At Kelna village’s main square, a bunch of people were surrounding a horse drawn wagon. They were unloading goods under the supervision of elder Isadora and asking all kinds of questions about the city to the returned travelers. Liza and company were also there, but they were talking directly with Jimmy, the one responsible for getting the stuff they needed from this trip.

“Here you go, a bunch of premium ranked travel rations,” said Jimmy.

“What? Those tasteless blobs were considered premium rations?” asked Ben in astonishment.

“Of course! Or do you think any pack will have jerky in it? You better be grateful that even though I need lots of coin, I’m not stingy when it comes to buying the stuff we need,” said Liza half-jokingly.

“Oh, I love jerky! It’s super salty and soft and yummy,” said Eliot.

“I get salty, and even the taste is passable, but soft? You just have monster teeth Eliot,” retorted Ben.

“Really? Cool, monster teeth! I like it!” exclaimed Eliot, making chewing gestures with his mouth with a *clank* *clank* sound.

“This other bag is yours also, it has everything you asked for. Your guild necklace is inside too.”

“Thanks Jimmy. What about the information we need? How are things over there?”

“As far as we could tell, the city is back to normal. There are wanted posters of you around still, but they are yellow and withered now. They don’t look much different than the ones that have been there for ages, and who looks at those? Soon your names will be known just in passing, another urban legend, like Ernie, the giant.”

“Good. Then what about the guild? Anything there?”

“Popis assured me that there’s nothing about you in the guild. The earl never came to make an official request, it seems like he wanted to find you all on his own, without drawing to much attention. Since that was the case, her boss didn’t have any reason to pen down information about you in the records. She told me to remind you that he wants to be friends with you all.”

“He was sincere to the end… guess we’ll have to make up for him in the future. Anyways, that’s great news! As long as we steer clear of Starfall, we can go wherever we want without much trouble.”

“You’re really going after all…” said Jimmy sadly.

Liza gave Jimmy a friendly punch on the shoulder.

“Sorry Jimmy, but we’ve stuff to do. We’ve stayed here for too long already.”

Watching everything from the side until now, Isadora joined in on their conversation.

“When are you leaving?” asked the elder.

“Tomorrow morning,” said Liza.

“Then we’ll have a big commemoration tonight to see you guys off!”

“You don’t need to bother with us elder, we’ll just leave quietly in the morning.”

“What, it’s no bother. We can’t have the heroes that fought for us leave just like that. Plus, if anything, I’d do one just for Eliot and Boro. I’ll be sad to see those children leave.”

“Thanks granny! This place is boring but you’re the best!”

Eliot hugged Isadora and lifted her up from the ground while Boro snuggled his face against her cheeks. The elder reddened, embarrassed by their actions. Even though she considered them kids (and in some ways they were) it didn’t change the fact that Eliot was a full-grown man.

“Hey, put me down Eliot! I told you to not do that!”

“Hahaha, nope!”

Seeing their usually taciturn and serious elder so flustered, the rest of the villagers laughed and joined in on the fun, whistling and making jeering remarks from the side.

That night a great bonfire burned in Kelna village. Like the afternoon after the fight against the bandits many months ago, the residents gathered around the fire to sing, dance and cook.

The children were excited to stay up late and ran around the square, inventing all kinds of fun games to play. The youths that were a bit older found the atmosphere suitable to courtship; soon, couples were moving away from the light of the bonfire to places that were darker and more private for their needs.

The older folks stayed by the fire, eating, drinking and conversing. They thanked their guests for their help in defending the village once again and reminisced on their heroic deeds. Even Liza was talked and regarded warmly.

This change came about when a travelling merchant stopped by the village a month ago. The man had brought news of hamlet that was destroyed, possibly by monsters or bandits, they couldn’t be sure as the place was razed to the ground. Learning of such catastrophe, the villagers could better appreciate how lucky they were and how Liza’s actions, as callous as they might have been, saved them from a gruesome ending.

When the fire was gone and only embers remained, Isadora thought it was about time they ended their send-off celebration. She grabbed a cup of ale and held it in the air, drawing the attention of everyone around.

“A toast to our heroes that are departing, may their futures be filled with fortune!”

“A toast!”

“To our heroes!”

Everyone drank their cups, finishing the ceremony. After a few more words of thanks and goodnight, the villagers began to retire to their residences for the night, grabbing their sleeping children on the way.

Early the next morning, Liza, Eliot, Ben and Boro were back on the road after many months of living isolated and quietly. Their plan was to follow the eastern trail out of the village until they could hop on the stone road towards the capital, one of the few proper roads in the kingdom.

After walking for a couple hours, Liza gave an exclamation with a start, like she suddenly remembered something. She rummaged through her rucksack and picked up a bundle wrapped with cloth.

“Here, this is for you. I meant to give it to you yesterday, but forgot,” said Liza handing the bundle to Ben.

“What, for me? What is it?”

Ben carefully removed the cloth, revealing a set of small knifes that were fixated on a large piece of leather with straps. It was a set of throwing knives and a holster that could be wrapped around the leg or torso.

“You said it was one of your… how did you call them?” asked Liza.

“Hobbies,” replied Ben.

“Right, hobbies, something you learn just for fun and amusement, was what you said. I’ve noticed however, that you practiced throwing knives constantly the past month. It was a great idea. You finally understand the situation you’re in. That’s why I asked Jimmy to buy those for you. This way you have something you can defend yourself with in case me, Eliot or Boro have our hands full.”

Ben was speechless. They’d caught him practicing throwing knives before, but he explained it was just one of his many hobbies. He was much more careful afterwards, always making sure he was alone before having a go. He’d no idea how Liza knew of his painstaking efforts this past month.

He also couldn’t explain why he was trying to hide it from them. Perhaps it was because they were such competent fighters that he’d feel embarrassed to show his poor skills in front of them. Or maybe he was afraid they would count on him during a fight, when in fact he wasn’t sure he was ready yet.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything, just keep them around and train with them whenever you feel like it.”

“Oh, they’re so cool Ben! What about me Liza? What did I get?”

“Nothing, you already have a sword.”

“But mine is made of stone and it’s all shabby and broken! I want a new one, made from metal, all shiny and… and… shiny!”

“Urgh, a new sword of the same type you have would be expensive. A normal one would be around ten gold, but with your arm strength it would break in no time. You would need a fine piece of craftsmanship, that could go for as much as forty gold! That’s enough for a normal household to live for five months or almost a year if living frugally!”

“I don’t understand, it’s just coins right? You’ve a bunch of them in your pouch.”

“I do, but they are not gold coins,” said Liza smiling wryly. “Here, you can have this instead.”

Liza tossed a small pouch to Eliot who grabbed it with anticipation. He jumped with happiness and made a smug face that said I knew you had something for me too. Boro eyed the pouch from Eliot’s shoulder, wondering what was inside. His curiosity was soon sated, as Eliot opened the bag with haste. Inside the small leather pouch were a bunch of small rocks. Eliot’s smile froze on his face.

“What’s this? A bunch of pebbles?” asked a dejected Eliot.

“You can throw them so hard you don’t even need a sling,” said Liza shrugging her shoulders.

“But they’re just stones! Like my sword! You’re making fun of me!”

Eliot puffed his cheeks and ran ahead, making sure he was at least fifteen meters away from the rest of the group. Seeing his childish behaviour, Liza and Ben laughed, which in turn peeved him even more. Even Boro couldn’t contain a snicker, resulting in Eliot grabbing him by the neck and tossing him on the ground.

Thinking they’ve had enough fun at his expense, Ben decided to appease the young man. He thought about all he was going to say and structured the speech in his mind, he didn’t want to use the ring for this. Clearing his throat, he used his best coaxing voice.

“Look, Eliot, don’t be mad. Your stones aren’t bad! With your strength they’ll be more powerful than my knives. Plus, you will be able to play five stones with them now that you know the rules. Jordan could do it with five stones, but you’ve a bunch there. Wouldn’t you be amazing if you did it with six stones? Maybe seven? Oh my god, what if you managed to do it with eight? Is that even humanly possible?” said Ben in a clear and exaggerated fashion.

Eliot harrumphed, still keeping his distance.

“I’m sure I could do it with ten! I’ll show you right now!” he said defiantly.

Liza had to do her utmost to keep a serious face and not break out in laughter at this ridiculous exchange. After restraining herself, she delivered the finishing blow.

“Leave it for lunch time, let’s keep going for now. And don’t worry Eliot, when we make a bunch of money, we’ll buy you a new, shiny sword.”

Now reconciled, the group pressed onwards to Balt Kingdom’s capital, Kalafrana.