“Phaestus?! What is going on?!” Dite asked.

“M-Master Phaestus! Please come this way! We will notify the Queen.” Minister Warf met him at the entrance.

“Let’s go.” They ran into the palace.

“Phaestus what is going on?!” Dite asked as they ran inside.

“The Princess was poisoned, she doesn’t have long. The Queen was calling for help.” Phaestus picked up the minister since it would be easier for them to have him direct them.

They quickly made their way through the palace and made it to the room where multiple guards were.

“L-let them through!” Minister Warf called out to them.

They opened a path into the room they were guarding.

“M-master Phaestus, Delvirra said you could save her, please, PLEASE, save Delenia.” The king immediately went into begging him.

After setting Minister Warf down he moved over to where the Princess was. He summoned a vial, filled with a clear liquid, and handed it to the doctor. The princess’ veins could be seen through her skin, and were purple, spreading like a cursed disease. The doctor quickly had the princess drink the contents of the vial.

Almost immediately the princess’ anguished face faded to a more relaxed one. The purple color of her veins quickly receded, and color returned to her face.

“Oh, OH! THANK YOU!” The king hugged Phaestus tightly.

I’m, pretty sure, ngh, that this would break, a person, thank you, Luna, for the, robe blessing!

“Delenia!” The Queen rushed in to check on her daughter.

After seeing her quick recovery, she fell to her knees and wailed in relief like a child.

“WAAAAH! Thank goodness he heard me! WAAAAAH!” The king approached the queen to comfort her, only to be grabbed and nearly suffocated in her chest as she hugged him.

“I’m so glad! WAAAAH!” The princess recovered enough and was sitting up in her bed smiling warmly at her mother.

The whole group was at a loss as how to progress, but just smiled at the happy silliness of the whole situation.

After the Queen had calmed down, the princess was wrapped up in her blankets while sitting in the Queen’s lap. The captain of the royal knights charged into the room,

“Your, your majesties.” The dwarf was out of breath.

“Some, someone caught the culprit, before, before they could escape.”

“BRING THAT BASTARD TO ME! I WILL SKIN HIM ALIVE, HEAL THEM, AND SKIN THEM AGAIN!” The King roared, the other dwarven men whole heartily echoed the call.

“Lindi, please stay with your elder sister. I will need to be there with your father to joi-, deter him from going to far.” The Queen laid Delenia on her bed and left the room with a very dark smile on her face.

The King, Queen, Prince Alfa, Phaestus, Dite, and the ministers all awaited in the throne room, for the arrival of the man who was said to have captured the assassin. The doors opened at the end and a man with long crimson hair, a full beard, and wearing mostly black entered along with a woman dressed in a tight fitting purple traveling outfit and cloak. They approached the podium and bowed.

“Thank you for seeing us your majesties.” The man spoke, before straightening his back, standing, and looking the King and Queen in their faces.

Phaestus was not sure why, but he could feel that the man before them was powerful, and would most likely not kneel to no one. The man glanced at Phaestus and smirked knowingly.

What the?

“We thank you for your assistance in capturing the soon to be dead man who tried to murder the princess. We are in your debt.” The King spoke.

“Please, please, I was merely doing what I felt was right. No need for debts. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, I am the master of magic, Lord Alexander Tulsen, and this is my beloved wife.”

“Greetings your majesties.”

“Well, thank ye anyway. You will always be known as a friend in our kingdom. Now, BRING THAT WRETCH OUT!” The King roared.

A side door opened and a few guards brought out a man who was chained and gagged.

“Ungag the bastard, I want to know who employed him.” The King ordered, but one of the guards spoke up.

“I’m sorry your majesty, but if he isn’t gagged, he bites his tongue out in an attempt to kill himself, we had to heal him many times already.”

“Planning to cover for your master eh? We will torture it out of you!” The King had a frenzied look in his eyes.

“One moment your majesty, I might be of assistance here. Not to mention, torture would not work on this type of person.” Lord Tulsen spoke up.

“What do you mean?” The king asked.

“This man is a religious fanatic type. They would sooner throw themselves into eternal suffering if it meant pleasing their masters. I have a method to get passed that if you would permit.” Lord Tulsen offered.

“Hmm, will it kill him?”

“No, it will though cause an immeasurable amount of suffering. I do not like using this method unless it is the only option, which in this case, I would say it is.”

The King did his best to hide his satisfaction. “Very well, do it.”

Lord Tulsen bowed his head and walked up to the man.

“[Stirred Spirit].” Lord Tulsen casted a spell with no incantation.

The assassin wrenched backward, screaming in pain for a few seconds before hunching over, breathing heavily, and an astonished look in his bloodshot eyes.

“Now then, [Break: Willpower].”

The assassin looked as though he was hit in the head by an invisible force before slumping down further.

“Lastly, [Mind Domination].”

The assassin twitched and then sat up straight at attention.

“Done, you can remove the gag now. He is under my control.”

Some people were a bit taken aback at what they saw, but accepted it tentatively if it meant finding out the mastermind. One of the guards removed the gag and the man blankly stared up at Lord Tulsen.

“Now then, who is your master?” Lord Tulsen asked.

“Lord Alexander Tulsen.” The assassin answered flatly.

“Very good. You will answer some questions from myself or others here. You are to answer truthfully and not lie, is that understood?” The man nodded.

The king walked up, “Who was your master before Lord Tulsen.”

“Prince Alfa.” The King spun around in bewilderment.

“Your majesty. That was not a good enough question. Allow me. Who was the one who had you poison Princess Delenia?”

The man gave a name of a small noble of Dunlap. The King ordered his knights to bring the person there. After questioning the man further, they ended up exposing only a few other people who were a part of the plot. Once the noble arrived, the King had Lord Tulsen break the noble as well. Over the course of the entire day, they exposed the entire group of traitors within Dunlap and its’ outlying towns and cities.

“Damnable Church of Light!” The Queen slammed her fist on the arm of her chair, breaking it.

The entire interrogation exposed nearly one hundred traitors who plotted to overthrow the royal family to create strong ties to the church, one name in particular stuck out.

“Well, that takes care of our kingdom, but who was that Luxa person?” Minister Warf asked.

Lord Tulsen could only shrug his shoulders while Phaestus spoke up.

“I know of one person named Luxa.” They turned to him.

“He is the estranged son of a council member of Alta, Rexar. From what we know, he is an agent of the Church of Light.” Phaestus answered.

“Rexar’s boy? I cannot believe it.” The King said sadly.

Seeing the questioning faces, he followed up by saying that Rexar was his cousin, so Luxa was kin. The King sat heavily on his throne, he looked over at the group of traitors.

“Take them away execute them all. We got what we needed.”

“Do you plan to do it publically?” Lord Tulsen asked.

“No, they deserve to die a rat’s death.”

“Then allow me. [Black Hole].” A sphere of inky blackness, darker than the abyss, appeared above the traitors.

They were rapidly sucked up into it, disappearing without a trace, just like the orb once they were all gone.

“T-Thank ye, Lord Tulsen. We will deal with the outliers in the surrounding towns.”

They were shocked by how dangerous Lord Tulsen seemed to be, which he caught onto.

“Please, be at ease. From what I have heard, you are all good, benevolent rulers who are loved by your people. There are only a few groups I show no mercy to. One are those in power who abuse it, causing suffering to the innocent. The other are fanatical extremists. They are the type of people who will justify any action, no matter how horrible it is, in a twisted fashion that suits them, willingly turning a blind eye to the truth.”

Dite quietly whispered to Phaestus, “Did you learn those?”

“No, he didn’t speak an incantation.” He replied.

They went back to standing quietly, but noticed that Lord Tulsen was looking at them with a knowing smirk.

“Lord Tulsen, might we ask for your help? This was a blatant attack on our people and we plan to declare war against the Church of Light.” The King requested.

Lord Tulsen shook his head. “I am sorry your majesty, but we are but travelers. We try not to get too involved in politics beyond punishing the occasional noble or religious leader. A single one of us could wipe out an entire kingdom. It is best for us not to be involved.”

“B-but you could-.”

The Queen raised a hand. She then spoke in a few words in a language that not even Phaestus could understand. Which Lord Tulsen smiled and answered back in the same unknown language.

“I understand. We will not press you any further Lord Tulsen. Thank you for your assistance.” She bowed her head in thanks to him.

“No issue your majesty. We will be on our way now. Lord of Fire, Hephaestus, I am sure we will meet again.” He said with a knowing smile before vanishing along with his wife.

Phaestus was frozen in place at Lord Tulsen’s final comment.

He knows.

“Phaestus?” Dite looked on in concern.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I will tell you later.” He said with a forced smile.

“Master Hephaestus, please step forward.” Minister Warf requested that Phaestus step to the front of the King and Queen.

He walked to the front in confusion and faced them.

“In your assistance in saving Princess Delenia, helping to expose the poison in Alta, and the Grand Forest Path project, we hearby offer you a noble title of Viscount, three properties, one here, one in Alta, and one that will be your territory. Your land will be the new town that will be built on the other side of the Great Forest of Na’Eer.”

The Queen spoke up next, “You will not be expected to rule the land at all times, but you will have ultimate authority. We plan to offer you the full extent of our support. You will be free to continue your personal mission at your will.”

Phaestus was in complete shock, his mouth hanging agape.

He collected himself, “I sincerely apologize, but could I be allowed some time before I make the decision. Maybe until the end of the project?” Phaestus asked, bowing his head.

“Of course Master Phaestus. We did drop this on you, but we hope to hear your answer, whether it be yes or no, at the end of the project.” The Queen beamed with a kind smile.

The King smiled warmly at Phaestus for once as well.

“For now, please take this markers. One acknowledges you as ‘Brethren’ to giants. This has only ever happened once in our long history. It is the highest honor that we giants give to a non-giant. With this you are now family. The other is a marker of the royal family of Dunlap, with this, you will have no need to pay tolls, and you will have access to any noble shops or facilities in Dunlap or allied cities. Which to let you know, the only ones we are on unfriendly terms with is Goun and Dawn.” The Queen finished her explanation.

“I thank you your majesties. I will do my best to honor these.”

The Queen stood stepped forward, picked up Phaestus, who panicked a little, kissed the sides of his head and hugged him close to her.

“Welcome, brother of giants.” The King had a bit of a jealous look on his face, but he understood the significance on the act and held his tongue.

In the end, the King and Queen settled on outlawing any and all support for the Church of Light, while exposing what they did to all their people. They also sent word to Alta, notifying them of Luxa’s betrayal, requesting that he be arrested and brought to Dunlap for trial. Phaestus teleported between the cities, but found out that Luxa had disappeared from Alta. Phaestus had also found out that Lord Tulsen had stopped by Alta, the day before he got there, and helped clear out all the fanatical supporters of the Church of Light. After which, Phaestus and Dite decided to take a break for a few days, while the project continued.

“Haaaaaah.” Eric let out a long sigh as he walked over to his hot spring, shifted his clothes to a bathing suit, casted [Cleanse] on himself and settled into the water.

“Haaaaaah.” His sigh this time was of happy relief.

“You have been working too hard Phaes-, uh, Eric.” Eric laughed at her mix-up.

“You’re usually on point.” He teased.

“Well, you might not realize it, but there is not much difference between the two of you now. Initially, Hephaestus was haughty, arrogant, and displayed little emotion. Eric, was someone who was easy to read, relaxed, and a bit of a perv.” She teased him back with a smile.

“Guh, was that necessary?”

She had him change her into a bathing robe. She casted [Cleanse] on herself and stepped in too.

“Uwaaaaah.” She sighed as her tension left her body.

“Continuing with what I was saying. It is like the two of you are one, or maybe Phaestus was your extreme nature, and the you now, is your true nature, the true you.” She slid up next to him, looking him in the eyes.

He looked up at the nightscape. “The true me?”

It gave him something to think about, he closed his eyes and relaxed in the hot water. He felt Micah move around from the water, and then felt a softness on his lips and his nose tingled with her sweet smell.

“I love you Eric.” He opened his eyes, seeing her ruby eyes, and lightly blushing face.

He smiled. “I love you Micah.” She smiled brightly and kissed him once more.