Vanya woke up shortly after they set out on the first day in the valley, and she mostly wanted to be left alone. She was obviously shaken by the ordeal, and she promised to be more careful in the future. As they slowly made their way on a path leading up and out of the valley, Vultressant decided to see what he could find out from Vanya. He had given her space and time to recover, but he needed to find out exactly what had happened to her.

“Hey, Van, can we talk about when you saved the day for us yet?” He did his best to smile to put her at ease.

She sighed, but after a moment, she nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“What put you out?” he asked. “Was it a mana problem or overcharging the potion?”

“Neither,” she replied. “Potions don’t have a mana cost. They just work on their own.”

“It definitely looked like you were using your own mana to work the spell. That last blast that you made was much more powerful than the other two.”

“It has something to do with the potion itself,” she stated. “From what I’ve learned, most potions have a cumulative effect when more than one is taken in a short amount of time. For instance, I had told you before that the healing potions become less effective as you use them without waiting.” He nodded, and she continued. “The frost breath potions become more potent if used in succession, but apparently you also run the risk of exhaustion.” She shook her head, and her expression was one of disappointment.

She was mad at herself for the error. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Van,” he said. “I mean, really, without that last blast, it was going to be bad.”

Vanya shrugged. “It was close, but I think that we were winning. That thing was pretty beat up, but so were we. Taloc was the only one of us who seemed to be doing any real damage to it. I don’t know,” she trailed off.

“Maybe we win anyway,” Vultressant conceded, “but who else goes down before the Troll does?” She tilted her head to the side, as if grudgingly accepting his words. “You should probably find out if you could end up with permanent damage from excessive use of that potion before trying it again, though,” he said, smiling up at her. She rolled her eyes at him. “All right, I’ll leave you alone now. Oh, and I’ll be sure to let the others know the deal with the breath potions.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she smiled back at him this time. “It looks like we’re almost there.”

Vultressant followed her gaze, and he saw a large stone structure coming into view. The fort itself was constructed against the side of the mountain. They had to cross a natural rock bridge that spanned a chasm between two peaks of the mountain range. They had seen the bridge while traveling in the valley below, but the fort had not come fully into view until now. There was a gate in a large stone wall, flanked by two towers that stood twice as high as the wall. More stone walls curved to either side of the towers and hugged the mountainside, terminating at a much larger tower butting up against the mountain.

Once inside the walls, they passed several buildings and Dwarven sentries clad in shining steel armor. There were few structures within the keep, each spaced well apart. The fort's walls were thick, with doors at their bases likely providing access to the wall tops. Two Dwarves stood guard atop each wall, and Vultressant noticed that the towers were manned as well.

They approached an enormous metal door set into the rock face at the back of the keep. As they neared, it began to rise like a portcullis. The mechanism lifting the door had to be located high up in the mountain. It stopped at its midpoint, about twenty feet up, revealing a well-lit passage. A bluish light shone from behind a glass panel stretching across the top of each wall, just below the ceiling. The bottom quarter of the glass seemed to contain a liquid or translucent solid, and above it, deep blue flames flickered, or perhaps the glass was simply tinted blue. The lighting system resembled a large aquarium running along each wall, reminding Vultressant of the lighting in the crypt they had visited upon arriving in this world.

Jallik handed off the ox and cart to two Dwarves who led the animal away, and the group was led to a large room where three Dwarves in fine attire sat at a large dining table eating, drinking, and talking. Upon seeing the newcomers, one of the Dwarves held up a mug and bellowed, “Hail, Jallik! It has been too long, my friend.”

Jallik slammed a fist to his chest and called back, “Hail, Dwern! May we share your drink?” He gave a slight bow after his request.

“Aye!” Dwern exclaimed enthusiastically, spilling some of his drink in the process. “How was the road here?”

“Mostly quiet,” Jallik replied. “There was a Rock Troll, but my guards took care of it.” He held out his hands, indicating the six adventurers.

Dwern looked skeptical. “This lot felled a Rock Troll? Were it a baby?”

Jallik laughed. “No, it was a proper Troll.” He looked towards Vanya and said, “Beware of the Elf, she has a frosty tongue.”

Dwern considered Vanya. “Hmm, is that so? Well, she can no be worse than my wife, so sit down and drink with us.”

Vanya mimicked the bow that Jallik had given, and they all approached the table. They were introduced to the other two Dwarves, Tallia and Dwurg, and they ate and drank while discussing the fight with the Rock Troll. When they discussed Vanya’s heroics at the end of the fight, Dwern whistled and said, “So Jallik was being literal earlier. Do you have any more of those potions? I would love to buy some.”

Vanya shook her head. “No, and unfortunately, I can’t make them either,” she said. “I traded potions that I had made for them. Wouldn’t you rather have some potions that help you mine this mountain?”

Vultressant observed the discomfort evident on the faces of all the Dwarves, who now seemed wholly engrossed in the conversation between Dwern and Vanya. Taloc’s attention was drawn, and even Ewtain, Isla, and Maroftis, engrossed in a drinking game at the other end of the table, appeared to sense the shift in atmosphere. Dwern rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Why do you assume we’re mining this mountain?” he inquired.

Vanya furrowed her brow. “Well, given the abundance of ore nearby, it’s either mining or smelting. Bringing ore here would be impractical, so you’re probably mining it.”

Dwern looked at Jallik. “I thought that you came straight here.”

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Jallik held up his hands defensively. “Aye, we did.”

“Then where did she see ore?” Dwern asked gruffly.

“No, I didn’t see anything,” Vanya interrupted. “I can sense it. If you want, I can show you where it is.”

“Sense it?” Dwern asked. “How is that?”

“I’m able to sense the direction of metal ore,” she said. “The more ore there is and the closer I am to it, the stronger I sense it. I usually have to concentrate to get it to work, but sometimes I get a sense of something in a more passive way.”

Dwern stood up and motioned for Vanya to follow. “Show me where the ore is.” She did as he asked, and Vultressant and Taloc moved to follow, but Dwern held up a hand to stop them. “Just the Elf,” he said.

Vultressant shook his head. “That’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’re all coming, and besides, the cat’s out of the bag anyway.”

Dwern looked confused. “What?” he asked.

Vultressant realized the issue lay in the foreign idiom. “I mean, we know about what seems to be a secret you’re keeping.” He motioned for the others to follow. Isla, in the midst of drinking from a large mug, raised a finger with her free hand, then slowly downed the entire contents. The others gave her a polite clap, and then they all came over. “We’re going on a little field trip,” Vultressant announced. Isla saluted and swayed on her feet, evidently already feeling the effects of alcohol. What the hell had they given her—moonshine?

Vanya guided the group to a door that resembled the one at the entrance but was only about a third of the size. “We need to go through there,” she said.

Dwern smiled and said, “I’d like to offer you a job working in the mines, guiding our miners to the best spots to dig. But I’ll need further proof of your abilities.” He glanced at the door, which had just begun to open. “There are other ways you could have learned about this.” They entered an immense smelting room, where railcars filled with raw ore awaited their turn to dump their loads into a vat of glowing metal.

“My friends need their healer, so I’ll have to pass.” Vanya cocked her head as if considering something. “How much for showing you one large node?” she asked.

Dwern pondered her question. “For a fresh node, I think that fifty gold would be fair.”

Vanya looked confused, and Vultressant realized that she might not know the gold-to-silver conversion. “Are those gold coins the same size as those in Ildul?” he asked.

“Aye,” Dwern responded.

“That’s five thousand silver, Vanya,” Vultressant said.

She nodded. “How about this: I locate two nodes for you, and in return, you provide me with the fifty gold as agreed, along with 200 pounds of the refined product extracted from those nodes?”

“200 pounds!” Dwern exclaimed.

Jallik put a hand on the Dwarf’s shoulder. “You have seen the Orc camps, no?” Dwern furrowed his brow but nodded. “Then give her the metal. A large node will produce many times that, and we are going to need it soon.”

Dwern looked like he was about to agree when Vanya held up a hand and said, “And I get to choose the metal that we keep.”

Dwern squinted at her in suspicion, but then he relaxed and put out a hand for her to shake. “Done!”

They left Dwern and were shown to an area with several rooms, where they were each given one as their quarters for the stay. While most of the group headed off to find something to eat, Vultressant trailed behind Vanya, eager to discuss her plans. “What was the deal with insisting on choosing which metal we keep?” he inquired once they were alone in her room.

Vanya smiled. “There are several different types of metal within this mountain, and my ability lets me know the names and commonality of all of them, along with some general traits that they have. Things like general damage for weapons and general protection for armor.” She looked to him to determine that he understood, so he nodded, and she continued. “Well, a metal close by comes up as very rare, and there’s no information as to what sort of properties it has. It’s called emraldium, and my plan is to find some and claim it as my fee.”

“What if that’s in a location nowhere near any existing tunnel?” Vultressant asked.

Vanya shrugged. “In that case, I’ll settle for the best metal we can find. We need armor for the fighters, so whatever we discover should cover the material requirements. Besides, 5,000 silver isn’t insignificant—it should more than cover the crafting cost of anything we have made.”

“Don’t rush to judgment on that,” Vultressant cautioned. “Blassie is quite shrewd. He mentioned that the cost of creating a magic item increases with factors like resource tiers and added enchantments. Besides, armor requires more metal and essence than weapons, making it pricier.”

“Then we’ll see what they say,” Vanya suggested. “I’ll join you next time, and we should probably bring Isla along; I picked up the persuasion skill during our brief fee negotiation, but Isla’s proficiency level in that skill is much higher.”

“You got a new skill?” Vultressant asked excitedly. “That’s fantastic!”

She smiled. “Yeah, I was pretty excited, but I really want to know more about how that works. I’ve negotiated far more often over potions, yet I gained the skill from this transaction. What do you think could be the reason for that?”

She placed her hand on his forearm after posing the question, momentarily catching Vultressant off guard. Previously, he hadn’t thought much of such gestures, but now he cursed Taloc for planting thoughts in his head. He pondered the significance of the touch, hoping he appeared to be genuinely considering her question. Undeniably, he found her attractive, and if Oeister had indeed been here for three years, they might be staying for a while. Perhaps she was simply trying to draw his attention to her question. Any attempt on his part would likely backfire, making things awkward between them.

In the end, he opted to focus solely on her question. “My guess is that there’s some sort of experience toward gaining skills—either a fixed value assigned or an amount accrued per use. It’s possible there’s a check for skill acquisition with each use, or perhaps a fixed percentage chance, with a roll required each time. The percent chance might go down with each attempt as well, so subsequent attempts would be easier. The difficulty level likely plays a role too; Dwern, for instance, might have a high level, and he seemed hesitant to grant your metal request. I’d wager that Brenda, the hedge witch you traded potions with, might be more agreeable to trade with than that Dwarf was.”

“I got help from Jallik there,” Vanya said.

“Or maybe you convinced him,” Vultressant said. “Then you both convinced Dwern. The added information about the Orc problem did seem to tip the scales in your favor, so the deal that you were trying to make must have been highly difficult and probably would have normally failed. On the other hand, he might have agreed to almost anything to get you to work for him; he might try to convince you to stay or hope that you might be persuaded to come back another time.”

“I’d rather stay with you guys,” she said, giving his arm a squeeze before walking over to a small table. There was a decanter and a cup on a tray, and she poured herself a drink. She sniffed the cup before drinking.

“What is it?” Vultressant asked, nodding towards the pitcher.

“It’s just water,” she said, walking back over to him. She offered the cup. “Want some?”

“I probably have the same setup in my room.”

“Why do you think that we were each given our own room?” she asked.

Vultressant shrugged. “To be nice? Why do you think that they’re trying to separate us or something?”

Vanya gave a sheepish look. “Not really, but since we arrived on this planet, there have always been others around me while I slept.”

“Do you want me to go find Isla?” Vultressant asked.

Vanya walked over to the bed and appeared to be considering something. After a moment, she spoke. “Well, I’m a bit shorter and certainly thinner than I was in real life, but Isla might be too large to share this bed with. Besides, she’s likely off somewhere getting drunk... You could stay, though.”

Well, it’s official; she digs me. Several reasons why this was a bad idea flew through his head, but in the end, he decided to stay. They had lain in bed for maybe a half hour when he felt a hand resting on his stomach. He opened his eyes and looked at Vanya, who was on her side, facing him with her eyes open. They had left a small lantern on, so the room was not pitch black. “So, my persuasion went up a point…Does that mean that you didn’t want to stay?”

In response, he leaned in and kissed her, feeling her reciprocate. After a moment, he pulled back, teasingly saying, “Just trying to play hard to get.” She smiled brightly and kissed him again.

Vultressant initially intended for this to be a more PG-13 encounter—some heavy petting, maybe some nudity—and for the first 10 to 15 minutes, it was just that. But clearly, Vanya had other plans.