[X] (Eira's Base Shopping Idea) "Some of these camp and adventuring items sound great! What are lockpicks like in your time?"
[X] (Helen's Shopping Plan) Write-In - "You never did look at footwear, and a modern tent might call too much attention to us."
"Erm," you say after a few seconds. "Modern tents are nice, but also they tend to be visually loud. Like, distinctively 'something is up here' and also just super visible. Which is great for hikers, but when we're potentially hiding… Would some good footwear be better?"
Helen pauses. "Mm. True. Something that my greaves can still slide over, but…"
She goes over some modern hiking boots. "Bringing some of these techniques to bear would be super profitable."
"Yeah, but you'd need a small army of crafters."
"True," Helen sighs, placing an order after figuring out her US shoe size quickly - thankfully, her feet don't qualify as 'wide fit', making it easy enough to pick a reasonably reputable, not horrifically expensive brand.
Eira is observing them. "A lot of these look like they have really thick soles that could be kinda loud," she ponders.
"That's because I'm favoring endurance hiking boots," the Paladin explains. "I can fit my greaves over them, for one, but their soles and softness mean my feet will hurt less at the end of the day. What you'd want, really, is more of a running shoe, designed to soften foot impacts… Or thinner shoes like what you already have, just with better support."
"Hmm~", Eira says. "My turn?"
"Think so."
"Good. These camping supplies… Where do I even start… What are lockpicks like in your time?", she thinks to ask.
You quickly pull up a 'sport lockpicking' site. "Newer locks tend to be a lot smaller," you respond. "So the picks are shrunk to match, but…"
Eira examines. "Quite a few of these would border on an out-of-context problem for locksmiths, actually, the more I think about it. I'd still need some of my usuals, but…"
She's suddenly taking the mouse, clicking her own way around and building up $150 of cart very quickly. You aren't exactly sure which parts are which, but you do notice a strap pouch among the set.
"Okay, shoes," she says next. "... As cool-looking as the neon ones are, let's go for muted colors that are harder to spot… Trail running seems better, given um mud… These look good. Soft enough to beat my current shoes, better support… Yeah. Going with them." $130, not the cheapest, you note, but…
"One of those same headlamps, since not all of us have Darkvision…" Leaving her with $410.
"Roll of this 'duct tape', looks very useful…" $400 to go.
"... This water bottle looks cool." $390 left.
"Trowel. Neat." $365 to go, but a portable tiny shovel's hard to overvalue.
"... What else, what else," she says with a 'hmm'.
"Rope?", you think to ask. "Like, nylon rope is $10 for 90 feet, and stronger than silk while still being decent to work with."
Eira blinks, searches… And buys two smaller packages of ¾" cord. "Looks easy enough to tie, too. Very useful."
You decide not to bring up certain alternative uses for it, as she offhandedly looks at backpacks on a lark. "Well," she says. "They look decent, but man the weight if you fill them…"
Helen steps in here. "It's good to note that more modern packs actually sling on your hips, which helps distribute the weight and makes it much easier."
"... Huh, really?", Eira responds. "That… Could work, then. Hmm. Costly, though. Hey, what are telescopes like in your day and age?"
"Cheap, for one, thanks to mass-produced glass," you point out.
Eira searches. "... How the hell can one that small work and be only $33? Those cost a thousand gold!"
"That always seemed absurdly expensive," Helen notes. "But it looks decent."
"Yep." Okay, that's about $320 left…
Eira considers. "... The water bottle's neat, but can we do bigger?"
You pause. "I've heard of like, hydration packs for storing tens of liters, but at that point it's replacing your main backpack and at that point, for now at least, we're probably better off just using the apartment."
Eira nods. "Though if we're camping with others, can't use that…"
Helen pauses. "Water purification options might be better there. Alchemical options exist, but they're expensive and kinda bad tasting."
You nod. "There's a ton of options there, but pass-through filter kits run anywhere from $80 to $200 plus - and one's only good for so much water, note."
Eira pauses. "... This $100 one looks okay." That's $220 left.
You pause. "You bought some duct tape earlier. That's for holding stuff together. Sometimes, though, you want things moving. There's a mineral oil product called WD-40, a can or two of that might be good?"
Eira looks it up, and puts $10 into one bottle. "Beating friction… Potentially good, yeah!", she says upon thinking about it.
Helen pauses. "... What kinds of spray treatments do you have?", she offers. "Waterproofing could be good."
You pause.
Intelligence Check: 1d20 + 2 = 13
"... I'd need to ask Jack about it, which he's at work so that'll be later when we get an answer, but there's stuff for creating truck bed liners that could be good for that."
Eira pauses. "Erm…"
"Think wagons, except powered by a mechanical engine instead of draft animals."
"... Huh," she says. "Gives me a basic idea."
You nod, as she continues, "How about modern camp cooking?"
"Well," you say. "You have, um, a lot of options there. Coolers require ice, but can stay cold with the help of it for several hours-"
"Oh, there's an entire section of this site for the stuff!"
You blink. "Clothing, too, though, there might be some good options there!"
"Like…"
"Where do I even start," you say. Spandex or other fitness-oriented fabrics, for one. Bras, though costly, are very effective.
And she's looking through the camp materials, impressed. "Whoa… Some of these seem a bit too thin and I'd just stick to my own pan, but…" She buys a pot set and knife-and-cutting-board kit for $140.
And then you're moving her towards clothing with her remaining $70. Reading the size charts easily lets you recommend a sports bra and some other light, cooling fabrics that should play decently with Eira's high-mobility style and make her light armor more comfortable to wear, finishing her funds before she discovers the world of sex toys or the like.
Not that there's any innocence to preserve, given her kinky tendencies, but you'd be here for days if you let her get into that freeform.
… Of course, you are considering some of that realm yourself. Though, being a Succubus, you could easily make the joke you basically are a walking sex toy when you want to be.
Seriously, though, damn the range of human creativity when less stifled by conservative-minded authorities was grandiose. You could spark revolutions among Abyssal society with some of the ideas on display here…
[X] (Senaz's Purchasing Choices) Write-in: Kinky And Useful
Like, you can afford to split the funds a bit here. You don't need as many items - food, water, sleep, they're all optional for you as a Succubus. Self-cleaning can be done with Prestidigitation. So your focus, by necessity, lends to either having some certain kinds of fun with Eira or others, or to adventuring usefulness…
Okay. $300 for fun times. You know Eira's sizes rather intimately by now, which makes ordering a few choice pieces easy enough…
Deception Check: 1d20 + 8 = 2 + 8 = 10
Helen's Insight Check: 1d20 + 4 = 12 + 4 = 16
"Senaz," Helen says. "I'm not going to say you shouldn't, honestly, but trying to hide it from her when we're right here?"
You should've known you weren't that sneaky. The Paladin, fortunately, mostly seems to think it was funny more than anything. Eira tilts her head… Then purrs a little, realizing you were intending this to be a surprise and leaving it at that.
… Movingonnow. You do feel some need for practical picks for adventuring.
Tape, Knife, Multitool - you go with similar picks to what the others went with. Headlamp, too - while you can see in the dark, being able to point things to others was too useful to pass up. That leaves $190.
… Maybe you could do some pure joy spending after all. Clothing was less relevant given your shifting, which did reduce options some. Maybe set some aside for catching up on a few book series, or some game picks…
Or perhaps you'd think of something a bit later. For now, $190 set aside for later ideas wasn't bad. You quickly placed the orders.
"Two-day shipping," you observe aloud. "Enabled by… a lot of things, actually. But, that's two days this-side-time. If we do not leave the door open while outside - which carries some rather significant risks - that's going to take a few days.
[ ] (The Order) Leave the door open in the inn room while you go out. Risks discovery and/or thieves.
[ ] (The Order) Stay in for a day or two, door shut. Helen probably won't be much into the delay, though…
[ ] (The Order) Deal with it - go forth and adventure, and in a few days relative to your experience, your stuff will arrive. You won't have it yet, but that's fine.
***
Secondary Discussion is going to basically be 'where to next' - there are several directions you can go around the valley, after all. South kinda got you to something faster than intended; other possible encounters are liable to be a spot less dangerous.