The time until the Satinalia ball passed quickly; the pair of them had several more meetings with Alistair and his advisers, which filled much of their time. Zevran also took Fenris out into the city several times, showing him the sights and taking him shopping. They needed costumes for the ball, he insisted, and dragged Fenris off to see a seamstress he knew, who threw up her hands and exclaimed there was not enough time, but gave in and agreed to see what she could do when Zevran piled gold coin after gold coin in a towering stack on her counter.
"You shouldn't have spent so much," Fenris muttered, flushed with embarrassment, as they left the shop afterwards.
"Of course I should have! What is money for, if not to spend it? And I wish both of us to look particularly fine at the ball. Now, come down this way, there is a lovely furrier's shop around the corner here where we can pick up some of the clothing you will need for winter travel," he said.
Fenris let the assassin help him in making selections. The furs were beautiful, he had to admit, and found himself torn between a thick coat of glossy black bear fur, and one of red fox furs that warmed him just to look at, the colours of it was so beautiful.
"Allow me," Zevran said to Fenris, and spoke rapidly to the shop owner, who disappeared into the back and re-appeared with another coat, of thick silvery-grey fur with black tips. "Also fox," Zevran explained. "And I will take the red fox myself, as it suits my colouring, and then you can admire it on me, yes?"
Fenris grinned. "All right," he agreed.
Zevran picked out boots for both of them as well, two pairs each; a thinner pair made of sheared sheep-skin, for when it was only somewhat cold, he explained, and a much heavier pair with a felted wool liner and covered on the outside in thick fur, for once the weather turned bitter. And gloves, as well, several different pairs that could be layered together depending on temperature; a thin suede glove, a thicker knitted wool glove, another pair of suede gloves loose enough to fit over top of the others, and then, for the worst weather, heavy leather gauntlets lined with more sheared sheepskin and cuffed with fur. The fingers of that final pair were shaped into a formless mitt instead of individual fingers, but the tip could be folded back to expose the gloved fingers inside, when finer manipulation needed to be done.
"Will all this really be necessary?" Fenris asked, moderately appalled.
"Yes, and more besides. Several layers of clothing under this as well. You will not believe just how cold a Ferelden winter can get until you find yourself trapped outside in one, and then you will be very glad of every bit of this," Zevran said, then lifted a hand. "Hats! We will also wish hats," he exclaimed to the shop-keeper. He selected them both knitted woollen caps and scarves, and fur hats with ear flaps that could be lowered and tied beneath the chin to protect the ears, or tied over top of the head to keep them out of the way.
The final selections made what seemed a quite immense pile on the counter, and this was just their outerwear. Fenris insisted on paying for his part of the pile, and Zevran acquiesced after only a little argument, and then arranged for it all to be delivered to the palace.
They went shopping for clothing next. "Layers," Zevran said firmly. "Layers are the secret. You will want something soft and comfortable next to the skin, something that will allow any moisture to escape but will not wick in moisture if part of it gets wet. A very finely knit wool is best; stockings, close-fitted leggings and a long-sleeved sweater. These will be expensive because of how long it takes to knit a garment out of such thinly spun wool," the elf explained.
"Then over that a layer of warmer clothing; heavier stockings, also of wool, and woolen leggings and a smock or tunic of tightly woven cotton or linen, and also a good thick sweater to wear over top of that on colder days. You will need an additional layer for your legs for windy or bitter weather; leather is best as it will keep in your body heat and keep out the wind; your coat will provide that protection for your upper body. Depending on the weather we will wear different combinations of the different layers, and in the coldest weather we will be wearing everything at once, and looking as bulky as bears."
The shop-keeper, a woman this time, grinned at Zevran's description. "He speaks truely," she said. "Enough layers even of rags will keep a person from freezing, so long as you can stay dry and out of the worst winds, as even the poorest in Ferelden can tell you. Though what I sell is far from rags," she added meaningfully.
"And priced accordingly, I am sure," Zevran said, grinning at the woman. "But better to spend gold now and be warm later, than pinch our silvers and coppers and freeze."
Zevran insisted on them both having several changes of both weights of stockings, feet being particularly prone to dampness, and dampness being dangerous in the cold, as well as a spare pair of each of the woolen leggings. The final pile of clothing was almost as sizable as the furs had been, and again Zevran arranged to have it all delivered to the palace.
They ate after that, in a fine inn on the edge of the market, Zevran being treated with a level of deference there that Fenris had never seen any elf receive in a public house before. Zevran grinned toothily after the barmaid had taken their order and left. "They've seen a lot of business from me over the years, and know I will tip well for excellent service," he explained quietly. "A reputation for a generous hand will often get one far better service than any high title will. Though the title does not hurt, of course. Nor my connection with the crown, and with Soria, both of which are well-known here."
The food was nothing particularly fancy, just a hearty mutton stew and fresh-baked bread, but it was all made out of good quality ingredients, and nicely seasoned, and the wine that accompanied it was excellent. By the end of the meal Fenris was in a good mood, their expenses of the morning notwithstanding. They spent a little additional time roaming the market after that, mostly just browsing at random rather than with any specific purchases in mind, though they each found a few odds and ends they wished to purchase; little luxuries they each particularly enjoyed, to satisfy Zevran's love of bathing and Fenris' sweet tooth.
Zevran eventually led the way out of the market and down side streets to the brewery Alistair had mentioned, the one with a pair of the Gwaren draft horses that Anora had spoken of. The brewer greeted them politely enough, and then became positively effusive after Fenris had given him the letter of introduction that King Alistair had written. He took the two of them to see his team himself.
They were compact, well-muscled horses with a dappled bay coat that Fenris thought was one of the most beautiful he'd ever seen, shading from a warm red-brown colour on the back and barrel to dark brown withers, shoulder, neck, and leg, with dapples of a lighter golden-brown colour marking their sides. Their legs were even more heavily feathered than he'd expected; not just down below the knee, but well up the legs almost to the barrel. It gave them a look rather as if they had cone-shaped fur leggings on. The rest of their body was rough-coated, like Zevran's Feo had looked like before being clipped, not the short glossy he'd become used to seeing on well-cared for horses.
"They're smaller than I expected," he said, surprised at how small they seemed in comparison to Ari's great size. Ari towered over him, his shoulder being higher than Fenris was tall, while these horses had shoulders more or less on a height with his own.
The brewer nodded his head. "The smaller size makes it easier for them to work in heavy forest, and also makes them better suited to the narrow streets I have to deal with here in the city. I keep them clipped shorter and well-groomed in summer to make a good showing here in the city, but down south they let them stay rough-coated year round. This pair is growing in their winter coats now; they'll be even shaggier by the time the really cold weather arrives."
The horses seemed to have a quite placid and friendly disposition, and made no attempts to nip, head-butt or kick as Fenris gave them as thorough an examination as he could manage in the confines of their stalls. After which the brewer invited them indoors to discuss the breed further over some of his beer, which proved to be of excellent quality. He was from Gwaren originally himself, and was able to answer most of Fenris' questions about the breed, as well as giving him the names of a few breeders to go see in the south if he decided he wanted to purchase some stock.
"So what did you think of the horses?" Zevran asked as they walked back to the palace afterwards.
"Very nice; I believe before we go back north I will have to find time to make a trip to Gwaren to purchase some stock. The cold-weather hardiness will be useful, and I very much admire their coat colour as well."
"Perhaps in the spring before we sail north again," Zevran agreed. "It is just as easy to depart from Gwaren as from the more northerly ports."
Fenris nodded in agreement. "When do you wish to set out for the west?" he asked.
"Not long after Satinalia; Alistair is regrettably right that my absenting myself from Denerim before then would be remarked upon. I have a, um... a bit of a reputation for enjoying the Satinalia balls. The main one of which at the palace we will certainly have to attend, but there will also be smaller celebrations both before and after which that I will be invited to attend. I can perhaps arrange invitations for you as well, if you'd like...?"
"No," Fenris hastily demurred. "I think the one at the palace will be more than enough for me. I am not a particularly social creature, as you've seen," he said, feeling somewhat embarrassed, as if it was a lack in him. "Dealing with one large party of people I don't know will be enough for me."
Zevran patted his arm comfortingly. "Do not worry; no one will think the less of you for only attending one party, especially when it is that one. Many others will be doing the same; I am just unusually social. Besides, the more parties I attend, the more chance I have of picking up on interesting gossip and so on. While I do usually enjoy attending them, they are as much work for me as pleasure."
Fenris nodded, feeling relieved.
"Anyway, to return to your question... a week or two afterwards, perhaps less if the pretext for our trip can be managed believably enough. I have had some ideas on that; do not be surprised if Alistair makes a bit of a show out of introducing you to someone from the west at the ball, someone who will spend some time in talking horses with you; the conversation and your interest in what he has to say about western horses will be meant to be overheard and gossiped about, so that when we depart later everyone will presume they already know the reason, yes?"
"All right," Fenris agreed, and found himself looking forward to it; frighteningly large piles of warm clothing aside, he wanted to be moving again, not sitting around waiting for things to happen. Though he was also sure from past experience that once things got too exciting he would be thinking wistfully of the boredom of sitting around and waiting.