I halted a bit down the road from home, and Eryn stopped to look at me.

“Changed your mind?” she asked.

“Not at all. Just, you've seen Ma, right?”

She nodded, setting her bloody blonde hair moving.

“She can be a bit enthusiastic, is all,” I said.

“Don't worry. We survived a Scuttler swarm today. I think I'll be fine around your mom.”

I scratched the back of my head and smiled as best I could, a slight twinge of regret at having invited her home. It had made perfect logical sense to do so, having volunteered Pa to butcher her corpses for free. It could save her enough to make a difference compared to selling the carcasses to the adventuring guild or the bank. And with our improved standing with Edwin, and Dr. Ridley practically offering to mentor her, she didn't need to focus on increasing her guild reputation anytime soon. What she needed was levels, gear, and a class gem. Just like me.

Still...

“I'm sure you are right, just don't hold them against me, eh?” I said.

“Come on already!” she said. “Let's see if we got gems!”

I smiled and took her hand, leading her down the street and through the wide doors of Steel & Scale, our smithy. The familiar scent of coal smoke and heated metal filled my lungs with a sense of peace.

Home.

“Pa!” I said, shouting above the clanging of metal on metal.

Pa turned from his work, hammer paused mid-strike. His face broke into a warm smile that froze as his eyes caught the dried blood spattering our clothes.

“Helena!” His voice cracked like thunder through the smithy.

Eryn and I shared a look.

Oh boy, here we go.

Ma burst through the door that connected the smithy with the store. Her eyes widened when she took us in.

“What in the shattered gems happened riftside?” She looked ready to jump through a rift herself to deal with whatever had hurt us.

“Well, we were hunting Scuttlers when—”

Ma's eyes dropped to our linked hands, and her entire demeanor shifted.

“Eryn, dear, come with me. We need to get you cleaned up, right away.” She strode forward and took Eryn's other hand. “You two—” She jabbed a finger at Pa and me. “Don't you dare set foot in the house until I say so.”

Eryn threw me an amused smile as Ma whisked her away, leaving me alone with Pa in the suddenly quiet smithy.

“That was...awkward,” I muttered, eyeing Pa. He just shrugged.

I settled onto my favorite anvil, the one I'd first learned to shape metal on.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“So, yeah, Benedict took us hunting Scuttlers…”

I laid out the whole story - how it had been a cobbled-together group, the Scuttlers swarming us, Johan being a level zero, Marcus' death, how I'd hired Knut and his subsequent injury, and finally Benedict's cowardice and lies.

“They're putting him before the tribunal,” I finished. “Serves the bastard right.”

Pa nodded, stroking his beard.

“Always had a weird feeling about that one. Something about his eyes was just...I don't know.” He picked up a piece of metal, turning it over in his hands. “Speaking of eyes, I noticed you brought Eryn home.”

Heat crept up my neck at the mention, and no matter how much I'd prepared myself for that, I still couldn't help but get flustered.

“Yeah, about that. We might be, uh, dating now or something?” I scratched the back of my head. “And I kind of promised we'd help dissect her Scuttler corpses. That's okay, right?”

Pa's laughter boomed through the smithy. He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to rock me forward.

“Of course it's okay! She seems like a wonderful girl. Smart too, from what I've seen.” His eyes gleamed. “You know, if she's interested, we could even offer to invest some of those carcasses here. Better returns than just selling them outright.”

I grinned.

“Thanks, Pa. She might like that.”

Then he grew serious, and I knew some tough questions were to follow.

“But enough about this, son. You've been purposefully avoiding any mention of that hammer of yours, and I've let you tell your story the way you wanted.”

“Pa—” I started, but he held a hand up to stop me.

“By the pioneer's plight, if you don't tell me how a class-blessed soul weapon performed in combat, I'm going to box your ears worse than when you split my favorite anvil!”

“But you didn't box my ears?”

“I should have!” Pa mock-hissed and then scowled, but I could tell he was joking.

“Well, Pa, about that, you might not believe this, but…” I smiled, drawing out the moment.

He stood and cracked his knuckles.

“Fine, fine! I'm kidding! Please, sit. It's just all a bit crazy, and I don't even know where to start.”

“The beginning is always proper.”

“Right. Well, it talks.”

Pa chuckled.

“Nice one.”

“No, really, Pa. It talks. And it has a name.”

“Vannash' Khazeesh, Ash. Do not mess this up for me.”

“A name?”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I nodded.

“Vanis Khazish, but—”

“It's VannASH' KhazEESH, you bumbling peasant!”

“—I've decided to call him Roq.”

“And I'm supposed to believe he talks in your head?” Pa asked, scratching his beard.

“Yup.”

“And you haven't lost your mind?”

“Let me prove it.” I stood and turned my back. “Hold up some fingers and I'll tell you how much.”

“Okay?”

I held Roq above my shoulder.

“You're starting to worry me, son.”

“Which fingers?”

“The middle one.”

“The middle one,” I said, and turned, seeing Pa holding up all ten digits.

“Hey!”

“That'll teach you to butcher my name, ass.”

I rolled my eyes.

“He's being a diva.”

“He?”

“A diva? Me!?”

“That's exactly what a diva would say.”

“Yes. He's annoyed I butchered his name,” I told Pa.

“I'll have you know I am absolutely outstanding, and if you cannot see that, and make the appropriate effort, then I don't think you deserve access to my abilities.”

But before I could reply to my temperamental hammer, Pa sighed.

“Son, I'm sorry I let you go out there like that. I always worried something like this would happen.”

“What?”

“The stress of combat, it—” He shook his head. “Come here.”

He opened his arms.

“That's it. I'm not letting you screw this up. We're doing this again, and if you lie to me, it's straight into storage. Got that?”

“Fine! But let it be known I'm doing this under duress.”

“Pa, just do it one more time, okay?” I said, turning around and holding the hammer up above my shoulder.

This time, Roq told the truth, and after I'd guessed correctly a dozen times in a row, I turned to find Pa sitting on a chair, his face a mess of bewilderment, worry, and just plain awe.

“It is magical.”

“Oh, yes, Pa. He definitely is. Roq delivers blows with a force far mightier than he should.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it's as you saw with the anvil. I squashed the Scuttlers, Pa. It was as if all their armor meant nothing. And—” I looked down at my bloody leathers and smiled. “They did get me good. Roq is amazingly powerful—”

“And don't you forget it!”

“—but his range is a limitation.”

“You are simply using me incorrectly! With better form, you should have killed them all without taking a scratch! Admit that you suck, peasant!”

“But when I got hurt, he helped me.” I leaned in and lowered my voice even further. “When I store the hammer together with a monster carcass, it heals me, Pa. Roq has an ability that supercharged my regeneration.” I widened the cut in my pants to show the unblemished skin beneath. “Weeks of healing done in minutes.”

“Don't ignore me!”

“That's incredible,” Pa said, smiling. Then he cleared his throat, stood, and bowed to the hammer. “Roq, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you.”

Oh, no. He did not just do that!

“Ah! The metal offspring was inferior in quality. Finally, someone shows me the proper respect I am due.”

“Roq says hi.”

“Thank you for keeping my son safe,” Pa replied.

“No fair! I helped you with the finger guessing. Least you can do is correctly relay my words.”

“Make the words better and I'll relay them truly.”

“He says you are very welcome, and he thanks you for the gracious gift of your finest steelhusk hammer. He will do his best to honor your sacrifice.”

“I will do no such thing!”

“Yes, you will. That hammer was his most prized possession, and you got it as a body. That means you owe him. Big time.”

Pa grinned from ear to ear.

“That brings the warmth of the forge to an old blacksmith's heart, Roq.”

“He's a blacksmith. Being part of my forging was the achievement of a lifetime! An honor! Why would I ever owe a two-legged—bah! This is so frustrating! Your species is as annoying as—well, anything!”

“You'd rather have been bound to that short-sword over there?”

I could feel Roq shiver.

“That axe?”

The handle seemed to go cold, though I didn't know if it was all happening in my mind or not.

“Fine! You've made your point! I am grateful. Under duress.”

“Noted.”

“Son?”

“Oh, sorry. Sometimes it gets confusing having two conversations at the same time. What did you say?”

“I asked what he wants.”

“Fortunately, our goals align well, with Roq aiming to become the strongest soul weapon in the worlds, yes, plural, whatever that means, and he grows by consuming the lifeblood of my enemies.”

“They don't technically have to be your enemies.”

“Do we need to have the cow discussion again?”

“Fine! The blood of your enemies will suffice.”

“Explains his sheen,” Pa said.

“What?”

“Not a drop of blood on him.”

I held Roq up and looked closer.

“Huh. I hadn't noticed. I figured it had just... slipped off somehow? I was a bit distracted on the walk back.”

“Well, if this ain't cause for celebration, then I don't know what is.” Pa rose and limped over to one of the barrels, threw a suspicious glance across his shoulder toward the door leading into the house, and swiftly opened it, pulling out a bottle I'd only seen a few times before.

“So that's where you hid it,” I laughed.

“Hush!” He took out two cups, poured a finger in each, and stuffed the bottle back into hiding.

I accepted the cup and stared down at the color-changing liquid, licking my lips.

“What is that?”

“Echo of the Rift,” I said, holding it up to my nose and inhaling.

“Down in one,” Pa said with a grin.

We clinked cups and I threw them back.

“Phew!”

The fire burned its way down my throat before spreading along my limbs, making my toes and fingers tingle.

“Any good?”

I slowly breathed in, feeling the air cool my throat all the way down.

“Delicious,” I said.

“Better than blood?”

I laughed and handed over my empty cup.

“Pa, just wait till you see what we looted.”

At that moment, the door leading into the smithy opened, and Eryn stepped through.

My heart skipped as she made her way inside, and I had to swallow. Her honey-blonde hair fell loose around her shoulders, still damp from washing. She wore one of Ma's old dresses, a simple blue cotton thing that hugged her figure in ways her usual practical leathers never did. The hem swept just above her ankles, showing bare feet that had been scrubbed pink. Without the blood and grime of battle, her skin glowed, and those green eyes sparkled as they met mine.

Damn.

“Oh, for the love of— You're drooling! Get that drool away from me! I can't absorb spittle, you mongrel biped!”

I wasn't quite drooling, but it had been close.

“Mr. Tharen, you should have seen him out there.” Eryn's voice filled the smithy with warmth. “The way he handled those Scuttlers? I've never seen anything like it. Roq crushed their shells like they were nothing.” She gestured enthusiastically. “And Johan? That scavenger who got separated from his group? He'd be dead if not for Ash. No questions asked. Hell, we would all be dead.”

I grinned and started walking toward her, but she held up both hands, backing away with a laugh.

“Oh no, you don't! Not until you've cleaned up.” She wrinkled her nose. “You smell like Scuttler guts.”

Ma appeared in the doorway behind her, arms crossed but smiling. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

“Water's warm and waiting. Now go.”

“You'll be okay?” I asked Eryn, hesitating only for a moment.

She settled onto my favorite anvil, looking completely at home.

“Of course. Your Ma's telling me stories about when you were little. And some other interesting stuff.”

Breached rift.

“Now this I want to hear!”

I hurried through the door as Ma laughed behind me. The bath waited upstairs, steam rising invitingly from the copper tub, but all I could think about were the embarrassing stories Ma was probably sharing.

A short while later, we all sat gathered around the table drinking tea. I bravely rested a hand on Eryn's thigh as her fingers brushed mine.

We'd gone through everything again, including the finger-guessing trick, this time to convince Ma. Then we'd told them of what Edwin had said and the voice Roq had heard.

Pa blew on his tea.

“I agree with your decision. The more we learn of Roq's abilities, the clearer it becomes that keeping his existence a secret is crucial. I'm glad you have someone to share the burden with, Ash, but do not let it become a habit. Burdens are meant to be carried by ourselves.”

I nodded as Eryn swore she would take the secret to her grave if needed.

“But you cannot leave this voice alone, whatever it is,” Pa said. “If it is connected to the monsters' growth, we have to find a way to stop it. You need to become stronger, and fast. Ma and I will put off paying down our loan until you become classed.”

“Are you sure that's wise?”

“If they have a problem with it, they are more than welcome to travel here from Kingsworth and take it up with me in person,” Pa said. “This is bigger than them and us. Now, Eryn, what do you say about investing some of your monster corpses with us? For each of those beasties I can either craft some gear for you or make the most valuable item, sell it, and split the profits with you, seventy-thirty. No money upfront, but much more in the long term.”

“You butcher them for me for free, with no claim to any gems, and I'll leave three here for you to craft with. I'll sell the last to Victor the alchemist so I have some funds short-term, too.”

“Deal,” Pa said, and went to spit in his palm before sheepishly looking at Ma.

They shook on it, without spittle, and we finished our tea before retreating to the forge to see what treasures we had brought back with us.