Commander Rekterinias seemed to grimace at the change in Alana's outfit, but said nothing.  While it was casual in the extreme, her display proved that it could be changed with ease.  Also while some circles would consider a leather bikini inappropriate for meeting the high protector of the city, it certainly wouldn't be inappropriate for the heat of the day outside.  Since Laelith was a mixture of people from all over the Faded lands; from the lizardfolk of the northern swamps where the temperature rarely dropped below 30 degrees<em> ((celsius))</em>or 95% humidity, to the dwarven holds in the peaks of the mid world mountains where you could watch water freeze as you poured it from a kettle, there was an understandable diversity in style of dress.   However Laelith squatted between a tropical rain forest to the west, and the ocean to the east, and well within Mara's tropical zone.  So the daytime heat, especially during the later months of summer, could go over 40 degrees in the sun.<br/><br/>While it wasn't yet full summer, it was still already plenty hot outside with heat in the thirties.  Some people, especially merchants who were exposed to the sun all day, chose to wear loose fitting white clothing that covered as much of their body as possible.  The loose clothing allowed for some circulation of air through the garments, keeping the humidity from being an issue, while the long clothing kept the sun from burning the skin too badly.  However there was an opposite style of dress as well, for those that would be active in the heat, but could avoid being in the sun all day, the style of garb was often as little as possible.  In fact it wasn't common, but sometimes a slave could be seen running errands in nothing but his slave collar and a loin cloth, or even not that stitch of clothing.  Loose vests that covered next to nothing, short skirts that allowed for maximum airflow, for men or women, and at most a lose scarf wrapped around the forehead to keep hair under control was the other popular method of dress for staying comfortable in Laelith.  Obviously it wasn't ideal for those that would be in direct sunlight, but it was far more comfortable then even the lightest of full robes.<br/><br/>Then there were people like Commander Rekterinias.  Some people<em>(and both Alana and Jian would probably agree) </em>especially dragonborn, seemed to enjoy the heat far too much, or at least enjoyed suffering in the heat.  The dragonborn commander was clad from blue scaled head down to her taloned toes in layer upon layer of leather batting, ringmail, and heavy armor plates.  A cooling enchant, permanently etching a rune that would cool the metal of the armor at all times, was a very popular service in Laelith.  But it didn't appear that Commander Rekterinias's plate mail had such a rune.  Both Alana and Jian, knowledgeable in the arcane, would have spotted such a telltale magical enchantment, but while the armor looked finely made, it didn't appear to be laid with magical dweomers.  Her sword on the other hand, even though in her scabbard at her hip, glowed slightly.  The crosspiece of the blade seemed to shine far more than the dim light in the back office would allow for, and doubtlessly would glow vibrantly if drawn and held.  So it seemed that the commander was one of those people who enjoyed suffering the heat, which may have said much about her.  Then again, blue dragonborn were known for their higher tolerance to heat, just as white dragonborn prefered the cold.<br/><br/>All this aside, she seemed please to lead the way out of the shop ahead of the two women.  The streets of Laelith were crowded, and business was picking back up now that the hottest part of the day was done with and it was sliding slowly into mid afternoon.  Hawkers who had taken naps for mid day were now back out at their booths, shouting the latest in fashion from back home, the freshest jungle fruits, or maps that were completely accurate.  Of course, Alana knew this last to be completely false.  Because of the traveler's curse (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=180897.msg8650667#msg8650667) it was nearly impossible to construct a map of the interior, or even the area beyond a few hours journey of Laelith, with more than 80% accuracy.  Jian had heard of the curse, but didn't connect it to the false claims of the map sellers.  Thankfully Commander Rekterinias set too brisk a pace to stop and peruse the maps or do any shopping.<br/><br/>Both women received looks by the crowd, and several cat calls or vague offers for their time, but they were directed more at Jian then Alana.  Which might have been due to her reputation, but it also may have been due to the badge of office clipped, seemingly precariously, to her outfit.  Any resident of Laeltih who'd been in the city for more than a few weeks knew that these three women were on a mission and that Alana was someone important, or at least important to the high lord protector.<br/><br/>They finally arrived at the Laelith city council chambers.  The building itself was a misnomer, as there hadn't been a city council in over fifteen years.  It had originally been run by such, much like Malkin City back home, and the malkin council.  But eventually a council proved too weak and indecisive to handle the rapid expansion and dangers that came with this frontier town.  But the building was still called the council chambers, despite the fact that it had been the offices of the protector for so long.<br/><br/>Entry into the building was a blessed event.  Magical runes flared as each person passed through the main doors into an entry chamber.  Some of which were immediately understandable and recognizable, others were variations on known spells.  The most obvious and immediate was that the air was a cool, dry, comfortable temperature.  Hovering right around 22 degrees, and lacking the oppressive humidity of outside, Commander Rekterinias let out an audible sigh of relief as she entered.<br/><br/>However one of the other runes flashed and glowed, and Alana's body became rimmed in a harmless illusionary fire.  A light yellow glow surrounded her body, magically pointing her out and the two guardsmen held out their hands to stop entrance into the main part of the building.  "Hold,"  He pointed at Alana who was outlined in the faerie fire but spoke to Commander Rekterinias, "You know the rules, no illusionary magic, transmutations, or polymorphs.  The lord protector wants to know who she's dealing with at all times."<br/><br/>Apparently it was perfectly acceptable to carry weapons in to see the high lord protector, but doing so while disguised was a big no no.