MAPITAP

Marigold Stallworth stood on the corner of a bustling cobblestone road, a brown rut sack slung weightily over her shoulder with the top cinched tight by a length of chord that the young girl had wrapped around her hand. Market Street was aptly named, with rows of small stores lining either side of the wide grey road that split the town in two. Where there was space, vendors had set up wooden booths on the sidewalk, their owners crying out a variety of wares and goods to the numerous people traversing the area. Drawn carriages cantered back and forth down the road, their rumbling wheels providing a constant background noise to the voices of shoppers haggling over their selections. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, causing Marigold's mouth to water. She had only eaten a small breakfast that morning and judging by the height of the sun overhead, noon had nearly arrived. It was a beautiful day, with a bright blue sky dotted by puffy white clouds, but that did little to assuage Marigold's annoyance at being made to wait.

"Ugh." She grunted, shifting her weight and allowing the bulging sack to fall to the ground next to her. It hit the stone with a loud clang as Marigold massaged her shoulder where the chord had been digging into it. "Where are those two? They should have been here by now." She said to herself, shielding her eyes and scanning the crowds nearby. When she failed to spot her teammates, Marigold sighed and picked at the edge of her tattered long-sleeved red tunic. She would do well to replace it soon, another outing might prove to be too much for the worn-out shirt. Inspecting her lower half Marigold found a new hole in the left knee of her white trousers, but it was nothing that warranted immediate replacement. The cuffs on her knee-high leather boots had also seen better days, however the soles and lacings were still sturdy, and the boots had lost little functionality.

"Sssssuch a lovely day, isn't it Mari?" Asked a voice over Marigold's shoulder, close enough to tickle her ear and send a shiver down her back. She jumped and covered her ear as goosebumps formed on her arm.

"Gah! I hate it when you do that Lillian!" She said, turning to face the tall copper skinned woman standing behind her. Lillian was almost a head and shoulders taller than Marigold, and the girl had to squint as she looked upward towards her friend's slender face to avoid being blinded by the sun.

"Yes, but I enjoy making you sssquirm." Teased Lillian, flicking her forked tongue out in a playful manner as she tossed a long braid of dark purple hair over her shoulder. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress that split at either side past the hip, revealing the full length of Lillian's elegantly long legs. A brown satchel was tied on her waist by a long leather chord that doubled as a belt. On her feet were simple brown sandals, showcasing the vibrant purple toenail polish she had chosen that day. The thin dress straps running over her shoulders came together to form a V in the center of her chest, exposing a touch of cleavage from her modest breasts. Rich purple scales coated the outside of Lillian's legs and arms, running up her shoulders to wrap around her neck and frame her face like a beautiful array of glittering jewelry.

Marigold tugged at her mess of curly blonde hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail. She didn't think of herself as an unattractive person, but it was difficult not to feel dull when standing next to a woman as vibrant as Lillian. Marigold was of average height with tanned skin that seemed pale in comparison to her scaly friend. Her body was hard where Lillian's was smooth, with toned muscle running the course of her arms, legs, and stomach.

"Darling you're still wearing these ragssss? I told you to throw those out after our last little expedition! Tsk tsk tssssk!" Lillian rubbed the fabric of Marigold's sleeve between two fingers, her diamond shaped pupils examining the thinning fabric with disdain. "We must get you some new clothesss before we go out again!"

"I was planning to." Replied Marigold, pushing her hand away. "And if you had showed up on time it would have been done by now, where's Teefy?"

"Oh dear, is she not with you? We split up on the way down here when I stopped to buy some fresh ingredients."

Marigold sighed and stooped to shoulder her pack once more. The gear inside protested with a clangor of metal as she slung it on her back and turned down Market Street to head into town.

"You know better than to leave her unsupervised in town Lil." She scolded as Lillian glided up next to her and matched her stride. "That girl couldn't find her way out of a knitted sack."

"It's not my fault she gets distracted so easily." She protested. "I only stopped for a minute to buy a few thingsss and when I looked up the little elf had vanished."

"We were supposed to meet a few hours before noon." Replied Marigold coldly. Lillian patted her satchel and avoided the side eye she was receiving.

"Well, maybe it was a few minutesss."

As the two made their way deeper into town Lillian began to chat idly about the various potions she planned to brew with her new materials. She was always concocting some new recipe and Marigold enjoyed listening to her use all the technical alchemic jargon to explain how the potion would work. So she walked in silence, keeping a sharp eye peeled for Teefy's little green head bobbing somewhere in the crowd. It wasn't long before the crowd thickened on the sidewalk and soon Marigold and Lillian found themselves walking single file in order to stay together. After a way, the source of the blockage revealed itself to be a street performer who had managed to gather a crowd around him to witness his show.

He was a dark-skinned man, dressed in a vibrantly colored silken outfit of crimson and orange, seated on a small stool. The man was playing a jaunty tune on a large black flute with a twisted bell end as a monkey dressed identically to him danced in rhythm, a small tambourine clutched in its tiny paw. The monkey bounced around in front of the crowd and each time a coin was tossed to him he would catch it, place it in a bowl next to the man, and bang on his little tambourine with vigor. Every time he did so peals of laughter swept through the gathering, encouraging the man to continue playing. Marigold was having a difficult time seeing past all the people, and an even more difficult time moving through them as her bulky pack was weighing her down.

"Do you see an easier way through?" She called over her shoulder. "We need to get past this crowd if we're going to find Teefy."

"I don't think that will be necessssary." Replied Lillian with a giggle. "Look."

Marigold followed Lillian's gaze and through the shifting throng of bodies and glimpsed the back of a familiar green haired elf girl bouncing on her toes at the front of the circle and clapping her hands in time with the music. Somehow Marigold managed to push through to the front so that she and Lillian were standing on either side of their distracted friend. Teefy was a short girl, her head just barely reaching Marigold's shoulder, and one might mistake her for a child if not for the thickness of her legs and hips. She had a round, innocent face with a small mouth and a sharply pointed chin. A smattering of freckles across her dimpled cheeks added to her youthful appearance and served to give some color to her otherwise pale skin.

"So, this is where you've been huh? Y'know we were waiting on you." Marigold huffed as she slung her gear bag around and set it on the ground.

"Mari, Lil!" Exclaimed Teefy, turning to each of her friends. "Oh look at the little monkey isn't he adorable! I just wanna squeeze him so baaaad! We have to get one for our team!" The elf's face was the picture of joy and Marigold found it difficult to be sour while watching her fawn over the little creature.

"Teefy darling, we don't have the time or money for a pet right now." Said Lillian, leaning down to be heard over the music and cheers.

"But he's soooo cuuuuute I just wanna die!" Despite herself, Marigold laughed as Teefy clenched her fists and shook them with emotion.

"Maybe sometime down the road." She said. "Have you been standing here throwing the monkey coins all morning?"

"No, I didn't bring any money with me when we left, this skirt doesn't have pockets, see?" Teefy patted the sides of the dark green, pleated skirt that fell to her mid-thigh. A white button-down shirt with a frilly collar was tucked into it, topped by a light brown leather vest. Her smooth wooden bow and quiver of arrows were strapped to the back of the vest by a series of leather strips. On her legs Teefy wore tight, thigh high white socks and black shoes with gold buckles on top. Marigold had never been fond of Teefy's adventuring outfit, the girl looked like she was about wait tables rather than explore a countryside. But she didn't complain, Teefy had never fallen behind while adventuring, if anything the little elf had an excess of energy out in the field.

"Well let's go visit some shopssss before we set out today." Said Lillian. "Mari here is in desperate need of a new shirt."

"Okay." Sighed Teefy, tucking a stray stand of hair behind her long-pointed ear. As she turned to leave, however, her foot caught on the edge of Marigold's gear bag and the young elf girl tripped out into the open space where the monkey was dancing. "Ooof!" She grunted, falling onto her stomach as her skirt flipped up onto her lower back. A series of hoots and whistles erupted from the crowd at the sight of Teefy's plump white bottom, her black lacy underwear hugged the girl's cheeks tightly, causing a small line of indention to run up each pale face. A small mound was nestled underneath the girl's butt, outlined in the shape of two vertical lips by her thin underwear. She tried to get back to her feet, but Marigold's bag was caught between her legs and Teefy's movements only served to wave her exposed backside in the air, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.

"Damn, look at the ass on that elf!" Yelled a man standing at the front, a drunken grin on his face. Marigold slung an elbow into the man's stomach and he collapsed with a wheeze as Lillian pulled Teefy's skirt back into place and helped her to stand upright.

"Haha oops!" Laughed Teefy nervously, patting herself down of as a tinge of pink ran across her nose. "Y-ya think anyone saw my underwear?"

"Of course not darling." Lied Lillian, ushering her to the side and silencing the hooting crowd with a venomous glare. "Let's go see about thossse shops now, okay?"

"Alrighty!" After putting some space between themselves and the monkey man, the trio of adventurers soon located their usual apparel shop and filed into the store. It was a quaint little place, settled in the center of a side street off the main road. A circular wooden sign hung out over the front door with the words "The Sewing Needle" painted on neatly in large flowing black letters. A silver needle alongside a spool of red thread made up the background of the sign.

Inside, the shop was well lit by several hanging lanterns swinging lightly from wooden beams in the ceiling. Along the walls were rows of shelves stacked with neatly folded piles of various clothing. Small wooden stands dotted the floorspace, each adorned with the frame of a metal mannequin modeling a unique outfit. Several people were milling about the store, picking at odd ends of clothing and talking quietly amongst themselves. Despite the light, it took a moment for Marigold's eyes to adjust after coming out of the bright sun.

"Well if it isn't Marigold, Lillian, and Teefy!" Called a voice from the back of the store. "Come in come in! Get out of the heat for a bit!" A bright-eyed elderly woman waved to the three adventurers from behind a large oaken desk as she rose to greet them.

"Hi Mrs. Lee!" Teefy called back cheerily. "We need to buy some new clothes!"

"Well you've come to the right place dearie." Mrs. Lee rose to meet the girls as they approached her desk, stepping and embracing Teefy gingerly. She was an old woman with a bent back and shuffling gait whose light brown skin hung loosely off her tired body. A myriad of wrinkles covered her face, and the color of her hair had drained away long ago leaving behind a pinned-up ball of spider's silk atop her head. Her eyes, however, still twinkled youthfully as she embraced both Marigold and Lillian in turn.

"Now then, what exactly are you ladies in need of today?" Asked the ancient seamstress, rolling up the sleeves on her loose black dress.

"A new shirt, something similar to this if you have it." Marigold answered, tugging at her shoulder as she set her bag down in front of the desk. Mrs. Lee squinted and tapped her lip with one finger.

"Hmm, second shelf on the left wall, the third pile I believe. Oh, and while you're here you must let me fix that hole in your britches child. Heaven only knows how you manage to tear up my clothes so easily."

"Yes mam, thank you Mrs. Lee" Marigold went to retrieve the shirt, quickly scanning the rest of the store as she went. Lillian smiled to herself and leaned on the desktop, watching as Mrs. Lee retrieved a needle and thread from its underside, her bony hands shaking fitfully.

"You know, I have a draught here in my bag that would help to sssteady your hands, Mrs. Lee. Would you like to try it? I mixed it jussst yesterday."

"No, thank you dearie. I'm afraid these old bones don't take too kindly to new medicines these days. But don't you worry, I've still got enough coal burning to keep me going hohohoho!"

"Old bones?" Gasped Lillian, holding a hand to her chest. "Why Mrs. Lee you are the picture of youth, if we were to go walking the town together people might missstake you for my sister!"

"Ohohoho! You little charmer, keep that serpent's tongue away from me!" Laughing, Mrs. Lee waved her hand as Marigold returned clutching a new red shirt, ushering her into a wooden booth to the right. Marigold collected her bag and shuffled into the booth, a curtain hung on two metal rungs in either corner served to provide some privacy as the girl got undressed. "Speaking of youth, though, Typhon should have been back by now. I hope he didn't get caught up in town again."

"Caught up in town? Now, don't tell me he went and got himssself a girl to dote on?" Asked Lillian, dropping her voice. "That would just break poor Mari's heart."

"You say something Lil?" Called Marigold as she worked her arm through a small gap in the curtain to hand Teefy her discarded clothes.

"Nothing darling!" Replied Lillian, giving Mrs. Lee a knowing wink. Teefy giggled and deposited the clothes on the desk in front of the old lady, whose shaking hands suddenly moved with frightening dexterity as she grabbed her needle and swiftly set to work patching Marigold's trousers. In a matter of seconds, the hole was perfectly sealed and Mrs. Lee extended the pants back to Teefy with a quivering arm.

"No no, I don't believe Typhon has met any special girl yet, at least not one he's decided to tell his old granny about hohoho!" Mrs. Lee leaned back in her chair and grinned at the two girls. She still had most of her teeth in her mouth, surprising for a woman of her age. "But just between us, Typhon is just terrible at keeping secrets. If he were seeing some girl, I'd have found out about it by now."

"Lot's of girls like Typhon." Chimed Teemy, laying the trousers over her shoulder. "He won't stay single for too long."

"Ha, that would be true if the boy weren't so dense! I see him talking to our female customers all the time, they think they're flirting, and he thinks he's helping them with a sale!" Mrs. lee laughed again and shook her head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was acting oblivious on purpose. A girl would have to smack him over the head with a frying pan that had the words 'I like you' engraved on it for him to get the message!"

Lillian made a mental note to share that tidbit of information with Marigold later. She would deny it, but the girl had been infatuated with Typhon ever since they had stumbled into Mrs. Lee's store on accident earlier that year. Marigold claimed that they kept coming back because Mrs. Lee was a gifted seamstress who sold her clothes at a fair price. While both those statements were true, it did not detract from the fact that she was always on the lookout for Typhon whenever they visited.

"What's this about hitting people with frying pans granny? Are you trying to scare our customers off?" The three women had been so invested in their conversation that they failed to notice the approach of a tall young man carrying a large roll of purple fabric on his shoulder.

"Typhon, there you are!" Replied Mrs. Lee cheerily. "Just set that wherever you can find space. What took you so long?"

"Some trader crashed his carriage in the uptown square and a whole cage of those nasty hawk hornets got loose." Grunted Typhon as he dropped the roll of fabric on the ground. It landed with a dull thud. "The Kingsmen had rounded most of them up by the time I got there, but it was still a hassle getting through."

"Hawk hornets?" Exclaimed Teefy with a scrunch of her nose. "What kind of dummy would want to buy hawk hornets?"

"Well their venom makes for a potent poisssson, if extracted properly." Answered Lillian, stepping back to allow Typhon a place in their little circle. He was a tall man, able to look Lillian in the eyes, with wide shoulders and long legs. A tussle of dark black locks upon his head, held back by a thin gray headband, cascaded backward to cover his neck. Typhon had a comely face, easy to look at and almost always adorned with a warm, welcoming smile. He was blessed the same bright blue eyes as his grandmother, a strong chin, and a clean-cut nose. Typhon was of age with Marigold and the rest of the team, though Lillian wasn't sure of the exact date. In any case, Teefy had spoken the truth earlier, men like him did not tend to stay single for long.

"It is a wicked, paralytic substance." Continued Lillian, tracing a finger along Typhons bicep. She raised her eyebrows and laid her hand gingerly on his forearm, her voice dripping with concern. "You didn't get stung did you, Typhon? I would hate for any harm to come to my favorite shop keep."

"Nope, never even saw one!" He declared, smiling widely as he stepped around the desk to hug his grandmother. Lillian's hand dropped to her side and she had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing as the old seamstress embraced her grandson and rolled her eyes to the ceiling, shaking her head while mouthing the words 'frying pan'.

"Teefy, are my pants ready yet?" Asked Marigold, peeking her head around the side of the booth. Her shoulder was bare, and she quickly retreated back behind the curtain at the sight of Typhon.

"Oh yeah, here ya go!" Teefy bounced over to the changing booth and stuck the patched trousers through the curtain before returning to the desk. Inside, Marigold slid on her pants and turned to the back wall. A large plate of polished metal had been hung to serve as a mirror and Marigold gave herself a once over as she tightened and tied the drawstring on the front of her trousers. Her hair was frayed and unruly in its ponytail, but what else was new. She didn't see any obvious smudges or spots on her face, her pants were relatively clean and the new red shirt that sat folded on the ground would make her a bit more presentable, but she still wished she had something that might catch Typhon's eye.

After sliding on her boots, Marigold ensured that the white bandage wrappings she wore in place of a bra were securely fastened. The bandages wrapped around her chest and shoulders served a twofold purpose. First, they compressed Marigold's sizeable breasts to prevent them from moving too much during travel and combat. Comfort trumped fashion out on the road, and Marigold had realized long ago that it was extremely uncomfortable to have her breasts bouncing all over the place when she ran. Second, they were more restrictive than standard bras and made Marigold's bust seem less...abundant. She had always preferred to dress modestly, but no matter what shirt she wore her breasts seemed to fill the fabric to its limits, giving her a promiscuous appearance. The bandages helped to reduce that effect, so Marigold wore them almost daily.