“Well? Do any of these strike your fancy?” Tygus asked.

The dwarf and Cillian were standing together, facing a myriad of weapons mounted on a wall. They were placed on a decorative wooden panel and arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way. There were many swords of varying width and length, a multitude of knives, a crossbow, two spears, and a singular large warhammer.

They were in the basement and they could only see from the lantern in Tygus’ hand. Just seeing this wall alone educated Cillian on why he was never allowed down here.

“Um…” Cillian browsed the wall, feeling paralyzed by the degree of choice. “What about a sword?”

“One-handed? Two-handed? Single or double-edged? Curved?” interrogated Tygus.

“I have no clue,” Cillian shook his head with wide eyes.

“Well how about this one?” Tygus grabbed a sword off the wall.

It was on the shorter side, with a handle barely big enough for the dwarves' thick hands. The craftsmanship was simple compared to the ornate hilts and blades of some of the other swords.

“I found it in a treasure hoard in Burlury,” he tossed the sword between his hands. “All of these weapons are level enhanced, they all do something special. This one allows you to attack twice as fast.”

Tygus signaled Cillian to take a step back, then swung the sword. The swipes were faster than Cillian could keep track of and they seemed to form into a blur. The cutting of the air made a distinct and rapid slicing sound

“Whoa,” Cillian’s mouth was open in awe.

“You’ve seen nothing yet, lad,” Tygus said as he put the sword back onto the wall and took a dagger.

The dagger was small with a black curved blade that seemed to have a red glint to it. Cillian couldn’t tell if that was how it was made or if it was from the orange lantern light.

“Watch this,” the dwarf said while handing the lantern over to Cillian.

Suddenly, Tygus vanished completely from vision.

“What the-” Cillian stumbled backward from the surprise and bumped into something. He turned around to see Tygus standing there.

“This dagger lets me go invisible for a brief moment,” Tygus said. “Combined with my quick movement, it just looks like I jumped from here to there.”

Tygus vanished again and appeared next to Cillian where he put the dagger back in its place on the wall.

“This is so amazing,” the boy said with a wide grin. “Okay, what does that one do!”

He pointed at the large warhammer.

“Ho ho, this baby is one of my favorites,” Tygus took the weapon into his hands. “I used this to crush a gang of goblin thieves.”

Cillian gave him a cock-eyed look.

“What? They were harassing the good townspeople. Anyway, watch this,” Tygus gripped the handle of the weapon tight and the head of the warhammer erupted into a kind of golden flame.

“Whoa…” Cillian reached out, trying to feel if there was any warmth from the flames.

“Nope,” Tygus said and the flames suddenly disappeared. “These things will peel the flesh off your bone, and we don’t need another injured fellow in the house.”

Cillian pulled his hand back and Tygus reignited the golden flames.

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“I wish I could show you without causing catastrophic damage, but when you hit something with the Blessed Crush the flames go everywhere,” Tygus killed the fire and remounted the weapon.

“Blessed Crush?” Cillian asked with a giggle.

“I like to give them names. They are like family to me,” the dwarf said sheepishly. “Okay then lad, you figure out which of these looks like something you would use? Keep in mind, to you they are just simple hunks of metal. You know, normal weapons. You won’t be able to use any of the magic till you gain some levels.”

“What about an ax?” Cillian asked.

“An ax?”

“Yeah, I used to be a lumberjack. So, I am already familiar with an ax,” explained Cillian.

Tygus thought for a moment. “Oh, I think I have something. Here, give me the lantern.”

Cillian obeyed and Tygus turned away and shined the light to reveal a rack of weapons on the far wall of the basement.

“It’s not as fancy as those other ones, but this is a sturdy and reliable weapon,” he said as he took the only ax Cillian had seen so far.

It was simple, with a medium-length wooden handle, and a broad gray metal axehead. Tygus handed the weapon to Cillian. Up close, the boy saw the swirling design engraved on the metal and a spike that protruded from the back of the axehead.

“I won’t reveal its secrets to you. If you ever reach the level, I’ll let you have that surprise,” Tygus said.

“Thank you, Mr. Dronbar,” Cillian replied.

“Learn the weapon well, boy. It’s your life now.”

***

“Can I trust you to make this every day?” Tygus asked. He was mixing and crushing a series of herbs and roots together in a mortar and pestle. “It’s very important to lower his pain and keep the inflammation down.”

Cillian nodded while taking careful note of the mixture that the dwarf was making. After grinding everything together into a sufficiently fine paste, Tygus took a thin handkerchief and placed everything on it.

“Hand me the cup,” he ordered.

Cillian obeyed and gave him a simple ceramic cup of boiling water. Tygus wrapped the handkerchief around the paste and then squeezed it above the water, straining out all the liquid from the solid material. Finally, he stirred the drink with a spoon.

Together, they went into Ravel’s room. The tabaxi was propped up with pillows and had his attention sunk into a dusty book. His foot was no longer hanging in the makeshift sling.

“Here you are,” Tygus offered the cup to the injured. “Careful, it’s hot.”

Ravel put his book aside and took careful sips from the cup.

“I’ll make you up a cast in a few days,” Tygus said.

“Thank you, Master,” Ravel replied after finishing the cup.

“How long will it take for him to be able to walk again?” Cillian asked.

Tygus reached into his pocket and retrieved his pink and orange crystal. He put his hand on the tabaxi’s arm. Then a thin pink screen formed from the crystal.

HP: 13/17 multiple breaks, multiple fractures, ligament damage, muscle damage

“Hmm, I’d say we can get you on crutches in less than a month. I know you tabaxi heal fast,” Tygus said as made the screen disappear and put the crystal away.

Cillian couldn’t shake the feeling he was somewhat responsible for this happening.

If only we still had some of those potions that Mr. Dronbar used on me.

“Don’t worry, we got this boy, I mean man, taking care of you full time,” Tygus slapped Cillian’s back.

“Huh?” Cillian said confused.

“You’ve grown quite a bit since I first met you, Cillian,” the elder dwarf said. “No longer a boy, I’d say.”

“I agree, you are blossoming before our eyes,” Ravel nodded his head.

Cillian blushed, he didn’t know what to say.

“Hey Ravel,” Tygus said. “I bet the lad here can beat you by the time you recover.”

“I don’t doubt it. He trains exceptionally hard,” Ravel replied with a smile.

They continued their conversation, but Cillian couldn’t hear them over his own thoughts.

Beat Ravel? Can I beat him? It hasn’t been close a single time, so far. But they’re right. I'm getting stronger. I’m not a kid anymore. The next time we spar, I will beat him. I have to if I want to be able to save Amalea.

“What’s with that face?” Tygus asked.

Cillian’s eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth turned downward, which gave a look that was the combination of anger and determination.

“Oh, nothing,” Cillian said. “I just realized that there was something I had to do.”