Airedella looked over her shoulder and nodded, "Yes, it is right behind the inn. You may take the robe now, in case someone sees you, if you would like." she said. She knew it would not be long that Chandra would have to wear it, but being seen as she was might cause problems. Who knew what the townspeople would think. Perhaps they would be able to chock it up to Chandra being a foreigner, but they would have to be quick on their feet in that case.

Chandra donned the robe and almost literally ran down the hall to the back door, which she found instinctively (because this Inn is the first stop on the Airedella character's quest, she surmised), and out the back to the outhouse. It stunk worse than most, but she'd been in worse places, oddly enough.

After relieving herself, she looked around. There was only a dirty rag or two hanging inside the small wooden building. She mustered her courage and used one of them briefly to clean up, though that may have been counter-productive, before heading back up to the room.

"All right, I'm ready to go when you are, Airedella." She stated simply.

A few moments after Chandra left, Airedella realized she finally had a little bit of privacy for the moment and took the opportunity to clean more than the exposed areas while Chandra was away. She stood and started with the lower half, quickly, then slipped her shirt off, sitting back in the chair. She took a few moments more to clean the top half, since the water was getting colder now and there was no point in hurrying any more. She had just picked he shirt from the table when the door was opening and she quickly covered herself, yanking shirt on as Chandra entered. She stood and pulled it down as the other woman spoke and she nodded, turning around. "We can go now." she said, throwing the water into the alley out the window and leaving the cloth in the bowel on the table.

Airedella strapped her belt with its pouches around her waist. She then walked towards the door and down the stairs to the tavern, handing over her key and exchanging a few words with the keeper. Outside, there were few people out on the road, who gave the pair some odd stares on their way to the tailor, where they were met with nothing but politeness. Airedella did the talking, asking for something already made to fit her friend and while the tailor looked in the back for it, she turned to Chandra, "I sincerely hope there's something already back there. It would make things much easier." she said.

"It sure would. I didn't realize how tall I was until I got... around these parts. There are men that are shorter than me around here, and back where I'm from, I'm just a little taller than average." Chandra noted, looking at all the tiny clothes around the place. Of course smaller clothes looked cuter, so this might be a case of making a pretty show for the public to entice them to come in and buy.

Chandra thought back to the moment where she'd walked in on Airedella just finishing getting dressed. If I weren't so creeped out by the dirty conditions of the outhouse, I might have seen a bit more, she chided herself. Not that Chandra considered herself a lesbian or anything, but she'd always had a fantasy of being with a girl, and when she'd designed the Airedella character, she made it look like the perfect girl she would like to be with, and that made interacting with her hard. She didn't want to let that part of it come out. She was weird enough to Airedella to begin with!

When the tailor re-emerged with several selections that appeared to be about Chandra's size, she felt relieved. There was a privacy screen in one corner of the tailor's and without a word she snatched up the proffered clothing and began trying them on.

Out of the three, the only one that fit was a set that had obviously been made for a man. A billowy white shirt with a pale brown loose-fitting vest - which wasn't so loose fitting on Chandra because of her breasts - a pair of leather breeches and a set of thigh-high boots. She felt like she was on her way to the Renaissance Faire, but at least they fit. It was the last of the three she tried, the first was a blouse and skirt set that fit like a daughter trying out her mother's clothes, she'd have to use a hairpin or something to get the skirt to stay, and that wouldn't do on an adventure. The other was a plain yet somewhat formal dress that she couldn't get past her hips.

Chandra didn't see a need to get back into her other clothes, but she folded them up to take with her nonetheless. She modeled for Airedella, turning all the way around. "What do you think?" She asked the world in general.

Airedella spoke with the tailor while Chandra tried on the clothes, about nothing in particular. She could see a silhouette behind the screen, rustling the clothes around to see what fit, and it didn't seem like she was having much luck. She then began asking the man how long and how much having clothes made for Chandra would cost and take. That's when Chandra came out, and Airedella laughed a bit, "You look like a boy, but not bad. I suppose you'll fit in a bit better" she giggled, "I that what you want?" she asked, looking Chandra up and down. If not for the protruding bosom, Chandra would definitely be mistaken for a man due to the style of the clothing she was wearing. She would be considered odd for wearing a man's clothing, but it was better than the even stranger clothing she had come to Airedella with.

"Well yes, but it feels like an adventurer's clothing, and that's what I am! But only one other thing... is there any sort of long cloak or coat I could wear along with this? Never know when you might need a good heavy wrap for a cold spell..." She asked the tailor, and he nodded.

"Yes... ma'am, I do have a selection over there..." He indicated a section towards the rear of his establishment.

Chandra headed over there, and quickly found a dark brown wool-and-leather jacket. When she tried it on, it fit fairly well, though it was large enough to where the bottom hem came to just above her knees. "So, less like a man now, Airedella?" She said, hands on her hips, just after cinching the belt it came with.

Airedella watched, laughing when she put on the coat. It was sort of cute the way it fit her, actually, in Airedella's opinion. "Yes, less like a man. You just need the thick glasses and you would look like a female inventor!" she laughed, the man giving a small chuckle as well. She then turned towards the man with a smile, "Unless Chandra has anything else she needs here, I would like to know how much this is going to cost me." she smiled a little, looking back to Chandra for an answer as well. The tailor looked from Airedella to Chandra, both waiting for an answer and assessing how much to charge the women.

"Well, I think this will do it, actually." Chandra would have to repay Airedella somehow for all that she was doing for her. She didn't like feeling indebted to anyone.

She walked over to Airedella, and waited, letting out a little sigh.

The tailor gave Airedella a price, which she paid, and the two made their way out of the shop. "Where to next, my intrepid leader?" She grinned at Airedella, and awaited a response.

Airedella laughed as they walked out of the shop, "Next we need to find a bag we can travel with and the supplies for it. Food, canteens, we'll need to stop at the apothecary, since I doubt we'll see on in the mountains...." she began to rattle off, though she wasn't sure the list ended there. "We'll have to look around and see what else we need while we're here in town. We might want to stop at the armory and blacksmith and see if we can find you a weapon to defend yourself. I don't mind taking the lead in the battles we might get into, but you need to be able to protect yourself as well." she said as they walked to the leather shop. Airedella could picture what might happen on the way to Chandra if she didn't have a weapon, and Airedella did not like the thought of it. A woman who had never been in this position, in a battle with mythical creatures before, could be torn apart in seconds... Or worse.

"I took six years of kar... combat training as I was growing up, and I did train with the staff, so maybe a spear? I can adapt to a lunging style. And of course we need supplies..." It was true. Chandra had six years of karate that her parents practically forced her to go to, at least for the first year. She got into it after that and ended up with a blue belt, but that was from ages 11 to 17. All she had done lately was Tai-Bo, but she supposed that it would come back to her. It had better!

Chandra suddenly was daydreaming about combats where she proved herself to Airedella and won her respect. Though she was, yesterday, a creation of hers, a mere collection of pixels and code, today she was a real live woman. A woman she couldn't help be attracted to, because she designed her that way.

"Is it late enough in the year for elderroot to be ready to collect? I'd bet there's some right near the tree line as we go through the passes on our way." She wanted so hard to prove herself not entirely worthless on the trip.

As they walked, Airedella listened, impressed that Chandra had had combat training, "I have never heard of 'kar' what sort of combat is that for?" she asked, but only paused a moment before moving on, [b]"I am sure we can find you some sort of staff that you can work with.

Chandra began to speak of collecting elderroot and Airedella looked at her in confusion, "Yes, it is. do you know what elderroot is used for?" she asked.

"The full name, is Karate, but has no bearing around here. I started to say it then realized that you wouldn't know what I was referring to. As for the elderroot, I know it can be used for some restoration magics and is also the base component for the Dragon Snare spell..." Chandra shrugged. She'd spent so much time with the game, she knew way too many trivial details of it. Maybe some of her knowledge would pay off.

"The style I learned emphasizes quick strikes and watchfulness of your opponent's body language... I do almost as well without a weapon. There are certain key points where you can strike people that will incapacitate them quickly." She feigned a couple of strikes as they made their way to their next stop.

"That is correct." Airedella looked at her, "But, it's also used for poisons." she said, "When coupled with savvus berries, elderroot becomes a poison for which there is no cure, and it always brutal and fatal. The only thing that stops it from being made is the fact that savvus berries are so rare." she explained. She had seen the effects of that poison, and they weren't pretty. It was a wonder someone who created the world didn't know about it. Perhaps there are surprises that found their way into the game she doesn't know about...' the mage thought.

Airedella laughed as she watched Chandra's offense. "Not bad, but if you're up against a black mage or a magic knight, you will need a weapon. Hand-to-hand combat is good to know though." she smiled as she approached the shop they were looking for. She entered, the heavy door groaning as they entered. She looked around at the bladeless weapons on the walls, thinking the swords and knives were either in the back and brought out, or made upon request, and turned towards Chandra, "You did say you were trained with a bo staff, correct?" she asked, looking for the staff-like weapons, while the man behind the counter watched.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a deep voice. It was obvious he had been the maker of many, if not all, of the weapons that were seen. He had the looks of a blacksmith, most definitely. Airedella looked to Chandra, "What do you think, bo staff, or something more like a spear?"

"The bo would be more familiar, but is it enough?" Chandra paced a little. "Maybe if you have a bo with metal reinforcements at each end... you know, to give it more weight?" She directed the first question at Airedella, and the second at the blacksmith.

The grizzled veteran grunted, stroked his chin a moment, the sound of sandpaper issuing from his stubbly jaw, then finally nodded. "Yes, I do have something that would do. 'Twas going to be a horseman's flail, but I never got to adding the ring and flail-chains to it. The garrison that was stationed here scaled back and there was no need to finish it. Hold one..." He ambled back to the rear of his store, and emerged with the weapon a short time later.

"Ironwood pole, about the same length as a bo, but top and bottom braced with Falconian Steel. I was holding onto it because I thought, maybe someday some knight'd come in asking for a top notch horseman's flail and I'd say, I can have it for you in a day. Never happened o' course. But t'was too heavy for any of the skinny mages to use as a staff, and I don't rightly remember the last time a real monk has set foot in this neck of the woods, so it stayed. As a horseman's flail it would have brought me near a hundred crowns, but I can't see charging that much, seein' as you're not getting the complete weapon. Way I figure, you're doing me a favor taking it. So... thirty-five crowns it is. That's more than fair, as it is only five crowns above my cost for making it." He rambled a bit, all the while he was demonstrating its use. It was amazing how light that staff seemed in his hands.

"Well... I can't ask you to go under your cost..." Chandra looked over at Airedella expectantly, obviously fairly in love with the weapon, but she wasn't going to volunteer money that wasn't her own.

Airedella watched the exchange of words between the two with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. Chandra seemed enthralled with what she was looking at, but she didn't seem to actually know what she was looking at. "That only two feet long, and that means it is four feet shorter than a typical bo staff, and is no where near proportional to her height, so it is not about the 'same length'." she informed the two, watching the blacksmith as she spoke, "It is no where near worth thirty-five, seeing as it would be useless in battle as anything less than a flail. She would be just as well off waving around a stick when it comes to length. The steel cannot even make up for that."

Turning to Chandra, she folded her arms, "I suggest you find something else." she said. Whether or not she was in love with what she was looking at was not the question- the issue was whether or not Chandra would be able to use it in battle. Walking towards the staffs that were on display, several of which were also plated with some sort of metal, she began to look for one more proportional to Chandra's height.

"Is it that short? I thought from his description that it was at least four feet long..." Chandra felt embarrassed that she'd been sold by this blacksmith, she was smarter than that wasn't she? When she took a closer look, she blinked. "I couldn't use that for a mop if I tied rags to the end of it without bending over!"

The blacksmith looked chagrined, deprived of being able to take advantage of what he perceived to be rubes who didn't know what they were doing. He'd almost had them too.

"Fine, fine. What about this jundwood staff here? Steel-clad ends, and I can let you have it for..." he paused. "Twelve. 'Fraid I can't go any lower than that." Twelve was his actual price this time, he was not trying to take people who didn't know any better. Most people know only, 'Weapons is expensive.' and thus the man in this town with his talent (he did make good weapons), could pretty much write his own ticket most of the time.

Chandra looked it over. It was the proper length, but she'd never heard of 'jundwood', were there things in the game she didn't know about? Sure, she wasn't the only designer but a material available for use as weapons and armor would be on the master list of textures for designing characters, so she would have at least seen the name before. This had staggering implications. She hoped that most of her other knowledge would stand up to scrutiny.

Airedella smiled at the man's change in willingness to help the women, rather than fool them. She inspected the staff by looking, then turned to Chandra, "Jundwood is durable enough, and with the steel-finished ends, it would most certainly prove to be a useful weapon, and the prince is certainly fair..." she said, looking back at the weapon and inspecting it once more. She was not to be taken for a fool, and she was most certainly going to make sure that the weapon was worth what she was paying for it. When she was satisfied with what she had seen, she turned once again to Chandra, "Perhaps you would like to try it out to get a feel for it. See if its weight is as appropriate for you as the height and materials." she suggested once again, looking to the blacksmith, "Might she try it out?" she asked.

Of course, the only issue now would be if it was weight appropriate. If it were, that would be all the better, especially since Jundwood took well to positive spells, and the mage had an idea for its use.

The man blustered, but nodded his consent and handed Chandra the staff. There was plenty of room in the lobby of the shop for her to practice with it. In fact, a tall man could probably swing a polearm over his head and not hit the cathedral ceilings in this place. Probably, further back, there was a second floor where the armorer lived.

Chandra accepted the staff with a nod and stepped towards the middle of the room. She paused for a moment, and closed her eyes. She pictured the training she'd had with the staff, it had been several years after all and she didn't want to look foolish. After a moment, she started going through her kata, eyes still closed, with the staff. It was very well balanced, and responded well to her touch. After about a minute of flourishing the staff, she straightened up and opened her eyes. Other than the fact that she noticed Airedella was on the far side of the room and the blacksmith was back behind his counter, everything was unchanged, and she had felt no impacts as she'd swung the staff around. There was something to be said for muscle memory. If she'd tried to vary from the practiced kata to an improvised routine, she would have screwed it up for sure, she thought.

"Yes, I think this will do nicely." She looked from the blacksmith to Airedella, staff resting on the ground, seemingly natural in her hand as she waited. for a response from her benefactor. "I am going to have to repay her somehow," she thought.

Airedella moved back next to the counter and out of the way as Chandra was handed the weapon. She watched curiously, wondering what it looked like to do the so called karate with the staff. It looked rehearsed, but Airedella had to wonder if it would actually be any good in battle. There was only an extent that rehearsed and practiced fighting could bring someone; the rest was split-second improvising and thinking of what one had to do to survive, or possibly even win, the battle.

When announced Chandra wanted that one, Airedella took the twelve pieced from her pouch and placed them on the counter, counting them as she thumbed the handful onto the wood one by one, but very quickly. She looked to Chandra as she hit the number twelve, "Was there anything else you needed here?" she asked, hoping to get everything taken care of at once.