Sitting around the fire was the party of White’s Grace. Each of them looked so different than before, and Adam had almost nhem.

  “You guys look like crap,” Adam said, his brows raised in surprise.

  “We were trying to return back to the Iyr before the Twilight Month, but it seems we were unfortunate,” Lady Elowen said, a cloth tied over the left side of her face, bandages peeking through from underh. She, and Ylra, were in their Half Elf forms.

  “Damn,” Adam said, shaking his head.

  Rojer’s body was heavily wouhough he had been patched up by the Iyr, and the magical potions had worked wonders. Ylra’s leg had been wounded heavily too, and as she sat, it was out at an awkward angle.

  Adam tried not to look at Redboulder, whose beard was half missing, seeing the Dwarf’s bare skin.

  “Who would have thought that there would have been a small Beast Wave on the way?” Ylra said, crossing her arms. “You Iyrmen, I bet you desig that way!” She ughed with joy, however.

  “Are you guys okay?” Adam asked.

  “We are fihough we have beeer,” Elowen said. “Once we return home, we will be safe. Our task will have been pleted, and no one will refuse our retirement.”

  “I’m sorry to see you all injured,” Adam said, frowning. “What about you know who?”

  “The Princess is safe,” Elowen said, motioning a hand to the er of the courtyard, where Princess Mina was currently sitting up, holding a blo hand.

  Princess Mina was the colour of the o, as she was the st time he saw her. Her webbed hands were clutg the block tight. A toothy smile stered across her face, her teeth near jagged, as she tossed the blocks about and crawled after them.

  “What the hell?” Adam said. “When did she get so big?” Adam was sure she had beehan half the size when they had first met.

  “She is growing well, thanks to you,” Lady Elowen said, nodding her head to him.

  Adam picked her up, causio stare up at him in shock first, but then reition filled her eyes. She squealed up at him, before reag up to try and grab his face, her hands, which felt like leather, pressed against his scruffy beard.

  “Why did you grow up so quick?” Adam asked, brushing her hair gently, which came out curly. She babbled, though the babbling sounded like popping bubbles and the waves. “Do you want to meet my little sister?”

  Lanarot was currently sitting by herself, pying with her own blocks, but she jolted upright when another baby appeared. Lanarot stared at the blue baby, and then up to Adam, fusion in her fabsp;

  “Lanarot, it’s Princess Mina. You have to be a good girl and py with her, okay?”

  Lanarot babbled, holding up her block, before throwing it and crawling away. Mina looked up at Adam, before smiling with her jagged teeth, before she tio py with her own blocks. The pair of babies pyed by themselves, though remained near one another.

  Adam sat down, crossing his arms and watg them. His heart was filled with a sweetness, ing a delicious dessert with his eyes.

  “Adam?” Elowen called.

  “Leave him, Lady Elowen,” Naqokan said. “He is currently recharging.”

  ‘What does that mean?’ Elowen wondered, but she left the Half Elf be.

  Dusk had fallen across the Iyr some time ago, but it remained dusk for some time. There urple glow all across the Iyr, and that did not ge, even as the hours passed.

  ‘Weird,’ Adam said, looking towards the sky. The night sky above was full of activity as usual, stars twinkling, ets flying, the multiple colourful phenomena which remained a secret to Adam.

  Dinner was louder than usual, but Adam hat there were only half the usual amount of adult Iyrmen about. The Iyr, no longer white from Nightval, but purple from the Twilight Month, seemed so different.

  “Will you be safe on the way back?” Adam asked, breaking some freshly baked bread for his sister and the Princess.

  “We will be fine,” Elowen replied. “The Iyr will assist us on our return.”

  “That’s good,” Adam said. “I’m gd you’re all safe.”

  “Thank you.” Elowen smiled.

  “You sorted out your alliauff with the Giants?” Adam asked, cheekily.

  “We did,” the Half Elf replied, before pausing. “The Giants also seemed to have heard of you.”

  For a moment, Adam frowned, recalling how they had quite a rough retionship in his st life. Some of the Giants trusted him, whereas others did not like him. ‘Should I bee a Prince like st time? Am I even strong enough? Hold on. How do they know of me?’ “Really?”

  “They say that Queen Silvari mentioned you to them.”

  “Oh,” Adam said, nodding his head. “Right, right. Entalia. She’s a friend of mine.”

  “A friend?”

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, smiling. “Though, she’s very different in parison to before. Though, Princess Mina is as cute as ever, that’s for sure.” Adam reached down to tickle her cheek, causio look up at him as she chewed her bread, before she giggled. “You o grow up well.”

  “You said before that you would answer her call,” Elowen said. “Do you still have the iion to help her?”

  “Of course,” Adam replied, as though it were obvious. “I o take responsibility since I’ve e this far.”

  Sonarot wondered how many times Adam would himself. He had already ed himself oo his sister, and oo the Princess, but he had dohe same for all the other children too.

  “Thank you, Adam,” Elowen said, smiling at him warmly.

  “Any time,” he replied, biting into some bread. “At least someorusts my word.”

  They tio eat, and the children began to dance as some of the Iyrmen pyed music. It was rare that this would happen, but Adam wondered if this was something they did for the current month.

  “Master Redboulder, are you a Smith by ce?” Adam asked. ‘Is that racist?’

  “Aye, ah’ve some ability in smithing,” Redboulder said with a smile, reag up to his beard, frowning when he only felt half.

  “Could I ask for some assistance? I’ve been designing some ons and shields, and was hoping for some input from someone who has a greater ability. It’s for a future project I’m w on, something which will require me, or someone else, to smith many copies of the same design.”

  “A uniform design?”

  “Yep,” Adam said. “I need a shield, sword, and spear.”

  “I’ll assist ye, d,” Redboulder said.

  Adam showed the Dwarf his current work, which the Dwarf owards. “Not bad, ah say.” Adam’s designs were fairly basid would be fine enough to smith.

  For a Human.

  “Yeah, but I feel like there’s something missing, and I don’t dare to say I want something with Dwarven quality, but I do want something that would make Dwarves not sick at the sight of such terrible ons and shields.”

  Redboulder chuckled, before nodding his head. He assisted Adam in reshaping some of the ons, w on every aspect of the ons and the shield.

  Smithing Check (Intelligence)D20 + 5 = 6 (1)D20 + 5 = 23 (18)

  Smithing Check (Intelligence)D20 + 5 = 16 (11)D20 + 5 = 21 (16)

  Smithing Check (Intelligence)D20 + 5 = 7 (2)D20 + 5 = 9 (4)

  “Master Dwarf, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but…” Adam looked down at the design of the shield. “Don’t you think the shield seems a little awkward?”

  Redboulder stared at the shield design he had made, before looking up at Adam. “Ah seem ta have made a Dwarven shield,” he said, rubbing his , wing. “Apologies, young d.”

  Smithing Check (Intelligence)D20 + 5 = 16 (11)D20 + 5 = 22 (17)

  Ohey had fixed the shield, Adam stared at the three designs. Each were fairly basid they had made notes on materials which would be required. Redboulder, who was more familiar with the materials, made a long list of materials which would be useful for the different ons, as well as some ratios for different alloys.

  “I ’t thank you enough, Master Redboulder,” Adam said. “Is there any way I repay you?”

  “sider it a thank you, d,” Redboulder said, patting Adam’s back. Thanks to the distra Adam had provided him, he fot that his beard had been ruined for a short while.

  “If you say so, Master Redboulder. If you ever need anything from my end, please do call. I’m an Enter too, so if you ever need magical ons, I’ll always be willing to assist you, if you’re not looking for Dwarven make, that is.”

  “Yer an Enter?” Redboulder asked, his eyes fshing up towards the Half Elf.

  “A better Enter than I am a Smith,” Adam said, nodding his head. “I’ve made quite a few. If you’d like to see my best, I ask my Aunt to show you, though I ’t use it any more.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m too dangerous with it,” Adam said.

  Redboulder chuckled, expeg it to be a joke, but the look in Adam’s eyes revealed it was no joke. He reised the look, the look of a crafter who had lost his greatest piece. He pat Adam on his back, sharing in his loss.

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  Thank you, Redboulder senpai.