Blue cried herself to sleep. She took a small break to eat, but even during the meal, her tears didn't stop. Hera slept in the same bed with her, but she was the first to wake up. Not wanting to disturb Blue, she slowly got up and headed to the kitchen. The bed was incredibly soft, but the height of the ceiling was odd. The dwarves had houses that were close to double their size, but for humans, that made houses way too big.

It was still very early in the morning. Hera checked the food they got in the previous night. There was still enough for a good breakfast but no meat. Later on, they would receive a delivery from the guard with food for the rest of the day. They could ask for morning deliveries later and receive some pastries and eggs in the morning if they wanted to. Another option that many people in the city preferred was to visit the storage street where some people would choose their own food for the day.

Hera didn't want to leave Blue alone, and there was already food there. Besides, the kingdom seemed to be very preoccupied with wasting food. Rutigan kept talking about getting only what they needed and not tossing food out. Among the people who took care of the farms, there were those who were responsible for keeping the food fresh with magic. From what Hera understood, there was a specific spell that could be used to do that. It would be nice if she managed to learn it. That way, taking different types of food when she left a city wouldn't be that much of a problem. Pushing that idea aside, she looked at the basket. There were some fruit, bread, and a few eggs. Her first thought was to make jam, but it wouldn't work without sugar and a lot of spare time. She could at least make some eggs. Maybe even a sweet fruit omelet.

She started cooking, and in just a few minutes, there was a nice breakfast ready, but before she could take the first bite, there was a knock on the door. Hera went towards the entrance and called.

"Who is it?"

"It's Risli."

Hera opened the door, "Hey, is everything ok?"

Risli nodded while she came inside, "It is. I'm just stopping by to check on Blue. I brought some food for you two, but it seems like I didn't have to worry."

"King Rutigan gave us some food yesterday, enough for today as well. Have you eaten already? I can make you something with what you brought," Hera suggested.

"Sure, I never tasted human cooking before."

"Have you ever had an omelet?"

"Yes, that was one of the things Wendel taught us."

Hera thought for a moment. Among the fruit and bacon that Risli brought, there was also a jar of milk, "What about a smoothie?"

"What is that?"

"Oh, you are going to love it…. Actually, can you make any ice?"

"I can't make ice, but I can lower the temperature of things. It's good to help with a fever," Risli explained.

"Great, can you do that with this cup?" Hera passed a stone cup to Risli and started cutting the fruits. She picked a small watermelon and some strawberries and mixed them all with the milk. It was a shame that she didn't have a blender, but there were enough tools to make it work.

In a few minutes, she made enough smoothies for three people and a sweet fruit omelet for Risli. The shaman seemed to enjoy the food, adding that she never considered mixing fruits with the omelet.

"Risli, do you mind if I ask something?" Hera took a sip of her drink. Her food was already gone, and Risli was about halfway finished.

"I need to know the question first, child."

"Do you and Telanz have a problem?"

Risli took a bite of her omelet, "It would be more accurate to say that Telanz has a problem with me."

"Why is that?" Hera asked.

"Do you know what a legacy is?"

"Yeah."

"We both trained under the same shaman. However, my master chose me to pass on his legacy."

"You both trained together? He didn't seem that old," Hera gasped.

"He came in much later, but he learned fast. At the time, my master was the chief shaman and taught all the current generation, and I was working under him for more than 150 years. I was his substitute, but Telanz felt it was unfair. He said that I was only going to receive the legacy because I was there longer."

"Well, duh. I mean, you want to pass those things on to the best one there. You had a century of experience. Why would he pass the legacy to someone else? And what's the legacy name?"

"It's called shaman. Telanz was called a genius ever since a young age. He felt that it was his right to receive a legacy since he was the smartest healer around. He felt like he should be the shaman, not some old coot. In part he is not wrong, he is much better suited for the chief shaman position," Risli explained.

"I see. To be honest, he does seem to have a stick up his ass," Hera shook her head.

"He was injured?"

"Oh, no. It's an expression. It means he is always angry and annoyed by everything."

"That seems… appropriate," Risli nodded.

They talked some more before Blue woke up. Her eyes were still red and puffy. She walked towards the table and sat down, already drinking her smoothie. Hera quickly started making the omelet while Risli got up and walked towards Blue.

"Hey, Risli. Wait, what are you doing?" Blue moved back as Risli tried to touch her head.

"I'm fixing your eyes. I'm sure you don't want to go out looking like that."

Blue nodded, "Thanks… you are not going to ask?"

"If you want to tell me, then yes. If not, I don't want to know."

"Thanks," Blue said but didn't follow up with anything else.

Risli finished the spell, and Hera placed the omelet in front of Blue. The three talked for a while. Risli told them about the baby she delivered. Blue asked about the sky ruler, but Risli had no idea what type of creature it was. After a couple of hours, the shaman left their house. The humans would only join the guard later for their afternoon training, so they could still get some proper rest. Hera took advantage of that to take a bath. She was only able to take some bucket showers during her stay with Risli, and Blue wanted to be alone for a moment.

Later that day, a guard dropped by some food for them. It was enough for both lunch and dinner, with meat protected by a spell to avoid making it spoil. Hera prepared some bacon and stuffed potatoes for their meal. She tried to make something to comfort Blue. She did her best, but the controller's mood wasn't improving. It was expected, but Hera hoped that at least her friend knew she was there for her.

After eating, they headed out and met the guard that was stationed by their house. Hera still felt it weird to have someone at their beck and call. Then again, it might as well be their warden, someone to keep track of their movements. The guard led them to the barracks that worked as the central hub for the guard. Every member of the guard had to go there before their shift started to clock in and see what they were assigned to do that day.

The guards were responsible for gathering meat from the dungeon, delivering daily supplies for those who ask for that, patrolling the gate and the path leading to the top of the mountain. Even being a lifeguard by the lake was part of their duties. The guards were basically responsible for most of the infrastructure workforce for the city.

The guard HQ was a tall building made with some sort of red stone. Aside from the palace, it was one of the few places with multiple floors. The main building was three stories tall with a large bell in the top one. Around it, there were several smaller passageways with a large dirt arena in the middle where the guard would train. To the side, there was another large structure where their equipment was stored, and beyond it a blacksmith who was responsible for the weapons and armor of the entire guard.

They were led inside through the main door, crossing a small reception area that looked like the entrance of a hotel. There were two couches before the counter with coffee tables and a small ornament made of glowing moss. No one was at the reception desk, but there was a cord that people could pull to call for someone. Hera and Blue were brought up to the side, taking the stone staircase up. On the way, they saw a small room with some first aid supplies, like a nurse's office in a school, another room with several desks where a few guards were writing stuff down, and a hallway that led towards the training area. Most rooms were closed off on the second floor, but there were some signs indicating meeting rooms and break rooms. It was much more like an office building than a place where you would find the police force. Finally, the two reached a large wooden door with several carvings and designs spread around it. All following the Art Deco feel from the decorations that the main city buildings seemed to have. With a golden plate that read 'Captain Naka.'

Naka was waiting for them in her office. As the two entered, she kept writing down reports for a few moments, "I don't like you. Let me make this clear. However, since our king asked me to train you, I shall do my very best to make you stronger. So know that me being strict is not about my personal grievances," she got up and walked towards the door, "Follow me, and just as a note if any of you try to hurt the kingdom or the people inside it, I will throw you in jail."

"You guys have a jail in here?" Blue asked.

"We do. We use it to keep drunks who get too rowdy, but I would love to use it for a better purpose," Naka kept moving towards the training grounds, "You two will fight me. Throw everything you got. I want to see what you can do."

"Do we have any healers around? I have some spells that are based on poison, but I don't have a way to remove the poison," Hera explained.

Naka stopped walking and turned towards Hera, "Are you serious? How can you meddle with poison and not focus on an antidote? What if you hit someone?"

"That never happened. I take care not to hit my friends," Hera replied.

"So? Just because you are careful, it doesn't mean you won't miss," Naka sighed, "You can use it during our fight. I want to know what you can do. However, after that, you are not allowed to use those spells until you get a way to remove the poison from other people."

"I focus on afflictions. If I don't use that, I lose about half of my abilities," Hera said.

"I don't care. I'm not going to risk you injuring one of my guards in the heat of the moment. Either figure out a way to stop the poison or find something else to use. We have a healer here, but that might not be true inside the dungeon. This will be the only fight you can use those spells. What are your roles?"

"I'm a controller. Hera is an explorer," Blue said.

"Explorer?" Naka scoffed, "Great, very useful."

Hera frowned at that comment. Being an explorer saved her life. Just because everyone was stuck under the mountain here, it didn't mean that having various role skills would be bad. They all entered a large arena where some guards were practicing. Naka asked them to give them all some space. She picked up a wooden staff, removed part of her armor, and turned back to the humans.

"Come, let's see what you got."