"Here we are," The man said as he pulled hard on the reins,slowing the carriage to a stop. "The town of Duskford."

As we rolled into town a heavy sense of duty washed over me, my internal homing mechanism shaped like a dick was pointing directly east. No doubt in my mind the Tyrant Dragon Princess was close, and every minute that passed the seal would continue to deteriorate.

"Thank you so much sir, for all your help... you could have left us but you didn’t." I said as I slipped him a gold coin, his face shot up to argue. "Shhhhh, just take it and don’t tell anyone how you found us... deal?" Fighting for some dignity in this new town. "Where is the closest shop so we..." I looked back to my companions, each only wearing a potato sack barely enough to cover their more intimate areas.

"Look behind you, I dropped you directly in front of Dukford’s armorer. He’s a wacky guy and he’ll definitely make fun of you for losing your clothes to slimes... but he should get you fixed up quickly." He pointed at the large building behind us. "His name is Xavier, try not to startle him too much when you go inside."

Thanking the man again for the ride, I looked to my friends and nodded for them to follow. Without a question all three girls were bound to me, Celeste on and arm, Reika tightly grabbing my other arm. Valka huddled up behind me as tightly as she could, her boobs ramming into my back.

As we entered the building the bell above the door rang out alerting the shoppers of our arrival. Several people who were shopping glanced our way, popped a grin and quickly lowered their vision back to the items they were previously looking at. A few laughs could be heard from the back, making the girls a bit self-conscious and causing them to hug me even tighter.

"I’m pretty sure we have a rule against walking into my store basically naked... if not I definetely need to make one, haha... I’m Xavier and this is Dukfords best armor shop," He said with a twinkle in his eye. "If you have the coin I have the merchandise." He pointed out a rack of armor. "I’m assuming you have coin yes..."

"Yes sir... we had an unfortunate incident and lost our clothing, some nice old man dropped us off here..."

"HAHAHA good then, go get some clothes so you don’t scare anymore customers away you four." He walked us over to the clothing racks. "Here... come up front when you’re done. Dressing rooms are in the back. Find something to wear and keep it on,"

We each found suitable armor and clothing, tried them on and did what the man said, we walked out full dressed ready to take on the world. Once I finished paying Xavier up front we headed into the town to find some place to stay for the night.

Stepping outside, Duskford looked exactly like the kind of town where people minded their own business until four idiots walked out of an armor shop after clearly losing a fight to clothing.

The street was busy, but not fancy, with wooden buildings packed along both sides of the road and signs hanging over shops for food, potions, weapons, and whatever the hell a "traveling goods exchange" was supposed to be.

The people moved around us with baskets, crates, tools, and carts, pretending not to stare while absolutely staring.

I couldn’t even blame them. Celeste looked freshly dressed and somehow still innocent enough to make strangers smile, while Reika had already stopped caring and walked like anyone who laughed would get bit.

Valka, on the other hand, looked way too pleased with her new outfit, which was dangerous because the last thing I needed was my brain starting another side quest in the middle of town.

The internal dick compass pulled east again before I could enjoy having clothes and dignity at the same time. Past the shops, past the people, past the smell of bread and cooked meat, something was calling me hard enough to make the pressure settle in my chest.

The Tyrant Dragon Princess was somewhere beyond Duskford, and judging by the way the pull kept sharpening, the seal was weakening fast while I stood around thinking about lunch.

"We need to get to the dungeon by tomorrow morning... I can feel something is going on in there." I explained. "First however we need food and lodging for the night."

Reika’s tail twitched at the sound of somewhere safe to sleep, something in her eyes said it was more than just a nice bed for the evening.

The town was built around a central building I would only assume to be this town’s guild center, just past the guild was what looked like an inn so we headed that way, sharing compliments about the new clothing the whole way.

THe large wooden sign in front read ’DUSKFORD INN’

"Welp, wanna see if they have a room or two available?" I asked, realizing about half a second too late that my words had been the wrong ones. When I looked back, all three girls were staring at me like I had personally insulted their bloodlines.

Celeste’s smile had vanished, Reika’s ears had gone flat, and Valka looked one bad answer away from making my spine do something it was not designed to do. "Haha... okay, I will see if they have one large room."

Their moods recovered instantly, which was terrifying in its own way, and all three followed me inside like I had made the only correct decision. The inn was cleaner than I expected, with stone walls instead of the warm wood from the inn back home.

Lanterns hung from iron brackets along the walls, giving the room a steady amber glow that caught on polished tables, swept floors, and the rows of mugs hanging behind the counter. A wide hearth burned along the far wall, heating the place enough that the cold from outside disappeared the moment the door shut behind us.

The common room was busy but not packed, with travelers hunched over bowls of stew, a few locals drinking quietly near the fire, and one large man asleep face-first beside an empty plate like he had lost a battle against dinner. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A staircase climbed along the left wall toward the rooms above, while the counter sat directly ahead, guarded by a bored-looking woman wiping down the same spot with the focus of someone who had heard every stupid request possible.

The whole place smelled like roasted meat, cheap ale, musky clothing, and fresh bread, which immediately reminded my stomach that dignity was not the only thing I had lost today.

One thing that didn’t change was the fact that there was a bombshell up front working the counter, and pleasant memories of my time with Tanya popped into my mind. Apparently a grin had as well because Valka smacked me in the back of the head hard enough to knock the nostalgia loose.

The woman behind the counter looked a few years older than us, maybe late twenties, with chestnut hair tied up in a loose bun and a white blouse tucked beneath her green vest that hugged her figure a little too well for my continued safety.

She had the kind of tired pretty face that said she had served drunk adventurers, lying merchants, and horny idiots since sunrise and still somehow looked better than most people did after a full night’s sleep.

"Room?" she asked, voice flat enough to cut through whatever fantasy I had started building in my head.

"Yes," I said quickly, rubbing the back of my skull while Valka’s hand still hovered close enough to remind me she could do it again. "One large room, please. Large enough for four people and hopefully sturdy enough that nobody asks questions."

The woman looked past me at Celeste, Reika, and Valka, then back to me with the slow, knowing expression of someone who had absolutely decided the wrong thing and was not interested in being corrected. "Four people. One room."

"Sleeping," I clarified.

"Mostly," Valka added behind me.

I turned just enough to glare at her, but she only smiled like she had contributed something helpful. The woman at the counter sighed, reached beneath the desk, and pulled out a heavy iron key with a wooden tag tied to it.

"Top floor. End of the hall. If you break the bed, you pay for the bed. If you break the wall, you pay for the wall. If anyone screams loud enough to scare off paying customers, I charge extra."

Celeste’s face turned red so fast I almost checked to see if she had taken fire damage. Reika covered her mouth, but her ears twitched in a way that told me she was laughing at my suffering. Valka leaned against my back and whispered, "See? She understands business."

I placed the coins on the counter and tried very hard to look like a respectable man who had not arrived in town wearing potato-adjacent fashion.

The woman counted the payment, slid the key toward me, and gave me one last look that was somehow both bored and amused. "Dinner’s served until the second bell. Try to make it downstairs wearing clothes."

"We’ll try," Valka said as she pushed me toward the stairs.