Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

A day off

"Feel how the mana circulates through the blood. How, little by little, it closes the wound. Very good, like this. Little by little," Goldmi encouraged her.

"He, he, I'll get it soon," Eldmi was proud.

Her sister watched from her side, while recovering her small mana pool. She had been trying it just before.

"Enough for today. You can't run out of mana. You know what happens," Goldmi withdrew her finger.

She had pricked her finger, and the twins had been trying to heal it. It wasn't easy to learn, but the two girls were noticing how they were advancing, and that encouraged them. They still couldn't manage to close that minuscule wound, but the mana control to perform Basic Healing was improving.

"Are we going to shoot now?" Gjami asked, as her eyes seemed to shine.

"Elendnas?" Goldmi called.

"Wait a minute, I'm almost done," he asked.

He came out a few minutes later, after having repaired both bull's-eyes. He found the girls watching the Minigoldmi hairdresser, or so the twins called the assistant. It was weaving their mother's hair into some kind of complicated and ornate braid that they were trying to replicate.

Luckily for them, Gjaki had made some wigs, so they could practice without risk to the elves' blond hair.

"Ready?" he proposed.

"Let's go!" both girls exclaimed.

They took the small bows from their father's hands and ran off. When she saw them appear, the lynx yawned and stretched her entire body. The goshawk, for its part, returned from her morning fly, and began to circle over them.

A certain fairy also came. She was flying excitedly between the girls and their mother. If Goldmi was her aunt Omi, she called them cousin Emi and cousin Ami. Since newborns, they had been able to see Pikshbxgra, though that didn't apply to other fairies or spirits.

Goldmi smiled at Elendnas and stood up. They linked hands and went after the girls Meanwhile, certain assistant was undoing the work done, and creating a much more normal long braid. As Gjaki was partying, and traveling to the outpost, they had a family day.

The girls spent a while practicing with the bow, though Hawkeye was the only skill they were allowed to learn. Until they honed their aim a bit more, it wasn't advisable to learn bow-related skills.

After that, they all ended up swimming in a pond, including the lynx and the goshawk. That place was safe, for it was protected by the magic of the elves. Elendnas had reserved it for this morning for them, and Goldmi had chosen several bathing suits created by Gjaki, the most normal ones. After that, they sat down to eat around the pond.

After a delicious lunch, exhausted from the intense morning, the twins fell asleep on the green carpet of vegetation that seemed to want to hug them. They were Goldmi daughters, cousins of a fairy and adoptive nieces of a drelf. Therefore, they possessed a subtle connection with nature.

Goldmi didn't really know how to teach them to develop it, but luckily, Maldoa did. When she was in the village, she often took them for walks in the woods, and had even introduced them to other dryads. Thanks to her, the girls' connection was gradually strengthened.

It was a bit slow for them, as they could barely get a branch to move a few millimeters. Yet, it meant that the connection existed, that it could improve with time, that they were loved by the forces of nature. Not many had that gift.

Goldmi spent the rest of the afternoon with her family, and pampered the girls more than usual. She knew that, from now, on she wouldn't have many days off like this. At least, until they achieved their goal of fully curing Elendnas.

Although she found it hard, she was more than willing to go through with it. It was too important to all of them.

Eldi would have wanted to go see his grown-up children, but his level was still not high enough, not to mention the lack of direct Gates. Gjaki hadn't gone to Engenak often, and Eldi couldn't use his yet.

Therefore, for now, it was unfeasible going for a day and meeting his children. Besides, it could be dangerous.

For that reason, he spent most of the day in the crafting room. He had made all the most urgent requests, but there were still hundreds pending. Several counties of the Blood Kingdom had placed orders, in case he has time.

Furthermore, he wanted to investigate the recipes that Gjaki had collected over the years, as well as those that he had exchanged with other visitors. Merlin had quite a few for jewelry and potions, while Apli and Tritu had for weapons and light armor.

He also set aside time to teach some of the mansion's apprentices. They weren't many, but he had found at least one of every craft he knew of. It should be said that there were also a couple of tailors taught by Gjaki, and a cook named Diknsa.

As expected, before taking care of the orders, he spent a few hours studying and testing some of those recipes, which he found most entertaining. Nonetheless, the result wasn't always as expected.

The rubber axe, the hollow hammer, and a spear too heavy to use were clear examples of it. Although it wasn't as heavy as the triple reinforced armor. It was really tough, but impossible to move while wearing it.

Luckily, he was able to recycle the items obtained, thus recovering the materials. Nobody needed to find out about some results. In particular, of certain erotic articles that were among the recipes compiled by Gjaki without knowing their content. He didn't suspect what the result was going to be until they were almost ready.

Eldi added a note in their native language to those recipes. He had lived too many years in his original world to be shocked or ashamed, but he wasn't too sure if they were appropriate in this world.

Great would be the surprise for Gjaki when she, some time later, reviewed the recipes and read the notes. Over time, she would end up telling her friends, and in the end, the knowledge of those recipes would spread throughout the mansion. With some secrecy, some of those objects would end up being produced and distributed.