hustle and bustle of civilized life started was just a nice bonus.

Some days things were easy and he'd go shopping as soon as he arrived. Other days he had to take a break to recover before buying what he needed. Today was one of the latter as Sin pulled his cloak tighter around his person. The set of clothes he was wearing provided him with good protection against the elements but the cold morning air seemed to creep in from all angles. The brown cloak he pulled in around him helped to keep some of the cold out as he bit down on his teeth to prevent them from clattering together. The early bird gets the cold, more likely. Sin thought as a small white mist escaped from his lips. Taking a deep, cold breath in, Sin pushed himself up from his resting place on the side of the marketplace and headed into the starting mass of people that was the market.

Even at this early hour, there were enough people moving about that Sin had to step aside a few times to avoid bumping into someone. He looked around at the many items for sale around him. Near the beginning were weapons and armor with their owners praising them into sky with tales of their deeds or the name of some reputable blacksmith attached to them. When the smells of animals started to fill the air ahead, Sin took a right, deeper into the heart of the market towards the stalls with the clothes. All around him people were arguing prices or quality, talking with others or praising their own wares over those of their neighbors as Sin passed through. He looked around until he found a shop with less people near it and headed over to it.

"Good morning, sir." He was quickly greeted by the owner when he noticed Sin's interest in his clothes. "Can I help you find something?" Sin quickly scanned the goods out on the stall and brought one of his hands out from his cloak. "I'm looking for a pair of gloves, please. Preferably warm." With a smile, Sin pulled his hand back into his cloak, sticking it under his other arm to warm it back up. "Of course. You have come to the right place, sir. We've got a beautiful selection of them right here." He waved his hand towards a selection of gloves in various sizes, colors and materials. "I'm just looking for something simple. Just grey or brown woolen ones will do." Sin said as he shuffled over to the man. The merchant pitched him some outrageously expensive price to start off with and Sin replied with something dirt cheap and they were off. For the next five bits, Sin and the merchant haggled prices until they agreed on a price that Sin thought to be reasonable. A few trills later, Sin's money pouch was lighter and his hands were warmer inside of their grey woolen gloves.

Heading further through the clothing section of the market, somehow the merchants always stuck together based on their wares, and towards the food section of the market. While Sin didn't like the crowd of people that formed here every morning, he was happy to have so many wind shields blocking the cold air from cutting through his clothes. The clattering of his teeth had stopped but he kept the cloak pulled tightly around himself as he looked around. Almost by instinct, Sin took a left and a right and ended up near his favorite breakfast stall. It wasn't anything fancy but the lady who opened it was friendly and always ready to talk about the better places to get his supplies. "Good morning, dear. Same as always?" She greeted him a warm smile as she put aside a cup of steaming something. "Same as always, Becka." Sin started counting out the nels needed to pay for two thick slices of bread and a chunk of cheese to go with it. "Oh, you should check out this new stall. It's over to the right there, around the corner. You'll like it." Becka said as she handed over the bread and cheese and took his money.

Chewing slowly on his bite of bread and cheese, Sin followed the directions he had been given and walked around the corner into another lane of stalls set up there. It was a bit off of the main part of the market so there were less people here but it was still too busy for Sin's liking. The stall he had been pointed stood out quite a bit in the food section of the market. It had some basic vegetables on one side of it but the other half of the stall was covered in what Sin, from a distance, thought to be weaponry at first. But when he got closer he realized they were kitchen utensils of some description. He barely recognized any of them apart from the knives and pots. Reaching out from his cloak, Sin picked up a flat spoon with small slits in it with one hand and a metal bowl with so many tiny holes in it that he could see through it with the other. "Excuse me, sir? What are these?" Sin tried to get the attention of the stall owner who was busy at work haggling with two people about a bag of vegetables. Holding the bowl-like item up to his face, Sin turned away from the stall for a moment to look through it at the people around him.

(OOC: bought one pair of woolen gloves.)

[Faith Augustin]

62nd Vhalar, 716

It was early in the morning, and walking in to the market place was a familiar sight of a young human woman. Pale white skin was framed by black hair both of which were overshadowed somewhat by her pale eyes, a shade of blue so pale that they seemed almost silver. She was wrapped up against the early morning chill, but there was no hiding the obvious, although also decorative, slave collar and what was fundamentally a lead attached to it which she wore outside her cloak. She reached forward to pick up an apple from one of the stalls and her cloak fell with a rustling sound, falling to her back and revealing her pale bare arm which bore a recent slave brand, this one in the shape of a rose.

She was out early because time was ticking along and there were things that she needed to get for her owner's forthcoming play. The play was important, it was something that the King himself had been invited to, but Faith didn't really think about that so much as just wondering how she was going to make everything she needed to make and in the timescale that she had. But there was another person there and Faith looked at him as he held up two utensils and she smiled gently. "That one, sir, it is a seive" she said. Her voice was soft and sounded more like she was speaking in a library "You can use it to make sure that flour doesn't have bits in it or, if you have been boiling potatoes, for example, in a pan, you pour the pan into there and the water empties out but you have the potatoes"

She smiled at him and moved her hand out, pointing towards the other hand "And that is a spatula. You use it in a frypan, slip it under what you're cooking, say frying an egg, and you lift it out with that. It has the holes there so any excess fat drains out" she explained. She gave a small but friendly smile then and looked at him with an earnest expression. "I am Faith, sir. It is a pleasure to meet you. Are you looking for something specific? Would you like any help?" she asked with an expression which told that she was quite happy to help him, if she could.

[Sintih]

At first, Sin wasn't quite sure if he had heard something with all the market commotion around them. But he turned around to see who was talking and came face to face with a pale looking, dark haired woman. He quickly realized that she was indeed talking to him. Staring at her through the, what he now knew as a, sieve Sin immediately noticed the strange decorative item around her neck. It only registered to him as some sort of slave collar when she turned a little and he could see the brand on her shoulder as well. A shiver went down Sin's back as he saw the woman's naked arm exposed to the cold morning air.

Moving his attention away from her arm and neck and up to her face again, Sin listened to her explain the utensils he was holding on to. After she finished explaining the sieve to him she pointed to the spatula and Sin lifted it up so it was more at chest height for him. His attention remained on the woman, though, listening to her explain these items as if they were every day tools for her. He wondered if this was some sort of slave thing, knowing your way around the kitchen, or if it was a woman thing. He'd never heard of a man talking about kitchen utensils like a woman did.

For a trill after she finished her explanation, Sin stood, sieve up to his face, spatula up to his chest, wondering where this little lady got this knowledge from. Then he realized he had been staring at her through the sieve since she started talking to him. Attempting to fake a disappointed look, which lasted about a trill before breaking into a smile, Sin lowered both sieve and spatula. "So they're not equipment a knight would wear to a battle, then?" A joke to break the ice, good start. He put both items back where he had found them and giving the stall a quick look. "You sound like you know your way around these..." Sin waved his hand over the assortment of tools. "...things." He didn't sound entirely convinced they were useful kitchen related items just yet.

"I recently went to live on my own and I was looking for some tools to use around the kitchen. My mother used to use them so I figured they were important." Sin shrugged lightly, as if he wasn't really sure how important these items were. Not entirely true but he didn't want to tell a complete stranger that a twenty six arc old man had been looked after until less than three seasons ago. "I mean, I know this one is used for soup and such but that's about it." Sin grinned as he picked up a two pronged poker like object, observed it in his hand as he turned it around a bit and then put it back. "Anything here you'd suggest that I get? I'm not a fancy chef or anything but I do know how to boil vegetables..." He started off sounding very proud of that but his eyes quickly darted down to his feet as he realized that it wasn't as much of an achievement as he thought.

[Faith Augustin]

62nd Vhalar, 716

He held the sieve up in front of his face and Faith could not quite help but smile. He watched her as she spoke and the young slave waited for him to respond after she had fallen silent. He did not seem at all at home amongst this equipment and even just the way that he held the spatula told her that he was far from comfortable. Although, his grin was infectious and Faith raised an eyebrow at his strange almost-salute. "No sir, not anything to wear to battle" she affirmed. Was he quite serious? She didn't think so but then Faith was never entirely sure in truth.

But did she know her way around these things? She nodded "I am a chef, sir, so yes, I know my way around them quite well". He explained then what he was looking for and Faith nodded "I would suggest then, that you start with a sturdy pan. You can use it for a range of things, including boiling vegetables" she explained. There was no judgement in her voice, none at all, in fact everything about her was approving and obviously trying to be helpful "I find that the best place to start is to think about size of portion. What is the largest portion you will cook in it? I then would buy a pan and a small dish to put in the oven. Maybe a frypan for if you want to fry an egg, for example." She looked at him and motioned to a building not far away, visible from where they were. "That is where I work. Would you like to pop in and demonstrate? My boss will be in but he will be fine with that, I am sure. Only if you wish it though, of course" she said, her expression earnest. She was always happy to help someone if she could, it was just the way that she was.

"If you are not confident with cooking, my boss is starting up some cooking classes, too, that might be something you want to sign up for? He is probably going to get me to teach it, so I can practice by showing you some equipment and how it is used" she gave him a warm and genuine smile and she waited to see what he wanted to do. She was not, nor would she ever be, in any way pushy and so the decision was his.

[Sintih]

Sin let his eyes wander over the woman next to him. It always made him wonder how people never looked like what they did. Sure, you could pick out a knight from a crowd but this slave lady next to him a chef? Nope, never would have guessed. She just looked like a servant, nothing more. Just a plain, invisible servant. Sin refocused his attention on her as she started talking about buying a pan. When she mentioned how useful pans were for boiling vegetables, Sin's cheeks turned a slightly darker shade of red as the blood in his cheeks from the cold mixed with the blood of shame. Anyway, it didn't matter, his talents lay elsewhere.

"Well, I only prepare food for myself so my portions would never be bigger than one. I wouldn't pick anything big either since I don't have that much space to store all these things. There's also no oven where I live, just a fireplace. It does have those hooks for hanging a pot." Sin's hands moved before he noticed it as he curled one finger to mimic the hook hanging above the fire. This woman seemed to posses quite a bit of knowledge on the subject of cooking. If he had had any doubts about her being a chef, they melted like snow before the sun the more she talked. He looked over the tools she had spoken about so far, the pan and the frypan which he didn't really see a difference between, the sieve and the spatula.

At random, he grabbed one of the pans, rather large in size and cumbersome. It was much heavier than he had anticipated and the shaking of the pan might betray exactly that. Quickly putting his other hand underneath it to support it, Sin looked it over as if he had any knowledge about the thing while he listened to the woman speak. They'd just met and he was already getting offered classes to improve his, obviously horrible, cooking skills. Turning his eyes away from the pan in his hands, Sin looked at Faith. "Faith, was it? Before I take any more advice from you, my name is not sir so please call me Sintih." The same playful grin from before snuck up to his face as he waited to get some sort of positive reaction to his words. He put the heavy pan back where he had found it, his arms relieved as the weight lifted from them.

"I would love some hands on experience but I'm afraid I wouldn't have time for a full class today. But if you wouldn't mind helping me pick out a pan here and maybe one of those spatula things, that would be amazing. If you have the time, of course, I assume you have some sort of schedule to keep as well." His eyes darted down to her neck and the collar she wore around it. Sin let his gaze rest on it for a moment before pulling it back up to her face. "Oh, and maybe show me a simple recipe with the pan as well. No eggs, though, I'm not a fan." Sin shook his head at the thought of eggs. He didn't really know where that came from, his dislike for eggs, but it had always been there. "And by simple, I mean really simple. 'Put in pan, wait, done'." His hands followed his words as he dropped some invisible meat in an invisible pan he was holding before shaking it lightly.

[Faith Augustin]

62nd Vhalar, 716

"Oh, that's good. You can do lots of things with a pot and a fireplace", she said, nodding her head "You can make soup, stew or roast vegetables or meats on a spit over a fire. All good and very tasty things." It was fairly straightforward, too, and that was good. She watched him as he held up one of the larger pots and she noted the way that his arm shook slightly, then how he put his other hand underneath it to hold the pot up. Not a natural warrior, Faith considered, and not a strong man. But then, a lack of physical strength did not mean a lack of anything else and the young woman smiled and watched him.

"I appreciate that", she responded about his name, "but my owner has instructed me that I am not to address free people by their name. He considers it disrespectful. I would be permitted to call you mister Sintih, if that is acceptable?" she wondered and waited to see what he said. Frankly, she considered (although her face did not show it) this whole nonsense with names had caused much more trouble than anything. Ever had it been such, it was not the remit of her current owner and, in fact, he was much more relaxed than her previous owners had been. But still, it was starting to feel just a little ludicrious to the young woman. However, that was much more about something deeper and she pushed it down, focusing on what she was doing and who she was talking to.

He wanted a pan and Faith nodded "Indeed. This one would be good. It has a lid, so you can make soups and not lose all the liquid to evaporation. But what I suggest you have as a recipie is that you buy this" she said, leaning over and showing him some small pasta shells "As you grow in confidence you can make these, they are straightforward. But you put them into boiling water for six bits. Strain them, through your sieve and then you have cooked pasta. Empty the water from the pan and put some sliced onions into it in the bottom. Stir, keep stirring, then add in some bacon if you have it, or ham. You could put in slices of peppers or many different vegetables. Fry them in the bottom of the pan, then add them to the pasta. Tasty, and the flavour will be enhanced by some cheese mixed in maybe. " she smiled at him and tilted her head to the side quizzically. "Is that too much? If so, buy some fresh chicken stock, this stall sells it and it is good, they have it in that large pot over there. Two pints, wash a lot of root vegetables, peel them and cut them into chunky pieces, cook for two breaks, lid off and topping up with water if you need it. A tasty stew" she explained.

Then, her lips lifted into ane xpression of pleasure "If you decide to come for lessons, maybe I will be teaching you, who knows? I would be delighted to, certainly. Have I been any help?" she wondered and hoped that she had. She was not a natural teacher, she knew and she hoped that she had not been unnecessarily complicated.

[Sintih]

Sin had never thought of himself as dumb or stupid. He had called himself that a few times when he'd done something dumb or stupid but he'd never actually thought of himself as being such. But as he listened to Faith talk, the thought slowly crept up to him. Sure he knew about magic and strategy and knights and how to survive as an Yludih in Idalos but he found himself realizing more and more that he knew nothing about actually living on his own. His mother had been there for him for two dozen arcs, looking after him and when she'd gone to Uleuda, he'd had a caretaker look after him. But neither of them had actually taught him to live on his own. Stupid.

He was pulled from his self-cursing when Faith asked him about his name. Such a strange order for an owner to give his slave. But then again, he'd seen slaves who had to pretend to be animals so all in all, Faith seemed to have it quite alright. Sighing and pulling his shoulders up slightly, as if defeated, Sin spoke. "Mister Sintih it is then, although I have to say, it sounds very strange. I've never been a mister before. Mister Sintih... Hmm... It's acceptable." His focus was pulled towards the food when Faith presented it. The hard, yellow things she brought forward looked nothing like food Sin would ever eat. They were tough, almost like thin stones or, well, sea shells.

What came next only strengthened Sin's thoughts of himself as being an idiot or stupid as well as his desire to learn to cook some food that did not involve just putting vegetables in water and waiting. While he tried his best to look like he understood everything that was being said and nodded politely from time to time, accompanying it with a 'mhmm' where appropriate, Sin could feel the lack of understanding grow on his face. Sin realized that for the first time in his life, information had gone right over his head. He had blanked out. He would never admit it to anyone but himself but he had. But Faith came to the rescue, intended or not.

The tasty stew recipe was right up his alley. He could wash vegetables in some chicken soup or whatever it was called and then cook them in this new pan he would buy. Sure, that wasn't too hard. See, Sintih was not an idiot, that other recipe was just... stupid. The relief at understanding the second recipe was clearly visible on Sin's face. He did all but exhale in relief. "This sounds like something I could make. Two pints of chicken... stock, right, and then just cook the vegetables in it?" Sin waved at the stall owner to get his attention. "Actually, I think this cooking class of yours might just be exactly what I need. When does it start?"

When the stall owner came over, Sin ordered his two pints of chicken stock and some root vegetables and the pan with the lid that Faith had picked out for him. Not really knowing what these root vegetables were, Sin was glad to see they were things he'd prepared before. Everyone knew carrots. As he started looking for the money for his purchases. As he waited for the owner to pack everything away, Sin turned back to Faith. "You've been most helpful, Faith. Thank you for taking the time. I've already learned a lot. Might I give one piece of advice, though?" He didn't wait for her answer as he went straight into the advice giving. "Treat your students like children that way you know for sure that everyone knows exactly what they're doing, how and why. Especially if I'm in your class. It's what my mother did." Sin flashed her a smile before taking his vegetables, chicken stock and pan from the owner.

[Faith Augustin]

62nd Vhalar, 716

She had lost him, there was no doubting it. Faith smiled at Sintih with an apology written clearly in her expression. "I am not a very good teacher, I am afraid, and I have over complicated something relatively simple" It was true, she did not doubt that it was her fault that he did not understand, but her pleasure was very genuine when she realised that he was happy with the idea of soup and stew and so on. She smiled a smile of very genuine pleasure when he understood the second recipe and she nodded "You will find it very tasty. Any vegetable can be cooked, it will be fine. Just make sure that you cut them to good sized chunks, but not so big that they do not cook. Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, those sorts of things, cut to about this big", she showed him on her hand, indicating the distance between the knuckle on her thumb and where it joined her hand. "Wheras peas and beans and so on, obviously, just go in whole"

He seemed pleased, though, and Faith was happy that he was. As for when the cookery classes started, she smiled "Tomorrow", she responded "If you can not make that one, another one is starting on the 70th. Whichever is you preference. I am hopeful that I have been useful, Mister Sintih, and I hope that you enjoy your food, also. It will taste better for cooking it yourself, I assure you"

With that, the young slave dropped a curtsy and then nodded to the stall owner "It has been a pleasure to meet you this trial, Mister Sintih. Good luck" she said, and made her way back to the rest of the market to get the things that she needed.

[Nymph]

Rewards!

Faith:

• Knowledge:
  • Location: Midtown Marketplace
  • Cooking: The Use of a Sieve
  • Teaching: Simple Recipes as Verbal Instruction
  • Teaching: Teach your Students like Children
  • Sintih: Not Knowledge with Kitchenware
  • Sintih: Appreciative for Cooking Advice
  • Sintih: Not a Fan of Eggs
  • Sintih: Not Naturally Strong
  • Sintih: Interested in her Class
  
  Loot: None
  Injuries: None
  Fame: +2 (Helping a Stranger)
  
  Story: 5/5
  Collaboration: 5/5
  Structure: 5/5

- - -

Sintih:

• Knowledge:
  • Location: Midtown Marketplace
  • Negotiation: The Art of Haggling
  • Negotiation: Visiting the Same Shop/Stall
  • Cooking: The Use of a Sieve
  • Cooking: A Slave or Woman Thing?
  • Cooking: Cut the Roots into Chunks
  • Faith: Collared and Branded
  • Faith: Chef
  • Faith: Unable to call him Sintih
  • Faith: Teaching a Cooking Class
  
  Loot:
  • Grey Wool Gloves
  • Small Frying Pan
  • Carrots x2
  • Potato x2
  • Pint Chicken Stock x2
  • - 4gn 4 sn for Gloves
  • - 5cn for Cheese Slice (Eaten)
  • - 5sn for Bread Slice x2 (Eaten)
  • - 2gn for Pan
  • - 1sn for Carrots
  • - 1sn for Potatos
  • - 2sn for 2 Pints Chicken Stock
  Injuries: None
  Fame: +1 (Buying Local)
  
  Story: 5/5
  Collaboration: 5/5
  Structure: 5/5

- - -

Comments: I appreciated the fact that Sintih took the time to go to the market and buy something. I rarely see PCs actually taking the time to write about commerce. My only suggestion is to place an OOC note at the bottom of the posts so that the reviewer knows what you are buying. If you are not happy with your 'loot' please let me know and we can alter it. Prices came from the price list. Faith, as always, is well written as a slave. Taking into mind her masters requests while being helpful to a complete stranger. Ultimately, the whole thread was a basic meet and greet story, but I am electing to give you both 5/5 in Story as this is the first meeting.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thank you!