Chapter 7 - Shopping, Dove Falconhand, Cheap Wine, and Han Solo
Before Natalie went downstairs to meet Lou to go on their shopping excursion she decided to change clothes and when she took off her mage robe she noticed it clean as if new. She expected to find dirt and even blood on it from holding Rain the previous night but there was not a spec of dirt or stain on the robe.
"Better than dry cleaning." She commented.
As Rain and Christie talked about what they were going to do while stuck in the room all day, Natalie went through some of the extra clothes Habersham at sent with them. There were soft leather pants, some leather tops that looked more like corsets than something practical, and some cloth shirts. The elf wished for a nice skirt and top but settled on a one piece of clothing what Natalie could best describe as some type of dress. The top of the dress was very low cut but her larger elf breasts were firm and it held up nicely with two straps that crossed around her neck to a single strap in the back and two straps in the front that came down to her breasts. The bottom of the dress was long and had gold trim and the hem ended just above her ankles and had two slits that ran on each side of her leg about four inches above her knees. She then put on her boots and looked at herself in the mirror in the room. It was a hot day outside so the dress would be perfect for the heat.
"See, Christie, I told you Habersham was creepy. All the clothes for us girls are so revealing." Natalie liked the contrast of the black dress on her alabaster skin.
Christie laughed, "Well you do look hot but you may want to wear your cloak to hide some of that figure you have."
Rain grinned, "Yeah your breasts on this side are a lot larger and fuller than on the other side." The blue haired half elf teased.
Natalie hid a smile at the compliment from her girlfriend and stuck her tongue out at Rain. She still wanted Christie to think she still mad at her. She brushed her hair out and decided to keep it down and put on her silver head band. She did like her this side hair. It was thicker and wavy and longer than her other side straight hair and she was starting to think her elf ears were rather cute as they stuck out from her hair. She did decide to take her cloak but let it flow off of her instead of wrapping it around her. Her vanity about her looks would love the attention she would get from men but she did not want to look like a complete whore.
"God I still wish I had underwear." She muttered, "Going about with no panties is so white trash."
She left the room with Rain and Christie laughing at her comment and met the others downstairs. Natalie smiled when she saw Jason, Ahira, the innkeeper, and even Lou as they tried to look nonchalant as their eyes roamed up and down her body. She briefly wondered if a dwarf could have intimate relations with a human, not that she intended to but was just a thought. Everyone decided not to wear their armor or carry their better weapons or Natalie and Lou their mage staffs. Jason did have a longsword attached to a sword belt around his waist and Ahira had his hand ax in his. Lou still wore his red mage robes.
The party split into two groups, Natalie and Lou would do the shopping and Jason and Ahira would go to the tavern to try and book passage on a ship and they would meet at the tavern, the Laughing Maiden. The dwarf gave Lou and Natalie more gold and the two mages asked the innkeeper the best place to find the supplies they needed and he suggested to market square and he promised to send food up to the half orc and the drow prisoner but would leave the food at the door not wanting to chance an encounter with a drow.
When Natalie and Lou stepped outside the inn, Natalie got suddenly homesick and almost started crying as she once again wished she was home. The smells of the dock area of Lund remaindered her of her home city of Savannah. The city was built on a large river that led to the sea about fifteen or twenty miles to the east and while the smells were stronger with the salty marsh air and the smell of fish it reminded Natalie of home and going to the inlets with her father to buy fresh fish and shrimp and blue crabs. She thought Lund must have resembled Savannah over two hundred and fifty years ago.
"You ok?" She heard Lou ask and Natalie smiled and nodded.
"God, Rain was wrong. I could never get used to the smell of this city." Natalie commented as they walked to the market square. "So where first? Ahira and Jason said not to get much since we are going to Athkatla anyway and can get most of the supplies we need there, just to get some minor things like some more water skins and some odds and ins that would be cheaper here than Athkatla."
"And materials for a new spell book." Lou added quickly.
Natalie nodded, "Of course." She was getting a little concerned with Lou's obsession with his spell book and magic, but shrugged it off thinking maybe if she did not have hers she would be the same.
"So, ummm...what was this thing you mentioned earlier about losing faith?" Lou asked the elf as they walked.
"Oh nothing really, just that I am not a very good catholic anymore." Natalie answered as she looked around and noticed people staring at her. "Why are people staring at me?" She asked to change the subject. In truth she knew why the men starred but was a little curious why the children and women did, well some of the women. Natalie pulled her cloak around her body and started to regret her choice of clothes.
Lou laughed, "Your outfit for one thing, but more that you are a moon elf and people rarely if ever see a moon elf in a human city."
"Oh"
The two made it to the market without incident and as they walked Natalie asked Lou more about himself to get to know him better and found out he was an engineering student and very intelligent and had an IQ that borderlined on the genius level. She teased Lou about not having a long white beard like Gandalf and thought the man was somewhat handsome on this side and giggled as she told him he looked like a sixty year old Sean Connery making the wizard blush.
"Oh look that looks like a place that sells magic stuff?" Natalie said when she saw a building in the market. It was a single story timber framed building, with stained glass windows that depicted two wizards dueling on one window and a large dragon breathing fire on the other and a wooden sign hung over the door that read "The Invisible Fairy".
They walked into the shop that was full of shelves full of potions, jars, books, crystal orbs, even some magical items such as wands and staffs and other items. Natalie noticed the shopkeeper was haggling with a tall beautiful woman over a dagger. The woman was tall, lithe and had long silvery hair. The woman turned when the two entered the store and stared at Natalie for a moment.
It was not like the stares she got on the street by the men and some women whose eyes roamed over her body or the children and other women who looked at her with astonishment. The woman did not look over the elf's body and she did not seem surprised at seeing a moon elf. Her look was one of recognition and Natalie suddenly became very uncomfortable and nervous.
"Three hundred, Lady Falconhand. That's my best offer."
"Bah! You were always a crook, Yolnoth." The woman said as she turned her head back to the fat shopkeeper.
"But you always come back when you are in the area." He laughed and started counting gold coins.
Natalie quickly made herself look busy hoping the woman would leave quickly. She almost dropped a crystal ball she was pretending to study with interest when the female spoke to her.
"Do I know you?" She asked.
Natalie turned and looked up at the tall human women. She was very pretty and looked to be only in her early twenties. Her body was lean and well-toned and the green dyed leather jerkin she wore was tight over her small breasts. Her soft leather pants were the same woodland green of her jerkin and both looked well worn. She had a long sword on the right side of her hip, a quiver of arrows on the left, and a bow across her back. Natalie could feel incredible magic from the sword and bow, so strong it made her dizzy for second.
"Umm...no I am new to Lund and...and I doubt we ever met."
The blonde looked at her intensely, "What village are you from?"
"Savannah." Natalie blurted out without thinking.
The blonde frowned, "Never heard of it but then again I don't know every moon elf village."
Natalie thought quickly, "Oh it's a small village south of Silverymoon." She remembered Jason told her about Silverymoon and that most humans thought it was just a myth.
"So you know my sister then, well half-sister, Lady Alustriel Silverhand ruler of Silverymoon?
"Fuck!" Natalie thought to herself. "N...no...heard of her naturally but never met her." She hoped her bluff worked.
The woman nodded, "Well, you just looked very familiar. I will leave you alone and good day..."
Natalie knew she was prying for her name, "Natalian." Natalie told her the made up character name and the woman extended her arm.
"Dove Falconhand, pleasure to meet you, Natalian." Natalie shook the young woman's hand and gave a little curtsey. Natalie felt strength in the firm grip.
Dove laughed at the gesture and gave a slight bow in return. "Don't let Yolnoth cheat you. He charges double the prices on his items." The blonde human laughed as she walked toward the door. Natalie's eyes followed her and the young woman looked over her should and gave Natalie a last curious look before she departed the shop.
"Ah I did not know you were friends with Lady Falconhand, I am honored to have you in my humble shop." Yolnoth told Natalie.
"I...I don't know her. Who is she?" She asked.
"Why that was none other than Dove Falconhand, one of the Seven Sisters. A famous ranger. She always comes to me to sell or buy goods when she is in the area. She knows my shop is the best in two hundred miles." The shop owner said with a great deal of pride in his voice.
Natalie smiled her most charming smile at him and walked over to Lou, "Who are the Seven Sisters?" She asked quietly.
Lou, who was so focused on looking at the magical items and gathering supplies off the shelves from his list had not even noticed the encounter his friend had with the pretty young ranger.
