A Quick Test

After breakfast, the plan was to head to the capital to buy some clothes then go meet with the King.

 Before that, they had to find something for Raymond to wear for the journey. 

The cottage where Samantha lived was actually the home of her master, the kingdom's Great Sage, Marley the Prophet. 

She had been studying under him in order to become the next Great Sage. His untimely death left those plans in limbo. 

After rummaging through her late master's wardrobe, they finally found some things Raymond could, at least, cover himself with. 

Raymond was much larger than the Great Sage was so finding a proper fit was impossible.

 They settled on a pair of old brown leather sandals, that bailey fit Raymond's huge feet; a bear hide, hooded cloak that her master never wore due to its large size; and a pair of trousers that came down just past Raymod's calves. 

Raymond complained that the pants were too tight, but Samantha insisted they looked great. In truth, she just liked the way they clung to her favorite part of Raymond's body. 

She was also secretly overjoyed that he had to go shirtless under the cloak. 

For herself, Samantha chose a pair of ankle boots, capri pants that rode low on her hips, and short sleeved, mid-drift top, all in white leather. 

Raymond smiled wide, as Samantha modeled her outfit for him. He thought she looked amazing but was quickly reminded exactly how tight his pants were as they became very uncomfortable. 

He had to find somewhere else to look and anything else to think about. 

They spent about thirty minutes walking north-west toward the capital. Raymond was struck by the beauty of the simple landscape. 

It was miles of flat land covered in shimmering blue-green grass, dotted with a spattering of brightly colored flowers. 

A light breeze blew, and Raymond breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet floral scent that drifted through the air. 

The air itself was crisp and clean, without a trace of pollution or corruption. 

"Beautiful" Raymond breathed out loud. 

Samantha smiled lightly watching him as they walked. 

"Do you not have places like this where you are from? You act as if you've never seen anything like this." 

Raymond shook his head sadly as he told his beautiful elf companion about the modern world and the corruption humans have brought upon the planet. 

He explained how technological advancements had brought their own beauty at the expense of the natural beauty of the land. 

He was in the middle of describing the city he grew up in when the sounds of battle reached their ears. 

They moved off the road toward the sound of clashing swords. They found a small lizard girl fending off three large human men. 

Her clothes were tattered, and her breathing was ragged. She had a reverse grip on two large kitchen knives, eyes darting between the large men with short swords. 

She was bleeding from wounds in each thigh, and was missing the tip of her tail, but the look on her face showed no desire to concede the fight. 

The men slowly advanced on her, lewd looks on their faces, telling of their intentions. One of the men rushed her, sword first. 

She was able to parry, but the pain in her leg caused her to stumble. Her attacker caught her and spun her around. 

He quickly wrapped an arm under her chin and pulled tight. He laughed darkly as he ripped her shirt, exposing her chest to daylight. 

The other two men closed in on the girl, laughing mockingly as she struggled to free herself from her attacker's grip. 

Suddenly the sky grew dark above them. Thunder rolled low as if the clouds were growling at them. 

The men froze looking up confused at the sudden change in weather. 

Lightning flashed, dazzling the four combatants. When their vision cleared, a cloaked figure stood silent in the middle of their loose circle. 

His face was obscured by a hood, but the tattered cloak did little to hide his hulking form. 

Emboldened by their numbers, one of the men brandished their sword at the figure.

 "I don't know who you are, but you better go mind your own business before we cut you to ribbons!" 

Raymond smirked. This was going to be the perfect opportunity to test his new abilities.

 "You goons have two choices. Walk away and leave this girl alone or pick on someone your own size." 

His voice was calm and deep. It reverberated loud as the thunder that heralded his arrival. 

The men glanced at each other; disdain etched on their faces. The man who had been speaking was facing Raymond, the man holding the girl was behind him. 

The man in front began shouting and cursing, hurling obscenities at Raymond but making no moves toward him. 

At the same time, the man holding the girl threw her to the side and tried to sneak Raymond from behind. 

Raymond spun, side-stepping the downward slash of the sword while, at the same time, smashing his face with a devastating punch. 

The man spun backward in place before falling flat on his face. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. 

Raymond turned to face the two remaining men, his eyes sparking with electricity. Their cheap swords rattled loudly from their trembling hands as their nerves left them. 

Raymond looked at the two scared men and shook his head. 

"You should run. You have no chance." he said, trying to give them a way out. 

The men looked at each other and somehow steeled their resolve. They raised their swords high and yelled as loud as they could as they rushed Raymond at the same time. 

Raymond raised a hand casually and unleashed a bolt of lightning. The bolt hit one man square in the chest, jumped to his partner, then flew off into the distant tree line. 

The two men stood frozen in place, then slumped to their knees, before falling on their faces. 

Raymond turned to the lizard girl. She was already being healed by Samantha's magic. He knelt next to the girl. 

"Are you ok?" he asked gently. 

She nodded. "I'm much better now. Thank you." 

He nodded at the defeated attackers. "What was that about?" 

"They're low-level adventurers that think they're better than beastkin. They have been harassing me for weeks, trying to get a 'date'.

 They stopped me on the way to my shift at the tavern today. They tried to force themselves on me, but I fought back. You see the result."

She nodded at the closing wounds on her legs. 

Raymond took off his cloak and put it around the girl's shoulders. Her face suddenly turned bright red as she suddenly remembered she was shirtless. 

She lowered her head sheepishly. "Thanks." She squeaked out while inwardly panicking. 

Raymond smiled warmly. "It's nothing, let's get you to work." 

As the three of them got to their feet and turned to resume their journey, they heard a loud thud in the tree line. 

They looked back to see the smoking body of another man lying on the ground. 

The lizard girl shrugged. "So that's where the fourth guy went."