“Let’s head over to the tailor to get our arming clothes made,” Voekeer said as they stepped out of the forge.
It was close by, and they had nothing better to do, so they all agreed and followed the elf as he made his way to the address scrawled on the scrap of paper in his hand. The streets had emptied with most of the dwarves at their workplace by this point in the day.
This street didn’t have any taverns, inns, or even food places on it. Just workshops ranging from the forge they had just left to a weaver’s workshop that was just as large. The tailor was a few doors down from the weaver’s, which made sense to her.
They went inside, and a young dwarf girl was sitting at a small table just inside. She smiled brightly at the party when they walked over to her.
“Can you tell me where this person is?” Voekeer asked handing the paper to the girl.
She looked it over and then looked at a chart on the table that had where everyone was working, similar to the one at the forge.
“She’s at station fourteen,” the girl chirped.
“Thanks,” Voekeer said.
Thokri passed her a few copper coins. She took them and beamed at him. He grinned back, and they left, heading for the tailor.
The workstations here were a seat with a table surrounded by bolts of cloth and racks of thread and sometimes ribbon. The dwarves were sewing everything from shirts to blankets, and like the smiths, were completely engrossed in their work.
Station fourteen was near the middle of the building, and they reached it quickly. The tailor that the smith had recommended was much younger than the other tailors and had a resemblance to the smith.
Oh, they have to be related. Maybe a younger sister or daughter or something. Thokri did tell me that dwarves will send you to a family member whenever they get a chance. It’s just how they do things.
She had been watching the party as they walked up and smiled at them when they stopped at her station.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
“Me and the lad need arming clothes for full plate. The lass here needs a set for scout armor, and the rest of this lot needs gambesons,” Thokri said.
“A silver from you three and twenty copper each for the gambesons,” the tailor replied.
They paid for the clothing, and then she took a tape measure from a drawer in her table and brought it over to measure each of them. The three getting full plate were measured in the same way she had been when she had been fitted for the ball gown. The rest of them were only measured for the length of their arms, the width of their shoulders, and from their shoulders to their waist, though she paused when measuring Anna and took a quick measurement of her bust and waist for some reason. Once she finished measuring them all, she went behind her and started to write everything down.
“Be about two weeks before it’s finished. You can check back, or I can send a runner,” she said.
“Send a runner, lass,” Thokri replied. He gave her his address which she wrote down.
She started to sew a coif that she’d been working on before they had walked over to her workstation, and they walked away, heading for the door.
Lyreen paused for a moment and then walked over to one of the workstations, her eyes glued to a dress that an old dwarf woman was embroidering.
“It’s beautiful! I’ve never seen a dress like this before! Is it for a special occasion?” Lyreen asked.
The old dwarf smiled at Lyreen and nodded.
“Aye, lass. It’s for the gem festival,” she replied
“What’s that?” Anna asked looking at Thokri.
He rubbed the back of his head for a moment.
“Bah! He wouldn’t know. Only lasses can go,” the old woman said.
“Really? Why’s that?” Anna asked.
“It’s when we give thanks to the stone one for making us as hard and beautiful as the gems in the earth. It’s not for them,” she replied.
“What do you do at this festival?” Barika asked.
“Sing, dance, eat, drink, spend time with other lasses without the lads or wee ones around,” the old woman replied.
“What a lovely tradition,” Barika said.
“Aye, the stone one knows it’s not easy being a lass, so he looks out for us. Say, would you lasses like to go? It’s not for another two months. I could whip you up some dresses by then,” the old woman said.
“Can we?” Lyreen asked.
“You’re lasses, aren’t you?” the old woman asked.
“Last time I checked, but we’re not dwarves,” Lyreen replied.
“Bah! It’s for all lasses, not just dwarves,” the old woman said.
“We’d love to go,” Barika replied.
“How much for the dresses?” Lyreen asked.
“As much as you can pay. The festival is for all lasses, but the more you pay me, the nicer dress I can make you,” the old woman replied.
Anna dropped a gold coin on the woman’s table. It spun around a few times before laying flat with queen Jessica’s stern side profile staring off into the distance. The old woman just stared at the coin, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Lass, that’s too much,” the old woman said.
Anna reached in her belt pouch, pulled out a hand full of gold coins, and held them out to show the old woman who just stared stupidly at them.
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“I want the prettiest dress there is, so I don’t mind paying for it,” Anna replied.
Another gold coin dropped on the table. Anna looked over to see that Lyreen had dropped this one. Elaine pulled one from her coin purse and then dropped it. She was followed by Barika and then Rose. Her friends grinned at her.
“Can’t let you show us up all the time, now can we?” Lyreen asked.
Anna smiled back at them. The old woman looked at the coins with tears in her eyes for a moment before looking back at the party.
“Bless you all. I don’t know what to say,” she said.
She picked up the coins one by one and put them in her coin purse. Then she stood up suddenly, walked around the table, grabbed Anna by the arm, and started to pull her away.
“Come on! Let’s get you all measured! I’ll start on all of yours as soon as I finish that dress!” she said.
Anna was pulled to a booth in the back of the building and shoved in where she was stripped, measured, and then shoved back out the moment she got her dress over her head. The rest of the women in the party received the same treatment before the old woman popped back out.
“I’ll send someone to get you when I’m finished. Where are you staying?” she asked.
Anna gave her Thokri’s address, and the woman walked back to her workstation. They met back up with the men and left the tailor’s workshop, heading home, wanting to make sure they got back in time for dinner.
They hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and while her friends weren’t bothered by this, she was hungry, at least as hungry as she got which was about as much as when a normal person skipped a single meal. She started to wander towards a food shop and was pulled back by Barika.
“You can wait, child,” Barika said.
“But...” Anna replied.
“No buts. You don’t even need to eat, so you can wait,” Barika said.
“Fine!” Anna replied.
“Don’t sass me, girl!” Barika said.
“Fine,” Anna replied.
Barika shook her head but didn’t let go of Anna’s arm until they were well away from the food shops.
They reached Thokri’s house sometime later and walked in the door. The house was filled with the smells of food. Bralla and Gilira stood next to the long table holding bowels of soup in their hands. They were feeding the children who were swarming around them.
Once the party entered the house, the children lost interest in dinner and swarmed them, wanting to be held or played with or whatever else came to their young minds. Anna and the others ignored them for the most part and went to get food.
“Get everything you need?” Bralla asked.
“Aye,” Thokri replied.
“We’re going to go to the gem festival!” Anna blurted out.
“That’s wonderful! We haven’t been to one in years!” Gilira replied.
“Do you want to come with us?” Anna asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. We have so much to do around here. I just don’t know if we could be away for a week. I mean, who would watch the children?” Gilira asked.
“The men would. Wouldn’t they?” Lyreen replied looking at Voekeer.
He looked around the room and noticed that all the women were looking at him now.
“Uh, yeah. We’ll take care of everything! Won’t we, Thokri?” Voekeer asked.
“Aye,” Thokri replied sullenly.
“We have so much to do! We need to make sure our dresses still fit and polish the jewelry! We should ask Uthra to come too. She hasn’t been to one since she started at the papermill!” Brilla said.
“You’re right! She needs a break too!” Gilira replied.
“So, what kind of jewelry will we need?” Lyreen asked.
“Well, you have to have a necklace made from gold with a gem that matches your eyes. Oh, you’re going to need an emerald! I’ve never seen eyes so green before! They’re beautiful!” Bralla replied.
Lyreen smiled shyly at Bralla. She pushed some of her hair away from her face and behind her ears.
“They’re just like my father’s,” she said.
“I bet he’s quite the looker,” Bralla replied.
“He is,” Lyreen replied.
“I have a question!” Anna said.
“What is it, lass?” Bralla asked.
“That old woman said that lasses get the gem festival because the stone one knows it’s hard to be a lass, but I thought the stone one sees all dwarves the same, and any dwarf, lad or lass, can do anything they want to, so what was she talking about?” Anna asked.
“Aye, the stone one sees us all the same, and we can do anything the lads can do, but we’re the ones that have to carry and look after the wee ones their first few years, so we have to take time away from our crafts. He saw that and decided to give us a week off a year to thank us for what we have to do for our kind, and that week became the gem festival,” Bralla replied.
“Oh, I get it,” Anna said.
“You need to get yourselves some food. We got a lot to talk about,” Gilira added.
She went over to the long table and picked up a bowl before dipping out a large portion of soup from the stone basin it had been poured into. The basin was smaller and easier to carry than the huge caldron it had been cooked in, that and the cauldron was still on the fire keeping the rest of the soup hot for the men who were still at work. She picked up a spoon and took a bite of the soup while she walked to a chair.
Oh, they used the spices I gave them again! I still can’t believe how happy they were to get them. I guess spices are more expensive here in the mountain than they are in the capital or Oldforge, so they don’t use them as often as humans do. I wonder why that is. I mean, the dwarves go everywhere. I thought they’d bring them home when they returned from their trading expeditions.
She sat down and had a swarm of children surround her immediately. She took a spoonful from her bowl and blew it off before stuffing it into the first open mouth standing in front of her. She did this a few more times before taking another bite herself.
The children looked at her with big eyes clearly wanting more, so she looked at them with big eyes of her own indicating that she wanted food too, at least, that’s what she hoped they’d think. They seemed to take the hint that she wasn’t going to be sharing anymore and scattered, pestering the others for bites of food.
“I think you lasses have dresses handled, so we need to get your necklaces made and rings if any of you have a lad,” Gilira said.
“Do boyfriends count?” Lyreen asked.
“Na, only the ones that put a ring on your finger do,” Gilira replied.
“I will one day!” Voekeer said.
“Bah! I’ve heard that one before!” Bralla replied.
All the women in the room, save Anna, chuckled at that, and Voekeer turned bright red.
“Well, then any of you have wee ones?” Bralla asked after a moment.
It was clear she was asking Barika for some reason. The priestess laughed and shook her head no.
“That would be a challenge considering my taste in lovers,” she replied.
“Aye, that is true. What about the rest of you?” Bralla asked.
As expected, the rest of her friends shook their heads no.
“Well, that means you don’t need any bracelets. Looks like all you lasses will need is necklaces,” Bralla added.
“Where is the festival anyway?” Elaine asked.
“At the central cathedral on each floor. We have to rent rooms nearby to stay in, but that shouldn’t be a problem with all the coin you folks brought,” Bralla replied.
“So, what’s it like?” Lyreen asked.
“Well, let’s see. During the first shift, everyone takes to the streets around the cathedral eating, drinking, and chatting until the second shift starts. Then we head to the cathedral where we sing and dance and drink more until the third shift. That’s when we head back to our rooms and get some sleep. We do the same thing each day until the final day of the festival. That day, at the end of the second shift, we give thanks to the stone one for another year and the festival ends. That reminds me, lass, can you pray to other gods being a priestess and all?” Bralla asked.
“I can so long as I keep the goddess first,” Barika asked.
“Are there any rules?” Elaine asked.
“Aye, no fighting, and no fucking lads,” Bralla replied.
“Fair enough,” Elaine said.
They chatted about what to expect from the festival for a few hours before the other men got home and were informed they’d be taking time off for the gem festival this year. Lobar and Eriben had the same look on their face as Thokri did when they were informed they would be taking care of the house for a week without the women, but like him, they agreed without any argument.
When Uthra was told, she was ecstatic and immediately started to chatter away about how much fun she always had at the festival, and that she was looking forward to going with all of them. The women talked late into the night, or third shift as the dwarves called it before each headed to their rooms.
Anna pulled off her belt and dropped it on the small table next to her bed. It hit the stone surface with a loud thud. She looked at it in confusion for a moment before remembering the phallus that her back pouch contained. She took the phallus from her pouch and held it up, looking it over for a moment.
I guess I should just use it and get it over with. I mean, it was a gift, and you’re supposed to use gifts. It’s rude not to. Besides, everyone had been telling me how good sex feels, and I’ve been meaning to try it out for a while now, so why not tonight? I mean, what harm could it do?