Run into Blythe

After awkwardly carrying your {if@ sword = true}sword{elseif mace = true}mace{elseif spear = true}spear{endif}, buckler, and magic book down the street for a few minutes, you spot a familiar elven duelist sitting at a bench nearby eating a sandwich. You walk over to her, say hi quickly, and set down your things before going to buy yourself the same thing she’s having from a nearby vendor.

“You have already found everything you wanted to purchase,” says Blythe once you sit down across from her to eat. “May I take a look?” she asks, gesturing to the stuff you just got. You nod, and she carefully picks up each item one at a time. She runs her hands over your new gear, examining the various scratches and bits of rust with a practiced eye. “I believe this weapon is beyond saving,” she says. “It will be serviceable for now, but I am worried it will fail soon. This shield, however, looks to be quite sturdy. It should protect you well. This book…” she pauses to riffle through the pages. “This is a rare thing indeed. Most texts regarding the practice of magic contain only the most complex incantations, ones required for spells of great magnitude. This, however, provides a detailed description of mana manipulation and several simplified forms of common incantations. It is the perfect thing for you, Evan.”

As you continue to eat, Blythe starts showing you some of the things she’s been buying. First is a brown rucksack similar to her own, in which she stores your magic book alongside a bedroll, canteen, a map of the region, and some wrapped up loaves of bread. She also straps your buckler to the rucksack, so you should only have to carry your {if@ sword = true}sword{elseif mace = true}mace{elseif spear = true}spear{endif} around now instead of juggling three things. Next, she shows you her rucksack, filled with her own set of the same items, plus everything that you already took inventory of earlier.

“Are you certain you wish to go to the forest?” she asks, placing her rucksack aside. “I have heard people speaking of increased monster activity there.”

“All the more reason for people to stay away,” you say after swallowing the last bite of your sandwich. “Plus, I need to learn how to fight anyway. I’m sure there are things you can teach me there, even if my fighting style is going to look different to your ‘sword art,’ and what better way is there to practice than by slaying monsters?”

The displeasure is clear as day on her face as you rattle off your admittedly overconfident plan. “If I am to teach you how to fight,” she says, “the first lesson I would have you learn is to never underestimate your opponents.” She goes on to tell you some of the things she’s heard about the monsters that have been spotted in the northern forest lately. Apparently, they are intelligent enough to disarm hunters’ traps. Blythe says she even heard that a mage set up a trap using a rune circle, but it too was disabled before it could activate. What’s more, apparently the monsters were able to lure a few lumberjacks away from the section currently being cleared, and nobody has seen them in town ever since.

You hear her out, but your plan remains the same. “Despite the danger, it’s still our best option to avoid being found and executed before I stand a fighting chance,” you say. “You’re right to be worried, though. We’ll have to be very careful out there.” You reach across the bench and hold Blythe’s hand. Then you remember something fun. “Speaking of lessons, how is your ‘special assignment’ going?”

As soon as the words leave your mouth, her eyes nearly pop out of her skull as she darts up off the bench and throws her hands down over her skirt. A small smile creeps onto her face as red builds in her cheeks. “…I had forgotten,” she says, looking off to the side to avoid your gaze. “I s-suppose focusing on gathering the necessary supplies took my mind off of it.”

You get up and walk around to her side of the bench, then lean in to whisper directly into her ear. “Well that’s no good,” you say. “If you aren’t feeling it then the exercise loses its meaning.” Moving purposefully, you undo the top of her doublet until a tasteful — by your standards — degree of cleavage can be seen. “Keep it like this,” you say, walking back around to grab your rucksack and {if@ sword = true}sword{elseif mace = true}mace{elseif spear = true}spear{endif}. “You still have shopping to do, right?” She nods, eyes wide and staring at her own cleavage as her blush intensifies. “I’ll head back now. I’ll be waiting at the edge of the trees where we were earlier, but we should head a little further in once you get back.”

As you walk away, you can hear Blythe talking to herself. “Everyone can see my… haaah…”

Parting ways with Blythe, you head north out of town and return to the same trees you both were at earlier. You find a decent tree to lay up against and pull out your magic textbook.