There had still been a few hours left to the day when they stopped. The low lying mountains of Rivera’s valley had given way to a vast, hilly landscape. In the distance, the hills gave rise again to the mountains beyond which the besieged kingdom of Volknest lay a day's march away.

Many of the civilian volunteers who were not used to such lengthy travel were tired and needed rest. The mercs who led the march could have gone on through to the night, but decided that it would be best to set up camp while there was still light. There was also the added benefit of a calm section of the river they followed being close to a clearing which was large enough to set up camp. Separating the clearing and the river was a rash of thick brush around a minor outcropping of Heavenfall, after filling their waterskins and canteens, this would provide enough privacy for the men and women to take turns bathing.

Sera, Chilse, and Akane, together with the handful of other women went to the river while the men set up the tents and built fires. Apart from her and her two friends there were six of them; three were women that she knew by name, one that she had only seen working in a bakery that she liked to visit, and two mercs.

As they undressed, Sera couldn’t take her eyes off of the thing that the women laid their clothing on. It was something like a moss-covered man, but twice one’s height and clad in a dull, slightly corroded metal of an earthy hue. It had been buried up to its large barrel chested torso and had wide shoulders that provided sufficient space for dresses to be laid out upon. Coming seamlessly out from its shoulders was a tall and thin bell-shaped head with two black eyes, one significantly larger than the other. Chilse, who had sat on a large chunk of ancient stone, had noticed Sera staring and answered her silent curiosity.

“Golems.” She said as she tugged at the straps to remove her long boots. “That’s what they’re called. Gods created them to take care of the world, or something like that. I dunno, I don’t remember.”

Akane crouched down in front of the statuesque figure and looked it in the eyes. “Well they didn’t do a very good job, did they?” It took Chilse a moment to understand the Asunese woman’s thick accent before she laughed in agreement.

“I’m sure you did your best.” Sera said softly as she laid her dress across the shoulder of the sad-looking golem. From deep inside its carapace, she could have sworn she heard a quiet whirring sound followed by a click. Writing it off as her imagination, Sera removed the rest of her clothing and went, shyly to the river.

She felt silly at first, seeing Chilse and the other two mercs wading confidently into the slow current, but was relieved to see that she wasn’t alone in her modesty as the three other town’s women went immediately up to their necks in the water. They blushed and avoided eye contact. Sera thought that perhaps it was silly, but having been born and raised in a civilized town like Rivera had instilled in them a sense of propriety that they couldn’t easily shed.

Akane was a bit different. It wasn’t that she seemed confident in her skin like Chilse or her comrades, she just didn’t seem to be aware of it.

“Are there golems in Asu?” Sera asked Akane, attempting to break her feeling of awkwardness.

“Aa, tashika.” She nodded before taking a breath and ducking her head under the water.

“They’re all over the place.” Chilse added. “Many of them are mostly buried, though. They’re not always so easy to find. I’m surprised that guy’s still sitting there, after all this time. Hope he’s enjoying the view!”

As she waved, mockingly at the silent figure several voices rang out in laughter. Maybe it wasn’t so funny by itself, but the bashfulness that held the majority of them made it easy to laugh at anything. Sera was glad for the break from the uneasiness.

Akane had her head tilted to the water, rubbing locks of her long black hair between her hands beneath the surface when Chilse asked, “So what’s it like, back home?”

“Asu?” Akane echoed thoughtfully. “Hmm.”

“I’ve heard about Asu.” The voice was that of Ember Hallow, Sera knew her from the town’s only salve shop. She was about Sera’s age, older by only a couple of years. She kept herself covered as she edged closer to them. Like the other women from town, she was unaccustomed to such open nakedness, though her dark skin did well to hide her blushing cheeks.

“Is it true that you have seven kings?” She asked.

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“There are seven Shoguns, yes, but together they form a council to cooperate and help one another. If one shogunate is in need of something, the other’s offer aid to them. Other than that, it’s a lot like here, I suppose. We have different faces and we dress in different clothing, but people work their profession so that they may feed their family, they have friends and lovers, and hope to still have all those things when they wake up the next day.”

Sera smiled at the woman’s words. Akane didn’t focus on the small things that set them apart, but the larger more important aspects of just being human. It was a sentiment that she felt everyone should live by and remember. Many times she had witnessed a fight or a disagreement in town. She had remembered the traumatizing incident that she faced with the man called Corvo. If everyone could just remember that at the end of the day, all have dreams and all have fears, then perhaps the worries of the world could feel a little bit lighter.

Chilse had started to offer a question of her own but halted before she could start. The sound of a snapping twig, somewhere up the bank alerted them. Everyone ducked down into the water, breasts in hand as they became aware of the invasion of their privacy. Chilse was, unsurprisingly to Sera, the only one who showed no embarrassment as she stomped out of the river toward the sound. Sera couldn’t help herself but giggle, knowing what was likely to follow as the woman disappeared into the bushes.

“Get outta here, you creep!” They heard her shout. “I catch ya tryna catch a peek again, I’ll make sure I’m the last naked woman you ever see! Got it?”

The women heard a frantic shuffling of leaves as the unseen deviant scurried away and the air erupted with laughter which gave way to cheering as Chilse re-emerged from the brush. Splashing and the sound of wet hands clapping in applause welcomed her back into the river’s water.

The prude edge that held them was gone, now as they finished washing. They talked and laughed as they left the river, wringing out their hair and wiping as much water from themselves as they could before getting dressed again. What was once a disjointed assembly of bashful souls was now a united sisterhood as the women marched out from the woods towards the camp that had been set up.

“River’s all yours, boys.” Chilse called out, still completely naked as she passed by a very shocked and confused Cabrin.

The man looked away, shaking his head disapprovingly before looking at Sera and Akane. Akane gave her best look of warning to him and then suppressed a chuckle as they passed the shaken man. The two women laughed together as he and the other men made their way to take their turn in the river.

“Sera Bennet!” Chilse called after some time. “I got a present for you.”

She saw Chilse standing by her tent. The woman, wearing a long and loose shirt waved at her as Sera timidly made her way over.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Sera said bashfully once she was inside.

“Nonsense.” The woman was digging through a sack. “If you’re gonna be fighting Chimera, you could use a little protection.”

To say Sera was surprised to see the gift her friend had gotten her would be an understatement. Though she hid it well, mortified would have probably been a more appropriate word, because what Chilse had pulled out from her sack and presented to the girl was a dark gray leather leotard like what she herself wore.

“Thanks.” Sera said with a forced smile as she took the gift with uncertainty.

“Well?” Chilse pressed. “C’mon, let's see it on you.”

Sera’s face wrinkled a bit as she pulled off her dress and considered the “garment” before stepping into it. She winced, pulling the wings of the open back together as the flesh between her legs ground against her mons and her breasts were flattened uncomfortably against her ribs. Chilse laughed. It would have been a pleasant sound were it not for Sera’s suffering.

“You’re putting it on backward, Knuckle-head.” She chided.

Sera breathed a short laugh as she stepped out of the leather before turning it around and stepping back in the right way around. She felt stupid at how obvious it was now, it was a bit more physically comfortable this way at least, if not visually. Not that Sera was ungrateful for her friend’s thoughtfulness, but with only a thin strip of leather running between her legs and half of her butt hanging out that back, she felt far too exposed for it to be to her liking. Sera blushed at the thought of what words her father would have for her if he saw her like this.

“Now I know it’s a bit revealing, for your taste, but it’ll keep you a little more protected than that flimsy little dress.” Chilse said as she pulled the straps tight across Sera’s chest. “Now how’s that?”

Sera winced as Chilse pounded her fist against Sera’s chest. She was still very sore from the day before but the padding did well to soften the impact. “Thank you, Chilse. I’ll uh…I’m sure it will be very useful.”

“You don’t have to wear it all the time.” The woman rolled her eyes, playfully. “And you can always wear pants over it or something.”

Sera laughed before calling her sword out of the air. Chilse jumped a bit at the suddenness as Sera struck a pose. “How do I look?”

Chilse, rested her cheek against her fist with a grin on her face. “Like you’re in way over your head.”

Sera laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. They both laughed. She really was in over her head, but with friends like Chilse, as well as Cabrin and Akane, the weight of the world didn’t feel so heavy.