Almandar pushed open the door to the shop, taking a step down into the cool interior. The windows were small and high up, letting light into the room but not too much heat. It would not do for the stock to spoil, after all.
Remkar was an alchemist, a man who made his living selling magical potions to those who could afford them. Naturally enough, the adventurers had, over the years, been regular customers, although his clientele also included the local military and aristocracy. Tonight, they would be planning the full details of their intended explorations beneath the city, which made this one of the last opportunities to buy some healing potions, among other supplies.
The contents of the sales room looked impressive, although Almandar was aware that they were largely for show; most of the genuinely good material was kept somewhere out back, behind locked and magically protected doors. To anyone less aware of those realities, however, this room certainly looked the part. The shelves and cabinets were stacked with bottles of all shapes and sizes, some empty, but others full of brightly coloured liquids, some of which swirled or bubbled, seemingly of their own accord. Alchemical apparatus adorned the benches on either side, stills and retorts, crucibles and braziers, and strange items of glassware whose function Almandar could only begin to guess at.
As he entered, Remkar was already in conversation with another customer. The alchemist had greying hair and a neatly trimmed, pointed beard, wearing smooth robes of white and tan. He glanced up as the magician entered the room, his dark eyes lighting up with recognition.
"Almandar," he said, "so good to see you. I will be with you in a moment."
The half-elf nodded, waiting discretely near the back of the room as the alchemist talked with his other customer. Now she, he thought to himself, was a more worthwhile sight than any of the glassware or coloured liquids in the room.
The woman was obviously Jalibian, not a native of the city. The Jalibians were a human nation to the north, beyond the wild lands, and they occasionally traded with Haredil. Even so, they were not as common a sight here as dwarves or gnomes, or even elves. It was one of the few times he had had the opportunity to really admire one of their women, and, in her case, at least, it was worth the trouble to do so.
Her clothing was predominantly white, with coloured patterns in brown and gold around the hems. The upper garment was short sleeved, and reached down to her mid-back. And, from this vantage point, it was only her back that was in view -- but that was enough to show the pleasant curves of her body through the tight clothing.
Below that upper garment, her back was bare, a slender curved waist with smooth mahogany skin free from any trace of blemishes. His eyes wandered lower, to the swell of her hips beneath the tight, knee-length skirt. Her ass was particularly impressive, flaring out from the narrow waist without being fat. As she shifted her position unconsciously, he watched her buttocks moving beneath the tight fabric, wondering what they would feel like in his hands.
His reverie was broken when Remkar turned to speak to him. If the old man had noticed how the magician had been admiring his other customer, he gave no sign of it. "Now, Almandar, what can I do for you?"
With that, the half-elf was all business. Adventuring was a serious matter, and it was important to have the right tools for the job. There was no time for distractions, even ones as shapely as the Jalibian woman now standing next to him. He mainly required healing potions, which were always in great demand among any adventuring party, but there were others that could also be of use, which Remkar might possibly have in stock. He discussed his requirements, and then the old man disappeared into the back of the shop.
"Almandar..." said the woman, "I think I have heard that name before. Is it a common one?"
If her exotic appearance had not already betrayed her foreign origins, her accent clearly did so. It was strange, distinctive, clearly different from that of the local humans, or of the elves or dwarves for that matter.
"Not really," he said, turning to face her, "but I don't think we've met before."
She frowned slightly, as if trying to recall something. "To do with your paladins, I think... ah, Lady Tarissa? You know her, yes?"
"Yes, she is a colleague of mine," admitted Almandar, "how do you know her?"
"My father does. He is a merchant, and that is why we visit your city. Lady Tarissa was at a feast at the palace where a man was taken away. He attacked a woman, and Lady Tarissa saved her, but I was not there. My father told me about it, and he mentioned the adventurers, which means you, yes? He said the city is lucky to have such people to protect it."
Now that he could see her face to face, Almandar could more fully appreciate her looks. She was definitely an attractive woman, exotic and alluring. Her hair was cropped short, far more so than any other human woman he had seen, tight and springy, close to her skull. Her eyes were wide and dark, her face rounded with a small nose and full lips that begged to be kissed. Even so, it took a small effort of will to force his eyes to remain on that face and not obviously wander down to her shapely figure.
"Well, thank you," he said, "although I am not a paladin, and it is perhaps they who deserve more of the praise. But I do work with one, and I suppose you could say we have common cause. We do what we can, at least."
"Ashabi," she said, holding out a hand in greeting, "I am pleased to meet you, Almandar."
"And I you," he said politely, shaking her hand. She smiled as he did so, a flash of perfect white teeth against her dark skin.
At that moment, Remkar returned, carrying a tray bearing their respective purchases. It was not clear what Ashabi had bought, and he did not enquire, although the bottles looked different from his own. They discussed the price, and Almandar handed over the gold coins, glad to find that he had no trouble affording the cost. The alchemist packaged Ashabi's potions first, but she did not immediately leave when he had finished, hovering by the door as the adventurer placed his purchases safely away in a padded satchel.
As he himself turned towards the door, he fancied that he caught Ashabi's eyes flicking upwards, a slightly guilty look on her face. Had he caught her checking him out? Perhaps he had a chance... but before he could speak, she made a suggestion of her own.
"Have you eaten? If you have time, we could go to an inn. Tell me about your adventures."
"That sounds a splendid idea," he said, smiling, "my afternoon is free, so I'll be happy to join you."
The inns in the neighbourhood, not far from the Wizards' College, were among the better in the city, and it was not long before they found a comfortable one and ordered a light lunch. They talked, initially, about Haredil, and about the wild lands beyond where Almandar had undertaken many of his adventuring exploits. The region, Ashabi said, was much drier than the humid lands of Jalibia, and the vegetation less luxuriant than the green lands of her home.
As they talked, Almandar had an opportunity to admire her properly. Ashabi's taut and slender midriff was bare, although partially hidden by the table, but he could appreciate the burnished brown of her lower arms and the graceful sweep of her neck, adorned with a couple of silver necklaces tight to her throat. Lower down, her short tunic clung to the curve of her breasts, showing them to be firm and well moulded, the fabric tucked tight underneath to raise them up and emphasise their pert shape. A slit in the front of the tunic dipped over the top of her sternum, but it was not low enough to show off her cleavage.
Instead he focussed on her face, admiring those rounded lips and wide eyes. She wore golden earrings, larger than those common in Haredil, and they helped to frame her face, as a fringe might do for a woman with longer hair. He guessed that she was not much more than twenty years old, and that dark skin looked soft, flawless, and inviting.
"There are elves near Jalibia," she said at one point, "but they are very different from the ones here. They are a savage people, although there are exceptions. They do not have your pale skin, or the same... style, perhaps? They seem a different people from yours, as I am from the people of Haredil."
"I am not an elf," he said, surprised that she had not realised earlier. But then, if she was new to the area, perhaps she had seen few of his kind before. "Or at least, not pureblood. My father was an elf, but my mother was pure human, so my heritage is on both sides. And I was raised in the city, so I suppose, if anything, I have more of an affinity for my human side."
"You are half human?" she said, her eyes widening, and seemingly examining his face anew, looking for the signs of his mixed ancestry. "I did not... forgive me, I did not realise. I hope I have not offended. The elves where I live do not often meet with humans. As I said, they are a savage people."
"No offence taken," he said, waving the apology aside, "although the term 'half-human' is only common in the western forests, I think. I suppose it's not very descriptive here... I mean, we have half-orcs as well, so it's best to distinguish the two."
She shuddered slightly, "half-orcs are different." She was silent for a moment, evidently thinking of something. "I have not seen many half-elves," she said eventually, "in fact, you may be the first. Are they uncommon, or have I seen them without knowing?"
Ashabi leant forward as she spoke, resting her elbow on the table, and placing her chin on her hand. Almandar could not help noticing that the position emphasised her breasts, shifting slightly beneath the tight cloth as she moved, their swell just over the table. She caught him glancing down at them; a slight smile tweaking the corner of her mouth, an eyebrow raised a fraction. It seemed she did not mind, which was encouraging.
"No, we are not especially common," he said, "at least, not in Haredil. But then, elves are not so numerous here as dwarves and gnomes -- both of whom have their own quarters of the city, as you probably know."
"But they do not marry with humans."
