97 - Pre-Preparations II

Nyla, the sweet, mid-thirties woman who ran Molehill's well-hidden but still popular sex shop, had been quite amused at Ari's haul. Most first time customers probably would've bought one or two modest things to experiment, but Ari, embarrassingly, had bought several, and none of them modest … to Nyla's unstated amusement.

First off, the fundamentals. Ari had bought two dildos. The first was a respectable eight inches, but not overly thick—Ari had found herself a great admirer of size, but not all of her partners would be the same way. The dildo was light blue, translucent, and flexible, with an impressive amount of detail. Notably, Ari had purchased a harness along with it. Mounting it could be a bit tricky, but she'd figured it out with Nyla's help. Which, yes, had been mortifying. Ari didn't understand why sometimes she was so confident in lewd matters, then reverted to her normal blushing self at others. Eventually, she'd have a persistent confidence there. Or, probably not. Ari was doomed to blushing for eternity.

And yeah, the mountable dildo was a bit redundant, considering Opal's substance, but she'd visited Nyla's store before setting out yesterday. Plus, having it on standby wasn't a bad thing.

Besides the smaller, mountable dildo, Ari had bought a longer, double-sided one. At eighteen inches long, there was a lot of real-estate for exciting activities. It was thicker, too, than the one Ari could mount. It'd be for partners who shared Ari's love for tight fits. It was big enough Nyla had dubiously asked Ari whether she was sure … which, continuing the trend, had been mortifying for Ari to confirm. Nyla had seem impressed.

Dildos weren't all Ari had gotten. It was important for an adventurer to have a thorough toolkit, and this dungeon run would be her most ambitious expedition yet, so she'd come prepared. While dildos were fun, Ari had needed a more practical attack weapon, should circumstances arise and she could use it. Hence, the mostly see-through gel-like pocket pussy. It wasn't especially large, and had an open top. Ari obviously hadn't been able to test it out, but she'd felt around with a finger. The bumpy ridges, combined with Ari's firm grip, was sure to be effective. Plus, Ari could prepare the toy with sensitivity-enhancing lubricant before hand. An easy way to apply that deadly liquid she had so much of, but hadn't been making good use of.

Lastly, an impulse buy: a black leather bull whip. Ari herself wasn't a big fan of mixing pain in with pleasure, but she knew it was popular with some, and suspected eventually someone in her Menagerie—if not anyone now, that Ari just didn't know about—might be into that sort of thing. Plus, Ari had an adventurous spirit; she might learn to like it. She didn't know if the whip would find use today, but having it on hand for experimentation seemed smart. Why not, right?

There had been lots of other toys that looked fun at Nyla's shop, but the sex toys had come out of Ari's personal budget, which was only ten percent of the Menagerie's total income, same as each of them. Or, eight or nine percent, now that Opal had joined up and things were split six ways. She'd run out of personal funds. Hopefully, a good dungeon haul would mean she could expand her arsenal even further. There had been a few vibrating silver toys that looked fun, to name something in specific.

Her gear for the adventure appraised and cataloged, Ari gave a firm nod, hands on her hips. Today was going to be a productive day, if a tiring one. She'd probably burn through all six of the stamina potions she'd brought along, and use up several of her Menagerie's various substances, which she'd collected last night into flasks (the waterskin storage era was, thankfully, over).

"And you all are ready, too?" Ari asked, looking up. Her Menagerie was scattered through the guild's central hall (the terminology was ironic, right now, but crazy enough, would be real faster than Ari knew what was happening), dressed in full adventuring gear—the real sort, not Ari's—and with backpacks filled with necessary supplies. Only Opal, who would be joining Ari in sticky adventures rather than violent ones, wasn't wearing armor.

Sneaking her into the dungeon without drawing eyes was going to be annoying, but not too much so. They'd bought a thick mage's cloak which would cover her from head to toe, and which didn't absorb liquid too quickly—though did slowly, so they'd have to have Opal put it on when they neared the dungeon, then hurry in before the dampness started to show.

And Silvana too, of course, wouldn't be adventuring. She'd be continuing her work excavating and building the guild.

"All good," Renna said with a nod. A chorus of similar replies.

"Kay." Ari piled her arsenal into her backpack, then shrugged it on. She would put the thigh highs and glasses on inside the dungeon, or maybe right before a fight. Simpler that way. "Well. Let's get going. Me and Opal will lead, then you three after." It seemed smarter to avoid arriving all in one big group. They were trying to be conspicuous about things. That was the number one problem of the day, in fact.

Looking around one more time to ensure everyone was good, Ari gave an encouraging smile, then set off up the stairs.