I woke up to the sound of children playing and sparring with sticks outside. The early morning racket had become the norm in the village, and while it was an annoyance, it was also endearing. The sound of children laughing could warm even the most battle-hardened heart, a reminder that good still thrived in the world—though I wouldn’t mind if it started later than 6 a.m.

  By mid-morning, I was at the forge, meeting Grillo as promised the day before. The old dwarf had been acting suspiciously, sneakily asking to borrow my axes without making eye contact. Now, as I approached at an intentionally slow pace, he tapped his foot impatiently, muttering under his breath.

  "Morning, Pop's," I greeted, a mischievous grin on my face.

  "You trying to kill me, boy?" he barked, pointing an accusing finger in my direction.

  I shrugged, feigning innocence. "You know I don’t play well with others, right?"

  Grillo rolled his eyes. "To think I put all this effort into something for you. And this is the thanks I get."

  "Oh, come on, Pop’s," I teased. "You know I don’t see any other dwarves behind your back."

  He scoffed but couldn’t hide the smile tugging at his lips. Dwarves, it turned out, had a sense of humor that matched my own—dry, offensive, and often bordering on the inappropriate. To them, true friendship meant no joke was off-limits.

  "Alright, enough games," I said. "What’ve you got for me today, oh Father of Time?"

  Grillo grinned. "You know Elorium’s one great weakness, right?"

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  "Heat and fire," I replied, tilting my head. "What are you up to?"

  Grillo’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he held up one of my axes. Two runes were etched into its surface, their designs seamlessly flowing into each other like cursive script. One was the fire rune I already knew, but the other was unfamiliar.

  "Okay..." I said slowly, unsure what I was looking at.

  Grillo sighed in mock exasperation, muttering about how dense I could be. Without another word, he walked over to the forge and plunged my axe directly into the roaring flames.

  "Pop’s, what are you doing?!" I yelped, reaching out to stop him.

  But instead of glowing red-hot, the axe repelled the flames. The fire seemed to bend away from the weapon, creating a bubble of untouched air around it. Grillo pulled it out and handed it to me, the blade cold to the touch.

  "How...?" I stammered, staring at the unharmed weapon.

  The dwarf nearly doubled over with laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, he finally explained, "The first rune repels, and the second generates heat. Together, they repel fire and heat entirely."

  "That’s incredible, but how does it work without mana wires or a power source?" I asked, my mind racing.

  Grillo’s grin widened. "Ah, that’s the genius of it! Turns out, when Elorium is mana-saturated, it feeds the runes directly. Then, whenever someone touches the weapon, it siphons a tiny bit of their mana to recharge itself."

  I frowned. "That could be a problem in a long fight."

  "You’re missing the bigger picture, boy," Grillo said, practically bouncing with excitement. "This isn’t just about the axe. If we can create a mana generator—like the thermoelectric generator you told me about—we could feed ambient mana directly into Elorium. Imagine using that for rune armor!"

  The thought hit me like a lightning bolt. "Holy guacamole, Pop’s! That would be incredible!"

  "Exactly!" Grillo declared triumphantly. "The possibilities are endless."

  Still, the practicalities made me hesitate. "But it’s going to take time—and a lot of trial and error."

  "Leave that to me," Grillo said with unwavering confidence. "You just focus on keeping us alive long enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor."

  I looked down at the axe in my hand, marveling at the seamless union of craftsmanship and magic. "I wasn’t planning on fighting dragons," I said with a smirk, "but it never hurts to be prepared."

  Oh, the games we play! I told myself.