The most shocking thing about Simon was how utterly insane he was. The goblin didn't run at her. Instead, he just caused an explosion at his back and launched himself towards her. The Shield of Faith managed to barely interject itself between his spear and her torso. As it shoved the spear wide, the goblin didn't relent. Instead, another blast came at his back, and his shield slammed into her.

  She went flying back as Leaf slammed into Simon's shield arm. The goblin glanced at the blade, and his eyes began to shine.

  "Wind in my wings, heed my call. Stifle the freedom of that which opposes! [Wind Shackle]!"

  A loud thwump sound filled the little impromptu fighting area. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of Trillia. Leaf was wrapped in a dozen layers of bright grey energy. It seemed to be struggling against it. Before Trillia could register what was going on, another loud clang was heard as the [Shield of Faith] intercepted his spear. This time Trillia raised [The Shattered Bolt] and shot towards the slit in SImon's helmet.

  A small explosion popped at the side of his head. The force snapped his head to the side, causing the crossbow bolt to harmlessly slip past. The goblin dropped his spear, using his now free hand to grab onto [Shield of Faith] and use its own force to vault over it, a heavy kick aimed at Trillia's head.

  Trillia imbued twenty thousand mana into [Sliver of Fate]. Using the arm [Shattered Bolt] was connected to, she parried the kick, immediately thrusting forward with her rapier. "[Riposte]!"

  Simon raised his shield to intercept. Both of them were shocked when a small explosion blew them both back and into the ground. Simon recovered far more quickly, slowly pulling himself to his feet with a groan. "Damn. An artifact that deals divine damage? You're a well-equipped fighter, aren't you?"

  Trillia's arm felt like jelly. Even if the rapier was immune to damage, she was not. Slowly, she managed to stand.

  As she looked down at her arm, despite her hand still firmly grasping the rapier, she could feel multiple broken bones. "I think you win this one." She grimaced and gritted her teeth.

  "[Mend]." The new skill stalled her mana regeneration, but her health regeneration shot up. "Damn. I was hoping this would heal the bones easily as well."

  Simon dispelled his [Wind Shackle] and walked over to her. "Yeah, healing is an odd thing. I've seen some pretty minor spells that heal everything, but slowly. I've seen lots of regeneration skills. It feels like our intent for using healing magic is somehow fundamentally flawed. Like we don't know what we're trying to heal. Taz has something that can help. Sorry about your arm."

  Trillia shook her head. "I wasn't expecting that. Is your shield an artifact as well? I didn't see it on you last time we spoke."

  Simon nodded. "Yeah. It's named the [Wall of Mercy]. It normally heals me for the damage blocked, but divine damage bypasses that. Lady Miah has sparred with me a few times, and we've had the same result happen. Had I known, I would have warned you."

  Taz swooped down to land next to Trillia. The gryphon's silver fur gleamed in the sunlight. The thing had grown huge, easily standing a full three feet taller than Trillia. Despite its size, it still seemed as fast as ever. It cawed and cooed at her arm for a moment before a bright glow formed in its beak.

  As its beak opened, a beam of dark green energy washed over her arm. The pain shook her to her core, causing her to yelp and step away on instinct. Taz followed her easily with the beam as bones snapped back into place, and her health topped itself off. "Thanks, Taz." Trillia managed to get out weakly. "Ok. No more sparring today for me. Healing magic needs to take away the pain."

  Taz looked over at Ialu for a moment. The desert skoll looked up at Trillia. "Yeah, if you want to go play, you can."

  Ialu woofed at her before taking off and chasing Taz. The other gryphons were happy to land on the ground and run around together. Much to the terror of the line of merchants and other beasts of burden coming to and from the dwarven citadel.

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  Amelia approached them with a shake of her head. "You've outpaced us pretty badly. We have our work cut out for us, catching up."

  Trillia offered her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up with the arm that hadn't just been broken and fixed. "I have faith in all of you. I can help you catch up as well. We should probably head out soon, otherwise we won't have much daylight left."

  Simon nodded. "I agree. Taz can catch up to us easily enough. Is it ok if Ialu stays with him and catches up as well?"

  Trillia nodded. She had total faith that Taz was more than strong enough to handle anything in the immediate vicinity. Both Ialu and Taz were probably also considerably faster than anyone in the group.

  With that, the group left the citadel behind and began marching down the road. Fred had slid up next to Simon and was looking over his armor. "Man. Who forged this stuff? What's it made out of?"

  Simon's helmet hung on his back, and the goblin's big ears bobbed as he walked alongside them. "It was a gift! Taz and I saved a few hundred dwarven miners from a few [Primordial] warped creatures. I told them I was simply doing my duty as a soldier of Kadessa, but Lord Hammerstone wouldn't have it. He said that if I was going to be a pact-bound to Lady Miah, he wouldn't have me walking around in, and I quote, "some shitty human scraps". No offense."

  Fred laughed at that. "None taken. When a dwarven god is talking about crafting, pretty much everything listens. So, who crafted it?"

  Simon shrugged. "A true dwarf. The dwarves you see in the citadel are considered surface dwarves. True dwarves are all considered divine entities. So they rarely leave the depths of dwarven settlements. I guess it was also a failed experiment. Mind you, I am in no way complaining when I say that."

  Something struck Trillia. Had Miah ascended? In the portal room, it certainly felt like she had. But Trillia didn't get the same feeling from her as the others. She thought it was just the fact that Miah was a godling. Which was basically just a deity without a portfolio best that Trillia could tell. "I take it that Lady Miah has fully ascended?"

  Simon proudly smiled and nodded. "Yeah. She's a Minor Deity of Mercy. It took the Divinity Scorned debuff down to least. A lot more deities can interact with us now, but it's still nowhere close to what it used to be. But it's getting better."

  Trillia fell back into her thoughts as she trodded alongside them. Fred and Simon went back to talking about armor of all sorts. Layla, Malor, and Amelia were in the middle of a discussion about magic and enchantments. Apparently, Malor was fascinated by DuMont's journal and had every intention of praying to the god and working out a pact. That made Trillia happy.

  A gentle rattle caused her to open the mental link to Leaf. "Forgive me, Mistress. I have never seen magic that could so easily bind me."

  For being a blade, it seemed rather disappointed in itself. "It's ok, Leaf. I had never seen magic like that either. Part of getting stronger is losing. That's why I wanted to spar with someone like Simon, who is so much stronger than us. He's nearly level five hundred. It's not a fight we could ever hope to win. But we can learn in a safe environment."

  "I understand. Mistress Meridia used to often train with the children of our village. She always said that it was her duty to help the new sprouts grow into mighty warriors and druids themselves. I am happy to know that this realm also has many people who wish to teach."

  "Hey, Leaf?" Trillia waited for the blade's mind to center back on hers. "Would you show me? Some of her world? I have the ability to speak with concepts now. Maybe we could try that? I know that I didn't know her nearly as long as any of you did. But I sure do miss her."

  The blade positively brimmed with energy, and a deeper connection formed between them. Trillia somewhat mindlessly followed her friends. Images of Blossom's world sprung into her mind. Some things were blurred and out of focus. She guessed it was the system stopping information from one axle to another. But she still saw trees that would make even the tallest mountain on Alirast seem small.

  Huge tree-like creatures, slowly lumbering along the world with massive cities within their many branches. Blossom seemed to be a Sylph. At least, that's what the system showed her. It was some combination of nature and air spirit. The sprouts were children that literally grew from nature itself.

  Despite her smile, tears formed in Trillia's eyes. She whispered into her mind to Leaf. "I sure hope that wherever she is, she's happy. Blossom told me to bury her journal somewhere she would like. Will you help me make that decision, Leaf?"

  The images in her mind faded. "I would be honored, Mistress Trillia. I am sure that wherever Mistress Meridia is, if there is not a peaceful forest, she will most certainly make one. I've met few others who have the same determination and resolve she does."

  Trillia giggled. "Perhaps we should find a nice river in an area that doesn't have a lot of trees. Give her a challenge to work towards so that she has to haunt us a little longer?"

  The blade seemed to approve.

  It didn't take long for Taz and Ialu to catch up, the two creatures panting as they did. Simon walked over and easily scooped Ialu up, plopping her on Taz's back. The gryphon was surprisingly a smooth ride on the ground. Happy to let its newest friend ride around on it and rest. Trillia took a deep breath and stepped closer to Malor and the others, joining in on their conversation about enchanting.