The travelers left the clearing and continued along the winding path through the forest, leather and stone crunching leaves beneath them. The trees and other foliage grew denser around them. Birds sang above and the occasional squirrel darted in front of them, briefly eyeing them with its beady black eyes.
"How far away is Lirethel?" asked Emily, after they'd been walking in silence for some time.
"A month's journey by foot, along this path" Aria replied. "But it has been many centuries since I last undertook the journey, and the path may have changed. I do not recall this wood."
"A month!" Emily exclaimed. "If only there was a flight we could catch."
"A... flight?" Aria asked.
Emily was in the middle of explaining air travel to Aria when she suddenly felt a queasy sensation in her stomach. It was her intuition telling her that they weren't alone. She glanced around anxiously at the forest and drew her arms around her body protectively.
"Is something wrong, Emily?"
Before she could voice her unease, a loud cracking noise jolted her. At once, she felt something press around the ankle of her left boot.
She looked down to see a rough-hewn rope encircling her boot, the end of which disappeared into the trees. "What—"
A forceful tug at her ankle cut off Emily's words. Her stomach flip-flopped and the world turned upside down as she was jerked into the air. "Ahhh!"
"Emily!" Aria exclaimed, looking up in horror.
Several grizzly and dishevelled figures stepped out from behind the trees, each one brandishing a dagger or club alongside a nasty expression. Their eyes flicked between the living statue and the naked girl hanging upside-down from their trap, paying extra attention to the latter. Emily could feel their eyes moving up and down her suspended body.
"Well, what do we have here?" a tall, lanky man sneered, twirling his rusty dagger. His ratty hair and stained clothes matched his filthy expression. "A moving statue and... a little snack. How lovely."
Emily winced as one of the bandits reached for her, grabbing onto the chain of the Stoneshell necklace, while making sure to brush the outside of his rough hand across Emily's clavicle. She could smell his foul breath. "Look at this! A little treasure."
Aria's eyes flared. "Release her," she commanded, her voice deepening.
The bandits hesitated for a moment, glancing at each other. Their leader, however, seemed unpeturbed. "And if we don't? What can a statue do?"
The statement barely left his lips when Aria lunged at the bandit examining the Stoneshell. Her hands curled into hard stone claws, which she dug into his face. The bandit cried out and fell, his dagger skidding into the underbrush.
A second bandit slammed his club into Aria's marble back, and two more rushed to his aid. Their leader screamed orders mixed with obscenities and the whole scene descended into chaos.
"Use the Stoneshell, Emily!" Aria cried, clawing through bandit after bandit.
Aria's timely reminder of the necklace's fire powers snapped Emily out of her shock. "O-one fire, please! A big one this time!" she stammered, waving her arms in the direction of the bandits.
An enormous ball of flame erupted from the Stoneshell pendant, causing the bandits to cry out in pain and surprise. They fell away from Aria as the flame struck her before dissipating, leaving her marble form unharmed. "More!" Aria cried.
"Fire!" Emily commanded, and a second fireball exploded from the Stoneshell, this one aimed directly at the bandit leader.
All the blood vanished from the leader's dirty face as he watched the fire approach, managing to cower out of its way just in time for it to pass over his head, but not without singing his hair.
The bandits scrambled as Emily summoned two more fireballs, and soon their leader was shouting for them to retreat.
"I'm hit! I'm hit!" screamed one bandit, his tunic ablaze. One of his fellows roughly pulled the tunic from him and tossed it aside before both disappeared into the forest. Screaming and cursing, the rest followed suite, and the forest was soon quiet and peaceful once more.
Emily used one final blast of fire to burn through rope that held her up by the ankle. She landed on grass with a thud, winded but unharmed.
"Emily! Are you alright?" asked Aria.
"F—fine," Emily replied, breathing heavily, blood slowly moving down from her head and back to the rest of her body. "Th—that was... that was insane! What about you, Aria? Are you okay?"
"Rusty daggers and flimsy wooden clubs are quite inadequate to mark my marble exterior."
Emily lay still for a moment, looking up at the singed end of the rope slowly swinging above her. She had just fought off a large group of armed bandits with a magic necklace that summoned fire! What a rush!
"Here, Emily, one of the bandits left this behind," Aria said.
Emily sat up and saw Aria holding a green tunic out to her, smoke still rising from it. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air.
The tunic was made of a coarse, rough fabric and lacked sleeves. It had been quite badly burned at the bottom, and must not have belonged to a very tall bandit, for when Emily slipped it over her head she found that its singed hem didn't even reach her bellybutton. She grimaced and tugged at it ineffectually.
"This garment conceals the Stoneshell nicely," said Aria.
"There are a couple of other things I wish it would conceal," Emily replied. "If only I still had those britches!"
"I'm sure we will find you some more, dear Emily."
Emily sighed, looking down at the hair between her legs. "I wish I shared your optimism." She had found herself in a world where fighting off hordes of bandits was apparently an easier task than finding an outfit which covered all of the essential parts.
Sometime past noon, the forest started to thin out, and a wooden sign appeared at the side of the path, indicating the presence of an inn nearby. "The Wheel and Wand," Aria read. "Perhaps we can enquire there about some britches for you, Emily."
"Unless another gnome has left their property lying around, I don't think we'll get anywhere without money," Emily replied. The idea of walking into a crowded inn in her current state filled her with dread.
"Oh come now, Emily, not everyone is so heartless as that traveling merchant. I'm certain this inn will be full of kind and giving people who will be only too happy to aid a beautiful maiden in distress."
Emily blushed.
"The land of Thessolan is not all bandits, trolls and stingy merchants, I assure you."
A growl sounded from Emily's stomach. "Hopefully their kindness will extend to some lunch."
The Wheel and Wand inn was nestled between two mighty oaks at the side of the path. Its sign, an ornate wooden wheel intertwined with a shimmering wand, creaked softly in the wind. As Emily and Aria approached the entrance, the sound of boisterous laughter and music wafted out, along with the warm scent of roasted meats and freshly baked bread.
Emily took a deep whiff and sighed pleasurably, her hunger growing more acute in the presence of such delicious aromas. But the sound of laughter and music made her shy, reminding her of her bottomless state. She had half a mind to turn away from the inn and continue down the path.
Aria sensed her hesitation. "Stay close to me, Emily. And remember, you bear the Stoneshell."
Though the memory of her fiery victory was still fresh, Emily didn't feel terribly powerful just then. With one hand on her crotch and another over her bottom, she bade Aria to lead the way into the Wheel and Wand.
Aria pushed open the wooden door, and the two travelers entered the inn, keeping close. The place was dimly lit, with long wooden tables filled with patrons singing, eating, and playing games. Tankards clinked, dice rattled, and the atmosphere was one of merry chaos. A few eyes glanced at the two women as they entered, without immediately noticing anything odd about them.
As they slunk towards the bar, Emily could feel more eyes turning towards her. She tried to walk calmly, standing close enough to Aria to hide herself from the crowds, but couldn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest. She briefly caught the eyes of a woman at one table, who quickly looked away from her to exchange scandalized whispers with the rest of her table. At another table, a young man with a lute strummed a playful note and winked at her. Emily clung tighter to Aria while attempting to shrink from the prying eyes.
Behind the bar stood a fresh-faced young man, portly and around Emily's own age, who looked at the two travelers with a perplexed expression. "We've a policy, ma'am," he said to Emily, pointing at a sign behind the bar, which read:
NO SHIRT
NO SHOES
NO SERVICE
Emily blushed deeply and pressed herself against Aria.
"My good man," said Aria, locking her stone eyes on the young man's watery ones, "I think you'll find that my companion to be entirely compliant with your policy. She is wearing both shoes and a shirt."
The man's perplexity deepened as he glanced between Emily and the sign. "Hmm. I s'pose, technically, that is correct. However, I cannot have young ladies airing their nethers, however lovely, in this establishment."
Emily looked down at the bar, her face burning. "I... I... don't want to either!"
"That would seem to contradict your actions," the bartender replied.
Aria scowled at him. "My companion and I were accosted by bandits earlier. We managed to escape physically unharmed, but had to leave most of our possessions behind, including Emily's skirt, which was torn from her as we fled."
Emily nodded fiercely. "D—do you have something for me to cover up with?"
The bartender made an expression of sympathy. "Begging your pardon, madame, that is quite awful. No wonder your face is white as marble! And please forgive me, Miss Emily, for casting aspersions on your propriety. I will see what I can find."
The bartender hastily vanished into the back, and Aria winked at Emily. "Told you."
While Emily and Aria had been engaged with the bartender, the chatter behind them had been slowly growing in volume. A large, burly man with a thick beard and an eyepatch now walked towards them, sloshing tankard in hand and quite unsteady on his feet. Other, smaller figures hung behind him in the shadows.
Emily looked resolutely forward, towards the bar, but soon the burly man stood beside her. He thumped his tankard down on the bar and turned his gaze towards her, letting out a low whistle. "Looks like the wind has blown in a delightful nymph from the forest," he growled, slurring every second word.
Emily pointedly ignored him, reaching out to grab Aria's upper arm. The man grunted and muttered something, and then Emily felt her heart jump into her throat as a rough palm came to rest directly on her bare butt.
The burly man squeezed and leaned in to Emily, and she could smell the booze on his breath. "How's about a little kiss, nymph?"
Anger and fear surging through her, Emily violently bucked her hips to shake off the horrible man's hand and staggered away from him, hands clenched into fists. She felt a warm spot against her chest, and before she quite realized what she was doing, a pillar of flame erupted from the Stoneshell.
The man screamed and jumped backwards, tripping over a barstool and landing heavily in a tangle of limbs on the floor. The bricks behind him were blackened, and a banner hanging from the ceiling had caught alight. The inn erupted into chaos, with patrons jumping up and down and dousing small fires with their tankards of ale.
Emily glanced around desperately, her eyes eventually settling on those of the bartender, whose normally pleasant face had twisted into a scowl. He was carrying a broomstick, with which he firmly batted at the flaming banner above their heads, extinguishing it before the fire could spread.
"OUT!" he screamed, locking eyes with Emily. "Poorly dressed ladies I can excuse, but not when they set my patrons on fire! Get out! Now!"
Chased by the broomstick-wielding bartender, Emily barely noticed as Aria guided her by the hand out of the inn, the heavy wooden door slamming shut behind them.
Once they were a safe distance away from the inn, Aria and Emily took shelter under the boughs of an old oak tree, its gnarled branches offering them a semblance of privacy. Emily's breaths came in ragged spurts, her face ashen with shock.
Aria's eyes were full of concern. "Are you alright, Emily?"
Emily looked herself over. Though it had been unleashed in close quarters, the Stoneshell's fire had not burned her. The same could not be said of her tunic, which had been reduced to a couple of charred scraps of fabric hanging loosely about her shoulders. The Stoneshell pendant now hung free from her short-lived torso covering. "I didn't mean to do that," she said. "I just—that man—I felt really threatened—and violated!" Emily shuddered at the memory of the unwanted touch.
Aria placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. "I understand, Emily. It was a natural reaction to vile behavior."
"But the fire! I didn't want to hurt him! Well, not seriously, anyway. And I definitely didn't want to burn the inn down!"
"The Stoneshell is closely connected to your emotions, Emily, and fiercely protective of you. It is a powerful artifact, capable of immense destruction. You must learn to control it."
Emily frowned, eyes locked on the Stoneshell. "How do I control something so powerful?"
"With time, you will better understand the interplay between your emotions and the fire. I will help you to the best of my ability." There was a distant look in Aria's eyes.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Aria," said Emily. "Not unless they really deserve it. And even then..."
"The Stoneshell chose you for a reason, Emily. You are strong enough to bear it... and to bare it, for that matter." Aria gave a brief, musical laugh.
"Hilarious," Emily said flatly, wrapping her arms around herself as the last scraps of burned fabric fell from her shoulders.
"Thank you, I was rather pleased with that little wordplay." Aria smiled with self-satisfaction, completely missing Emily's sarcasm. "And don't worry, we'll—"
"Find me something to wear, yes. Well, I'd like to find something that covers me properly and lasts more than an hour."
"Someone's coming!" Aria hissed.
Emily crouched down into a covering fetal position as heavy footfalls approached. It was the bartender, huffing and puffing and wearing a less angry expression than they'd last seen on his face. A length of brown fabric was slung over his shoulder. "Miss Emily!" he said, coming to a stop ahead of the tree and taking a moment to catch his breath. "Beggin' your pardon for earlier, I had the wrong end of the stick."
Emily exchanged confused glances with Aria.
"One of my customers, Mrs Gadley, took me to task for my harsh treatment of you. She explained that old Gregg One-eye had been inappropriate with you and that your outburst was in self-defense. While I'd still prefer to keep any new fires out of my inn, I couldn't live with myself sending you off in the altogether like that. So please, have this cloak."
Scarcely believing her luck, Emily released an arm from her fetal clutch and took the cloak offered to her. It was made of rough, thick fabric and quite large.
"Please accept this lunch as well, ma'am," the bartender said to Aria, handing her a picnic basket. "Say, are you... why, you're made of marble!"
"The doing of mages," Aria replied. "I was flesh once and I hope to be so again."
"Aye, that is your quest," said the bartender, before turning to leave. "I wish ye both well."
"Thank you," said Emily, drawing the cloak to herself. The fabric was coarse beneath her fingertips, but this was not unpleasant—the cloak felt real and solid. Once the bartender had departed, she drew it around her shoulders, luxuriating in its warmth. It smelt faintly of hay and wood smoke.
The ends of the sleeves draped past her hands and the hem trailed on the ground. The cloak did not have a clasp, so Emily had to hold it closed at the front, but this was a small price to pay for full body concealment. The cloak had a hood she could lower over her face, to hide completely from the world, which she promptly did. "Let's go, Aria," she said. "It's a long way to Lirethel."