“Just this?” Hannah asked, looking at a small parcel on the table.

It was difficult to make out details from the door, though one thing was for certain—the cloth that was wrapped round the parcel was weathered and torn in many places. Someone with keen hunting skills would even say that it might have been taken from the jaws of a wolf or other monster.

“That’s all I found,” Jiroh replied. She didn’t sound pleased about it either. “I can try again, but—"

“Not this close to the festival,” the innkeeper interrupted. “The best is—"

There would have undoubtedly been more, but this was the point at which Dallion entered the inn. As an awakened, he had managed to catch a few phrases of the conversation. Upon seeing him, Hannah quickly grabbed the parcel and tucked it away. Meanwhile, Jiroh turned around and offered a smile… while also making sure to stand in front of whatever she had brought.

“Hey,” the fury said. “You’re smiling for once. Been to get some armor?”

“Huh?" Dallion blinked. He didn’t see any reason why he should get armor. Moments later, his mind clicked. This was Jiroh’s way of asking whether he had been with Eury recently. “Oh, no. Just coming from the guild.” He quickly replied.

This new train of thought had caught him completely off guard. Given the annoyed look Hannah had given him, she no doubt knew what Jiroh had in mind better than Dallion himself. Maybe it was better to avoid the topic altogether. Then again, he couldn’t openly talk about hunting the copyette either.

For one thing, Hannah was here. For another, she hadn’t appreciated Dallion’s remarks, how he and Eury had to face off a chainling alone.

“So, what are you two doing?” Dallion approached innocently.

“It’s none of your business!” Hannah snapped. “You’re in enough trouble as it is. There are always two city guards during lunch and dinner time now, pretending to blend in with the crowd. You’re lucky that they’re useful with the festival nearing. Otherwise I’d have kicked you out of here faster than a four-legged hopper.”

“There are guards outside?” Dallion wondered. That was new. If it had been going on for a while he certainly hadn’t noticed.

“There’s been an incident.” Jiroh breached the subject. “With the mirror pool. Someone of importance was attacked.”

Did you know about this? Dallion asked.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know everything that goes on in the city, Nil sighed. In fact, I do my best not to be interested in most of the things going on. Trivialities are of limited importance. There’s enough trouble with this accursed festival to pay attention to other matters.

“Why was…” Dallion began, but sensing anger buildup in Hannah, quickly stopped. “Actually, I’m thinking of organizing a feast.”

This managed to catch both Hannah and Jiroh by surprise. Dallion didn’t need his music skills to interpret their questioning looks.

“Well, it’s about time I did one myself. So many things have happened to me so far, and for now it’s always been you who’s marked the occasion.” He gave Hannah a glance. “Something good happened to me today, so I thought it’s high time I invite those close to me for a bite.”

There was a long pause. If this were a cartoon, there would be crickets chirping around now. Dallion felt the doubt in him increase, flooding the entire room.

“I’ve saved up enough,” Dallion said. “Enough for ten-twenty people, in any event. I know it’ll have to be before the big shifts, but I think we can squeeze something in… maybe breakfast?”

“A breakfast feast?” Hannah gave him a look that all but accused him of crimes against the culinary world.

“Yeah?”

“You expect me to believe that you’ve decided to have a feast here out of the blue?” The innkeeper crossed her arms. “You want to have it in the morning, and you’re also willing to pay for it? What happened? You’re getting married?”

Dallion felt his face burn. Objectively speaking, he brought this on himself. The suddenness with which he had made the announcement suggested something of that nature. Possibly, that was one more reason to get Hannah annoyed.

“No, not yet. It’s something else…”

The new silence indicated that Dallion wasn’t going to get away with just that.

“I got a new skill,” he whispered.

Given what a big deal awakened skills were, he hoped that would be enough to serve as an excuse. And thankfully, it was. The attitude of Hannah and Jiroh changed completely.

“Well done.” Jiroh patted him on the shoulder. “Anything good?”

Dallion felt uncomfortable. At this point he had learned the significance of keeping his abilities secret, especially given his conviction that there was a copyette present. On the other hand, Athletics wasn’t something that was particularly significant, not at its current level in any event.

I say go ahead with it, Gen said. Holding an event here will give you a chance to check out everyone. Also, you’ll finally be able to relax that none of your guild mates are the copyette either.

Dallion still hesitated.

If the copyette is thousands of years old, I doubt having athletics at one will surprise it to the point of defeat.

Right, Dallion had to agree.

“Athletics,” he said. “Just common athletics.”

“A skill is a skill.” Hannah shrugged. There was nothing in her emotions that suggested she was overly interested. At the same time, she was taking this way too calmly for Dallion’s taste. “Don’t expect a huge discount! You pay the cost and you don’t rush Aspan. If he decides to make something fancy, that’s on him.”

“I expected nothing less.” Dallion squeezed as much enthusiasm as he could into his words. Even if Hannah was the copyette, she was way stingier than she was supposed to be. This small event was going to cost him quite a bit. While guild feasts were something common, paying for it personally proved to be quite a lot.

“And I’m not letting Spike here! That kid almost wrecked the place twice!”

“I doubt he’ll start a fight with only us around,” Jiroh laughed.

“I’m not taking any chances. Take it or leave it! You can pack some food and bring it to him at the guild, but he’s not setting foot here!”

The conversation quickly shifted to haggling and negotiations. Since Dallion had only come up with this a few moments ago, he had no idea of any details, using Hannah’s questions as pointers.

To his surprise, the innkeeper had reluctantly agreed to allow Eury at the event—mostly because of her secret suspicion that there would be a secret wedding announcement. Apart from that, the list of guests was short and very random. The Luors were to be there, of course, along with Vend and—very much to Dallion’s surprise—captain Adzorg. That was the only person that Hannah had stressed that should be invited. Janna and Kallan were also approved, as were Bel, Estezol, and Falkner. A few other names were tossed about, but in the end Dallion didn’t feel particularly inclined, so they were dropped.

When all was said and done, there were close to a dozen people to mark the event—more than Dallion expected, considering how long he had been in the city. Compared to a college party, the number was pitiful, however, considering that all of them could be called his friends, it was significant. It was a shame that there was a real possibility that one of them might end up being a copyette.

The discussions over, Dallion went to his room under the pretext of doing some training. The truth was that he needed to have a word with someone. Actually, with more than one person, but he intended to start with the guardian of the armadil shield.

ITEM AWAKENING

The shield’s domain appeared around Dallion. It looked considerably more run down than before. The walls were covered with cracks, despite the attempts to hide them, not to mention that the purple veins still hadn’t completely disappeared.

I’ve been pushing you too hard, haven’t I? Dallion wondered as he moved closer to a wall. Slowly, he reached out to touch one of the cracks.

“You can at least pretend they aren’t there,” a familiar voice said.

Looking over his shoulder, Dallion saw the dryad. The guardian was wearing his casual leather attire, however this time there were quite a few bandages wrapped around him as well.

“And I distinctly remember telling you that I’m companion armor. Having to fight protectors and sentinels is no different from what I had to do during the war.”

“Sorry.” Dallion moved away from the wall. “I didn’t think I’d be so outmatched.”

“I know.” The dryad placed a hand on Dallion’s shoulder. “It’s normal to be reckless when young. There’s no power able to stop the folly of youth, be it blade, or bear, or midnight star. Why don’t we sit down?”

“Sure.” Dallion quickly made his way to the nearest couch. For some reason, the dryad enjoyed making him uncomfortable. Everything considered, though, that was light punishment. “I can get Lux to help if you want? He’s good at healing, so—"

“I appreciate the intention, but I’ll be fine.” The dryad took a seat facing Dallion. “I’m a dryad, we regenerate. It’ll just take some time. The only way you could potentially help is to defeat me, but you’re far from that level. Incidentally, I suppose that’s the main reason you’re here.”

“It isn’t.” Dallion replied, his words ringing with conviction. “It’s the second reason. The main thing was to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m flattered, but you don’t need to check on me every day.”

In truth, Dallion hadn’t visited the dryad all that much. He had spoken to him daily, that much was true; he had also offered to visit as well as help, but each time the guardian would respond in identical fashion, thanking him and asking that he be given some time alone.

“This is a dangerous time for you,” the dryad said. “Awakened who get this far start to think they’re invincible and become reckless. Most of the awakened deaths occur around this level. Single and double-digits know enough to stay away from trouble, nobles have the strength to deal with most things there are. Those in-between… all I can say is that it’s a good thing you’re not going through puberty. It would have been a real nightmare otherwise.” He laughed.

Dallion didn’t. While he could see that the shield guardian was taking everything lightly, he knew that his warnings were serious. There was no doubt that Dallion was in the presence of an accomplished veteran. The dryad’s youthful appearance and casual character had prevented him from seeing that until now, but no longer.

“What do you think of my plan?”

“To find the copyette? For one thing, it isn’t a plan. It’s something you came up with a few minutes ago and adopted into a notion of a plan. Other than that, the idea is risky, not to mention there are quite a few details you haven’t thought through. Getting some friends from the guild was a good idea, but with only one captain it will hardly work. My advice would be to try to get a few more heavy hitters. The sibling’s parents, the elites you cleaned the house with, even March if you can manage.”

“Won’t the copyette run if there are so many people?”

“You’d be extremely lucky if that happens. It’ll also mean you’ve won. All it takes is one suspicion for the Overseer to spring into action, and possibly a noble or two as well. Lady marigold, for one, is a lot stronger than people give her credit for.”

“Right.”

“That’s not your biggest problem.” The dryad ran his hand through his hair. “Have you ever thought what will happen if the copyette doesn’t run?”

“What?” Dallion was on the edge of his seat.

“That, I can’t tell you. It’s something you must figure out on your own.”