Chapter Seventy-Two - The Adventurer Look

“Hmm,” I said.

“Hrm,” Amaryllis agreed.

Awen balled her fists in the material of her skirt. “Awa, is something wrong?”

I nodded, but instead of answering her, I looked around the shop we had found our way over to. It was filled with clothes of all sorts, most of it on mannequins, but a lot of it hooked onto wooden walls with slats to keep the clothes in place.

This wasn’t a shop like the one Amaryllis had brought me to. It felt a little cheaper, and while some of the clothes on display were nice, some lacked... refinement? I couldn’t quite pin why, but it was obvious that the quality here was just a pinch lower than what was available in Port Royal. And this was supposed to be the best shop for delving and exploration clothes.

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“Frankly, nor am I,” Amaryllis agreed.

Awen, who was still wearing the same pretty dress she had come in with, shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Sure about what?”

“How to make you look like a proper adventurer,” I said. “See, looking good while out on an adventure is really important.”

“It is?” Awen asked.

I nodded. “Does your uncle spend a lot of time taking care of his magnificent mustache?”

“Awa, I guess he does?”

“Well there you have it,” I said. “So, we need to make you look awesome.”

“I, I don’t know if I can do that,” Awen said.

I snorted. “‘Course you can! Amaryllis and I will fix you right up! First, we need to figure out what sort of outfit we’re aiming for, though. You’re a mechanic right? We could lean into that. Go for something with lots of pockets.”

“I like that idea,” Amaryllis said. “Some pants. They have decent ones around here somewhere.”

“Pants?” Awen said. “I’ve never worn pants before.”

“Really?” I asked. “I like skirts better myself, but even I’m wearing shorts underneath. See?” I grabbed the hem of my skirts, which were fairly thick on account of the padding, and lifted them to reveal the shorts beneath.

“Awaaaaa,” was all Awen said. She stared for a long few seconds before her face went very red and she slapped both hands over her eyes. “I’ll wear the pants,” she squeaked.

I dropped my skirts and looked at Amaryllis, but she was just shaking her head.

“We can wear whatever, really,” I said. “This is for you, so you should pick out things that you like. We’re just here to, uh, mentor you along. We’re your Obi Wan. But... without the... that was a bad example.”

“You’re being stupid again. More so than usual,” Amaryllis said.

I stuck my tongue out at her and walked over to Awen to help her out.

What followed was a flurry of activity as Awen hesitated over every option Amaryllis and I pointed out, and only set aside a few things for her to try on. Fortunately, the shopkeeper didn’t seem to mind our ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over their stuff.

“That,” Awen said.

I paused while looking at a little rack covered in belts and, after following her gaze, found that Awen was staring at a long coat on a hanger way off in the back of the room. It reminded me of a trench coat, with a few buckles around the waist and a flaring bottom. It was done in what looked like a fairly breathe-y material that was almost exactly the same blue as my own outfit.

“You like it?” I asked.

“Awa, I mean... yes?” she said. “If it’s not too much?”

“Of course it isn’t, not if you like it!”

Awen’s new outfit, which she ended up changing into in a little booth to one side, was quite plain and somewhat unassuming. Long pants of a dark brown material, a blouse made of a thick cotton and my new boots that I never really got around to wearing.

She had a bandolier over that, and a pair of belts, one to hold up her pants, the other with a loop for her hammer.

And, of course, the entire thing was covered by her long coat, buckled at the front in a way that almost made it look like a dress. It tied the outfit together quite nicely.

“I like it,” I said with a thumbs up.

“Th-thank you,” Awen said. She shifted on the spot a little, her knees rubbing together in a way that her skirts would have hidden. Poor thing, she was so nervous! So I glomped her for good measure.

“Now you’re ready for adventure!” I said.

The shopkeeper coughed.

“Just as soon as we pay!”

***

“Are you comfortable?” I asked.

Awen shifted a little, blonde hair falling down the nape of her neck and into her new coat. We were going to need to get her a nice hat to finish the ensemble, and maybe something a bit more armoured for underneath, but she did look great.

“I’m comfortable, yes,” she said. “Um, the pants pull at my thighs, but I think that’s normal?”

“I can check you out later, for chafing or the like, if you want.”

“Awa! N-no! No, I’m okay,” Awen said.

I shrugged and looked up to the gates ahead of us. We all came to a slow stop before them and kind of just, stared. The gates weren’t anything special, just a large building set into a stone wall with a bus-sized portcullis and a few guards standing by. The city continued on the other side of the gate, with smaller homes and tents and the like.

Leaving, at least for me, was just the first step on another adventure. But for Awen...

The girl’s legs were trembling, her eyes were wide, and I was afraid that she might start hyperventilating at any moment.

“Are you sure?” I asked her. “You could always stay?”

Awen looked back over her shoulder, deeper into the city, then back to the gate and the wide world beyond. She tried to speak, but no words came out.

Then, with a face set with growing determination and a fire that sparked in her eyes, she stomped forwards and out of the city.

“She’s pretty brave, I’ll give her that much,” Amaryllis said as she watched our new friend go.

“What do you think of her?” I asked.

“She’s inexperienced, naive, gullible and likely to get herself into trouble at the first opportunity,” Amaryllis said. “But she also seems well-educated and smart, which is more than I can say about my other friend.”

“You called me your friend!”

“Idiot,” Amaryllis said as she started after Awen.

Not to be outdone, I ran after the pair of them and glomped Awen from behind. “Well done,” I whispered into her ear. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Awa! Th-thanks!”

I gave her a last squeeze, then grabbed her hand and started running ahead. “C’mon, it’s past midday! If we want to find a neat place to camp we ought to get going!”

“You’re the one that made us stop at nearly every shop,” Amaryllis said.

I stuck out my tongue at her before a delighted giggled tore its way out of my throat. Maybe it was having a new friend, maybe it was walking off into another adventure, or maybe it was just the sun shining above and the happy sounds of a bustling city. Either way, I felt like every step I took could launch me into the sky.

Greenshade’s outer regions, basically everything past the walls, were a mix of much smaller homes and large tents, dotted with the occasional warehouse and store. The people here weren’t dressed as prettily as those in Port Royal. Drab clothes with stains so old that removing them would probably ruin the cloth and I saw plenty of men who were just not wearing shirts or shoes.

We had to pause at one intersection to let a flock of sheep pass by, led by a bored shepherd who seemed practiced at ignoring the jabs and insults of the other people blocked on the road.

There was even a stench to the air, one that had Awen pressing the sleeve of her new coat over her mouth and nose.

“This place is filthy,” Amaryllis said.

“The people here must get very sick,” I added as I watched a group of human kids run after a wooden loop. They were all barefoot and covered in mud from head to toe.

Awen nodded. “We have lots of problems with illnesses. We hire a lot of healers, but the moment one sickness is put down another rises up, and the greater part of the population is made up of caravaneers and vagrants. They bring new ones all the time.”

I shivered and let loose a small burst of cleaning magic around myself. I hoped it worked on bacteria and the like.

The number of houses thinned out as we reached the northern outskirts and were replaced by lots with tents and wagons and carriages parked by pens that held big horses.

The roads turned from cobbles to packed dirt, and then back to cobbles again as we reached the very end of the city.

Greenshades didn’t have an outer wall. Instead, the city just... ended. It was a little jarring to go from a stinky road where you needed to avoid droppings on every other step to a wide open countryside with... a bit less poop on the roads.

“I’m... out?” Awen asked.

I grinned. “I guess you are,” I said. “Amaryllis, do you know the region at all?”

“Not very well, no,” Amaryllis admitted. “But we’re aiming for Rosenbell, which is to the North West.” She pointed off in that direction, towards a road that moved through a bunch of orchards.

“Awa,” Awen said. “Um, if you go straight that way, we’ll need to cross part of the desert.”

“So, we should go another way?” I asked.

Awen clasped her hands together. “If, if you want, yes? It’s safer to go straight North, then turn west once you’re a bit past the desert, otherwise, um, the sand and the heat can be pretty bad.”

“Ah yes, sand, it gets everywhere,” I said, then pouted because no one in this world was going to get my awesome references. “Whelp, off we go!”

“J-just like that?” Awen asked.

“Yup!” I said as I began walking North. Amaryllis snorted and was by my side a moment later, and I heard Awen’s boots thumping behind me as she ran to keep up.

“Oh, okay. Awa, if... if I’m not very good at adventuring, can, can you help me? Again? I know I’m asking for a lot, but I swear, I’ll work hard, and I’ll improve.”

“Don’t be silly,” I said. “As long as you try your best and are a good friend, then having you along will just make the adventure ever more fun.”

Awen nodded so hard her hair was whipping back and forth behind her. “Yes! I promise, I’ll do my best. I'm going to be just like you, Broccoli.”

“I sure hope not,” Amaryllis said. “The world has enough of one Broccoli.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said.

“It means your eternal optimism and naivety are lowering the world’s average intelligence,” Amaryllis snarked back.

“Yeah, but I’m increasing the world’s average friendliness, so I’m making it a better place,” I said. “All you’re doing is making it even snobbier.”

Amaryllis squawked. “I’m not snobbish!”

“The most snobbiest,” I said.

The harpy bumped her shoulder against mine, and trilled happily before she let loose a long string of insults about me, my intelligence, and every choice I had ever made. Awen stared wide-eyed, but I think she clued in on the fact that neither of us were really angry at each other, because she wore a happy little smile as she watched us bicker back and forth.

Soon, we’d get her to join in on it too.

It was a fun start to what would no doubt be a grand adventure!