Finally, three months after Mor had arrived at the Ice-kin village and two months after starting his special magic training with Elly and Jorgen. The Ice-kin youth swung his sword, and even while it was a training weapon, it smashed right through the training target with magically enhanced strength. Jorgen looked just as surprised and delighted. It was the first time it went over so perfectly, but now it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Elly also got quite a bit better. However, her self-protection was still not flawless, and she regularly hurt herself by misjudging the used energy. However, her mishaps were significantly reduced in severity and regularity. Still, a big part of Elly's unease and consequential problems concentrating was that her father and his hunter group were over their designated time. Jorgen didn't have such qualms because he knew hunts and, more so, such information-gathering hunts could take longer than expected.

After Elly had another case of strained muscles, Mor sat down with her for some healing magic application and a talk.

"I know you are worried for Gorn, but he is a very strong man. Have some trust." Mor said.

"Yeah, but they are three days over the longest sanctioned hunting duration. What if something had happened to them?" Elly worried.

"Don't worry. They are fine. They might just follow some interesting tracks and need some extra time," Mor tried to calm the girl down.

°And now they are doomed.° The human sighed.

°Why would you say that?° Mor exclaimed.

°Because you idiot challenged Murphy again!° The human grumbled, and the human let out a silent sight.

"Are you sure?" Elly asked, knowing Mor wouldn't know for sure, but she still wanted to hear it.

"Yes," Mor said confidently, and Jorgen also came to his support.

"Don't worry, our fathers are incredibly capable. You know that."

"Thank you, two." Elly said, "And you're right. Dad promised me he would be back and won't break his promises."

°For fucks sake! Do you have a grudge against them? How many death flags do you want to raise?° The human asked.

°Your overreacting.° Mor sighed.

°Murphy will remember that.° The human said ominously.

The following week, Elly shaped up much better in her magic usage, but the respective talents of the Ice-kin youth also began to show. Jorgen had greater physical strength and a greater grasp on his magic, fortifying his ability to become a striker like his father. Elly quickly fell behind, but her new ability to jump up into trees without climbing and having a potent melee option put her far above what regular scouts could do.

However, now that the Cutters team had been gone for too long, a strange air permeated the whole village, and in dark corners, quiet whispers started that the second hunter team was lost to those new monstrosities. The Chief still had a tight grasp and squashed those rumors whenever he became aware of them. However, the longer they were gone, the harder it got, and again, Elly began to worry.

The situation really boiled over, distracting the three youths from their training and pulling them toward the village gate and the big commotion going on there. The first thing the trio noticed was that there was quite a bit of unease, and over the loud murmur, a voice could be heard, but not what it said.

"Out of my way!" The Chief commanded and pushed through the gathered Ice-kin.

Mor quickly took the chance to sate his curiosity and pulled Elly and Jorgen along after the Chief with a quick grab. In the wake of the big man, they made it to the front, and the sight made Elly forget her place and rush forward.

"Drop!" She shouted. "Where's my dad?!"

The scout got a pained look but then addressed the Chief.

"I need help. Cutter and the rest sent me ahead and are engaged in a fight right now." Drop quickly stated, but the Chief grimaced instead of jumping into action.

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"What did Cutter tell you?" He asked.

"To get away and inform you." Drop stated.

"I see." The Chief said. "You know the rules."

Drop's face grew red in fury. "They need our help!" He shouted.

"We have no one to send. Tradition demands that three hunter teams stay within the village and protect it from attacks. It's regrettable, but we can't afford to lose more hunters, " the Chief stated calmly.

Mor quickly went over the numbers in his head. This village consisted of about 70 people, including the 20 kids. Meaning with the three hunter teams in the village, one badly hurt and unable to fight until healed, and the last one missing, it left only the 30 non combatants. This means that it was just as the Chief had declared, if three hunter teams had to stay back, then no one would be left. However, as his mind worked and the human added an accusing "I told ya so!" his gaze fell on Elly and Jorgen.

Elly's eyes opened wide, tears filling them, while the boy took on a grim expression.

°Ready to be a hero again?° The human asked, as always reading Mor's thoughts.

°You know this is suicidal. They might already be dead.° Mor argued.

°But you are a goody two shoes who can't bear to see his friends sad.° The human countered.

°The Chief won't allow me to go.° Mor stated.

°Why not? You're neither an Ice-kin nor a hunter. You're a guest, nothing more.°

°You're right. Do you think it is a good test run for evaluating our training?° Mor asked.

°Fighting a monstrosity while supported by the team that killed the gobbler just so? Jup, it should be adequate.° Came the answer.

Mor nodded to himself, then took a step forward and loudly declared. "I'm going."

In the ensuing silence, you would have been able to hear the most deadly fart, a silent one. Luckily for the tightly packed group, no one expelled such a thing. However, all eyes were glued to the Soul-kin boy.

"No." The Chief decided.

"With due respect, I'm neither Ice-kin nor a hunter. I can leave and risk my life whenever I like." Mor stated.

"If Mor goes, so will I!" Jorgen stated, with Elly joining in quickly behind.

"You two are forbidden! I might not be able to stop the stubborn Soul-kin." He threw a stern glance toward Mor. "But you two are not ready. Tradition says you must go through your first hunt before being allowed to wield real weapons."

"Fuck tradition," Drop interjected, glad about any help.

"Drop!" The Chief scolded the scout. "You will not utter such things. The traditions are there to keep us safe!"

"Right now, we're wasting time discussing this shit." Drop growled, not caring about any ramifications.

"And I said no!" The Chief growled right back.

However, before the fight could really gain momentum, the two Ice-kin warriors were interrupted by another voice, accompanied by some clattering.

"Let them go." Klang, the old blacksmith, said.

"Klang? Why do you think I should?" The Chief said.

"Because we need each hunter we can keep, and those three are the next best thing we have to save our more experienced hunters. I watched them train, and they need to stretch their wings, or they won't grow further." The blacksmith said.

The three looked at each other in confusion. Mor was the most confused because he thought the old blacksmith didn't like him. However, thinking about it closer, the blacksmith might just not care for him specifically and was more interested in the two young Ice-kin.

"Even if you say that, they don't have weapons. Without them, they can't do anything." The Chief said, assured in his victory. Then his eyes widened in surprise as Klang produced two weapons from a bundle. Klang dared the Chief to say anything as he handed Jorgen a big curved sword, almost the boy's length.

"Your father required weight for his strikes, but for you, I deemed a lighter sword the right weapon. You are fast, and with your learned tricks, you won't need weight to gain strength, " the blacksmith told the boy, who held the big sheathed and curved longsword with reverence.

"And for you, little missus." Klang handed her a longbow with a quiver full of arrows. "A longbow with a spiked handguard, giving you the option to use your new skills." Elly took the weapon and embraced how it felt in her hand.

"How." She asked.

"When I heard that it was your father's missing, I had a feeling it would come to this," Klang said.

"How did you know we needed those weapons." Jorgen reiterated Elly's question, just as overwhelmed.

"That is my secret, but I wouldn't be an Ice-kin blacksmith if I couldn't create the perfect weapon by just watching you move and train," Klang said with a wink, then left, only throwing a superior look at the Chief.

The big man let out a sigh and gave in. "Then do as you want, but stay safe and run away if it's hopeless."

There was quite a bit of a murmur. However, Drop nodded to the three youngsters and led the way. They had to move fast because it would take them an hour to reach the rest of the team, and if you're fighting for your life, an hour quickly became an eternity. Lize watched the kids leave with great pride from her post on the wall, wishing she could go with them. The news had already made the rounds, and she prayed to whatever powers held the world together for her husband and daughter to return safe and sound.