The trip back to the village was fun to say the least. For me it was a run, for Velariah it was more of a rodeo. She had to hold on with all her might but she managed to hold to the end, the village gates, which is where I slowed down to a normal walking pace.

''That was fun!'' She said when we walked into the village.

''I'm gonna knock you off one day and you know it.'' I teased her.

''Sure, sure, in the meantime, we should look at the opportunities this brings. I should bring a lance next time!''

''What, so we can train jousting? That sounds terrifying, for them.'' I grinned.

''Psychological warfare is still warfare!'' Velariah grinned as well.

Velariah had asked me to make a quick stop at the treemender's oak to restock on some potions. It seemed that Pylanor was the one to help her and he seemed eager to do so. He even helped her stuff her bag with all kinds of potions, most of which I could now recognize.

'Blue is basic anti-venom, Yellow is painkiller or medium tier anti-venom, Green is healing, Red is energy.' I recounted as Pylanor put them in her bag.

When he was finished, Velariah took a bow, thanked him and walked outside with me.

''You get those potions for free?'' I asked.

''I do, thanks to my father. But even for other elves in the military they are very affordable, costing a few coppers at most. Then again, these aren't the highest quality ones either.''

''Interesting.'' I simply stated.

''By the way, about tomorrow.'' Velariah started. ''You fought against a troll before. Is there any advice you would give us?''

I chuckled. ''Don't get close. You remember what happened to my arm. If that happens to you, you're done for.''

''Not gonna happen.'' She replied. ''I need to get close to hit them with a sword.''

''Well, if you really have to get up close and personal, depending on their weapon, study their attack pattern before attacking. See for yourself where their openings are, the troll I fought was extremely slow and I could get hits with my spear in between his attacks with relative ease....''

I paused as I remembered something.

''Come to think of it, our weapons are still unenchanted. I think it would be a good idea to get some enchants to deal with a ''troll warlord'' from my personal experience, their skins are tough, like, extremely tough to pierce. Is there anything that helps with that?''

''There's piercing enchants and there's elemental damage enchants in the damage category.'' Velariah mentioned.

''Elemental damage? Does that do what I think it does?'' I looked at her.

''Elemental damage increases potency of all your fire, water, air, earth effects and derivatives thereof such as lightning.''

''Does it work on venom?'' I greedily asked.

''There's specific enchants for venom yes.''

''Well then. I guess one piercing and one venom enhancing gem it is.''

''You sure you wanna spend more money?'' Velariah asked.

I didn't have to think long about the answer.

''I'd gladly pay to, you know, not die.'' I thought for a second. ''How much are those enchants going to cost us?''

''About five silver each.''

''We should get them. No reason to not properly equip ourselves.''

I thought some more.

''By the way, that new sword of yours.'' I pointed to the sword which she was still carrying. She was going to need a new scabbard for it.

''What does the blessed steel have as an added effect?''

She hadn't told me about the effects yet. I was dying to know!

Her lips curled into a smile.

''Sometimes, when hitting with a dragon blessed weapon, you have a chance of invoking the blessing. In my case, this would be a fire blessing. The weapon can engulf itself in flame or send out a wave of fire to whatever it hits. It's not harmful to the wielder, only to the victim.''

''Sounds pretty strong.'' I answered. ''I guess that explains why Coldanus was so eager to take the deal.''

''Yeap, he is a sucker for these things. Working on blessed weapons is far more interesting for him than mundane ones.''

''By the way Vel.'' I smiled at myself being allowed to finally use her nickname. ''Do you have any idea if your inherity will turn out like your father's?"

If she could call smites from the sky with experience that was going to be crazy.

''Uhm, when I get enough corium, possibly, why?''

''And what is the element that he used?'' I continued.

''Holy, again, why?'' She frowned.

''And is holy made up of other elements or anything?''

''Fire and Light. Can you please tell me what you're getting it?'' She looked desperate for answers.

''So, you are likely to have an inherity consisting of fire and light and a sword with a fire effect. Have you thought about getting a fire enchant?''

''Uh, I have, but I figured it wouldn't be worth it. If I do possess holy magics like my father, it would definitely be worth considering but I'm not sure if I do.''

''I mean, did you plan to get anything else instead? It should still be somewhat useful for the sword alone. Those trolls are no laughing matter, I reckon elemental attacks may actually be more effective than normal ones. You have seen the one I felled. I had to use venom to take him down.''

''Well, one piercing, one normal damage and the third one I wasn't sure about. I could do what you suggested and perhaps replace it later if it's not to my liking. I assume you'll be going for a venom enhancing enchant and a piercing enchant?''

I nodded ''That would be the best for me I'd guess, against trolls at least.''

''Alright then.'' Velariah said. ''Let's pay Dworag a visit before he closes shop.''

Was it that late already?

I looked up to the skies, the familiar red glare of the evening had begun to set in. It seemed the goods spread out on the market stalls were taken off and then the stands being moved out of the way. Yeap, it looked like there were going to be trials tomorrow. That also means we couldn't do any shopping tomorrow. I hoped we would be able to pick up Draco's new weapons. That was, if Coldanus actually managed to finish them in one night, something which I highly doubted.

We walked up to the armor smith's shop and Velariah walked inside.

This waiting outside was getting to me...

Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long, as soon, Velariah came walking outside with five gems in her hand. A red one, a green one, two transparent ones and a grey one. She appeared to also have bought a wooden scabbard that was wrapped in what I thought was linen. It was bound to her waist and now held her new long sword, right next to her old one.

I imagined you would find those at a weaponsmith rather than an armorer but it appeared I was wrong in that regard. Maybe Coldanus had them but Dworag offered better prices? That seemed entirely possible as well.

Velariah handed me a green and a transparent gem.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

''I just hold these up to the socket, right?'' I asked to confirm I wouldn't do anything wrong.

''Yep.'' She affirmed.

I found the two gem slots of my spear behind the tip in the metal. I held the green gem up to it, saw it glow briefly before being sucked into the slot. Then a wave of faint green light rippled through the metal of the tip and back to the gem. I repeated the same with the other gem on the other side of the metal and the process happened again.

Velariah unsheathed her sword and did the same to hers, but when she inserted the red gem, the sword seemed to glow with a stronger light than when she had socketed the other gems. Velariah herself seemed surprised by it as well.

''Seems the fire gem may not have been a bad idea.'' I said after observing her reaction to it.

''Maybe not, huh.'' She said as she picked up the word again. ''Can't wait to put this baby to good use.''

''Stop that Vel, it makes you look like a psychopath.'' I grinned.

''Oh, maybe I am.'' She grinned back as she put the weapon back in its scabbard.

It would seem we were low on funds again, but at least we would not have to make any more purchases for the near future. We could finally work on saving up money.

I should have gone for the saddlebags though. There was no way I was going to be able to take a cart with me into the forest. I guess if we came across anything big, the good ol' silk rope would have to do.

Oh well, nothing I could do about that now. After tomorrow we should look for saddlebags that would fit me. It was going to be the last purchase! At least, I promised myself.

''You hungry?'' Velariah asked as she started walking.

''Not really, but I guess I should eat at least something.''

''Let's go home and see what Elly cooked up, I know you like her cooking so even if you're not hungry I am pretty sure you'll have space for some.''

''Was it that obvious?'' I said with a smile.

''Yuuuup!'' Velariah let out with a wide smile on her face.

''I hope your father hasn't touched the crates in the hallway.'' I said, jumping to a completely different topic.

''He probably hasn't, doubt he knows what the yellow stuff is for anyway.'' Velariah noted

''Sulfur, it's called sulfur. It's a very important resource for life. Very tiny particles of it that you can't see with the naked eye is found in pretty much all life.''

She would have no idea what sulphates were so I decided to keep it as simple as I could.

Another thing sprung to mind.

''You know the smell of rotten eggs?'' I asked.

''Yeah.'' Velariah simply stated.

''That's caused by sulfur parts that are bound to something else. Look at it like a puzzle. You can combine the very tiny sulfur parts with other puzzle pieces and depending on what it's bound to, you get a different effect. The rotten egg smell is caused by a combination that is extremely dangerous. If you ever smell rotten eggs in swamps or something similar, you better run away as fast as you can. it's highly toxic.''

''That's...'' She paused. ''Very interesting info Elania. You guys had this all figured out in your world?''

''A lot of things like that, yes. Once again, I am no expert in the field, but I know a thing or two. The science of these combinations so to say and changing them to different combinations is called chemistry.''

''And that's part of this science thing you talked about earlier?'' She inquired.

I nodded.

Another thought shot into my mind.

''Fuck, we forgot to ask Coldanus to make a sword or something for me.''

I thought about how a fight against a troll warlord may unfold.

''On second thought, I don't think it matters much considering what we are up against. Still, it would have been useful to train with...''

If a troll warlord was an improved and stronger version of a normal troll, and I expected it would be, a sword would do nothing to stop their attacks. I doubted even a shield would. They could probably smash right through it. It could even make for more dangerous situations because of the shield. It could shatter and send splinters flying in all directions. I would like for my shields not to be turned into frag grenades.

Hopefully these special arrowheads would help out tomorrow. I imagined Coldanus should be able to at least finish those. Those didn’t sound like they would be too difficult to make.

''Well, you're the expert here.'' Velariah said.

''What because I killed one troll? The one I killed was even distracted by that human that later decided to turn on me.''

That reminded me of something else that may be of use.

''There's one other thing that I noticed in that fight. I don't know if it’s a troll thing per se, but it seemed that the longer he fought, the quicker his movements became. We had best make the fight as short as possible.''

''Or, we could make a trap.'' Velariah suggested.

''If we have enough intel of the area and are in a position to do so, we should definitely lay a trap.'' I replied.

''Yeah, you seem to be good at that.''

She took the words out of my mouth. I was about to say the same thing.

We reached Velariah's mansion and Elly, as usual, opened the door. The two crates of goods were still stacked on top of each other next to the entrance. We got out of our armor and I carried the two boxes over to the dining area where Valtheril was seated at the head. He was drinking a cup of tea and, unsurprisingly, reading from a large book in front of him.

''Welcome home.'' He said as we entered the room. ''I've been waiting for the two of you.''

He averted his gaze from the book to the two of us.

I wasn't feeling comfortable. Whenever someone said that, it was probably bad news.

''What is with the yellow stuff in one of those crates?''

Uh-oh, he had taken a look it seemed.

How can I word this with as little suspicion drawn onto me as possible?

''This yellow stuff is called sulfur, it's a very useful fertilizer, but I am not quite sure on how to use it effectively. It’s not nearly as convenient as the volcanic dirt that we also brought home. No, this stuff needs some time to be broken down into useful nutrients for the crops that grow in its soil.''

''Then why did you bring it? Why not bring more of that magic dirt instead?'' He inquired as he took a sip of his tea.

Oops. He got me.

''Because you only need very little of this stuff. This crate should be enough to fertilize a large area. As I said, you would probably have to do some experimenting on the exact amounts you would need to make the soil have the optimal amounts. As far as I know, you spread this stuff over the soil a while before you plant the crops to allow it to settle.''

I paused for a few seconds.

''As for the other fertilizer. As far as I know, you can spread this whenever you want. It might be worth looking into its effects compared to normal soil with the treemenders. See the difference for yourself so you can decide what priority the canal should have before undertaking such a massive plan.''

I believe I talked myself out of that pretty well.

''Elania said that yellow stuff would have to be broken down into small puzzle pieces that then binds itself to other puzzle pieces that make for good plant food.'' Velariah happily ''explained''.

''Puzzle pieces?'' Valtheril frowned.

I sighed.

''Long story. The short story is, use it as fertilizer, wait a few weeks, then plant.''

''Good enough for me.'' The general said as he closed his tome.

''I'll head out to the treemender's oak to talk to them, is it okay if I take that crate of dirt with me?''

''Sure.'' I answered. ''Do tell me of the results, I am more than a bit curious myself.''

I put the crates down on the ground and moved the crate of sulfur onto the floor. I then handed Valtheril the crate of volcanic dirt, and watched him leave the house, book in hand and all. I wondered if he was going to write down his findings.

I sighed in relief. It seemed I had convinced him of its use for farming. If only he knew the other uses it had...

Not that I would tell him.

Elly walked into the room and asked if we were interested in dinner. Velariah seemed hungry as she instantly replied with a loud ''yes''.

It seemed Elly had conjured up a pleasantly smelling vegetable stew. Despite not being that hungry I knew I could always rely on Elly to make me want to eat.

There seemed to be one problem, however, as ten minutes into dinner my stomach started growling.

''I thought you weren't hungry.'' Velariah teased me. ''That sound determines that was a lie.''

''That sound is not from hunger.'' I stated as I grabbed my stomach in pain.

''Wait, what’s going on Elania?'' Velariah stood up from her side of the table and walked over to me.

I took two steps back and clutched my stomach again, suddenly feeling very nauseous.

''I have a feeling it's my body rejecting vegetables.'' I spoke.

I'd never experienced it like this though. I knew I had a certain appetite for meat, but eating vegetables with those had never been a problem. It was as if my spider half was screwing with my human half and demanded at least some meat with it.

''I think my body demands something else.''

It was a shame because I was thoroughly enjoying this stew too...

Another lesson learnt, I guess. It seemed turning vegetarian might actually kill me.

I was done complaining at this body, but it would have been nice to at least know this beforehand...

Velariah walked into the kitchen and returned with some beef jerky.

''Here, see if this eases the pain.''

Not a bad hypothesis.

Meat as painkiller, who would've thought?

Even if it wasn't my favorite, it seemed to appease my lower half as I soon felt the pain fading.

''Seems you have a rather... unique diet.'' Velariah mentioned as she continued with her own dinner.

''It's not even that unique.'' I spoke. ''Just not vegetables alone it seems.'' I sighed after that.

''Well, it’s not a problem. It's something we simply have to take into account when we go out to do shopping, and by ''we'' I mean Elly.''

''Heh, she is rather reliable. Isn't she?'' I said at the mention of the maid's name.

Fortunately for us Elly went upstairs earlier.

''Elly is a golden girl. We're happy to have her here. Her old place was rather... mean to her. Let's put it that way. We're not home that often, she gets a lot of freedom here and she seems to thrive on it.''

I chuckled.

''I can see that yea. She doesn't look like somebody that would abuse it either.''

Velariah shook her head.

''Definitely not.''

Soon after that, the white-haired elf took the plates to the kitchen before making her way upstairs. When she came down, she was holding fresh, folded clothes in her hands.

''I'm going to take a bath. I guess I'll see you in your room soon?''

That question surprised me, especially after what she said a few days ago.

''Technically, it's your room.'' I smiled at her. ''Also, if you have any dice, could you bring five of them with you and some paper and a pencil? There's something I'd like to show you.''

''Oh, now I am curious indeed. I'll see you soon!''

With that she went through the door at the far-right side of the dining room.

Seriously, how many bathrooms did this mansion have?

Oh, well. I was determined to show Velariah the concept of ''Yathzee''. It would make for excellent pastime when there was nothing to do but wait. Now was one of those times.

I considered taking a bath myself but it would simply take too long. Thus, I settled on just working on my hair for a while and getting some of the dirt off of the ends of my legs. I could take a nice hot bath after we returned from our next quest. We were bound to literally get our hands dirty fighting a troll warlord, after all.

I finished up my hair and let myself drop in the pile of pillows. I relaxed for a few minutes when Velariah knocked on the door and then walked in.

Why would she even knock if she was going to come in anyway?

She had the requested items in her hands and an excited look on her face.

''What are we going to do with these? Science?'' She asked.

''Hah, no, it's for a simple yet popular game, at least back on Earth.''

''Oh, show me!''

Oh, I was going to show her alright. I was going to bring the pain and destroy her at a game of dice. This would be fun.

I grinned evilly as Velariah handed me the items.

She now had a confused look on her face and I loved every second of it.