The House of Ellis, Episode 19

"It was tough, but Cordelia's marksmanship saw us through," Wendy said.  "We were able to finish the quest and got a big pay.  We used some of the reward to buy sexy armor and become sexy warriors."

Lady Madison had heard several stories from Wendy and Cordelia by now.  "It sounds like you two have been through a lot together."

"Yeah," Cordelia said.  "I wouldn't trade Wendy for anything."

"Aww, so cute," Lady Glinda and Lady Iocasta said together.

Then, Shalista and Sophia entered.  "Sounds like you're having fun," Shalista said.  "Anyway, who's next on wolf watch?"

Lady Glinda stood.  "Let's go, Lady Iocasta."

As they walked past, Shalista slapped both their butts.  "Tagging you in."

"Perv," Lady Glinda laughed as they left.

Shalista and Sophia sat at the table, with Shalista sitting next to Lady Madison.  "So, what are we doing?" Shalista asked.

"Sharing stories," Cordelia said.  "It's Lady Madison's turn."

"That's good," Shalista said, wrapping her arm around Lady Madison's shoulder.  "I'd like to know who that Lady Katya character is, why she hates sexy armor, and why she doesn't like you in general."

She should have known this was coming.  "Lady Katya is someone I know from my earliest days of training to fight for the Emporan military.  As for why she doesn't like me, she feels that I am in the position she should be in."

"But she's the leader of the guild," Shalista said.  "Wouldn't that conflict with a military allegiance?"

"I'm the reason she's not in the military," Lady Madison said.  "She was a skilled warrior, but couldn't take living in the shadow of a kid like me.  You see, she's five years older than me and she was a big deal on the training ground.  There were few that could best her.  Then, a fourteen-year old Madison Ellis came along and stole all her thunder simply because of her family name."

Then, she lift her leg and slapped the back of her knee.  "Things boiled over when she injured my leg during a sparring session.  It was intentional.  My big brother got wind of the situation and demanded she never be able to join the military.  And so it was.  She's had it out for me ever since.  As for why she hates sexy armor, your guess is as good as mine.  I'm guessing she just thinks it's not practical and admittedly, I'm having a hard time disagreeing."

An evil smile came across Shalista's face.  "I'm going to make her and those Artemis Knights wear sexy armor if it's the last thing I do.  She'll learn the benefits of being a sexy warrior and maybe she'll get that stick out of her rear in the process."

"I don't think I like how this is going to turn out," Sophia said.

"Come on, Legs.  You don't want that girl you were arguing with to suffer the exhilaration, humiliation, and degradation that comes with wearing sexy armor?"

"Maybe, but still..." Sophia said.

With all the story-sharing Lady Madison was curious about something.  "What made you start wearing sexy armor?"

"I never really was one for full or mid-level armor," Shalista said, undoing her boots as she did.  "It just never looked very comfortable.  Then, being the exhibitionist I am, I wanted to show off all these sexy muscles I'd built up."  She stepped out of her boots and put her feet up on the table.  "Finally, in the midst of small-scale, high-level combat, the amount of armor that was being worn simply didn't matter.  Sure, you can make more mistakes because you have more coverage, but on the whole the more skilled warrior is going to win.  So, I decided to become more skilled than everyone so I could wear the least armor I could.  Simple, really."

Wendy raised her hand.  "Um...Shalista...I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but your feet look and smell really nice."

"Of course," Shalista said.  "A sexy warrior is always sexy from head to toe.  A sexy warrior must also have good hygiene.  Being a warrior is no excuse."

"How do you it?" Wendy asked.  "I get horrible callouses on my feet sometimes.  Then, there are times when Cordelia takes off her boots, a weird smell-"

"Shut up, Wendy," Cordelia interrupted.  "Please, shut up."

After some more stories and switches, there were still no wolves.  Lady Madison and Shalista were outside standing watch.  "Hmm," Lady Madison said.  "I guess the wolves aren't coming tonight.  I guess it's safe to for the others to fall asleep.  Go tell everyone we're safe for tonight.  I'm going to stand watch for another hour."

Shalista turned to head back.  "Will do.  Have a restful night."

"Have a restful night," Lady Madison replied.

The House Of Ellis, Episode 18

Lady Madison and the others entered the local Quest Center.  It was pack with foreigners, guild members, and freelancers looking for work.  As someone who had never been to one, she was amazed by the number of cultures represented by the individuals.  "I didn't know it would be like this.  Look at everyone."

"The Quest Center is a good place to meet people," Shalista said.

"Yep," Cordelia said.  "That's how Wendy and I met.  We both accepted a quest to guard a cargo shipment from bandits.  We've been best friends ever since."

"Interesting," Sophia said.  "I may come here to get some friends one day.  It's hard to met people your own age when you're an aristocrat and an assassin."

"Wait, you're rich?" Wendy asked.

"Being an Emporan tactician pays well," Sophia said.  "Plus, my family invented the MagiTub.  I'm the lone heiress to that fortune."

"The more you know, huh?" Wendy said.

"Why do you risk your life as an assassin if you've got that much going for you?" Cordelia asked.

"I wanted to build my own legacy," Sophia said.  "I didn't just want to be some girl who waits for her parents to die to cash in.  There was also the opportunity to work for Lady Madison.  No way I was passing that up."

Shalista came back with a flyer.  "I found a job for us.  What do you guys think?"

Lady Madison took the flyer and looked it over.  "Looks like someone wants us to kill the wolves that are killing his livestock.  Not too dangerous for skilled warriors like us.  He'll even give us food and shelter until the done is done.  Sounds good to me.  Everyone on board?"

"Killing wolves?" Lady Glinda asked.  "I've been meaning to get some wolf meat for Lady Iocasta to cook up in a stew.  Let's do it."

"Yes," Lady Iocasta said.

The others were in agreement.

Shalista nodded.  "Okay.  I just let the Quest Master know we're taking this quest and then we'll go."

Lady Madison watched Shalista walk to the counter, hand the flyer to a man behind the counter, and come back with a crystal.  "A teleportation crystal, huh?  He must really want this job done fast if he's providing one of those.  Okay, join hands so we can get going."

They so and a warm glow came over them.  Then, everything got blurry and when things their sight got normal again, they were standing in front of a house at the edge of a farm.  "Well, we're here."

Sophia shook her head.  "I think I'll be walking back when the job is done."

"It is trippy, isn't it?" Shalista asked.

Lady Madison walked up to the door and gave it a knock.  A man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair answered.  "Hello, sir.  We are here to accept your quest to kill wolves."

"I was hoping someone would come soon," he said, looking them all over.  "I didn't expect a group of young cuties to show up.  And to think that Lady Madison is among them.  Talk about a bonus.  Those wolves won't stand a chance."

After the pleasantries and greetings were done, he showed them to the place where they'd be staying until the job was done.  It was a barn that he'd converted into a shelter for weary travelers.  There were beds for ten, carpeted floors, and a dinner table and chairs.  Each bed were separated from the dinner area by a black curtain.  It was a far cry from Lady Madison's guest house, which had separate rooms for each bed, but there was some level of privacy.  It looked like he put in a lot of work to make traveling groups of any size comfortable.

"Thanks for the shelter," Wendy said.

"I'll get dinner fixed for you gals," the man said.  "The wolves attack at night, so you can rest up for a few hours and figure out a plan to destroy them."

"Can we walk around the premise?" Sophia asked.  "Strategic purposes."

"Sure," he said.  "Do whatever you have to do?  I can't afford to lose anymore of my animals.  If you think looking the farm over will help, give it a shot."

After surveying the area, the women all met back up in the guest house.  "Okay," Lady Madison said, "What do we have.  Anything useful?"

"I asked the man some questions," Wendy said.  "He said the wolves come from the north.  That's probably where we should strengthen our defenses there."

"There is a watchtower in the northwest corner of the premises," Sophia said.  "Some one with good eyes can be a lookout."

The silence thereafter let Lady Madison know they were done.  "Okay, here the plan.  We keep watch until sunset.  Once sunset arrives, we keep watch in pairs while the others rest up.  If you see anything, come let us know.  We switch every hour."

They eat dinner, then followed the plan.  Sunset came with no sign of trouble.  Shalista volunteered to stand watch, then slapped Sophia's butt and said, "I want to talk with you.  Let's stand watch, Legs."

"Okay," Sophia said.  "No more butt-slapping, though."

With that decided, Lady Madison and the others went to the guest house.  She plopped down in a seat near the dinner table.  The other sat there as well.  "We don't have to be together.  Feel free to go for a walk, take a nap, or whatever."

"And let a chance to get up close and personal with Lady Madison pass by?" Cordelia said.  "I think not."

"What did you have in mind?"

"What else?" Wendy asked.  "Swapping stories.  I'm sure you have so many interesting stories to tell.  Cordelia and I would be willing to share some of our own."

It was true that Lady Madison didn't know much about them.  This would be a good opportunity to change that.  "Okay, you first.  What have you got?"

The House Of Ellis, Episode 17

Lady Madison stepped outside to see her friends hard at work on the training ground.  "Well, aren't you all spirited today."

They all stopped what they were doing and looked her way, greeting her.

"We were waiting for you," Shalista said.  "I have another special activity planned."

Lady Madison shudder to think about it.  "What?  Are we going to run around the city nude?"

"No, no, silly," Shalista said.  "We're to help out the community.  A sexy warrior should be a well-balanced, approachable, helpful person.  So, we're going out to greet and help the people."

"You mean like the military, which I happen to be a part of," Lady Madison said.  "Lady Glinda, Lady Iocasta, and Sophia are apart of that same military, too."

"But it's different when a woman in sexy armor does it," Cordelia said.  She wrapped her arm around Wendy and pulled her close.  "We've built up a lot of goodwill, going from town to town proving we're more than just women in skimpy armor.  We're also good people."

"Yeah," Wendy said.  "We plant trees, pick up trash, save kittens, and other things, including killing the occasional monster or apprehending miscreants."

It sounded good.  Lady Madison had been meaning to do stuff like that.  It was tough to make time for the simpler things when she was on duty.  Now, she had plenty of time.  "Let's go.  There are kittens to save."

Lady Madison and the others went out to do the little stuff.  The shook some hands, kissed some babies, hammered a few nails, and even saved a kitten.  She smiled as she looked at her friends.  There wasn't a sad face among them.  "This is fun."

Shalista chuckled.  "I know, right?  Being a sexy warrior isn't half bad, huh?"

Suddenly, they heard laughter as a group of seven women in full armor came of an alley.

Lady Madison grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Shalista asked.

"Trouble."

The women all looked Lady Madison and her group up and down.  "Well what's this?" a woman with blue-dyed shoulder length hair asked.  "It's a bunch of little girls slutting it up, playing at being fantasy warriors."  Her gaze lingered on Lady Madison.  "And at the center of it all is one of Empora's mightiest warriors.  My, my, how the mighty have fallen."

Shalista stepped forward.  "And who might be?"

The blue-haired woman looked her up and down.  "I could ask you the same.  I haven't seen you around these parts or in any of our journeys as the Artemis Knights."

"Fair enough.  I am Shalista the Siren."  She turned around, slapped her butt, and looked back at the woman.  "I am the sexiest traveler in the world, the ultimate sexy warrior.  My goal is to change the perception of sexy warriors worldwide.  Surely, you've heard men everywhere saying my name with looks or ecstasy on their faces."

The blue-haired woman twisted her face in disgust and said, "No..."

Shalista turned back around, slumping her shoulders as she did.  "Augh..."

"Anyway, I guess that means I have to introduce myself.  "I am Lady Katya Vinzell, leader of the Artmeis Knights guild."  She gestured back to the other women.  "These are my Artemis Knights.  I would shake your hand, but I don't want to catch whatever disease made you harlots."

"What did you say?" Shalista growled.

"Anytime, floozy," Lady Katya replied, gripping her sword.

Lady Madison stepped in between them and pushed them apart.  "Hey!  Come on, this is stupid!"

"No," Lady Katya said.  "The thing that's stupid is that you all are walking around like that.  Simply wearing such a thing is an insult the female warriors everywhere."

"Jealous?" Shalista asked with a smile.

"As if!" Lady Katya said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"You guys suck," Lady Zelafina, one of the Artemis Knights, said.

"I'll show you who's inferior," Sophia said to her.

All the women on both sides started arguing shortly afterwards.

This was would get out of control if Lady Madison didn't do something fast.  "Everyone sit down and shut up before I get angry!"

Everyone backed down except for Shalista and Lady Katya.

"Do you honestly think I'm scared of you," Lady Katya said.  "I've been wanting to kick your ass for quite some time now."

Lady Madison glared at her.  "Don't test me, Lady Katya.  Even dressed like this, I can crush you in seconds."  Then, she realized that wouldn't help the situation.  She softened and said, "We're just having fun.  Please, let us pass."

"Your 'fun' sets female warriors back thousands of years," Lady Katya scolded.  "It sends a bad message.  Remember that."

"What's your problem?" Shalista asked.  "You don't have to wear it.  We're not forcing others to wear it.  If they chose to wear sexy armor, that's their choice."

This wasn't going to end.  "We're going, Shalista."

Shalista grumbled.  "Fine, let's go."

Lady Katya attempted to spit on Shalista, but Lady Madison caught it in her hand.  Then, she slapped Lady Katya with that hand.  "You need to calm down."

Then, it was weapons drawn on both sides.  By this time, quite the crowd had developed.  If a fight broke out, innocent people could get hurt.  Shalista could get hurt.  Sophia could get hurt.  Lady Katya or any of the other women could get hurt.  She couldn't allow that to happen.  "Everyone put away your weapons.  There doesn't have to be a fight."

"You dare talk of not fighting after such an insult?" Lady Katya growled.

"You tried to spit on my friend," Lady Madison said.  She knew what she had to do.  Lady Katya liked her ego stroked.  She knelt down.  "You're better than me.  I'm nothing more than a maggot before you.  Please, forgive me."

"Hey," Shalista said, slapping her in the shoulder.

Lady Madison punched her in the thigh.

"Oww!" Shalista groaned, staggering.

"Hmph!" Lady Katya huffed.  "Very well.  You're free to go."

"Why you..." Shalista started.

Lady Madison stood and pulled Shalista away, saying, " Thank you."

After they got a little farther down the road, Shalista said, "That woman was being a complete jerk.   Why did you apologize?"

"I wasn't going to get into a fight in the middle of the city over something as stupid as what kind of armor we're wearing," Lady Madison said.  "Considering who I am, how would that make me look?  Aside from that, people could have gotten hurt.  Sometimes you have to be the bigger person.  You can make one of your 'sexy warrior' commandments."

"I like it," Sophia said.

Others nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm still angry," Shalista said.  "I'm going to take up a quest to blow off some steam.  Anyone care to join me?"

"I don't know," Lady Madison said.  "Four of us are in the military.  We don't generally take quests."

"Can we go?" Sophia asked.  "We're off duty.  Please, can we go?"

Lady Glinda and Lady Iocasta joined in on the begging.

Maybe one little quest wouldn't hurt.  She'd been wanting to do one herself since she joined the Emporan military.  She also saw the way the others reacted to the Artemis Knights.  Shalista wasn't the only one who had some excess tension to dispose of.  "Alright, let's do it."