The ‘appropriate attire’ that the maids brought them looked like the sort of puffy and frilly noble attire that the Trolls at the south gate of Oakhamping had been wearing, but in plain white.
It was quality clothing, but unless they were at a church or a wedding, they would definitely stand out.
[They put a spell on it to track you.] Cara reminded Karl as soon as she saw the clothes.
[Can you remove it without coming out of your space?]
There was a pulse of power over the clothing, and Karl sensed her satisfaction.
[Done.]
“I suppose that we should change to make them happy. The clothing should be safe.” Karl informed the others.
Dana looked at the clothes. “I don’t know what was cast on them, but there is still magic on these clothes.”
“It should be safe, though.” At least, Karl assumed that Cara would have noticed if there was something harmful on them.
Karl disabled his armour spell and slid the pants of the only not a dress type outfit up before pulling the coat over his shoulders. There was no shirt, but in his size enhanced form, he was more heavily muscled than he remembered his natural body being.
Even with the coat only having two buttons at the bottom and the chest open, it wasn’t a bad look.
Then he put on a pair of the slippers and the whole outfit changed colour. It was a deep blood-red with black trim, and a bit of gold embroidery. With his shaggy black hair in need of a trim, the rich fabric was a bit of a visual contrast, especially at the filly collar and cuffs.
Dana giggled as she slid one of the dresses over her head before removing her armour and outfit.
It was a frilly sleeved princess dress with multiple layers of petticoats, and Karl couldn’t help but smile at her frustration as she realized that there was no way to properly put it on yourself. It buttoned up the back all the way to the neck, and then a ribbon was designed to be tied around the waist.
It was a Princess’ dress, for certain. Exclusively intended to be worn by a lady with maids.
Ophelia was staring at the clothing in intense disgust, but the four dresses were the same, just in different sizes.
“You could transform into a Dire Bear and just refuse to wear clothes.” Karl offered.
“Thanks, but no thanks. My mother used to force me to wear things like this when I was little. Well, right until the day of the serum ceremony, actually. It’s personal, not a concern that it won’t go with my fur.”
Karl turned away to let everyone get dressed, so he was the first to notice when the maid came in with food.
“Oh, good. The clothing fit. Those are some… interesting colours.” She murmured, looking at the floor.
“Do you think that they don’t suit us? I might be able to get them to change if I change outfits then put it back on.” Karl suggested.
“No, it will always be the same. The clothes reflect the colour of your aura.”
Karl turned and looked back behind him.
Tessa’s dress was bright crimson, the same as her cleric robes, Dana’s was a very princess powder blue, and Ophelia’s was deep bronze with gold trim.
Lotus, on the other hand, was wearing a shimmering mess of chaos that looked like someone had tried to do a pearl white paint job, then let their kids throw glitter all over everything.
It was mostly green and gold sparkles, and Karl couldn’t help but laughing.
“So, you’re telling me that the little High Priestess’ aura looks like that? I should likely be less shocked than I am. But that is glorious.”
“I think it’s broken.” The maid whispered.
“No, I’ve known her a while now, and I think it’s working just fine. See how happy she is with her new dress? I hope you don’t expect to get that one back when we leave.”
The maid smiled a little, but Karl noticed that she was avoiding looking at him.
“Did I say something weird?” Karl asked.
She didn’t have a problem looking at anyone else. Perhaps she was just shy.
A deep voice laughed from the door.
“It’s not what you said, Merchant. Or should we call you Merchant of Death? Your aura is blood-red and void black, with only the barest hint of honourable gold at the edges. I have met mass murderers and Demon Lords that didn’t have an aura that dark and bloody.” The man at the door, a Satyr of some sort, but with antlers and not curled horns, informed them.
“I think it’s glitched, like the Maid said. I’m not actually a bad guy. Even the Nature Priestess will vouch for me.”
The Satyr laughed as Lotus did a twirl to show off her dress.
“I’m not sure that a Nature Priestess is the best judge of character. Though, it could just be a side effect of your lineage. Some of the more violent species always have a disturbingly dark aura base from their nature, and then another colour for their personality.” The man suggested.
[I say that we pull his legs off and roast them. He looks like he would be less annoying on a rotisserie.] Rae suggested.
[He’s kind of fluffy and cute.] Cara disagreed.
[The antlers would get stuck in my throat, we need to take them off too.] Remi sighed.
Karl realized that he might have found the source of the aura issue. It was this bunch of hungry beasts messing with the colours. Perhaps the outfit would normalize once they had lunch.
[Why don’t you all make yourselves something to eat? Thor should be able to pull food from his space as he needs it, but they promised to feed him properly.]
While Karl was distracted talking to the beasts, a group of overdressed guards came in, then stopped and did a double take before staring at him.
“Come on, it’s not that big of a deal, just a malfunctioning spell on the outfits.” Karl insisted.
“If you say so, sir. Please follow us this way. We need to… have a private talk with the ladies while you meet with the oracle.” The leader of the guard detachment agreed.
[Summon more guards.] He whispered to the man outside the door.
He wasn’t as quiet as he thought that he was, and all of the women, including the maid, were trying hard not to laugh as Karl followed him out into the hallway, where an entire unit of ten Commander Rank Minotaurs were waiting for him.
“Alright, have fun, ladies. Holler if you need me and I will be right back.” Karl joked.
“Stop making the soldiers want to cry. We will be fine for a few minutes.” Dana laughed as Karl waved and began to walk down the hallway.
As soon as the guards thought that he was out of earshot, the questions began.
“Are you alright? Is he holding you against your will? We can help you escape his influence if you need, give you a portal to the docks at Penbeck or Legore if you want to get on a boat and flee.”
Tessa laughed and shook her head. “No, we are fine. I think that the aura colour really is some sort of glitch. He’s not the sort of Troll that takes anything in life all that seriously.”
