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"What…is it?" He questioned.

Celly carefully lifted both the sphere and the cushion it sat on out of the box, prompting Emilio to move the box to the side for her as the lithe woman placed the cushion down.

"It\'s a Commune Orb," Celly told him.

"Commune Orb?" He looked at her.

"It\'s a magical device used to communicate across vast distances–even intangible ones, as well. Like the Astral Realm, or perhaps…the After," Celly said.

Those words caught him off-guard as he leaned closer, looking at the sphere, "Hold on, what do you mean? The After? How would that be possible?"

"I got this when you wrote me about your time in the After and about the friends that are still there, and how they helped you return, so…I wanted to get a gift, for you and those people who helped return you to life," Celly smiled, "After all, it\'s because of them that we can sit here together and talk, right?"

Part of him wanted to hug the half-elf tightly for her thoughtful gift and words, though he knew such an action would be awkward for the both of him. Still, he didn\'t quite understand how it worked.

"Are you saying I can use this to communicate directly with my friends in the After? But they don\'t have a Commune Orb," he asked.

Celly tapped the orb, "They won\'t need one. Once you manage to pinpoint them, when you use this, a mana-formed orb will appear for them as well."

After the object was lightly tapped by the archmage\'s finger, it activated with a mystical glow swirling inside of it with a kaleidoscope of astral colors. In order for it to work, the catalyst used as a connection between the orb and those in the After was the seal etched onto Emilio\'s artificial limb, leading to a line directly to Blimpo.

"On," Celly activated it with a word.

Within the orb, the mystical mist within it parted to reveal the sight of the elf tinkerer, though he was snoring, sleeping on some sort of bed somewhere in the After.

A smile came across Emilio\'s lips upon seeing his friend, sleeping safe and sound before the orb returned to its normal state.

"Celly, this is…I don\'t know what to say," he was left nearly speechless.

Celly smiled genuinely, "This is my gift to you for enduring your journey and returning. Truthfully, I am glad you\'re here."

This time, he felt it was right for the moment–he wrapped his arms around the lithe woman, bringing her into a long-awaited embrace.

"Thank you, Celly. It\'s because of what you taught me that I made it," he said.

Celly was silent for a moment, surprised by the embrace before relaxing into it, returning the hold as she smiled, "That\'s all I can ask for as a teacher."

–

After a private meeting that went a different way than expected, though better in his mind, he returned to his room with the Commune Orb, carefully placing it within his desk before getting into bed.

\'Celly is the best,\' he thought.

The next few days were uneventful, but nice; the full house was certainly full of life with Irene having Celly help her with carvings, Everett and Julius somehow getting along like kindred, rowdy spirits, and Treyna finding a reason to go all-out with her cooking.

However, the day came for an adventure of its own–standing outside together, dressed and ready to head out as adventurers into the outskirts of Yullim, Emilio and Celly stood together.

"Ready?" He asked.

The archmage adjusted her mage hat with a smile before nodding, "Mhm!"

It was a special outing; the first quest they were taking on with just the two of them together. Yullim had grown quite popular with monsters lately, it seemed, as Everett and Julius themselves ventured out together just an hour prior to handle an orc bounty.

For the two who were once teacher and student, now peers and close friends, the quest called for them to move up the southern mountain trail, walking up the ascension that climbed the tall, gravelly mountain amidst the peak of autumn.

"Are you excited? Scared, maybe?" He asked teasingly, walking alongside her.

Celly looked up, "Well, I\'ve never encountered kobolds before–and it sounds like these ones are more dangerous than normal."

He nodded, "Nobody died, but word around the Guild was that a few local adventurers got their asses kicked and sent back down the mountain when they tried entering the cave up here. Kobolds are sneaky, but normally they shouldn\'t be much of an issue."

There was a new motivation for doing quests for Emilio with recent considerations, though he didn\'t bring it up much around the others:

\'I\'ve already started saving up on the simple quests I\'ve been doing while I\'m here in Yullim–I\'ve got around two-thousand crowns, though I\'ve chipped in around the house when I can. Father and Mother try to reject me from chipping in, but it doesn\'t feel right if I don\'t. Still, I\'m saving up for something: a house of my own! I don\'t actually know where yet, but I bet I can get a nice one if I do some big quests,\' he thought.

Having such an earnest goal felt nice to work towards, though the thought of moving away from Yullim did strike him as sad. After all, the time he\'d spent since returning from his journey was fulfilling and easygoing; a far cry from the chaos he endured.

"Where are you thinking of heading first once you leave Yullim?" Celly asked.

"Hmm, good question," he responded while walking.

"You haven\'t thought about it?"

"I have, but haven\'t decided yet," he answered, "Likely…I\'m going to go to Ennage."

Surprise wrote itself on the half-elf\'s face as she looked up at him, "Ennage? The Continent of Demons is a fearsome place, you know. There are many high-ranking quests available there, but…not even the allure of riches and fame are enough to entice most adventurers to go there."

It wasn\'t anything he didn\'t already know, from things he\'d heard from other adventurers along with research he\'d done himself, though it didn\'t deter him in the least as he smiled confidently.

\'Excelsior…I\'ve been hanging onto that name. Asher told me to find that person in Ennage. Whoever they are, I\'m sure they\'ve got answers I need,\' he thought.

"I have my own reasons for going there, and I\'m a lot stronger than you might know," he assured.

"Is that so? You\'ll have to show me then," Celly responded with a small smile.

The location where the elusive kobolds were said to be staying was a certainly unique cave, sitting near the peak of the Yullim mountain amidst the thin, high-altitude air.

"I\'ve had enough of caves, really," he sighed.

"It\'ll be fine," Celly told him.

"Yeah, but it\'s starting to make me crave more–a real adventure, I guess," Emilio muttered, "Huh. Maybe I\'ll be going sooner than I thought.

"Emilio?"

"Nothing. Let\'s move in," he smiled.

Leading the way, he silently manifested the lesser spirit of fire, Salamander, to light the path for them as the interior of the cave was nothing but darkness.

"You have experience with encountering kobolds, don\'t you?" Celly asked, quietly following behind.

Emilio kept his eyes forward as Salamander floated alongside him, "Yeah, they can change their forms. They\'re sneaky and crafty as can be; just keep your eyes peeled."

"Will do," Celly nodded.

The sort of caves used as abodes by kobolds were uncomfortably narrow and ridges; the walls were tight, forcing the two to walk sideways, shuffling through at certain points to fit through gaps. It was undoubtedly the home of kobolds; the rancid scent was one he recognized from the rodent-like fiends.

Walking through the narrow corridor of rigged, stone walls, left clammy through old rainfall, something caught the sharp senses of the Dragonheart.

"Oh, there\'s one," he quietly said.

"There is? I don\'t see any–"

Through the stone itself, a figure emerged like a creature of the night, possessing a complexion of stone and whiskers as it lunged an axe towards the archmage\'s head.

CLANG

Before any such unruly blade could reach the silver-haired half-elf, it was stopped by the blade of the Dragonheart, who stopped the kobold\'s sneak attack without batting an eye.

"As you can see–they\'re the only creatures even more fickle than goblins," he said.

It seemed like magecraft of some sort, bound to the very nature of the elusive dwellers as Celly found herself surprised by the introduction to kobolds. After it was completely denied in its deceitful attack, the whiskered, frail creature attempted to flee back within the walls.

"No, you don\'t."

Utilizing nature magic to manipulate the very stone the kobold tried to swim through, Emilio caused it to protrude, knocking the kobold out of the wall and right in front of him.

"Kre?!" The kobold looked up, fearful.

The creature was unsightly at best; covered in grimy, bristly fur and smelling of rotten eggs and mud. Perhaps even less intimidating than a goblin, once plucked from the walls they so dearly clung to.

"Kra!" The kobold yelled out, jumping to its feet in an attempt to attack.

With a swift and easy swipe of his blade, Emilio cleaved through its torso, instantly leaving it inanimate as the creature dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"You\'ve definitely grown in initiative…" Celly quietly remarked.

"What was that?" He looked back with a smile, washing the blood off of his blade with a simple conjuration of water.

Celly shook her head, "Nothing. Let\'s continue."