Prepare for what's to come

You and Blythe dump out all of your belongings and take an inventory. Blythe teaches you exactly how the coin denominations work, and it turns out you were only slightly off in your guess as to how it worked. Between the two of you, you have the equivalent of just under 100 gold coins. According to Blythe, you could buy cheap weapons and armor for around five to ten gold apiece. Other items of note include the cloak your elven exhibitionist used to get into town yesterday, the “focus crystal” you used to find Lia, oil and a whetstone for Blythe’s rapier, and enough light food rations to last the two of you a couple of days at best. There is also your wallet, keys, and phone, but those continue to be rather useless.

“I don’t know how easy it’ll be for people to track me down once word spreads,” you say. “Do any of the legends mention the methods heroes use to track Demon Lords?”

Having mostly come to grips with the situation by now, Blythe is able to laugh at your question. It’s a nervous laugh, but it’s better than before. “It is usually not very difficult to find the being who is burning the countryside,” she says.

“Fair point,” you say. “I still worry about showing my face too much in town though. I didn’t think about it much before, but now that I’m out here, I’m starting to think the less people see my face the better. There might be wanted posters up in a few days.”

“In that case,” says Blythe, “you should use my cloak for today. We cannot avoid one more visit into the town, not with the supplies we currently have.”

“You’re right,” you say. You throw on the cloak and gather your things while Blythe reloads her rucksack. “I want to get myself some kind of weapon and decent protective gear. Maybe get a few books on magic, too. Can I count on you to get us camping supplies and more food?” Blythe nods. Having packed up everything and agreeing on a 40-60 split of the money due to the things you’ll each be buying, you each confirm that you’re ready to go.

Before you both leave the trees, however, you stop Blythe. “I have a special assignment for you on top of everything else. Don’t worry, I promise you’ll like it.” She looks a little worried, but you don’t let that stop you from grabbing hold of her boots and sliding them off of her legs. Then, standing behind her, you hear a yelp as she realizes that your hands are reaching under her skirt. Her body shakes uncontrollably as you hook your fingers under the straps of her panties, but she doesn’t utter a single word of protest as you slide them slowly down her legs. She watches as you fold them up and stick them in your pocket. As you help her back into her boots, you can’t help but notice how hot her skin is getting already. “You can have them back tonight. Let’s meet back here at least an hour before sunset so we can set up camp before it gets dark.”

You walk into town together before parting ways. A whole day of resource gathering lays ahead of you now, and your targets are an armor seller, a used weaponry shop, and a bookstore. Before you go searching, though, you stand and watch your elf companion walking away. A tinge of red covers what you can see of her skin from behind, and her head keeps darting left and right as she passes people. Just before she rounds a corner out of your view, a gust of wind catches her skirt. In a panic, she hold the floating garment down, looking all around her as people walk by totally oblivious to her struggle. As she’s looking around, she catches you watching and the panic in her eyes melts into an embarrassed smile. You wave to her and walk away.

…

Evris’s streets are a little less confusing to you now, even as you walk them with a hood pulled low to hide your face. You find your way to the Adventurer’s Guild, and from there you’re able to remember how to get to most of the places Lia pointed out to you yesterday. Your first stop is an armorer set up at the corner of a busy intersection.

The two walls of the shop that make up the corner of the intersection hold massive windows, wherein sets of armor are displayed: everything from leather ranger gear to the full plate suits you might see set up to guard the halls of an old mansion back on Earth. You enter the shop and quickly decide that you want something that’s a mix of chain mail and leather padding: full plate or chain is going to be way too heavy for you right now, but just leather on its own doesn’t feel like enough. You tell this to the clerk, a human man with unremarkable features and a monotonous voice, and he helps you find a nice piece that costs you seven gold. It’s a padded leather doublet, connected to matching bracers by sections of chain mail. You would have liked to get something in red, but dyed pieces in the same style are selling for twice as much gold, and you need to reserve your funds. You pay for the doublet and head outside. Rounding a corner into an alley, you take the time to remove your cloak, don the doublet, and put the cloak back on over the top. You’re pretty warm now, but you’re going to have to deal with it until you’re back in the woods.

Next on your shopping list is a weapon. Luckily, since the Adventurer’s Guild is so large in this town, there are plenty of places selling old, used weapons. You find one such shop ten minutes after leaving the armor store. Shop is a generous term, though, because it’s just a dwarf selling junk weapons out of a barrel on the side of the street. They’re cheap, though, and that’s what matters.

The first thing you do is grab the nice-looking buckler that he’s selling for four gold. You’re happy with your armor purchase, but an extra shield never hurts. Then, you switch your thinking from defense to offense. As you sort through the barrel of weapons, you start to realize that this is an important moment for you. The type of weapon you choose here will probably determine the style of fighting you’ll have to master moving forward. Getting a sword would mean slashing away at your enemies, and you would have a hard time dealing with armored opponents. A mace or club would be better for that, but wouldn’t offer as much in terms of defense as a sword’s protective hilt. With a spear, you could fight at a greater distance than the other options, and you would be able to throw it if you had to. Bearing these options in mind, you fish through the barrel to find the highest quality sword, mace, and spear in the bunch. They each cost roughly five gold, meaning it all comes down to your preference.