They had walked through the afternoon and into the dusk alongside the river. It was a pleasant walk. The trail had widened and turned into an even, grassy way. Beside them the river had grown as well, now at least forty or fifty feet wide, flowing along peacefully. The warm day had cooled only slightly, to a very pleasant evening, a gentle breeze blowing up with a hint of ocean smell. The girls had stopped to refresh themselves, cautiously, from the river from time to time. At each stop, they felt their sexual desire rise as they drank, but they reminded each other of Emily, and they held off. But Ashley found herself constantly staring with desire at her mom and Katie, and she had caught both of them eye fucking her in reply. Such looks from Katie made Ashley's pussy wet and warm. Those looks from her mom made her almost insane with lust. The memory of Susan's soft pussy tingled on her fingertips.

Just as the sun began to set, Ashley saw the road in front of them lead into a cluster of buildings, docks built out on the river, and a few boats pulled up to the docks. A large building by the docks was lit by torches along a porch on the waterfront. The building was wooden, two stories high. Standing silently, they could hear the sounds of voices and laughter drifting in the breeze.

"Is this Ariel's town?" Susan asked.

Ashley shook her head, "No. Nothing like it. I can't even describe how beautiful Ariel's city was. This looks like a village of some kind. And that definitely looks like a bar."

"Well, maybe there are elves there," Katie said hopefully.

Ashley said cautiously, "Maybe." But something told her not to expect it.

Next to her, Susan began to pull on her thigh highs. Catching Ashley's look she said simply, "I'm not going in there looking like a bum off the street. If all I've got to put on are stockings and heels, then you know damn well I'm putting on stockings and heels. I'd kill for my makeup and a brush, though."

"Don't worry about that, Mrs. Livengood," Katie said. "You look gorgeous just as you are."

Susan stood upright after getting into her strappy heels and beamed at Katie, "Thank you, sweetie. You know you look like a model all the time."

Ashley slipped into her heels, not saying anything, but agreeing with her mom's philosophy. Look as good as the situation allowed. She tossed back her hair, but it was wild, as was Katie's and her mom's. They all had sex hair. Ashley always had sex hair in this world.

The three of them walked toward the tavern. The grassy road was level here, apparently flattened and hardened by traffic up and down the river. It was easy enough to walk in high heels. Without seeing anyone outside, they reached the steps leading up to the porch of the tavern. A sign hung over the awning.

"Rum River Inn"

The door was closed, but Ashley could clearly hear loud voices on the other side. Most of the voices were deep and harsh, as was the laughter. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and led the way inside.

All the voices stopped at once as the three girls stepped into the tavern. Ashley had a long moment to look around.

In front of her, across the room, was a long bar with stools and several men and women clustered around. To her left and right were tables. The wall on the left had a large fireplace with a fire roaring. To her right was a staircase leading up and out of sight. The wall behind the bar was lined with more bottles than she could count, and large glasses hung from the ceiling. An open doorway stood behind the bar, but she could not see what was through the doorway.

In front of the doorway and behind the bar was a large, ugly man. He was bald and broad, a combination of muscle and fat. He had a large nose with a wart on it. One eye was covered with a black patch, like something from a pirate movie. A scar ran down his right cheek and deformed the corner of his mouth. With his one good eye he was staring at them.

The room was filled with people. Actually creatures, of many types. Ashley recognized a table of orcs to her left. At the bar were a couple more orcs, as well as some dwarves and large men with reddish skin and pointy ears. She saw a half-dozen dark elves, two of them men, the rest women, sitting around a table. Other women were scattered around the room. Two looked like succubi, a few more dark elves, and then some slender women with dark brown skin. All the women wore little more than Ashely. A few were completely nude save for some jewelry, the rest wore loincloths or skimpy, loose tunics. Of the fifty or more people in the room, there were none of Ariel's type of elf. But all eyes were on her.

"Well fuck me sideways," said one of the dwarves at last, breaking the silence.

Harsh laughter filled the air, mixed with the softer laughter of the ladies. The bartender said graciously, "Welcome, elf-maids, to my humble inn. Please, come and join our merry throng."

"Well," breathed Susan. "They seem friendly enough after all."

Susan brushed past Ashley and walked confidently up to the bar, finding a suddenly vacant stool. Ashley and Katie stayed close behind her. She sat on the stool, crossing her long legs, all her moves, as always, smooth and fluid. In another setting, and with appropriate attire on, she would have fit right in at a formal dinner party. Susan Livengood never had difficulty blending in to a party.

"What'll you have, darlin'?" asked the bartender, leaning over the bar and leering down at Susan.

"I'll take a beer," she replied.

"Careful, mom," Ashley whispered.

"And one for each of my girls," Susan told the bartender.

He happily filled three glasses and passed them to the girls. Susan took a long drink. Ashley and Katie sipped more gingerly. It was damn good beer. Ashley took a longer drink and felt a warm thrill through her body.

"What brings you lovelies to my place?" asked the bartender.

"We're trying to find Allazar," said Susan.

"You sure you want to go there?" asked the bartender, furrowing his heavy brow. The expression made his face uglier.

"My daughter's there," said Ashley's mom simply. "We have to go."

"Well, you're a little ways off track," he said.

"I know," Susan nodded, taking another long drink. "We don't know the area at all. You wouldn't know where I can get a map, do you?"

He took a long inhale and said, "Wow, a map. Well, those are hard to come by. And expensive."

"We don't have any money," Katie said.

He looked at her, "Well, then you won't get a map. And my drinks ain't free either."

Susan laid a small hand on his thick arm and said sweetly, "We'll work out the drinks later. Tell me who might have a map, and I'll figure out how to pay for it."

He grinned, "I think I get where you're going, elf. I have a map that can get you to Allazar. But it's me only one, and you can't go wandering in the wild without a good map. I couldn't part with it for less'n 500 gold."

"I don't have any money at all," Susan pouted, looking up at him with her large brown eyes. "Do you think we could work something out?"

"Come up with me and we'll discuss it," the bartender leered at her, smiling broadly. He called out, "Hey, Rolf, git back here and serve drinks for awhile."

A thick bodied man lumbered away from a deep discussion with a dark elf maid and hurried up to the bartender, whining, "But Jumbo, I was getting somewhere tonight!"

"And ya can get back to it in a little bit," Jumbo replied. He wiggled his finger at Ashley's mom and said, "Come upstairs with me, pretty lady."

Susan took another long drink from her beer and put the glass down, then turned to Ashley and Katie and said softly but firmly, "You girls stay here and stick together. I'll be right back."

"Mom, what are you going to do?" asked Ashley.

"Get us a map so we can get the hell out of here and rescue Emily," Susan replied. Ashley had no doubt, looking in her eyes, that her mom would do whatever it took to get that map. Ashley preferred not to imagine what all that might be.