Lillia had been pretty sure that someone would have been waiting for them the moment they left the dungeon, or that something would have gone awry. But, to her surprise, nothing did. The trip back from the dungeon went smoothly, though they did get some strange looks from the guards on the way back into the city. Fortunately, nobody asked too many questions and the group broke off once they’d gotten deep enough. Rodrick and Anna returned to the Glowing Swordfish. Arwin headed back to the smithy to get to work, while Reya joined her in heading back to the tavern. The tentacle she’d taken from the Landsquid was getting a little difficult to hold with how slippery it was, but she’d carried it for this far, and she’d be damned if she dropped it now. I’m starting to suspect that this isn’t going to taste anywhere near good enough to justify all the effort I’ve put into it. I’ve already basically ruined my clothes with goo, but I’m going to cook this piece of shit if it’s the last thing I do. “Are you okay?” Reya asked as they ducked through the doorway and entered the dark tavern. “You’ve got a really concentrated expression on your face. You aren’t mad, are you?” Lillia hurriedly got her features under control and cleared her throat. “I – no, no. I’m fine. Just… thinking.” “About what?” Reya asked. “Also, can I have something to eat?” “Well, I was going to try to cook this,” Lillia said, glancing down at the tentacle. Reya blanched. “You know what? I did just have a workout, and it’s not a good idea to eat right after working,” Reya said hurriedly. “It’s bad for… uh, digestion.” magic equipment. If he tried to sell his wares, he’d probably be rich in the span of days. And yet… he sits around with us. He gave me gear worth more than my life, and he didn’t even ask for anything in return.” “I’m going to choose not to take offense to that,” Lillia said dryly. “And I don’t know why Arwin does anything he does. He’s an odd one. I think he just does what he thinks is right, regardless of if it’s the smart move or not.” “Why, though?” Reya asked. “What does he get out of it? I mean, I appreciate it… but why?” “That might be something you have to ask him yourself,” Lillia said with a shake of her head. The more she spent time with Arwin, the harder it was to associate him with the man she’d spent the majority of her life trying to kill. That was probably a good thing, but it certainly felt odd. “I might be overstepping my bounds here, but did you really meet for the first time in the tavern? The way you both act seems like you’ve known each other for a lot longer.” Lillia nearly choked. “I – what? No. No, we definitely just met. He just reminds me of someone I used to know.” “Oh,” Reya said. “I guess that makes sense. I honestly thought you’d been courting each other for a few years and broke it off or something like that.” This time, Lillia did choke. She doubled over, coughing into her hand in surprise. “What? Date? No. Definitely not. Why would you think that?” “I don’t know. Just a thought.” Reya shrugged. “Well, I’m probably going to go find some food. Not that I’m hungry. It’s, uh, to look at.” “Right,” Lillia said, grateful for the change of subject. “You do that.” Reya headed out of the tavern and Lillia watched her leave, a small frown on her face. Thoughts whirred in her head, so jumbled that she couldn’t make out which ones were hers and which were just strays passing through. After a minute, she shook her head and turned back to the tentacle on the counter. It looked remarkably unappetizing. Grimacing, Lillia rolled her sleeves back. She had work to do, and she’d be damned if she’d done all the work lugging the stupid thing this far if it didn’t taste good. I’m going to eat you, and I’m going to like it. That isn’t a threat. It’s a promise. Oh, who am I kidding. It’s also a threat. Arwin held a palm-sized crystal up to the light of his [Soul Flame], watching the light dance within its green depths. Before he started properly working the material, he needed to learn more about it. There was a faint hum within it – the call of the crystal, asking to be turned into… well, something. Therein lay the problem. Arwin could feel the call within the crystal. It hungered to be more than what it was. Unfortunately, unlike the other materials he’d worked with, he had absolutely no idea how to understand it. The desire was there, but it was like he was listening to someone speaking in a different language. “But why, I wonder,” Arwin mused, turning the crystal over in his hand. “How come you can’t speak to me? Is it because you’re more complex than the other stuff I’ve worked with? Or am I just not listening properly?” The crystal, unfortunately, wasn’t much help. Even if it could have answered, Arwin wouldn’t have understood it anyway. He shook his head and set the crystal into the hearth, watching the flames lick at its sides. Unsurprisingly, it was resistant to fire. Arwin hadn’t expected a bloody crystal to be particularly easy to melt. He worked the bellows, raising the intensity of the fire to see how it affected the green crystal. Fire danced all around it, licking at its sides. Arwin would have sworn that the fire wasn’t just outside – it was within the crystal as well. But still, the voice of the crystal eluded him entirely. There was nothing to do but to continue working the bellows, and so that was what he did. And, as the minutes ticked by, the crystal started to change. It was gradual, but its edges started to darken and turn a translucent black. Arwin stopped as soon as he noticed the change start to happen. He took the crystal from the fire, wondering if he’d somehow managed to burn it. However, the crystal’s structural integrity seemed fine.