The adventurers rarely meet each other. It was the passing of the sixty-first passing of the sun and moon. Their duties made them too busy to even eat together in the evenings. Corbin and Rez tirelessly worked at the blacksmith. Milas caught the attention of the city guards and they gladly joined her lessons. Together they taught the civilians of Arche how to defend themselves. Nia often arrived late at night, employed at the Magi’s Collective as an honorary scribe.

After their arrival from the mines, Milas spotted Corbin and Rez sleeping on the couch. She covered them with blankets to keep them comfortable. Nia also spent evenings writing new documents regarding their expedition at the ruins. She wondered when the four of them will get together again.

After securing the ores to Gargol, Rez noticed that Corbin was still possessing the tusker’s horn.

“Are you not planning to sell the tusker’s horn? It could cost a fortune.” Rez was nagging Corbin to make a quick profit.

“I’ll keep it.”

“Oh, a trophy. A tusker usually is a pet for the nobility. I wonder why would a tusker roam at the mines.”

“Probably left by its owner.”

“If the owner finds that horn, he would get angry seeing that.”

Corbin hid the tusker horn inside his bag. It was his first trophy against a rare beast. Maybe Rez was right. Selling it would be beneficial for the group. However, he heard some rumors from passersby. The tusker horn has potent medicinal properties. It’s better to use it in case of an emergency.

At the blacksmith, Corbin and Rez proceeded to forge their equipment. Nia previously permitted Gargol to enchant her necklace with Frigg’s Tear. Gargol carefully watched the two in their progress while crafting equipment for Milas and Nia.

He took Rez’s sketch of Milas’s fists. He hammered down pieces of Frigg’s Tears into a single sheet. He cut each sheet and carved wedges to shape a fist. He perforated each sheet and added nails for the joints. After combining the sheets into a pair of gauntlets, he treated it in a furnace and then drenched it in oil. He took a beast’s pelt for the rigid polishing.

For the necklace, Gargol carefully removed the gemstone from the old necklace. Since he’s only good at smiting metals, he hired a dwarven craftsman to reinforce the gemstone. The dwarven craftsman reshaped the gemstone from rectangular into a teardrop shape. He placed the gemstone inside a magical glyph to improve Nia’s magecraft.

Gargol sculpted a trinket from scrap metal, wrapped it in clay, removed the scrap metal, and took its mold. He melted a Frigg’s Tear and poured it into the clay mold. After it cools down, he submerged the mold in cold water, breaking it and revealing the new trinket. He took inspiration from Nia’s eastern heritage. He meticulously hammered and etched the trinket with dragonic patterns. He torched the trinket and doused it in oil for added reinforcement.

The elven leatherworker which Gargol hired arrived with a newly sewn string. The rope has an elven enchantment etched on the string. The gemstone that the dwarven craftsman reinforced also arrived on time. He assembled the trinket, string, and gemstone into an improved magical necklace.

Corbin flattened the Frigg’s Tear into solid and compressed metal. He hammered and folded the ore several times until achieving the desired thickness and shape. His sword design resembled a wide paddle with serrated edges. He ran the blade through the goblin grinder for sharpening. The goblin grinder used pedals and gears to run. He sent the blade to the furnace and quenches it with oil. This prevents the blade from breaking. Corbin used the goblin grinder again to smoothen any imperfections. He took some extra ores for sculpting the sword guard. He fused the guard and blade with molten metal. He used a strong adhesive, took pieces of ironwood, and assembles the handle. Corbin was impressed with the final product. It reflected his personality: straightforward and sturdy.

Rez forged the barrel out of a rod of Frigg’s Tear. He shaped, heated, and bore a smooth hole in the barrel. He picked a sturdy grip made of ironwood and ore casing. The grip’s pommel has extra reinforcement for clubbing enemies. He followed Gargol’s gun diagram. He added carvings to fit the metal parts made from Frigg’s Tears. Making the firing mechanism, receiver and hammer took days to finish. It required careful assembly with tiny parts. The tiny parts were very sturdy enough to avoid jamming. To finish it off, he engraved some designs of rosetta and vines. Rez gladly wiped his new firearm with gun polish.

Every morning, the adventurer's lodge remained quiet. Only the maids kept working in the lodge. They wanted to keep the adventurer’s lodge as homely as possible for the arriving adventurers. Most adventurers would take jobs and head out earlier. Whenever they return to the lodge, its welcoming atmosphere took care of them.

Stolen novel; please report.

Nia woke up from the dining table with her documents already finished. While compiling the rest of the documents, she heard knocking on the door. Corbin and Rez greeted her groggy face after opening the door.

“Good morning sunshine, how was your work?” Rez peeked at Nia’s documents, but he never found anything of them interesting. Ancient texts and articles about world history wouldn’t benefit him personally.

“We’re back.”

“Let me fix myself first. I’ll check on you later.” Unlike the other instances, Nia took a quick, cold shower to freshen up. The two left the room to let her get dressed. Her long black hair was still moist, and she was slightly shivering. Rez passed a cup of brewed leaves to help her warm up. After fixing herself and taking a sip, Corbin handed out the newly forged necklace.

“Well, thank you. This looks better than ever. What did sir Gargol add?”

“Some dwarven and elven enchantment. I won’t go into the specifics, but the troll said it will improve not only your magecraft.” Rez tried to figure out how magecraft works in craftsmanship.

“I hope you like it.” Corbin bashfully complimented Nia. Milas has been teaching him lately how to communicate with others.

“Everything you worked hard is deeply appreciated. In the meantime, I have to visit the Magi’s Collective for their documents. I’ll catch up later.” Nia took a nibble of the crusty toasted pan and bid farewell to Corbin and Rez. She hurried to the temple for the documents.

“Let’s wait for Milas to arrive back. She will be surprised.” Rez wrapped the gauntlets with some spare cloth. He wanted to see Milas’s reaction to her new equipment.

The women of Capitol City recommended their husbands, and relatives to work at the northern harbor. Despite his reluctance, Milas’s boss allowed her to train with the city guards. One laborer replaced by more would be more beneficial for the harbor. Milas and the city guards became the women’s fighting instructor. At first, the women were too embarrassed to wear peasant garb, but it provides them mobility. Their dresses were not ideal for fighting with fists, legs, and melee weapons. Milas taught the women proper forms of fighting. She instructed several techniques. Shifting the muscles, using their stature for advantage, confusing enemies with evasion, and more. The city guards meanwhile taught better handling of clubs, spears, and even paddles. The women slowly picked up their mentor’s instructions until they became well-trained.

“Honestly, I don’t fit as a teacher. But I am proud of your improvements.”

“It’s all because of your patience. A typical combat instructor would give up on us.” The short lady thanked her and looked satisfied with herself.

“You even dragged the city guards to your training session. It was the first time for us to cooperate with them.” The tubular mother gladly proclaimed.

“I used to be a terrible fighter before. But with perseverance, you can become better. Perseverance is the key.”

“Why not take this packed lunch? We made it for us all.” A gnome mother handed out a tied box to Milas and the city guards. The other women merrily took theirs and eat at the city park.

“Thank you very much. Well, I have to go. My companions are waiting for me.”

“Please also say our regards to them!”

On her way to the temple, Nia noticed her stamina was better than ever. She felt more invigorated to walk faster and carry her documents. While minding herself, a carriage lost its bearings, broke its wheels, and dropped some of its crates. One of the crates was about to hit an unaware bystander.

“Watch out!” Nia immediately conjured a magical shield for the bystander. The crate crashed but the bystander was safe.

The carriage halted as it hit a wall. Its driver plummeted into the foliage of bushes. The city guards attended the wreckage and assisted the driver.

“Thank you, stranger, I owe you my life.” The bystander bowed to Nia.

“I’m glad you’re safe and sound.” Nia greeted. She picked up again her documents and headed to the temple.

Arriving on time, Nia arrived at the temple with her documents. A young magi approached her at the temple door and collect her writings. He headed to the back room where most documents are kept safe.

“The documents for the dragonkin have been completed. You may take a rest in the meantime.”

“It is an honor to work with you.”

“Having a new source of information is a great addition to the archives. We’ll keep in touch.”

Nia exited the temple proudly with her achievement. It took her some crossing of time to complete the documents. Other than the documents, her magecraft improved thanks to the reinforced necklace. As a reward, she got paid well with ten aurum coins. During the afternoon, Milas and Nia met each other at the crossroads near the adventurer’s lodge. Milas noticed the new necklace dangling on her neck.

“You got a pretty necklace right there. Who made it?”

“It’s still my old necklace, but Sir Gargol and his associates enchanted it. Oh, Corbin and Rez have something special for you, too.”

“What is it?” Milas smirked like a child, anticipating their birthday gift.

Back in the room, Rez gave Milas a neatly-wrapped gift. At first, she couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe the infernal is pulling off a playful trick. Upon unwrapping the package, she got elated.

“Wow, I never used gauntlets before, but I appreciate it. I can finally parry bladed weapons and flying projectiles!’

“The underside is unprotected. Keep in mind.” Corbin pointed out the gauntlet’s weak spot. Milas’s new gauntlets can be used offensively and defensively. She first wore some cloth bandages before wielding the gauntlets. She even practiced punching in the air. The gauntlets were very light but sturdy. She retained her usual agility at fighting.

“Thanks so much, I wish I bought something for you guys.”

“Don’t mention it.” Rez praised Milas.

As the four were about to have some evening chat, the elder maid knocked at the door.

“Greetings adventurers, please come downstairs. Prince Randor has an announcement from the king.

“The king has a new quest for us. The Capital City of Arche is in dire trouble.” Prince Randor stood near the lodge’s hearth. The other adventurers surrounded the dashing prince. A new threat rose in the Capital City of Arche. The peace King Remus established for years got shaken down.