Inside Out

"Wilhelm! You get right into your night shirt this instant!" Elma yelled at her obstinate ten year old son.   "Can't I turn it right side out just once? All the stitchery rubs me wrong." The boy complained as he stood in his under pants glaring at his night shirt with the pine tree stitched down the front. Its pine boughs even had some pine needles sewn in, giving it a very realistic look and smell.   Elma gasped and hurried over to his bunk and quickly turned the night shirt inside out so teh seams and under stitching was out for all to see.   "Its to keep you safe!"   "But, Mama, nothing every happens!"   The door of their cottage-in-a-wagon thudded shut.   "Course nothing happens, boy," his father Franz rumbled at him while he slid his boots off at the door. "That shirt makes sure of that. Now put it on and get into bed before my belt finds your backside."   Pouting, Wilhelm put on his inside out nightshirt and climbed up into his bunk. Once he was under his blankets he wriggled out of his nightshirt, turned it right side out then wriggled back into it.
  The Peddlers believe supernatural things roam about. They are always travelling from one kingdom, nation, or land to another and have never lost this belief. From their travels they have aquired an extensive collection of local protective traditions, but they rarely use them. Instead, they believe in their "tried and true" tradition of wearing clothes inside out.   From childhood, a Peddler sleeps in inside out bedclothes. Going deep into a wilderness, they will wear their leathers and cloaks inside out. Wearing clothes this way if very looked down upon in other cultures so they refrain from doing so when out in public. This can often lead to misery or even death if the Peddlers fail to fit in, which is why they pay strict attention to the local traditions. Still, if a Peddler suspects there is supernatural trouble, they are always ready to turn their clothes as quick as they can.
Interestingly, the turning of the clothes inside out actually works by confounding most supernatural things.   The more distinct the outside is from the inside, they more powerful the confounding.   The outside of clothes are lovingly embroidered and decorated with extra buttons or bows while the inside seams are large and obvious with no effort to make them neat.


Cover image: by geralt

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