Their entrance into The Inn was much more subdued than the first time. People still looked up from their meals and conversations to see who was coming through the doors. But, seeing their party instead of the newly arrived, everyone went back to what they were doing fairly quickly.

  Sapphire once again greeted them once the door had closed behind the st of them. “Well, look what we have here. You dies doing ok? You look a little worse for wear.”

  “We’re ok,” Lilit hedged.

  At the same time Izumi spoke up, “You see everyone coming through here right? Have you noticed people saying anything about the dungeons getting harder?”

  Sapphire paused for a moment before pstering a very fake smile upon her face, “Can’t say that I have. Are you sure you’re ok?” She looked very concerned and anxious beneath her fake smile.

  “Really? Because—” Lilit cpped a hand over Izumi’s mouth.

  “We’re fine. Is it possible to have something sent up to our suite?” She changed the subject. Something wasn’t right here, but now wasn’t the time to push it. They were exhausted and weary from their time in the dungeon, and this looked like it would need more subtlety than any of them were capable of right now.

  Sapphire’s smile became a hair less brittle. “Of course. You just want your usual orders?” Everyone nodded their assent and Sapphire turned and headed back to the kitchens.

  “What was that about?” Izumi asked angrily after Lilit finally removed her hand. It was covered in Izumi’s spit from her attempt at licking it to get Lilit to take her hand away.

  “She’s right, something is wrong. She looked…scared,” Rana answered for Lilit. “Let’s take this upstairs. We can discuss it in our suite.”

  Izumi took Rana’s hand in hers. “Ok. But, first we need to put up a request for a party member. No telling how long it will take to weed through people for that.” They all agreed and headed to the bulletin board by the firepce.

  “First, check to see if anyone is advertising solo. We might luck out and not need to put up an advertisement.” Izumi suggested.

  “Even if we found someone, we should still put out an advertisement. The more choices we have the more likely we’ll find exactly what we need.” Lilit argued.

  “The more choices we have, the more people will be disappointed they won’t get to see all of our beautiful faces every day.” Izumi countered. Lilit just rolled her eyes.

  They scoured the bulletin board for several minutes. Most of the posts were parties looking for people, usually any support csses. Especially healers. Slokenra hadn’t been wrong. Very few people seemed to choose healer capable csses. There were only a handful of individuals advertising to join a party.

  One was another guardian css like Awenda. Another was a sentinel css. When Lilit looked it up they seemed to be basic fighters with heavy armor, so likely another tank as well. An elementalist, who seemed to be like a monk but with a single element to empower their attacks. Sounded like The Last Airbender type shit to her. Could be useful. Finally there was a warlock. Any kind of caster could be useful, but apparently the warlock was very offensively focused according to the Delver, which is kind of what they were looking for.

  Lilit pulled the info for both the warlock and the elementalist onto her Delver, they looked the most promising. She showed her choices off to the rest of the group and they all agreed to contact the two to see about interviews.

  Awenda had been writing up a post on her Delver while everyone else searched the board. She turned it so everyone else could see her post. She’d highlighted the fact their group came with a dedicated healer css, which should draw quite a few people. No one had any suggestions so she sent the post to the board and they all watched as it popped up on there.

  Rana suggested giving it a day or two to draw people in before talking to anyone. So, Lilit sent out a message to the warlock and elementalist asking to meet in two days time. The elementalist came back right away to let her know they’d already joined a group, but thanks. Lilit shrugged and let the group know.

  Awenda pointed out that their food was probably almost ready, so as a group they all trooped up the stairs and found their suite. Coming inside, Lilit immediately headed to her room to peel out of her armor and to take a quick shower.

  When she came back out she heard voices coming from down the hall so she headed in that direction. She found Izumi and Rana still in their armor, or in Izumi’s case her robes. They’d brought the food into the dining room and were sitting around the table.

  Lilit found her spot and sat down, digging in right away. Something about hot food after two days of dry rations just made things taste better. A few minutes ter Awenda joined them, also obviously just out of the shower with her wet hair pulled back.

  The rest of the night passed quietly. Izumi and Rana headed to the rge bathhouse room in the back after they ate. Lilit and Awenda loitered around the table for a while after they’d finished eating. Neither seemed to want to leave, but both were yawning before long.

  After her third yawn in ten minutes, Lilit had had enough. “Hey. I’m sorry, but I am really tired. Do you…do you want to come back to my room?” Her mind bnked for a second from her own boldness. “To sleep!” She tacked on hurriedly. “Just to sleep. I…well I really liked sleeping in your arms st night.” By now her entire face was burning from embarrassment. And Awenda was just sitting there. Not that she could bring herself to look up and meet her eyes though.

  Finally, after several silent moments, Lilit raised her eyes. Awenda was beaming at her with the warmest smile. “Ok.” That was it. Did Lilit hope she’d say something more? Maybe, but that wasn’t really the kind of person that Awenda was. This was fine. It was perfect.

  Awenda stood up from the table and held out her hand to Lilit. She took it and was pulled from her seat. Still holding hands, they walked down the hall together. Awenda stopped at her room and Lilit waited while she ran in to get some sleepwear. When she came back out, a small pile of clothes in hand, she grabbed Lilit’s hand once again and they continued down the hall.

  Once inside, they took turns changing into pajamas and getting ready for bed in the bathroom. When Awenda came back out, Lilit found her breath stolen from her lungs. Awenda stood in the doorway in tiny little shorts that clung to her small hips and showed off the miles of muscur leg she had. Tiny scales started scattered around her ankles. They grew in size as they reached further up her legs. They were nearly the size of Lilit’s palm by the time they reached the outside of her thighs. On top she had on a loose short sleeved shirt that billowed open at her neck, leaving her sharp colr bones on dispy. Her throat bounced as Lilit continued to stare in silence.

  “I-is this ok?” Awenda asked shyly.

  “Y-yeah. Let’s, um. Let’s get in bed.” Lilit threw back the sheets on one side and slipped quickly into bed.

  The bed dipped as Awenda slipped beneath the covers on her side. Lilit y on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It had been her idea. Rather, it had been her unfiltered mouth that had gotten her into this, and now she was too shy to do anything but stare sightlessly at the ceiling listening to her heart beating itself out of her chest.

  “Hey,” Lilit felt Awenda’s fingers on the side of her jaw turning her head to look at her. “You ok? It’s ok if you’re not. I can go back to my room, no harm done.” The honesty and empathy shining in her eyes was what finally allowed Lilit to get over her nerves. This was Awenda. Dependable, quiet, strong, honest Awenda. There wasn’t anything to be scared of.

  Lilit rolled onto her side and scooched in close to Awenda’s side. She y her head on Awenda’s chest and looked up at her. With a deep breath, “I’m ok.” She let her hand rest on Awenda’s stomach. Her shirt had ridden up, and Lilit could feel the steel of her muscles beneath the silk of her skin. Heat bloomed in her center. She went to pull her hand away, but Awenda reached up and rested her hand atop hers. With her other arm, she pulled Lilit in closer until she was nuzzled up to Awenda’s side.

  “So, do you usually sleep with the lights on or,” Awenda’s voice trailed off in question.

  “Gods damnit.” Lilit compined before sliding out of bed. She ran over and switched off the light before jumping back into bed and curling herself back up into Awenda. Awenda just ughed quietly before pcing a quick kiss on the top of her head.

  They y like that for a while, just enjoying being close before they finally drifted off. Lilit had one of the best sleeps of her life curled up in Awenda’s arms. She’d never felt safer.

  Lilit woke wrapped up in warmth. She couldn’t help but snuggle in a little deeper to Awenda’s body behind her. A small chuckle breathed into her neck sent shivers down her spine.

  “Guess you’re awake then?” Awenda asked as her arm briefly squeezed Lilit. Her voice was a little more husky than normal from sleep.

  Lilit hummed in the back of her throat, “Hmmmm. I guess so. But we can stay like this for a few minutes can’t we?” She pulled Awenda’s arm more firmly around her middle.

  Awenda kissed her quickly on the cheek. “I would love to, but my bdder is about to explode,” she rolled away from Lilit and practically ran into the bathroom.

  By the time Awenda came back out of the bathroom, Lilit was up and rifling through her wardrobe for some casual clothes. “We should probably do some shopping today,” she threw over her shoulder. “I could use some new armor. You need a new shield. And I kind of want some different casual clothes to wear.”

  “Mmmmm. And a scale scrubber addition for my shower room.” Awenda added. Lilit smiled at her over her shoulder.

  Awenda left to go back to her room and get dressed. Lilit donned one of the billowy pirate shirts in a pale blue and a pair of the tight, brown linen breeches. She really hoped she could find somewhere to get a proper sports bra and tighter shirts. Maybe even some leggings.

  While she was getting dressed, Lilit received a message on her Delver. The warlock from the bulletin board yesterday had reached out and agreed to meet with them tomorrow afternoon. Lilit started a party chat for their group and let the girls know. A few minutes ter Awenda sent a message that she’d gotten several people reaching out about their ad as well. Though there were apparently already a few she felt they’d have no problems scratching off the list right away.

  When Lilit arrived in the kitchen, it was just her and Awenda that seemed to be up and about. They ate a quick breakfast from the stock in the fridge. Lilit wasn’t ready to spend so much time alone with Awenda, so she suggested asking the others if they wanted to come shopping with them. Awenda didn’t seem disappointed. Just pnted a kiss on top of Lilit’s head as she headed into the hall to bang on Rana’s door. It was better than even odds that Izumi would be in there too.

  They both agreed and soon the entire group was setting off toward the stairs to the third floor. They stopped at Smulgom’s first to sell off their extra equipment. Rana ended up getting quite a bit for her used armor. Apparently gear provided by the gods or the system or whatever was in charge was of pretty decent quality and was easy to recycle or improve them into new items.

  When everything was done and said, Rana managed to negotiate a pretty good deal for all of them. With the money found in the dungeon and the returned loot, Lilit ended up with three-hundred seventy-seven gold pieces and six silver pieces. She was doing quite a bit better than when she first arrived. She was fairly certain she could upgrade her armor and even order a good sized tub for her bathroom. She honestly wasn’t sure what else to spend her money on right now except for casual clothes which she didn’t expect to cost much of anything based on prices so far.

  The next stop was across the aisle to Steve to pick up some more potions. Lilit asked about different types of mana potions. There were higher level potions that absorbed more mana per minute, but the jump in price was substantial. Lilit decided to buy one just in case and a few of the regur mana potions as well. Then she made sure to buy herself a few health potions. She’d learned just how important they were in the dungeon, even to a healer like her.

  From there they headed to Slokenra’s smithy. Awenda was able to find an even rger tower shield that covered her from feet to shoulders when rested on the ground. If she were to crouch down a little, her entire body would easily fit behind it. With her massive strength it wouldn’t pose any problems for her either. Lilit thought that the dragons etched into the front of the shield didn’t hurt as a selling point for Awenda either. Slokenra offered to have it sent to their suite.

  Slokenra did not sell armor though, only weapons and shields. She was able to give them directions to a part of the floor where there were a handful of good quality armorers. Some were even reported to sell enchanted gear, which got everyone’s attention.

  Lilit followed behind the group. She walked close to Awenda bumping, well her shoulder into Awenda’s bicep, but it still counted. She loosely held onto Awenda’s hand. It made her giddy and she squeezed her hand every time Lilit consciously noticed. It felt so natural, and made her way happier than it probably should have.

  They walked down several rows of shops before they found themselves in the square that Slokenra had described to them. There were several shops specializing in different types of armor. Thinking about it, it made sense. Leather armor needed different skills than chainmail which was different than pte. There was some overp, but specializing probably allowed them to focus on a narrower skill set that hopefully meant improved quality.

  There were also a few enchanted armor shops, though they seemed to be more focused on enchanting robes for casters than adding enchantments to normal armor. Lilit called out to the other two to halt.

  When they were all huddled up together she started, “I think we should split up. We all need different types of armor, and there’s no point in all of us being bored while we wait for each other.

  “Plus,” she added, “the sooner we finish the sooner we can visit the suite shop upstairs.” They’d already discussed some of the additions they all wanted. Izumi had stated emphatically that she needed a much bigger bed. Something about having the room for six or seven people. Yikes!

  “Don’t you want to go clothes shopping too?” Awenda asked. It was sweet that she’d remembered the offhand comment Lilit made this morning.

  “I want to get the necessities out of the way before I get anything else,” Lilit answered. She honestly wasn’t sure if she’d have the energy to shop that long. They’d already done a lot of walking just to sell and buy the things they had. They still needed to trek back and head upstairs as well. “I’ll see how I feel when we’re done.”

  Awenda hummed in agreement. “I’ll go with you if you do.”

  Lilit beamed up at her. She’d hoped Awenda would want to continue spending time with her, but she hadn’t wanted to push it. She’d had plenty of more masc girlfriends, simir to Awenda, that hated shopping and refused to go with her.

  “Thank you. I’d love that.” Lilit looked away from Awenda’s enchanting gaze and noticed that Rana and Izumi were already heading off to do their own shopping. Rude…but understandable she guessed.

  Lilit gave one st squeeze to Awenda’s hand before she tried to let go. But, Awenda wasn’t having any of it. She dragged Lilit closer before she bent down, tilting Lilit’s head back, and pced a gentle kiss on her lips. She smiled at Lilit as she stood back up to her full height. Lilit’s face burned, whether it was with desire or something else was anyone’s guess.

  Awenda winked and headed off across the square to where pte armor was on dispy. Well, that was certainly one way to say goodbye. One that Lilit thoroughly enjoyed and hoped continued to happen. Lilit’s smile wouldn’t leave her face and she practically skipped over to a different armor shop.

  Though her css suggested it would work with heavy armor, Lilit wasn’t sure she had the strength or stamina to pull off full pte the way Awenda had. The leather armor she’d started with was actually fairly light and it still dragged at her during fights. She was slowly getting used to it though.

  Lilit wanted something a little sturdier. Something that would offer more protection than the leather had offered since she wasn’t dexterous enough to avoid everything coming in at her. Nor was she skilled enough to catch everything on her shield.

  The shop she headed toward seemed to be a mix of leather and scales. Some of the armor on the stands in the window looked reminiscent of ancient Chinese armors she’d seen in a museum before. But that wasn’t quite right either. It was like someone took those designs and then tweaked and modernized them somewhat.

  Lilit took a look at one of the sets of armor, and unlike her current armor, this seemed to be a single piece. She picked at it in pces as she walked around the stand.

  “Welcome!” A voice boomed out from the back of the store, causing Lilit to jump a little. “You have a fine eye for armor. Svartalfar made armor is some of the best you can buy. It’s strong and durable, but still light enough to move freely in. Yes, uh,” the man’s voice trailed off for a second as he came into view, “ma’am. You won’t find anything better.” He recovered quickly.

  The man was slender and tall. He had dark grey features and short bone white hair. His ears were pointed and snted away from his head for several inches. He looked like an anime version of a drow with his long, knife like ears.

  Svartalfar sounded familiar as well. It niggled at the back of her mind. She desperately wished for the internet and the ability to instantly search for information.

  “Oh, you must be from Midgard. Haven’t seen one of your kind in a while. Welcome to my shop, little dy. My name is Alfred. What can I do for you?” The man, or she guessed svartalfar, stopped in front of her looking her up and down.

  Midgard set off the connection that Lilit had needed to make to recognize svartalfar. Midgard was the name of the earthly realm given by Norse mythology. Svartalfar were some type of elf. She wasn’t as familiar with the mythology, but based on his appearance dark elf or drow wouldn’t actually be that far off.

  The idea of beings from her own world’s mythology actually existing was wild to think about. She wondered how many other myths were actually based in reality.

  Lilit mentally shook herself to get back on track. “I’m a healer css. And while I do have some offensive ability, I’ve found that I’d like a little more defense than the light leather that I first got. But, I don’t have the strength for heavy armor.”

  “Then you’ve stumbled into the right pce. Like I said, these are svartalfar designs.” Alfred picked up the edge of the armor Lilit stood in front of. “The leather of the main body is thick, but light weight. The scales across the top reinforce it without adding as much weight as full ptes would. How about we try a set on and see how you like it?” He sounded very excited.

  He led Lilit further back into the shop to an armor dummy with a smaller set of armor on it. The leather of the armor had been dyed a deep midnight blue and the scales were a bright silver. There were also silver shoulder pauldrons shaped like snarling wolf heads. It was truly a beautiful set of armor and Lilit was in love already. If the armor even remotely fit, she might drop her whole pile of gold on this armor. She needed to be careful, but didn’t know if she’d have the willpower.

  Alfred quickly untied one side of the armor and removed it from the model. Lilit stepped forward and he draped it over her shoulders. It slid on like a robe, and then the front wrapped around and tied to the far side. It hung down to her knees like a heavy dress. Alfred tied a blue and silver belt around her waist, cinching it to her upper body. The pauldrons hung a little heavy on her shoulders, but otherwise it wasn’t that much heavier than her other armor. It was much easier to put on though, and was at least a little more comfortable.

  She squatted down low and felt the ‘skirt’ around her legs fre out to accommodate her. She then lunged forward, jumped up and down a few times, and basically anything else she could think of to make sure it fit and wouldn’t fall off or out of pce. It all seemed pretty snug.

  She added a set of vambraces of the same blue leather covered in silver scales. Alfred wouldn’t sell her a single vambrace, which was all she really needed since she already had her wing-shield. He promised to have it delivered to her suite today for what Lilit felt was a very reasonable one-hundred ten gold. She didn’t have Rana to help, and didn’t even bother to try and haggle the price down. It made her feel like she was trying to rip off the merchant just thinking about it.

  Lilit met the rest of her party outside in the square twenty minutes ter. Since Rana already had her own armor she’d gone with Izumi to help haggle down the price of what they had all assumed would be the most expensive of the sets.

  The group decided they’d take a short break and get some lunch before heading up to the fourth floor. They headed back to the stairs and headed down.