Walking along the cobbled street felt quite strange. Not a moment passed without Dallion staring at the buildings around him, like an absolute tourist. Every few steps he’d look at a building trying to figure out what it had replaced in the past. Sadly, in most cases, he wasn’t able to figure it out.

Compared to Nerosal, the walk was brief and uneventful. A number of people recognized him on the way, but compared to the crowds of the Nerosal Festival, it was almost as if he was incognito. However, his grandfather’s house wasn’t the first place he went. Guilt made him go to the city square—where the main well was—instead. The space had changed quite a bit, appearing like a smaller plaza. The fountain well was still there, probably the only thing that had remained unchanged since last time.

Good to see you’re doing well, Dallion said to the well. I was afraid that with all the changes something else might have taken your place.

As if that would happen, the guardian replied in an amused voice. I’m one of the city guardians after all, and the only one who’s not been improved by the Luors.

I thought they were taking care of the village.

They offered, but I refused. If anyone’s going to level me up, it’s you.

Dallion remained speechless. He never thought that the well would be so sentimental.

When you leveled me up for the first time, you were weak, the whole world was against you, yet you fought against the odds, and at the end kept your promise. The old Luor was strong, the new Luors are likely to get stronger, but I tend to value things beyond strength. Everyone can become strong, but it takes will and determination to keep your word.

It sounds like my grandfather built you. Dallion smiled, tapping the edge of the well with his hand.

He didn’t, but he saved me. Just as you did.

Not wanting to get into a deeper conversation, Dallion was about to say his goodbyes with the well guardian, when a yell prevented him from doing so.

“Brother!” a somewhat familiar voice was heard throughout the square, and possibly the entire city. “You’re back!”

Combat splitting out of habit, Dallion had a few instances jump to the side, as another turned around to see what was going on. It turned out he was right to do so. A boy had charged at him in a deliberate attempt to push him in the water. In one of three instances, he even succeeded. Of course, Dallion chose one of the other two as reality, resulting in the prankster splashing in the outer basin.

“Nice try, Lin,” Dallion said, keeping at a safe distance from the water. “Next time, you might actually get me.”

“You bet I will!” the boy laughed, then quickly got out of the water. In the year that had passed, the boy had grown a full head taller, making him look lankier than before. “I knew you’d be back,” Dallion’s brother said with a cracking voice.

“I’m sure you did,” Dallion said, arms crossed. “And what do you know, you were right. Where are mom and dad?”

“Dad’s out hunting. There’ve been a lot of wild boars lately, so a group went out to deal with them.”

Boars… boars, and bears. In the past, those were the scariest things known to the village, kept at bay by the former village chief and the Luor family. Every hunting party was led by a Luor, and most often they were the ones to kill the beasts. After facing high-level guardians, crackling settlements, and quite a lot of monsters in the wilderness, boars no longer seemed as impressive as before.

“And mom?”

“She’s home. She gets tired easily.”

That didn’t sound too good. From what Gloria and Veil had told Dallion during their visit, their mother was supposed to be fine. At the time, Dallion hadn’t felt any lies, but the way his brother said it made him slightly concerned.

You must stop thinking the worst, Nil said. For all you know she might work a lot. And even if there’s something slightly wrong, you have Lux.

“Hold still for a moment,” Dallion said, ignoring the echo’s comment.

Taking the artifact from his belt, he tapped it twice, then pressed it against Linner’s hair. A blue glow surrounded the item. The boy instinctively tried to pull away, but Dallion grabbed hold of his shoulder faster than his brother could blink.

“Hold still,” Dallion said.

“What’s that?”

“A kaleidervisto with a firebird in it,” Dallion said. “It’ll dry you up so you don’t mess up the house.”

It was a titanic effort, but Dallion’s brother somehow managed to remain still for a full minute. That much time was enough for Lux to dry the boy up, but also heal wounds there could be. Thankfully, the boy had only managed to get a few scrapes and bruises as most children his age would. One done, Dallion moved the kaleidervisto away. The glow faded.

“All set,” Dallion said. “Anything else interesting happen while I was away? An unusual guest?”

“People from the nearby villages come here all the time,” Linnor said as he moved his hand through his hair to check whether it was completely dry. “Merchants, monks… messengers from Countess Priscord come from time to time.”

Nothing out of the ordinary, Dallion thought. For whatever reason, Falkner had not been here. Potentially that was a good thing, although it would be made clear when Dallion had the talk with Gloria. Before that, though, he needed to exchange a few words with his mother… and his grandfather.