Clarity

A dragon might be too much for you to handle right now. You're not really sure where you are, where you came from, or what you can do and if you try to fight a monster of that caliber, well, you just might not be able to ever find out. You tell your companions that you three are heading to Clarity. Naia seems a bit disappointed by this but Sali is relieved. Apparently, she did not want to take on the dragon but the rest of her, former, party were pretty eager to do so.

Traveling to Clarity takes about a day, with you three arriving an hour after sunrise the next day. The city gates are wide open with merchants and traders coming in and out in a hustle. Even the road leading to the main gate is lined with vendors and a considerably large commune of tents has been set up outside the city walls.

"Don't even get close!" Sali yells at a merchant who is trying to sell her a gold necklace. "I hate these vendors. Half of their wares are fake and the other half is garbage."

"Then where do you recommend we shop," You ask her.

"Depends. Richard is probably the most affordable blacksmith in town with Artheia's being the most high quality. Lady Madison is a brilliant alchemist if you want potions or remedies."

"And what about magic?"

"The Church is where most magic is studied," Naia chimes in, "If you want, Mistress, I can show you where."

You do want to learn a bit more magic but lessons, or even access to scrolls, may cost you a bit of coin and you aren't exactly rolling in the stuff. Armor and weapons would be nice. Maybe something a little more fashionable wouldn—

"Hey, girlie!" The deep voice of a man snaps you out of your thoughts. You turn around to see who is speaking to you but there is no one behind you. "What do you think you're doing here?!" Your eyes drift downward and you see a man. A short man who barely reaches up to your stomach with his arms crossed glaring up at you. Actually, there are three of them, all seemingly angry. "Ain't you Dark Elves supposed to be in your mountains and caves, where the sun sun don't shine?!"

The man is too short to be a regular human and while he doesn't have a beard, his companions do have the typical long beards of Dwarves. "Uh, shouldn't you be as well? You are Dwarves, right?"

The man seems offended by saying such things. "Now see here! We are Hill Dwarves! An honorable people who venture throughout the lands, crafting stories, and building everlasting settlements on the surface! Not some people who hide beneath the surface because they're afraid they'll fall up into the sky!" His two companions nod and grunt in agreement.

"Oh, okay?"

"But you, _Dark Elf, _you are not one of us. You should have stayed down where you belong."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Sali jumps in with her hands on the daggers at her hips. "Kick our asses? I bet you couldn't even reach up there."

"I think there's something I'd much rather do to your asses, Sweetie." The Dwarves lean to their lefts or right to try and get a better look at your curves with large grins on their faces.

You feel your rage start to build up inside and the idea of casting a spell at them, the first one that crosses your mind being Lightning Bolt, is very tempting. Before you can decide what to do, a voice calls out from behind you. "Step away, Grun. Else, I'll throw you in the slammer for a month." A young man with short blonde hair wearing half-plate and a blue cape walks towards your group. He smiles at you with a nod before addressing the three Dwarves. "I said 'step away'." The man's eyes illuminate with a radiant blue and the Dwarves stumble backwards and flee the scene.

"Thank you," You say to the man.

"It was no bother, my lady. Those three have been a pain in my ass for some time now. It always brings me joy to bully them, every now and again. My name is Captain Skyflame. Could I perhaps ask yours?" The captain flashes a smile at you. His eyes have returned to their natural, deep blue now.

"Elori Selvasis."

"Well met, my lady. I hope to see you in the future under much more... endearing circumstances." The captain leaves with a bow and heads towards the commune of tents.