Hot soup. Warm baths. Toasty feet. Eve heard the Hut recite a litany of what would be done once she returned from shopping into her mind while she prepared to Spatial Step the two children back into their apartment in preparation for going on a spending spree.

The Hut was thrilled at the chance to have mortal occupants once more. Eve had been guilt-tripped into taking the two children the moment Lily had asked for assistance. It wasn’t like she was doing anything important at the time, and Felix had of course taken the side of his beloved. Nota didn’t care either way, and Kudzu had agreed the lab was relatively quiet now. Eve’s vote had been promptly sidelined, and thus two more children were taken under her wing. One was an adorable munchkin, and the other was a dark, brooding edge lord.

Fluff. Eve thought, looking at Lily. The Hut concurred, and both of them looked at Mark. Not Fluff.

Abyss Ink Blade. The Hut declared without mercy.

At least he’s brilliant. Eve said defensively. Indeed being intelligent was good enough to counter a lack of cuteness?

Un-Cute. The Hut said firmly, in the same manner, one would state the end of the world.

Eve sighed. She could already see the tell-tale signs of hero worship from Lily, but Mark was a different story. He knew exactly what he’d been getting into from the look in his eyes, and Eve wasn’t surprised by his choice in the least. While she wouldn’t have killed the two children, wiping their memories along with a few other things, would have been required if they didn’t sign up.

They signed though, so now it’s on my end to make sure they are taken care of properly. Eve thought, looking at the skinny forms in front of her. They were better off than street foundlings, but even being minor merchant nobles hadn’t provided a glut of proper nutrition. From what she had seen, the quality of food one ate was as much a sign of status as the size of their house or the cut of their clothes. I still don’t grasp how in a world where magic food production is possible, rulers can’t manage to get their shtick straight. Hunger should be like the diseases of old Earth, dead and gone.

A twist of will and Spatial Step pulled both children along with her back out of her Hut and into their small apartment. Glancing at the meager clothing they were wearing, she manipulated Witch’s Dust to cloak them in a semblance of finer clothing. Another bit of manipulation extended the Ritual of Obscurity to both children. Eve paused as her eyes narrowed.

It just occurred to me that Young Master Andrew might be slightly more than he seems. Eve thought. I didn’t even consider how such a pompous idiot could see through the Ritual.

A strong urge to hunt down the young master and ask unpleasant questions momentarily occurred, but she shrugged. Whoever had been behind the incident would likely cover their tracks, she had better things to do than play detective. If they bothered her again, she would take more permanent steps to rectify the situation. Reaching out, she shifted everything in the apartment that wasn’t nailed down into the Hut. It would be cataloged, examined, cleaned, and placed within the rooms corresponding to each child.

“Place an image in your mind of the most expensive places you know for food, shelter, and clothing.” Eve requested with a glance at Mark.

Witch’s Dust read the electrical impulses in the boy’s mind translating them into seamless images that Eve could match to the dungeon city. With a nod, she used Spatial Step bringing the children directly to a sumptuous storefront. Mannequins behind the glass windows of the enormous building displayed everything from adventuring outfits to formal dinner wear. Stepping forward in her new form, gold hair the color of ripe wheat harvested from the far nations dropped in silken shadows from her head. Calm silver eyes surveyed the guards before her clothing shifted, making a place for a book at her right hip, a knife on her left, and a small candle floating above her head, its tiny green flame flickering in a non-existent wind.

The older guard on the left’s eyes widened as he recognized her appearance. It was the standardized format a Witch could use for identification. The Book, Knife, and Candle were calling cards as much as they were Rituals. Eve had been betting that a sizeable opulent store would have guards at least trained to identify the signs of most significant players. With a nod at the two men, she strode between them, trailed by her shorter charges. Using these calling cards had a few downsides, such as the organizations that opposed Colored Covens getting word of her presence. Eve took that as a worthy trade in return for the convenience of quicker service.

Upon entering the store, a clerk intercepted her before she had even moved more than a few steps. Eve watched the clerk mentally tally her appearance and then that of the children behind her before giving a wide grin.

“Shopping for the little ones, madam? Never fear! La’Rant is the place to acquire quality. My name is Dan, I would be honored to be your personal assistant while you are in our humble store.” the clerk said with a low bow.

“Since you already understand what I’m here for, lead the way,” Eve said. Dan immediately nodded before snapping his fingers. Immediately, two slightly less well-dressed women moved to accompany each of the children. The woman had been hovering in the background with looks of slight desperation on their faces. She noted the badge for Dan was golden, while the badge for the two assistants was silver. A clear distinction of who could provide service to what customer was apparent.

“Elizabeth and Mary will assist the children with tailoring their garments. Do you have a preference, or do you want pre-made outfits?” Dan said, suggesting anything not custom-made was the same as butchering an animal for sacrifice.

Eve gave a light laugh before saying, “Tailored, of course. Only savages require pre-made outfits.” Both of them glanced at a nearby group of adventurers before smirking. Moments later, Dan had led her to the northern wall of the store, where a series of tailoring offices held sway. Both of the children separated, following their tailors into different rooms. Eve tagged each of them with a talisman discreetly, she wasn’t expecting any problems, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The charmed papers were set to skin tone, making them invisible without extensive investment into perception skills and stats.

While the children were being fitted, Dan led Eve to a separate office with mirrors on the wall. As soon as she approached the centermost of the five mirrors, her reflection shifted. Instead of the current clothing she was wearing, a massive ballroom dressing gown was displayed seamlessly upon her figure.

Magical tailoring app. Eve thought, watching as the image shifted with a gesture of her fingers. Swipe left for adventuring outfits, and swipe right for classy fashion. Very nice!

She caught a glimpse of Dan’s shocked face smoothing over as she blurred with inhuman speed through thousands of pictures. Within her mind, Nota cackled as the Eternal Library stored each new memory. It took a solid hour to gather every single unique option available. When she was finished, Eve flashed her adventuring plate and ordered a fair chunk of the selection.

Dan expertly took her measurements and requested a location to deliver to. Eve had everything slated to be delivered to the Adventurer’s Guild branch in the city, tagged to her name. A flash of her plate, and payment was completed. Once her purchases were taken care of, Eve moved directly to Lily’s fitting room. A vision of delightful cuteness impacted her eyes the moment she stepped inside. Elizabeth, the tailor for Lily, had managed to create a series of dresses that made small customers into fabulous human dolls.

Eve noted how Lily had been nervous earlier but was now smiling brightly. She clearly trusted the tailor much more and wasn’t hesitant to follow directions. Elizabeth’s motions focused entirely on her client, sparing only a glance when the witch entered. Measuring tape flowed like water, while Skills expertly magnified the mundane process of tailoring into a mystical art of incredible complexity. Sitting down at a chair along the wall, Eve gave a slight wave to Lily when she finally noticed her.

Lily moved over to spin in front of Eve with glee and said, “It’s so soft!”

Eve grinned and said, “The more expensive something is, the more comfortable. That’s a pretty solid rule of thumb anywhere, munchkin.”

Lily nodded as Eve continued, “I have a few questions I wanted to clarify with you. Would that be ok?”

Organizing her thoughts, Eve asked, “You mentioned earlier while watching your brother heal that you can ‘feel’ what others do. Is that correct?”

Lily nodded as Elizabeth removed her current dress before the new fabric was placed upon her body. As the material slowly shifted into a new dress under Elizabeth’s expertise Eve said, “Do you feel their pain?”

Lily squirmed before giving a sharp nod uncomfortable with the fact.

Eve reached into her Storage, sorting through the trinkets acquired from the dragon’s hoard. Finally finding something that would work, she looked over the chosen ring before pulling it out.

Legendary Celestial Emerald Ring

Item Type: Jewelry/Ring

Slot: Finger

Race Required: None

Binding: Bound by Blood

Durability: Infinite

Material: Astral Gold

Hardness: 113

Base Value: Priceless

Weight: 0.10 lbs

Enchantments:

Mental Shield V

Ghostly

Incorporeal

Wisdom +130

Intelligence +130

As expected from a dragon. Eve thought before handing the ring to Lily.

“This will prevent you from feeling pain if you are forced to defend yourself. It needs a drop of your blood, though. I’ll make the process painless ok?” Eve said gently as she reached out to hold Lily’s right hand. The small girl nodded before gasping as a tiny drop of blood flowed out of her finger without any cut visible. The blood floated onto the Legendary Celestial Emerald Ring, causing a little flash of sparkling gold light. Once the light was finished, Lily looked at her hand in awe. Upon the child’s right hand, a sparkling ring with a golden band encasing an emerald stone perfectly fitted her finger.

Eve distracted the awestruck girl by asking, “Have any groups tried to recruit you while you were taking care of your brother?”

Lily nodded and said, “Yes, there is a group from the Red Lantern district that was offering to take up the burden of my brother’s treatment in exchange for taking a position at their shop.” Eve’s expression stayed perfectly neutral even as Elizabeth’s hands fumbled the dress’s arm she was crafting.

Eve smiled brightly and said, “This group, do you remember their name?”

Lily said, “Un. They called themselves the Silver Fingers of Heaven. They looked poor, though, since they couldn’t afford clothing that covered their bodies completely.” Eve’s expression stayed in a frozen mask of polite friendliness, although her bearing had shifted to an imperial ice queen. Elizabeth gulped as she finished creating the dress, and Eve’s eyes went to the tailor with uncanny speed.

“Would you happen to know anything about a group by that name, Elizabeth?” Eve asked politely, sending shivers down the tailor’s back.

“I-I can’t discuss client i-information, Miss,” Elizabeth said, looking like she wanted to be elsewhere.

“Oh! That’s completely understandable.” Eve said before she turned back to Lily, who had a scrunched face. “I need to go out and check with Mr. Dan about something. Will you be ok here with Elizabeth?”

Lily nodded solemnly before saying, “I’m I made you mad.”

Eve poked the cute little girl’s cheeks before she said, “I’m not mad at you, sunshine, don’t worry.”

Eve watched Lily relax before she patted the girl on her head and left the room. Stepping out of the fitting room, Eve closed the door before turning to a waiting Dan to say, “I want all the client information on the Silver Fingers of Heaven you have.”

Dan said, “I’m sorry, client information is confidential.”

Turning to face him fully, Eve said, “Confidentiality is a valued aspect of any business. If you truly cannot provide me with the information, I understand. I’ll take the mountains of gold I’m willing to pay to discreet information brokers. Those lucky dogs will collect a lifetime fee while you slave away in this shop for the rest of your life.”

Dan’s eyes darkened as his hands clenched at his side before Eve continued in a lazy tone, “I’m sure those clients have always been polite, kind, respectful, and generous with tips.”

“No, they haven’t,” Dan said as he reached an internal decision. Eve listened to the number he quoted before she waved her hand and said, “Double that as a personal tip for your services.”

With a swift bow, Dan departed before returning within minutes, clutching a leather-bound folio in one hand. Eve promptly paid the ‘tip’ before opening the folio to flip through the information inside. After ensuring Nota had memorized everything, she handed the folio back to Dan with a small smile.

“Thank you for the impeccable service provided here.” Eve said before continuing, “You are welcome to sell them my information and my interest. It will make it easier for me if you do.”

Dan stared, confused momentarily, before shrugging, “We always try to meet our customer’s needs.”

“Excellent,” Eve said with a shark’s grin.