The rest of they day drags on, with you struggling to keep your eyes open through most of it. Riben has the expected run-in with the understandably irritated town guard, but keeps you and the rest of your party out of it. Aflia offers to take the party shopping to re-supply and re-equip, particularly as Little Bird and Talae have little more than the clothes on their backs.
"Of course I'll come along, but aren't we all a little short on funds? I have some, but..."
Aflia shrugs, clearly unconcerned. "The Guild does owe us for the Rat contract, so Riben should have a payment for us."
You shrug in return. "If he ever gets free from butting heads with the Town Guard. We probably won't see that until tomorrow."
Talae shrugs, "I guess we..."
Little Bird promptly swats Talae on the back with a wing. "No, we do not take by force. While you were trying to bash the safe, I did come across a pouch with a few gold coins in it, and this shiny rock. Perhaps it's worth something?"
You eye the small translucent green gemstone. Jade? That's worth a few coins! "If that's jade, then it's worth a bit of money. We should get that sold off and then shop around some. Aflia, you know Chedal better than the rest of us, know a good place to go shopping?"
Aflia eyes you up and down, noting the drabness of your common clothes. "I know a place, sure. Let's grab Little Bird and Talae some wargear out of the store room and then head out. You are going to love Elci's."
It turns out that Talae and Little Bird don't need much in the way of weapons, and less in the way of armor. At your raised eyebrow, Little Bird flexes her wings. "My feathers might be clipped at the moment, but armor gets in the way of flying, so I don't bother with any." She picks up a mace and a light crossbow, with a box of bolts to go with it.
Talae follows suit, selecting only a pair of handaxes and four javelins but no armor. "Armor just slows me down, limits my mobility. Plus it makes noise, which gets you killed down in the Dark."
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You pinch your nose in mild irritation. "So I'm the only person in our party that can get hit and not leave blood all over the floor?"
Little Bird bobs her head, "Though I can close most wounds with the blessing of Kuko."
You can only shrug at this, and follow Aflia down the stairs to the street.
Two hours and enough haggling to mildly irritate Aflia later, you have a small sack of gold coins, and are on your way to Elci's, whatever that may be. Probably a clothing store, if Aflia's look earlier meant anything. You heft the purse, feeling it weight, and most of this is going to vanish in short order, once these three get set loose.
Still, the sign outside Elci's is... less than impressive on the outside. The storefront isn't immensely large, and the siding is common wooden shingles. Simple painted wood, without the spell-lights the pricey shops in Sapphire or Emerald used. It bears the image of a needle and thread, universal imagery for a tailor's shop. The door is a bit interesting, featuring both a lower and upper half, each with its own doorknob. Aflia opens the upper half of the door, and the bottom half swings with it. One glance at the proprietress explains the door however. A short Gnome sits atop the counter, reading a book. Aflia promptly smothers her in a hug, gesturing for you, Talae, and Little bird to wander the aisles while she gets caught up.
Talae and Little Bird exchange a knowing smirk and leave you bemused as they head off into the store. You glance around, trying to get a handle on what kind of clothing you can expect. The racks of clothes are clearly split between male and female, and further divided by small and normal sized people. You catch a glimpse of Talae's white hair as she ducks down one of the women's aisles. You head for the Men's section, browsing over clothing. These is the usual selection of simple tunics and trousers, but you notice that the clothing starts to include leather and fine cloth as you continue to browse, in a large variety of cuts and fashions. Elci could make a fortune back in Sapphire with this kind of selection. All of it excellent quality too! Wonder why she's all the way out here in Chedal? You shake your head to clear the thoughts away, and wonder instead what sort of clothing you should get for yourself.
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Status Report:
Money: 110 Gold coins
Food and water: 10 days of hardtack rations
Equipment: in good condition
The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings
Total Deaths: 1