Since we had already paid to stay at the inn for a week we used the time to look around and prepare for the trip. West Harbor was only about half the size of the cursed city and a lot of the trade goods that arrived were sent inland. There were still a variety of shops to look at and with spending money we did more than look this time.

A couple days were spent shopping and relaxing. Lux went around the bars to see if there was any juicy gossip but didn’t find out much. There was talk of some new ruins being discovered on the island but that was about it. A few people recognized Lux and the girls and said hello but it didn’t seem like they had any real friends here.

I still hadn’t figured out what spell to try next. All of the books were still in the storage bag and I wanted to peruse them before deciding on anything. I wasn’t sure how the magical storage bags worked but it was possible to take out certain titles. The problem was I didn’t know what the titles were or what I wanted. Instead I tried helping Ann with her spell but wasn’t very helpful and Ann shooed me away.

I hadn’t exactly mastered the stone arrow spell and still had trouble aiming. So instead of bothering Ann, I had Lin accompany me to the jungle for some target practice. She had her bow to do a little practice shooting of her own. “Follow me, I know a good spot. I used to practice here on occasion.” Lin said, guiding me to the edge of the forest. Shadow must have been bored so went with us for a change, scampering ahead.

I followed her to a small clearing close to the edge of the jungle. The foliage was about waist height, so we did some cutting with our swords first. With that done, we each picked a tree and started practicing. It was clear Lin didn’t really need any practice as she was an expert shot. All of her arrows stuck in the tree in a close groupings. Shadow sat down and watched us for a while before exploring the area. I warned her not to go too far but she only meowed at me.

“I haven’t seen any other cats in West Harbor. Are they rare?” I asked. I had seen a few stray dogs running around and the occasional normal sized rat but that was it. “There have been others that have made pets out of jungle panthers, but you don’t see them very often.” Lin said, nocking another arrow. “Wait, do you think Shadow is a panther?” I asked, surprised. “She’s not?” Lin replied, confused. “No, I think she is just a regular house cat. She may be starting to get a little bigger than normal for some reason, but I don’t think she will get as big as a panther.” I explained.

Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t even be certain Shadow came from my world. I had chocked up the differences to the same weird magic that modified my body and mind but they could also be explained by her not being from Earth. It was worth thinking about at least but wouldn’t really change anything unless she suddenly started talking or something. About that time Shadow came back and meowed at us before laying down in the sunshine. We both looked at her and shrugged our shoulders before continuing to practice.

We had a couple more practice sessions during the week and I was finally feeling pretty confident about my aim. I had also enjoyed my one-on-one time with Lin (Shadow didn’t count). We had mostly talked about inconsequential things. She asked me more about Earth and I asked about the island. I don’t think she quite believed everything I told her which was amusing.

I still wasn’t clear on how big the island was and hadn’t seen a map of it yet. Ann had mentioned maps were hard to come by. In addition to the three cities I had previously heard about, there were various towns and villages scattered around. There was a fourth large city along the north side of the island called Lake City because it was situated on a freshwater lake. I was just glad it wasn’t called North Harbor.

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I thought it would be fun to visit all the cities eventually. Well maintained roads connected everything, so it wasn’t too hard to get around. You could also take a ship from East Harbor to West Harbor, but it was cheaper to take the land route if you weren’t in a hurry. Lin said the north coast of the island had sheer cliffs so there was no dock there. Instead of jungle, the north had grasslands and was where the majority of farming was done.

We weren’t hurting for money so planned on renting a carriage to get us to Ashen. The trip would take us about a day and a half. There wasn’t much we needed to do to get ready, mostly stocking up on more rations. The girls thought we all needed new clothes which is what brought us to a frilly looking clothing store. It wasn’t the kind of place I would normally go into but the girls insisted it was the best clothing store in town.

I had to admit our old clothes were a bit tattered and stained. Also the ones we had scavenged in the cursed city were no longer in fashion evidently. Lux didn’t look like he wanted to be there either but went along with his daughters wishes. Shadow had come along for a change and was soon prowling the store. A friendly looking Elven store clerk welcomed us in. I had noticed a few elves around town, but they seemed to be in the minority like humans.

She had golden hair and was just as good looking as all the other women I had seen around town although I thought Ann and Lin had her beat. “We would like new clothes for all of us.” Ann said enthusiastically. Lin had already started perusing the racks of colorful clothing. I didn’t really like to wear bright colors so was a little nervous about what they would pick for me.

The girls went first while Lux and I just sat down on a bench that was in the corner and watched helplessly. “Which one do you like better?” Ann asked, holding up clothes right before Lin came up and asked the same thing. I knew the dreaded question would come sooner or later. They were all summery dresses in different vibrant colors which all looked the same to me. I never did have much of a fashion sense so just picked ones at random.

They seemed happy with my choices and went back to the racks. After picking an armful each, they went to the changing room and gave Lux and I an impromptu fashion show. It didn’t really matter which ones they picked as they looked good in anything as far as I was concerned. When the girls finished, then it was my turn. Clothing had already been picked out by the pair for me to try on, so I just sighed and got on with it.

Ann and Lin squealed with delight as I changed into the different outfits. They couldn’t decide which one was better so decided to get all of them for me. I couldn’t help noticing Lux smirking but soon it was his turn. He looked highly embarrassed as the girls had him try on the clothes and spin around in front of them. I tried to hide my amusement, but I think some of it leaked out as I saw him glaring at me.

I coughed and went to find Shadow. In the end we spent a good chunk of change at the store, but the girls were all smiles. Their clothes had to be modified for their tails and would be picked up tomorrow. Unfortunately, I got the privilege of wearing a set out of the store. It consisted of a bright yellow open vest which showed off my bare chest with matching yellow cargo like shorts. I felt like I stood out a little too much and was glad my physique had been improved upon coming to this world or I would be even more embarrassed.

After we picked up the clothing the following day we would be taking off for Ashen. Lux had already lined up a ride for us. I asked about any dangerous beasts or bandits along the road but it sounded pretty safe. The roads were patrolled regularly and bandit attacks were rare. I thought we could handle ourselves well enough but I didn’t have any experience killing people. I hoped I never did get any experience with that particular subject.