Chương 69: Chapter 68- A Day out on the Town

Bang. Elias startled awake as someone banged loudly on his door, Tia grumbled and tucked her head under a wing as she tried to go back to sleep. Eli sat up, " Just a moment!" He blearily blinked through the open window, realizing that the sun had risen hours ago, and being in a bed for the first time in weeks with no early morning training sessions with Mira to look forward to, he must have slept in longer than he intended.

Eli stretched, tucked the blanket better around Tia and stumbled to the door half awake, as he opened it with a hushed voice, " Who is it?" as he squinted through the door against the morning light." Good Morning! It is I!"" Your humble guide is here to serve you this day!" Elias chuckled as he shushed the cheerful Astra waiting outside his door, " Quiet, Tia is still sleeping." As his vision cleared he blinked as he did a double take, he had never seen her out of armor before.

She was wearing a pair of soft brown riding pants that hugged her curves tucked in knee high boots with scroll work tooled into the leather, a loose long sleeved white linen blouse open at the neck to show a hint of cleavage, a long sword belted at her waist the scabbard decorated with gold filigree, and her normally wild mane of crimson hair pulled into a long detailed braid pulled over her shoulder.

She gave a brilliant smile showing off her dimples at his reaction, and he returned it with what he was sure was probably a dopey smile of his own. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms as he grinned at her with a wink, " You're right you look even better out of the armor, hard as that is to imagine. You look extra beautiful this morning, what's the occasion?"

She gave one of her uncharacteristically girlish giggles as she gave a spin, and looked up at him with a sly smile and a wink of her own, " Remembered that did you?" She propped her fists on her hips, " Did I not tell you to expect me in the morning? I promised you a tour of the town!" Eli laughed, " Yes. Yes you did. Sorry, I must have been tired since I slept like the dead, you just woke me up, give me a minute to wash up and change?" She nodded, " All right but do not take too long, we have a lot to do today.

I shall wait for you downstairs in the dining room." Eli snorted, " I bet. 15 minutes and I'll be down. Could you order up some breakfast from Theresa? Some inkfruit juice would go a long way to getting Tia out of bed too." Astra rolled her eyes and nodded at Eli, " Aye, mission accepted. We shall have the unruly beast tamed and fed before you even make it down."

As she left to head downstairs Eli didn't even bother closing the door, before calling back into the room, " Astra is downstairs with meat and inkfruit juice." Eli shook his head at the thump followed by the scrabble of claws on the hardwood floor that preceded Tia's appearance as she shot through the door, already awake and moving with the promise of her new favorite beverage and her second favorite two-legs.

Astra made good on her promise to feed Tia in his stead, and after he came down and finished his own breakfast they set out for a day out on the town. As expected of a noblewoman she wasn't alone, Mason and Taylor from 1st squad were assigned to her security detail this morning, Eli didn't mind the extra company as not only did he consider both men casual friends at this point, but given that ordering casual clothes was on the agenda he welcomed the company of Taylor and his fashion advice.

The morning was beautiful and a belly full of enriched meat had Tia in high spirits as they perused the stalls on the main thoroughfare leading to the square that held the market. Eli took a moment to check on his status pane to confirm that the final touches Mira had directed him to make last night had made it through before he fell asleep.

Name: Elias Mercer Age: 23 Race: Voidborn Human Class: [Child of Void] Lv 10 ============ Health: 200/200 Stamina: 250/250 Mana: 350/350 -> 370/370 ============ Vitality: 20 Strength: 35 -> 40 Endurance: 25 Dexterity: 20 Intelligence: 35 -> 37 The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Wisdom: 20 Willpower: 26 Charisma: 10 Free points: 7 -> 0 ============ Class 1: [Child of the Void] Class 2: Locked Class 3: Locked ============ Class Skills: [Child of the Void] Locked ============ General Skills Eagle's Eye: Lv 10 Studious Pupil: Lv 10 Stalwart: Lv 10 Companion Bond- Tiamat Mercer: Lv 10 Ranger's Resiliency: Lv 8 Soldier's Foundation: Lv 9 Mana Sense: Lv 10 Meditation: Lv 10 Identify: Lv 10 Free Skill Slots: 1 / 10 Good, I was worried I fell asleep before I triggered the allocations.

The stalls along the road were standard street vendor fare, small baked goods, handcrafted trinkets and accessories, fruit, tableware, and the like. Once they made their way to the market they found dozens of stalls placed in neat rows through the center, and the square ringed by shops of larger merchants that usually targeted wealthier clientele selling rare or luxury goods, or providing a service that a market stall couldn't provide.

Many of these were clothing and accessory shops that catered to nobles, wealthy merchants, and others of the town's middle class. Astra guided Eli through a few of these stores as he stocked up on some of the basics he had been missing after being dropped into a puddle in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the clothing on his back.

He was a little surprised at the cost of the clothing but was impressed when she showed him the small sigils stitched into the interior seams, explaining that the items would siphon a small bit of ambient mana to remove moisture, stains, and odors and in some cases even perform minor repairs. With the amount of stabbing that was common in this world he figured he would appreciate these features whenever he could find them.

Astra was appalled when Eli tried to insist that he only needed a couple casual outfits after the first few stores, and refused to concede the point when he tried to argue it was unnecessary. While he wasn't trying too hard to dissuade her, the topic appeared to be far more serious to Astra, and she signalled for the men to give her some space as she pulled him into the mouth of a side street to speak with him in a low tone." Look Eli, you are my friend right?"

Eli was surprised and confused at the serious look she was giving him, " Of course Astra, I would hope that would be obvious by now." Her expression softened for a moment, " Of course it is. You do realize I am the daughter of a Duke?" Eli nodded with a roll of his eyes, " Can't miss it." She snorted, " I can imagine. Now I am guessing you would like to accompany me to the places I travel and the events I attend?

Not all noble affairs are as boring as dinner with a dusty old baron, and even some of the events that are not as entertaining I would appreciate your company. If so, would you come if I asked?" He nodded again, getting an idea where this was going, " Any time for any reason." She smiled at him, " I would expect no less of you at this point. I know you are not a dimwit, you know you can not possibly attend a ball or dinner at a high noble's table attired as a commoner?" He sighed, " Yeah I get it.

Can I just get some nice armor and call it a day?" She laughed, " Please, I tried that already when I was 12 and it went about how you would expect. Now come, no more complaints." Eli smiled and followed after, Tia chittering out a laugh as he sent her an image of a 12 year old Astra wearing plate armor sitting at a fancy dinner table piled high with an imaginary feast.

The rest of the shopping went smoothly, and Eli did find himself happy that she was handling the negotiations for him. Haggling was hardly a thing in the country where he was from, but it appeared to be expected here, and while the merchants made a token gesture, they seemed reluctant to argue with Astra. A well dressed woman in finely tailored clothes followed by guards in the colors of the Emberholdt family wasn't fooling anyone.

Still if I had to guess she isn't haggling too hard, I imagine it would be in poor taste. Just as she seemed to have a deft way with the men and women of the patrol, she also had a similar camaraderie with the merchants they encountered as well, always leaving a smile on everyone's lips.

The secured way more outfits that Eli thought he needed, including several formal outfits that he only agreed to when she agreed with a laugh to have them remove the frills and lace, and that the patrol would have room to store them for him. The last thing I need is to be humping around a collection of neckties and embroidered vests in my pack.

She helped him find plenty of brushes and picks to groom Tia, and even comb the market to find a small selection of exotic fruits for her, even a small handful of the green inkfruit she had heard so much about. It was around this point that Tia's legs magically ceased to function and, much to Astra's amusement, Eli ended up carrying her around upside down as she peeled and ate a small pile of fruit on her belly like a scaly otter.

As he carted around the glutton that was not so tiny anymore, Astra led him through a series of armor shops. She declared that the Emberholdt crafted poleaxe and daggers he carried were likely superior to any weapons he would find here, at least without spending every coin to his name, but said the armor he was wearing that he recovered from the corpse of a man she killed in the engagement before they met was a travesty and needed to be replaced.

They perused a plethora of stores, and while Elias was happy with what he found at the first one they entered, Astra heartily disagreed, " Your armor is all that stands between you and death, I will not have you wearing anything but the best." After several disappointments she flagged down a passing town guard and after a quiet discussion they set off from the market square and headed to another much closer to the garrison, a few blocks from the gate to the fracture." I should have expected as much.

Most of the equipment for the guards and the soldiers of the garrison is issued directly from Emberholdt or the county seat over in Theron's Watch." Astra informed Eli. The pair and their guards strode down a side street as she continued, " The stores around the square sold gear for tourists and travelling caravan guards, the locals who actually need and use quality gear are almost all affiliated with the League and would not want to travel far." Eli arched a brow, " The league?"

Astra looked back in confusion before uttering an 'ah' and turning forward again, " Sometimes it is easy to forget you are an outlander, the Pathfinder's League, the formal name for the organization that operates under the imperial charter for independent adventurers. There are a few smaller guilds and companies, but as a whole the majority are registered with the League, myself included. They are a reputable organization." Mason snorts, " I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.

Lady Blackhall will have my hide if she finds out." Astra rolls her eyes, " Please. She is so ancient, that when she was young the League was barely a single step above bandits. The League has proven themselves in service to the Empire many times now."

She glanced over at Eli with a smile, " If you can keep it to yourself we shall register you as well, you will need a way to earn some coin," she eyed Tia with a smile as she had fallen asleep again in Eli's arms after her fruit binge, " You have a bottomless pit that you need to keep supplied after all."