A/N: Hello! I know, I'm considerably earlier on this one, right? Well, that's because I wanted to do something special.
I'm posting this on January 10, 2024. Exactly one year since I posted my first chapter of Hearthfire. My first-time publishing anything, ever! So, to celebrate a full year of writing and to thank my wonderful readers, I'm doing something special. Not only am I posting early, but I'm going to do something I haven't done since pretty close to when I first started writing.
I'm going to do a double upload. Not just that, I'm going to upload two chapters in a single day! I've done nothing but write and work since I got better and the holidays ended, so I really hope you like this! I'll be uploading one chapter in the morning and one in the late afternoon/evening.
That's not all though! Since this is to celebrate a year of me writing, and as a bit of a treat for those of you who read my side project, I will be doing a double upload for it as well!
As always, I truly appreciate your comments and reviews. They've kept me writing through this whole year. I would not have gotten very far in this if it hadn't been for you. So, thank you and please, keep them coming.
Hearthfire
Chapter 36
Torrhen
Torrhen swung, easily blocking Aisha's strike with his skyforge steel greatsword. Since his normal sword was still fully enchanted, he was taking the opportunity to change things up in his practice spars. Right now, the unenchanted greatsword he was using was in a blade lock with Aisha Belka, one of the newer members of the Hestia Familia.
She occupied an odd place in the Familia. At level 5, having leveled up after nearly being killed by Phryne Jamil, she was the second most powerful member of the Hestia Familia. Because of that, she was mostly taking it easy. Now that she had nowhere near as many duties to execute, she could spend her days either training, getting used to her new armor, watching over Haruhime, or doing whatever else she wanted. Her nights were usually spent trolling for some 'entertainment' at a bar or some other establishment.
At the moment, everyone in the Familia except for her and Torrhen was in the Dungeon which meant she had ample time to train. Seeing an opportunity to get a bit of a workout in, Torrhen joined her. She'd been trying to batter down his defenses for the better part of half an hour when they were interrupted by a shout.
"Ho there! Getting some training in?" It was Gareth. He and Riveria were both coming through the gate and into the practice yard. Dressed in his full armor, Gareth looked ready for a fight. Torrhen could guess what he was there for. He and Aisha separated, with the Amazon panting slightly.
"You know me, Gareth." Torrhen joked. "I never miss an opportunity to teach."
"True enough!" Gareth laughed. "How are you adjusting to Level 5, young Belka?"
Aisha smirked at the dwarf. "It's been good. Having Torrhen to act as a training dummy really helps you figure out your strengths."
"That it does!" He boomed. "Speaking of which, you mind if I borrow him? I've been itching for a rematch now that I'm fully enchanted!"
"No problems here." Aisa replied. "I need a break."
"Ha! Good. Well, my friend?" Gareth looked sideways at him, eyes gleaming. "Are you up for a fight?"
Riveria sighed just behind the dwarf, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry about him, Torrhen. He's been up in arms about this ever since he got his armor."
"I even had Tsubaki make an unenchanted version of my axe, so there's no accidents!" The dwarf warrior added. Torrhen could only grin, happily.
"I'd be delighted to spar with you, Gareth." He paused for a moment, before smirking. "In fact, I'll even let you choose what kind of weapon you'll face! Hammer, axe, or sword?"
"Oh?" His eyes gleamed with interest. "I haven't fought another axe wielder in a while. Why not that?!"
"One handed or two?"
"Two, of course!"
Torrhen nodded and headed into his forge. Walking up to the weapon racks, he pulled out a Dwarven battleaxe. While the dwarves of this world were different from the Dwemer, he thought it was appropriate. Striding back out onto the field, he quickly dropped into a ready position.
"Shall we?" He smirked.
With a cry and a massive grin, Gareth charged forward, bringing his axe down in an overhead swing which Torrhen blocked. Using the haft of his own axe, he intercepted the haft of Gareth's and shoved it back, causing the dwarf to stumble. With a one-handed swing, he sent the blade of his axe careening into Gareth's unprotected side.
"Uuf" Gareth grunted, rolling away but springing right back up. His enchanted armor glowed slightly as the regenerate health and stamina effects took hold. He smirked. "These enchantments make it feel like I could fight for hours!"
"Well, considering that's what you wanted me to make when I enchanted them, I would certainly hope they'd feel like that." Torrhen rebutted. Striding forward, they clashed again. Back and forth they went, trading blows of such force that they could easily crush stone, yet neither tired.
Although Torrhen was not wearing enchanted gear, fighting a Level 7, enchanted Gareth, was almost like being back in the yards of Jorrvaskr battling it out with the members of the Circle. He could win easily if he went all out, but it was far better if he simply let himself enjoy the challenge. They continued to trade blows, both losing track of time as they moved across the field.
Gareth went for a low swipe, only to find Torrhen had jumped, landing on the flat of Gareth's axe. Torrhen went for a hilt strike, only to find the back blade of Gareth's axe intercepting it while the dwarf backpedaled away. Torrhen was unsure of how long they fought but he eventually chose to end it and, bending low as he dashed past Gareth, he hooked the hole in the center of his axe blade over the hilt of his opponent's weapon and wrenched it out of his hands.
"Oof." Gareth let out a puff of air as he tripped and hit the ground. Shaking his head, he stood with a grin. "Well, I think I lasted longer this time! Well fought!"
"You too, my friend." Torrhen clasped Gareth's arm. "You've adjusted to the enchantments well. Spending any time in the Dungeon?"
"Of course! I went on a bit of a solo run to test everything out once I got my axe back. Made it all the way to 25 before I had to turn back, because I ran out of time!"
While they were talking, Riveria was walking over from where she'd been sitting at the side of the yard. "Are you two done hitting each other over the head with sharp objects?" She asked once she was closer to them.
"Ha!" Gareth let out a brief guffaw. "Yes, yes. We're done. He's all yours." Turning away, the dwarf shouted to Aisha, who was still loitering around the yard. "Oi! Amazon! You up for a match?"
"Oh, you're on, old man!" Aisha replied with a feral grin, seizing her sword.
"Did you need something?" Torrhen asked Riveria as the two walked away from the yard.
"Yes." She nodded. "I was hoping to purchase a few low level spellbooks from you, so that some of our other spellcasters can begin learning Tamrielic magic. It's proven to be extraordinarily effective in the Dungeon. Lefiya and I have been able to fight much more effectively and consistently. Before, we would hang back and let the others fight while we prepared spells, but now we can participate in the battle and save our larger magic for when it's truly needed."
"Ah." Torrhen nodded in understanding. He'd been wondering when that would come up and had been using his spare time to make a few extra books. The two sat while he replied. "I have a few ready to sell, so that's no problem. The only ones I don't have are the Conjuration books. I'm still a little leery of letting them get out."
"Because of the summoned monster aspects?" She asked, understanding his hesitation. Torrhen nodded.
The issue came down to the laws of Orario. Firstly, the few monster tamers that were actually able to control their monsters were forbidden from keeping them anywhere near populated areas. Second, the idea that someone could just summon a monster anywhere wasn't a concept the people were used to dealing with. Lastly, was that any form of Necromancy was extremely forbidden. Although…
"I suppose there are a few Conjuration spells I could let into the pubic." He mused. "There are variations of the Familiar spell that would be acceptable, as well as the Bound Weapon skills. I doubt I'll be letting anyone summon Atronachs until I'm sure they're trustworthy."
"That would probably be best." Riveria nodded in agreement. Torrhen smiled at her.
"I'll prepare those and have them all ready in a couple days. Is that alright?"
"Of course." She agreed.
Switching subjects, Torrhen asked, "How's your training coming along?"
She smirked at him and, raising one of her hands, shot out a powerful Lighting Bolt which struck a nearby dummy.
Torrhen whistled in appreciation. "Nicely done. Soon enough, you'll be able to cast Chain Lightning and I'll need to reenchant your staff."
"It's possible, but I would prefer to focus on mastering the basics of all the disciplines before advancing to Adept. I can already feel my progress slowing a little as I improve."
Torrhen nodded. "I expect things will slow to a crawl once you hit Adept or maybe Expert. With your natural aptitude and experience with magic, it's mostly just getting used to the new method that's holding you back until you reach the higher levels."
"Yes, that is what I've come to expect as well. All these spells are quite useful though, so I'm enjoying adding so much diversity to my skillset. I've never gone on a solo Dungeon run until just recently. Just knowing I have a shield and armor thanks to the wards and Stoneflesh makes me feel so much more well-rounded as an adventurer."
"If you're going to pick up Conjuration, you should probably brush up on your skill with a blade. Bound Dagger and Sword are two of the only Novice Conjuration spells I'm willing to let go." Torrhen could swear he was hallucinating, but it almost seemed like Riveria was pouting.
"I believe I will stick to the Familiar spell, thank you very much." she said, a little haughtily.
Haruhime
"Ha!" Haruhime grunted as she cast Firebolt. The ball of flame flew from her hand and impacted a Bad Bat that was flying above the party. She was on the 12th floor with the rest of her new Familia, save for Aisha and Master Torrhen. Haruhime was almost giddy when she considered how her life had changed.
Before, she spent her days locked in her room dreading the day Phryne gave her a customer that wouldn't care that she didn't want to be touched. That wouldn't care if she passed out. Thankfully, her dear friend Aisha had been there to defend her. More of a sister than anything, really.
Now though? Now, she was in a Familia she loved with people she loved but wasn't sure she would ever see again. Mikoto, Ouka and Chigusa. Her dearest friends from childhood. Her only happy memories of that time, really. They had found her! They had done all they could to free her, and now she could live and adventure with them to her heart's content.
What is more, since joining the Hestia Familia, she had vastly increased her power. It used to be that her only ability was temporarily boosting the level of other people but now, she could actually participate in combat. She was even helpful! With the aid of Master Torrhen, she had begun to expand her spell list to an absurd degree.
She now knew every Novice and Apprentice spell in every school save for Conjuration and the healing spells. She did know a couple Conjuration spells but not all of them. What is more, she had new, proper adventuring gear and a Staff of Thunderbolt for emergencies. Her new clothes consisted of a lovely red tunic made of a sturdy material with padded black shoulders, dark pants, boots, and a deep red mage cloak. She still liked to wear a kimono when she wasn't adventuring but it wasn't exactly the most protective clothing in the world, so she'd had proper adventuring attire made.
Her fellow mage, Cassandra, specialized in healing magic and was wearing a dark blue set of light leather armor and a cape not dissimilar to that worn by Lady Riveria of the Loki Familia. She also had a staff, though it was a powerful Restoration one.
Aside from her, Aisha, and Cassandra, the newest member of the Hestia Familia was Cassandra's…friend? Girlfriend? Either way, her name was Daphne. She had new armor too. Instead of the uniform she'd been wearing, she now possessed a set of hardened leather armor with some strategically placed patches of chainmail and a brand new, elegant rapier.
They'd all been training like crazy to both improve and become used to working with each other which meant that now, on their first Dungeon dive since she joined the Familia, they were working like a well-oiled machine. They'd worked on improving their individual skills and their teamwork, leading to them memorizing various formations and battle tactics.
Right now, on the 12th floor, they had assumed a good formation for their encounters. At the front of the party was Ouka, serving as a primary tank. Along with him, serving as secondary tank was Welf, the smith who'd made all their new gear. In the next row were Cassandra and Haruhime herself. Their job was to provide support to the front row. Cassandra with healing magic and Haruhime with attack magic. The third row was Vice-Captain Lili and Chigusa, who were both archers. Vice-Captain Lili would call out patterns or strays and call out targets for both Haruhime and the members of the final group.
Ostensibly as part of the second row, Captain Bell and Mikoto spent most of the battle swiftly maneuvering around the field taking out enemies with lightning quick strikes. The captain could easily weave in and out of the others with his superior speed and mobility and while Mikoto was slightly slower, she was nearly as deadly.
Speaking of Mikoto, she finished off a Hard Armored, the last of the pack with a flourish. They all took a moment to breathe before sharing grins across the board. They'd made steady progress from the first floor, and the others had all been very considerate of Haruhime's inexperience with actual combat. When the Ishtar Familia took her into the Dungeon, they would just make her stand at the back and use her level boost spell, so she wasn't used to real combat.
"Everyone, take a few minutes to rest." Captain Bell said in an authoritative voice.
Haruhime let out a sigh and leaned against a large boulder. She felt her Oakflesh spell flicker and die as she slid to the floor. Despite how nerve-wracking and exhausting the day had been, she was having fun. She was adventuring with her friends, old and new, and was genuinely helpful! Looking up, she could see Cassandra holding a minor healing spell over Welf's outstretched arm. He'd been bitten by something, but it was mostly superficial.
"How are you holding up, Hime?" Mikoto asked, coming to sit on the floor next to her.
"I think I'm alright." She replied with a smile. "This is more exhausting than I expected, but I'm doing well."
"You're doing great!" Mikoto corrected her.
"Thank you, Mikoto." Haruhime said, gratefully. "Are we going much deeper?"
"Probably not." Captain Bell said, walking over to them. "It's only our first dive since you joined, and we've done way better than I anticipated but I don't think you're quite ready for the Middle Floors. I'd say we should stay here for a little longer today and consider tackling the Middle Floors in a day or two."
"That's probably a good idea." Welf added from his own seat on a stone nearby. "It's getting kind of late, and I don't like the idea of staying down here all day."
Welf
Welf grinned excitedly as he walked through the Babel tower with Torrhen, Goddess Hestia, and Goddess Hephaestus. It had only been a couple days since Goddess Hephaestus suggested he rent out a storefront from her, but the two deities had gotten the paperwork done surprisingly fast. The inventory had already been moved in. He just needed to make sure it was displayed to his satisfaction, meet the staff that Goddess Hephaestus was providing, and then open the store!
Flyers had already been made and posted, so there was likely to be at least a little interest. He'd probably hang around the store for a while and watch. Welf loved seeing people excited about his work, and he was literally the only person in the city who owned a store that sold enchanted gear. Sure, some people sold magic weapons of the old variety and there was Torrhen but there were no dedicated stores of the former and the latter only took jobs by commission!
While his storefront wasn't going to be with the ones that stocked work from the best the Hephaestus Familia had to offer, it was in a pretty prime location on the 7th Floor of Babel. Probably the best Goddess Hephaestus could offer someone who wasn't part of her Familia. He followed along behind the redheaded goddess as she opened the door and stepped inside.
The store was wide and spacious, and even had windows letting in natural light! There were weapon racks along the walls and armor stands further in. There were shelves with armor boxes or places to store lesser quality enchanted objects. He'd gotten good enough that some of his stuff could really be classified as 'higher quality' compared to others. Instead of constantly making progress with each new enchantment, he really had to try hard to make something fantastic.
Master Torrhen said that he'd finally reached the point where his progress would slow down. He was proficient enough to make quality work, but his natural talent could only carry him so far. Welf had reached the point where progress took time, effort, and dedication. Things he was willing to give in spades.
The redhead looked around as he walked further into the store. He could see that his pieces had already been divided up according to the pricing he'd set with Tsubaki and Goddess Hephaestus' help. The work that was either very pretty or very intimidating was in the display window, while the stuff that he would consider his best work was inside the display counter or stored behind it.
Speaking of the counter, Tsubaki was standing there with two other people. One was a young male dwarf that Welf vaguely recognized from the Hephaestus Familia but hadn't ever spoken to. The other was a human woman with blue hair. They were both dressed in very sharp-looking clothes, giving them a professional air.
"Heya, Welf!" Tsubaki called to him. "What do you think?" She gestured around the store.
"It's perfect!" Welf replied with a huge grin.
"Good! Come here, let me introduce you." She gestured to the two people with her. Starting with the dwarf, she said, "This is Batson. He's in charge of making sure your inventory is well kept. Y'know, dusted, polished, all that?"
"Nice ta meetcha!" The young dwarf greeted him with a smile and a thumbs up.
"You too, Batson." Welf shook his hand.
"This," Tsubaki continued, "is Paula." She gestured to the blue haired human girl. "She'll be the one manning the counter and handling sales."
"Yo!" She waved and was about to speak more when Tsubaki smacked her across the back of the head. "Ow! Uh… I mean…" She stiffened and bowed low. "Hello. Welcome to Spellblades." Her voice was now lower and far more formal.
"Like the name?" Tsubaki grinned. "Couldn't exactly name it after you, since it's officially being rented by Goddess Hestia, but I think it works."
"I like it." Welf grinned. Sure, he'd have liked it if it were named after him, but since all his progress was thanks to Torrhen and Goddess Hestia, he was willing to let it go. Moving to the counter, he peered inside.
Contained within the glass structure were some of his best pieces, though only the smaller ones. Daggers, jewelry, gauntlets, and smaller swords or axes were laid out on cushions within. Each had a description of the enchantment laid out on a card along with the price. Behind the counter were weapon racks.
They went a fair distance up the wall, showcasing the greatswords, rapiers, axes, hammers, bows, crossbows, and more that Welf considered his best work. They would all go for significantly higher prices than anything not behind the counter. Also behind the counter were a few armor sets but he had mostly focused on making individual pieces rather than whole sets. Fully enchanted sets of armor and weapons were better saved as commissioned work rather than just sold in the store because then the customer could pick and choose the enchantments and materials they wanted and have the armor tailor made to their body.
"Everything in order?" Goddess Hephaestus asked.
"It's perfect." He turned to face her with a winning smile. "Master Torrhen? What do you think?"
His master looked around with an appreciative eye. "It looks good to me, Welf. You're more than ready to take this step." He put a hand on Welf's shoulder. "I'm proud of you." The redhead had to fight to hold back a few tears at that. He'd worked so hard to make it here, it was almost impossible to believe he'd done it.
Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Goddess Hephaestus. "Okay. Let's get the contracts signed and open the doors!" On the counter were the official contracts for the renting of the store and hiring of Batson and Paula. It took only a few minutes for them to be completed. Two copies of each contract had to be signed by Goddess Hephaestus, Tsubaki, Goddess Hestia, and Welf himself. Once all was said and done, Paula went to the front of the store and opened the doors wide.
Using a prop, she wedged the doors open and put a marker just outside that read 'Spellblades: Orario's premier magic weapon and armor shop: Grand Opening.' It was just past midday, so the hallways were slowly starting to fill with people looking around at the shops. It didn't take long for them to see the sign and figure out what was going on.
Welf was in a secluded corner, mostly hidden from view, behind the counter with everyone except for Paula and Batson, who went to work the moment the first customer came in. He was a Werewolf with brown hair and tanned skin. His armor was fairly shabby, but he didn't look like he was poor.
"Welcome to Spellblades." Paula said from behind the counter. "How can I help you?"
"Is it true you can buy those new enchanted weapons here?" The Werewolf asked.
"Of course, sir." She gestured around the store. "Everything in here, both armor and weapons, is enchanted. You are free to browse, but we also have a catalogue you could peruse if you'd like."
"Huh… uh… sure! I'll see the catalogue."
Paula pulled a large, leather-bound book from behind the counter and set it in front of the Werewolf. He opened it hesitantly and began to peruse the pages, making occasional noises of surprise.
"Holy… do these boots really make you fire-resistant?" He was pointed at a page.
"Of course, sir." Paula replied with a smile. "Everything in the catalogue will do exactly what the information says it will. Now, I must warn you, these particular boots do have a lower-level enchantment so while they will make you resistant to fire, you can still be burned."
"I understand but… they'd be really useful trying to get past those Hellhounds. I might actually make it to 18 if I have these…" Huh. So, he was probably Level 2 then. That was when most started trying to push for 18. "Agh, but they're expensive and I really wanted a sword…" The poor Werewolf hemmed and hawed over the decision until finally snapping. "Damnit… Fine! I'll buy them."
"Excellent choice, sir." Paula bowed. "Batson? Will you please retrieve the customer's purchase?" The dwarf nodded from where he was looking through a shelf and, sneaking a peek at the choice in the catalogue, moved to collect the boots from a container on the leftmost wall.
Things continued in this same pattern as the next few hours went on. Some people came in and only browsed the shelves, while others stood in line to go through one of the three copies of the catalogue that were available. The two Goddesses and Master Torrhen left after the first couple customers did, but Welf stayed for the better part of three hours. It was just too much fun watching people get so excited over his work!
Torrhen
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked, concerned. Standing across from him, the blonde elf nodded. She was dressed in her adventuring gear with her leafy green hood drawn up over her head and an adventurer pack over her shoulders. The pack was a gift from him, while her wooden sword was slung at her side.
"I think I am as ready as I will ever be." Ryuu said, voice shaky. "I do not know how Lady Astraea will react to my presence but… I have to see her again. I cannot move on until I do."
The two of them, along with Bell and Syr, were standing to one side of the road next to Orario's eastern gate. It was near midday, so the road and gatehouse were packed with travelers and carts moving in and out of the city. Adventurers returning from a trip out of the city, merchants coming to buy or sell their goods within the walls, hopefuls entering the city for the first time in search of fame, fortune, and adventure. The road was packed, and soon enough Ryuu would be joining the throng while she made her way out of the city.
"You're sure you know where to find her?" Torrhen asked. She nodded again.
"I spoke to Asfi, and she convinced Lord Hermes to find her for me. What information he could gather says she was last seen in Solingen." Solingen was a smithing city to the far east of Orario. It would probably take the girl a decent amount of time to get there and come back. To Torrhen's right, Bell spoke up.
"I'm sure Goddess Astraea will be happy to see you, Ms. Ryuu."
She offered him a smile, but Torrhen could tell she didn't quite believe him. To his left the waitress, Syr, bolted forward and pulled the elf into a hug. Despite stiffening slightly at the sudden contact, Ryuu returned the embrace. She wasn't like the other elves in that she despised all physical contact with non-elves but that didn't mean she was comfortable with something so sudden. Even from what was probably her closest friend.
"I'll miss you." Torrhen barely caught Syr's whisper. He hadn't interacted with the young waitress much, but something about her always struck him as a little off. Still, she didn't seem threatening, so he never pried into it.
"I'll miss you too, but don't worry. I'll be back." Ryuu whispered back to her before pulling away. "You should go. Mama Mia won't be happy you're ditching your shift to say goodbye to me. She's already upset that I'm taking so much time off."
The silver-haired girl nodded, wiping away a tear. With one last quick hug, she dashed off towards the Hostess.
"Do you know what you'll say to her once you arrive?" Torrhen asked, quietly. The elf shook her head.
"I've been trying, but nothing sounds right. Maybe I'll think of something while I'm out on the road."
Torrhen offered her a smile. "I've always found wandering the wilds has a clearing effect on the mind. Perhaps it will help you too."
"Good luck, Ms. Ryuu. The Hestia Familia will be eagerly waiting for you to come back." Bell said.
"Thank you, Bell." Ryuu smiled at him.
Of course, just because she had gotten what she needed from Astraea didn't mean she could just join a new Familia. Officially, she was still blacklisted and wanted for murder. Even though the Guild knew where and who she was, and wouldn't punish her, she couldn't just start being an adventurer again. Torrhen would spend the time she was gone trying to formulate a plan to clear her name. Maybe they could fake the Gale Wind's death? That was the alias she was known by. He'd have to speak with Eina and give it some more thought.
With a few more goodbyes and words of encouragement, Ryuu finally turned away from them and joined the line heading out of the gate. Torrhen sent Bell off, back to the Hall, but he stayed there a while longer to watch the people. He liked people watching. It was relaxing. Plus, since most of the people were either too busy trying to get out of the city or too new to the city to know who he was, he wasn't being stared at or accosted by anyone.
He saw a young couple arguing as they moved in through the gate. They were dressed in travel clothes, but what was interesting was that they had pots and pans dangling from their packs. While not at all unusual for travelers to have cooking utensils, the sheer number caught his attention.
"I'm telling you, that recipe won't work! Stop making weird combinations, Tamako!" The redheaded man said, stubbornly as they passed by Torrhen's spot.
"It will!" The brunette woman replied. "You just lack imagination!" She had what looked like a piece of dried squid hanging out of her mouth.
They passed out of earshot, and Torrhen didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He went back to watching the gate. There was a Hume Bunny that looked like a merchant arguing with the Ganesha Familia guards. Up on the wall, it looked like one of the other guards was falling asleep until he was nudged by his comrade. Closer to the ground again, he could see a Werewolf family. The father was trying to calm a screaming toddler while the mother was wiping snot off the nose of another child. The eldest child, who looked to be about 9, was talking excitedly with a large Weretiger adventurer who had a claymore strapped to his back. Suddenly a loud, young, female voice cut through the chatter.
"Penny!" Coming through the gate was a young girl. A Cienthrope, perhaps 15, with dark red hair that got lighter as it reached the tips of her hair, ears, and tail. She was dressed in black but with a long red cloak. Behind her was a blonde human girl, also a teenager, who was wearing a leather jacket of some kind and a yellow skirt. The Cienthrope was waving wildly at a redhead in a green skirt that was standing closer to the gate than Torrhen.
"Ruby!" The girl Torrhen presumed was 'Penny" shouted. "Sal-u-tations!" She practically launched herself through the air, tackling the other girl.
Torrhen heard a painted "Oof" followed by the Cienthrope moaning out "Whyyyy." in a pained wheeze from where she was pinned beneath the redhead.
"Um. Penny? Can you not crush my sister?" The blonde human asked.
Torrhen turned away from the gate then, making his way leisurely back to the Hearthfire Hall.
A/N: There we go! What did you all think? You like it? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and opinions!
Ryuu finally leaves to see Astrea! I know, she's still kind of in trouble and I haven't set up anything to fix it, but I figure I'll handle that once she's back. She will join the Hestia Familia!
Oh, about Aisha. I know it might seem like it wasn't a lot, but she did nearly die and I want her to be Level 5 so I bumped her up a level.
Haruhime's new clothes are the Crimson Mystic Ensemble paired with the Burgundy Robe from Hogwarts Legacy. Her Staff is a classic Skyrim Staff of Destruction. Thank you to Phoenix_Warehouse_Productions for suggesting Hogwarts Legacy for armor ideas.
Cassandra's new gear is the armor, cape, and gloves of the Legendary Set for Hogwarts Legacy but dark blue instead of black. Her staff is a classic Restoration staff from Skyrim. Thank you again to Phoenix_Warehouse_Producitons.
Daphne's new clothes are a female version of Geralt's starting armor from Witcher 3. Look up Ciri in Viper Armor if you're curious. Her sword is a silver version of the Noble's Estoc from Elden Ring.
Aisha kept her sword, but her new armor is the Berserkin set from Dragon's Dogma. Thank you MagnustheRed for the suggestion.
About Welf's enchanting skill. I'd say he's probably hit the equivalent of Skyrim level 50 in enchanting but is going to slow down in progress significantly. The progress is because of his Crozzo blood but now he has to really master it. As for smithing, with Torrhen's direct teaching he's probably hit the equivalent of 40 in skyrim, except he can work on enchanted gear. I'm counting that as just a special technique you have to master.
As for Tsubaki, I'd say she's probably a level 70 Smith, but only a level 15-20 enchanter.
Oh, there were a few mini references in this chapter. Anybody catch them? One was probably obvious. The other three, not so much. I couldn't resist giving Penny one more scene. She'll show up again, but only as an occasional background character.
Answers to Questions
On FFN
Echosofsix: I'm glad you liked it!
Chistalm: I'm still figuring out the Xenos, but I'm trying to slowly pull Ais away from the blind hatred of monsters. I have an interesting idea of how to introduce them, but I'm still working out the details.
Maskedkeeper: I suppose I do need a villain, but most arcs have a dedicated antagonist, so I'm not sure yet.
Haziq Saffari: Thanks for the recommendation! I may just go with Blue Hospital since that would be easier to type than Ospideal Gorm. I'll keep it in mind though!
Last Primaris: We will get there eventually, but I may handle it in a way nobody expects. Still deciding, but I suppose I do need to take a look at Alduin soon.
Extella Nights: Thank you for the suggestion!
BiazarKaiser: Thank you!
Monkey D. Conan: Got any suggestions for other characters to show up?
Guest: I've introduced reference characters to RWBY, Fairy Tale, Harry Potter, Bleach, Demon Slayer, Overwatch, Naruto, and Saint's Magic Power. Also, added in this chapter are small references to Knights & Magic, Drugstore in Another World, and Food Wars.
On Ao3
BossTundra: I love Penny too!
Phoenix_Warehouse_Productions_2: Thank you for the recommendation! It helped me figure out a few things.
Kiwarhon: Thank you for pointing out my spelling error! I think I fixed it!
Water_Merchant: I'm still trying to figure it out. For now, I think I'll go with a cold war kind of situation, but I'm not totally sold yet.
MagnustheRed: Penny deserved better, and she will get better! Oh, thank you for the suggestions!
Zebralord23: Did you see? Right at the end of this chapter.
KC_Sven: Frenemy is an interesting dynamic. I'll consider it.