13 Going Home

Swords, ignoring those that are of extreme quality and worth fortunes, aren't great against armored opponents. This includes tough and scaled monsters as well. Swords also lack piercing and stopping power when it comes to charging targets. While an estoc does counter some of the weaknesses of most swords, it also loses some of their strengths. The biggest advantage of a sword lays in its versatility in ways to attack. Estocs have flat edges. The edge that is usually used for cutting and slashing, is replaced with one only able to inflict blunt damage, thus decreasing the weapon's versatility. However, there are obvious advantages to specialization.

Estocs (for those of the races) can generally range anywhere from a meter in length to almost two. Kalin's was closer to the prior. Though it was on the shorter end of the spectrum, because of his small stature, the sword, when combined with the length of the handle, was slightly taller than himself. Though he'd eventually grow into it, the sword was very large and awkward-looking when held by the tiny figure.

Mei and Kalin stood outside the entrance of the weapon shop. It was still too early for lunch, so the road was almost barren. Only the metronomic sound of metal against an anvil came from behind the shop, filling the quiet morning air. The only other noise present was a quiet hum coming from Kalin as he hugged his new sword with both hands and rocked back and forth on his toes and heels.

The scene broke with the sound of a door opening and closing. A small elf with horns and a tail approached the duo with a mischievous look upon her face. Seeing her, Kalin's face lit up. "Thanks for the present Lili! It's so pretty!"

Though the two girls chuckled at his questionable usage of the word 'pretty', it brought a smile to their faces. Feeling smug, Liliana puffed out her flatness and pointed her nose into the air, "I am pretty great, aren't I?" She said with an evil laugh that made her look more adorable than menacing.

Mei couldn't help but smile bitterly at her former captain. Though she looked adorable to an onlooker, this caused her to be underestimated many times during their adventuring days. Her efforts to come off as grand or menacing lead to the ending of many family lines after people mocked her as a childish.

Still holding his sword, Kalin jumped at his sister and gave her a giant squeeze, burying his face into Lili's torso. Lili's expression mellowed, as she started stroking her brother's head. After several long moments, she felt Kalin lift his head and place his chin on her chest, to allow him to look directly at her face. A giant grin filled his face as he said, "I love you Lili. You're the best!"

Liliana smiled, before leaning down and giving Kalin a quick peck. Pinching his cute button nose between her fingers, she said, "Come, let's walk Mei home. After that, we need to leave so we can get home before your bedtime."

After separating from his sister, Kalin gave a small half-spin and grabbed Mei's hand. "Don't worry Mei," he said proudly, "I'll protect you!"

Smiling at the child, Mei just smiled in confirmation, allowing Kalin to lead the way back. Surprisingly, Kalin didn't have any problem navigating the streets back to the eatery, causing the trip back to be very short.

"We'll be back in two weeks." Started Lili, "Think about the proposition I made. As a mage and staff fighter, I'm limited in what I can teach Kal, and you're the person I trust the most. I'll get your answer then." Lili wrapped her arms around her best friend's waist, "Thanks for letting us stay the night. It was great to see you again."

Mei reciprocated the hug and smiled, before saying, "I'll see you in a couple weeks. I'll miss you."

The hug between the two of them looked somewhat humorous, due to their height difference. As Mei was well over a head taller than Liliana, the scene looked more like a mother comforting her child than a pair of best friends. After the two eventually broke their hug, Mei picked up Kalin and gave him a tight squeeze, "It was great to meet you Kalin. Make sure you come back soon."

Kalin's head was rested upon her chest, as his legs hung freely in the air. He giggled melodiously as his body lightly swung from side to side. He just nodded in agreement and said "Bye-bye Mei. I'll see you soon!"

The trio soon became a duo as the siblings walked toward the gate while waving their hands at Mei. A few of the mob characters couldn't help but smile as they saw what looked like a mother sending off her children to play. If only the children weren't armed, the scene would have looked even sweeter.

Hand-in-hand, Liliana and Kalin made their way toward the edge of town as they arrived at the gate. By some odd hand of fate, the guards at the gate were the exact same group that was stationed when they arrived in town the day prior. Seeing the two, the bald gatekeeper felt his testicles tighten as they seemed to rise directly into his gut to hide from the infamous she-devil in front of him. He knew that if he messed with this adorable little girl, that his days would be numbered. That is, his days as a man.

Liliana and Kalin soon found themselves done with the exiting procedure. Lili couldn't help but like this set of guards, as they were efficient at their job. This was probably the fastest she had ever gotten through a guard checkpoint. The lack of communication of the gatekeeper that feared the little girl, and the elven succubus that mistook his action of tactical retreat as goodwill would cause Lili to be more friendly to the group in the future (much to the dismay of the smooth-headed man).

With fingers still connected, they walked down the road, homeward bound. Lili turned to her little brother and said, "We'll stop for lunch before entering the forest. We'll have plenty of time to make it back home before night."

The town behind them was soon hidden behind a hill, and the fields were filled with people, young and old. Occasionally people would wave, which would be met with the cheerful gestures of Kalin. Liliana, on the other hand, would just give an occasional cursory nod.

It didn't take long for them to reach the end of the last farm, and the fields became less tame. At this point, the fields housed the occasional trees and the types of plants increased in diversity. In one of the fields sat an old fire ring as well as a couple fallen logs, probably an old campsite for gypsies or travelers. Choosing this spot for their resting point, Liliana pulled some breads from the bakery back in town from out of her bag. As they were from just the day prior, they weren't stale yet, though they weren't exactly fresh either. However, it still beat compressed breads, which were a staple for many beginning adventurers. Compressed breads tasted like sawdust and felt like chewing on hard leather. They were still used by even powerful parties because they were cheap, didn't spoil, and took little space.

Kalin ate with his sword across his lap, causing Lili to smile at him. "It looks like you really love your new weapon, huh?"

"Yep! I can't wait to start hunting monsters. Thanks for buying it, now I can become the greatest adventurer ever!" Kalin responded, with crumbs filling his face.

"You are definitely not going to be hunting any monsters yet." Lili rejected his wish, "At most, I'd let you hunt normal animals. You're too weak. If you died to a monster now, you wouldn't ever get to become an adventurer."

Hearing her words, Kalin couldn't help but feel sad that she called him weak, but he knew that Lili never lied to him… except when it came to competitions, or money, or desserts. Actually, now that he thought about it, she lied to him all the time. She was actually quite childish for a woman in her 70's. While she might not be the most honest person, he did know that she loved him and didn't want him to get hurt. A forced smile filled his face as he tremblingly said, "Okay…"

After the two of them finished up their meal, Lili cleansed Kalin's face of crumbs. Although she could tell how much he loved it, she had to tell Kalin to stow the sword in his storage bag. There wasn't much that Kalin could do in a fight with a sword. If they did end up running into a monster on the way home, which was highly unlikely, the best thing he could do is stay out of the way and perhaps get a lucky shot in with a crossbow.

Though slightly unwilling, Kalin replaced his sword with the crossbow he had carried on the journey toward town. After they continued on their journey, they soon saw entered the woods. Their return trip was somewhat uneventful. Besides the occasional bird or small critter, they didn't run into anything of interest. Lili couldn't help but release a sigh of relief when they entered the valley of their home. 'Thankfully,' she thought, 'Kalin's adventuring and luck skills didn't cause any mishaps on the way home.' While this though passed through her mind, Liliana knocked on her ironoak staff, as to not jinx herself.