Daiden laid the items from his spatial ring on a table inside Mutuba Smithy. He theatrically spread his arms and walked away, gesturing for Kir to take lead with the inspections. Once settled, he tapped at his ring once more and retrieved Takshaka from the lot in front of him. Daiden folded his arms next, in clutches, choosing to hide a small tremble. He masked an eager smile and reeled his mind to focus on the task at hand.

“What’s the verdict?” asked Daiden.

“Well, not much,” admitted Kir, with a shrug. “I repaired most of the items here after your spar against the High Ranker…what’s her name, Laella?”

A little distracted, Daiden perked his ears at the name and nodded hurriedly. “Yes, that’s her name. Laella, Laella Amell.”

Kir noticed the hesitation and covered his mouth to hide a smile. He paused a moment, in thought, but decided against pressing for more information. “You’re avoiding the carriage?” asked the blacksmith instead.

“Yes!” answered Daiden, excitedly. “I hear there’s a lot of money to be earned in hunting the hostilities across Multana Desert.”

“True,” said Kir, in simple agreement. “But I’ll need to make some modifications to your armour then. Let me thin the layers and improve regulation. It’ll help improve your terrain adaptability.”

“Would it be possible for you to reinforce my old leather armour instead?” asked Daiden, curiously. “I don’t mind wearing lighter, cloth-like armour across the desert.”

Kir dropped the item in his hand and eyed Daiden with some frustration. He drummed his fingers against the table and said, “As your blacksmith, I can’t let you wade into desert terrain unprepared. Why do you want to switch from your usual medium-weight armour?”

“You misunderstand me,” said Daiden, in a stutter. “My main purpose in Multana City is to challenge Gis, the Butcher. I’d prefer my armour as is for that situation.”

Kir pursed his lips, dragged a chair to his side, and dropped onto the seat with a thud. He leaned against the backrest and hummed, then forward. With a sudden burst of energy, Kir launched to his feet immediately after, slamming fist against palm.

“What if I recommend an alternative?” asked Kir, excitedly. “Something that works in your favour, and mine as well.”

“I’m listening…” said Daiden, slowly. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s simple, I come along with you on your journey,” suggested Kir. “A ten-day trip is likely to damage your equipment, and I know your preferences best. I’m also the creator of the swords and armour you use.”

Daiden smiled at the idea. He scratched his chin, and asked, “Isn’t that too dangerous for you though? And will you even be allowed to travel away from Mutuba Smithy at this time?”

Kir eagerly raised an arm and offered Daiden a thumbs-up. He urged the latter to pull the items on the table onto his spatial ring and walked away to pack some of his own items. The blacksmith quickly returned with a small bag and pointed at the door, without hesitation.

“There’s nothing to worry about!” assured Kir. “It’ll be a growing journey for me. Blacksmiths like us do it all the time. Think of it as an opportunity to study new creatures and the utility of their remains in our work.

“Although, you will have to arrange for my stay and food. Will that be fine?”

Daiden scratched the back of his head, uncertainly. He swiped open his Mioveroldian Page and hurriedly calculated an average that would help them last through the course of their journey. In that moment, Daiden also noticed the symbol of a rolled letter, stamped and neatly tied with an incomplete circle around it.

“What’s this?” wondered Daiden. He tapped on the symbol and watched as the information on his Mioveroldian Page switched to something else entirely. Garbled at first, the words settled with an indicator on the top that read, Active Quests. Daiden tapped again to open into the details of his current quest involving Gis and Lord Ingrid from Multana City. His eyes traced to another title in that moment, Open Quests.

“I see…so, this is what it means to be connected to the GCQI Magic Network,” guessed Daiden, drooling at the prospect of real-time access to quests. “This is pretty fucking phenomenal!”

“Will that be fine?” repeated Kir, louder this time.

Daiden snapped from the distraction and struggled to pull back into the conversation. He massaged his head and then nodded, “Yes, I will be able to manage. Also, the quest reward should leave us with a surplus.”

“That’s being too confident,” warned Kir, with a stern expression. “You’re just starting out!”

“Sorry, sorry,” said Daiden, genuinely. “You’re right. But there’s no harm in feeling a little confident.”

Kir folded his arms and hummed, relenting to an agreement. “Well, anyway, now that I’m packed and ready for travel, it’s time for me to get to work. Change out of your armour, I’ll need to work on it for a bit.”

Daiden strode over to a private room and swapped his armour for a loose, comfortable set of clothes. He returned in time to watch Kir work the bellows, stoking the flames to a high temperature. Armed with a hammer, he pulled the pieces to the anvil and hurried to a start.

“I’ll leave you to it, then!” said Daiden, choosing to step outside the smithy for some fresh air.

***

Once outside, Daiden stretched and ambled across the village without purpose, embracing the memories of his first walk with the Lord of Fire. At a distance, he spotted both Rollo and Laella and hurried over to them.

“Well met, Rollo, Laella,” greeted Daiden. “Have the two of you finished picking your quests?”

“Daiden, we were about to come find you,” said Rollo, casually. “We chose locations near Multana City, so it would be easier to meet with you once we were all finished.”

“Ah!” exclaimed Daiden, happily. “We could travel together, then?”

“Sadly, no,” said Laella, almost immediately. “It would be a longer journey for us through Multana Desert. We’re all walking on separate paths for a while.”

“And isn’t that just exciting?” added Rollo.

“Nothing to worry about,” said Daiden. “Well, at least it’s good to know that I won’t have to travel all the way back to Mutuba Village once done.”

Rollo nodded approvingly. He patted on Daiden’s shoulders and wished him luck, adding, “Before I forget, there’s one other thing I wanted to meet with you about.”

“What’s that?” asked Daiden, piqued with curiosity.

“It’s important for us to have an open channel for communication, being away from each other and what not,” explained Rollo. “Laella agrees with me on this as well. Let’s cross-connect our Mioveroldian Pages!”