Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Having finished his business in the capital he was ready for their return to Urth. The empire had already prepared everything for their return to Delta. Just a few days later, when the time and circumstances were right, the people of Urth assembled in the Temple of the System God.

Feanys was also present. She had finally decided to accept Seth's offer to join Minas Mar and would follow them to Urth. The complementary sigil ring was already shining on her finger.

The portal was already prepared for them and a group of priests surrounded the magic circle made of crystalline powder.

Polter, Caleb, and some of the others had come to send them off. They themselves would return to their own world a little later. Polter's Grandfather also came to send off Seth. Although they had agreed on trading in the future, this would be the last time chance they could see each other face to face.

Unless prepared by some huge power like Chrona, this kind of interdimensional space travel came with an astronomical price. They could be glad that they could at least trade using the system church.

They had already signed a magic contract and Seth had left some of his shares on the gate in <Mithril> with the dwarfs who would send him <Ithildin> accordingly, once they arrived back home.

Finally, after all farewells were said, Leana, the team from Urth, and their company stepped through the portal and found themselves in the familiar temple in Delta where they had left so long ago.

"Seth, you are back," Simon greeted him amicably, ignoring the rest as if they were air.

"Simon it's great to see you. Is no one from Minas Mar here to greet us?" he asked after pulling the rotund man into a bear hug.

Seeing the old man after such a long time, even Seth felt slightly emotional.

"No, they are waiting in Minas Mar for you. You should go home as soon as possible. I believe they have something to explain to you." the priest said with an awkward smile.

"Hmm, I see, I will go once I got a breath of fresh deltan mountain air." the blacksmith nodded.

"Ah, it might be better if you meet your people first." Leana interrupted him.

She seemed insistent on this. Was there something going on he didn't know about...? Uh, maybe a surprise party?

~ A surprise party? Wow! That means we get cake, right? mom? ~ Tatzel got excited.

~I wouldn't say no to some barrels of beer and ice cream. ~ Puffles shared the excitement for a party.

~Can't you guys think of something else than food for once? I hope they chose a good playlist. ~ Oz couldn't help himself.

Seth squinted at Leana and Simon for a moment but yielded in the end.

"Okay, let's return to Minas Mar first. Yvette, please visit our offices to talk about what we agreed upon." he said goodbye to the rest of the team that was not part of Minas Mar before he and his people used the ordinary teleport hub to arrive in the lobby of Minas Mar.

"Welcome back!" a cheer greeted them and confetti rained down in the entrance hall. The Tijaahk, the Lords of Minas Mar, Pip, the children, and Chimeras, everyone was there. Their exuberant welcome surprised Seth and warmed his heart.

Seeing everyone welcoming them with a smile made him feel like he had truly returned home. They had prepared a party with all kinds of food and decorations.

"I'm glad you made it back! I heard there were complications and got worried!" Monique stepped forward. Relief was visible in her expression. She had still not gotten used to the duties of substitute tower master.

"Everything's alright. How were things here? Did the weather grow colder? How are the chimeras doing?" Seth finally got the chance to ask some questions that were bugging him.

He had not gotten any news from Minas Mar while he was in Chrona, which had him a little worried. He was not too worried about Minas Mar, but they were thoughts that had kept creeping up on him. What would they do if Delta froze over?

There was also Beta. How would they deal with it, when the ocean empire took it over? Beta was not exactly close, but it was technically just as close as Y-City. If they found a route to cross the mountains, Minas Mar might have to take part in a war.

Monique's face derailed for a moment when he asked that question before she could collect herself again. So something did happen.

"Emm, well... ah! Yes, the chimeras are doing great. Ever since the Faer joined them they have been making steady progress on the route. Besides several dungeons in places that could become waypoints, we also managed to make contact with the mountain people of Nas'Korn.

Many Chimeras are currently stationed there."

"How are the people at the mountain city?" he asked.

Although they could theoretically use the maintenance tunnel to travel somewhere close to Nas'Korn's city, it had been a long time since they had contact with them. Seth had been so preoccupied with other things.

Offering to integrate them into the trade route, so they could have better access to supply and trade was Seth's way of thanking them. Of course, it was also an already existing town which was more practical than trying to build something in the middle of nowhere.

However, the blacksmith didn't overlook that she had kind of evaded his initial question. She was definitely hiding something. Monique on the other hand also noticed that she had failed to hide her reaction and continued with a wry smile.

"You could say the cold problem had been fixed by Al'Zalsar... Right! She should be the one explaining it to you. You should meet her in Delta, later. Come on, this is your welcome party. You should enjoy it. Evee put a lot of effort into baking a cake."

She deflected again, but Seth didn't mind. She was right, this was a party and he should enjoy it. As long as there were no imminent dangers, there was no need to stress it. The blacksmith quickly found Hoen and Wedan, the two dwarfs, and started drinking with them.

Except for the cake Evee made, which was a cute attempt, all the food was made by Link, who had blossomed in his role as Minas Mar's chef. Seth had gotten a taste of Chrona's cuisine and even dined in the imperial palace, however, he couldn't tell which food was better.

Link had really gone beyond what Seth had expected of him. Some dishes even raised his attributes like agility and intelligence by one or two points.

Duhu and Drosi also came by, the two Thijaak had been staying in Minas Mar for a while now and they caught up on what Seth had missed. A lot of children had been born over the past couple of weeks, as a result of their stay in the Cradle.

As they talked they spoke about the possibility of the Thijaak moving to Delta above. Although Minas Mar was a great place, an underground palace was not necessarily the right thing for children to grow up in.

They were all a little drunk so it was not really the time to talk about the details, but Seth agreed with them. Evee also shortly came by to lament about her brother who was still hiding under the knight helmet. She went on a drunk rant before falling asleep on the couch beside them.

When things finally started calming down, and the children had long been put to bed by their parents or Karina, Seth and Mina retreated to the familiar quarters of the tower master for the night. All around satisfied he fell asleep with her in his arms.