After walking only about 2 kilometres, Vinter came across two elves who, judging by their clothes, were from the group he had killed some time ago. "There were fucking eight of them! I forgot about the mission because of that elf!" 

Examining them in more detail, he noticed that their weapons were the same as the ones he had taken from the elf, and one of them had a bow slung over his shoulder. That scared Vinter because fighting with a single sword against a bow is not a good idea.

‘I'm glad I have an elven sword that will definitely work better than this damn bastard, but even so, taking on both of them is certain death.’

After some more thinking and not finding a solution, he simply hid and waited for one of them to move away, but as he started to hide he fell into an elven trap that suddenly grabbed his leg and lifted him off the ground.

- Shit! 

His cry was answered by the two elves who ran towards him, and the moment they reached him, they immediately noticed the elven sword and started their dialogue, ignoring Vinter who was twisting and turning and trying to get out of the trap.

- ᛞᚢᛗᚨᛖᛋᚺ ᚲᛁᚨ ᛚᚢᛞᛁᚾᚨ ᛉᛗᛟᚷᛚᚨ ᛒ ᚹᛒᛁᛏᛖ ᚹᛁᚱᚢᛁᚾᚢ? 

- ᚺᚨᚺᚨ, ᛚᚢᛞᛁᚾᚨ ᛁ ᚹᛒᛁᛚᛞᚨ ᚹᛁᚱᚢᛁᚾᚢ! ᛏᚨ ᚾᛁᚲᛟᛚᛁ ᚹ ᛃᛁᛏᛁ, ᚨᛚᛖ ᚠᚨᚲᛏ ᛁᛃᛁ ᛋᛗᛖᚱᛏᛁ ᛗᛁ ᛈᛏᛞᛖᚱᚲᛃᚢᛗᛖ. 

- ᚨ ᛉ ᚲᛁᛗ ᛏᚢᛈᛁᛗ ᚹᛁᛋᚲᚱᛁᛒᚲᛟᛗ ᛋᚺᛟ ᚱᛟᛒᛁᛏᛁ? 

- ᛉᚨᛒᛖᚱᛖᛗᛟ ᛗᛖᚲᛁ ᛁ ᚹᚢᚱᚢᛒᛁᛗᛟ, ᛋᚺᛟᛒ ᚾᛖ ᛒᚨᚲᚺᛁᚢ ᚲᚢᛞᛁ ᛈᛁᛞᛖᛗᛟ.

- Hey, you stupid bastards, what do you think you're doing to me? 

Although he tried to break free and get his sword, one of the elves punched him in the head, knocking him unconscious, and the elves calmly robbed him and took the two swords and went in the direction from which Vinter had come, hoping to find the bodies of their relatives.

And after a while, he was found by Krint, who was collecting materials for his hobby, and accidentally came across a picture of his young friend hanging upside down, which he first laughed at, and then dragged to his hut, who was 100 years older than Vinter.

****

After a stupid joke about a cheap whore and a blow from Krint's hammer, Vinter screamed in pain and looked at the ball of wool that had stopped hissing.

- Hey, that was a good joke!

- Vinter, I'm too old for such jokes, and besides, you're too small to be an elite whore in every sense.  

- It's the cold water! It's definitely her.

- You're making excuses again, as you always do.

After that, he quickly started looking for his old clothes, and when he found them, he quickly dressed, because he didn't want to hear any more jokes from Krint.

Once dressed, he immediately looked at the bed and the room in search of his sword, because he certainly didn't count on an elven one, but he couldn't find his sword even after looking around the only room in the house 10 times.

- Krint, have you seen my sword by any chance, did you lose it while carrying me?

- When I found you, you were hanging without your one-handed sword, and there was nothing under you either.

- I had a bastard, not a one-handed sword.

- Wait, did I hear Big Vinter with the Bastard? 

- Fuck! For two years I thought you were deaf, and you were faking it!

 - I'm sorry if I don't want to hear you talk non-stop! 

- You could have just told me, instead of making a big show of it. But more on that later, the main thing now is to find my sword, otherwise Zertera will eat me alive.

- Are you seriously still with Zertera and her order?  I told you it wouldn't end well, especially with you.

- You just don't see the whole picture. And these are the only people who can help me finish...

- You don't have to go on, because I still remember that day and your state.

After finishing his sentence, Krint, who was barely reaching Vinter's waist, came over and lightly stroked his leg.

- Mmm. Let's leave this moment aside, but could you please move away, it's strange to see you like this.

Vinter awkwardly pressed his hands together and looked at Krint, who continued to stroke his leg.

- I-I was just comforting you! 

Shouting, he folded his arms in resentment and turned his back on him, and with his little legs stomped out of the house to do what had been calming him for the last 400 years, namely blacksmithing.

Which he had become interested in before the creation of the kingdom in which he and Vinter lived.

- Hey! Are you seriously offended? 

Still with his arms folded, he said, "The great Krint is not offended by such a trifle!

- Then why did you go to the forge?

- Actually, I just wanted to get some fresh air.

- Grumpy old Krint and get some fresh air? I'd rather someone beat Zertera than that.

- Well, don't believe it! The main thing is that I'm telling the truth.

Shouting, he came out of the house, which had been leaning sideways for ten years, but was kept from collapsing by a stone kiln that Krint had built himself, and where he actually created his masterpieces, which he kept in his small chest.

‘Look at that, Krint is really offended! It's probably something mythical in the forest that will die from such news.’

Laughing at this strangeness, he sat down on the floor and began to think about what to do next, because he had not completed the task and had lost his sword, and it was a little embarrassing to ask Krint to make a new one.

- Aah! What am I going to do? Why did Zertera have to leave just now!

After grumbling and crying for a while, not knowing what to do, he jumped up and ran outside to apologise to Krint and ask him to make him a new sword,

But when he ran out, he noticed that Krint's little hands were already forging something, even though he said he would not do it, and Vinter just sat down on the ground and watched his good friend forge a bright piece of metal.

**** 

Almost an hour later, Krint's hammer went silent, and the sound of metal being tempered could be heard behind it. This made Vinter realise that his friend had finished another of his masterpieces that would never see the light of day.

- Congratulations on another masterpiece!

At Vinter's shout, the little lump jumped up and dropped the unfinished blade to the floor, causing an incredibly resounding sound as the blade hit the anvil, followed by a scream from Krint, who rushed at Vinter and began punching him.

- You idiot! I almost went to the other side!

– Krint! You're hurting me, stop! I'm telling you to stop!

Even through Vinter's screams, he continued to punch him in the body with his fists, even though he was using only a quarter of his strength, but it still caused considerable pain. 

After the 20th blow, Krint finally calmed down, and jumped off the fallen Vinter, and ran to the blade he had dropped, and quickly examined it.

- You little shit, do you realise what you almost did?

He said, grimacing in pain.

- I didn't do anything, moreover, I just congratulated you on your new masterpiece.

- During these two years, you should have realised that I concentrate so much in the forge that I don't pay attention to external factors.

- It was your own fault that I scared you! Because you shouldn't have been in the forge at all, you little liar.

- Nobody calls me a liar, especially you, Vinter.

Still lying on the ground, he glanced at Krint, because he didn't understand why he couldn't call him that, and then, still looking at the lump of wool, he got up and sat down.

- Krint the fucker! What's this “especially you, Vinter”? I'm the most honest person you could ever know.

- Ooh the great and pious Vinter, who is so afraid of the Order that he won't tell you he lives with a monster like me!

- Because of you! You stupid little creature, not a monster at all, just stupid!

As soon as Krint heard Vinter's words, he froze and then muttered under his breath.

- Thank you, fool.

And then he put the blade on the anvil and walked a little awkwardly over to Vinter, who was still sitting on the ground near the forge. As he approached, Krint put his hand on his friend's head and stroked it lightly, and when he was done with the stroking, he quickly returned to the blade.

- You almost damaged your new sword...

- Krintt... are you dying by any chance? You're acting strange today, even for yourself.

- Fool! I'll live for a thousand years, so don't get your hopes up.

- Then why the hell are you looking like this? 

- Because someone forgot their birthday! So I wanted to surprise you.

- ...Even so, why didn't the sword do it earlier? And you weren't the same last year.

- Grrr, okay, you got me, I just found some interesting material while I was dragging you, so I wanted to make a sword out of it the whole time I was sitting with you.

Even after these words, Krint's behaviour surprised Vinter, who had known Krint for a short time, and he had never been like this in the past two years. But he didn't want to put any more pressure on his friend. So he just exhaled and accepted the fact that something was wrong with his friend.

- You could have just told me, instead of making this stupid scene and beating me up.

- I couldn't, because I didn't want you to wake up and find no one in the house. And I'm not going to apologise for the beating, I deserved it.

- Grrr, even though I don't agree with what you said, let it be.

- Finally, for the first time in two years, you've said sensible words!

- Shut up! And you'd better finish your sword, because I remembered where I lost mine and I borrowed one.

- You mean stolen? 

Krint folded his arms at chest level and stomped his foot lightly, then looked at Vinter who looked away from Krint so that he wouldn't see his embarrassed look at telling the truth.

- If the owner is dead, the blade is no longer stolen!

- Oh yeah, it's also an elven sword! 

- Why the fuck would you even think it was an elven sword?

- Because you can only talk so calmly about their deaths, because you don't like human or Court deaths.

Vinter exhaled, and stood up to avoid looking at Krint, who still believed that he couldn't stand anyone else's death, but unfortunately, thanks to Zertera, he had come to terms with anyone's death.

- Okay, you guessed it, that was the elven sword I saw the first time and wanted to bring it to you, but on the way... you saw it.

- Haha, that's why you were hanging on that branch, and I was wondering who used magic to catch a powerful warrior.

- Oh, shut up. I feel bad without you, and if I don't get the bastard back, that's it.

- I'll finish the sword now, and you can have your good back, and a bit of someone else's.

Having said that, a smile appeared on the woolly wall, made up of brilliant white fangs that had always frightened Vinter and would continue to do so in the future. However, now he was afraid and happy because he would be able to take his things and kill the two who had robbed him.

- Please don't smile like that, it's terrifying.

- Then get inside, because I will be smiling like that for the next hour.

Taking Krint's advice, he went back to the house to rest and calm down from everything that had happened to him today, especially the killing of a group of elves, although he was glad of it.

****

 An hour later, Krint finally finished his sword and called Vinter to fight with it, albeit temporarily.

- Come out of the house, you little coward!

Hearing the man calling him, Vinter cautiously came out of the house and looked at the ball of wool holding the sword, which gleamed dark green and had a bright red hilt, but at the same time had a very ordinary guard.

It was just a small piece of metal, which made Vinter look at Krint with a look, ‘And what is this piece of shit on this masterpiece?’

- I can see by the look in your eyes that you don't like something!

- You're so attentive! And I don't like that garment, you know.

- I just miscalculated the material a little, so I ran out of it.

Vinter opened his eyes wide and looked at Krint, and then shook his head, because at some point he stopped believing that this was real, because Krint had been measuring everything down to the gram of metal for two years, and here it was.

- You scare the hell out of me, you bitch Krint!  Tell me what the hell happened to you.

- Nothing happened! You better shut up and pick up your sword and go kill your elves.

- I'll go, of course, but when I come back, we'll talk and discuss your strange condition.

With that, he walked over to Krint and, expecting it to be a heavy sword, strained his hand and grabbed the hilt of the new sword and was surprised to find that, although it was a bastard sword, it was lighter than even a normal one-handed sword.