Elwen wasn’t really paying attention while they were at the weapon store, except for when Varian asked her what dagger she wanted. She chose a thin steel dagger, one that wasn’t too heavy but long enough to defend herself with. It came with a leather sheath of the same type of leather the hand was made of. Ideally, she wouldn’t be using it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Varian, on the other hand, was deeply invested in the weapons he was looking at, carefully analyzing them and eliminating which options to consider. In the end, he settled on a steel longsword as his primary weapon, along with a knife, similar to Elwen’s, as a backup. He paid for the equipment, and they left the store.

Varian put the longsword on his left side, the sheath attached by a series of leather straps to his belt. The knife went behind him, in a small holster tucked into the back of the belt. The back of his tunic had enough material to cover his belt, concealing the dagger.

Elwen attached her dagger to the front of her belt, closer to her left hand and at an angle such that the handle pointed to her belly-button. Varian recommended she did it this way so that it wouldn’t be in her way, but she could still draw it easily.

Their next stop was for clothing. Once they reached a small collection of clothing stores, they split up, after Varian gave Elwen an allowance of ten gold coins. Varian entered an establishment that focused on adventurer’s gear, with clothes designed to be utilitarian and durable. They would still need to go to an armorer to get more protective gear, but he needed clothes to go underneath the armor.

Elwen went into a boutique. While she also needed travelling clothes, she wanted some nicer clothes as well. Even if they couldn’t afford them, she wanted to at least see what was available.

When she entered, she was greeted by a clerk wearing a maid uniform. Elwen shyly returned her greeting, and asked her if she could find traveling clothes here. She thought it was unlikely, because the boutique seemed to cater for less adventurous purposes, but she wanted to secure her primary clothes first. She would spend the most time in them, so she wanted them to be comfortable.

“Of course we do! Come, follow me!” The maid cheerily said, leading Elwen to a section in the back of the store. She took several different dresses off of racks there, as well as several types of skirts and shirts from their places on shelves. Elwen was nervous at first, but as the maid showed her several outfits, she slowly became more comfortable.

Eventually, the two settled on an outfit. It consisted of a white underdress, a lighter blue button-up shirt, a dark blue vest, a matching skirt, and leather boots with knee-high socks.

The underdress was a short-sleeved cotton white dress with a U-shaped neck, with a ribbon along the neckline so it can be adjusted. The skirt is multilayered and slightly puffy, giving a skirt worn over it some volume, as well as providing modesty, as the multiple layers prevent someone from looking up her skirt. The top section fits loosely and features some lace around the neck and front.

On top of this, she would wear a light blue wool button-up shirt, with a V neckline. The neckline showed off a bit of the underdress, but the maid said that was fashionable. The shirt fit snuggly, and she could feel warmth emanating from it. She also got a cotton version to wear when it was warmer, but the wool version was thin enough to wear during the spring or fall as well. She was just afraid it might get too hot at the peak of summer.

The skirt was made of finely spun wool that was soft to the touch. It was also pleated, and there was a lot of excess material so that it would flow down smoothly. It rose just above her navel and fell just above her knee. The upper part of the skirt fit hugged her body, before opening up around her hips and flowing freely down. Two columns of gold buttons running down to the side about two inches apart. These buttons are used to close the upper part of the skirt, but run down the entire skirt for decoration. There are little loops hidden along the top of the skirt which she could use to attach things, like her knife or her coin purse. When not in use, these loops are nearly invisible, blending in almost perfectly into the surrounding fabric.

The vest was meant to be worn on top of the shirt, but while the shirt was meant to be tucked into the skirt, the vest would cover up the top of the skirt. The vest doubled as a piece of discrete armor, with thin metal plates hidden between layers of cloth. Because of this, the vest was fairly thick. However, when she was trying it on, Elwen noticed that the plates weren’t really noticeable when she was wearing it. They were light enough that she wouldn’t feel them, and they also didn’t limit her flexibility. The plates were backed by a thin layer of leather, which provided some addition protection and structure, as well as padding from the plates. The inside was lined with a soft fabric for comfort. The outside was a layer of cloth, embroidered with a black floral pattern.

The boots were relatively simple. They were short, rising only to midway up her calves, and were designed for comfort. They had a slightly raise heel as well, but nothing that would impede her movement. There were some embellishments sewn into the sides of the boots, which looked like flower stems and leaves.

She had also chosen over-the-knee socks to wear, which were white with a single blue stripe at the top. She also picked up some thicker wool socks and arm warmers, in case she needed some, as well as some hairbands and hair ties to keep her hair out of her face. She also acquired several sets of plain underwear, as they sold cotton one that were similar to the ones in her world. They felt much more comfortable than the ones that she had spawned with, although even those weren’t as bad as the coarse clothes they had started with.

Once she finalized her outfit, the maid let her change into it and out of her old clothes. After this, she would probably have Varian burn the accursed things, as she certainly wasn’t going to wear them again. She thought that her new outfit was really cute, and if she wanted to, she could take off the vest when they weren’t traveling or in any danger. She especially liked the cute little gold buttons on the skirt.

She also wanted to get some clothes just for wearing around town, or when they weren’t in danger, so she asked the maid if she could help her find something like that. The maid obliged, and the found a one-piece dress that Elwen loved. It was a sleeveless pastel lilac dress. The dress was almost white at the top, and faded into a deeper, but still very light lilac color at the bottom, like petals of a tulip, but lighter. The top fits snuggly, with the skirt flowing freely from the waist, and was covered in lace. It was a beautiful dress, and Elwen imagined herself frolicking in a field of flowers in it. It was more expensive than her travelling clothes, but she had a budget of ten gold for her clothes, so she had plenty of money.

She also saw a section of lingerie, which caused her to blush, thinking about how Varian would probably have her wear a lot of similar clothes. They had agreed to not do anything until she was his slave, so she had no reason to get any, but she found her eyes wandering to them as she perused the aisles.

In the end, she decided to buy three sets of her travelling clothes, except the vest which she would just use the same one, as it would never come directly in contact with her skin and was essentially armor. She also bought the arm warmers, socks, and underwear she had picked up earlier, and the lilac dress the maid had shown her. There were also pajamas on a shelf near the register, so Elwen added a pair of pink pajamas to her cart. All-in-all, she spent eight and a half gold on clothes. In order to keep smaller coins, she paid nine gold coins, and received a number of silver coins in change.

She left the store happy; and saw Varian standing by the fountain in the center of the square, already wearing his new equipment. He had clearly moved faster than her, as he already had his clothes and his armor. She thought that she was being quick, finding her armor in the clothes store. Maybe the store Varian went to was similar, and carried armor as well. It did appear to be targeting adventurers and travelers, so it was possible.

Varian was wearing a leather chest piece, covering his entire torso, with steel plates covering much of his chest. Underneath the leather, he was also wearing a black tunic, but Elwen couldn’t see that from here. He had small steel pauldrons on his shoulders, integrated into the steel chest armor. He wore metal gauntlets as well, with steel bracers covering his forearms. His legs were covered with leather pants, with steel shin guards. His boots were leather as well, with the front clad in the same metal plates, offering him additional protection. None of his armor was particularly ornate, but the edges of the armor were lined with fur, to make them more comfortable to wear. He still had his iron longsword at his side, although it was placed on a new belt, along with his bags. His armor was designed to provide a mixture of protection and mobility. Elwen thought that he should just go with a full suit of armor, as it would offer him more protection, but she wasn’t a fighter, and didn’t know what he needed. Maybe a full suit was too expensive or impeded his movement too much?

“You look lovely today, fair maiden,” He called.

She smiled at him, “Thank you, kind sir,” she responded, doing a little curtsy.

After a bit of searching, the two found an artificer’s shop. It was off the main road, in a little square filled with other stores, sandwiched between two other shops. The door was a dark wood, much like the rest of the storefront. Beside it was a window, but unlike the Moren Company’s crystal glass, it was a murky pane. Elwen could barely make out a few items on the other side, which appeared to be various clothing items and a few large crystals. When they entered the store, a small bell above the door rang, indicating their presence.

The inside of the store was just as dark as the outside, with only a few dim lanterns at the back of the store offering light in addition to the window. The store was filled with shelves, holding the various items for sale. Unlike the floor, the shelves themselves were clean and free of dust. Perhaps this artificer was a popular one, despite the unwelcoming appearance of his store.

The proprietor of the shop sat at a small desk to the right of the door. He appeared to have been taken a nap, before Varian and Elwen entered, waking him.

“What’re ya look’n fer?” The dwarf asks.

“Two coin purses with identity locks, and bags of holding, if you have them.” Varian responds.

“Aye, I’ve got a couple in the back. Gimme a minute an’ I’ll get ‘em fer ya,” he says, going behind a curtain. He returns shortly after with two small bags and a couple larger ones.

“These two ‘ave identity locks on ‘em,” he says, gesturing to the two smaller bags. “Just sprinkle soma yer blood on ‘em to tune ‘em, an’ you’ll be the only ones who can open ‘em.”

The bags were a reddish-brown, embroidered with yellow-gold patterns. One had a ring near the neck, made of two thin rings and triangles alternating in orientation between them. The other had a similar design, but the ring was made of flowers. There were also flowers dotted around the bag of various sizes.  This one was clearly meant for Elwen, she didn’t think Varian would want it, or that the dwarf would bring this one out for him.

“Fer yer bag o’ holdin’,” He continued, “I’ve got three options. The largest of the three ‘as a reduction of one quarter and a capacity of fifty. The smaller one’s similar, with a one-fifth reduction and a capacity of sixty. The middle one’s my best work. Got a reduction of one-tenth, an’ a capacity of around a hundred and twenty. The little one’s fifteen gold, the big one is ten. I’ll give ya the middle one fer sixty gold, and the two purses are five each.”

Varian used [Appraise] on the bags, trying to confirm what the shopkeeper said, but was unable to get the capacities. He did confirm that they were bags of holding, however.

“Any way to get the bag to also have an identity lock?” Varian asks.

The dwarf grins, “That’s the beauty of it. First o’ it’s kind, got a unique lock that activates on the first person to use it. No blood required.” He explains, “You can set other people to have access to it, of course.”

Varian asks Elwen what she thinks, and they both agree that the middle size was the best option. It was expensive, but it would be well worth it. Varian took the money out of the large bag he brought with him and put it on the dwarf’s desk. After he confirms the payment, the dwarf gives them the bag and the purses.

Varian pricks his finger with a needle the dwarf provided him, supplying blood for the bag. When he was done, he helped Elwen prick her own, as she struggled to prick her own finger. The dwarf thanks them, and they exit the store, seventy gold poorer, but with assets that will help them immensely on their journey. The bags of holding the artificer offered were much better than they had expected, as the normal capacity was between fifty and a hundred kilograms, with no better reduction than one-third. With theirs, they should have no trouble bringing whatever supplies they require even for longer trips, and the one-tenth weight reduction will mean it won’t slow them much.

Elwen tied her new coin purse to a loop on her skirt, next to her dagger. Varian tied his own to his belt, but on the right side along with the bag of holding. He figured that he would be using them frequently, and he didn’t want to alarm people thinking that he was reaching for his sword every time he needed to pay for something. It would also be in the way if he kept them both on the left. He put the bag of gold in the bag of holding, binding it to him, and securing the gold as they headed to the bank.

The bank looked much like one would expect from a fantasy world, with large marble pillars and a big dome. Not much like your average real-world bank, but it was the spitting image of Grimgot, that bank from the old magic movies.

Entering the bank, they were greeted by one of the clerks, hidden behind a large wooden counter on the other side of the room, with metal bars coming from the ceiling, separating the two sides of the counter between the customer and employee side of the room. He was a gnome, sitting in a tall stool. He had a stack of papers on the desk next to him, along with a feather quill. The bars had a gap on the counter, where the employees and customers could pass papers.

The pair walked up to the counter, and Varian begins to lead the conversation, as he usually does.

“We would like to open an account,” He states.

“Fill out this paperwork, then come back,” he says, shoving half a dozen papers through the gap. Varian takes the papers, then they head to some chair opposite the counter.

The papers asked for relatively basic information: name, race, primary class, address. How they managed to get six pages of fit was beyond them. They filled out the paperwork such that Varian would be the account holder, but Elwen would be able to access the account if she needed. They didn’t have an address, so they left it blank. Varian was pretty sure all the bank actually needed was the name and how they wanted the bank set up, and the system would provide any additional information.

Once they were done, they returned to the gnome clerk and gave him the paperwork. He looked it over, then used some sort of magic tool to engrave a metal card, similar in size to a credit card, but a little large. He handed the card to Varian once he was done.

“Place your deposit on the circle. Your card can be used to withdraw it from any bank associated with the Lionheart Kingdom.” Looking at the counter, Elwen could see a magic circle appear. Varian placed the bag of gold on the circle, after taking out twenty of the coins. He asked for ten of those to be exchanged for smaller denominations. The gnome gave them a variety of the lower currencies. They split the smaller coins, so each of them would have some cash if they needed to buy anything. Both of them put the coins in their new bags, and Varian put the card in his bag of holding.

Now done with their shopping trip, the two returned to the inn. Varian quickly got cleaned up in the bathroom, so Elwynn could take longer after him. She wanted to take a bath, as she had seen that their room’s bathroom had one earlier. She quickly changed her mind, settling for an intense scrub down instead, when she discovered that the water was cold, and there was no way to heat it that she could find.

She was happy that she bought the pajamas, as they were both comfortable and cute, and it meant that she didn’t have to sleep mostly naked in the same room as Varian. They had different beds, of course, but she didn’t want Varian to see her sleeping, or naked for that matter. At least not yet, she was still nervous that Varian wouldn’t like her.

She knew that he wanted her to be his, but she was still worried. Worried that she would disappoint him, she had never done something like… that… for someone. Her mom had talked to her about it a little, before she went to college, but she had never really explored that side of herself. Not until she met with Ben again and they agreed to do this. But she still didn’t have any… practical experience.

Varian would be her first, which she was both happy and scared about. Happy that it would be with him, she had often thought of him after they parted ways, and scared that she wouldn’t be good enough for him. That was partly why she agreed to let Varian have more than just her, as it would lessen her worries. She was also somewhat excited of the idea of him having other girls, of her just being another one of his toys to play with.

Most of all, she wanted him to be happy, and if that meant other girls, so be it. She loved Varian, or at least she thought she loved him. She was still confused about her own feelings, being too caught up in the stress of her brother’s illness. But she knew that he loved her, he always seemed to be more sure of himself than her, and his heart was made earlier than she could settle hers. He had promised to take care of her in this world, just thinking of his words spread a warm tingle through her body and her heart to quicken.

Yes, she was sure she loved him, she just needed her heart and mind to agree, and then she could give her body, her everything to him, earnestly.

FableMaker

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