In the following days, Zell’s family returned to the valley farm along with two new hired hands and escorted by Agitha. Upon her return, Agitha learned of a sudden operation by the kingdom that had resulted in the apprehension and execution of nearly all of the leadership of The Little Hand.

Merissa’s informants confirmed that all operations had apparently ceased and the organization was effectively scattered. Agitha remained suspicious but with little else to do, decided to assist in coordinating Zell’s training (in between trips to the pub favored by the dwarves where she enjoyed rowdy parties and far too much dwarven mushroom spirits).

Every morning without exception Zell spent two hours sparring and learning from Nin with the sword. Every evening he spent with Rin studying mana control and meditation, he still wasn’t permitted to cast any spells for fear they would go out of control. Once a week, Teya took him to various places in the city to practice the subtle arts of stealth, sleight of hand, and other basic infiltration skills in exchange for a private meal prepared by Zell himself. Agitha also arranged for Zell to visit the salamander Karakis once a week to begin learning tactics to defend against magic users.

With such a busy schedule, the winter days seemed to fly by for Zell. His various skills improved slowly at first but with time seemed to accelerate exponentially. After the first few weeks, he noticed that his lessons began to compliment one another.

The hours he spent sneaking around a dark abandoned warehouse with dozens of bells tied to his clothes aided his balance and footwork in swordplay. His senses became heightened from listening for tiny differences of inflection in hostile spells cast by Karakis. The breathing techniques he learned in meditation worked miracles in steadying his hands while lockpicking or disarming the traps devised by Teya.

By the beginning of the third month of winter, as ice storms from the Imperial Sea began to calm and strike less frequently, Zell’s progress was undeniable.

He could carry a sparring match with Nin for the full two hours without rest. He could navigate in almost total darkness in silence, and pick most types of simple locks. He was proficient in the techniques used in close quarters fighting with knives and bare hands thanks to Teya’s instruction. He was able to identify nearly all of the many attack spells used by Karakis and could react accordingly by dodging or channeling his mana defensively.

He still struggled to quiet his mind during meditation, particularly with the beautiful and also smitten girl so close but he put in a mighty effort. In spite of his hectic schedule, he always made time for Rin.

His favorite thing was to lie with his head in her lap, and Merc’s head in his own lap as she read aloud from whatever book she was reading at the time. The story didn’t matter, the sound of her voice and the warmth that he felt in those times was something he planned to hold onto in whatever trials might await him in the future.

They talked often about his coming summer training journey, which Agitha was all too mysterious about. Zell only knew that it was very real and dangerous. Rin expressed her worry but never wavered in her support. They also looked forward to the following fall, when Zell would return and they would be reunited and in the same class.

As the final month of winter finally blew itself out in a blustery violent squall of wind and ice, Spring’s first brave blades of grass pushed through the last lingering snow and frost. Buds appeared on the trees and all the living creatures in the kingdom breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“I’m gonna let that damn dwarf have it.” Agitha groaned as she tried with all her might to snap her leather armor into place on her sides. “This armor shrank in the cold.”

“I don’t think so.” Zell replied absently, tying his boots.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She barked back.

“It means you spent almost five months eating and getting drunk with Filstag and put on some weight.” Zell remarked. He had become much more comfortable around the volatile elf over the winter. “It’s not a big deal. What are you putting armor on for anyways? I thought we weren’t leaving for a few weeks yet.”

“On top of being a sassy shit you’re thick as a minotaur’s neck if you honestly don’t remember.” She replied.

“Oh!” Zell yelled in excitement. “You’re going to get them today!?”

“Volume Bait.” Agitha flinched, still nursing a tiny hangover from the night before. “Yes. I’ll be back in a couple days with your sister, who I definitely like more than you by the way, and your dear old hunter murdering dad.” Zell had become an expert in filtering out her surly attitude and simply smiled ear to ear.

“Don’t screw up today. Remember I’m sticking my neck out to set this up.” Agitha said as Zell was about to leave.

“I won’t. I’m just helping Filstag hammer out some nails and horseshoes to buy my equipment for the summer. There’s not much that can go wrong with that, right?” He asked.

“Careful you don’t cross paths with any bulls carrying that giant red flag around, dummy.” She grumbled as she lied down on her back in bed, sucking in her stomach to finally snap her armor into place. “Ha! See that?” She finished in triumph, but Zell was already out the door.

She looked down at Merc, and couldn’t help but see judgment on his face as he stared at her from Zell’s bed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Not from you too. I didn’t put on any weight and what would you know about it anyways?” She said to the dire wolf in mock frustration.

Zell tapped on Rin’s door. She answered, still sleepy eyed and yawning.

“I’m heading to Filstag’s, I should be back by dark.” He tilted his head back slightly so she could lean down to kiss him goodbye.

“Nope.” She said sleepily dragging him into her room. “You can’t go, sorry.”

Zell allowed himself to be dragged in (an outcome he had secretly hoped and allotted extra time for). After several minutes of kisses and cuddles Rin released him and returned to bed. Zell hustled out, bidding farewell to Kel as he passed him in the hall.

“Have fun Bait! Watch out those dwarves are slave drivers.” He warned playfully.

Zell walked south through the Merchant Belt and followed the sound of hammers ringing against iron.

He found the muscular dwarf hard at work, hammering a thin glowing piece of iron into a triangular point before sweeping it off the anvil into a barrel of water and replacing it with a new chunk of iron from the forge. His movements were effortless and he didn’t even look up as he greeted Zell.

“We start with the sun here, not twenty minutes after.” He gruffly said. “Head to the back, my assistant’s taking you to your station.”

Zell noticed the younger black bearded dwarf tapping his foot impatiently at the rear of the shop and hustled over.

The dwarf led him behind the brick building to a large smelter and a mountain of coal behind it. The dwarf quickly instructed him to add a cart of coal every five minutes and crank the bellows a dozen times every minute.

“If we lose heat it’s your arse!” The dwarf barked. “Git after it!”

Zell quickly began loading huge chunks of coal into the hand cart and rushed the full cart to the smelter. After the cart was emptied he cranked the heavy dwarven crank bellows which spun steel fan blades inside a clay tunnel, forcing air into the base of the great furnace.

Hours passed, and the mountain of coal began to shrink. Zell whistled as he embraced the workflow and was soon on autopilot, daydreaming about Rin until he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder.

“Quittin’ time, Golem.” The dwarf said.

“Golem?” Zell echoed in confusion.

“Aye. Like one of those animated wizard puppets. You didn’t stop to rest once. Never seen anything like it, you sure you ain’t part dwarf?”

Zell shook his head. He looked at the tiny pile of coal remaining and suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion like he hadn’t felt since his Sunrise trial in the mud by Agitha’s cabin.

“Same time tomorrow, Golem!” Filstag added. Apparently the nickname had spread around while he was zoned out.

“Sure.” Zell forced himself to walk normally out of the dwarf’s line of sight before he staggered the rest of the way back to the inn.

His skin and clothes were covered in black soot, and he spent several minutes rinsing himself with the frigid water from the well. Rin walked outside, and began helping him without being asked, wringing a wet towel over his back and wiping away the stubborn black mud.

“That was probably the hardest work I’ve ever done.” Zell sighed, finally draping a clean towel over his shoulders.

“That was the hardest work anyone has ever done, ever. It’s a dwarven blacksmith. That’s pretty much the whole definition of what they do.” Rin chuckled as she led him back inside and handed him a plate of food.

“Eat this and go lay down. I’ll come read after we clean up.” She gave him a quick kiss and a smack on the rump as she sent him out of the kitchen.

Rin kept her promise, and an hour later Zell fell asleep with his head resting in her lap and Merc’s head resting in his. After Zell was fully asleep, Rin carefully left them.

Her sister was in the hall as she left his room.

“He is such a damn good guy.” Nin said in a rare moment of sisterly support.

“He is. I worry too good sometimes.” Rin replied as she passed. “He wants the world on his shoulders and I’m scared that someday he’ll have it.”

“He leaves for that secret training soon, right?” Nin asked.

“Three weeks.” Rin answered. “It’s going to be hard to see him off.”

Nin stepped in and gave her troubled twin a hug and pressed her forehead into Rin’s.

“He’ll be fine. It’s Bait. He’s like that beetle you beat with your shoe for five minutes when we were little- indestructible.” She chuckled.

Rin felt better and went to her room.

The next day repeated in the same way. Zell worked for Filstag with his typical single minded endurance and quickly won over the like minded dwarves. His nickname of Golem quickly spread among the other dwarves around town and he soon had a small crowd of bearded gawkers watching him work, which he of course didn’t even notice.

The day after that Agitha returned with his family as expected. They celebrated and shared stories, and then Zell continued his hard labor. Day in and day out until the day before their departure arrived. As Zell walked away from the small pile of coal and the smelter. Filstag met him halfway with a bundle of objects wrapped in cloth.

He thanked the dwarf heartily and promised to visit after he returned from whatever Agitha had planned.

Finally the morning came when they were to depart. Agitha wore her studded leather armor and two new shining black demon bone longswords on her hips. She also wore Onigoro, The Sand Devil of Ten Thousand Arms in a vertical sheath on her back. Merc was outfitted in his own studded armor and saddle bags.

Zell wore a new studded leather vest along with a black demon bone pauldron over his left shoulder. He carried a buckler and a short, thick bladed gladius sword similar to the shape of his wooden training sword on his hip. he also carried a razor sharp dagger given to him by Teya on his other thigh.

The goodbyes had been difficult with many tears, but the promise of their safe return in the fall and all the adventures even beyond that made the pain bearable.

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In a rocky volcanic range hundreds of miles north of Vinia City, a lone figure stood high upon a ridge line. She wore the skins and furs of some of the most powerful beasts in the world. The once mirrored finish on her bastard sword’s blade had become dark and pitted with nearly a decade of non stop use.

She watched a scene unfolding far beneath her. A village of animal skin tents was being ransacked by hulking ogres. The small, weak monsters that were their prey screamed in terror and torment.

She started to turn away but something inside her made her watch just a moment longer. One of the small monsters was running for its life, clutching a tiny form in its spindly arms.

A long forgotten spark flashed in the eyes of the woman feared as death itself by every monster in the region. She disappeared from the ridge, and reappeared between the fleeing kobold mother and the slobbering twelve foot tall ogre. Steel flashed in the morning sun and blood sprayed high into the chill spring air of the canyon. Coralia Balfonse had come, and not one of the fifty ogre invaders would escape with its life.