Chapter Three:

I slept better that night and was in good spirits come the morning. Lyra and I ate breakfast before heading out once more. I tended to Thunder and paid for his care and boarding. I led him out of the stable and then swung up on Thunder's back.

Outside the stable, Lyra muttered strange words and made weird gestures. Magic at work, I realized. The apprentice mage had changed her attire from the day before too. She wore dark green robes today. Likewise the ribbon in her hair today was a matching dark green.

When she completed casting her spell, a horse much like the one she road yesterday appeared out of thin air! I moved close enough and after a pause dared to touch the magical horse. It felt real enough! It was a bit unnerving.

"He doesn't bite," Lyra said with a mischievous grin. She hopped up on her mount and joined me. Together, we rode out of Timberline and continued east on the High Road.

The day's travel passed much quicker than the previous day. We chatted about this and that, while Lyra worked in lessons on helping me read. Upon reflection, she was a surprisingly good teacher. The heavier forest thinned out late in the morning and near midday we reached Woodcrest, a small village about halfway between Timberline and Pyris City.

After a break for lunch in Woodcrest, we continued on our way to Pyris. The forest became thicker once more and the ground hilly. Late in the afternoon the City of Pyris came into sight. It was nestled in a small valley surrounded by hilly forest on three sides. The city was gigantic! It was easily five or six times larger then Wrassledown.

"It's huge!" I cried out.

"Pyris?" Lyra questioned. "Actually, no its not. Many Cynalonian cities are bigger. Alexandria and Elcadan for instance make Pyris look very small."

My mind boggled at the very thought. As we road closer, Lyra told me that the Barony was ruled by a Baron Relon Van Arkus and his wife, the Baroness Lysandra. Pyris was known for its hospitality and wood crafting skills. It wasn't uncommon for the traveling caravans to stay an extra day or two just to relax.

We reached the main gate and rode into Pyris. Much like Timberline, Pyris was a walled city. Armed guards patrolled the tops of the walls. The city streets were wide to allow ease of passage for the caravans that passed through. It was clear to me that there were several caravans camped in Pyris for night. More wagons of goods than I could count were sitting in the large camping areas.

The streets were filled with people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. There were your regular every-day humans, but there were also the slender elves, the short but stout dwarves and even other demi-humans. But even more impressive was that everyone seemed to be happy and content. I had never seen anything like this before!

"So many people..." I said in wonder. "Do you think we will find a room to stay in?"

"It's all taken care of," Lyra explained easily. "My mistress has arranged lodging for me throughout this trip. Not to worry!"

Lyra was true to her word. As we rode through town, Lyra worked on my reading skills asking me what I thought a sign said and she would correct me with its real meaning. Over time I started to recognize a few words here and there.

We arrived at the Green Forest Inn, although I could only identify the word "Inn". Inside we were greeted by the boisterous Otto Pounder, owner and operator of the Green Forest Inn. The common room was crowded, but we found a small out of the way table to share a meal.

Much to my surprise the Inn had entertainment for the evening. A bard by the name of Omni Tuens was entertaining the patrons with stories and songs played on his mandolin. He was quite handsome and skilled at his craft.

Afterwards we made our way to our room. With just how crowded the Inn was tonight, we would have to share a room. Lyra's mistress had just made reservations for one.

The room itself must have been the best room in the Inn. It had a large very comfortable looking bed that could easily hold three or four people back home. The room even had its own private bathing tub. This room was rather luxurious.

"I've got some errands to run here in Pyris for my mistress," Lyra announced after setting her gear down. "Don't be alarmed if I am gone for some time. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," I responded.

"Oh, and a nice hot bath is including with the room," Lyra added, sticking her head back into the room. "Enjoy!"

I glanced at the tub as Lyra departed, closing the door behind her. Maybe it would be a nice treat to have. Obviously I had bathed before, but nothing quite like this!

I was sorting out my belongings when a knock came at the door. Opening, it I found a young man with a bucket of hot water. I stood aside as he entered and dumped his hot water into the tub. This event happened nearly a dozen times until the tub was filled. Before the last bucket could be dumped, a serving girl entered and asked if I would like a fragrance to my bath. I figured why not and told her to choose a fragrance she liked.

The tub was finally ready and the servers said farewell. I locked the door behind them and regarded the tub. It did smell very pleasant, like lilacs in bloom. I quickly removed my clothes and gingerly slipped into the water.

It was heavenly! I had never had a bath like this before, but promised myself that there would be many more to come. The warm water felt great on my shoulders and removed the minor aches and pains of wearing chain mail all day. I don't know how long I just soaked there; long enough for the water to become cold.

I slipped out of the tub and dried myself off. The pleasant smell of lilacs clung to my body. I dressed for bed and then combed my hair to help it dry. Once it was dry, I blew out the candles and went to bed. The bed was very comfortable and I fell asleep before Lyra returned.

I awoke early the next morning. True to her word, Lyra had returned sometime after I fell asleep. The mage apprentice was still asleep on the other side of the bed, so I quietly rose and got dressed.

As I changed from my sleeping clothes to my riding clothes I couldn't help but notice their pungent odor. They smelled like home, but when home is a farm, the odor can get very strong. I was used to it, of course, but with lilac fragrance on me I couldn't help but notice it. There was nothing I could do about it right now, so I dressed and slipped out of the room.

I made my way down to the stable to see to Thunder. I brushed his hair for a time all the while talking to him. Outside the stable, a group of riders rode past. Another military unit from the looks of them, heading out on dawn patrol.

By the time I made my way back into the Inn, Lyra was down in the common room ordering breakfast. She had changed her robes one more time. This time they were a deep red with gold trim. The ribbon in her hair was a matching gold.

"Good morning," Lyra said in greeting. "Did you enjoy your bath?"

"Hi," I responded and sat down in a adjacent chair. "Very much so! It felt wonderful and melted away many of my aches and pains. I plan to have as many of those as possible in the future."

"That's good. As an adventurer, you're going to be meeting a higher class of people. After all adventurers solve problems and powerful people have lots of problems. Adventuring tends to be a very unclean and sweaty profession, so anything you can do to make a good impression is for your own benefit."

"Just how many clothes can you carry in that little sack of yours?" I asked Lyra as we ate. It didn't seem large enough to hold all the robes I had seen so far.

"It's a magical bag," Lyra simply explained with gesture. "It's bigger on the inside, so it holds more than would otherwise be possible."

"Magic," I snorted. "I should have guessed."

We ate silently for a time, but eventually Lyra had a question.

"I don't mean to be rude or pry, Stephanie," Lyra said, "but didn't you bring any other clothes with you? You've worn that same outfit for days now."

"It's what I wore at home," I answered, trying not to sound defensive. "I don't have a huge wardrobe like you do."

"Mine isn't all that large, but having fresh and clean clothes is a nice thing when on the road. It just seems to me that if you're going to be an adventurer, that you need to look the part. You want your prospective employers to think that you are a successful adventurer. Not..."

"A simple farm girl?" I finished Lyra's hanging comment. "I don't think I could wear the kind of things you do. I'm not pretty like you are nor do I have that many clothes."

"Mage robes would not suit you at all," Lyra agreed. "As a warrior you need a different kind of clothes. And who says that you're not pretty? You may not be gorgeous, but you are attractive in your own way. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

"You really think so," I said in surprise.

"Oh come now, you've never been chased by boys before?"

"Well...," I started to say. "There was a boy back home, but it was a bit strange how it all worked out."

"See? You're clearly above average when it comes to looks. You don't have a girly-girly kind of image, but we can find something that works for you. Pyris is a large city, so there should be many clothiers to be found. We can pick up a few things to spruce you up a bit." Lyra said with a grin. "After breakfast, we'll go clothes shopping."

Lyra just had this way of perking me up with her infectious enthusiasm. So after breakfast, we went out to shop for clothes. I had never really done anything like this before and was surprised just how pleasant an experience it was. I picked up a few new blouses and pairs of pants. I found a pair of black leather boots that went over my knees that I just feel in love with and had to have. I even picked up a new sword belt and scabbard and short leather gloves to protect my hands.

I changed into the new garments to see how they looked together once back at the Inn. I wore a scarlet red blouse with black trousers and my over-the-knee black boots. The change was stunning to say the least. Lyra had been right. My previous attire made me look like a farm girl. My old clothes that I had worn since this trip began were tossed away. I never wanted to see, or smell, them again. Now I looked like an adventurer!