Percival Torgoot dismissed his material analysis spell and forced himself to suppress a dry swallow before dipping a quick bow to disguise the sudden flutter in his chest as a Luminous damned elf, wearing a fortune in exceptionally rare wood, stepped into his shop.
The amount of naturally aged and expertly sculpted ironwood on display made a cold sweat break across the back of his neck. The style was more than a little unorthodox but seemed to flow naturally with her graceful movement while not opening any evident seams or other weaknesses. Even the ties and other clasps were cleverly disguised or outright hidden, also made from the same wood.
It took every ounce of his willpower not to gasp when her evident protector prowled in wearing an identical suit of magical wood and surveyed the room. This time with the helm hiding the person's features.
The guard is a woman too, the half-celestial/half-gnome tailor corrected himself as he took careful note of her stride.
The second guard eased his incredulity a touch when she appeared briefly framed by the door, wearing typical but well-made guard attire, before taking up station outside, alongside the guards of his mother's current customer.
After a heartbeat, the slab of thick red crystal blocking the elf's torso shifted to cover the elf from the only door to the back of the store. Leaving her exposed to him.
Everyone underestimates a tailor, Percival thought with a sigh, as he mentally deducted a handful of decades from the age of his elven customer. Maybe 50 or 60? he guessed, to have not learned that lesson. Her soft youthful features mean she's no older than 80, he hedged.
Elves were nearly impossible to judge, especially ones that appeared nearly full-blooded. Her skin tone gave away her likely wood or desert-elven heritage. The only thing that made him lean towards some mixed blood was her height and shorter-than-average ears. Male wood elves rarely broke five foot five, and this youth was just shy of six, which was well past the five-foot average of the race's women. Desert elves were even shorter. Closer to his gnomish side.
"Welcome to Anita’s Clothing and Underwear Emporium," he said, straightening and stitching a welcoming smile onto his face to disguise the lump in his throat. Glad his voice didn't betray his nervousness.
No one had warned him of the potential of an elven visitor to their fair city. He’d have to have words with his so-called friends on the matter.
He took a deep breath before opening his mouth to finish his welcoming spiel.
"Underwear?" The elf cut him off with a derisive snort with his mouth half opened.
Once again Percival found himself suppressing a twitch and widened his grin instead. "Of course, my lady, we specialize in all the latest fashions. And Luminous knows every perfect ensemble starts with its foundational layer."
The elven maiden gave him a musical laugh and shook her head. "I think I'm more than covered for my foundational layer, Percival. But I'm being rude. Let me introduce myself. I'm Countess Chess Stewart from Canada and this is my close personal retainer, Amber. Our rift recently reconnected to Astra and I've been sent to explore the peoples and cultures local to this area."
Percival noted that the guard who'd remained outside was not included and his wariness drew in a notch. Anyone confident in exploring a new environment with only one loyal retainer wasn't someone to trifle with. Then again, it's never smart to stitch your fate to an elf's, he reminded himself and forced his smile wider before dipping a precise bow.
"It's a pleasure Lady Stewart, I'm Percival Torgoot, master tailor and bauble-maker. How can we help you on this fair day?" He made sure to flash the mastery of his craft for the customary handful of seconds.
The elf smiled and handed her helm off to her guard who quickly hung it from her belt. "I've found dressing in the local styles helps people feel more at ease with my presence. Besides this armor can get stifling in this heat. So, some dresses for all sorts of occasions. Plus blouses, and pantaloons to wear around town, and overcoats for bad weather. For both Amber and myself. I also need a new underlayer for my armor. I have some silk cloth I'd like you to use for that and a few simple dresses if it's not an imposition."
"All of that is easily within our capabilities. Would you mind showing me the silk before we get to your measurements? I'm afraid you'll have to remove that fine armor for my skill to work as ironwood tends to disrupt weaker skills. Maybe have your companion go first? My sister is back there. She’ll happily help you out of the armor," Percival said guiding them into the side parlor, closing the double doors behind them before gesturing towards one of the small changing rooms.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Percival almost laughed when the retainer looked pointedly at the small crossbow hanging from the elf's belt before moving toward the door.
The elf only rolled her large amber eyes and said, "He's not going to kill me. What kind of idiot would he have to be? He can't run a business if it gets out he's killing his customers. Right, Percival?"
It took him a titanic effort not to laugh before he agreed emphatically. "As you say. Not without a convincing reason. Only a fool pokes an elf with a pin on purpose." I think I might like this one, he decided.
Amber only grunted and stepped through the curtain. Leaving Percival alone with the slender elf.
A long moment passed as the maiden studied the handful of displays before Percival coughed softly. "The silk?"
A light flush suffused the elf's high cheeks before she drew a quick tight fractal of magic and stepped into a vault.
Percival allowed himself a chuckle. She likely has at least a mind of 14 and a rank 4 inventory, unless she splurged on the full 8 ranks to let her step inside. But that is unlikely as she's clearly well-educated. Though with elves it’s likely both.
With a shake of his head, Percival busied himself with preparing his measurement fractals in the brief span of free time.
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This is gonna be awkward, Chess thought as she stepped into the back room to take her turn getting out of her armor.
She came up short at what waited for her inside.
Percival’s sister was not what she expected given the man’s compact and slim figure. The blue-haired beauty in a form-fitting sundress and sandals screamed all the computations of the word voluptuous. Her pearlescent skin glowed with an inner light that matched her unusual hair color and had Chess staring at her for a couple of uncomfortable seconds before the girl spoke and broke the spell.
“First time meeting a celestial, my lady?” the girl asked with a crooked grin.
“Yes,” Chess said automatically before coughing and trying to put forward Amber’s narrative. “That is. You’re the first person I've met that glows. Back home it’s mostly humans. Though people have claimed otherwise. Lots of stories of hidden lizardmen and fallen angels.”
Twilight has nothing on this girl's inner light. Chess suppressed a chuckle at her random thought.
“And elves?” The girl asked as she moved into Chess’s personal space and started to loosen the ties on the side of her breastplate.
“We have drastically smaller birth rates.” Chess shook her head at her discomfort and worked on her bracer herself. “What’s your name?”
“Blair, lady Stewart.” The Celestial moved around her front and flashed her a smile before working on the ties on her other side.
Chess laughed. “I take it you were listening then?”
Blair looked hesitant for a second before nodding contritely.
They were quiet for a bit while the girl worked on getting her out of the armor. It was a strange experience having someone other than Ashley or Amber help her with the task, but Amber insisted that she do her best to portray her indifference to the help. As it was the norm for anyone who wore the stuff.
“Lady Stewart?” Blair asked tentatively as she turned away to place her left greave on the handy armor stand in the corner.
“Hmm?” Chess said around her tongue as she worked at a stubborn clasp on her second bracer. If only the “Narrative” would let me use my wood shaping whenever I wanted, she groused internally.
“Could I make a suggestion?” Chess heard her swallow.
“Sure.” Chess turned her smile on the girl only to find the girl staring at her chest in disbelief.
Chess followed her gaze down to her chest and swore. Shit, my Underwear! I was just talking about it!
"Your undergarments and the 'cough' wood your armor is made of might be common where you're from, but it's quite rare and unique here. Maybe ask my brother for a customer confidentiality contract? It may save you some aggravation in the long run. It only costs a few chits."
"Are you supposed to be telling me this?" Chess raised an eyebrow.
Blair rolled her eyes. "Percival is only my half-brother." She paused for a breath. "And I fear his gnomish greed gets the better of him more often than it should." Blair grimaced.
Chess gave her a knowing look and then nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you, Blair." Then Chess caught her reflection in the full-length mirror standing behind the girl and stepped around her to get the first real look at herself since arriving in Astra.
"Shiiiit," she murmured to herself as she rocked back on her heels. I think I'm gonna have to kill her for this.
She even put the Freya cursed celestial behind her to shame.
"You're very beautiful, my lady. My mother will be thrilled to make your new wardrobe," Blair said cheerfully.
"Yeah." Chess scratched the back of her arm.