I chose to delay the project another day in order for Elise to procure a green dye that matched the remaining pieces of Lia’s armor. When all of my materials were prepared, the work still progressed haltingly; I took frequent breaks to spend time with Lia, either sitting out on the deck or strolling through the woods. All in all, it had taken four days to finish what should have been a one-day project, but I was more than happy with the result. Her new cuirass was constructed from large, overlapping scales of dyed leather, each reinforced with thinly hammered sheets of steel. Similarly forged epaulettes covered her shoulders and upper chest, an addition I had felt was necessary after her injury.
Looking over her one final time, I sighed and nodded to myself. “Well, with that out of the way...I guess it’s finally time to leave,” I said, tossing my green-stained blacksmithing gloves onto my anvil. A wistful smile spread across my face as I stared past her at our house. “It was nice while it lasted.”
“It was,” she said, stepping forward, “but now we’ve got some work to do.” She nudged me with her elbow and grinned. “Besides, we’ll be back before you know it. Then you’ll have plenty of time to finish that Unity offering you were going to make for me. You’re not off the hook for that just because we’re already married, you know.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” I laughed, shrugging out of my apron. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you were going to make one for me, too.”
“Of course,” she giggled, joining me as we walked to the house. I changed from my smithing clothes into my armor, then spent the next few minutes hovering over our previously packed supplies for the journey to Kaldan, double- and triple-checking that all of the necessities were present. When it was clear I couldn’t delay any longer, I slung a pack over my shoulder, belted my sword to my hip, and donned my cloak. Lia waited patiently while I prepared, already dressed in her armor and confident in her packing.
“Alright,” I said with a slight groan as I exited the house behind her, “let’s go save Kaldan. Again.” She chuckled and took my hand, leading the way into the forest towards her parents’ house. We had said our goodbyes the previous night over dinner; while we avoided telling her parents the specifics of the danger we were heading towards, it felt wrong to lie about the nature of our trip, so we had settled on saying we had unspecified business in Kaldan that might keep us away for a few weeks. Hana and Marten were surprisingly accepting of the news and simply wished us safe travels and good luck with our work. Marin had agreed to check in on our house occasionally while we were gone, and in a later, private conversation, agreed to keep Elise, Marten, and Hana safe in the event that more monsters arrived in Mayaan.
When we arrived at the Corells’ house, I stayed at the edge of the clearing while Lia made her way to the front door. Marin appeared in the doorway before Lia had a chance to knock, and the two shared a quick embrace. They spoke for a few moments, gesturing out into the woods a few times before they both turned to stare in my direction. I immediately shrank beneath the weight of Marin’s eyes and looked away. Since our conversation the day before the wedding, I could hear the fear and disappointment in her voice echoing in my head whenever she looked at me, rekindling the shame that continually smoldered in my gut.
After another minute of conversation, the girls hugged again, and Marin returned to the house and closed the door. Lia skipped across the yard with a wide smile. “We’re all set,” she called out. My eyes lingered on the door behind her as I struggled to move past the rift I had created between Marin and me. The difficulty must have been written plainly on my face, because Lia placed a hand on my chest and patted it softly. “Time,” she reminded me.
“Right.” I closed my eyes and immersed myself in Lia’s aura, which I found ready to support me with an enveloping warmth. The feeling soothed the ragged edges of my psyche, and my eyes reopened a moment later filled with renewed determination. I clapped my hands together hard enough to sting my fingers through my leather gloves and looked out through the forest. “Let’s go.”
The beginning of our journey progressed quickly. After leaving the forest, we found the road leading towards the Mountain Gate entirely deserted, which allowed us to travel at enhanced speeds without drawing any undue attention. It was a strange feeling to reflect on how far we had come since our arrival in Lybesa only a few months prior; what felt like a casual jog in the moment was bordering on the top speed we could have sprinted back then, and my Detection scanned miles further in every direction with little effort. Although we were headed towards certain danger in Shadowmine, the prospect of meeting Virram’s forces again with our new skills excited me.
As we approached the site of our most recent battle, Lia skidded to a halt and held out her hand. “Something’s wrong,” she murmured, her brow deeply furrowed. “There’s a hole in my Detection, but it feels different. It’s not like the monsters from before.”
“It’s the black glass,” I answered.
“The what?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Right.” After her recovery, she had asked sparing few questions about the events that transpired while she was unconscious, and I had
