Just as quickly as the immense darkness fell on her, it disappeared. The sound came back as well, beginning with the scream coming out of her mouth. She cut off the scream as soon as she realized she was okay, but she couldn’t stop trembling from the overwhelming terror that had overwhelmed her from that moment of pure black.

Rendan staggered back a few steps, pulling the staff away from her hands. The mage placed his staff down hard, and leaned into it heavily. His stance reminded her of one of the squires she had seen being bashed hard by a shield and stunned for a few moments.

They were no longer in the castle courtyard, but in an alleyway in the town. Bree could see the castle on the high ground on the northern side of town. The market streets were bustling, and though the alley they were in was empty her scream had gotten the attention of more than a few people.

A couple in particular, with particularly large builds and visible weapons on them stepped towards her. The hard leather armor they were wearing moved smoothly, and both had the same look as the older guards that had been in skirmishes before. More dangerous, for lack of a better way for her to describe their demeanor.

Adventurers, she surmised. She’d never met any, but even among the court there was no shortage of stories about the brave men and women that went out into the wilds to fight raiders, monsters, elves and other dangers to the realm. They mainly gained wealth by the loot and treasures they found on their adventures, but she knew nobles and merchants were known to subsidize them with quests for protecting or clearing out areas of dangers. She’d never heard of a cowardly adventurer, at least outside of a comedy.

“Are you okay, milady?” the adventurer in the lead asked her as he approached, though his attention was clearly on Rendan. The guarded, appraising look he was giving Rendan and the hand on his axe left no doubt on what, or who, he thought the problem was. The only issue was that Bree didn’t want the man’s death on her conscience.

“I’m fine,” she said, hastily. The man cautiously moved his gaze to her, and she could almost see the man’s thoughts marching as he appraised the situation. She suppressed her trembling through sheer force of will. “Something startled me is all,” she hastily added. “Thank you for your concern.”

The adventurers gave skeptical looks, but finally nodded and walked away. She felt the mage step up beside her and suppressed a shudder.

“Thank you,” he said. “I know you aren’t enthused about coming with me, and you could have instigated a fight there. I appreciate your restraint.”

“I did it for them, not you,” she muttered with an anger that she couldn’t entirely keep from her voice.

“Fair enough. Follow me.” He led her onto the main street and towards a store with a large needle and thread sign. She followed him in and found herself in a richly appointed clothing store.

The man inside started to greet them, but paused, mouth open, as he saw her. His eyes flickered back and forth between them several times before he closed his mouth with a very noticeable swallow.

“Sir, Ma’m,” he said in a hesitating cadence. “We normally only serve by appointment, but in your case...in your case we will be happy to help you.” He gave another nervous glance to Rendan, and then looked her way before straightening up. “What can I help you with?”

“The girl will be traveling with me,” Rendan started. “She needs good traveling clothes that she can take, right now. And boots.” The merchant gave her a considering look with his first knuckle at his lips in what was likely an unconscious tic, while Bree stood in uncomfortable silence.

“We would not usually be able to accommodate a request of such immediacy,” he said slowly. “Fortunately, I have an order for another lady close to your size that I think we can quickly repurpose. I don’t think she would mind a delay, given the circumstances here. Are -,” he started, hesitated, and looked back at the mage. “Will we be receiving compensation for this?” he asked nervously.

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Rendan sighed in irritation, and rubbed his temples in an exaggerated manner before sweeping his hand down his face.

“Keep the dress she is wearing,” he finally said. “It appears to me to be of more than enough value to compensate for traveling clothes, and she’ll have no need of a formal dress where we are going.”

“Of course, sir,” the clothier agreed. “That will be acceptable. It will take a bit of time to make the necessary adjustments to the clothes.”

“Fine,” the mage said. “I need to make some other arrangements, so I will leave her here in your care until I get back.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but just turned around and walked out of the shop.

Bree remained standing awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She’d honestly believed that she would likely be dead, or worse, by now.

“Come with me, Lady Ambreala,” the shopkeeper said, breaking the silence. “I’ve got a fairly good eye for sizes, but my wife has a better one. She’ll take a few quick measurements so we can get your new clothes ready as soon as possible.”

His tone was soft, gentle even. His knowledge of her name, and of his demeanor earlier told her that he knew what was going on. She blinked away a few tears, intent on keeping her composure. He led her into the back, and exchanged a few whispered words with the woman there before leaving.

The woman in the back was shorter than Bree expected, especially given that her husband was quite a bit taller than average. She apparently had overheard what was going on because she immediately got started without any questions.

Bree was directed to stand on a small square in the center of the smallish room, while the woman took a few measurements of her. At a few points she stood on a stool for reach, since she was a half-head shorter than Bree. The entire time there was a quiet tension in the air, and not a word was spoken. As the woman finished her measurements, she broke the silence with a quiet and slightly cracking voice.

“My oldest was one of the guards there yesterday,” she said, blinking away a few tears of her own. “He broke his ankle and had a few minor burns, but all in all got away in good shape. He said he was sure he was going to die until he heard you speak up.” She looked at me in the eye, and I saw a few tears had escaped down her cheeks.

“I know you did it for your family, but you saved many others, too. We owe you a debt that we can’t repay. Ebert went to get you a good pair of boots from the cobbler, but in the meantime we want you to have this. It’s not much, but it’s everything we had here in the shop.” The woman passed her a small coin purse that was heavier than she might have expected.

“Now I’m going to go into the other room and get your clothes ready. There are some smallclothes on the bench there that you can change into while I’m doing my work.”

“Okay, thank you,” Bree managed, not sure what she could say after the heartfelt speech from the smaller woman. The woman placed a hand on her wrist and gave her a kindly smile.

“Keep in mind there is no one here, and no one would blame you for anything you did or said even if they were,” the woman said. “If you need to curse at the world or the gods, or have a good cry, or anything else it will be our little secret.” She gave Bree a slight squeeze before turning away and leaving the room.

Bree quickly changed into the undergarments, and then sat on the bench. She was mostly cried out after the previous night, and at this point she felt more numb than angry. She just didn’t feel the need to scream or curse; after all, what good would it do?

She was so tired that she was nodding off when the woman came back to the room, carrying folded bundles. On top of the bundle was a pair of boots.

“Go ahead and get into these,” she said. “I’m packing a bag with a couple spare sets for you. Just leave the dress and we will get it back to the castle.” The woman squeezed her arm, as Bree took the clothes for her. Somehow the touching, which she had never had before in her family, made her feel closer to the woman and comforted. She gave the woman the best smile she could manage, back.

She quickly put on the clothes. The trousers and shirt were styled similar to outfits she’d seen her older brothers in when they’d gone out for hunts, but taking into account the gender differences for fit. The clothes were finely made and sturdy, with a blue coloration. The cloak was thick and comfortable, with an outer layer that was incredibly slick. The boots fit surprisingly well, and were soft and comfortable.

She was no expert on these types of clothes, but given her experience with dresses she could see the quality in each stitch. She even found a hidden pocket inside her shirt where she could hide the coin purse.

As she finished dressing, Ebert walked in after calling out to make sure she was decent.

“It’s time,” he said grimly. “He’s outside waiting for you.