…or spats, for that matter
.
Sister Bomia’s Adventure Diary
The Kingdom Of Weskolia
Dogsday 2, Roc Month, Year 25 of the Golden Emperor
Dear Diary,
As predicted, we arrived on the small hill that overlooks the city of Weskol just about midnight. The city gates were shut and locked, as we could tell from the travelers and merchant who had bedded down for the night outside the walls. We decided to go and sleep in that area, thinking perhaps we’d meet some people to chat with.
As it turned out, we laid out our bedrolls near a group of women that had been out all day gathering plants that are used to make dye. They were very pleasant company and informed us of something very important.
The city of Weskol, capitol of the Kingdom of Weskolia, is ruled by men. Now, rule by men is nothing new. Back home, perhaps two thirds of everything from hamlets to empires are ruled, one way or another, by men. The difference here is that while women back home have many rights and options in their lives, in Weskolia they are second class, and in the city of Weskol, they have no rights at all!
These women had a very long list of things women were forbidden to do. Each time they mentioned something new, our group got angrier, especially Halana, who comes from an entire civilization of warrior women.
When they told us that we would have to check our weapons and, as outsider women, would be limited to one small part of town, we were on the verge of just going around the wall and continuing on our way. This changed when Olivia asked, “And what about magic?”
The women just stared at her and the eldest said, “What?”
It seems that Weskolia, and the other kingdoms along the river are all inhabited by people who cannot channel mana. Back home, this happens in a few small areas, but here, it seems to be widespread. Olivia thinks that the rather isolated and hard to reach nature of these kingdoms has kept them from meeting people from the outside world. Or it could be some form of curse, she isn’t sure. At any rate, she said we should go to bed, then go into the city in the morning, so we did just that.
This morning, we removed all of our weapons, armor, and jewelry, then dressed in drab clothing that we keep in case we need to not look like anyone the authorities are looking for. Olivia cast an Illusion on us so that we all looked like Weskolian women. Then we joined the long line of people waiting to enter the city.
When we got to the gate, we were shunted to the women’s entrance and asked why we were coming to the city. Olivia told them that we were there to but food for our hamlet. The Guard sneered at us, but sent us to the Women’s Quarter and told us to be gone by the next morning or we would go to jail.
Despite the fact that either Halana or Grettin would have cheerily knocked the sneer off of his face, we kept our heads down, thanked him, then went to the Women’s Quarter. It was a very shabby area, where women could buy goods and services from other women that lived in the city. Every woman we saw looked tired and beaten down by life. It was terrible and we had our hands full not letting Halana go slaughter every man she saw. She calmed down after a bit and we set about talking to women as we bought some food to replenish our supply.
I must admit, Diary, that I said the Prayer of Mass Healing on many of the women in the Quarter. It really helped them to feel better. We have learned a great deal about this city and the men in it. Most notably, we learned that most of the men here have more than one wife and perhaps a mistress on the side. We also learned that slightly more girls are born than boys. This has set us all to thinking and we have devised a plan. Soon it will be dark and we have things to do.
I will write more as soon as I can, Diary.
Sister Bomia Everain
The Dociverse Blog 