Lin says "What do you need stone for?"

"Making additional platforms and I still want to try making a lava bath."

Lin says "You know I am not climbing into a tub full of lava, right?"

"The choker would protect you, but I won't ask you to. I just want to try it and see if it will help me relax."

Lin says "I really hope it does. You seriously need something that helps."

"Actually, I had another idea about that, but it might seem a little silly to you."

Lin says "What's the idea?"

"Well, in my old world I had this fantasy, but I never found anyone to try it with. Don't worry, it isn't that kind of fantasy."

Lin says "Stop delaying and just tell me."

"It was to lay on a rug in front of a fireplace while reading."

Lin says "That's all? How is that a fantasy? Why would I think that’s silly? Of course we can do that. You just need to find a rug and add a fireplace to the room, right?"

"Yes, but I didn't want to make changes without discussing it first. After all, it is our room."

Lin says "Thank you for thinking that way. I am fine with the changes. In fact, reading together by a fire sounds nice."

"Good. I will test out the modifications on the castle tonight then. It will be easier since it is already made of stone. Oh, there's even some iron nearby that I can grab."

Lin says "Then you will be able to make me more zippers?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Lin laughs and hugs my neck then she lets me go back to harvesting the stone. There is quite a bit here, so while I am working Lin finds a nice place to sit and work. After I have gathered the stone we have a nice picnic lunch together before I go after the iron.

Once the iron is collected we take to the air and I fly west while scanning. To the south of us we pass a small town that is just barely within my scanning range. Out of habit I check the life signs and to my surprise I detect a single elven life sign. I quickly loop around and land outside of the town.

Lin says "What's up?"

"I detected an elven life sign in this town."

Lin says "That's unusual. I never imagined that any elves would have made it all the way out here."

"Never underestimate how far a merchant will travel for a chance to make a profit."

Lin says "Fair enough. What's the plan?"

"We will go in quietly at first and see what the situation is like, then make a plan. One elf should be fairly easy to rescue."

Lin says "Do you want me to wait here?"

"Why would I want that?"

Lin says "I can't exactly go anywhere quietly, unless there are no men."

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you. Just think disguise."

I can tell when Lin figures it out because she suddenly goes from a ten to about a six. When I was adding the enchantments to hide the strength of the choker I also added the ability to disguise. What makes me laugh is that Lin immediately takes out a mirror so that she can look at herself.

"Now, you can go with me all the time and not worry about being harassed so much. I would say at all, but men are pigs, including me."

Lin says "You are not a pig, you have always treated me with respect."

"Oh yes I am, I just hide it better."

Lin says "Are you saying you only wanted me for my body?"

"Nope, I only wanted you for your magical knowledge. Everything else was just icing on the cake. Now, let's go see what's up with this elf."

To my surprise, my answer makes Lin happy and she smiles while hugging my neck. I was expecting my answer to upset her, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. The only reason I can think of is that she has no doubts about me loving her.

When I shapeshift to human form she moves to hugging my arm and stays that way as we walk into the town. The combination of lots of inns and open areas makes me think this town caters to caravans. Before long I spot one of the open areas that is full of wagons, confirming my suspicion.

I keep my eye out for it, but I don't actually spot anything marked with the merchant group's symbol. We are getting some looks from people, but nothing like what normally happens. If anything, the lack of lustful stares makes Lin even happier than she was before.

Then again, she normally has a lot to worry about due to her looks, so I don't blame her. My senses lead us to one of the nicest inns near the center of the town. Surprisingly, it is the very elf that we are looking for that greets us when we enter the inn.

Elf says "Welcome to the Skyfeather Inn! Would you like a room or are you here just for a meal?"

"Um, actually I was here to rescue you, but you don't look like a slave."

Elf says "Rescue me?! Oh, I get it now. No, I was never a slave. I actually left the island by choice about a hundred years ago. It was too boring!"

"I can certainly understand that."

Lin says "Yeah, Ash here absolutely hates being bored."

Elf says "Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Sheraf and I am the owner of this inn."

"As she said, my name is Ash, and she is my wife, Lin."

Sheraf says "Nice to meet you. So, do you just go around saving elves? Why aren't there any with you?"

"Yes, we do. All the ones I have saved are currently with Stillwater and the rest of your people. Although, they no longer live on the island. In fact, the island is a very dangerous place now, so don't try to visit it."

Sheraf says "You say that like Stillwater is in charge? What happened to the rest of the elders? Wait, this isn't the place to talk. Give me a minute."

Sheraf summons one of her workers and has her lead us to a private dining room. Lin has a huge grin on her face and moves a chair over so she can sit and hug my arm. A server comes in to take our drink orders and informs us that Sheraf will be there in a few minutes.

"What made you so happy?"

Lin says "You introduced me as your wife!"

"Oh, sorry, was it too soon? I know we aren't married yet, but it just felt right."

Lin says "No, it wasn't too soon. It made me really happy to hear you call me that. I know we aren't married and we may not have time for that anytime soon. But having you think that way makes me really happy."

"Well, we already kind of talked about you being my queen, that would mean being my wife. However, I don't plan to ask you to marry me just yet. I want to wait until we can have a proper wedding. Also, I want to be sure you know what you are signing up for before I ask."

Lin says "Oh, what am I signing up for?"