"We're in trouble," said Myrna. Her blonde hair had been bleached white by many days in the sun. Her sunburnt skin was peeling. Her lips were cracked. She trudged along the dirt road in men's boots that were too big for her and giving her blisters. In one hand she carried an empty bucket which had contained water. She and Elsteen had had nothing to drink since the previous morning. They hadn't eaten for three days. "We can't keep going like this. We'll make ourselves sick."
"What we really need is money," said Elsteen. Her once-plump rump was looking a little emaciated for Myrna's taste. "Then we could buy provisions instead of relying on what we find on the road."
"How are we going to get money?"
Elsteen didn't answer as they crossed a stone bridge and entered the town of Corse's Brook. This was the fourth town they had entered since leaving Holston. At Frieth, the first town, the women had asked a man in the street whether he knew where Hiphthasa the Enchantress was.
"Ah," he had said. "Are you groupies?"
"Sorry?" Myrna had said.
"You know. Groupies. The Enchantress has a multitude of men—and women—admirers who try to follow her on the road."
"I guess we are."
"Well, all I can tell you is she lives far south. She travels around a lot but she always returns to her castle in the south. That'd be the most reliable way to find her, I reckon."
The women had thanked him for his help.
"I hadn't heard of these groupies before," Myrna had told Elsteen. "That might be one way we can get close to the Enchantress."
They had asked the same question in every town since Frieth and got much the same answer every time. Corse's Brook was a small town: a cluster of stone houses built round a cobbled market square bustling with activity. Hawker's pushing barrows cried their wares. The women wove their way through the crowd.
"Shall we stop here," said Myrna, "or keep going and hope we reach the next town before dark?"
"I can't go on anymore. Let's stop here for the night."
Myrna looked round furtively. She lightly held her breath, the corners of her mouth tightening briefly. This, Elsteen knew, was Myrna's tell for farting.
"Great!" She threw her hands in the air. "I sharted!" She was oblivious to the looks she drew from passersby.
"Haha! Good! Now you'll finally have to change those panties." Myrna was wearing the same panties she'd pissed on the hayride. Myrna had kept her promise to steal Elsteen a new pair of panties to replace the ones she'd shit, but Elsteen couldn't understand why she hadn't also stolen herself a fresh pair. Elsteen was fond of the smell of fresh piss but couldn't abide stale piss. Myrna's panties had grown stale.
"I don't know why you've turned into such a fucken bitch these last few days!"
"Because I've been travelling with a total cunt!"
"Well I didn't treat you like this when you shit your pants!"
Elsteen sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm tired and hungry and... I'm sorry."
Myrna started to cry. Elsteen put her arm round her. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." She led her down an alley.
A man followed them. This man was followed a moment later by another and then another and yet another. Halfway down the alley, Myrna spun round and screamed, "Fuck off, perverts!"
"Wait!" said Elsteen, grabbing Myrna's arm but looking at the four men. "If you want to watch, you have to pay. One copper each."
The men looked at each other, then at Elsteen, then at Myrna. They seemed to give it some thought and then each man pulled out his purse and tossed Elsteen a copper coin.
"All right, then. I guess here's as good a place as any." She and Myrna were alone in the alley with the four men and could not be seen from the streets at either end.
Myrna lifted her skirt, revealing white cotton panties with a yellow stain in the front and a brown streak down the back. Putting her thumbs behind the waistband, she let her panties fall to her ankles and stepped out of them. She popped a squat, Elsteen holding her skirt high for her so that the men might have a better view. One man came round to watch from the front but the other three preferred to watch from behind. Myrna released a squirt of watery diarrhea. She paused, taking a few deep breaths, before releasing two smaller squirts mixed with gas. Sighing with relief, she got up and took a bow. The men applauded.
They were just about to walk away when Elsteen called, "Wait!" She picked Myrna's panties up off the ground, dusting them off. "What am I bid for this beautiful pair of used panties with the scent of their owner still fresh on them?" She sniffed the crotch. "Mmmm!" The shit had freshened them up a bit. "Shall we start the bidding at two coppers? Do I hear two coppers?"
"Two coppers," said one man.
"Three coppers," said another.
"Three coppers! Do I hear four?"
"Four," said the first man.
"Four!"
"Six," said the second.
"Six coppers! Do I hear more?"
The first man emptied his purse into his palm and counted what was there. "Eight coppers."
"Eight coppers! Do I hear nine?"
One of the other men spoke up. "One silver piece."
"One silver piece! Will anyone top that?" The man who had emptied his purse walked away. "Going once! Going twice! Going three times! Sold to the gentleman for one silver piece!" Elsteen gave him the panties. "Thank you very much, sir." She pocketed the coin.
When all the men had gone, the two women and jumped up and down, arms linked, squealing.
"How easy was that?" said Elsteen.
"You were amazing!"
"No sleeping out in the open tonight! We're staying at the inn!"
The inn was on the other side of the market square. As they approached, Elsteen noticed the sign swinging above the door. "Hey, Myrna, look at that!"
"The Enchantress' Panties."
"Cheeky name for an inn."
They stopped beneath the sign. Beside the name was a picture of white bikini briefs printed with runes and magic symbols.
"I wonder if that's what they really look like," said Elsteen.
"I suppose we'll find out one day."