A mentally exhausted Sulika and Faeyra led Aldritch into the Fancy Dryad. Neither had any intention of opening the store today, so they left the lights off in the shop and headed into the dining room.

The two women collapsed into chairs, while Aldritch placed his barrel in the corner of the room and leaned against the wall. He hadn’t said much since the meeting with Governor Joolbis and Max ended, save for a few calming words to the young puppy lying in his arms.

Now, the puppy was looking around the room with a level of alertness none of them had seen before. Its bushy tail slapped against Aldritch’s robe, while its eyes worked double-time to take in every sight it could. The puppy whined, pushing against Aldritch’s hold with all four of its feet. While it wasn’t baring its teeth, it was pretty obvious the puppy was tired of being held and wanted to be put down.

Aldritch gave in after a few seconds and placed the puppy on the floor- it immediately bolted for the closed door and started scratching its nails into the wood, indicating its desire to leave the room.

“I suppose it is that time.” Aldritch muttered and headed for the door. “We’ll return in a few minutes.”

“Aldritch.” Sulika called after him, drawing his attention to her. “You know we need to talk about what just happened, don’t you?” She said, getting a nod of agreement from Faeyra.

“Of course.” Aldritch said, smiling at the two women. “Synne, come on girl.” He muttered, calling for the puppy to follow him. She reacted to her new name and sprinted out the door, leaving him to quietly shut the door behind them.

The puppy didn’t make a sound as she fell in line with his steps. She followed him out of the building, down the front steps, and a short distance down the street before her small bladder prevented her from going any further.

Aldritch smiled helplessly and prepared a spell to remove any sign of her mishap.

Back with Sulika and Faeyra. The two women looked up at the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Had they accidentally left a light on, and a customer was trying to get inside, or had Aldritch forgotten something?

Sulika sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll see who it is.”

Faeyra also climbed to her feet and pushed her chair back into place. “I need to check on Howie. I just remembered I haven’t fed him yet.” She said while following Sulika out of the dining room. While Sulika headed for the front door, Faeyra disappeared into her lab and quietly closed the door behind her.

Sulika reached the front door and pulled it open… At first, she was confused by what she was seeing: A fully loaded wagon was parked in front of the store. Half a dozen barrels and boxes were carefully strapped into the rear of the wagon via thick cords of rope, preventing any of them from sliding or bouncing during the journey.

It wasn’t until she saw the animal pulling the wagon that Sulika realized who it belonged to. The animal belonged to a race of creatures known as Buffopi: these four-legged bovines were the largest species of cattle on the island. This particular Buffopi was still relatively young. Its pale gray fur was still short and thin, instead of the long, dense hairs that would cover its entire body as an adult. It possessed a pair of heavy, two-foot-long horns curling back over its head, and the third shorter horn protruding from the tip of its snout marked the creature as male. Females also had horns, but they lacked the nose horn males possessed. Another reason she knew the Buffopi was a juvenile was its size. It stood a hair shy of seven feet at the shoulder, and probably weighed around six thousand pounds… This was approximately half the size of an adult male.

Sulika had even seen one Buffopi female who stood nearly sixteen feet tall and weighed almost twenty thousand pounds- though, that particular creature was an outlier… It was also a monster who’d been eating Miasma infused plants for the better part of a year and had to be put down.

Regardless, there was only one farm on Azuris island with access to Buffopi- which they raised for their furs, meat, and to serve as livestock guardians for their cows. That being the Palou Farmstead, Rea’s family’s place.

“What? No, Sulika is clearly the most beautiful woman on the island. No question.” A young man said before stepping around the side of the wagon. His hair was a mess of dark, twisted curls that reached the tips of his ears. A pair of pale blue eyes peeked through the curls to regard Sulika with an appreciative stare.

The man’s naturally dusky skin was tanned from long days under the sun, making him look even darker than he already was. He was easily over six feet tall, with a thin- but well-muscled body from working on a farm his entire life. All in all, the man was attractive, but his face was that of a boy still in his teens.

With a cheerful smile on his face, the young man approached Sulika without hesitation. He was followed by a muscular Dwarf with fairer skin, dark hair, and an intricately braided beard that hung to his waist. In contrast to the boy’s youthful exuberance, the older man looked both tired and amused as he followed the boy.

“Hey, Sulika!” The young man exclaimed, rushing up the steps to greet her. “Did you hear this guy?” He said before dipping his head towards the older man. “I couldn’t believe he’d actually say you weren’t the most beautiful woman on the island. But don’t worry, I'll set him straight for you.” The boy said, smiling like an excited puppy.

Sulika imagined if he was a Kandis, his tail would be wagging fast enough to blow dust off the ground.

“Hey, Claudius.” She said. She couldn’t help but smile along with him, his excitement was contagious. “Hello, Bogren.” She said, referring to the Dwarf.

“Afternoon, Sulika. Sorry to bother you on your day off, we just have a few barrels for you and miss Faeyra.” Bogren replied after arriving at Claudius’ side.

“The old man is right.” Claudius said, nodding along. He pulled a piece of parchment out of his back pocket and unfolded it with a flick of the wrist. He quietly cleared his throat before he began reading the order back to Sulika to confirm the contents were correct. “Two barrels of Cow milk, one barrel of Goat milk, one barrel of Buffopi milk, and… Is that an error?” Claudius said before turning the paper to Bogren. “Five barrels of chocolate milk, really?”

Hearing the order, Sulika couldn’t hold back a sigh. “No, that’s probably correct. Did Rea ask you to bring it over?”

Bogren took the invoice from Claudius and scanned it from top to bottom. “Yes, Lady Rea placed an emergency order for it this morning.” He said before handing the paper to Sulika. At the bottom of the page was Rea’s signature, as well as a receipt stating she’d already paid one silver coin and twelve iron pieces for the lot of it.

“Oh! Your beauty almost made me forget.” Claudius said, reaching back into his pocket and offering Sulika another piece of paper. This one was heavily creased, as if it’d been folded and unfolded many times.

Sulika unfolded the note and began reading. “Sorry to spring this on you. I was in shock last night and didn’t realize how much Aldritch overpaid for that barrel of chocolate milk until this morning. So, to make up for it, I’ve sent along a replacement for the one he got last night, as well as four additional barrels to even out the cost. I’ll also remind Ortag that a barrel of chocolate milk doesn’t cost a freaking silver coin. Again, so sorry about this.

P.S: I didn’t send the rest of the milk. I’m assuming Faeyra ordered it, but I’ll take care of it as well. No need to pay me back, just put in a good word for me with you know who.❤️”

Sulika folded the letter and shoved it deep inside her pocket. “Alright, bring them in, I guess. You can put them on the floor here.” She told them. She pulled open the door and propped it open with an empty box she’d grabbed off one of the tables and waited for them to finish.

Claudius and Bogren quickly and efficiently slid one barrel off the wagon and carried it into the store. They had some trouble getting the eleven-gallon barrel through the door. Its short length combined with its dense weight made it very awkward to maneuver. But after a few seconds, they got it in and went back for the next one.

By the time they’d gotten three barrels through the door, Faeyra stepped out of the lab and approached Sulika to find out what was going on. Sulika passed Rea’s note without a word and gave Faeyra a minute to read through it.

“Do you think she’s serious about Aldritch?” Sulika asked, peeking at Faeyra from the corner of her eye.

“It’s Rea.” Faeyra muttered, a slight smile on her face.

“True.” Sulika replied, also smiling. “How long do you think it’ll last?”

“No idea. Her last crush lasted four days. The one before that lasted almost a month. She had a crush on Zarud before that, and it lasted- what- an hour? There’s really no point in guessing at this stage.” Faeyra replied, passing the note back to Sulika and moving to inspect the barrels.

Sulika had almost forgotten about Rea’s interest in Zarud. But now that she’d mentioned it, the memory of that day came rushing back like crystal clear water: It was a brief, but powerful feeling Rea had after Zarud protected her from a few drunks. But once she’d sobered up enough to think clearly, she’d realized Zarud wasn’t the kind of guy she would be interested in dating. Thankfully she hadn’t gone home with him. Sulika couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened to their small group of friends if that’d happened.

“Have you seen Aldritch?” Faeyra asked as she approached Sulika. She’d finished inspecting the four barrels they’d already brought in. Everything seemed to be in order, though Faeyra was a bit distressed about where they’d put all of this milk. They had room in their ice box for the four barrels she’d ordered. She’d made sure of that before placing the order. But they definitely did not have space for eight barrels of milk right now. Maybe if they could find a bigger building before the milk went bad, they could save some of it… Wait, had Aldritch been carrying around that barrel of milk all night? Did he know milk went bad if it wasn’t kept in a cold place?

“No, I haven’t seen him. I’m assuming he’s walking around outside with the puppy… Speaking of which, are we really going to let him bring a dog in here without talking to us about it?” She whispered.

Faeyra shrugged absentmindedly. “We both have pets. As long as he takes care of her, I don’t really see a problem. Besides, a demon trained dog is better off in his hands than at the shelter. Somehow, I don’t think they’re quite equipped to deal with that kind of pooch.”

Sulika had to give her that one. Just remembering what the demon claimed to have put that poor puppy through was enough to set Sulika’s blood aflame. No one should be forced to endure that kind of life. If Sulika could bring Garr back to life, she’d probably gut him again for the hell he’d put those dogs through. “Do you think we’ll find her family tomorrow?” Sulika asked in a quiet voice. As part of Aldritch’s deal with the governor and Max, the first action of their guild- which didn’t even have a name yet- was to return to the island Aldritch already cleared and determine if it was salvageable or not. They’d be accompanied by a scouting team from the Hunters Guild to help with the assessment. Also, if there was still a dungeon present, then they were supposed to leave the island survey to the scouting team and attack the dungeon.

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If they were lucky, then the dungeon would have much needed resources they could sell to the city. Then again, even if they weren't lucky enough to find ore, they could still sell the bodies of all the demons Aldritch already killed.

Demonic materials were, in a way, even more useful than metal ores. Demonic muscle fibers made excellent alternatives to leather: much more durable than normal leather, while also resisting heat and acid. A few rare demons even ‘gave’ leather that could self-repair to some extent, drastically extending the life of the armor. Sulika doubted they’d find any Trolls on the island, but if they were extremely lucky, they might find one inside the dungeon. But Trolls were incredibly rare, level 76 demons; as strong as an Ogre, could wield either fire or ice magic on par with elemental spirits, and could regenerate from damn near anything so long as their heart continued to beat. That was the reason Trolls were classified as a ‘class S’ threat and was also the reason the guild offered twenty gold coins per head. Just one Troll could settle the fears of the other guild members and set them up with enough money to pay their salaries for the next few years.

“I doubt it.” Faeyra muttered. She leaned against the counter beside Sulika and watched Claudius and Bogren bring in the sixth barrel. “If they’d survived whatever happened down there, there’s no doubt in my mind that Aldritch would’ve brought them back too.”

“True… I don’t know. I just hate the idea of her being all alone, you know?” Sulika said while looking down at her feet.

Faeyra smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around Sulika’s shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. “She won’t be alone. She has Aldritch and she has us. Besides, have you seen the way Aldritch looks at that puppy?” Faeyra laughed quietly. “There’s no way he’s going to accept that puppy feeling anything but love.”

*Yap!* The puppy came running through the door at a dead sprint. Its tail flopped side to side, thumping against anything unfortunate enough to be in its way while it raced around the room.

Aldritch followed the puppy through the door a moment later with a barrel under each arm. He sent Sulika and Faeyra an apologetic smile before placing the barrels on the floor next to the others.

“Sulika!” Claudius yelled as he ran into the room. “Where did you find him? My guy, you're massive.” He laughed while circling Aldritch. “How much can you lift? Do you work out a lot? How old are you? Have you ever worked on a farm? You look like the kind of guy who’d enjoy working with animals. Oh! Were you a miner? You kinda remind me of the old man.” He said and nodded in the direction of Bogren.

Aldritch watched Claudius circle him like a curious puppy. He was more amused than annoyed by the boy’s questions. At the reminder of Bogren’s presence, Aldritch smiled and approached the Dwarf. [Greetings, Hillkin. I am Aldritch of Clan Blackshield. Might I know your name?]

The Dwarf’s eyes grew wide, and he looked Aldritch up and down with more interest than he’d shown previously. [No, you’re… Mountainkin!?] The Dwarf shouted, confusing Sulika, Faeyra, and Claudius. His exhaustion was washed away by a wave of excitement. [By the ancient halls of yore; I didn’t think there were any of you big buggers left.] Bogren laughed and vigorously shook Aldritch’s hand.

[I’m surprised you recognized my greeting. The other dwarves I’ve recently met didn’t seem to.] Aldritch explained, happy to have met someone who still remembered the old greetings.

[Bah. You must’ve only met the youngn’s. I’m sorry they weren’t taught properly; I can only blame my generation for not reminding them of the old ways… But I must say, you have no idea how happy I am to know some of our mountain brethren still live. I’d heard you were all killed off.] Bogren replied. There was something in his eyes while he looked up at Aldritch- his eyes were shining and there was an emotion that Aldritch couldn’t quite place. Wonder? Astonishment? Perhaps, even Hope?

[Well…] Aldritch replied, not really sure what to say. [I don’t want to get your hopes up. As far as I know, I’m the last of my kind.]

Bogren’s smile faded a bit, but that emotion dwelling within his eyes didn’t. [Maybe so. But if you survived, there could be others. Yes?]

“While it’s true that you are the last of your kind from Mag Ársa. To say it’s impossible for some Mountain Dwarves to have survived on Iolara would be a lie.” Oakairo muttered.

[True.] Aldritch replied. [And I hope there’s some of my brethren still out there.] He said. His words had a profound effect on Bogren; the old dwarf nodded with an excited smile on face and bowed at the waist.

He slowly took one of Aldritch’s hands in both of his own, and placed Aldritch’s knuckles against his forehead. [It’s a pleasure to know you, son of the mountain.]

Aldritch was surprised by Bogren's actions. What he’d just done was something Aldritch had seen happen to other people, but never to him. Aldritch smiled sadly and said, [It’s a pleasure to know you, son of the rolling hills.]

Bogren showed him a pleased smile as he released Aldritch’s hand and stepped back. He sent a nod to Sulika and Faeyra, before leaving the building and returning to the wagon. Aldritch looked down at his knuckles… He became aware of four pairs of eyes watching him and looked up. Sulika, Faeyra, Synne, and Claudius were all staring at him. “It’s a Dwarf thing.” Aldritch said, as if that explained anything.

Claudius shrugged, knowing he could pry the answer out of Bogren later anyway. Faeyra looked very curious about the actions Bogren had taken but knew better than to pry. Aldritch would probably tell them later if they asked. And Sulika… Well, Sulika was just curious about the expression on Aldritch’s face. Why had he looked so sad?

“C’mon, lad!” Bogren called from outside the store. “We’ve got more deliveries to make.”

“Be right there!” Claudius replied before rounding on Sulika. “So, Sulika. When are you going to let me take you out for a night on the town?” He asked, showing her what he hoped was a flirtatious smile.

“Look, Claudius. You're a sweet guy, but I’m just not interested, sorry.” Sulika replied, looking uncomfortable with the attention she was getting.

Claudius placed his hands together in front of him, almost as if he were praying, and said, “C’mon, please? I know I give off this ‘bad boy’ vibe that the ladies find irresistible, but we both know you’d be the boss in this relationship.”

“Oh, would I?” Sulika laughed.

“Absolutely.” Claudius immediately said. “I’d wrestle a Buffopi just for the chance to hold your hand.”

“Uh huh?” Sulika said, glancing over at Faeyra and silently asking for help.

“I’d box an Ogre just for the opportunity to buy you dinner.” Claudius said, grinning down at her.

“I’m sure…” Sulika replied, narrowing her eyes at Aldritch- who was approaching them with an expression of curiosity on his face.

“I-” Claudius’s words were cut off by the feeling of Aldritch's hand landing on his shoulder.

"Hello, I'm Aldritch of Clan Blackshield. What's your name?" Aldritch asked while turning Claudius to face him.

"Oh! Hello, big Sir. Claudius Palou, Rea's brother." He replied with a large smile. He was looking up at Aldritch's face, specifically at the giant's golden eyes. Claudius wanted golden eyes. He thought they looked so cool!

"Please, call me Aldritch. Alright?" Aldritch said and offered the boy a friendly smile. He gently turned Claudius away from Sulika and Faeyra, and began walking him towards the door. Claudius didn't see Sulika sigh in relief the moment he was turned away, but Aldritch did and sent her a reassuring wink where the boy couldn't see.

"Alright. Aldritch, then." Claudius replied with a nod. "I like your name. It sounds strong!"

"Thank you." Aldritch chuckled. "I like your name too. It fits you. But listen, I'm sorry to pull you away from your conversation like that. I just wanted to offer you a little bit of advice before you go."

"What about?" Claudius asked, showing Aldritch a look of genuine confusion.

"You like Sulika, yes?" Aldritch asked in a low voice, one only Claudius could hear. "And you want her to like you back?"

"Absolutely!" Claudius loudly replied. His own excitement surprised him, causing Claudius to flinch at the volume of his own voice. "Sorry." He said with a contrite expression. "I would love it if Sulika liked me back. I've... Kinda had a thing for her since the first time I laid eyes on her." He finished with a nervous laugh. "Is that as lame as it sounded?"

"Not at all." Aldritch said without hesitation. "It's admirable: You found someone to care about, and from what you said earlier, it sounds like you'd go through hell to make her happy. Right?"

"Definitely." Was Claudius's immediate reply. "I'd do anything to make her happy."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear you say that it makes this next part easier. Did you see how Sulika looked a bit ago? That wasn't happiness in her eyes- it was embarrassment." He explained. Claudius's mouth opened like Aldritch had just slapped him across the face. "Relax, I'm not reprimanding you. I get the feeling you weren't doing it on purpose, you were just trying to express your feelings. Yes?"

Claudius found he couldn't speak- a true rarity for him. He nodded for lack of anything to say.

"Then you've done nothing wrong. Being able to speak your mind is a valuable asset, one you should be proud of... Now, you just need to learn how and when that ability should be put to use. You do that by using these," Aldritch lightly tugged on Claudius's ear. "And listening to what people are saying. If someone says they're not interested, take them at their word and don't push them. You can always try again some other time, but only if you back off the first time. If you keep pushing after the first no, the only thing you'll get is their disdain. And you don't want that, do you?"

"No... Should I apologize?" Claudius asked in a quiet voice.

“Your mother is expecting us back in an hour! Let’s go!” Bogren yelled from the front of the store. His reminder of the passing time caused Claudius's body to flinch.

"Just this once, I'll do it for you. But I won't bail you out again. Is that understood?" Aldritch asked while looking Claudius in the eye.

"Yes, thank you." Claudius exclaimed with a wide smile on his face. “I really gotta go now. Bye, Sulika!” He said loudly, throwing up his hand to wave at her. Then he looked at Faeyra- and promptly flinched away from the look in her eyes. “Have a good day everyone!” He said and ran from the building. Aldritch, Sulika, and Faeyra could all hear Claudius and Bogren bickering until the wagon finally pulled away from the shop.

“That was…” Aldritch began as soon as he returned to the two women's side.

“Uncomfortable?” Sulika offered.

“Annoying?” Faeyra suggested.

“I was going to say amusing, but sure. Let’s go with those.” He laughed. “By the way. What’s with all the barrels?”

“Well, since you drank all of our milk the other day. I decided to order some from Palou’s creamery so I could let you try chocolate milk made from other types of milk. And you apparently overpaid for the milk you got last night, so Rea, the sweetheart that she is, decided to send over those other barrels to make up the difference.” Faeyra said, gazing at the barrels through tired eyes.

“Aldritch…”

“I’m still not marrying her. Stop asking.” Aldritch replied, instantly shutting Oakairo down.

“But the milk, man! Think of the milk!” Oakairo cried.

Aldritch ignored his cries for justice and picked up a barrel under each arm. “Where do you want them?” He asked Faeyra, who smiled at him.

“Put one barrel of cow milk in the kitchen, the rest can go in the icebox… By the way, Aldritch?”

“Yes?” He asked, looking back at her.

“Have you ever tried chocolate cake before?”

Aldritch could feel his lips beginning to tingle. The last time she’d asked that question, she’d introduced him to chocolate milk… “What is cake?” He asked.