#also the way that the settings are painted—turlough. fen carn. the refugee camp. the island of fish soup in the yaruga.

[hanzajesthanza]

the mishmash of clothing that geralt’s company wear during their journey is delightfully piecemeal. it’s like half-brokilonian, half-stolen from banditry, half-clothes which actually belong to them. ik i made this post as a joke but i actually really love the outfits of the company

geralt and dandelion are dressed in hooden grey elven mantels. later in chapter 4, they’ve exchanged them for homespun cloaks stolen from the guards, which they used to escape the camp. from though he still has his recognizable headband and medallion, geralt is seemingly almost incognito as he wears a leafy-patterned elven jerkin from the dryads. (and for even more brokilon influence, before zoltan gives him the dwarven sihill, he has a sword from col serrai).

speaking of dwarven fashions, dandelion receives a quilted jacket and a ‘swashbuckling’ marten-fur kalpak from zoltan and his company. he replaced his plum hat with the heron’s feather with this marten kalpak, so he as well is almost incognito. as far as accessories go, he has a brass-studded belt and the cruel-looking knife from the dwarves, too; although he immediately lost the knife. after the events of chapter 4 and in the middle of 5, his head is wounded and bandaged.

zoltan tells milva that she “looks too much like a squirrel” to approach humans alone — which is probably a result of her dress and her bow, of course. asides from her mahogany bow with whalebone risers, measuring 5 foot with a 24 inch draw length, shooting grey-fletched arrows… and one silver arrow… she’s likely dressed in some brokilonian or elven garb, owing to her work as an agent for brokilon. but she also wears “human” clothing, a blouse and woolen leggings. her belt is described, with a pouch and a hunting knife with a bone handle hanging off of it (and in the next book, she gives this knife to angoulême as a gift). perhaps most curiously, milva’s not mentioned to be wearing her iconic braid or plait during this book, rather her long hair is described as falling into geralt’s face when she leans over him in tense conversation in chapter 1, tossing her hair with a sudden movement when offended in chapter 5…

cahir is almost unrecognizable as nothing he wears betrays him as nilfgaardian, instead he’s dressed in a hauberk, leather tunic and cloak from the men who were transporting him. but this hauberk becomes ever-so iconic in its own right as it plays such a role in the fish soup… as a strainer.

regis, of course, dresses modestly and is perhaps the only one of the company dressed in his own clothes not signalling affiliation to a larger faction or taken from some roving banditry. black robes, something like an apron tied around the waist. when they meet him, he has a linen bag, but when they leave, he’s exchanged it for a leather one. and also, a walking stick, which is never mentioned again by the writing... he also has his nigh-iconic black, woolen cloak-cape, which he wraps himself up in…

and the horses! do not forget the horses. geralt’s elven roach, a bay mare who rides as if bitted by horseflies. the lazy and docile bay gelding pegasus, of course, remains dandelion’s steed. cahir rides on a chestnut colt, which he loses but later recovers. milva’s black horse, which she tells geralt not to touch in chapter 1, which also becomes the subject of debate in chapter 4. regis rides on a nilfgaardian bay near the end of the novel, by which point they’ve also obtained a riderless grey horse which carries their modest belongings.

these small little details are all just described so wonderfully across the course of the book, the picture is painted for you eventually, over time, your attention is rewarded with an intricate picture at the end…