Style Quest: Wouagi Trip

Varick had heard of a new portal opening with a seasonal bazaar. This market was his chance to offload overstocked merchandise to people who may not have seen these styles. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a snag. His partner, Raine, a green fey-blooded snow leopard with blue spots, and he had been trying to have a baby, and it wasn’t going well. Due to their gender-shifting abilities, the druids attempted to examine the large cat but couldn’t get any definitive answers. Raine had to find a fey doctor, and the day for the appointment was here.

 

“I want to go with you! I portal can wait,” Varick insisted, trying to get Raine to stop packing his messenger bag of holding. 

 

“If you don’t go through that portal, I will throw you through it,” the snow leopard threatened as they buckled the bag. “I can go to the appointment alone, but if you miss this chance, it may not return. Besides you might not be welcome amongst the fey.”

 

“What do you mean,” the mahogany Clydesdale asked, confused by that last statement. “Do the fey not like me for some reason.”

 

“They expected me to come back, and they blame you for me staying here, so if you come, they might not be welcoming,” Raine explained, trying to slink away. “My ancestors can’t hold me there, but they can try to hold you there, so have fun in Wouagi!”

 

With that, the fey leopard dashed out of the room. Varick rolled his eyes but grabbed his bag and set off for the portal room. Raine had been acting a little shifty since their recent color change. Maybe it was for the best that he stayed away from the land of the fey. Varick would fight if they tried anything, which would cause more issues. With a deep breath, the blonde horse stepped through the portal into Wouagi. 

 

Immediately, the air smelt swampy and wet. Varick quickly ducked into a spare room at the guild outpost to slip his water-walking leg armor under his pants. The last thing he wanted to do was fall into the water and drown. A path along the raised wooden walkways lit by lanterns illuminated the gloom enough to avoid running into other people. Varick found the Gloomweaver Bazaar easy enough, but he couldn’t get a permit to sell for the first time in a long time.

 

“What do you mean I can’t sell my clothes here,” the equine tailor demanded, more than a little angry. “I am an Adventurer’s Guild registered member and vendor!”

 

“Sorry sir but only locally made items are eligible to be sold here,” an unphased local elf explained. “Learn to weave a basket or something and I’ll give you a permit for that.”

 

The blonde Clydesdale’s hands balled up, but he did the smart thing and walked away. He had wasted a whole day on this trip that wouldn’t net him any gold. Raine was being weird about her ancestors, which worried Varick, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. He had hoped to sell enough to put a down payment on a house so the tailor could turn his guild room into a full fledge shop. That wasn’t going to happen now.

 

“Hey, stop that woarrar! He’s got my clothes,” a voice shouted as what appeared to be a beaver with tusks ran by with a dress in its little hands. 

 

In reaction, Varick grabbed the loose end of one of the thread spools on his arm and threw it. Small blue and purple flames danced along the thread as it flew through the air. Delicately, the thread wrapped itself around the neck of the creature, forming a lasso.

 

“Whoah there, buddy. How about we give the dress back and I’ll let you go,” Varick offers as he pulls the spell thread tight against the struggles of the beast. The woarrar thought about his options and dropped the dress with an angry chitter.

 

“Thank you so much,” a pale human woman with light blonde hair said as she ran out of breath. It took her a few moments to catch her breath before picking up the dropped article of clothes. “Oh no, it’s got holes in it. This was my favorite.”

 

“I’m a tailor. I can fix that as good as new if you want,” the brown horse offers as he reaches for his sewing kit on his shoulder.

 

“Oh no, I can’t pay you,” the human sighed, defeated, turning to walk away. “None of my baskets have sold yet.” As she started to walk away, an idea hit Varick.

 

“Hold on,” the equine tailor called out, putting his hand on the lady’s shoulder. “Would you be interested in a business deal?”

 

After Varick properly introduced himself to Lorelei, the blonde woman, he proposed his idea. The tailor couldn’t sell his clothes, but if people bought baskets that happened to have clothes in them, there was no rule against that. It would get baskets and clothes sold, and then they could split the profits. Lorelei was a little hesitant at first, but after Varick repaired her dress without any sign it was ever damaged, she agreed.

 

It took a little bit for baskets with their hidden surprises inside to start selling as Lorelei wasn’t the best basket weaver, but once word got out, they sold fast. Varick sat behind the booth, carefully putting the requested articles of clothing into their containers before passing them to the front. All baskets and apparel sold out by the end of the day, and after an even split of the money, Varick headed for the portal. Back at his guild room, Raine was waiting for him.

 

“Hey Var-Var, how was the bazaar,” the green snow leopard asked with a purr as they shifted to a smaller feminine form. “Sell all the back stock?”

 

“At first, it looked like a bust, but I managed to make a deal and sell everything,” Varick answered, looking suspiciously at his partner. “How was the doctor? Fey still doing their fey thing?”

 

“Sit down, we need to talk about that,” Raine suddenly looked extremely serious. They waited for their husband to take a seat with a suspicious look before joining him on the bed. “Doctor said that I am able to have a child… no matter what form I’m in. Which brings me to the difficult thing I need to ask you about.”

 

“Raine, whatever it is, if you think it’ll help,” Varick started but stopped mid-thought as the fey leopard shifted to one of their more masculine forms. The blonde Clydesdale’s eyes went wide as the realization hit him.

 

“Look, you don’t have to, but we do have these for you,” Raine quietly mumbled, setting a pair of enchanted pink panties on Varick’s lap. Nervously, the large green cat started to fidget with their tail. “Maybe ask at your appointment with the druids?”

 

“For us, I’ll ask, and if it’s the option we have to go with, then I’ll do it,” the horse hugged his partner. “We’ll have our child one way or another.”