Magnus
Of these, wooden weapons seems the most common among the boys. Swords and shields are swung at unprotected heads, or indeed even at the knees of innocent passers-by, in furious battles enacting the war against Chaos. I have also observed a not insignificant group with painted tin soldiers, or troops whittled out of wood. They meet in parks and in public squares all over the city to fight out imaginary battles between the armies of the Empire and the forces of Chaos. A worrying amount of the boys involved in these different war games thoroughly enjoy playing Chaos warriors, and some even run bellowing around Altdorf, scaring women and babies, and panicking horses and cattle! A right nuisance, if you ask me!
And speaking of nuisances, the children of Altdorf seem to have made it their holy mission to remind the rest of the world of their existance; for this they use infernal rattles, pipes, bells, drums or whistles, even horns or trumpets stolen from some unfortunate coach driver add to the cacaphony of sounds of everyday life. Some foolish adults even pay children to come and scare off the ill influences of sickness and disease with their instruments of torture to the ear and sensibilities of educated people! The practice of making this noise seems to be most popular among the girls, for some reason.
Apart from the toys mentioned, the children of Altdorf play with balls made from cloth and inflated pigs’ bladders, playing games that involves much kicking and screaming. They also excel at the game called Nine Kings, where you use a ball to knock over as many of nine pins placed in varying patterns as possible in two tries. Very popular in the more affluent parts of our capital. In the poorer parts of Altdorf the children play with marbles, so called even though they are commonly made from stone or scrap glass or metal.
Adolphus Altdorfer
Bezahltag, Sigmarzeit 33, 2522 IC
While doing some quick research for this piece, I came across the painting Children’s Games by Pieter Bruegel. This paints a much better picture of what an ordinary day in Altdorf can look like, so right-click the image above and save it to disk. Then open it in an image viewer of your choice and take a closer look. It is well worth the extra effort!
Magnus
Altdorf is a grimy city, filled with waste and filth. But even so many of its inhabitants take great care to stay clean and bathe once every week. The manner in which they do so varies with social stature and income, but there is a sizeable portion that go to the public bathing houses that exist in the various Bezirks of our capital. Of course som baths are more splendid than others. Most common folk, the poor and the workers, simply use a barrel to scope cold water from, apply soap to strategic bodily locations, wash it off and rub themselves with rough towels to get dry. Not something you do every day, mind you.
For the upper class or for those of means, there are bath-houses where you get heated water in tubs or in pools. Some have rooms filled with heated rocks which you throw water on, creating steam to clean your body. Some rooms have cold pools of water so that you can alternate between hot and cool baths. There are also lounges where you can rest, eat a sausage or pie and drink a glass of wine or a flagon of cold beer.
For clients who can afford it, herbs or oils produced locally or imported from Estalia, Tilea or even Araby are added to the water to release a pleasing fragrance and promote good health and cleansing of the skin and lungs. Among the herbs commonly used are camomile, lavender, lemon balm, mint, rosemary and thyme. Oils are often scented with sap from birch or pine, or from the skins or peels from oranges, lemons, apples and pears.
Of all the bathing houses in the Empire, The Marble Baths in the Reikhoch Bezirk is probably the most well-known. The interiors are constructed from exquisite marble in Arabyan style, with beautiful mosaics depicting flowers, planets and stars. There are two sections, one for the men and one for the women. The bathers dress in simple linen trunks or dresses for the women. Curiosly both sexes often dress in something known as an Altdorf Wig, a kind of bathing hat of varying lavishness. Female bath-house keepers, often devout Shallyans in sleeveless dresses serve the bathers with buckets of hot or cold water and scrubs or lashes in the case of the more devout attendees.
Adolphus Altdorfer
Backertag, Sigmarzeit 24, 2522 IC