The mood in The Cradle was one of festivity, not only because of the Autumn Equinox recurrence but because the Reevers had released news of the first prisoner of Large Leaf Dungeon to have been removed and the consequent deal that had been struck. The overall worry of the families and friends of the captured and of the people who could not access L.L. Dungeon anymore exploded into jubilee. The Cradle's mood soon turned into one that incited revelry, spending, and joy.

The teenagers reversed in the streets of The Cradle to rejoice. They would get access to the Dungeon again, well, sooner rather than later, and they needed to party because of that. The families returned to buy equipment suitable for the Dungeon and partially sell the stacks of Life Essences that had been withheld to wait for a soaring price.

All in all, it would turn out to be one of the most celebrated Autumn Equinox ever.

"I hope their mood stays like this," Gaia said to Gabriel.

After leaving Greta at Sato's side, Gabriel had left and found Gaia waiting for him. She knew about the fact that he received an invite to the Yggdrasilians' party; she wanted to teach him the proper etiquette for Yggs parties. But despite a few slips because of some uses and costumes unknown to him, Gaia had found Gabriel very prepared on the topic.

She would go to the party like every previous year; she was invited to each of the Yggdrasilians' parties; she was to be Yggdrasil's Guardian after all.

The Guardian would have to at least turn to be an entity as strong as them but blessed with the ability to govern the Rapids of Mana and their unending amount of it. She would have to become strong enough to protect them even from threats to their existence. Which made Gabriel roughly figured out how powerful the Elder Waterfront should be.

Gaia had come with him also to ask about how he felt and hear news of Olivia. The girl had utterly disappeared from their radars; well, she had never entered them given her anti-scrying stone. However, Gabriel evaded both subjects.

It was a few yards from Gabriel's armory when Gaia stopped, after his umpteenth avoidance of the topic she wanted to talk about, him.

"When will you start trusting me? Do I even have a chance to earn your trust?"

Gabriel sighed, "I cannot trust any of you, Gaia, really. You have me caged, have power over me, hide things of me, your rule this whole damn place. Trusting you would be like giving myself over to a despot. I can't allow myself that. I never have, and never I will."

He turned the other way leaving her behind, before turning once again, "Maybe when I'll be strong enough to be feared like my uncle , then I may be able to trust you because I'll know you won't try and fuck me over, you would not have the power to."

"I never tried to fuck you over, Gabriel. Never. I merely wished you were… you were…"

"I was what?"

"My reason to keep on living," she admitted before running away.

Gabriel was left speechless. He pinched his nose, "Man… was that about? What did I do wrong to deserve all this unwanted attention?" What, Lizzy? What?

The lizard shrugged.

Let's just go get that armor, shall we?

***

"Gabriel Walker! Happy Equinox! But tell me, Herald. What has taken you so long!?"

Long-dozen was in an excellent mood.

"I'm sorry L.D., I've had… family troubles to deal with. But now I'm here. Show me the stuff! I'm eager to try it on."

"Alright, but first, let me warn you since I guess this will be your first bound armor."

"Shoot!"

"First, a bound armor is the reflex of your own Resilience. It becomes part of you, applying your Resilience to its own basic Attribute modifiers. You do not magically wear Dragon skin and get the Dragon's Resilience who wore the skin before; you merely adapt to your armor modifier. This means that your Resilience remains the same; however, if we consider a region of your epidermis covered by Dragon skin, then that region will have an effective Resilience augmented by the inbound modifier of Dragon skin. Dragons have a Resilience modifier of 6.4, which means that given a base Resilience of 5, their Natural Resilience can range as far high as 32. Are you following me, Gabriel?"

"I think so…" thought Gabe looked lost.

"Alright, so, what does this mean?" The leatherworker continued, "That your Resilience is multiplied by an average of 6.4? Of course not; that is something only Skills would be able to do. However, what it means is that your Natural Resilience, which for humans I know to be a maximum of 8, will be increased by a factor of up to 6.4, reaching the respectful number of 51.2. Something like that, although not ground-breaking, is something no one would say no to. If being a Tier 2, your Resilience hovers around 20, and you had a maxed natural Resilience of 8, that would make the points you spent in Resilience to be 12. Taking that into consideration, you'd effectively sport a Resilience of around 20 + 51.2 when equipped with this armor."

"...wait, so that comes after, or before any Basic Skills Permanent boost and Skill buffs?" Gabriel asked.

"After Basic Skills Permanent Boosts, but before Skill buffs," Long-Dozen answered.

"Let's- let's see if I understood it correctly," Gabe said, clearing his throat, "if I had a Basic Skill for Resilience, that multiplied my 20 points of Resilience to 40, while Natural Resilience was of 8, how much would my Resilience with the armor be?" Gabriel took out Greta's piece of Gemini paper and his pencil to write a few fast calculations, "20 x 2 = 40 + 51.2 for a total 91.2, or 71.2 x2 for a total of 142.4?" He asked.

"As I said, it is calculated before the Permanent boost. However, the armor doesn't actually become an integral part of you at such a profound level. So the answer is 91.2. However, if you'd have a Skill that fused your armor with you, even temporarily, you'd receive the second type of boost," said L.D.

"Those kinds of Skills are rare, though. The other thing to know is that your hypothetical 91.2 is then multiplied by Resilience Skills. Which does make a great difference, none the same.

Gabriel took a few moments for himself to fully understand the implications of that.

"This is still absurdly good," Gabriel admitted, nodding. "Does the same thing work with weapons?" He asked, having an illumination.

"Of course, why would it not? For example, Adamantite modifier is 9.2 for both Power and Resilience," he answered.

Wow… now I understand why my spear is so effective.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, this is your completed leather armor. I would call it a skinny full-body doublet."

Long-dozen proceeded to lay Gabriel's leather armor on the counter. The armor was almost entirely black with patches of reflecting light that made it shine like a rainbow when the light hit it in the right spot. It was still tight-fitting. However, it now sported an internal runic script. The Griffin skin on the inside was soft, and the intricate runes inscribed on it could not be damaged, and even if they were, the self-repair encompassing rune-set would fix it back to the original product. "It does feed on Mana," Long-Dozen clarified, "but if you damage it so much that it takes more than a few thousand Mana points, then you'll probably be dead by then."

"Comforting to know," Gabriel admitted.

Finally, Gabriel Analyzed the completed product.

Demonic-Dragon Skinny Full-Body Doublet

Status

Bound

Type

Armor

Grade

Epic (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Armor

Sub-Category I

Composite Armor

Materials

Dragon Leather, Demon Hide, Griffin Leather

Resources

Mana (Recover 1 per 10 points spent)

Stamina (Recover 1 per 10 points spent)

Spirit (Recover 1 per 10 points spent)

Enchantments

Affinity +

Power +

Stamina +

Element Resistance All - 2

Damage Resistance All - 2

Self-repair Enchantment

Uniformity Enchantment

Durability

24.999/24.999

"That name… wow, that does fill your mouth," Gabriel chuckled.

"Everything worth saying should fill one's mouth, Mr. Gabriel."

"Indeed," Gabriel wanted to try it on that very moment; it was a little revealing, so he knew he would have to wear his clothes on top of it, at least until he finished his armor project, but that he knew would take him quite a while.

"There you go, L.D. You've done a splendid job."

"Thank you, Herald. I hope to see you again."

After paying and changing into it, Gabriel was about to leave when he turned around.

"L.D. Listen, but don't freak out. It's just a word of advice that I'm about to give you."

"Yes, Herald?"

"Do you have any contingency plan for, let's say, running away in case of danger?"

"What? Well… you catch me off guard right now. No… no, I don't," he admitted.

"Well, then. Make some; it might be just a bad feeling what I'm having right now. But be sure to have plans to escape from here as fast as you can in case of danger. All right? Make them fast, please."

The Wood Elf looked at him for quite a while before nodding. "I'll make sure to have my most important assets ready for if and when danger comes; thank you, Herald. I just hope it won't ever be necessary."

"I do as well, L.D… Alright, happy Equinox then."

***

Gabriel's next objective was Gorgi.

He found his way to the strangely trafficked tunnels of The Veins to Gorgi's shop.

"Gabriel! What do I owe this surprise to? If you're bringing me any other Water Essences, know that I'm full right now," said the Gnome.

Gabriel laughed, "No Water Essences for you, Gorgi. I just came to say hi."

Gabe and Gorgi exchanged small talk. Gabriel was trying not to scare the little guy, asking him about the Equinox and how they used to celebrate it, before warning him about his gut feelings; although he had to admit, most of it was thanks to Olivia's warning.

"Of course, I have a contingency plan, Gabriel. Would I have survived up to this point on my own without having one?" he responded with his little voice.

"Well, you take a weight off my chest," Gabe said. "I'll go on ahead then. I really wish we could have our class tonight, but my presence is requested at a party. Hope we can recover it tomorrow, though."

"Yes," Gorgi said. "You'll find me right here. I'm not invited to many parties, actually…"

"Well, there is a place I could get you to. I'm sure you'd have fun there…"

"The Wandering Hearth? It's that famous inn, isn't it?"

Gabriel nodded at Gorgi's question.

"But that means I would have to leave the floor… my staff is all here, I can't leave my shop alone just like that…" However, even saying so, Gorgi shifted from one foot to the other. He seemed to want to go but was scared of doing so at the same time.

"I don't think anyone will touch your staff. Not only am I sure you have like a dozen traps and sealings set up, but anyone will expect you to be here even tonight, no?"

Gabriel knew that the Gnome spent his life holed up in his shop. He slept in it too; his house was his shop, a hidden room with a little bed and a bathroom were all he needed, and it was built safely inside of the shop.

"Go to the Hearth and say that I sent you; you can use my tab, just don't abuse it," added Gabriel laughing. "Sadly, I won't be there, but if I finish early, I'll join you. See you, Gorgi!"

Gabe didn't even wait to hear Gorgi's decision, but from the way his eyes had opened wide when he said he could put drinks on his tab, he knew that Gorgi would go to the Heart.

Damn, he seems so small and in need of protection, although he's probably stronger than me, Gabe thought .

He shook his head; I guess this way, both L.D. and Gorgi will be close in case we all need to leave.

Gabriel was trying to create a way to escape for the people he had come to care for in case something terrible happened.

His next stop was indeed Dustille's house.

He stopped outside of the elevator, getting him to the Seer to ask for her presence, and the guards were really helpful in pointing him to her house.

When he finally reached it, Dustille was not at home. However, her husband was.

"Hello?" He answered the knock.

"Hey there, I'm Gabriel. One of Dustille's-"

"You are the Herald!" Said the red-headed Giant.

Now that he could take a long look at his face, Gabriel could see something vaguely familiar in him.

Where did I see him before?

"Dustille has talked to me at length about the adventure you've had together, well, the misadventure," he pointed out while still at the door.

"But what am I doing? Please, come in. Let me offer you something to drink!" He said.

"Thank you, but please, call me Gabriel, Gabe for friends."

"Good! Gabe, I'm Marcle. Dustille's husband, and if you recall Sigmund, well, I'm his uncle."

"Really!? Oh, my god! How is he? And his family? What about Grace?" Gabriel asked.

"They are fine, Gabriel, thank you very much. My mother took Grace away the very moment the invasion started. Our house is so close to the edges of the island that the Priests didn't really have time to intercept them. While my brother, Larry, the bastard, is doing more than fine. He will take part in the Trial of the Champion in a few months. That crazy bastard wants to Challenge our Champion. He says he might make it. I doubt it, but all those Dragons he killed have pushed him over the edge of Tier 5. He's been able to reach a whole different level of strength. So, tea, beer, pure alcohol, juice? What do you drink?"

"I guess beer is fine, thank you Marcle."

As Marcle poured them drinks, Gabriel noticed devices set up on his desk; they looked very complex. Almost as much as the Hearth.

"You like doing, what's it called… magiceneering?" Gabriel asked.

"Oh, I am a scientist, although I'm looking for something to do right now. Until Dustille finishes with her training, I'm practically a house husband!" he admitted chuckling.

Gabriel caught the ball the moment he noticed it, "Well, I know of someone really interested in magiceneering, actually, I could say that he's extremely good at it. Although you might not believe it, he's an innkeeper. The Wandering Hearth's innkeeper."

Marcle right away seemed to be really interested, "Really? Do tell me about him."

"Well, that would be rude; however, listen, Marcle; do you and Dustille have somewhere to celebrate the Equinox?"

"Uh? No, actually not. Dustille has not been invited to the Seer's party in the Crown, so she doesn't have any real commitment for tonight. But why the question?"

"Because tonight there's a huge party at the Wandering Hearth, the people frequenting it are wonderful, and I bet you both would not have a hard time getting acquainted, especially if you say I sent you over. I bet you might find a way or two to pass the time, and maybe even to get to know some people that might help you fill your days," Gabriel said, gurgling the blonde ale.

Marcle studied him for a few seconds, "You know what, Gabriel. You are entirely different from how Larry and Sigmund described you. I thought you were this scaredy-cat, still too wet behind the ears. However, by the way, you talk, you don't look the type at all," he admitted in an amused tone.

"Well, I was another person back then. I did not know this new world. When we partied, I had never really fought anything much in my life, much less all that frequently. Now it's been a long time for me; I could say I'm a different person from back then. However, you should not take Larry seriously, I'm sorry to say it, but he's a bit of a prick!"

Marcle exploded in laughter.

"Yeah, he can be. He really can," the Giant admitted. "Well, see you there, Gabriel."

"I don't know if I'll make it in time. I need to go to the same party the Seer will join, but I'll do my best to come back and catch something to drink with you. Oh," Gabriel said, getting up, "thank you for the ale; it brought me back to the day we spent drinking at Dikez. I'm really sorry he died."

Marcle nodded with his eyes closed, "They were a good family. They died to protect their friends, both he and his father."

Although Gabriel didn't know about Dikez father's death, he had met the Giant, and even if he could be intense, he seemed like a good man, well Giant.

After saying bye, it was time for Gabriel to reach for The Lookout. He needed to speak to the Yamamoto and the other families, and he knew that what he had to say was something they would not like.