Misaki was about to follow Kuron and Kazi to enjoy the dress up session, and maybe find an opportunity to tease them about the fact that primal elves were nudists. When suddenly a new arrival caught her attention. A pair of naked girls had just entered the far edge of her dungeon awareness. That wasn’t the only thing to catch her attention. No, what really caught her attention was the name she found when she checked their status. A thing of habit for any newcomer. The older one had a name that had come up in a rather recent conversation. She was named Zemoria. The rest of the status made her doubt that it was just another person with that name and not the dragon she had heard mention of recently.

Curious she turned to Phyllis, “Um, what can you tell me about Zemoria?”

Phyllis frowned, “Why the sudden interest?”

Misaki shifted, and said while scratching her cheek, “Well, um, she just entered the perimeter of my territory.”

Phyllis gave her a look, and answered “...

Darious nursed his drink, while he considered what the young woman had told him. Before a pair of demons dragged her off somewhere. She had told him to give up that his party wasn’t ready to delve deeper, but if he did that he would fail the quest. A quest that did not have much time left. This was his last chance. He had already exhausted his resources, and if this delve failed the quest would end in failure. Failing a divine quest was never good. A divine quest of the grand level was even worse since it had worldwide consequences, and could affect the balance of power among the gods.

With a sigh, he stood up making his decision. He could not leave without at least gauging the difficulty of this floor for himself. An encounter with the common demons on the floor could give him an idea. Perhaps even try his hand at a puzzle on the floor. Little did he realize he should have taken Carol’s advice and turned back immediately. Maybe if he had things would have been different.

The young man sighed as he stared at the doors of the Bordertown guild. He had been out here for a while now. The doors were open, but he just wasn’t ready to go in. He found himself thinking about how he had ended up here. Things were getting weird back home, and he had even seen a few things that scared him. He had run away, and now here he was in Bordertown. One of the few places that people would likely not notice a person of his blood, well except maybe the Royal he had seen go in a moment ago. He had gotten a good look at the mark on her back. One that marked her as a royal of the Bluewood Kingdom.

By tradition, countries marked their royals with a special magical mark at birth. One that could not be easily replicated. The purpose of the mark was multifold. Especially given the threats a royal had to face.

Then there was his own mark, he had masked it best he could, but it was there. He sighed again, here he was a prince running from his own empire. Not that he had any say in what was going on there. Things had gotten really weird after his older sister took the throne, his older brothers failing in their bid for the throne. He was too young to make a bid and wasn’t even in the running. Being fourteen, now fifteen, was considered too young to be on the throne. No one would really take him seriously given his lack of experience. 

Shifting, he turned away from the building. He could not work up the courage to go in. At least not yet. The young prince had come here because it was easy to disappear, and no one would pay him much attention in this town. Now that he was here, he needed to find a source of coin. The guild was a good option, but he would be fine for a few more days. He just did not know what he was going to do or how he was going to get his home back.

Down the road, a young girl followed the naked dragoness reluctantly. She was hoping for any excuse to delay their impending arrival in town. Now that they were walking, she was picking out signs. It seemed it would be a while before they reached the town, but it would still be all too soon. Already, she was imagining what people would say when they walked into town nude.

She sighed but chose not to voice her complaints. They would only fall on deaf ears. Once again she was regretting her foolish choice to try and steal from a dragon’s horde. Maybe she would still be a young man and not a young girl over a decade younger than she used to be. With clothes on her back as well, and not walking in a forest in her birthday suit. One little mistake, that is all it had taken to completely ruin her life.

Then there was the fact that the dragon treated her like a naughty toddler, it was humiliating. Nothing she could do about it either, and thanks to the mark on her chest there was no running away either. It was hard to fight or run from a dragon that could control every move she made. 

As she followed she tried not to think about what happened an hour ago. Being treated that way was humiliating. Worse, she could not do anything about it other than complain, but that was like talking to a wall. So she kept silent, her mind constantly swirling on the subject, and each step was taken with trepidation. Bringing her closer to the town, and with it, she would be naked among people.

Carol followed the two demons into a shop. It was larger than hers but still managed to feel cozy. There were a number of outfits on display, and a nice counter was placed to the left of the door. Like many demon establishments, she noted the lack of changing rooms. There was a designated space for trying on an outfit, but it was open to the rest of the room. Demons didn’t care if they were seen naked, in fact, they enjoyed it. Maybe a little too much.

Her guide gave her a smile, and said, “If you will excuse me, I have a few things I would like to do. I’ll come back later to check on you.”

With that she left, leaving Carol alone with the spider demon.  She turned to the naked Uma, and asked “Workshop is in the back right?”

Uma confirmed and led her right to the back. It was a little different than hers, but all the key equipment was here. Before she even touched anything Uma was speaking. “I want you to make something small and simple, first. Let’s start with a pair of panties.”

Uma stepped towards the only modeling doll, a mannequin used to provide support and to help with visualization while making an outfit. Uma tapped the gem on its neck, and the entire thing morphed to resemble a naked version of her. The detail was perfect, and Carol blushed. It was a bit weird staring at a gray, but highly accurate model of herself. Her dimensions seemed perfectly copied, although she had no idea how. She opened her mouth to say something, but Uma was first. “Something that you think would look good on yourself.”

She sighed, a part of her already getting an idea of where this was going. Uma wanted insights into more than just her skill. The panties were just a start, she would ask for something else next. Deciding to just go ahead and get started she settled at the bench. There were several bolts of cloth nearby. She grabbed one at random and began to examine it. It was basic and undyed, but the material didn’t resonate with her. She put it back and selected a second bolt. This one was also basic and undyed. However, the material felt better to the touch and resonated with her. It would make a great pair of underwear. It was smooth and felt nice to the touch.

Selecting a few tools, she began to work. She was aware of Uma watching her work, but ignored her and focused on the task. Before long the cloth had been shaped into a pair of panties, and with a touch of her skills and some dyes colored a light blue. Carol stepped back and looked over the pair as they clung to the model of herself. She sensed Uma move in behind her.

Uma looked it over, and then said, “A bit basic don’t you think? It doesn’t really showcase your skill. Add a little flair, a few frills, and maybe cut out the crotch.”

She turned a little red at the thought of a crotchless set of panties. Especially since a model of herself would be wearing them. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know how Uma managed to do it. Carol had not even expected immediate criticism but a second task to be given. 

Uma looked her in the eyes, “Not very comfortable showing yourself off, are you? We will have to work on that. Your own body is an excellent model for displaying your work. Sure a doll can give you an idea, but it is no substitute for a living body.” Uma paused for a moment, and when she continued she detailed instructions for the next item she wanted her to make. This time it was a top, but Uma was far more detailed.

Carol settled back into the bench and selected a material.  Uma wanted a short half top that only covered one boob leaving the other prominently exposed. It was a design she had never made before. Uma had even specified frills to be added. She sighed, as she got to work. Her skin slightly red, as she blushed from the mental image of herself in this outfit. An image she could not help thanks to the model. Carol pushed it out of her mind best she could but kept coming back to it.

At some point, Uma left the room for a while and came back when she was nearly done with the top. Uma immediately started to look over her work, but her expression stayed neutral. Carol couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about that. Regardless she managed to make the finishing touches without injuring herself or making a mistake.

Uma finally smiled after looking over the finished top, and said, “Alright I have one last thing I want you to make. This time make a skirt that will go with the top.”

She waited a moment, but when no extra instructions came she decided that she was free to design it herself. Glancing at the top, she had a feeling that Uma expected a short skirt. A longer one would not really go with it, but she didn’t want to make the skirt too short either. After a couple moments of thought she headed to the bench and got to work.

This time, Uma didn’t leave while she was working. She stayed focused and tried to display everything she knew with this last item. When she finally stepped back, it was getting late. Carol had lost track of time. Uma looked it over, and after a moment’s silence finally said, “You aren’t bad, and certainly have talent. There are a few things you need to work on. I think I can help you. I am willing to accept you as an apprentice, but there are a few rules we should go over, first.”

Uma signaled for her to follow, and after a moment’s hesitation, she went after her. Idly wondering what these rules were about.