Elwen the Conquered

Dawn came quickly, but they slept through it again, sleeping in as long as they wanted. Elwen drowsily opened her eyes, watching Varian throw on his tunic. He seemed to always get up before her. She didn't like it; she wanted to cuddle more.

“Mhmm... come back...” She mumbled her complaint.

“Oh, you're up.” Varian softly replied. “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

While that sounded like a really good idea, at the same time she felt like she should really get up and do something productive. They spent what felt like a week in the room, indulging in blissful pleasure. “What day is it?” She asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Hmm... Monday, I think?... Yeah, Monday.” Huh? It was Monday?

“But didn't we get here...” In truth, she didn't have the best sense of time of the last few days, which wasn't helped by the fact that she had been sleeping so much. So she wasn't sure what day Varian rescued her was.

“On Friday? Yes.” Varian answered.

“So we've been here for two whole days?”

“Close to three, actually.” Varian corrected, “It's almost noon.” That's it, it was a new week. She had to do something. She couldn't stay cooped up here forever. Even if it was a lot a fun.

She threw of the covers, stretching as she let out a yawn. Varian had a strange smile when she did. She quickly realized why, pushing her skirt back down. Her nightdress rode up when she stretched her arms above her, but it was too short, revealing something it shouldn't have.

Worse, she hadn't been wearing panties, because every time she did Varian tore them off when they started doing stuff. She was sure he took some kind of perverted pleasure in doing it, seeing as he had no hesitation ripping them off, not even giving her the chance to take them off first. It's not like it would take long, could he not wait five seconds? She had gone through an embarrassing number before she decided to just stop wearing them. Not so many that she didn't have any to wear, but she was getting dangerously close. They would have to go out and get more soon.

She swung her legs to the side of the bed and pushed herself up. “Careful!” Varian exclaimed as he caught her. She almost collapsed as soon as she stood up, her legs proving too weak to hold her. Luckily, Varian had been right there to catch her. Even as he held her, letting her feet find the ground, her knees wobbled, enough to make it difficult for her to stand on her own. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds before she recovered and her legs were steady enough. “...Still standing? Guess I'll have to try harder next time...” Varian muttered.

Elwen turned away from him, pretending to be angry while also concealing her face. “N-no! I'd like to be able to walk, thank you!” Varian laughed in response, poking her puffed-up cheeks.

“I'm going to grab breakfast, is there anything you want?” Varian asked, buckling his sword on. She thought he was being paranoid, putting it on every time he left the room, but she wasn't going to complain about it. Plus, it made him look like a handsome knight from one of the TV shows she used to watch.

“No, I'll have whatever you're having.” She answered, carefully walking into their little bathroom “I'm taking a bath, though, so just leave mine on the table.” She popped her head out from behind the door. “And don't come in here while I am!” He had tried that earlier, 'accidentally' walking in while she was taking a bath. It ended in a steamy session, although she's still not sure how that happened. She needed to take another bath after it, but the water was too cold by that point. Unfortunately, she seemed to have already drained the charge in the heating crystal, so she couldn't warm it back up again. At first, she was fascinated by the magic technology, but at that time she really just wished for modern plumbing.

“Ok, I promise,” Varian laughed, waving back to her as he walked away.

“Somehow, I don't believe you...” She narrowed her eyes, watching his back suspiciously as he left through the door. Once it was closed, she waited for a few seconds, expecting him to try to sneakily re-enter. She was almost a little disappointed when he didn't; she was fine with having some fun in the morning, she just didn't want her precious bath involved. She closed the door behind her as she turned to the tub, turning the knobs to get the water flowing and at the right temperature. Unfortunately, whoever built the inn decided that the bathroom door didn't need a lock, so she would just have to trust Varian would keep his word and leave her in peace.

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting at their little table, eating a full spread of English breakfast. Technically speaking, the innkeeper had stopped serving breakfast foods over an hour ago, but Varian somehow convinced him to make an exception for them. It was more than they usually ate, but her stomach reminded her that they didn't actually have dinner last night as they were preoccupied with other things and missed the window the kitchen was open.

“So, what's the plan for today?” She asked in between bites. She decided to wear a blouse and blue skirt, although she didn't have much choice. All that she had were pieces of her old outfit or her nightdress. She chose not to wear the sweater; it was too hot to wear it.

“Hmm,” Varian pretended to be deep in thought, “Well, first, I was thinking we should do something in bed, and that will probably take a few hours, so maybe lunch after. Then, I was reading this book and I think we should try some of these positions...” He pulled out a book and opened to a random page, pointing to a sensual drawing.

“Um,” She felt like she had steam blowing out of her ears, “While that sounds nice, I'd really like to do something other than that today...”

“What? Are you getting bored of me already?”

“No, it's not like that! It's just... I feel bad doing nothing all day. And this room can't be cheap, so...”

“Don't worry about the money.” Varian waved off her concerns, “I managed to get enough for us to stay here a lot longer if we wanted to, and it shouldn't be too difficult to earn some more. There's lots of work for adventurers around here. I just wanted you to get a little bit of rest before we started going out again. I had planned on doing anything for the next couple days, but if you want to do something... Maybe we could go out for supplies and equipment? The stuff we got that time won't really cut it out here, we'll need to get you something new... Oh, and there's someone I'd like you to meet, too.”

“Oh? Who's that?” She tilted her head.

“You'll see.” She didn't like the little smile he had. “It'll be a surprise.”

“Ok, fine, don't tell me.” She complained, “...The rest sounds good, though. Let's go shopping!”

A short walk later, after they returned their dishes to the kitchen downstairs, they arrived at a collection of shops geared towards adventurers. They were conveniently located close to the gate facing a sea of rocky hills, a place frequented by adventurers in the city.

The areas around the city outside of the hills were either farmsteads or patrolled by guards frequently enough that monsters that wandered in would be quickly dealt with, but the hills were too difficult and large for them to effectively cover, so it fell to adventurers to control the monster population. It was actually a profitable situation for the city, provided that the monsters stayed in the hills. It wasn't like the city could actually make use of the hills, there weren't any valuable minerals there and it also wasn't suitable for growing crops. So instead, they could have adventurers farm the monsters for valuable parts, and the city lost nothing. There were other things adventurers could do in the city, but the hills were the main monster hunting area.

“I've already got most of what we should need, but we do need to get more potions... I think the main thing we need is your new equipment. If there's anything that could be useful for your magic, this would be a good time to get it. I see an apothecary over there, so I'll go grab what we need. Try that store over there,” he pointed to a big store with a helmet sign hanging out from a pole above the door, “I was in there earlier. They've got a good variety of stuff. I'll meet you there once I'm done.”

“Ok, don't take too long!” She waved and watched him walk away, before turning to face the store. A bell rung as she opened the door. Rows of mannequins adorned with various types of armor and outfits sat on short shelves lined the front wall, with sets of islands in the middle of the room showcasing smaller items. There were weapons and tools far in the back, although she wasn't very interested in those. Neither did the sets of armor, they looked like they would be heavy and difficult to move in. Also, they definitely weren't made for someone her size, so there wasn't much point in looking into them too much.

She started browsing the outfits, looking for something that might suit her. The first type she saw was a sort of leather-like vest, covered in pockets and straps to carry extra gear. It looked very utilitarian, and she remembered seeing some of the people outside wearing something similar. Still, it wasn't something she wanted to wear. The second type that she saw were baggy robes. It looked like something she imagined a shadowy assassin would wear. They were pretty ugly, but she supposed that they would act pretty well as a cloak. They were thick and warm, and the sign said they were partially water resistant, so she supposed they would be useful while traveling. Maybe if the design was better, and they weren't an ugly brown, she might consider it. The third type she came across where far too revealing for her to honestly consider wearing. She looked away, not giving them a second thought. The fourth group

Then she came across a fourth group, one she could actually see herself wearing. They were a sort of a mixture of modern-day and medieval clothes, like the fantasy outfits she saw on TV. Yes, they were exactly like that. Some of the aesthetic and color of traditional clothes, with modern styles and sensibilities. Looking at the signs, she saw that they were made out of special monster materials that claimed to make them strong, while maintaining a cloth-like feel. It was exactly what she wanted: something stylish and comfortable that would provide her extra protection if she needed it. Plus, the materials used were all strong enough to support mana, so she could even have them enchanted if she wanted to. The only problem was, she wasn't sure how strong they actually were. She didn't want to get something that she thought could protect her but later found out it couldn't.

“Excuse me!” She waved to one of the clerks and gestured towards the mannequins, “How good are these? Can they actual stop monster attacks?” That was one of the claims on the signs, one she doubted. How protective could they be? No matter how she looked at them, they just looked like cloth.

“Oh, those!” The clerk smiled as and quickly walked over to her, “They're actually pretty good, much better than I thought they were at first. The owner actually changed all our uniforms to the same stuff.” She did a little twirl, showing off her dress, “Bet you couldn't even tell! It's not as good as actual armor, but it's more than enough for back-line fighters or people who just one a little extra protection day-to-day. They're good against most slashing-type attacks, and they're decent against piercing, too! Can't do much against blunt attacks, though. They also don't do anything against most magic, unless they're enchanted. Be careful if you go that route, though! Only some of them are good for enchantments. Those are marked on the tags.”

“That's good to know.” Elwen took a second look at the tag for one of the pieces she brought up. It didn't it could be enchanted, so she put it back. “I'm still having trouble believing these would be good against attacks, though...”

“Allow me to demonstrate!” The clerk heard her mumbling and pulled out a knife. Elwen was shocked, but the clerk just gave her a wink, “Always have to carry one for protection, y'know?” She stabbed and slashed at the mannequin, showing off the clothes' protective ability. Elwen was amazed seeing that there wasn't any damage. It made her doubt that the knife was actually sharp, until the clerk accidentally slashed the mannequin's shoulder. “Whoops! Not again!” She rearranged the clothing to hide the cut, sheepishly smiling at her. “Don't tell anyone and I won't?” Elwen agreed, although it didn't really matter to her.

“Did you find something you like?” Varian called from behind, startling her. The clerk, seeing she wasn't needed anymore, went back to her duties.

“I think so! I like the style of these ones, and they're protective too! I just have to find which ones I want...” She answered, starting to rummage through the shelves.

“How about those ones,” Varian pointed at the lewd outfits she ignored earlier, “I think they'd look good.”

“I am not wearing any of those!” She huffed, refusing to even consider them. She didn't care if they were actually the most powerful armor in the entire store, she was not wearing something so revealing.

“You're right, these won't do at all...” Varian sang. Suddenly, she felt a shiver run down her spine. She didn't like where he was going with this. “I know a couple shops in the red district that might have what I want... Maybe we should go there later.” She ignored him, not wanting to become involved in whatever nefarious plan he was concocting. If she ignored it, it would just go away.

Eventually, she found a complete set she liked. It was actually pretty close to what she was wearing, but quite a bit nicer. She picked out a white blouse made of giant spider silk, which was the same material that the mannequin's display was, with a cute jacket to go over it. The front and back of the jacket was black, with the sleeves and sides being white. It reinforced her slim figure, emphasizing her hourglass shape. The jacket was made out of various highly processed materials, which had a variety of effects. Most notable was the fairy dust, which gave the jacket a magical quality. She could feel a faint amount of mana radiating off it when she touched it, like the warm glow of distant fire. It could be used to store extra mana, so she would effectively have a larger pool of mana, if she decided to use it that way. Supposedly, it also made it better for enchanting, but she didn't know enough about that to confirm it. There were six golden buttons on the front, holding the jacket closed, which encased a small magic gem. Each of the gems could carry an additional effect, but right now they were empty. The only disadvantage of the jacket was the cost. She cringed when she saw the price tag, but Varian reassured her that it was fine.

She decided to replace her skirt with a dark purple pleated one, which was made out of a combination of spider silk and lightning sheep wool, which made the skirt extra tough, and also adding a slight resistance to fire and lightning. The skirt had a soft, white inner lining that was made of dense elm cotton, which came from a tree-like monster. It made the skirt super comfortable to wear, feeling like a brand-new fur lining. It also wicked away any moisture and blocked the wind. She also picked out a new pair of leather boots, ones that were better made. There wasn't anything special about them except they were made out of more durable materials.

Varian brought her a beautiful violet ribbon to go with the outfit, matching her eyes. She happily tied it into a bow and tucking it under her blouse's collar.

In the end, the total cost of her new outfit was just under forty gold. To her, that was an insane price, but Varian said that it would be well worth it. “Well, should we head back to the inn?” Varian asked.

“Wasn't there someone you wanted to meet?” She thought that was one of the things on their list to do today.

“We can meet them there.” He answered, “Maybe get some lunch while we're at it?”

“Ok...” Meet them at the inn? When did he arrange that? Or are they also staying at the inn? Why didn't they just meet them earlier?