"I can't really want things without wondering if it's lingering dark magic anymore. Unless it's like, to pet a puppy."

Ame gives him a gentle stare-down, because he kind of just made one of her points for her. Pet the puppy, Theo.

"You're sane now. As sane as humans ever are, anyway. Does it really matter why you want things? Desires can't be bad things, only actions, and what makes an action bad is when it causes a bad consequence, right? Dark magic fucked up your ranking-of-consequences or whatever you want to call it, but that's fixed. If it also made you want to pet more puppies..." Ame shrugs.

"...Sure. Easy to say that, and think that on a verbal level. Actually feeling it... Not so much. I need to take things calmly and seriously and conservatively, all sorts of things, so I don't slide down the slippery slope."

Ame... decides not to push.

"Fair enough."

"Yeah. I'd rather start with food or something if I'm going to, uh... Start wanting things again, is all."

Ame nods.

"My body is always available as a source of comfort, or pleasure. You literally don't have to put any more thought into that than into petting a puppy. For the record. For tonight, will you sleep better with me in your bed serving as a pleasantly soft object, or with me elsewhere?"

"...Don't actually know for sure."

He might have a nightmare again and that would be just mortifying, actually.

"...Actually, yeah, please leave."

Ame sighs. "Alright."

Ame summons a lube slime next to the bed, rolls off the bed onto the slime, and has the slime gloop its way out of the room.

Zzzzzzz.

In the morning, Liz is up first, helping their hostess with breakfast.

"Oh, I need not travel with you if it would slow you down- To be honest even at a dead sprint it would take me all day."

"Our newest party member lowers our overall speed too - I can't maintain three shadowhorses, and I don't think Theodore has wizard spells for long travel, it was just an offhand remark, truly."

"I know such spells exist. Longstride, I think? Perhaps you should look it up."

"Perhaps! Oh, good morning Ame!"

"Morning. What kind of spell is Longstride?"

"Oh, I don't know the details, it's just something I've heard in stories of wizards with their books and chants. That, and enchanted boots that make one step like ten, and ignore mountain and bog alike."

Isodore is happy to make small talk and attempt to teach Liz some Ilsos Tongue as the other two show up for breakfast. Theo puts his hand in Ame's without saying anything for de-dharing - though less and less is coming back to him with time, there's still stains of a sort, particularly overnight.

And then they can all pack (Isodore begging to stick a briefcase into Ame's enormous pack and joking about size mattering) and head out to the road north.

-Isodore pauses, however, seeing the seven foot tall and three foot wide bipedal lion, blood all down his front and in his mane and wearing nothing but a crude loincloth, dragging an enourmously muscled boar with a broken tusk and savaged neck behind him.

"Adventurers," Isodore says slightly nervously, "His honor the Lion, our beloved noble protector, Fedor Brightsun." She bows deeply.

(Bys is the one carrying the enormous backpack, so Isodore is sent to her to appeal about her briefcase.)

That is indeed a very big and majestic furry.

Ame steps aside to let him pass.

The lion's voice is a low growl. "Dore. You're leaving after all? Not marrying?"

"Yes, Fedor. I have high hopes for the city. These fine adventurers are escorting me there."

"Well, it is your choice. Adventurers! Shame you are leaving so soon - you're missing a great feast tonight! I'll allow you to carry on."

Isodore motions for nobody to say anything else as Fedor saunters past towards the hilltop village, dragging multiple tons of meat and bone and leather along with him.

"Of course," Theo mutters. "Nobility of a sort. Why anything else?"

"Indeed," Isodore allows with an unreadable look at him. "...Let us continue."

Ame gives Isodore an unreadable look of her own.

But on they carry.

The road is not difficult. Slightly irregular paved flagstones with the odd crack or pothole due to age. Isodore and Theo both maintain a faster pace than Ame's worst expectations; Theo out of attempting to distract and/or punish himself and Isodore because of a very long stride. They could arrive in the city this evening at the current pace if they keep it up all day.

They encounter a band of drunk singing demihumans around lunchtime, with a roaring campfire between three wagons arranged in a triangle and passing bottles around. Horses grazing nearby. They cheerfully offer lewd comments in Ame's direction. Isodore shakes her head disdainfully. "They are going to lose a horse or five drinking like that along the road. Hopefully whatever they're celebrating is worth it, no?"

Ame is momentarily tempted by the catcalls: she could totally catch up to the others if she allowed herself to be briefly diverted, but actually Bys would probably have to stop to rest before Ame finished with them, so it would slow the party down after all. Also, negotiating her he's-drunk-off-his-ass surcharge with drunk people doesn't appeal.

"Wanna stop and find out?" Ame asks wryly, not slowing down.

"...Not especially, if I'm being honest, Adventurer. Though- It's around lunchtime. Still, if it were entirely up to me I would continue on a ways and eat in peace."

Liz and Theo both nod in agreement. Bys just keeps jogging with a side-eye that somehow resembles a shrug.

Ame offers the drunks an apologetic smile as they pass. Sorry boys, but you're drunk enough you probably wouldn't remember it anyway.

A bit later, they stop for lunch on the side of the road, eat quickly, then continue onward.

Late into the journey they pass a little coastal fishing village and run along the coast. It's almost idyllic. There are many more people on the road now- They frequently pass others. Then, cresting a particular hill, Isodore runs ahead with a grin and gestures widely. "Behold! The shining jewel of Ilsos, Silversand City!"

The beaches surrounding the city shine with sand pale enough to be the envy of a Florida resort. The city's tall defensive walls, studded with towers and crenellations, and roughly a third of the buildings visible above it, are made of bright white marble. Surrounding the city in wide rings are thick patches of wheat, olive trees, vegetables, and other crops. A low murmer of a far off crowd faintly reaches their ears even here. The city positively sparkles in their vision, as the road they're walking on leads right up to a grand gate lined with columns that form a sort of courtyard where crowd of people with only a vague resemblance to a proper queue await entry to the city.

"Whoa."

Ame takes a moment to stare.

"Alright." Down to join the barely-a-queue. "Anything else we should know about this place before we're in the middle of it?"

"Nothing springs to mind particularly if you've been to tourist cities before. If you wish for a tour guide you may have to seek elsewhere than myself. I'm going to be busy preparing and socializing for the next couple of days."

Ame nods.

"First priority is probably getting that 'professional' look nailed down, then. I'm not actually committed to the 'homeless street whore' look." Ame offers a wry smirk. "Just to the 'whore' part."

"For adventurers, at least, you mostly want to look dangerous but disinclined to be dangerous at anyone in particular. That shield is lovely, perhaps something with gold trim to accent it... Hmm... A large and handsome tome for your wizard. That glowing dragon-headed staff is quite the centerpiece for Elizabeth already..."

"Gold, hmm..."

Ame glances over at her party members. Liz in green and earthtones, Bys in her dark blue cloak and dark grey armor, and Theo in his... almost-modern business-casual.

"If we're worrying about our... aesthetic-as-a-party anyway, maybe we should coordinate. Gold trim could be a unifying element, but it'd," Ame makes a vague gesture. "If we're building my look around my shield, then gold is my color. I like green more but Liz would obviously have dibs on green. Bys' already has blue. We could use black as a unifying element with accents, or maybe go with the individual colors as primary and unify them with trim in a vivid hue like lime or fuchsia? No, that'd clash horribly... and the other way doesn't work 'cause trim has to have higher saturation than the base fabric unless its white and white trim probably sends the wrong message so maybe if we..."

Ame continues to ponder this as they approach the city gate.

The crowd at the gate is inching forward steadily, but a dozen conversations well up around the party.

"White might work fine. As you can tell, it's popular here. But it might backfire as well... Nobody especially expects a party to color-coordinate, but an adventurer-chic battle suit could work quite well for your wizard, have you seen those? Formal wear, toughened for actual combat. The best are sharp and clean with reinforced folded silk underneath, but light enough that even the most wizardly of wizards rarely complain. Black, with some sort of brooch or tie, or perhaps a dark red. Dark red, dark blue, dark green, and black and gold."