by Albion, Rex
He was pretty sure she was joking. Not about the gags, but any idea he might want them. Roxy was into that stuff it seemed though, so he might buy some to use on her, not that he really wanted to block access to those sweet lips of hers.
Roxy laughed and Vandal shook his head slowly, not planning to fall for the obvious bait. “I don’t think that’s in Vandal’s wheelhouse really.”
“A pity, that. He’d look super cute.”
“He would, wouldn’t he,” Roxy agreed, eyeing Vandal up like a slab of meat. He put his drink down and stood up, flexing his muscles like a bodybuilder to everyone’s amusement. “But I’d much rather be the one in cuffs, as he knows already.”
“I may have squirrelled away that titbit of information for future reference,” Vandal confirmed as he sat down. Valkerry laughed and Tom nodded approvingly.
“Good luck training him, they need so much supervision,” Tom said to Roxy.
“I know, but I think it’s worth it to get them well in hand, don’t you? Roxy giggled.
“Oh yes,” Tom said, nodding his head enthusiastically. He earned a growl from Valkerry and a whispered warning, that made him wiggle his eyebrows at Roxy and Vandal, followed by a lascivious ear nibble from his girlfriend.
“You cheeky boy,” Valkerry said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Then she addressed Vandal directly, “They get like this sometimes. You need to keep them in line, give them a demonstration of who is in charge, don’t you find?”
Vandal cleared this throat. “I have a vague idea about how that works but I think Roxy is far more knowledgeable than me about this sort of thing.”
“True, but I think you’re already warming up to the possibilities,” Roxy said, stroking his thigh and kissing him on the shoulder.
“Just take it easy, Vandal. Don’t let her pressure you,” Valkerry said. “If you need any tips, I’m happy to talk to either of you. Or demonstrate techniques.”
Roxy chuckled. “There you go. We thought we might try and find trainers for crafting, and we’ve already got a much more interesting offer, isn’t that nice, Vandal?”
Vandal laughed. “Yes, it’s very kind. I’m sure we’ll be fine, but we can bear it in mind.”
“It’s a standing offer. And the same goes if you need support for questing or understanding New Albion. We can lend a hand now and then if you need a boost through something you can’t deal with,” Valkerry said.
“Thanks, you guys are awesome. I suppose we’d better get to our shopping though,” Vandal said, draining his mug and standing up. “Thanks for the beer.”
“I hope we can talk again this evening,” Roxy said.
“I think she wants to see if we can drown Tom out tonight,” Vandal said, stroking Roxy’s neck fondly. The goblin shivered and snuggled into him.
“That would be fun,” Roxy said.
“Challenge accepted! You may consider it a duel!” Valkerry said, enthusiastically.
New Quest: Challenge of Prowess! Valkerry has made a personal challenge to you and Roxy Lickspring. Would you like to accept it?
Vandal acknowledged the quest. “A duel it is. May the best couple win!”
Tom slapped his face with his hand. “This is going to hurt.”
“Only you, love muffin!” Valkerry cackled.
As they walked off, Roxy squeezed his ass hard.
“Naughty.”
“I can’t wait for tonight. I bet I can drown him out, if you put your mind to it,” Roxy said. Vandal laughed at her unusual competitive streak.
“As my High Priestess wishes.”
“You’d better believe it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“No! The goblins have invaded!” the dwarf behind the counter cried out, raising her hands in surrender.
“It’s just me, and I’m hardly invading,” Roxy said.
The dwarf smiled. “I’m just teasing dear. Forgive an old dwarf her antics, won’t you? I tend to go a bit stir crazy cooped up in the shop all day, if business is slow.”
“You don’t look old at all,” Roxy said.
“Kind of you to say so,” the dwarf said. “Hilda Bracegirdle, at your service.”
“I have to agree with Roxy,” Vandal said. “You don’t look old to me either.”
Truthfully, she didn’t, and she certainly didn’t sound old. While the shopkeeper had a very deep voice, she didn’t have a beard or fit the broad stereotypes quite as accurately as most games went with. Her hair was fiery red and kept in two neat pigtails, framing her freckled face. Looking closely, Vandal thought he detected a hint of crow’s feet around her eyes but nothing that suggested advanced age. Then again, perhaps that was due to long dwarven lifespans, and the shopkeeper hadn’t been exaggerating for effect.
“Well, aren’t you both sweethearts? I just want you to know that flattery can and will get you absolutely everywhere so by all means, keep it up,” Hilda said. “Now, what can Bracegirdle’s Braces and Girdles, for you today?”
Vandal chuckled and the dwarf smiled, clearly pleased that the pun in her shop’s name had landed on at least one easily pleased customer.
“We went to The Red Lion for lunch,” Roxy began, and stopped as Hilda picked up a clipboard, and a piece of charcoal, marking another strike on a tally she was keeping.
“Sorry, my dear, rude of me. You may as well finish what you were going to say so I can respond properly,” Hilda said, her eyes twinkling.
“Leona recommended your shop,” Roxy added, seeming somewhat disappointed.
Hilda clutched at her ample bosom, “Oh that girl, she is my favourite customer and such a wonderful advertisement for my wares. If I’d never met her, I’m sure I’d be impoverished and on the street. And… scene. What did you think? I do some amateur dramatics with a local troupe on my days off.”
“Very convincing,” Vandal said.
“Liar! But I appreciate the thought,” Hilda cackled. “Yes, Leona is a wonderful young lady and perfect for emphasising what my wares can do for my customers.
“You’re doing a pretty good job of that yourself,” Roxy pointed out. Vandal couldn’t disagree. Hilda was wearing one of her own corsets and while she was just a tad shorter than Roxy, she had an enviable hourglass figure provided no doubt by the dark brown over bust leather corset that she wore. Her bust was more modest than Leona’s and much like Roxy’s, but the corset flattered her cleavage marvellously.
Hilda smiled coyly, “Do you think so?”
“Yes, definitely. You look gorgeous. I saw Leona’s and knew I had to come and find whoever made it for her so I can start getting some better clothes than this,” Roxy said, gesturing at her leather dress.
Hilda nodded and came around the counter, picking up a heavy looking set of goggles, filled with exotic lenses bordered in brass. It was a classic steampunk style. “May I have a look?” Hilda asked as she approached Roxy. The goblin nodded and the dwarf adjusted her goggles, fiddling with the lenses and humming to herself, as she walked around Roxy, inspecting her leather dress and having her put her hands above her head, or out in front of her, taking measurements with a tape measure.
“This is a very fine dress even for an Awoken person. I hope Leona didn’t suggest I can match it for magical qualities?” Hilda asked as she made notes on a drafting easel once she was back behind her counter. As she spoke and sketched, she’d look at Roxy and twirl her finger, indicating the goblin should turn around so she could draw her.
“That would have been awesome, but no, this is a gift from the goddess for our service and I’m only wearing it because it’s pretty much all I have. You wouldn’t want to see what I had when I arrived,” Roxy laughed. “This is for fighting, not…”
“Fucking?” Hilda muttered. “I don’t think you need to worry about looking fuckable in that my dear, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from Amorian relics. I’m afraid my wares can be enchanting to look at, but I only know a little magic that I use to create some of my goods. None of it is for
armour or combat, I’m afraid.”
“I’m glad you like it, but yes, I’m looking for clothes to make me look good, and we’ll also need to find things for everyday wear. We were quite underdressed for The Red Lion,” Roxy giggled.
“Yes, if you hadn’t been clerics, they might have directed you elsewhere,” Hilda agreed.
“Quite.”
“While I can’t help you with armour, I can certainly make you look utterly fabulous,” Hilda said, lifting up the easel and turning it around to show them a sketch of Roxy wearing a black corset and leather miniskirt. It was a quick bit of work but clearly demonstrated her artistic talent, capturing Roxy’s face and body with just a few strokes.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Roxy said. “Vandal, look how it would cinch in my waist!”
Vandal nodded. It did look good, not that he needed Roxy to dress up in order for him to want her. “Is that what you want?”
“Definitely, do you like it?”
“I do, I’m just not sure where you plan to wear it,” Vandal said, hoping he hadn’t put his foot in it.
“Oh, there are all sorts of parties, and establishments where this would fit right in,” Hilda said. “But not the Red Lion, except in a private room. No, I would describe this as bedroom wear, although you could match it with a longer skirt and a blouse of course.”
“That’s not what Leona was wearing, though, is it?” Vandal asked. Both women turned the kind of look on him that suggested he may as well have asked if this was what Hilda would recommend for a wedding. “What? I don’t know about this stuff.”
Roxy patted his arm gently. “It’s alright, Vandal. You can ask. No, Leona’s was designed to go with her blouses and show her off.”
“Push up those enormous tits of hers, if that’s easier to understand,” Hilda said, bluntly. There’s a lot more support in Leona’s and the material is quite different. It’s mostly textiles because leather is far too suggestive for The Red Lion. She wants tips, not offers from horny perverts.”
Vandal laughed. “I think I get it. So, Roxy should have something more like what you’re wearing for her figure? Am I even close?”
“I’d like something cute and practical like Leona has, to go with a nice blouse that I can wear if we come to town to socialise. Like, if we come back to have dinner with Captain Myers and his wife, I want to feel good and look pretty but not like a member of staff or like I’m going to an orgy,” Roxy said. “I don’t need as much support for my bust as Leona and I don’t think I could wear something as restrictive as the one Hilda has on all evening. I’m not used to it.”
Hilda smirked at that and had a little chuckle. “What’s wrong? I didn’t say anything rude, did I?” Roxy asked.
“Not at all, dear, just something that amused me. It’s up to me to guide you through this and I’m long past getting offended by clients trying to describe what they want, or think they want.”
“What was amusing though? I want to understand as much as I can, so each time I come back, you can make me look even more fabulous,” Roxy said. “Please, I want to know.”
“Neither of you know all that much about dwarves, do you?” Hilda asked and both shook their heads.
“You’re the first I’ve met,” Vandal said.
“I thought as much. Well, what we need to do is a proper fitting and to try on some samples,” Hilda said. “So, first things first, Roxy. Is the young gentleman staying, or are you saving yourself for marriage?”
“Marriage?” Vandal spluttered.
“She’s asking if I need you to leave while we do this, Vandal,” Roxy explained.
“Oh right, sure, I can do that and go and have a wander around the other shops, I suppose,” Vandal said.
“I’d rather you stayed so you can tell me if you like my pick. I’d hate my first Bracegirdle corset to be one you didn’t like,” Roxy said.
“That’s fine, I just like to check if clients are comfortable around each other before people get all red-faced and shy,” Hilda said. “Now, since you asked about my corset, you’re not offended by seeing a bit of skin, are you? Mine, in this case.”
“No, not at all. We’re not prudish,” Roxy said, confidently. “Amoria wouldn’t have picked us to be clerics if we were, I venture.”
Hilda walked briskly over to the front of the shop, and reversed a sign which read, “Closed for private fitting, please come back later.” Then she pulled across a thick black curtain from behind the door which obscured the whole shop front. The room got a little dark but brightened up when she returned to the counter and touched a control.
Magical lanterns that functioned like the ones in the dungeon where Vandal had found Roxy, came on around the room, and Hilda adjusted them until she was happy with the light level. While the function was the same, Vandal could tell these were of dwarvish rather than elven manufacture, the style matched other things in the shop and some of the dwarf owned premises they’d passed on the street before coming in.
“Angie, I’m doing a fitting for a client, you can go home when you’ve finished the stitching on the last of those straps,” Hilda called out into the depths of the shop. A young woman replied, and Hilda nodded, satisfied and closed the back door to the shop, locking it after a moment of hesitation. “There you go, nice and private. Angie is a lovely girl but like as not she’ll be so focused on her work, she’ll forget I’m with a client and come to say goodbye if I don’t lock it,” Hilda explained.
“I get like that when I’m reading,” Roxy said. Vandal nodded his confirmation until Roxy looked his way, at which point he suddenly became interested in his fingernails to an unusual degree.
“You two are cute together,” Hilda chuckled. “Now, why is this corset different to Leona’s or what I might make for Roxy, you were wondering?” Hilda ran her hands up the sturdy looking brown leather, and over the buckles at the front and walked out in front of the counter again. She turned around on the spot so they could see it close up.
“Is it the buckles? Buckles at the front rather than laces?” Vandal guessed.
Hilda cupped her breasts and shook her head, “That’s one reason and this is a front-fastening item, which makes life easier. The corset I made for Leona has laces at the front for fashion mostly but needs a good strong knee in her back to tighten hers up in the morning and get the full effect. The other wenches there don’t need quite so much effort put into theirs being more modestly shaped.”
“It’s not just the type of leather, is it?” Roxy mused. Vandal felt a little gratified that he wasn’t the only one who was out of his depth.
Unbuckling the front of her corset, Hilda shook her head again. “No, though the type of leather and the way it’s treated makes a whole world of difference in how it looks, feels and supports you.” In a few moments, she parted the corset and shrugged it off, leaving herself naked to the waist. Half-naked, she looked even younger, and Vandal could see in the clear light from the magical lanterns that her freckles weren’t just around her face and neck.
“You’re gorgeous, Hilda,” Roxy sighed.
“Not really, not for my people,” Hilda said.
“You’re perfect though. I can’t quite believe it. Your breasts are, well, they’re divine. Perfectly curved and proud. They look so firm,” Roxy said, enviously.
“They are quite firm, but I assure you they’re nothing out of the ordinary for a dwarf,” Hilda shrugged. Her breasts moved with her shoulders, but not as Vandal would have predicted. It was as if the in-game physics handled Roxy’s breasts by completely different rules. “I don’t mind if you want to touch them, Roxy.”
“Really?” Roxy asked.
“Vandal will just have to watch though. This is purely educational,” Hilda chuckled, blowing him a kiss. Vandal sat down on a nearby chair, and crossed one leg over the other, doing everything he could to be attentive while not ogling the beautiful dwarven leatherworker.
“Yes,” Roxy agreed, dreamily as she stepped forward.
He’d never enjoyed shopping so much.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Roxy looked at him, as if asking for permission to go ahead. He nodded and she reached out.
“I love these piercings, they suit you so well.” The goblin cupped Hilda’s breasts in both hands, and gasped in surprise as she felt them. “Amazing.”
“Thank you, these bars are new actually. I upgraded, they’re much nicer than the old ones,” Hilda said.
“Hilda, your breasts, they’re so. They feel different,” Roxy murmured, as her fingers squeezed and stroked the exquisite globes of pale flesh. Vandal swallowed hard. Hilda’s nipples had been erect from the moment she’d revealed them, the bars of gold twinkling with the green of emeralds.
“Different from your own?” Hilda teased.
“Uh-huh,” Roxy agreed, leaning down a little, inspecting the wondrous orbs closely as if trying to figure out their gravity defying properties. She used her cupped hands to jiggle them up and down a bit, and gasped when they didn’t quite react as they should.
“Different from any I’ve touched. Not just perfectly formed but somehow heavier and they’re so perky! I thought perhaps they were enhanced somehow, but they’re not, are they? These aren’t magic nipple piercings, this is just how your breasts are all the time?”