46 Mr. Sletherland

Alicia ran to and fro, shelf to shelf excitedly as she wanted to make sure she picked something out that was perfect for her. She was looking for a light metal armor to cover her chest, shoulders and some armor to cover the sides of her skirt. Her current armor as all leather created from Magicules. It consisted of an upper chest piece, a skirt that rose to just above her knees and a pair of leather boots. She also wanted to look into some gauntlets and some greaves as well but she was not sure if they would get in the way.

Alicia was busy looking at each armor set and comparing them when she suddenly heard a voice coming from behind her. "Young Miss It has been a while..."

The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Alicia so when she turned around she put on a smile as she saw a round jolly looking old man wearing well made merchant clothes. "Ah! Mr. Sletherland! It has been a few days now! I hope you did not run into any more troubles along the way?"

"Haha! Young Miss shouldn't jinx this old man. But to answer your question the road was very smooth after that. From what I found out after you left that day the wagon had hit a large rock beforehand which cracked the wheel and a portion of the axel. If it was not you for helping us pull the wagon out of the ditch we would have been late for our delivery." Mr. Sletherland answered.

"That is good to hear. I am glad I was able to help you. Make sure you are careful out on the road. If you ever got stuck like that again and some bandits had shown up... I just would hate to see a good person like you get into trouble. I would also hire a few more guards just in case." Alicia said with the utmost sincerity. She had found Mr. Sletherland to be an upfront and honest man. He had even offered her many rewards for her help but Alicia politely denied them all. She did not want to see anything happen to the old man.

"Yes, I will have to do that. I just wanted to come over and give a word of thanks once again for your help. I still have things to deal with so I will not take up any more of your time."

"It was good seeing you again. Take care, Mr. Sletherland!" Alicia said her goodbyes to Mr. Sletherland before returning back to look for her armor.

After almost thirty minutes Alicia had finally decided on a chest and shoulder guard that protected her upper chest region without getting in the way of her movements. The same applied to her skirt side guards. In the end, she did find a set of shin and ankle guards along with some gauntlets that did not restrict her movements.

Alicia quickly went to the female staff member from before and said: "Miss I found a few pieces that I like the design of."

"Already? That is great! In order to make sure we give you the best comfort, I will need to get your measurements. If you follow me, I will take your measurements for you." The female staff member said as she pulled out a roll of measuring tape. It only took a few minutes to get Alicia's measurements done. "Okay! You are all set. Young Miss, you can pick up your armor first thing in the morning."

"Then I will have to trouble you." Alicia said with a smile before giving a small bow. She then turned and ran over to Ela and Rebecca who were patiently waiting for her. "I'm done, they will have it ready for me by tomorrow!"

"Good! Then let's go have something to eat! I already had one of the guards go reserve a private room at the best restaurant in Parith. Dalton will meet us there as well. And…. " Ela turned her gaze towards a dark alley. "Sir Blake, you should join us as well."

"Mrs. Whittlee does your husband know that your senses have not changed since the time you were in the..." Blakes words stopped short as he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He looked over and saw Ela looking back at him with a smile that did not reach her eyes. The cold look was enough to freeze time itself. " Ahahaha... I got you mixed up with someone else..."

Alicia looked at the two wondering why they were staring at each other. But quickly got distracted as Frey kept poking at her and rubbing her little belly. "Mother, Frey hungry!"

"Okay, okay, hold on. What flavor do you want this time?" Alicia asked. She had just recently learned to form small balls of Magicules that were different elements to allow Frey to have a bit of variety in her meals. She said that they all tasted different.

"Blue!" Frey answered as she jumped up and down.

"Alright, here you go." A small ball of blue Magicule formed on Alicia's fingertip as she handed it over to Frey who happily grabbed it and sat down and started to eat. "Loeri anything you want when we get to the restaurant?"

"Mmmm… Meat of some kind. You can surprise me. Oh and pasta! I heard the little brat talking about. It sounded tasty!" Loeri licked her lips. She had been hearing about all kinds of different food so she really wanted to try them all out one by one!

"Alright, I will order a plate of pasta with meat in it then." Alicia was very happy that her two companions were not picky eaters. It made her life a bit easier when preparing meals.

After five minutes of travel, they had reached the best restaurant in Parith. Alicia got out of the carriage and froze as she saw the huge sign above the door that read 'The Slaughter House!'