Shell led Xila up to the top floor where the party had rented rooms in the inn so she could meet Yu. While they walked, they talked more about their homes and how different they were. Being from the Wave Settlement, she found cities absolutely fascinating and the stories told by someone who lived in one their whole life even more so.
When they reached the top floor of the inn, Shell knocked on Yu’s door, and it instantly was pulled open with wind magic to both of their surprise.
“Oh, hello Shell. You’re up early I see.” The sphinx looked beyond Shell to Xila. “And who do we have here?”
“This is Xila. She is a friend of Synexus from the city of Gale.”
“It is very nice to meet you, Xila.”
Xila couldn’t find words. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. It wasn’t until she realized how rude it must be to be staring like she was.
“I’m sorry. It’s just you’re a sphinx! An actual sphinx! My mother told me stories about your kind when I was a little girl. It was why I followed the path of knowledge and started working at the library.”
“Ah, a fellow knowledge seeker then. I see why Shell brought you to me.”
“How? How are you here? I heard the sphinx haven’t been seen in centuries.”
“That is true. I believe my disappearance caused the Knowledge Twelve to recall the sphinx into our ancestral home. We are actually headed there to reunite me with my sisters.”
“Spectacular! The world needs the sphinx. I heard your knowledge is unparalleled. I left my home to gain more knowledge from the world. It would be an honor to talk in length with you about your home and your species along with a multitude of other subjects.”
Yu laughed. “I’m always open to a conversation about knowledge as long as both parties are learning something new.”
“Of course, of course! I have tomes and extensive knowledge on several topics.”
“While you two discuss this further, I’m going to check on Kumo and wake Zuls. Xila here suggested a girl’s day out in the city, and we figured you’d want to get out and explore with us.”
“I’d love to! What a fantastic idea. It has been a long time since I visited this city.”
“You’ve been here before...”
Shell heard Xila exclaim the revelation while she was already halfway through closing the door behind her. She walked two doors down to Kumo’s room and knocked.
“Come in!” Kumo yelled through the door.
Shell opened it slowly and saw Kumo dressed in her combat gear looking out the opened window.
“I see you’re feeling better.”
“Much better thanks to your healing.”
“It’s my role in the party. Just as yours is taking on a monster alone that you have no business fighting alone.”
Both of the ladies laughed and Kumo turned to Shell from the window.
“I wasn’t completely alone! I had Synexus’ weird plant monster things.”
“That’s true. Those things were fierce.”
“So, what’s up?”
“I came to check on you and invite you to an outing. A woman from Gale named Xila suggested it.”
“The librarian that Synexus talked about?”
“That’s the one! She is here with a man named Ecclo. Him and Synexus went off to deal with some bamboo business, so she recommended that we all go out and explore the city.”
“That sounds like fun! Let me change into some more casual clothes and then we can go.”
“Alright! I’m going to go find Zuls.”
Shell walked out of the room and down the hallway to the door on the left at the very end. Before she could even knock the door opened up and Zuls nearly ran into her.
“Oh, Shell, I’m sorry. I was just heading downstairs for some breakfast. I’m always drained after feeding my mana to the egg.”
“No worries. I came to find you to invite you to a girl’s day in the city. The rest of us are going and we thought it’d be fun to make a whole day out of it.”
“I was going to take the day to let my bonded out to run around outside the city walls, but a fun day does sound relaxing and needed. Sure! Let me eat first and I’ll meet you all downstairs.”
An hour later they were all finally ready. To Shell’s surprise Kumo and Zuls had put on dresses. Xila wore the same blouse and skirt from breakfast. Yu sported her immaculate feathers. Shell herself had put on a casual dress that reminded her of the flow of the ocean. It was even adorned with shells. They had found it in a shop when they were in Port Palm and Synexus bought it for her.
With everyone ready, they made their way out onto the somewhat bustling street and started to walk towards the city center. No one had planned exactly what they would do but, visiting some of the shops was discussed as well as visiting a jeweler.
Shell admired the city as they walked in a pack down the street. She, of course, loved that it was city full of artisans. There was art in every direction. Some of it shined like stars, while some were incredibly detailed to the point where it mimicked reality, and some of the art was too abstract to comprehend. Each time they passed a piece, the group would stop to discuss the artistry. On one of these brief stops, a man named Rolfio approached them.
“Ladies! I see you are having a fun day in the city and admiring our city’s finest pieces. It shows you all have exquisite taste. My name is Rolfio and I’m a painter specializing in portraits. A lovely group like yours would be quite a challenge, but I would love to give it a try. Whadda ya say?”
Shell looked at the others, and they were all looking back to silently discuss if it was something they wanted. Several nods of approval started down the line of women before Zuls responded to the painter.
“It would be nice to be capture by a professional. How much?”
“Normally I would charge one gold guin per person, but this is a chance to raise my skills by painting unique challenges. A sphinx and woman with skin the most beautiful shade of green. How about three gold guins?”
“One.” Zuls countered.
“Two.” Rolfio said and flashed a smile.
“Alright. Two gold guins for a group portrait. How long will it take?”
“I’m very good. It will take no more than an hour.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
With that he led them into his workshop across the street. Natural light streamed in from the windows and splashed against dozens of beautifully painted portraits. Shell looked around in amazement at all the colors and the vast array of expressions he was able to capture. She was happy that she had worn her favorite dress.
A pose was established by the group and the painter. Yu laid down on an elegant rug in front while looking right at the painter. Behind her, Kumo and Zuls sat side by side on a deep red small couch meant for two. Xila sat on the armrest to the right, and Shell sat on the one to the left. Each lady sat up straight with their hands in their lap and put on a serious expression.
Shell made sure to hold her ocarina in her hands, so the painter knew to immortalize it along with them. It was part of her after all.
Kumo summoned a little breeze to get the flow of their hair just right.
Yu chose the spot she did, so the sunlight would hit her feathers at the right angle to show off the beautiful sheen. Pride washed over her as she sat up straight and summoned her flames on her wings.
Zuls thought about bringing out her bonded to laugh at the painter for agreeing to two gold but decided against it when she saw how excited the others were. Instead, she summoned a small snowfall behind her using Snowfall’s ability to add to the beautiful backdrop he had created.
Rolfio hadn’t lied and an hour later he was putting the finishing touches on their portrait. Twenty minutes later he flipped the easel around for them to see. All of them gasped at how well he had captured them. Even with a serious expression, you could tell the personality of each of the ladies from how he painted the individual. His use of techniques was masterful and even the smallest details were captured.
Shell smiled when she saw her ocarina and the care the painter had put into including it.
Zuls noticed every snowflake, even the one that had fallen into her hair.
Yu stomped around in excitement at the detail the artist put into her feathers and how the fiery wings seemed to glow in the painting.
Xila shed a tear looking at the painting and noticing all the little details that made it special for everyone. She never felt like she really had good friends back in Gale, but in one day she had created a special memory with a group of women she only knew for a few hours.
“It’s perfect! You captured my dress with such precision.” Shell exclaimed.
“I know, it’s like he was able to paint my breeze.” Kumo added.
“LOOK AT MY FEATHERS!” Yu said excitedly.
“And the snow!” Zuls joined in.
“This really is wonderful. Thank you for doing this. It was such a great idea!” Xila said to Rolfio.
“It was my pleasure. Now there is the matter of payment.”
Zuls handed him two gold guins from her bag and to her surprise, Kumo handed him three from hers.
“What’s this for?”
“A tip. I didn’t think it would be this amazing.”
“Well, I appreciate that, but we agreed on a price. I wouldn’t have my reputation to be tarnished.”
“It won’t be! We are going to do a few more things in the city, so take it as a holding fee until we come back to pick it up?”
Rolfio smiled and nodded. “Very well. Thank you again, ladies.”
With that the group left his studio and started back towards the main city to see what else it had to offer.
***
Laughter spread through the group of women as they went from shop to shop in the heart of Goldhill. After the last few days, they welcomed the fun, relaxing excursion and nothing was going to bring their mood down.
Most of the shops were centered around jewelry and they awed at the perfectly cut diamonds and gemstones. The shopkeepers let them try on the different necklaces and earrings to try and make the sales. One jeweler offered to cut a gemstone that matched Shell’s eyes perfectly, into the shape of seashells to match her dress. She almost agreed until they found out the gemstone was rare and therefore quite expensive.
When they were tired of looking at jewelry, they found a shop that specialized in fine garments for women. Lavish dresses filled the store in any shape, size, color, or material they could ask for. A seamstress offered to make them custom dresses if they saw something the store didn’t offer. Instead, the group took turns trying on different dresses and had fun complimenting each other.
Yu couldn’t participate in trying on dresses, but she was able to enjoy jewelry shopping. She saw most of the gems as frivolous trinkets even though one did catch her eye. If she had gold of her own, she would have bought the deep black gem that made her eyes sparkle. Still, she enjoyed the company of the women in the party, and they were having fun trying on the different flowing garments. She was simply a spectator complimenting her friends until the seamstress approached her.
“You know, I could make you a garment for your humanoid half of your body if you wanted. Of course, I could make you a full garment, but it would be a shame to cover up your feathers. They are exquisite.”
Yu beamed at the compliment and turned to show them off more.
“Thank you! I do wish I had more feathers on my top half. Us sphinxes are taught to take pride in our visage, however.” She paused for a moment and let her eyes follow the flow of the beautiful gowns the others were trying on. “Out of curiosity, what would the garment you had in mind look like?”
It was the seamstresses turn to smile. “Come with me, we can look at some fabrics that would be suitable for you and then I’ll take you through the design.”
Yu nodded and went with her to a back room. Normally it would be a private area for women to undress and be properly fitted, but it also was connected to a room with every kind of fabric they had.
“Alright. Let’s narrow down some materials. What color would you feel fits you the best?”
“Something to match my feathers. A deep black, or perhaps a burning red?”
The seamstress agreed and brought out every material they had in those colors. A few caught Yu’s eyes, but nothing was perfect. She wanted a void black or a fabric that looked like it was made of fire itself. That was went it hit her.
“I don’t want to waste your time, but if I brought in a material of my own, could you use that?”
Confusion scrunched the brow on the seamstress’ face. “I could, but I assure you, we have every material available in this part of the world in stock.”
“I’m sure you do and these are all fine fabrics, but I want something special and I have a friend that could make that happen.”
She smiled and nodded. “Very well. Feel free to visit anytime.”
Yu went back out and met up with the others and discussed what happened. Zuls was excited for her and definitely agreed to ask Synexus to make something truly unique.
Shortly after that they left the clothing shops and found themselves perusing a shop run by a chainmail artisan. The craftsmanship was superb, and Xila ended up getting a beautiful set of mail that could be warn under her clothes. Being a non-combat focused class chosen left her with limited ways to defend herself. The craftsman assured her it was made of an incredibly durable metal that would help keep her safe.
After that they found a lady who was crafting exquisite sculptures from various materials. From the minute they entered her shop, she was warm and welcoming. She was a dwarf with bright pink hair. Her hands looked rough from years of experience. All her sculptures on the shelf with quite detailed and decorative.
Seeing as she was so nice, Zuls and Yu both had a sculpture made. Zuls had one of her bonded made which took nearly two hours. The others didn’t mind, however, since it was fascinating to watch the dwarf work. She used skills to refine the sculptures further and was able to make exactly what Zuls wanted. Yu’s sculpture was of herself, and it was much easier for the dwarf to complete. She had hers done in half an hour.
When they left the shop, they had the dwarf hold their sculptures until they were ready to go back to the inn. It was a couple hours past noon, so they had time to go to a restaurant before heading back. The dwarf had given them some great recommendations and the one they chose was called The Storm Grill. Kumo had been the one to make the final decision and was thrilled when they walked in and saw lightning all over the walls made of gold. Above them the ceiling looked like it was made of storm clouds. There was even the effect of magic rain falling in the middle of the dining room.
They all went to a long table and sat down. Yu had to sit on her haunches unfortunately, but she didn’t mind. The menu stuck with the theme and had such items as the “lighting grilled steak” and the “thunder tossed screech”. Each one of them got something different and then they all shared bits off their plate to try everything they could. It was delicious just as the dwarf had said and when they left, their bellies were full.
By now it was four hours past noon, and Shell had a show at the inn to prepare for. They went back to pick up their sculptures and their paintings and then headed back to the inn.
A crowd had gathered and the dining room at the inn was completely full. Synexus and Ecclo had returned to see Shell play. Vorin, Prith, and Gene sat with them. Kumo, Yu, Zuls, and Xila sat in the front to get the best view and to support their friend. Shell took the stage, and the room immediately fell silent.
Melodic sounds started to fill the room from her ocarina. In turn, passion filled her eyes. Her telepathy started and the crowd started to feel the music. Not normally how one would feel music, but an intimate connection formed between the crowd and the notes being played. With each one, emotion filled them. It was like they were hearing the music through Shell and most of them wept.
She played late into the night, and no one left. In fact, even more people flooded in to see her perform. Thunderous applause and roars of delight met Shell on stage. She didn’t let any of it in though. It wasn’t until her final note that she finally allowed herself to feel the happiness and admiration that her music had caused. The crowd was deafening and didn’t want her to stop, but she assured them it would be her first show of many while in Goldhill which lifted their spirits back up.
Her biggest emotions came when she looked down into the seats right in front of the stage and saw all the women that she considers friends, looking up at her with pride.
