Initially, there was nothing but the faintest whisper. The brush of the breeze across Arwin’s skin, so subtle that even a mouse might have missed it. And, from within it bloomed a distant crackling flame. Arwin flinched back as a wave of emotion slammed into him. Hunger and heat mixed in a roaring inferno that sprung up within his mind unbidden with such intensity that he saw fire dance across his temporary forge. As soon as his hand left the helm, the vision vanished, and silence crashed back down over him. It did nothing to still his hammering heart. Arwin took a step back, staring at the plain helm on the ground and pressing a hand to his chest. What the hell was that? Arwin crept closer to the helm, reaching out and brushing the backs of his fingers across it. There was no response. It was just a piece of metal. He carefully picked the helm back up, extending his senses toward it once more. And then, almost as if it had never left, the faint whisper of wind returned. Arwin hurriedly set the helm back down on the anvil, not willing to summon the vision forth again. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he let it run its course, and he didn’t want to find out until he was actually ready to forge it anew. Arwin tucked the helm under his arm and rose to his feet, pushing the rickety door back to stick his head outside. To his surprise, it was already well into the night. The moon hung high overhead, over halfway through its trip back toward the horizon. How much time did I spend in those visions? It felt like I sank into them almost instantly, but that clearly isn’t the case. It was a question for tomorrow. Standing around in the middle of the night and waiting for someone to see him was a damn fool thing to do, so he closed the old door and strode toward the tavern. “You’re thinking about it instead of other things, aren’t you?” Arwin paused. Lillia wasn’t wrong, and she took his lack of answer as affirmation. “Unfortunately, it’s far from a cure,” Lillia said. “It just makes sitting around a little more tolerable.” “I don’t suppose you’ve got more of that?” “Gave you the last of it.” A shift in the darkness marked what Arwin suspected to be a shrug. “I wouldn’t have given it to you if I was going to drink it myself. I’m pretty sure it’s poisonous.” Arwin almost laughed. “You fed me poison?” “You eat magic. You’ll live. It’s only mild poison.” Her footsteps headed off in the direction of her room, then paused. Arwin considered heading back to the tavern and trying to sit at the counter and wait for the morning to come, but that idea sounded about as appealing as trying to go back to bed. He followed after Lillia, and her steps resumed a second later. Her actual room was even darker than the rest of the tavern, and he only managed to find where she was by following the rustle of straw. “I’m not going to sit on anything important, am I?” Arwin asked. “I’ve got no blasted idea where I am.” “You’re fine. Just straw.” Arwin sat down on the makeshift mattress, then scooted back until his back was pressed against the wall. Lillia shifted beside him, copying his position. Neither of them spoke for several minutes. “Of all the situations I would have seen in the future, I think this is the one farthest from anything I could have pictured,” Lillia said, breaking the silence. Arwin grunted. “Tell me about it. I think the world got twisted on its head some time ago and nothing has been right since.” “I don’t suppose anyone is going to twist it back?” “I’m not sure if I want them to,” Arwin admitted. “If anything, I feel bad for our replacements. I wonder if they’re the same as we were.” “It took us years to finally kill each other. I figure they can last until we get around to figuring that out ourselves,” Lillia said. “Lofty goals,” Arwin said, shifting to try and get more comfortable. The wall was a little colder than he’d thought it would be, but it was better than just sitting without Visit NovelHub for more amazing novels and chapters. “We’ve got to deal with our much smaller problems before we can even think about going up against the Adventurer’s Guild.” “We will,” Lillia said, a note of steel entering her voice. “It might not be soon, but we will. They’ll get what’s coming to them – just like the Iron Hounds will.” “Except sooner rather than later for them. The new hearth will be ready tomorrow,” Arwin said. “And I think I know how I’m going to forge my helmet. I’ll start on your armor after that. We’ll have to deal with them before the Wyrm horde, or the entire city is going to have much bigger problems.” “That could be the best time to strike,” Lillia pointed out. “Chaos makes it difficult to react. The larger the organization, the worse it’ll be.” “Maybe,” Arwin agreed. “But I don’t want to let anyone else die. Not if I can help it.” Lillia let out a soft laugh. “Still the Hero, even without the Class. Using the horde would be distasteful anyway. I want them to know why they died, not cut them down in the midst of panic.”