Theanore and Marinus gave back the leather band, now enchanted, to Larriel. The rest of the Mir guardians were looking at the wares on the stall.
“What level are these enchantments on wizard Odious’ scale?” Asked the shield wearer of the party.
“A fire resistance level 134 and a lightness level 150, sir,” said Marinus. The eyes of the shield wearer bulged comically, and he placed the cape back down.
“Do you have something more affordable?” He asked. Marinus noticed that the man had a silver bracelet with a water enchantment on it. The boy pointed at it.
“Trade me this bracelet for the cape, Sir. It is a special offer!”
The shield wearer smiled brightly, and he took off the bracelet. Then he paused.
“Are you certain? It is only level 5 on the scale,” he felt like he would be robbing these children.
“We need to learn all the enchantments we can, sir,” said Marinus as he placed a hand over the bracelet. “Do you accept the offer?” He asked, hopefully.
“I do. Man, with a cape like this, I can even take a fireball to the back!” The shield wearer gave the bracelet to Marinus and exchanged his cape for the new linen one. Then the mage of the group stepped forward. The woman took out a ring with an earth enchantment on it and handed it to Theanore.
“What can you give me for this weak thing? It is only level 1,” Marinus frowned at her, but Theanore took the ring and handed the woman a red silk band.
“Level 60 on the scale. Perfect for holding fireballs, Madam mage,” she said happily. Marinus approved. The silk band itself was expensive, but the enchantment that was on it was the weakest they had. Not to mention, it wasn’t a dual one.
“Me! Me next! I have an ice enchantment. Level 30 on the scale. A ring too,” said the archer of the group. He looked like a young boy, but he was actually a worker elf.
“Let me see,” said Marinus, extending his hand. He received the ring, and he put on his special mana-touched glasses, with which he measured the enchantment’s level on the scale.
“I’d like for you to make me a stronger ring, or a linen headband if you don’t have rings, with the same enchantment. And do you have a quick shot enchantment?” Asked the worker elf. Both children shook their heads, and then the elf smirked at them as he took off an earring from his left ear. He had three of them on that ear alone.
“Well, I do! Level 5, useless little thing. If you make the new item to level 300 in a quick shot, I will give you a hundred silver coins and another enchanted item. A thick skin enchanted necklace. It is only level 1, so I don’t need it.”
“Would you like something enchanted with thick skin too?” Asked Marinus suspiciously. He felt like he was being taken advantage of.
“No, I don’t have the money for it. Some other time,” smiled the worker elf at the merman.
“But I will want something enchanted.” Said the tank of the party. He had a giant hammer strapped to his back. Had he used it on the walls of the cave, he would have found out the grotto. Both children wanted him gone as soon as possible.
“Thick skin and lightness for my armor. I will throw in a special underwater light enchantment. A lithium lamp. I will also pay you a hundred gold coins. Do you have anything offensive for my hammer?”
“The earth and fire enchantments would do nicely,” said Marinus. A hundred golden coins would more than makeup for any bad deals they made today!
“Would that be all?” Asked Theanore. She looked at the adventurers and didn’t see any extra ones.
“Yes, that would be all.”
The two children busied themselves at the enchantment fountain taking the orders as the adventurers spoke among themselves.
“Don’t you feel it is weird that two children managed to pack a dungeon core?” Asked the tank of the party.
“And their house looks like it had grown from the mountain. Normal people don’t place their houses next to a dungeon’s entrance,” said the worker elf.
“One of them must be the real core. Just like wizard Odious is a core,” said the mage of the party, eyeing Marinus. “The boy’s teeth are a tad bit too sharp.”
Larriel waved her hands so that she could get her party member’s attention.
“Does it matter? We didn’t find a dungeon, but we have proof that we had. Or that someone else did, in our case. The ring will net us 1000 gold coins. Not to mention all the enchanted items we got for next to nothing. All over level 100 on the scale. I say we leave the kiddies be.”
“Yes,” said the shield wearer. “They can’t be evil. Just look at how cute they are. I say we tell everyone back in the hall that their father conquered the dungeon. That is more believable. And we can take some cheaper dual enchanted items to sell back in the guildhall.”
“Yes, we can do that,” said the tank. There were plenty of capes lying around on the stall. “And we're capable of making a protective barrier around this forest so that only those who know of this house and come and go. Wouldn’t want to lock out the children’s father.”
“We? You mean me,” said the mage, annoyed. All the party members looked at her with big, pleading eyes.
“Fine! But you are all giving up the mana for it. This enchantment business better not dry up,” she said. Larriel jumped up in joy. The little kiddies would be protected from greedy adventurers. The only greedy adventurers they would encounter would be the Mir guardians.
Marinus and Theanore lugged the tank’s armor to him and were faced with a piece of paper floating above their heads.
“With this, we agree to become the forest of fireflies’ guardians,” said Larriel, and the little girl’s face lit up.
“For real?” She asked, again mispronouncing the r.
“For as long as there is mana in our bones,” said the mage, and she received a big hug as a reward.
