“Ah, you’re back. Thanks a lot for helping out. Sorry we couldn’t get the riders over there to break the horde sooner, they got a bit hung up with one of the other groups. Looks like you all held out pretty well, though.”
The head guard called out to us as soon as he saw us that had been set up as headquarters for the guards after we left for the battle with the scorpions.
I smiled and shook my head. “Not a problem. We’ve got some experience with these types of battles, so things worked out pretty well.” I didn’t mention that thanks to this battle my collection of poison glands was now getting big enough that even I was starting to worry about what I would end up doing with them. I’m pretty sure by that point Horvath was making a conscious effort not to think about it.
The head guard chuckled as he handed us our payment for the battle. “That so? I kinda wish we could keep you all around, then. But seeing as you’ve got Ms. Simona with you, I suppose that means you’ll be leaving the caravan now?”
Simona nodded. “That’s right. Thanks for all the help up to now.”
“Don’t you worry about that, it’s part of the job. I wish we could keep you, but it’s the path you chose, and it’s our way to allow anyone the freedom to choose a path. Still, if you ever want to come back, you’ll always be welcome with the caravan. That goes for you and your companions.”
After thanking the head guard again, we exited the tent and looked around.
“Well, then, do we want to explore the market, or should we find a private place to talk first and go through proper introductions and explanations?”
Horvath glanced at the crowded marketplace. “I vote we handle the discussions first. Hopefully the crowds will die down some by the time we’re finished with all that. Is there anywhere we can get some privacy around here?” He turned to Simona.
“Hmm, privacy? Not really. The nomads live in pretty close quarters, so there’s no real sense of privacy among them. Everything is done with a group.”
I shrugged. “I suppose we can head back to the city then.”
“Why?”
I turned a questioning look to Simona.
“Why do we need privacy if we’re just properly introducing ourselves?”
“Um… There are certain reasons we need to have the discussion in private. It’ll make sense, trust me.”
“Oh, you mean your race. Horvath already told me about that, so you don’t need to.”
I glared at Horvath. “Why?! Why did you go and ruin my fun?!”
“Hmm, I figured we’d be travelling together, so she might as well know.”
“But now, I don’t get to surprise her with the dramatic reveal. Do you have any idea how much fun those are?”
I heard a snickering behind me, but ignored it.
“Is that really that fun?” He shrugged. “Well, too late now. You can still do it to Amber when she gets here.”
“Na, I already told her about it on the phone, so it won’t work.”
“Wait, you’re getting mad at me for doing that, but you did the same thing!”
The snickering behind me transitioned to muffled giggling. I might have to do something about that soon.
“Anyway, I suppose we don’t need privacy then.” I motioned toward the twins behind me while facing Simona. “These are the twins I picked up the other day and tricked into coming with me. The one utterly failing to hide her laughter is Celeste, and the quiet one beside her is Aurora. Girls, this is Simona.”
While Simona went to become better acquainted with the twins, Horvath shook his head. “You really aren’t good at introductions, are you.”
“What do you want? I introduced them properly. At any rate, we’ve got an odd little party going, don’t we. Half are new to gaming in general, and we’re fairly melee heavy.”
“Yeah, this might get interesting. I hope Amber has something other than a dagger this time.”
“True, she’s hard to predict. I’ll ask her. I wanted to check when she’ll be getting here anyway.”
Lilith: Hey, couple questions. First, what type of weapon are you using? Horvath and I are trying to come up with tactics and such.
Amber: Liar, you probably just realized you’ve got 5 melee fighters and were wondering if I would be a sixth. And I’m using a crossbow. There’s some other features of my class, but I’ll tell you more about them later when I get there.
Lilith: Actually it’s only 3 and 1 part timer. So 3 and a half? Anyway, that’s probably good. Also, when are you getting here?
Amber: Hmm, it’s hard to say exactly, but I’d guess tomorrow afternoon/evening.
Lilith: Great. Send me a message when you get here and we’ll come meet you.
Looking away from the messaging screen, I found Simona and Celeste tightly clinging to a very uncomfortable looking Aurora, while Horvath was trying to convince them to let her go.
“Um… what did I miss?” I paused a moment, then shrugged. “Anyway, Amber will be reaching town sometime tomorrow, and is using a crossbow, so we’ve got 3 and a half melee fighters total.”
Horvath shook his head. “I’m somewhat impressed how easily you dismissed the situation in front of you. Still, that’s good. And are you counting yourself as that half?”
“Yeah, I’m like a part time melee fighter. So, what is happening here?”
“I’m not exactly sure myself. The three of them were chatting, then suddenly this just happened. I wasn’t paying attention, so I don’t really know what they were talking about.”
I nodded. “Well, this is pretty typical behavior for Simona, after all. I wonder if this is her general hugginess, her love of small cuddleable things, or something else.”
“‘Hugginess’? I’m pretty sure you just made up that word. Still, it is fitting I suppose.”
“It really is. Anyway, we should probably stop them now. I think Aurora might explode if we don’t.” I turned to the bundle of girls. “You should probably let go soon. I don’t think she can take much more.”
Both Simona and Celeste looked at Aurora’s panicked face, which was rapidly turning bright red.
“Ah.” They both said simultaneously, then both backed away. Finally released, Aurora ran over and hid behind me.
“So,” I looked at the other two. “How did that get started?”
The culprits glanced at each other and shook their heads. Surprisingly, the answer then came from behind me.
“...secret.”
I’m not sure if that was in answer to my question, or a command to keep whatever the trigger had been a secret, but Celeste immediately responded.
“Yep, that’s right. It was a secret girls talk, so we won’t tell.”
After Aurora calmed down and came out of hiding, we began discussing our plans for now.
“So, like I was saying, Amber will be here tomorrow. So the question for now is what do we do in the meantime.”
Horvath thought a moment. “I think we should put off doing any combat until she gets here. There’s no reason to figure out a way to fight with the five of us if we’ll be getting our sixth in a day.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. I suppose we could check out the nomads marketplace, since it’s here. Amber will probably want to do that when she gets here tomorrow, too. I just hope she doesn’t need a chaperone when shopping this time…”
Horvath shuddered at that, and Celeste turned to me. “Why did she need a chaperone before?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Well, in most games she plays a thief or rogue type character. Usually not especially strong in combat, but has a lot of utility skills that come in handy. In one game we played, she was a thief in every sense of the word. We had to escort her while shopping, or she’d often come back with a lot more than she could afford, and often more money that she had left as well.”
“She nearly got us chased out of a couple cities…”
“Yeah, her ‘discounts’ weren’t generally appreciated by merchants.”
Celeste stared at me a moment. “So she’s finds just as much trouble as you do, then?”
Horvath shook his head. “Not exactly. While Lilith frequently stumbles into odd things, Amber purposefully seeks them out. And if she can’t find them, she’ll sometime just make them instead. She doesn’t usually try to cause problems for others. Lilith has said before she’s looking for anything fun, right? Well Amber is the same way, but her definition of fun is a little off sometimes.”
“I’m starting to worry now.”
“Don’t. I think you two will actually get along pretty well. And usually the things Lilith drags us into are more than enough to keep her happy and entertained.”
I decided this was a good place to interrupt the two of them and bring the conversation back to the main subject.
“Anyway, until then I guess we can split up and go through the marketplace or do whatever you want. I don’t think we really need to stick together unless you all want to.”
“... Celeste and I actually should probably log out. There’s some chores that we need to get done.”
“Aw, I don’t want to go do those.” Celeste pouted.
“If we don’t, we won’t be able to eat.”
“Ug, threatening with starvation. Fine, I’ll sign out too…”
“Alright, let me know when you get back and we’ll meet up again.”
After the two of them signed out, Simona turned to me. “We should all go together. It’s been awhile since we could all hang out.”
“Sounds good to me, I don’t have much else to do really. At most, I might look at getting a new outfit. This one’s getting a bit outdated already.”
---
The three of us wandered through the marketplace, casually looking around at the various wares. Several times as we were looking at the merchandise, the people working the booth would chat with Simona. As her companions, we were even offered discounts occasionally.
“It’s kinda strange being on the buying side of the marketplace this time. I’ve only been with them for one stop before this, but you get used to being a part of the caravan pretty fast.”
As she was talking, Simona guided us toward a booth selling various things for tailoring and sewing. As she approached, the middle aged woman working the booth called out to her.
“Oh, Simona, seeing as you’re here, I suppose you need some more materials. I’m surprised you managed to use up the stuff you bought already.”
“No, I haven’t used it all yet. But I’m going to be staying here when the caravan leaves, so I wanted to stock up while I could.”
“Oho. That reminds me, you did say you would be leaving us soon. Well, then if you’re going to be travelling anyway, I’ll give you a recommendation. North of the mountain ranges is a vast tundra where the barbarian tribes live. They live mostly by hunting and using hides and meat from what they catch, but they do have a few large beasts they keep for their wool. You should try to get some of that wool from them. It’s a very good material, and if you don’t want it you can bring it to me. It’s hard to get here, so I’ll pay quite well for it.”
Simona nodded to the woman. “I see, thank you. I will keep that in mind.”
After that, Simona bought a large amount of materials and kits for crafting clothing, and we continued on our way.
“She’s the person who taught me the tailoring skill. All I really wanted was knitting, but apparently sewing and knitting are both under the tailoring skill, even though they’re two very different things so I learned to do both.” Simona explained as we walked.
“I was meaning to ask about that. What kinds of things can you make?”
“For now, just small things. Hats, scarves, gloves that type of thing. Eventually I’ll be able to make outfits, but not yet. I can add decorations to existing outfits as well. Except for metal armor. I can’t sew things onto metal.”
“I see. That makes sense. Let me know when you can create outfits. I have some ideas I’d like to see…”
“Alright, I’ll work on that when I can. It’ll probably be a while still, though.”
Good, step one in my plan complete. If I can’t find the clothes I wanted, I’ll make them instead.
Horvath sighed. “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t going to end well.”
“Oh come on, how much trouble can an outfit cause?”
“Knowing you, quite a bit. I don’t know how, but I get the feeling you want to make something incredibly silly.”
“There’s a chance that I might not be wanting to make something incredibly silly. Maybe.”
“And with you responding like that, now I’m sure of it. Well whatever, maybe you’ll forget about it before then.”
We continued on, stopping occasionally to look at various items for sale. Several times, Horvath bought raw materials for his possible future race changes. He obtained quite a bit of iron, as well as small amounts of some rarer ores. He still didn’t have enough to transform, but every bit he could get would help.
“Hey, why don’t you get the mining skill and harvest these ores yourself? It seems like that would be cheaper than buying everything.”
“I actually thought about that.” Horvath nodded. “I just haven’t been able to find someone to teach me yet. Not a lot of mining goes on in the plains and deserts that we’ve been in so far.”
I suppose that does make sense. There may be some mining done in the areas we’ve visited so far, but they’ll be small scale if anything. It’s no surprise he hasn’t met someone yet to teach him.
“Ah, there they are. Lilith, over here.” Simona suddenly called out, pointing to a booth with a small tent setup behind it. “These are the people who I got my clothes from. They can probably help you find something better.”
“Speaking of that, are your clothes normal clothing, or does it provide some armor?”
“Oh, right. My class needs me to be moving around a lot, so it’s better if I wear less armor. The clothes I’m wearing are padded, but they offer even less protection than leather armor would. I’m only a bit tougher than you, really. But we can leave the details for later. Let’s see what they can get for you.”
As we approached the booth, the young girl with golden hair who was watching it waved at us. “Hi. Are you looking for some new clothes?”
Simona nodded. “Yep, my friend needs a new outfit, and since you helped me I figured you could help her too.”
“Oh, sure. One moment.” The girl stuck her head into the tent behind her. “Mom, we’ve got a customer.”
With a yawn, a sleepy looking woman whose slightly disheveled hair matched her daughters emerged from the tent. “Hmm, oh Simona. You need a change already?”
“Nope, this time it’s my friend Lilith here. She said she needed a new outfit so I brought her to you.”
She yawned again. “Alright Lilith, I’m Karen. Come on into the tent. I’ll ask you to keep quiet though. I just managed to get the little one to sleep.”
As I entered the tent, on one side was a small crib. Everywhere else were racks of clothes of various styles.
“So, what kind of job do you have? That’s the best way to narrow down the options at first.”
I see, figure out right away which clothes aren’t going to suite my needs, then go from there.
“Well, I’m a mage, but a bit of an odd one. Intelligence is of course important, but I also have the Charisma stat and need it quite a bit as well.”
Karen nodded a moment, then turned toward the racks. “Intelligence and Charisma. That most likely means you use mind magic…” as she spoke, she pulled several outfits down. “I’d recommend one of these. Feel free to try them on. They can’t leave the tent without my permission.”
“Alright, I’ll do that. By the way, how did you know I use mind magic. From what I’ve been told, it’s not exactly a common thing.”
“Ah, I’ve been doing this since I was a little girl. It’s rare, but I’ve met a couple people who use it before you.”
As she spoke, I tried the first outfit. I hadn’t really shopped for clothing before, but apparently there was a preview type system, so you could see what an outfit would be like before buying it.
The first outfit I tried on confirmed my fear that I may end up in extremely skimpy clothing if I’m not careful. When I equipped it, it transformed into what was technically one piece, but was basically a bikini. The cloth itself was black. The bottom was held up by straps that wrapped around my body before widening to form my top, then slimmed back down and wrapped to the back of my neck to hold itself up.
“Huh, I haven’t seen that outfit turn out like that on someone before. I mean, sure it was one of my more revealing outfits, but it never went that far before. I’m sort of curious as to why, but it’s not my business to pry. Especially since you’re a friend of one of the caravan’s own.”
“Is there some way to tell if the outfit will turn out like this. I’d rather not be this exposed, after all…”
“Sure, a modest outfit will always be more covering, regardless of who or what puts it on. Similarly if you put on an outfit that’s more revealing, I suspect it’ll turn out like that. Let’s try this one. It’s the most modest of the three I pulled out earlier.”
She held out another outfit to me and I equipped it. This one was a deep red gown that reached to around my knees. The top was a low cut halter top, with ornate straps that crossed in the front, then wrapped around the back of my neck. Thin armbands that matched the straps also appeared around my upper arms.
Glancing down, I noticed my boots had also changed color to match the new dress. Instead of the black that they were before, they were now the same color as my dress.
“Woah, it even changed my boots?”
“Ah, that’s right, you’re a newcomer. That’s normal. The outfit sets the main color, and everything else conforms to it so you don’t end up clashing.”
I had noticed before that everyone I met seemed to have a surprisingly good sense of style. I’ve played games where you could end up looking like a clown because your equipment had the stats you needed, but none of it matched.
“Still, for even a modest robe like that to turn into this when you wear it. How strange.”
“That’s the story of my life. It’s one of the reasons I avoid changing my outfit too much. Speaking of which, what kind of bonuses does this give me.”
“Hmm, this particular outfit gives a boost to both charisma and intelligence. Unfortunately since Charisma is an uncommon stat to have, I don’t have a lot of clothes for it. These three were the only options.”
As she spoke, a window appeared in front of me with the stats for the dress.
Red Gown of the Mind
A red gown that gives a +2 bonus to intelligence and charisma.
“This is quite a bit better than the one I had. I think I’ll go with this.”
After paying Karen for the dress, and selling her the robe I had been wearing, she looked at me closely. “I said I won’t pry into your business, and I won’t, but allow me to make a recommendation. In the future, make sure to specify you want the most modest outfits you can get when you shop for clothes. Some people might be more curious than I am.”
I thanked her for the advice and the outfit, then headed back outside to meet Horvath and Simona and continue our shopping.