[IC] Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

[Xaltwind]

Brandy was hurriedly running her little hooves off, while the thumping footsteps of the huge, hungry and horrible troll kept drawing ever closer. Looking over her shoulder once in a while, she stuck her tongue out and made 'thhhppppttttt!'-noise, along with grimaces and faces that would put Mr. Bean to shame... Who knew satyr-faces were so expressive... Or elastic...?

However, as the tanned little bombshell ran around, a noise suddenly caught her attention. And it also caught the attention of the troll chasing her. Looking back, the girl saw Alice, clanking on a pot that had been hung up to make some sort of makeshift bell. At first, Brandy did nothing more than stare at it. But as the troll roared and began charging towards it - and the one bonking at it - the hairs on Brandy's neck.... And legs... And tail... And ears... All stood on end and she howled out:

"AL! THAT'S NOT HOW YOU MAKE FIRE!!"

Running after the big, savage brute who had now changed his mind about what he wanted to eat, the little satyress cursed under her breath as she was falling behind. Then she heard a noise.

Twang!

As she looked forward, she saw a certain, oddly shaped object come sailing through the air, with a whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-like sound. At the sight of the object, and the sight of the one who had launched it, a pair of cogs began to turn inside the little lady's head... For once in her life, she had seemed to put two and two together.

Coming to a comedic, skidding stop, complete witht he sound of rubber tyres screeching across asphalt as they tried to stop the forward momentum of a large vehicle, Brandy performd a impromptu-somersault, before turning about-face and starting to runb like a madwoman in the opposite direction of the troll.

Gulp!

A mouthy, swallowing noise was heard shortly thereafter, followed by a confused groan... Or maybe an inquisitive grunt? It was hard to tell, and even harder to really care. Brandy remembered the noisy thing Alice had thrown at the horned rabbit back at the farm... And at the troll earlier when this whole mess started... So she could only imagine that this was something much, much, much worse.

And it was.

BTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A strange fiery but also splattery noise errupted from behind the fleeing satyress. ALong with a horribly loud and unpleasant boom. The force of the blast, even though she was a fair bit away, was enough to knock the goat-girl off her legs and send her tumbling forward. She eventually stopped, once she slammed into the side of a tree, lying on her back with her legs over her head... It looked like one of those scenes in an erotic game, where the monster-girl was presenting herself to the wandering hero, and exciting snu-snu would soon come to follow.

Luckily, there was neither any travelling hero nearby, nor other individuals willing to take advantage of the situation. Instead, after a minute or two of lying on her back, bent over herself and staring at the clear sjy above, Brandy eventually blinked a few times and began to slowly move. She groaned and whined and complained... But she couldn't actually hear herself do so. As she stood up, she realized that the only thing she could hear was... Well... This really annoying ringing sound... She looked around, trying to figure out what was making it, but to no avail. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and anywhere, all at the same time.
*
Of course, once her red eyes landed on the sight of Sofia standing over a collapsed Alice, all other things and stuff stopped mattering. With a burst of speed, the beautiful but graceless satyr shot off towards her companions. As she got close enough, she almost leapt onto Sofia, using the undead as a sort of chshion or airbag to stop herself... Not to mention that Brandy's own airbags sorta squished up against Sofia's back, but that wasn't important.

"SOFERS! IS ALICE OKAY!?" Brandy shouted.

Of course, she couldn't hear herself shouting. ANd when she saw Sofia's lips moving, but no sound came out of them, she raised an eyebrow, twitched her ears, cupped her hands behind said ears, leaned forward - like, really close - to the revenant and called out the one thing anyone would've shouted in that situation.

"WHAT!?"

Moments became seconds, and seconds became a minute, or maybe two. Eventually though, the ringing began to fade, and the sound of the forest began to slowly come back. Brandy looked around, sharply turning her head from side to side, trying to uncovered what had caused her to lose her hearing for so long. Still, once it was back - to some extent at least - she proceeded to fuss.

"Al! Al! Wake up, you dummy! This is so 'totes not funny!" She accidentally rhymed, as she gently but firmly grabbed onto Alice's clothes and gave her small baby-shakes. The satyr looked up from her collapsed werewolf-friend and to their newest ally, eyes all moist and sad and stuff. "Sofers! What should we do? Did... Did the big guy smack Al or something? Why's she not waking up? C'mon, you! Wake. Up. Alice. Or. I'll. Do. Something. Naughty!" Brandy asked, pleaeded and threatened.

It seemed she had completely missed the chunks and bits of troll that were laying all around... Or the large, singed and scorched patch of terrtain which was now located where the troll had previously been standing. Instead, all her focus was fixed on the beastwoman infront of her knees. Then, a proverbial candle lit up above her head, and a sinister and mischievous smirk crawled its way across her face.

"Hm-hmm~ I know what this is..." She said, voice oddly sweet and dripping with black honey. "It's that 'Prince smooches the Princes to wake her up'-deal, yeah? Weeeeeell... If you're not gonna wake up on your oooooown~" Brandy's logic was infallible!

A-SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!

Having leaned down and forward, over ALice, a wet, sloppy sound was suddenly heard. This was the result of Brandy's tongue giving a rather long and exagerated lick of Alice's face. More precisely, from the base of her chin, up across her cheek and ending at the werewolf-girl's temple. Either the satyr thought that this constituted a kiss, or she was banking on her breath perhaps being bad enough to cause the unconscious alchemist to wake up... Though, considering Brandy took excellent care of her personal hygiene, including her teeth, the chances of the latter were rather slim. Regardless! She had a playful and coy, if a bit coquettish, smirk on her face... And then she looked up at Sofers, raising both eyebrows and with slightly flushed cheeks, said in an equally mischievous voice:

"Oh, hey... You want one too, Sofers~?"

[The Irish Tree]

While initially Sofia was very confused on why Brandy didn't hear her say that Alice was fine, but probably needed a moment to recover up until she remembered that, being dead, her eardrums had been kinda gone for a long time. It was a miracle that her senses functioned beyond magical nonsensical reasons, to the extent that she could even still taste and feel things. Aside from pain. Couldn't taste or feel that.

Still...she couldn't help but feel bad, seeing Brandy panic so quickly for her companion. She couldn't imagine that these two were anything but the most tightly bonded of friends, with a bond forged through countless adventures. Definitely more than the two they'd actually been on. Like, way more. ...Why were people friends after two adventures? Only Brandy would know.

Regardless, she wouldn't dare intrude upon their moment. The kind of scene played out in her mind where Alice would awaken, the light barely shining in through the branches above while Brandy called out her friend's name. She would reach out and touch Brandy's shoulder, reassuring her that she was fine and that the shouting was getting to be too loud. A confident smile, a tearful hug, and a resume of their journey. Surely, nothing but this could possible happen!

But then something else possible did happen! With tongue! And not in the entertaining "lesbians create drama and intrigue in a plot by existing" entertaining, but in the amusing sense that Brandy had literally licked Alice's face from chin to temple. A dumbfounded silence escaped Sofia's expression, the usually stoic and poised looking revenant caught off guard by how...lacking Brandy was in terms of practical knowledge. When the question came on whether Sofia wanted a kiss as well, Brandy would receive Sofia's fist ever-so-gently conking her between the horns. "AT LEAST LEARN WHAT A KISS IS FIRST!"

The final scream and wetness on her face would, at least, awaken the slumbering werewolf who took in the sight of her two friends okay. "...Nn...loud...is everyone...alright?" she asked, figuring the wetness on her face had to be blood from her head colliding with something.

[Xaltwind]

"Owie~!" The satyress let out an overly cutesy plaintive remark when she had her head bonked by the revenant. Putting both hands atop her noggin, as if to both shield her empty skull from further assault as well as comfort the inevitable bump that was going to rise, the tanned girl gave Sofia a pouty face in response. "You meanie! How could you hurt such a delicate lil' waif such as me?" Brandy sad, complete with trembling lower lip and wet, glistening puppy-dog eyes.

Then Alice stirred.

Then Alice spoke.

Then Brandy glomped Alice, and smushed her cheek against the werewolf girl's, rubbing the two cheeks affectionately against one another, all while having her big, goofy smile on her face - as if the previous outrage and sadness was nothing more than a very distant memory. Or an act. Prboably the latter, since it was Brandy.

"Al! Al! You're alright! Maa-haa-haa~! I thought that big boom done did get ya good! And we'd like, have to 'totes carry you around and feed you with a spoon and change your drawers for ya and stuff!" Brandy was very happy and relieved to see her friend hadn't been turned into a complete vegetable.

After some more forceful cuddling and cheek-smushing, Brandy eventually got off Alice and back onto her feet... Well, hooves. She looked around, only now noticing the devestation and gruesome state of the now-not-so-living-feral-trolll, who was lying in meaty chunks and singed splattterings all around the once rather tranquil and pleasant meadowy area. She raised an eyebrow and approached one of the meat-bits that was close by, crouching down and poking it with a finger a few times inquistively, as if expecting it to move or juggle or bite back or something.

"Wooooow.... I had no idea yer boom-bombs could do somethin' like this, Al... That's amazing! You're like, a full-fledged Troll Slayer, maybe! Oh, and Sofers. You're amazin' at shooting that bow of yours. I bet you could shoot down a bird in flgiht with your skills!" Brandy praised her companions, very impressed with them both. Which was admittedly fully warranted - as compared to them, Brandy's own skills thus far included having a pleasant singing voice and ... Not so much more... In fact, she probably contributed the least to the group over all... Except for her sunny and optimistic disposition, which was unmatched!

"So, uh... Uhm... Now that big smelly's gone, you guys feel like eatin'? I'm feeeling a bit hungry."

The satyr'scomplete lack of urgency and seemingly apathy towards eating a meal in anb area covered by the remains of a blasterized troll, was rather remarkable. Then again, she came from a farm, where the scent and smell of manure and compost was ever-prevalent, so maybe she was just used to foul smells. She plotted about a for a bit, looking for a place to sit, and eventually came upon an area that was not covered redecorated by troll-giblets. Smiling and with ears twitching, she scampered back to where she'd dropped her backpack, and then promptly ran back to the site that she'd picked out. Once there, she waved for her two friends to come join her.

"C'mon! C'mon! Let's have lunch!" Brandy called, before plopping her plump butt down on the soft grass and uncorking her waterskin, taking a big ol' clunk from it and letting out an elongated and refreshed 'Aaaaaaaaaaaah!'.

[The Irish Tree]

At Brandy's insistence at her daintiness, Sofia said: "You are FAR from delicate." Still, Sofia couldn't help but smile at the heartfelt hug that Alice was receiving. She imagined that this would make a good tale for the three of them to tell together another day.

Alice was left to make slight noises as her cheeks were mushed up, sort of a mix between a whine and a sigh as her cheeks were smooshed and her ribs were squeezed by some satyr hugs. But, by the end of it, she'd let out a slight laugh and smile. At being praised, her and Sofia looked pleased, neither one even thinking about Brandy's lack of contribution. Every party needed a heart, and Brandy was useful even if she wasn't the best fighter. Though, Sofia thought she could do with a few lessons in swinging her club. After all, replace that with a solid mace and she becomes a devil against anything with protection.

They'd both be staring at her like she was crazy though, since Alice was still at least partially covered with troll guts, closer to the blast zone. But, after scaring her to death and bonking her, the two gave each other a glance and a silent mutual agreement that a break was a good idea. They'd sit down, with Alice flicking off a few chunks of troll jelly, while also scraping a bit of the fattier flesh into a bag. It was useful.

But, a pleasant, somewhat stinky little picnic was in order as the two said at Brandy's sides, with Alice snacking on a piece of jerky and Sofia chugging a vial that was very clearly marked with a skull and crossbones. And...then she'd pull out a cup of yogurt. Alice was partially fascinated that an undead could eat or drink anything but...why yogurt?

Sofia seemed to love it either way, a happy grayish-blue blush staining her cheeks as she enjoyed her rot-preventing special yogurt.

[Xaltwind]

After having set things up - as properly as one could expect from a certain satyr - the three girls finally got off their feet after the action-packed conclusion to their little encounter. Didn't take long for both Alice and Sofia to whip out their prefered foodstuffs and start chowing down either. Brandy observed the two for a bit, then rummaged through her pack and retrieved a small red wrapped bundle. Unfurling it, she produced a set of three large, juicy-looking carrots, which she proceeded to bite into with gusto. The crunchy snapping of root vegetables could be heard as she happily chewed away at her impromptu meal.

Her eyes thenn glanced over to Sofia, who was now happily eating yogurt. A coy smirk came to Brandy's face and one of her eyebrows lifted. Her expression could only be described as 'up-to-no-good'-face.

"Hmmmmm~? So you're into gulping down white goopy stuff eh, Sofers~?" Her voice was very playful and insinuating. Forget undertones or implications, all forms of subtlety were out the window where this satyress was concerned. Then she laughed her usualy hearty laugh. "Well anyway, it's too bad I didn't bring any broccoli or cheese... It's like super-yummy to top some fresh boiled broc with a bit of melted cheese and sprinkle it with salt." She had now switched from talking about questionable topics right over to basic-ass cooking recipes. Apparently siwtching gears wasn't hard when your brain was the size of a walnut.

"By the by's, what're you girls favorite foods? We usually just ate vegetables and fruits back home on the farm, so I wanna know what types of things ya'll eat. Oh! I guess we did have bread'n stuff too, but mama's-- err, I mean, mom's bread was always so tough! It was like, chewin' on an old shoe or somethin', y'know?" Brandy questioned and regaled the two others. Having grown up where she had, expensive and varied dishes weren't exactly readily available.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot. What's this Garlton like? Are there lots of those fancy booty-cheeks and stripp performers?" She probably meant boutiques and street performers, but being Brandy one could expect no more. Then she crunched down on her second carrot and proceeded to gnaw it as a hamser would. It was rather adorable actually.

[The Irish Tree]

Sofia would gently tug on Brandy's cheek after she finished her yogurt, saying: "Consuming delicious yogurt daily helps me retain my flesh in a...well, if I didn't eat it, let's just say I'd look a lot more like a corpse than I already do. Its a preservative." After she finished speaking she'd release Brandy's cheek from the tyranny of her index and thumb fingers. "As for my favorite food though...I must admit, when I was alive I was a fan of berry pies. ...Too bad now that eating fruit makes it ferment in my stomach quickly."

Alice would finish tearing apart a piece of jerky with little effort, grinning happily as her tail wagged. "Werewolves like me are mostly carnivores, so I'm a big fan of meat. Beef, Chicken, Pork...though if I had to pick one..." the werewolf seemed lost in thought, but then eyed Brandy and realized it was...probably goat meat. Probably. But that was kind of a horrifying thing to say around a satyr. As such she would giggle and tap her index fingers together. "Definitely pork."

When the question of what Gnarlton was like came about, Alice would be without any answers. She'd traveled little after reaching Litroot...but Sofia would stand up and put her hands upon her hips. "I was born and raised in Gnarlton! Leave your questions to me, and I'll answer each and every one!"

There were no fancy booty cheeks or strip performers, but there were a fair number of people living in Gnarlton from Sofia's recollection. Of course, by and large her information was a few hundred years out of relevancy, but...it was probably worth something. Probably. They still had a small leg of their journey ahead after their little picnic, but one could rest assured...Sofia sure was sure she knew what she was talking about.

[Xaltwind]

As they talked and munched on their impromptu picnicky lunch, the satyress listened intently to the responses of her allies. She made a crass comment about Alice really liking big meat, but other than that she remained fairly docile and well-mannered. She showed obvious signs of disappointment at hearing that there were no booty-ticks or strip performers, signalled by droopy ears and a slouching tail, but both of these features perked right on back up after Sofia started regaling her knowledge of Gnarlton.

... Which was horribly out of date and full of inaccurate information where the modern-day town was concerned...

Still, the talk had gotten a certain Brandy all fired up and even more excited about their eventual arrival to the town... Which was unfortunately still a day and half's walk away, at least. Still! That didn't discourage the little bouncy satyr from gobbling up her food, collecting her pack, strapping it to her back and energetically encouraging her comrades to finish their meals and get moving. After all, she was going to an actual large town! A place with more people than she'd ever seen or imagined before! The thought was exhilirating to the social butterfly that was Brandy.

The day had gotten a bit past noon, and the weather had changed a little as well. More clouds had deigned to dot the sky and a slight breeze had pickedu up. It was still sunny and pleasnt, of course, so there wasn't any need for alarm. The aroad ahead was still just mostly a dirt path though, and there didn't seem to be many travellers going between Gnarlton and Litroot. Well, not as far as the three girls could see at least. The rmaining day would be spent walking and talking.

However, as the sun began to sink lower and lower and the curtain of night began to creep ever further over the horizon, Brandy suddenly stopped and looked around.

"So, uh... Chubby-tail-Karin said it'd take two days to walk to Gnarlton, right? But, like, we gonna just keep walking there night and day? 'Cuz, y'know, I don't wanna be a wet-blanket or nothin', but I kinda like getting my beatuy-sleep. Keeps my skin nice and fresh!" She asid, smiliing and giving the other two girls a playful wink. "But-but-butts, anyway! You gals wanna keep stomping on for a bit, or should we try and find somewhere to set up a cozy lil' love-nest for the night? I dun really know what's best on a long trip like this, 'cuz mama-err, Mom always told me to stay at an inn when on the road, buuuuuuuut..." She looked around again. "... I ain't seeing none of those about, myeh?"

And Brandy was right. There was a distinct lack of inns, roadside taverns or any other buildings for that matter. In fact, there was a disparingly large amount of none-civilization present in general. But hey, at least there was plenty of grass! Yup. Lots and lots of grass... Knee-high grass... Wild and untrimmed... Probably full of creepy crawlies and sneaking-in-under-your-garments-unnoticed-until-its-too-late bugs... Oh, and a few smatterings of lonely, sparsed-out trees. And a big boulder. And a few shrubs and bushes. And a grazing stag.

[The Irish Tree]

Alice was shocked that Brandy genuinely thought they were just going to walk for two straight days. As tough as werewolves were, that was...well, kind of a terrible idea. You'd be far too tired to defend yourself, or do much of anything but sleep if you even made it to your destination before collapsing with jelly-legs. Alice would reassure Brandy that they'd camp out for the night there, since the troll had rather generously cratered a big area for them to setup their camping gear. Oh, and the crater from the bomb could make a neat little firepit.

"It isn't often that you'll find roadside inns between areas of little renown. Litroot isn't exactly a hopping tourist destination...but, I imagine the Gnarlton-capital-road would have an inn upon it. I remember it just like it was yesterday..." Sofia said, reminiscing and mostly talking to herself after a time as Alice stood between her and Brandy, getting a fire going for them to cook dinner on and warm themselves with. "This reminds me a lot of when I was little...my Papa used to take me camping the night before a full moon. Said it got the 'wild' out early, and broke less furniture," Alice joked, roasting a couple weenies on the open fire. Thankfully, Sofia had killed that dumb stag that was grazing near the site of their battle, and now they had some delicious venison for use tonight! (No deer were harmed in the making of this roleplay.)

Their travel pace would have them set to arrive in Gnarlton after their 2 day journey, arriving sometime in the mid-afternoon...at which point, Sofia looked absolutely confused. She'd inspect the sign, read a map, and scratch her head hard enough that it almost fell off before saying: "...Are you both sure this is Gnarlton? I mean...I know it HAS been a century or two but...it looks completely different!"

Lo and behold, booty-cheeks! And strip performers! Oh wait, no, that was a typo by an illiterate satyr. Boutiques and street performers were abundant in the town.

"I have to assume it is from the sign," Alice noted, pointing at the giant "GNARLTON" sign that was suspended over the arch of the gateway into town.

[Xaltwind]

Gnarlton was a sight to see, at least for a country-bumpkin like Brandy, no doubt! The stone walls that surrounded the city weren't the tallest or the thickest, the gate into the town wasn't the grandest or most elaborate, and the town itself wasn't the largest or most populated - but to Brandy, this was a city! Never before had she seen so many people or heard so many voices or been treated to so many smells and sounds all at once. So many buildings of varying shapes and sizes, colors and styles. So many people of differing social standing and race! It was almost overwhelming to the point that the little satyress could barely contain her excitement for it all.

In truth, Gnarlton was a fairly average town, with some 12,000~13,000 permanent residents. Most buildings were made out of stone or bricjk, as opposed to wood like they had been in the past. Streets were laid with cobblestone and there were even street lamps along the larger and wider roads. Buildings stood between one to three storeys tall with various roofings, from tiles to simple lumber logs or planks. The archietecutre was a hodge-pode of different styles and cultures, as the town was a trading hub and was home to a multitude of different species. The heart of the town was a large marketplace, with stalls and peddlers and vendors trying to pawn their goods. The west and east ditricts were mostly residential, with the south district - the one where our girls were now at - being the commercial district. The north part of Gnarlton was, however, home to less reputable sorts, such as the red light district and the slummier parts... Unfortunately, this was also where the Guild had their local hall in this town.

But none of that currently mattered, as a certain bouncing satyr made a beeline over to watch a silly man in silly make-up juggle a bunch of bowling-pin shaped ... Pins? of carious colors, all while speaking in a ludicrous fashion and making cringeworthy jokes and observations. Juggling clowns... In Gnarlton. Yup. Truly a place of high culture and refined tastes. After the man eventually stopped his act and bowed, and had a few on-lookers toss a pitiful pittance of coins into his up-side-down-hat-on-theground, Brandy was off! To the next strip performer! This time a lady in scandlous clothes... No... You couldn't actually call that clothes... More like, strips and pieces of fabric, maybe? Which was also dangerously translucent ... This one was swinging her long strands of fabric on her arms and legs around like shawls, weaving and doing motions to get them to flutter ever so vividly... And show off hger rather attractive figure in the process.

Not that she could hold a candle to Brandy, but then again, who really could?

"Woooooooow! Look at her go! Like, I've never seen anyone dancin' like that before. The dances mama and papa taught me were all so stiff and boring... Traditional stuff realy ain't my speed, y'know?" Brandy stated, to nobody in particular, except maybe herself? "And that outfit... It's so cool! I wonder if I can get a similar one somewhere? MHmm, but I think a black or red one would be better... Pink isn't really my color, maa-haa-haa~!" Again, talking aloud to probably herself.

There was much more around than the performers though. The southern district were full of shops and stores, from those of a gneral nature to things like apothecaries, antique shoppes, weapons and armor stores, magic trinket boutiques and so much more! If Alice and Sofia didn't desire to be dragged into every single establishment with a colorful sign and window-display, they might want to reel-in their hyper-active friend and drag her along to their actual destination... That being if they themselves knew where it was... But maybe some friendly local could share that tidbit with them, if they asked politely.

[The Irish Tree]

After a modicum of discussion between the two members of the party with enough braincells (both of which were not Brandy), they agreed that delivering the letter would have to take priority over sight-seeing. After all, it was barely any actual work, but their client would be irate if they had to wait past a few hours of their arrival. As such, the duo would walk up to Brandy, link arms with her, and begin carrying her off to the guild hall.

"Before we get all caught up in the town's hub-bub, we should go deliver our letter."

"Indeed. If I recall, the guild should be this way!"

It was, however, not that way. And after a fair bit of polite asking, the girls would find themselves coming upon the threshold of the guild. Alice, ever the responsible one, would have the neatly preserved letter already in her hand, entering with her companions to say: "Special Delivery!"

Sofia meanwhile would regret her aged knowledge of the town, embarrassed at having to ask for directions a few times along the way.

[Xaltwind]

Though usually in good spirits, Brandy was not amused when her travelling companions decided to nab and pull her away from all the glitter and sparkles. Like an obstinate child, she protested quite verbally against the grave injustice that was being done to someone who had spent all their lives on a farmstead and had nothing exciting ever happen... Except that one time a travelling peddler came by and tried to hawk some useless rubbish off onto her family... Her father had promptly declined the offers, by chaisng said peddler away with his pitch fork.

Regardless!

The part of town taht the guild hall was now located in was very different from when Sofia had been alive. Back then, it'd been seated in the western part of the town, but due to an unfortunate fire - and political machinations involving re-zoning and property rights - the guild had been forced to relocate to a more seedy and ill reputed part of town. Although the hall itself was a fairly impressive building, being three storeys tall and much more impressive than the one back in Litroot, it also had a much shabbier exterior and looked as if it hadn't seen a fresh coat of paint or renovating in over two decades... Needless to say, it looked just as shabby as the other buildings in the slummy parts of Gnarlton, just bigger.

Once inside, and Alice having announced their arriva and purpose, she would find that the guild hall was remarkably vacant. Except for an elderly human woman in her late 50's, with grayed hair, far too much make-up on and reeking of a mix of smoke and perfume, there was nobody else to be seen. This receptionist, who was sitting at her reception desk, was busying herself with smoking one cigarette after the other, and there were more full ashtrays on the table-surface than there were papers or documents, or pens or other office supplies.

Hearing the voice of the werewolf, the elderly madame turned her head and gave the wolf-girl a once-over with an apathetic face, blowing a long stream of whit evapor out of her mouth after having taken a deep drag from her lit cancer-stick.

"Special delivery, huh? OF what? We ain't ordered nothing, sweetums." The voice of the old lady matched her perfectly. Namely in that it sounded like a heavy chain-smoking old lady straight out of one of those stereotypical night-establishments, what with the slight accent and everything.

Brandy, still sulking about having been pulled away from her fun, was standing in the doorway, ears drooping and pouting in a cute fashion. Then the smell from inside was let outside, and it wafted past her nostrils. As on reflex, the satyress gagged and began to cough inelegantly, making quite the fuss before finally managing to colelct herself. With composure somehwat regained, she peered inside the dank and dismal locale, her eyes growing wide in horror and he rnose wrinkling itself in discontent protest.

"The heck is this dump?! Al, you sure we're in the right place? This looks nothin' like tanuki-glasses or lil' miss witchum's place." Brandy stated, rather casually and loudly. The old lady at the desk seemed to overhear, as she gave the top-heavy girl a none too keen glance.
"This is the local Gnarlton guild hall for the Guild o' Renta-Experts, honey. You girls sure you're in the right place?" She questioned the trio's presence.
"Oh, it is? I thought it was some kinda dank dive." Brandy said, completely without intent to sound rude but nontheless doing so splendidly. Especially since she said it with a straight face. "Well, we came here from Litroot to hand over a letter or something." Brandy continued.
"Litroot...? Ah, that little hamlet in the southern woods. Well, don't keep me waiting, honey. Give the it here." The old bat said, stretching out the arm and hand which wasn't busy fiddling with her cigarette.

After said letter had been handed over and the grey-haired woman had vien it a quick glance, she sighed and opened a drawer, depositintg the mail inside and slamming it shut. Next, she oepened a small cupboard under her desk and fiddled around with something that was clinking, before producing a few coins and laying them on the grimey, ash-covered desk.

"Thanks for the delivery, kittens. Here's yer pay. Now if there's nothing else, I've got some work to do."

She said that, but it didn't seem like there was much for her to do... Other then light and start smoking yet another cigarette... Which she did, by the way.

The board for available jobs here was cluttered to the point of everything not even fitting. Some requests had been stuck to the side, or even nailed to the wall NEXT to the board itself. It was a jumbled mess of varying shapes and shades of paper, with requests ranging ffrom things like 'Find my runaway cat!' to 'Go find my engagement ring I dropped in the sewers!' to 'Beat up the loanshark I owe money o!' to ' Please clean the communal bathrooms! They're filthy!'. There were undoubtedly more work in Gnarlton than in Litroot, but most of it seemed to involve the slummy part of town, and most of it seemed to be of... Lower-end labor, rather than proper 'adventures'... But maybe if you looked reallly hard and dug through the layers of junk, you might jsut find something. Or, the girls could high-tail it out of this rickety den of neglect and do something else.

[The Irish Tree]

Wow! A dump!

Alice wasn't all that surprised that the Adventurer's Guild was in the slums, but Sofia looked mortified. "This used to be such a nice neighborhood..." she murmured as they went inside the building. It was...well...a place, to be certain. After splitting the pay evenly (with Alice needing to make change for them to split), Sofia would go over to the job board and investigate as to what jobs were available.

"Let's see...runaway cat...engagement ring missing...beating up a loanshark...cleaning bathrooms...ditch digging..." Sofia listed off, looking over the jobs in place on the board, sifting through as fast as she could to try and find something that wasn't the equivalent of fixing public neglect. "No wonder this area of the city looks in disarray...nobody's been doing any jobs around here."

Alice would roll her sleeves up, marching over and saying: "Y'know, I used to do a lot of this stuff back at home. Minus the sewer diving and loanshark beating. You two can go ahead and look around town, I'm going to check and see if there's anything we can do that isn't trudging through poop." At the insistent look Alice was giving them, Sofia nodded, saying: "I suppose I wouldn't mind walking around for a bit. But if you don't find anything, do not push yourself. The road to Litroot shouldn't be as dangerous with that Troll dead. Meet us at the square when you're done."

Sofia would look to Brandy and smile, saying: "What say we go back and see the street performers?" As much as this place sucked, Sofia trusted Alice's more veteran (by 2 weeks) adventuring instincts that there had to at least be something worthwhile that they could do here.

[Xaltwind]

"... Really? You mean it?" Brandy asked, pouting all the while, when ALice informed her of the decision to stay behind and rummage through the bulletin board. Of course, Brandy being Brandy, she didn't exactly wait for confirmation or denial, but instead glomped onto the werewolf, squished her cheek against the other girl's and gave her a good squeeze. "You're like 'totes the best, Al! C'mon, Sofelicious! Let's check on all the stuff!"

As quickly as she had pounced and forcefully smush-hugged Alice, Brandy leapt off, nabbed the undead huntress by her forearm and pulled her out of the likely roach-infested guild hall. There was a comedic 'vroooooom!'-like noise and everything. Or maybe it was just Brandy making the noise, with her mouth... Which wouldn't make any sense, since there weren't any motor vehicles in this world... Clairvoyance? No matter! What did matter was that the satyress was hurriedly rushing southwards from the northern slums and back down into Gnarlton proper.

The excitable little satyress wasted no time. She gawked at the streer performers they passed, she pressed her face against the windows of shops they went window-shopping past and she sniffed the scents of the various foods from the varying stalls around the streets. In short, she was having a great old time. All the while she was holding greedily onto Sofia's arm, pulling the other girl along whether she wanted to or not... Despite her size, the little farm-lass was surprisingly strong. Or maybe she was just willful?

"Oh my gosh, Sofers! I can't even! This place is like sooooo big and lively, nothin' like the little fart-in-the-fields I'm from. You said you used to live here, right?Oooh, show me your house! I wanna see where you geew up." Brandy stated and requested and demanded, all at the same time.

While she was asking this, she was facing Sofia, and being very close. Like, close enough that when she bobbed up and down on her hooves, certain toros-mounted accessories were being squished against certain torso-mounted accessories on the undead girl. But hey, at least passing on-lookers seemed to enjoy the show... Well, at least the male passer-bys...

Meanwhile, back at the Guild Hall...

"Pffffff... Hey, honey. Ya girls ain't realy looking for a job around these parts are ya? This ain't Litroot y'know? Things ain't all turnip-picking and wood chopping here." The old smoking receptionist asked, obviously having doubts and questioning the capability of Alice and her allies.

Perhaps it was her own way of showing concern and urging - what she presuambly saw as inept little girls - to return back to their rural village? Or perhaps she was just being a dick 'cuz she was old and cranky and fugly and didn't like seeing young, perky and pretty girls show up and overshadow her.

[The Irish Tree]

Sofia would follow Brandy, somewhat forced to as she was yanked hard enough for her to need to relocate her arm after it was done being tugged, a sickening pop being audible before she rolled her shoulder, the undead bone socketed back in its proper joint. Sofia was just glad to be out of the slums and back into the city proper.

When the question came up of where Sofia lived and the intimacy of the contact was made, a pale grey blush lit up her face, not used to the feeling of...bosom to bosom contact. "P-Please, respect my personal space!" she requested, trying to back up, only to fall over from her poor luck, head soaring off and landing right in the hand of a showboating juggler.

Being spun to and fro, round and round, Sofia's head was spinning in more ways than one. "Braaaandyyyy heeeeeelp!" she called out, her body fumbling around without its head, thankfully only having a comedic bone as the exposed tissue...though it was alarming some of the men who had been gawking at them.

Meanwhile, Alice wasn't one to be discouraged as she, of all things, started sorting the jobs in a way that the smoking receptionist likely hadn't seen done in years. "Let's see...slaying requests should be here, cleaning here, favor requests here..." she said, eyeing the sparsely populated monster slaying quests, and spying the troll. A troll! They'd killed a troll! She'd blown one apart with her specialized bomb, and now she could cash in the reward!

...That would be if she hadn't neglected to bring its head. Or teeth. Or ears. Fat couldn't be readily identified...

Pouting, Alice would say: "Oh trust me, I'm aware that the jobs here are largely bogus. But, there's got to be something viable enough for an adventure." The werewolf would turn around, having picked out a deceptively well-paying job for peeling potatoes. "Back over in Gromril I held about three jobs a night, so stuff like this isn't any issue. We'll be heading back to Litroot to be sure, but not until we have a teeny, maybe sucky adventure of our own here."

[Xaltwind]

When she saw the discolored blush appear on the undead's face, Brandy couldn't help but smile mischievously. When the undead stumbled backwards, fell over and her popped off, Brandy couldn't help but stare dumbfounded. When the juggler started using the head of her companion as a part of his routine, Brandy's eyes watered and she nearly fell over, laughing hysterically at the macabre and bizarre sight before her. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the spectacle as well, cheering and applause accompanied by laughter and impressed 'ooh's and 'aah's.

However, once the cry for aid from her friend was heard, Brandy's mood quickly changed. It was almost like a complete turn-around, with her happy and big smile being replaced by a serious and disapproving frown. It appeared that while the satyress wasn't above laughing at the misofrtune of others, she wasn't amused by her friends being in a situation where they called for actual help. Straightening herself up and rubbing the tears (of joy)f rom her face, the satyr approached the juggler.

"Hey pal. Fun's been fun, but that's enough. Hand my girlfriend's head back, yeah?" She said, with no concern for the apparent misconception her choice of word and terminology may cause.
"No way, miss! This'n be the first time I've e'er had this big-a crowd! I'm gonna rake in the big bucks for sure!" The garishly dressed and apinted merrymaker responded, contiuing his act.
"Sofers ain't no prop for you to fondle as ya want! Now hand her back, bub, or I'll like, totally take a dump on your parade!"
"Sod off, ya cow-udddered bitch. I ain't 'fraid of you." The man retorted, sticking his tongue out and making a 'thpppppt'-noisee... Which made the crowd laugh and cheer even more.

Greatly annoyed at this, Brandy wasted no time in making good on her threat. Tkaing a deep breath, steadying herself and then letting out an elongated 'Hnnnnnnnn!' she delivered a full-force [Twin-toe Kick to the crotch-region of the uncooperative entertainer. Instantly, the sassy juggler was reduced to a crumpling pile of wet cards. His face contorted and grimaced in a way that didn't seem anatomically possible for the human face. His eyes also resembled a pair of ping pong balls, trying tp pop out of their sockets. He made muffled sounds as he clutched his now indented scrotum, falling onto first one knee, then the other, and then assumed a fetal position on the street below. The crowd, having witnessed all this, let out a unified 'oof' and any present males among the onlookers quickly reached and shielded their own family jewels in a reflexive way.

At this point, the airborne bits and bobs that the now neutered man had been juggling quickly began to fall back down towards the ground. In a hasty bid to protect the skull of her friend from now going 'splay' like a ripe watermelon on impact with cobblestone ground, Brandy performed a splendid pro-baseball dive, managing to catch the falling nogging right before it would've landed on the ground. Of course, in doing this, the satyress had to throw herself forward and slide across the bumpy ground herself - which wasn't pleasant for either her stomach or her soft, oversized papayas. She made a slight grunting noise of discomfort, but didn't seem to be otherwise phased.

With Sofia's head securely in her arms though, she slowly got back onto her own two hoofs. Raising the head of the undead, she inspected in from all angles, making sure there was no damage or grime on it. She let out a sigh of relief, as the undead's brain-bucket seemed to be completely fine. With a gentle stroke, she pushed some of the undead's hair from her face.

"Thank goodness. I was 'totes gonna freak out if your head got all banged up and stuff, Sofers." She said, smiling slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to casue ya trouble."

That said, Brandy returned to Sofia's body and handed the head of the undead back to itself.. Which was a rather strange feeling. At this point most of the crowd that had gathered were dispersing, with a pair of young children standing over the collapsed juggler and poking at him, either with fingers or sticks, and asking if he was alright.

He wasn't.

But anyway!

"But man, Sofers. Ya really surprised me there! I didn't know ya could lose your head like that. I mean, that sorta thing could be really handy when doing the dirty, but ya might wanna like, have someone put some stitches 'round your neck or somethin'." The satyr suggested with no regard for this being a possibly sensitive matter for the undead...

Back at Gnarlton G.O.R.E's Guild Hall

The old lady merely shrugged her shoulders at Alice's answer. It didn't seem like she had much more to say, as she returned to smoking her cigarette - and nothing else.

With the quests now more properly organized, Alice could more easily determine and see what was available. Apart from the usual oddjobs and less savory requests, there were a few options that stood out - aside from the troll hunt.

There was a request for someone to investigate an old cemetery just north of the town, as apparently something strange has been going on there. There was also a request to clear out an abundance of slimes in the town sewers, as they were in danger of clogging up the system and causing a litteral flood of sewage to the town. Another was to hunt down and capture a local thief who had been burglarizing some of the wealthy citizens. Then there was a job for collecting a rare plant from a cave some ways east of the town, in Frogfolk territory. Other than these though, Alice might find different options if she kept sorting and rifling through the various offers.

[The Irish Tree]

Sofia could feel her consciousness slipping away as her head was juggled round and round, certain that Brandy was abandoning her to her fate as she laughed away at her until her savior finally stood up for justice! And justice involved swift, violent retribution on the juggler's juggle-bits below the belt! Sofia couldn't help but let out a cheer as she was freed, before remembering that gravity existed and fully expected to need Brandy to scoop her brains back into her head with a spoon.

But then, her selfless comrade dove headlong into danger to protect her head, while her (frankly) useless body flailed around behind the crowd, accidentally shoving a few people aside while it stumbled around seeking its operator. The head took a few tries to screw her neck back together just right, but eventually Sofia would be back to normal, cheeks stained red at how embarrassing it was to be manhandled and tossed around in front of everyone. Her luck really was the worst.

Clearing her throat, the undead would say: "I'm grateful for your timely assistance...and, there are some advantages to my head being detachable. I can use it to coordinate with my body from a hiding spot...t-that is, so long as I maintain focus. My body spinning out of control was due to me being dizzy. But, maybe I should buy a choker...that way it doesn't happen by accident."

Meanwhile, Alice would beam as she spotted the graveyard job. This sounded right up their alley, since Sofia was already an undead. Worse came to worse, she could talk her way out of them all being haunted forever!

Excitedly, Alice would bring the job over and get the paperwork filled out, before charging off to excitedly drag her friends off to a literal haunted graveyard for money. After explaining, Alice beamed excitedly at Sofia, who was quivering in her boots. "B-But what if there are ghosts!?"

There would be a long pause, before Sofia cleared her throat, posing with a hand before her face, one eye shining through her fingers. "I mean, what if I have to slay ghosts!? Those poor souls have already suffered enough. I'm sure we can j-just talk it out..."

Alice would gently pull Brandy aside, whispering: "Do you...think she's scared of ghosts?"

[Xaltwind]

At the mention of Sofia potentially getting a choker, Brandy's eyes lit up like sunglinted diamonds. Grabbing the undead's hands, she bobbed up and down on her tippy-toes -- err, tippy-hooves.

"Oooh, accessorizing, huh? Sounds fun! Let's head up the shops and like, 'totes pick out something for ya! Something black? It'd go great with your whole dark and mysterious-thing. Oh, but maybe soemthing purple would be good too? Wait, maybe a wine red one with some nice trim would be even better!"

The satyr was, undoubtedly, very much looking forward to the possibility of shopping for clothes and baubles with her companion. After all, Brandy did fancy herself a trendy and fashionable girl, and the getting new wardrobe-additions was definetely one of the things she really loved. Especially when factoring in that she'd spent her early years just getting oversized hand-me-downs from her big sister... Which never really fit, since the size-difference between minotaurs and satyrs were quite undeniable... Good thing her mother was good at tailoring.

When Alice then appeared, happily announcing their next obstacle before receiving another paycheck, Brandy contemplatively - and out of character - scratched her cheek. When she saw Sofia's reaction to the possibility of ghosts and spooky, scary, occult phenomena though, the most cat-like expression appeared on her face as she smirked. The attempt at explaining and waving what she'd just said away only made said smirk wider.

On behest of Alice's prompting, Brandy gave her werewolf a gentle elbow-nudge to the ribs. Or, wlel, boob. It was fully intetional too.

"There ain't no ghosties who'll be scarier than you on a moon-y night anyway, right?" Brandy smugly smugged, winking at Alice and reminding her of a certain ball-busting scenario which had happened only some very short time ago. "Don't worry, Sofers! If there's any pervy poltergeists, I'll protect ya!" The satyr said, turning to their undead archer and striking a dramatic pose, what with flexing her arm to show off her bicep muscle and ... Stuff... Well, Brany wasn't exactly weak, given taht she'd done farm-work most of her life, she actually had a pretty good physique, coupled with her unfairly plump and shapely figure. Still, she apparently didn't consider the fact that you can't punch or beat up something that doesn't have a corporeal form... Which wasn't suprising, since Brandy wasn't apparently aware of a lot of things.

Turning back to Alice though, the tanned satyress started bobbing up and down again with enthusiasm.

"So, where's this place? What're we 'spose to do? Can we get a bit of shopping for Sofers done before we go? Ooh, and I wanted to pick up some more foods'n junk. My pack's running low. Oh, we should totally get some street-foods too! Gotta taste the local flavors, y'know?" She paused, tapped her chin with an index finger, and then remembered something. "Oh yeah! Al, you used one of your big blasty bottles, right? Don'cha need to replace it? If we meet another one of those big-nosed bozos on the way, we'll 'totes need ya to blow'em up again. But... This time, let me or Sofers throw it, 'kay? I dun want ya to collapse again..." Brandy's words trailed off and a slight blush tinged her cheek. Apparently she was showing genuine concern. Made even more awkwaard by her averting her gaze and fidgeting in place, like she was some kind of school girl who'd just confessed to her first crush or something.

Then she seemingly bounced back, stretched backwards and let out a small 'yip!'-noise. Leaning forward a bit, she put her arms up to her chest. And then began massaging her bouncy, soft, squishy and oversized mangos... Right there in public.... Not blushing in the slightest at doing something like this.

"Aw man, they do sting a bit... I guess I shoulda worn a bra after all today..." The beige-haired beauty blabbed, apparently feeling a bit sore after her tit-and-tummy-first dive to save Sofia's head from just earlier.

[The Irish Tree]

At first, Alice was a bit confused on what Brandy meant about her being scary, until she realized. "Ohhh, that. Uh, that only happens on Full Moons, and that one already happened. Werewolves like me get crazy strong and wild on full moons, but its not like something I can control very well."

Sofia didn't look reassured at all, fully aware you couldn't just beat up a ghost and take its lunch money. But, her eyes did light up when Alice said: "We have time for some shopping. You two go on ahead though, mine's just all boring alchemy stuff. Also, here, this should help with the road-burns." Alice would offer Brandy one of her Restoration potions, which would get her back into tit-top-shape. Also, this time, it tasted like cherry.

Sofia had a pale gray blush from watching Brandy just...massage her bosom in public, saying: "P-Perhaps we should go shopping now before I have to shoot someone for staring."

[Xaltwind]

"Oooh, free dirnks? Don't mind If I dooo~" Brandy cheerfully and melodiously half-sang as she took the offered potion and glugged it down as if it were ale at a tavern... But, y'know, served in a glass flask. And non-alcoholic. And tasting like cherry. And a different color entirely. Regardless! After imbibing the non-alcoholic restorative draught, Brandy let out a content 'Aaah~', followed by a suprised 'Oh~?' as she again massaged her busty bust, but this time more to confirm that the pain from earlier had actually disappeared. Once convinced that her chest was no longer the victim of friction-burns, Brandy's ears began to twitch happily and her little tail became stiff and started to wag.

"Al! This is 'mazin'! You could like, 'totes sell this and rake in the big bucks. You could call it.... Hm, lessee... 'Al'sCherry-Pop'!" Brandy beamed with pride at her suggestion... Probably not entirely aware of the implications... Then again, it was the satyress' penchant to make dirty jokes, so perhaps she actually was fully aware of what she was suggesting. "Anyway, me and Sofers gonna go get her a stylish choker. Mee'cha back at the gate we came into town through, yeah? Sweet, let's go Sofers! We're gonna bang those shops so hard they won't even be able to walk straught!" ... Completely irrational metaphores aside, the satyr grabbed her undead ally by the wrist and did not wait for a 'yay' or 'nay', proceeding instead to drag the poor girl along at her bouncy, excitable and energetic pace.

"OooOOOOOOOoOhhhhHhhhhHHhhhhHhh....!"

Oh yeah, him. Yeah, he's still on the ground, in a fetal position, holding his family jewels. Still in pain.

Moving on.

Brandy effortlessly and unimpeded bounced through the streets of Gnarlton's commercial district, Sofia in hand. There were some times when the undead would have to pull the satyr off of things like stall crates, wagons, a horse's back, the window-sill of an open window and so on and so forth. There were many surfaces of elevation around, and Brandy seemed determined to stand and survey her surroundings from each one of them. Paying of course no heed to the angry and outraged people who became the victims of her need-to-stand-on-things. But, with a little effort and a lot of patience, the two girls eventually arrived at an area where boutiques for clothes could be found.

The first store they enteed was a place called 'Burlap Bargains'. True to it's name, the outside was just as drab as the shop's inside, and the contents and wares faired no better. Gray and brown. Baggy and wrinkly. Ugly and uncomfortable. This was the sort of clothes and wear that the lowest of low wore, the paupers and bottom-feeders of spciety. Those who couldn't afford to spend money on fancy duds or extravagant threads. Naturally, Brandy was not shy about voicing her disconcent at the shop, the goods and staff's lack of enthusiasm.

Unsurprisingly, both Brandy and Sofia were comedically booted out of the front door in a matter of minutes. After the satyr was done rubbing her shapely posterior, she proceeded to hurl insults and angry words at the store-front, before sticking her tongue out and making a 'thhhpppppppppt!' noise, then pulling Sofia along.

"C'mon! Let's go to the next place. Not like that shop knew the difference betwen fashion and sacks of potatoes anyway, right? Maa-haa-haa~!" Brandy concluded.

Their next stop was a, to some extent, more well-off locale. This place had a little sign outside and actually sported curtains in the store window. 'Frugal Fabrics' was the name, and inside the door satyr and undead came! Looking around at this ... Moderate... Establishments, two things became apparent at once. For one, this was a shop that sold used and previously owned clothes. Second, the staff weren't very good at their job, as many of the garments had been repaied by having large patches of non-matching fabric sown over holes and tears. While this was an accepetable solution if one was skilled at the art of tailoring, these particular offerings looked as if they'd been fixed by unfocused and unenthused children.

Naturally, Brandy made sure to loudly and clearly make this fact known, as she looked over the various pieces of clothes with a scrutiny befitting a fashionista.

One quick boot to their collective rears later, Sofia and Brandy were one again back out in the streets. Rubbing her romp again, another cavalcade of insults and nastiness was hurled at the unappreciative store and their staff. Puffing her cheeks out and snorting, Brandy looked over at Sofia.

"Well, it wasn't like they had any chokers or scarves there anyway. 'Sides, all their stuff like somethin' a little kid made. Ain't no way two beautiful babes like us would be wearin' any o' that, right? Let's hit up the next place." Brandy unilatteraly declared and decided.

Next on their journey was an average-sized store with the name 'Smiling Seamstress'. Unlike the previous two places, this actually looked like a well-to-do store. Not only did the yhave proper decor and fixtures, but they even had displays and the staff acutally approached the two girls as they entered, asking if they needed help. After explaining in so many ways taht they wanted a neck-garment for the palest of the two, they were led to a very small section of the store, where an equally small selection could be found. Unfortunately, the colors available were of lighter tones, such as yellow, green, aqua, pale blue and milky pastel pink. Brandy wrinkled her nose and inspected the various pieces, holding them up to and against Sofia's neck, from various angles, over and over. Finally the satyress inquired if there were ay other colors, to which the answer was 'no'. Apparently warm and bright colors was the 'in vogue' at the momet In Gnarlton, which menat dark or cold colors were out. Outraged, Brandy begana long and passionate monogloue about how fashion was a personal thing and just following trends wasn't any way to make people look goood and technobable.

After this, the two were politely ushered out of the shop, firmly but forcefully.

"Maaaaan~ I can't beleive those guys. You'd think a store that sells clothes would have some sense of what faashion's all 'bout, right Sofers? I mean, c'mon, if everyone just wears what's in style right now, everyone would end up lookin' the same! Where's the fun in that? Jeez. Forget it, let's just head on over to the next spot, yeah?" Not waiting for an answer, the undetered beige-haired beauty began to bound towards their next boutique.

This time, at the end of the current street tthy were on, they happened upon an establishment far larger than the previous three. This one had many fancy and elaborate decrotions and details, though in some ways they were also gaudy and excessive. The gilded sign with cursive writing said 'Golden Needle', and from the looks of the displays in their window, this place had a vast selection. Bursting through the door, the duo was greted by prim and proper staff, wearing uniforms and acting very polite and professional... Alsmost to the point of being stiff and mechanical. After explaining what they wanted once again, they were led to a shelf along the back of the store, where many neck and head-wear could be found, including hats, neckties, scarves, mufflers, chokers, ear-muffs and more. However...

"... You guys serious? I mean, not that this hairband ain't cute, but like, that's a four-digit price-tag, my guy..."
"Yes, madame. But as you can see, this hairband is experetly woven and crafted from the finest materials by a skilled artisan who--"
"Yeah, but like... It's... A hairband, my dude. I don't think my pa' had to pay this much when he bought a wagon for our farm."
"Your... Farm...? Ah, aha, I see... Yes, well, perhaps the wares in our store are a bit out of your price-range. Perhaps the two of you ladies would be better served at some place like, oh, I don't know, the Bargain Burlap or some-such."
"Hey! We already went there and they lile, 'totes didn't have any chokers or nothin'."
"Hardly surprising. Still, I'm afraid that we only offer the finest slection at premiere expense. This is a reputable and highly regarded establishment after all."
"Huh, ya think? Feels like this here be the sorta place where them uppity more-money-than-sense people come to buy overpriced merch if ya ask me."
"... Yes, well... Ahem, is there anything else? I'm afraid if you aren't going to buy anything - or can't afford to - I'm going to have to ask you and your companion to leave."
"Wha-!? But we just got here! And we haven't even looked at the chokers yet, bub!"
"My apologies, madame, but givne your... Mannerisms... I sincerely doubt that there is anything within our store that you could actually afford."
"Huuuuh!? Wha's that 'spose to mean? You sayin' we ain't allowed to look around just 'cuz we dun have big fat gold-pouches strapped to our hips?"

It appeared that Brandy, unsurprisingly, was gettting into yet another argument with the staff. Although granted, this particular man was being quite snooty and condescending, looking at the girlas as if they were penniless beggars who had walked inside the shop to seek shelter from the elements, or something along those lines. Nevertheless, unless Sofia intervened in some way, this trip was also likely going to end up resulting in the two being tossed out without managing to purchase anything.

[The Irish Tree]

While she was walking around, Alice did genuinely consider marketing her potions. While she knew they were in necessary supply for adventurers, she'd have to check if there was any law prohibiting the selling of certain alchemical substances. After all, magic and alchemy weren't accepted everywhere, and she didn't want to get arrest for "drug-dealing" common level healing potions. ...Still...she'd definitely not call it a cherry pop.

Sofia meanwhile was growing more irate, not at Brandy for incessantly dragging her to all these stores and getting them kicked out before even getting a word in edge-wise, but because of the craftsmanship on display before her. With a harumph and shoulder bump as she went past the snooty clerk and snatched the hairband out of his hand to examine it.

I say miss, give that back! You and your friend are-"

"Leaving. Yes, we are, because your craftsmanship as boorish as your manners you pompous windbag of a salesman," Sofia said, a hand on her hip as she held the hairband aloft. "You're charging four digits for a hairband that needed this many corrective sews put into the inner-layer? This thing's fatter than your mother in law," Sofia said dismissively, dropping it onto the counter. "Let's go Brandy. I've had enough charlatans and swindlers trying to sell me their tasteless goods for one day. I've decided. If no one can sell me a choker, I'll make it myself!"

Storming out and yanking Brandy by the hand like an irate mother would to an uncooperative child, Sofia would take them from the finest clothing store in town to the general store and purchase a thin sheet of black cloth, less than a tenth of the price of what the 'Golden Needle' was peddling. "Now, witness my supreme sewing skill!" she said, taking Brandy behind the store and producing a toolbox-looking kit from her satchel and working faster than Brandy could track, making enough flourishes that it looked like she was fighting with a sword, dueling with the cloth itself before proudly holding up a choker that, as far as Brandy could tell, was of such quality make that it looked 'Golden Needle' quality. "Sad to see that in this day and age good sewing is a dying art. I bet its because they use magic to automate the process. However!" Sofia would boop Brandy's nose and smile. "Now, for getting me fired up, I'm afraid you'll have to be my muse. You wanted a hairband, yes?" she said, suddenly presenting one that she'd made from the same bolt of cloth. It was black as night, but would serve as good contrast to Brandy's hair and would hardly feel like it was there with Sofia's craftsmanship.

"Heh! She's certain to think I'm useful now. ...Wait...but what if she just thinks I'm some dead housewife PRETENDING to be an adventurer?" Sofia thought, starting to panic a little. She couldn't have anybody learning her dark secret that she learned how to sew so well solely to be a good housewife.

NO ONE COULD KNOW! NOT EVEN YOU, DEAR READER!