Chapter Twenty-Five Preparing For Adventure (Patreon)

Amy stepped out of a side room with the tailor, who had thankfully taken a moment to change into a dress that wasn’t badly torn and threatening to fall off. The side room was quite the cluttered mess, and the poor catkin mother wasn’t the best at navigating her own shop. It was comical, but the poor girl ended up as a pincushion twice during their little measuring session. Amy winced at the memory as some of those needles had ended up in... sensitive places. Thankfully nothing ended up impaling her during that session.

At the moment she was looking forward to meeting the tailor’s daughter. Mrs Bloodclaw had given her a bit more information, enough to give her a general idea of who she was about to meet. It wasn’t the little girl at the counter, but rather that girl’s older sister.

She followed the tailor to a small room on the second floor, and settled into a sofa to wait. She didn’t have to wait long before a young Catkin walked in. She was clearly in her teens, she had long brown hair with red highlights done up in a ponytail to keep out of her face. Her height was about average, which made her taller than Amy by about half a head. Her chest, on the other hand, seemed to be rather lean. With only a couple of slight bumps to signify she even had one showing through her blouse. Behind her, a long tail twitched nervously.

“Um, Mom said you might have an opening for a fledgling scout?” She inquired hopefully.

Amy gave the girl her best smile, “I do. My brother and I took a quest in Stormwind, and are looking for new members before we depart. Would being that far from your home be a problem for you?”

“No, ma'am. I’d like to be able to come home and visit my mother and sister on occasion, but I don’t want to be stuck in this little town my whole life. I want to see the world, and maybe make a name for myself.”

Amy nodded, “Alright, understandable. Now your mother said you were a scout?”

The girl nodded, “Yep! I got top marks in my guild course too!” Then she sighed, “Unfortunately no one seems to want a scout.”

Amy smiled, “Well you might be in luck, as we could use a second scout. May I see your status sheet?”

The girl nodded, and quickly shared that information.

Name: Kei Bloodclaw

Gender: Female

Race: Beastkin (Cat)

Level: 14

Age: 14

Health: 100% (Perfect Health)

Class: Scout

Shields: 0/0

Subclass: Knife-fighter

Mana: 200/200

Titles:

Skills:

Apprentice Knife Fighting Grade E
Novice Jewel Slicer Grade A
Novice Needlework Grade C
Novice Pinpoint Strike Grade A

Apprentice Scout Grade C

Novice Trap Detection Grade B
Novice Disarm Trap Grade D
Novice Inspect Grade B

Traits:
Racial:
Natural Weapons

Enhanced Constitution

Superior Senses

Superior Reflexes
Superior Flexibility
Agile

Inherent:
Minimalist Warrior

Natural with Short Blades
Natural with Needles

Natural Hunter

Alluring

Superior Pussy

Acquired:
Eye for Details

Vicious Knife-Fighter

Thrills for Jewel Slicing

Amy looked over Kei’s status, and quickly picked out a few things. Well no wonder she was having trouble finding a party. Her skills as a scout were great for her level, there was just one little problem. She gave Kei a look, “um by any chance were all the previous parties you tried to join led by a man?”

Kei nodded, “They uh, were... why ask?

Amy sighed, “Well you have the Jewel Slicer skill, and then there is that trait you acquired. They both make men rather... uncomfortable.”

Kei frowned, “But it’s such an effective way to deal with male opponents. Not to mention it’s kind of fun to watch their silly reactions when you slice into their jewels.”

Amy’s mind flashed back to a fight she had years ago. She couldn’t recall the circumstances behind it, but she remembered her arrow sailing through the air striking between some poor man's legs. At the time he had been naked, and she had actually been aiming for that too. The despicable creature’s reactions aside from howling in pain had been quite amusing but considering what he had been doing she didn’t feel sorry for him. Still it wasn’t something Amy regularly aimed for.

Amy made a mental note that she was a rather vicious little creature in a fight. “I guess. On a different note, how’s your kit?

Kei shifted, “Mom got me a nice set of leather armor that works with my trait. I have a full set of long knives, and I’ve got a tool kit with everything I need to deal with traps.”

Amy waited for a moment, “What about a bag? Something to keep your supplies in, a sleeping roll, a tent, travel rations, toiletries. A canteen for your water, very important. Extra clothing, underwear especially?”

Kei blinked.

Amy sighed, “You never thought about all that did you?”

The girl’s face fell.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you out. Your mother is a tailor so she can take care of some of those items. Perhaps she even thought of it.”

As if reading Amy’s mind, Mrs Bloodclaw walked in with a bag, a smile on her face. “Here Kei, I packed this with everything I thought you might need. I know how you tend to get ahead of yourself.”

Amy looked at the bag, her eyes picking out its quality, it was a good pack. It seemed to be enchanted as well. “May I?”

Mrs Bloodclaw handed it to her, and Amy rummaged through the pack with an eye towards what was in there. She adjusted a bit of the packing while in there to make more sense. It also freed up a bit more space, even if there was already a decent amount inside. Since it was indeed enchanted, giving the pack more capacity at a lower weight than it should have. “Looks like you got all the important stuff, I’d recommend another set of undies, and an extra canteen, but otherwise pretty good.”

The tailor smiled, “Only the best for my daughter. Good luck with the adventure!”

Kei shifted, her tail wagging excitedly. “Does this mean I’m in!!!?”

Amy nodded, “Yes. I think you will do well. Welcome to the team.” Then she dropped a few silver coins on the table. “Here is your starting coin. Use it to purchase anything you think you might need for the trip. Keep in mind, we are heading to Stormwind. I plan to sign on with a caravan to make some coin, but it’s still going to be a long journey.”

Kei nodded, and glanced at her mother. Who simply gave her a smile, and wished her luck again. Amy gave her a little more advice, and then excused herself, she had more shopping to do, and two more slots to fill. Preparing for a big quest was no simple thing.

As she left the building, she mentally tallied what she still had to do. She still needed to find two more recruits. While her purse was notably lighter, she had already gotten first aid supplies, a replacement bedroll, and some new clothing. That was a good start on her shopping. She sighed, of course by now it might be a good idea to check on Thomas. She had left him at the guild where he is less likely to get into trouble, but that didn’t mean anything.

With that thought in mind she decided to make her way back to the guild to check in on him. See if he was still behaving, and after that she would go shopping for the remaining supplies they needed.

Amy found her brother at the guild’s attached tavern. He was at a table with a young man, and a dwarf girl. From the sound of it they were exchanging stories. She gave the man a look, and moved into an open seat.

She gave the dwarf girl, smile, “Hello, I’m Amy, and you are?”

The Dwarf noted her presence, and said, “Mara.” she gave Amy a look then glanced at Thomas then back to her, “You must be Thomas’s sister, yes?”

Amy nodded, “I am.”

Across from the table, the young man commented, “And you are quite the lovely young lady as well. Pleased to make your acquaintance, I’m...”

“Don’t care, and take your hand off that charm you were about to activate, okay?” interrupted Amy, stopping the young man. The little mind charm on his belt had not escaped her sharp senses.

Mara blinked, “Charm? What charm?”

“Nothing Mara dear, let’s leave the bitch with her brother, okay?”

As he got up to leave, Mara blinked. Nodded, and started to get up, but Amy stopped her. With a sigh, she flicked a knife off her belt. “I see you charmed her.”

Mara blinked again, shook her head. “What? I’m not...” she trailed off for a moment, and then her eyes widened.

Amy smiled, it seemed it was one of the weaker ones. Likely he couldn’t afford anything stronger. She then glared at the man, and was about to give him a piece of her mind, when her brother beat her to it. A fist slammed into the other man's face, and sent him sprawling.

“HEY! What was that for!”

Her brother launched into a rant, and Amy turned to Mara. Working to help her through the charm, and the effects. As it would turn out, the charm had been enough to make her date him, and follow him around like a puppy, but not enough to actually get her to drop her panties.

A couple of hours later,after the guard had arrested the scum. She and her brother were talking with Mara, discussing what she was going to do. She had come out of following that scum with the weak charms.

As they talked, Amy took a second look at Mara. She was a younger dwarf dressed in casual wear. A simple blouse, and a sensible skirt paired with some nice boots. She was a bit on the short side, even for a Dwarf, at about a hundred centimeters tall. She had a nice figure, with a couple of modest swellings showing through her blouse, enough to tell that the girl wasn’t wearing a bra. Her brother kept stealing glances, but he wasn’t sneaky enough. Both of them had noticed, and Mara simply ignored him. No surprise there, she had heard it was normal for Dwarves to go topless back home.

Mara sighed, “I don’t really have the coin to afford the trip back home. I guess I’ll just have to do enough odd jobs to make some coin.”

Amy smiled, “Well you could join our party. We have a couple of openings. I should point out that we are heading for Stormwind, we decided to join the big quest the guild is offering out there.”

Mara nodded, leaned back, and after a moment, “I accept.”

Then she shared her status.

Name: Mara Blacksteel

Gender: Female

Race: Dwarf (Mountain Tribe)

Level: 22

Age: 17

Health: 100% (Perfect Health)

Class: Foot Knight

Shields: 0/0

Subclass:

Mana: 300/300

Titles:

Skills:

Novice Swordplay Grade C
Novice Guard Grade A
Novice Blacksteel Style Grade C
Novice Bulwark Grade E
Novice Lure Attention Grade C
Novice Stun Strike Grade E

Traits:
Racial:
Dwarven Constitution

Natural Blacksmith

Natural Born-Loli

Immense Strength

Natural Craftsman

Inherent:
Juggernaut

Improved Fortitude

Improved Endurance

Blessed Breasts

Enhanced Strength

Magic talent

Acquired:
Fierce Warrior
Resilient

Improved Recovery

Amy smiled, it seemed that today really was her lucky day. She had just found both of the most critical roles she set out to fill today. They now had their tank. Even better, both of them were girls. Now that she was thinking about it, she didn’t want any men in the party unless she knew she could trust them. Especially in light of what happened to poor Mara here. She made a mental note to make sure the last person was a girl too. Mara seemed comfortable with Thomas, but...