AnnouncementRana Original Stat Block:Str:12 Dex:12 Con:10 Int:12 Wis:8 Cha:10 Mana:6 Stamina:10Rana Modified Stat Block:Str:15 Dex:15 Con:12 Int:12 Wis:10 Cha:12 Mana:12 Stamina:12Lilit woke slowly some time ter. Her muscles were sore from yesterday, but otherwise she felt a million times better and more rested. She luxuriated in a few long stretches, prolonging the time before she’d have to leave this comfortable bed.

  Lilit realized after crawling out of bed, that the only clothes she had were filthy. With some trepidation, she walked over to the wardrobe. They had stocked the suite with everything else…clothes didn’t seem to be that big of a stretch.

  She opened the doors and hanging up were a handful of shirts. They all looked simirly to the shirt she’d peeled off yesterday in style. A kind of short sleeved, billowy poet shirt. They were in several colors. Lilit grabbed one at random.

  In a set of drawers underneath she found underwear and sports bras, also simir to what she had on yesterday. She threw a random set over her shoulder, aiming for the bed. In the bottom drawers she found more of the closely fitted, linen pants. Most seemed to be in a shade of brown or bck. Again, she carried it over to the bed where she began to get dressed.

  All in all the outfit was comfortable enough. It wasn’t very stylish, but then again, fashion had never been high priority for her. She finished by pulling on the tall leather boots from her armor. She gave herself a once over and headed out into the rest of the suite. She was starting to get hungry.

  Lilit made it to the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge and pantry, trying to figure out what to eat. Like Awenda said yesterday, there were several foods that she recognized from home, but more that definitely looked almost alien in nature. And it was heavy on the meat from what she could tell.

  Lilit settled on some eggs and toast. She pulled out what she needed and heated up a skillet. A few minutes ter she was pting up some delicious looking fried eggs. She took it into the dining room and nearly ran into Rana as she was trying to come in the kitchen with her own dirty pte.

  She was in a shirt simir to Lilit’s, but with a deeper cut neckline, exposing quite a bit of cleavage. Lilit got an eyeful without meaning to and found herself blushing deeply as she looked away. “G-good morning, Rana.”

  Lilit could hear the smile in her voice as Rana answered, “Good morning, sweetheart.” She stepped around Lilit and entered the kitchen.

  Lilit shook herself and walked over to the table. Awenda was thankfully facing away, sitting at the table with her own breakfast.

  “I think we should head to the training floor today. See how much it costs to hire a trainer for you. But I also thought a small shield might be good for you, so maybe we should head to the merchant area first so when you train you train with the equipment you’ll have on you.” Awenda greeted her.

  “Well, good morning to you too.” Awenda looked a little sheepish at this. “I guess we could check out the trainer. I don’t think I’ll be able to use a shield though because I need that hand free for my prayer book, remember?”

  Lilit finally noticed that Awenda, while in a simir style outfit to everyone else, fit hers quite differently. It was much tighter through her shoulders and around her biceps. Lilit could see her muscles bulging as she moved. It was more than a little distracting.

  Awenda just looked confused at Lilit. “What does that have to do with a shield?”

  Now it was Lilit’s turn to look confused. “Because shields need to be held?”

  “You have to hold a shield? Huh. I might have some ideas. Let’s see if someone has what I’m thinking of.”

  “Oh, well sure then. We should head there first to look around.” Lilit took a bite of eggs. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Is there anything you or Rana need?”

  “Nah, not for me. You’ll need to ask Rana. But it won’t hurt to look around either way.”

  “Maybe we could get each of you a healing potion as a backup in case I’m incapacitated or something.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Awenda agreed.

  They finished their meals in silence after that. Each lost in their own thoughts and pns. Lilit continued to steal gnces at Awenda’s dancing muscles as she ate.

  Awenda and Lilit met Rana in the front sitting room. She was skimming through a book when they came in. Seeing them, she closed the book and slid it back onto the shelf. “Ready?” She asked.

  Lilit and Awenda nodded their heads in agreement and everyone headed out of the suite together. No one thought to bring their weapons or armor, but they had all grabbed their packs. They each had a few things they hoped to sell in the marketpce.

  Lilit had the least amount of coin. Both Awenda and Rana had come across more bullywugs while solo, and they’d teamed up and started dealing with mobs earlier than Lilit had as well. It didn’t matter a great deal. No one expected to be able to buy much here at the beginning. They still had yet to figure out what a gold piece was worth.

  The group clomped down the hall to the stairs. There waiting for them was one tiny, green, loud mouthed Izumi. She grinned impishly at them as they drew closer.

  “I figured it would be easier to wait for you dies here. No need to go looking for me.” She winked at them.

  Lilit rolled her eyes. She looked around at Awenda and Rana to see their reactions. Rana had the flirtiest smile Lilit had ever seen aimed at the little goblin. Awenda just looked thoughtful. Apparently she was the only one who found Izumi to be more than a little over the top.

  Lilit sighed. She knew better than to try and overrule the rest of the group. Even if she wasn’t particurly interested in having Izumi join them, the others might be. She was almost obligated to pay attention and to figure out exactly how to convince the others that they didn’t want Izumi either. “Sure. We were just headed up to the next floor to sell stuff and look at upgrading a few things.” Lilit braced herself to say this, “Do you want to join us?”

  “Oh, twist my arm why don’t you! I’d love to accompany you. Stick with me, I’ll show you all the best merchants for buying and selling.” Izumi skipped forward and grabbed ahold of Lilit’s and Rana’s hands, pulling them forward. She turned around to send a wink over her shoulder at Awenda.

  Lilit found herself drawn into the shadow of this tiny tornado as she practically dragged them up the stairs. She took them past the initial rows of merchant booths. She waved away any questions about checking the stores out with an assurance that she’d get them the best deals.

  There were even more people milling around this level than there had been downstairs in the tavern portion of The Inn. And a wide range of people too. Lilit saw every shade of mythological person she’d ever heard of. She also saw just as many people she had no frame of reference for.

  There were eight foot tall, four armed, boulders of people. There were nimble footed, tiny people shorter than even Izumi. There were people that she would cssify as kitsune, elves, oni, and even centaurs. There were translucent, blob people. There were several people who looked to have come from the same worlds as her companions. And of course there were all varieties of humans. And there were so many more people that she didn’t have a chance to really take in before Izumi hurried them along.

  Izumi dragged them to a booth a few rows back from the staircase. Behind the counter stood a stout dwarf. He greeted Izumi warmly before turning to the rest of the group. “This is the best person to sell your loot to. He’ll buy pretty much anything you find. His brother next door,” Izumi pointed to a booth to the right, “takes the reagents from Smulgom, here and creates some one of a kind potions. While Smulgom’s sister a few rows back smelts down a lot of the trinkets into armor and weapons.

  “It’s really a family business. But, if you do business with one sibling, the others tend to offer discounts on their wares. Pretty great!” Izumi was bouncing on her toes by this point.

  Awenda stepped past the group and plopped her pack down on the table. The packs always looked fairly empty, they’d fit things in there that really shouldn’t have fit. So they were almost like a bag of holding. However, you still felt all the weight from whatever you put in the bag. So the appearance of the bag was extremely deceiving. Awenda’s bag made a hearty thunk as it dropped onto the counter.

  Awenda had apparently had less qualms with carting around rusty weapons, because she began to pull out several rusty knives and pce them on the counter. Smulgom watched her intently. Final count, Awenda put down six rusty knives, one broken shield, three decent looking spears, one decent conditioned knife, and a rusty scimitar on the counter. Then she pulled out a small handful of throat bdders, which Smulgom was quick to pce a bowl under. A few more odds and ends ended up on the table.

  Smulgom eyed the items on the table for several minutes before making his offer. “Twelve gold pieces, five silver.”

  Izumi seemed excited by the number. Lilit had no idea if Awenda had just been low-balled or not. They still had no frame of reference for how much a gold piece was worth. Awenda’s trusting nature though let her take him at his word. She nodded and Smulgom counted out her coins.

  Rana scoffed next to her. “Not even going to haggle a little? What is wrong with you?”

  “What are you talking about? If he was willing to pay more, then he would have offered more.” Awenda innocently answered.

  Rana simply groaned loudly. Smulgom swept the items off the counter and Rana stepped forward to empty her bag. “Watch how it’s done,” she said.

  Rana had been more discerning in what she carried back. There were two rusted knives, four spears, two scimitars, one oiled knife, and a small pile of throat bdders.

  “Eleven gold, six silver,” Smulgom offered.

  “Fifteen gold, two silver.” Rana countered. Though how she came to the conclusion her pile was worth that was beyond Lilit.

  Smulgom actually smiled, “Twelve gold even.” They continued to counter each other until Smulgom offered, “Thirteen gold, four silver.”

  Rana accepted with a nod. Smulgom was quick to sweep everything off the table. Izumi looked at Rana like she was going to eat her right then and there.

  Rana went to step back, but Lilit grabbed her elbow. “Will you please do that for me? I have no experience with haggling or anything.”

  Rana looked excited, and Smulgom looked a little weary when she accepted. Lilit stepped forward and emptied out her own bag. She had much less, being even more discerning in what she carried. At the end of the day she sold Smulgom four knives, one spear, one scimitar, and a small pile of throat bdders. Rana worked him up to nine gold, three silver. All told, that brought Lilit’s total to sixty-nine gold, three silver.

  Smulgom, on top of buying all their gear, sold general store type items. He had a menu chalked up on the back board then he’d hurry in the back and scurry out with your requested items. Rana helped out by haggling for the group again. By the time they were done Izumi looked like she was going to spontaneously combust.

  They all stocked up on food provisions. Izumi recommended a week’s worth to be on the safe side. They also bought bed rolls and tents, and a few other odds and ends they thought they’d need. When she was done shopping, Lilit was down to fifty-eight gold, one silver.

  They headed to the apothecary brother next. Steve sold Awenda and Rana each their own healing potions for ten gold a piece. He was not amused with Rana’s attempt to haggle and almost raised the price before Izumi could stop them.

  After that they headed back toward Smulgom’s and Steve’s sister the bcksmith. This far back from the staircase the booths began to transform into proper shops. Slokenra’s smithy was set up inside a proper shop front. Rana and Izumi looked around at the wares, wandering off on their own. Lilit caught Rana walking with her hand on Izumi’s back, guiding her through the shop. Interesting.

  Awenda took ahold of Lilit and guided her to a wall of shields. Each one was a different shape or size. Awenda drifted around until she seemed to spot what she was looking for. There were several small to medium sized shields around where Awenda was staring, so Lilit wasn’t sure what she was looking at.

  “How can I help you folks?” A voice popped up by Lilit’s shoulder, causing her to jump.

  “Oh, sorry about that,” a small woman who could only be Slokenra based off the family resembnce said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She pced a hand on Lilit’s arm.

  “No worries. I think my friend was helping me find a shield.”

  “What css are you?”

  “Acolyte, why?”

  “Some csses have particur needs. Like I know you need both your hands free for your prayer book. Not a common problem for not a common css,” Slokenra answered.

  “That makes…wait, my css isn’t very common?”

  “Nope. Not a lot of people go for the more support css kind of roles. Most of the people that end up here are the gung-ho hero types. They’re much more action oriented.

  “You on the other hand are going to be in high demand. No one wants to be the healer, but everyone wants one in their party. You could set your own rates and be guaranteed to get them if you advertised on the board downstairs,” Slokenra said.

  She held up her hand to forestall Lilit’s response. “I’m not trying to sow discord or stir up problems with your own party. You should trust the people in your party for more than a paycheck I say.”

  She looked back to where Awenda had been staring. “I think I know what your friend was looking for. I don’t have one up there because they’re honestly not that popur outside of certain csses. I do have something in the back, and if not, I can fashion something in a few days.”

  Awenda and Lilit followed her to the back of the shop. Slokenra slipped past the counter and into the actual back of the shop. Lilit and Awenda waited while listening to her mutter and bang around.

  Lilit looked over at Awenda, “It looks like she knows what she’s talking about.”

  Awenda nodded her head, “I agree. Izumi doesn’t seem to have steered us wrong. What do you think of her?” They turned to watch Izumi tripping after Rana as they ambled around the shop.

  “I think she wants to get in all of our pants. I’d say especially yours based on some of her comments, but since the haggling at Smulgom’s she seems to have become infatuated with Rana.” Lilit ughed.

  Awenda’s deep chuckle warmed Lilit’s insides. “True. I had noticed that. Beside that though, what do you think of her?”

  “I’m not sure. What do you think of her?” Lilit turned the question around.

  “Hmmmm. I think she’s been honest and helpful, even when she didn’t have to be. She took us to vendors she seems to trust. I like her fire too.” Awenda nudged Lilit, “And she is kind of cute, don’t you think?”

  Lilit’s face burned. She did think that Izumi was at least a little cute, if you could get past the flirty bravado.

  “Should we give her a chance?” Lilit asked. “In the party I mean.” Lilit’s blush deepened.

  Awenda didn’t seem to notice, “I think we should at least sit down and talk to her. See what she can bring to the table. What css she is. She already seems to fit in with us otherwise.”

  Lilit sighed. She hadn’t wanted to bring in another stranger when she was still getting used to Awenda and Rana. But, she could admit when she was beat. Izumi had thoroughly defeated any of Lilit’s excuses she could have made to keep her away.

  Just then Slokenra stepped out from behind the curtain. “I found it!” She rushed to the counter. On top of it she pced an odd contraption. It was one part bracer that fit over the forearm. One part glove. And maybe one part shield, Lilit wasn’t sure.

  “Try it on. Try it on.” Slokenra was practically bouncing in pce. “I took a guess based on how you moved, but you’re right handed right?”

  “Yeah,” Lilit confirmed. She picked up the bracer shield thing and inspected it from every angle. It looked like there was a small metal backed glove attached to a bracer. Only instead of just fitting around the forearm, the back of the bracer fanned out about six inches around her hand, and then sloped back to a sharp point at the elbow. Like if a kite shield had been shrunk and welded to the back of a bracer.

  She slipped her hand inside the bracer shield. The glove was actually fingerless, but wrapped around the thumb to keep it in pce. It fit surprisingly well. She was able to secure the buckles on the underside one handed.

  Lilit looked up at Awenda who looked super excited by the bracer shield. “Is this what you were looking for?”

  “Yes. It’s a wing-shield. It’s small, but versatile and keeps your hands free. You can block and deflect some of the blows coming in instead of trying to dodge everything.” Awenda’s smile popped up a dimple in her cheek.

  “Now,” Slokenra brought their attention back to her. “I couldn’t part with that for any less than twenty-six gold.”

  From behind them, Rana seemed to pop out of nowhere, “Nineteen gold, not a silver more.”

  “You wound me, ma’am.” But Slokenra was grinning. “For someone as important as a healer, I guess I could be persuaded to drop the price to twenty-four and five silver.”

  They continued back and forth for several minutes before finally settling on twenty-two gold, six silver. Lilit gdly paid and everyone waved as they left.

  “All that shopping has left me starving. What say we head back downstairs for lunch?” Rana asked everyone.

  Lilit and Awenda readily agreed. Izumi was too busy staring heart eyes at her newest crush to say anything. But she followed along doggedly at Rana’s heels.