The small human continued to surprise me when he knelt down next to one of the horses that seemed to have some sort of panic attack when it found out it couldn’t do much besides moving its head, which was exactly what it was doing… a lot.

I moved to the next, but his actions did not go unnoticed. Perhaps he was one of those miraculous humans that I knew had to exist. I also had to commend his bravery. He was the only one that got close to me and Cellestra. The other townsfolk stayed at a distance, eying me warily. Although, most of their focus seemed to be on the fire that was still raging on.

“We could at least ask how far Len Asari is,” Cellestra suggested.

“I’ve already noted that down in my mind, yes. I’m thinking what else would be reasonable to ask.”

“A weapon?” She said.

“That’s… not a bad idea. I’ll ask that, I think. Is there anything you want to ask for?”

“I guess a cup or two wouldn’t be excessive to ask, would it?”

“You and your tea,” I said, smiling while shaking my head. “But yeah, that would be useful.”

“We still have plenty of food left, so that shouldn’t be an issue. We’ll find some town by the time we need to restock,” Cellestra continued. “I kinda don’t want to ask too much, either.”

“Same here, but I think this is reasonable.”

The brunette nodded as I continued healing the horses, who, shortly afterward, started to regain their strength as my venom’s effect expired. We calmed them down where necessary. Soon enough, we had nine healthy horses.

I cupped my hands and held them up as I filled them with water to give the animals something to drink. I imagined that the heat of the fire must have had an effect on their hydration. Muck stood and watched as the equines drank, admiration on his face. When I finished, the town’s mayor stepped forward.

“Have you been able to think of anything I can offer to repay you?” He asked politely as he approached.

“We have. We’d like two cups to drink from. In addition, I’d like to know if it’s possible to get a weapon for me, ideally a halberd with a crescent blade facing outward. Also, we’d like to know how far Len Asari is.”

“That’s…” Muck seemed to wonder for a bit. “Not at all much to ask for. Are you sure you wouldn’t like anything else?”

“We’re content with this. As I said, we’re just traveling through here.”

“I’ll arrange the items you asked for. Are steel cups okay?” He asked.

I turned to look at Cellestra behind me who nodded. I knew she’d prefer glass but steel would be a lot sturdier for travel.

“That’s fine,” I conveyed her message.

“In that case, if you’ll excuse me.” Muck bowed slightly and walked towards the onlookers where he talked to a few of them.

“What a nice person,” Cellestra said.

“I don’t recall ever meeting anyone quite like that, human nor elf. I’m… impressed, to say the least.”

“Well, you did remove what seemed to be an obvious nuisance… a threat rather, to this village. I can imagine him being a bit… too nice, maybe.”

“I don’t think he’s faking his appreciation,” I said. “Have you seen how he treats the horses?”

“I have. I believe a lot of a person’s personality can be understood by seeing how they treat animals.”

“I want to believe that that’s true,” I said as Muck returned to the two of us.

“The items will be delivered here in a few minutes. Allow me to elaborate on your third request.”

He cleared his throat and coughed once before speaking. “You’ve been heading in the right direction so far. Len Asari is due north and about two weeks out on horseback if you head in that direction. However…”

That didn’t sound good.

“Not too far from here, you’ll cross the borders to troll territory. While you can avoid most of their villages, there is one you cannot avoid. It’s next to a chokepoint in the landscape where you have to pass through a valley. They aren’t a hospitable race, far from it. I’ve heard bad things from traders who had to pass through, where they were required to pay exorbitant taxes or just straight-up had goods taken from them instead. I don’t know if you have anything to trade in order to pass their checkpoint. If you don’t you’ll either have to fight your way through, or go all the way around, which will definitely prolong your journey. After that, it’s fairly easy and straightforward until the border.”

“Straight through trolls it is,” I said, determined.

“I’m not sure if I should be surprised. The way you handled these bandits”—Muck looked at one of the corpses—“Was something else. Trolls are far tougher, though. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Thanks for your concern,” I smiled. “But I think we will be fine. I’d like to avoid adding unnecessary length to our journey.”

“Understandable.”

After his words, silence fell and my attention shifted to the burning building once more. Not much of it was left but a pile of burning wood and rubble. It would take some time to fully burn out, but fortunately, no other buildings were close or things could have ended in a catastrophe.

In the distance to the east, I could see a hint of light appear over the horizon, indicating that dawn had finally arrived.

“Trolls, huh?” Cellestra let out quietly. “I’ve never actually seen one.”

“I have,” I said. “They are large creatures with greenish-blue skin. Their strength is unmatched, so we’ll have to be careful. I haven’t had to deal with them much, though.”

“I see.”

“It’s never a good idea to mess with trolls,” Muck added before he turned to some commotion happening in the crowd that had shrunk considerably over time. “I believe your items are here.”

I could see someone in the small crowd holding up a halberd just like I’d asked for. Muck walked over to them and soon returned with two steel cups and a large halberd that ignited a certain spark within me.

“As promised, for your efforts.”

He handed over the cups first, which I almost threw at Cellestra as my eyes were fixed on the steel blade of the weapon before me. My hands itched and I had to restrain myself to not yank it from his hands when he planted the pole in the grass before me, handing the halberd to me.

I couldn’t help but stare…

Cellestra giggled behind me as she poked my back with a finger. “Pst, Kealyna,” She whispered.

I snapped out of my stupor and looked at a confused human before. I cursed at myself in my mind. 

“Sorry, I was… daydreaming.”

Muck smiled. “No harm in that. Is there anything else I can do for you ladies?”

I heard Cellestra suppress a grin behind me while I was thinking. “I don’t think there is. Thank you, Mister Presley.”

“Just call me Muck. If you’re ever near Millhome again don’t hesitate to visit. Just… be polite and mention my name if the guards decide to be a pain.”

“Millhome, I’ll make sure to remember that name. Although I don’t know when we’ll come through here again, we’ll stop by.”

“If that is all, I won’t hold you up any longer,” Muck said before taking a deep bow and planting his staff firmly in the grass. “Safe travels, and may you get to your destination safely.”

I bowed in response to this extraordinarily polite human and couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you for your hospitality. I hope you’ll be able to help those who lost today.”

I waved at him with my pedipalps, causing him to look in confusion before he understood what it was, and waved back. Cellestra waved as well as we continued our journey north.

As soon as we had left Muck behind, my eyes went back to the weapon which I now carried with just one hand. As far as I could tell, I wasn’t supposed to be able to lift it with such ease. My blessing had given me considerably more strength than I had had as an elf.

“Finally,” Cellestra let out. “It seems your cravings have been satisfied as well.”

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed this feeling.”

“I can see that.”

I took the pole with both hands and thrust the tip forward, stabbing the air before me. I found that thanks to my added strength, the weapon was extremely easy to handle.

“This is great,” I said. “This, in combination with my imbue elements spell will be devastating, which is nice, as I heard trolls can be trouble.”

“I’m happy you’re happy,” Cellestra said.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to put the tailoring on hold for a bit as I play with my new toy,” I said before chuckling. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“You go and have fun,” Cellestra replied. “This is probably more important than clothes anyway.”

“I’ll work on that a bit later. We could also try to teach you some more spells.”

“I’m fine with anything,” Cellestra said warmly. “Also, is this where I can joke about you being cavalry now?”

I grinned at her comment. “Yeah. I suppose it is.”