"I'm glad we didn't run across this on our own," Mia whispered to Flux.

Glow was poking his sword into the unmoving form of the primate.

"Scaledmonkey," he declared, putting all of his paltry weight on his blade, which was still not piercing the scaled skin.

Irwin sighed, then nodded.

"Fine, we can call them Scaledmonkeys from now," he said. He guessed he should be glad that Glow hadn't come up with one of the more ridiculous names he sometimes did for things. "Now, let's head back. I'm sure your mother will be more than happy to see you back safe and sound."

"As if she wasn't around either," Mia said, shaking her head and crossing her arms across her chest.

Irwin looked back, unblinking, then raised an eyebrow. "Even if she was, you don't actually think I'll answer that, right?"

Flux snorted while Glow began hitting the hand of the Scaledmonkey in an attempt to cut it off.

"This isn't fair," he shouted. "You just crushed it with one hit, and I can't even pierce its skin!"

Irwin smirked at Mia and moved toward Glow. He examined the Scaledmonkey, noting its razor-sharp claws and hand-length fangs. He suppressed a shiver as he pictured his kids running into it without supervision. Replaying how he'd struck it, he hummed, trying to gauge its strength against the things he'd fought before.

"It's as strong as a three-horn Galub," he finally said, causing a hiss of surprise from the kids.

He'd begun teaching them about the most likely monsters if they ever moved through portals and used the Galubs as a measure of strength for the lower end of things. Their horn count made it an easy reference.

"That means that until Greldo returns and has time to hunt them, you are not going to be allowed beyond the supervised part of the forest."

"Awwww," Glow said, raising his hands in annoyance. "We just got to the point where we were allowed out!"

Irwin focused on his adventurous son, wondering just how much of a handful he was going to be after he got his first cards.

"Just because I or someone else will be there to keep you safe doesn't mean we won't let you get into some trouble," he said. "I could send you out with Tisziz?"

A loud groan came from all three kids, though Glow seemed to hesitate before shaking his head.

"No, that's okay," he said, letting out a severe sigh that made Irwin hold back a laugh. "She'd just create training assignments for us to do all the time."

"Those are very good for you," Irwin said as seriously as he could. "Without-"

"-without a real school, we should be grateful for all the training we can get," Glow quickly said, walking to Mia and Flux, looking like he wanted them to back him up.

"We know, Dad," Mia said.

Irwin decided he'd had his fun and grabbed the Scaledmonkey by the ankle.

"Alright, let's prepare to head back," he said. "You three bring the Salzirs."

A weary sigh came from his children, but they quickly began gathering branches and twigs as Irwin had shown them. Ten minutes later, they were dragging the Salzir corpses behind them, all three grumbling.

"Dad, why can't we just leave them here?" Mia asked. "The Skitrats and insects will take care of the bodies for us, right?"

Irwin nodded sagely, his focus on the surrounding forest and making sure nothing would jump them.

"They would, but you know Boohm is still trying to figure out how to make them edible," he said.

Glow made a gagging sound, causing Flux and Mia to laugh.

If Irwin hadn't seen them quietly sneak through the forest just hours earlier, he might have told them to keep it down. Now, with him here, he decided to allow them a bit of fun.

"But we still have so much food on the ship," Flux said. "Why do we need more?"

Irwin knew his mother would have given Flux an earful if she'd heard that.

"What do you think will happen if it's all gone, though?" he asked.

"We leave for your home?" Glow said excitedly.

"You know we can't," Mia corrected him before Irwin could. "Someone might follow us!"

"As if anyone could follow us with Greldo and Uncle Ambraz around," Glow muttered.

"Before we head there, I still have some things to take care of," Irwin said, thinking about Dimarintsia. There wasn't any rush yet, and there were some logistical things to take care of before they could leave, not the least of which was that they only had one ship.

"So, we might stay here for a very long time?" Mia asked.

Irwin knew his children were all very curious about the outside world, the stories they had heard sparking their imaginations, and with many of their memories from when they were Embers fading, most of what they knew was their time on The Concerto and Smolderball.

"I still haven't decided exactly," Irwin said. "But I expect we will be here for at least another year or two."

Glow let out a sad sigh.

"Don't worry," Irwin said, taking a quick look back at his children, grunting and straining from the effort of pulling the bodies behind them. "Smolderball is a big moon, and we haven't even explored a tiny bit of it. Who knows what else we can find here? And then there's the other three moons and the gas giant."

"Can we come with you and Greldo to Jellyfish Moon next time?" Glow asked.

"No. Without a card to offset your weakness to cold, it would be impossible to come out of my soulscape," Irwin said calmly. Glow knew this, but every so often, he would try again, and Irwin knew exactly the question that would come now.

"How long till we get our first card?" Glow asked.

Irwin grinned as he gave the same answer he always did.

"As soon as Tisziz says you are good enough with your blades without, and you get to use your full names."

"That could be years," Glow and Flux said at nearly the same time, and Irwin knew they had been practicing it. If Soot had been here, it would have been a trio of voices.

"Do we really have to use our full names?" Mia asked. "I like my short name!"

"You don't have to use it, but many Embers have the same short names," Irwin said. "So, it's best to get used to them."

"Yes, Miamore," Glow said. "Get used to it!"

Mia snorted. "Sure, Galowil," she retorted. "I'm sure you will get used to it soon!"

Glow laughed while Flux sighed.

"Alright, now a bit less noise, please," Irwin said. "We don't want to draw any more attention!"

They continued their way home in relative silence, with the kids whispering amongst themselves.

A bit of an hour later, Irwin walked out of the dark forest into a large, spacious open area with a town in the center. They were almost exactly in front of the gate, a large stone and wood construction that had cost Libraz and Mouzin a lot of effort to make. The area between the town and the forest was covered in thick brown and red mosses, with the remnants of trees lying around.

"Home sweet home," Irwin said, turning around.

The three young Ignitzians looked ready to drop down in exhaustion, breathing raggedly as they pulled the corpses out of the woods. Although they were supposed to bring them all the way back, Irwin decided they had shown enough willpower.

"Alright, you three can leave those there. I'll bring them back," Irwin said.

Glow dropped the branches and groaned. "Finally!"

Irwin watched the three of them stumble to the small town before grabbing all three branches and twin harnesses that bound the Salzir bodies. It took him no effort to drag them behind him as he walked to the gate.

The gate swung open as his kids reached the entrance, and he walked in after them. Two Blademaidens smiled at the three young Ignitzians before nodding at him.

"So, they succeeded?"

"They did great," Irwin said before holding up the Scaledmonkey. "Though this one tried to join in the fun."

"Good thing you were there then," the Blademaiden said, her eyes glittering.

Irwin was pretty sure she had her opinion on him following them, as it was apparently normal for Ignitzians to do this on their own, even at the risk of death.

I'm glad Scintilla isn't that unforgiving, Irwin thought as he merely smiled before walking further into town.

He looked ahead, still surprised at what they had made. The Blademaidens had their own houses now, mostly one or two-story places that they had bartered with Libraz and Mouzin to make. They were spread out around the six training areas that took up most of the area of the walled town. Some were made for blade work, others for skill training, while one long rectangular area with massive slabs of boulder on one end served as the ranged practice part.

Two massive storage houses stood in a T shape, while two buildings stood in the center. One was the house he shared with Scintilla and the kids, while the other was Boohm's house, which also had his massive kitchen and a small tavern. At the far end of town, near the other entrance, was his new smithy, which he'd moved away from their house and partially moved below ground to reduce the noise.

Glow, Mia, and Flux seemed to have regained some energy as they were running toward one of the areas between the storage houses and the home of a Blademaiden. Irwin knew there was a small cabin there, with a playground, which Libraz and Mouzin had made for the kids.

Shaking his head, he moved to the tavern. Before he reached it, Boohm stomped out of the double doors, smiling widely.

"Captain, you got another one of those scaly things!"

"Scaledmonkey," Irwin said, nodding as he dragged the stuff to Boohm and dropped it all on the ground.

"Scaledmonkey?"

"The kids were upset that I followed them, and Glow wanted to name it as payback," Irwin said with a grin.

Boohm let out a guffaw that reverberated through town. "Well, it could be worse."

The Onyxian grinned as he looked up.

"Before I forget. Greldo came back just after you left. I saw him run to Dahlia's house, and I guess he's still there."

"I bet he is," Irwin said. "I'll head there and see how things went."

Boohm nodded and waved at him, already focused on the bodies.

Irwin had little hope that he could make the horribly gamy meat edible for anyone but him, Hind, and Helm, and he knew both of them agreed with his assessment. It was better to eat bark than Salzir meat.

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I hope some Flowlies try their luck again soon, he thought.

The massive birds tasted fantastic when barbequed.

He walked through the town, waving at some of the training Blademaidens until he reached a two-story home that was a bit larger than the ones beside it. Coal's massive shape lay on the porch. It opened its eyes as Irwin approached, letting out a soft, rumbling snort.

Irwin scratched him behind the ears.

"Good to see you too," he said before walking to the door and knocking. The door opened almost instantly, and Greldo frowned at him. His thin leather shirt was rumpled and crooked, and Irwin heard Dahlia walk around on the floor above.

"You could have just waited a while longer," Greldo said, walking outside and sitting on one of the stone chairs on the porch.

"Why? Not done saying hi to Dahlia?" Irwin asked, sitting down in the chair beside him.

The hard rock let out a slight groan under his weight, but he knew it would hold.

"No, I wasn't, now that you ask," Greldo said, leaning back and glaring at him. "I'll remember this when you return from The Concerto next time."

Irwin raised his hands in defeat. "Boohm said you had returned after we left, so I thought a few hours should be enough."

"Well, don't tell her that," Greldo said. "It was only two days for me, but twenty for her."

They held each other's gaze for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"So, how was it?" Irwin asked after a moment, more serious now.

"I traveled as fast as I could for a day and still didn't reach the edge of those bloody mountains," Greldo said, shaking his head. "I'm afraid just reaching Dimarintsia, figuring out what that Holy Shadow Inn place is, and searching for signs of the smiths, and perhaps Rindiri, is going to mean we will be gone for weeks of merchant time. And that's the best-case scenario. It could be months to half a year."

Irwin sniffed in annoyance. As useful as the time-dilation was while he was in the faster place, it was just as bad when he wasn't, and those he loved were.

"That means that we can't take the ship," he said.

Greldo didn't reply, watching him quietly.

Irwin leaned back and closed his eyes as he pondered the future. Although he didn't have to leave yet and could easily stay for another year, he couldn't remain here forever. He also couldn't bring everyone along to Dimarintsia as it would be too cold for most of the Blademaidens and for his children. Worse, now that his children were becoming older, their soulforce resonance was rapidly changing to their own unique blend, and soon they wouldn't be able to stay in his soulscape indefinitely anymore.

"Scintilla is going to explode if you suggest leaving without her," Greldo said, his voice low.

Irwin opened his eyes and sighed. He knew Greldo was right, and that meant the only way to get there was with Greldo, and his friend could only bring one other person along for that long.

"Well, we have half a year to a year before we need to choose. Perhaps something will change till then," Irwin said, and as he did, he thought about something that was going to happen within a few months from now. "As soon as that bulb finishes maturing in a few months, I'll have plenty of other things to do."

Greldo hesitated before smiling and nodding. "Yeah. You are still going to use the template for that starting card you told me about?"

Irwin felt his mood lift rapidly as he thought about one of his many experiments over the last few months.

"Definitely! Scintilla said that Ignitzians should only get a body improvement card as their first one, and that means I'm going to get the kids the best one I can make."

"I still think it's odd that they will have the same first card," Greldo said.

Irwin snorted. "You are just jealous."

"A little," Greldo said, surprisingly with Irwin's honesty. "Can you imagine that we had a ruby rank, fully body growth card? Oh, wait…"

Irwin shook his head and sighed. "This is under the assumption that we get the template card, that it has enough charges for me to create plenty of copies of Harmony of Motion to find out how to reforge it into the card they need, and enough charges to then copy that one."

The door opened, and Dahlia entered. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her face bit ruddy, but if Greldo hadn't been here, Irwin would have assumed she'd been practicing smithing just before he arrived.

"Are you sure you shouldn't keep the template card and head to Dismarintsia first? What if you find a better card there or one that you can duplicate and trade for something incredible?" she said, sitting down on the armrest of Greldo's chair and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"There is always a chance I can't make it back for a while," Irwin said. "In that case, I want to be sure the kids have the best potential start they could have."

"It's a shame that it costs so many charges to copy diamond cards, or you could start them off like that," Dhalia said, putting a finger on her chin in thought. "It would increase their chances of upgrading their card to Ammolite."

Irwin shrugged, not surprised that she'd suggest that.

"No matter how many charges the template card will have, it won't be enough for that. Who knows. It might have very low charges, and then I'd have to duplicate them at Emerald or even Topaz rank and reforge them myself."

Greldo hummed. "I still don't understand why you can't do that anyway."

Irwin snorted, shaking his head. "Reforging Harmony of Motion to encompass the entire body and retain its growth part, while removing the mental aspect, is going to be the hardest thing I've reforged to date.

Greldo frowned as if he wanted to disagree, but Dahlia thumped him on the arm.

"I'll explain later," she said before turning to Irwin. "I know you need to check on that bulbous tentacle soon, but that can wait till tomorrow evening, right?"

Irwin nodded. He guessed she wanted to spend more time with Greldo before he left for another week, and he couldn't blame her. Sometimes, if he had to leave twice in a row, Scintilla and his kids began complaining that they wanted to come.

"Alright," Dahlia said, getting up and pulling Greldo to his feet. "Then we are going! Don't forget Boohm asked us to all arrive on time for dinner tonight!"

Irwin watched in hilarity as Greldo was pulled back into the house, and he grinned at his friend right before the other closed the door. Deciding that he had no interest in hearing anything of what might occur now, he got up and headed back home.

The rest of the day passed as it usually did, his kids playing outside before coming to find them when they got hungry, usually shouting loudly, and he and Scintilla training in one of the fields. Ever since they had returned, Scintilla had increased her training to become stronger while pelting him with questions about Eluathar.

Irwin pulled on his soulcard's flame, steadily building up his kinetic energy and readying his guitar. He was practicing to project the soundwaves out in a single direction so he didn't blow up the eardrums of everyone nearby. Focusing on his soulforce, he tried to create a resonance that was dense all around him with a single opening in the front. Strumming his fingers across the guitar, an odd ripple ran through the air away from him and toward the distant rock.

"Finally," he grunted, watching the sound slam into the rock. It did barely any damage, but now that he finally had the hang of it, he knew he could continue practicing until he could do more.

"It sounded funny!"

Irwin smiled as he turned to Zan and Ti. They were the first to show up, as they usually did. Zan didn't enjoy the rougher play of Mia and the boys, and although Ti didn't seem to mind, she usually remained close to Zan.

"It did, didn't it?" he said, looking at Zan. "Do you know what I'm trying?"

Zan shrugged. "You want to make it so only someone in one direction can hear you?"

Irwin was about to shake his head when he thought about what she'd said.

That's not a bad idea, he thought. If he could use his soulforce resonance to limit where the soundwaves were directed by his soulstrum guitar, that would allow him to shout orders over a large distance without anyone else hearing them. Humming thoughtfully, he realized the girls were still watching him.

"Well, I might try that too," he said. "But the sound I can make with the guitar is very loud, and if I want to use it in combat, I'd also endanger my allies. So I'm trying to see if I can only direct it at a target, and-"

"Blow up their heads," Soot shouted as he and the other three kids came running towards him.

Irwin blinked as Mia and his sons all grinned widely at the prospect, and he shook his head.

"Why should I blow up someone's head?"

"Not someone. A demon!" Mia shouted.

"To get their card," Soot added excitedly.

"Not all things that drop cards are demons," Irwin said, feeling weary. "I've told you about the Frozir, right?"

"Those extreme cold ones?" Tan asked, visibly shivering.

"I wonder if Heatmother can handle them now," Mia asked curiously.

"I'm sure I can," Scintilla said as she came to join them, the sword Leafbrand loosely in her hand.

They continued chatting for a bit before they headed home to get cleaned. Irwin created a steam bath, causing Scintilla and the kids to scream delightfully as they played around in the room filled with intensely hot steam. When everyone was clean, they got dressed in some simple garments that Irwin had brought on The Concerto.

The small tavern was already crowded, and Irwin was surprised to see Zender together with one of the Blademaidens. They sat close together, and she had her hand on his arm. It took him a moment to recall her name: Ihrana. He glanced at Scintilla, who just grinned and gave him a look that said; how have you only now noticed this?

Irwin shrugged, and the room fell quiet as Boohm walked in, carrying a massive platter filled with steaming meat.

"So! It took far longer than I had thought, but I have finally succeeded," Boohm shouted, his voice reverberating through the room.

Irwin grimaced as he suddenly realized what was probably going on.

"Salzir's steaks! It appears they have a poison gland in their bodies that is incredibly sensitive. One wrong touch and the poison will disperse through the flesh, making it nearly inedible. Also, the only good parts are their legs."

Irwin grimaced while Greldo and Dahlia entered the room and sat at the two spots left at their table. Greldo sighed and shook his head, mouthing why? He wasn't the only one who seemed unhappy, as Irwin saw many of the Blademaidens share worried looks.

Boohm either didn't notice or ignored it all as he began giving everyone a steak. As Irwin's extra-large portion was placed before him, he realized it smelled more appetizing than the first few times. Still, he wasn't going to take any risk.

"Wait till I check if it's safe," he whispered.

It proved useless, as nobody made any move to dig in but looked at him.

Irwin shook his head as he cut off a slice of the slightly greenish flesh, feeling the same revulsion as he had the first time he'd eaten something with green blood.

All of that vanished as he put the small morsel in his mouth.

"Apple…" he muttered, turning to look at Greldo, unable to keep a sense of nostalgia out of his eyes.

Then, he focused on his meal and took a larger bite. Although the structure was like meat, crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside, the flavor was almost exactly like an apple. Sensing nothing odd, he waved at Greldo to try.

A moment later, a contented groan came from Greldo, and that seemed all the signal the others needed. With a happily watching Boohm, people began digging in, and it didn't take long for requests for seconds to arrive.

Boohm laughed and began handing out more while adding other dishes and flagons of what he called Nutmegg, a highly alcoholic beverage he'd created from the local nuts and some of his own ingredients.

Soon, a happy atmosphere filled the small tavern, and eventually, Irwin was asked to play some songs.

Hours later, Irwin sat at the table while Greldo and Dahlia were chatting with Scintilla about something that made her eyes glint. Curious about what it was, Irwin noticed that the kids were either already asleep in their seats or lying in the corner curled up against Coal.

About to bring them to bed, he was surprised when Ihrana walked up to him, looking rather nervous. Zender was sitting some distance away, looking conflicted.

"Smith Irwin?" she asked, fidgeting with her hands on her blade handle.

Not sure what was going on, Irwin nodded and waved at the bench beside him. Ihrana did so but seemed to have a hard time looking at him. Starting to get a bit worried, Irwin raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

Ihrana swallowed. "I'd like to know how long we are planning to stay on this moon."

"I don't know exactly," Irwin said. "At least another year, but potentially longer."

Ihrana nodded, wringing her hands.

"I know it's getting hard to stay here," Irwin said, feeling a bit of sympathy for her. If he recalled what Scintilla had said, she was the youngest of her Bladesisters and had been the runt in their group, barely managing to graduate. Although she had caught up eventually and showed a surprising skill with blades, she didn't even have her fifth and sixth cards yet.

"I- no, that's not what I mean," she said quickly, and to Irwin's surprise, her face turned slightly golden, which he knew only happened when Ignitzians blushed.

"Do you think it would be okay if I had embers here?"

Irwin couldn't stop his jaw from dropping, and he stared stupidly at Ihrana.

What? Why would she… Oh! With Zender?

Irwin's mind spun as he looked at Zender, suddenly feeling a certain protectiveness for the young Yuurindi. Without his mother here, he felt responsible for himself.

Scintilla jabbed him in the side, snapping him out of it, and he saw Ihrana was looking at him worriedly.

"I… presume you mean with Zender?" Irwin asked.

Ihrana nodded quickly, but she didn't look back. "He wanted to ask you, but I told him that, with what had happened…" Her face turned even more golden, and Irwin felt Scintilla stiffen beside him.

Ihrana seemed to realize what she'd just said, and her face turned pale.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, Ihrana," Scintilla said. "I understand you meant well."

Although Ihrana looked relieved, Irwin could hear the flatness in Scintilla's voice. He knew that she hated what had happened.

"How long… would you need?" Irwin asked, realizing he had no idea about the details. Then he realized something else. "Wouldn't you need a place with a lot of fire? Also, how would you know they would become set here?"

Ihrana began rubbing her hands, looking at the table. "That's why I'd like to head to the fire region that borders the sun side and see what it's like," she said quickly. "I'd… well, there are a few others who would like to investigate that area, but we would need to find out if there's a safe spot and create a temporary base."

Irwin stared at her in surprise before looking around. He noticed that a few of the other Blademaidens looked nervous, and he shot a surprised glance at Zender. The boy's eyes widened, and he rapidly shook his head.

"Not me, Captain!"

A burst of laughter came from the door leading into the kitchen, and Irwin looked up to see Boohm rub his chin.

"Ahh… that would be my fault, Captain! But you can hardly blame me? There are so many beautiful-"

Two Ignitzians almost jumped him and dragged him into the kitchen, muttering apologies.

Irwin looked around the room. Greldo seemed barely able to hold his laughter, though Dahlia had a contemplative look in her eyes. Scintilla was glaring at the surrounding Blademaidens, some of whom weren't meeting her eyes. Irwin's mind spun rapidly, worry and surprise mixed with a slight hilarity.

"You can go and check it out," he finally said, causing a small cheer. "But!"

A dozen eyes focused on him.

"I want you to bring Nisziz and Greldo," he said. "Which means you are going to have to wait another week so we can check Jellyfish Moon."

"That's alright, Ca- Smith Irwin," Ihrana said, sounding happy. She quickly got up and ran to Zender, the two starting to whisper, heads close together.

Irwin turned to Scintilla, raising an eyebrow.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

"Oh, it started soon after we came here," Scintilla said with a smirk. "But I think it happened half a year ago."

Irwin winced while Greldo began laughing uproariously.

How am I going to explain this to Rindiri? Irwin wondered.

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