Upon opening my eyes again I saw that I was once again in the sacred forest. The pain had gone away, dissipated like a bad memory pushed by the wind. But, somehow, I had returned to this place… and the only possible explanation was that I had died again.
That thought hit me like a rock thrown from a cliff.
I stood up clumsily, still confused, and headed toward the river immediately, with the naive hope that the boat was still there, waiting for me like a faithful dog. But no. There was no boat. There was nothing. Only the cold water running with absolute indifference. I was completely surprised: I didn't understand what was happening. The previous time I died, time went back, as if someone had taken the story and rewound it from the beginning of the scene.
But this time no… why?
Perhaps, I thought, the reason was that I had died alone. The previous time, on the other hand, I died together with Leaf and Victoria. Maybe death in company worked differently, who knows; in this world, even logic seemed like an inside joke that the gods shared behind my back.
While trying to order my thoughts, the yellow-haired fairy slid floating toward me. She didn't look at the water. She didn't look at the sky. She looked directly at me, like someone who sees the obvious culprit of a foretold disaster.
— Hey, hey… and the boat I gave you?
— I'm sorry —I swallowed saliva, trying to sound convincing—, I fell into the river while fighting against a huge beast with many eyes.
— Oh, I see… so you've lost the boat. Well, then I'll make you another, but don't lie, okay?
I couldn't believe it. She didn't believe me! Me, facing absurd monsters every day, escaping death as if it were an Olympic sport, and her... doubting.
But arguing would make no sense: she seemed a bit upset, like someone who lends a book and gets it back wet. Better leave it like that.
While walking through the forest, still thoughtful, I noticed the absence of the soul seller, Elisabeth. She was always sitting on that bench always under the shade of that tree.
I looked for her a bit, and finally found her in the northern part of the forest. She was very busy staring at the ground with an expression of worry. She held her pink parasol with both hands, nervously tapping the handle.
I decided to approach to see what was happening.
— Are you okay, Elisabeth?
She looked up, with her dark red eyes shining with anguish.
— What should I do…? Something terrible has happened to me.
— What happened to you?
— In a turn of events of the most unpleasant kind, I have lost a very important ring. A gift from my previous husband. Perhaps I dropped it while passing through the forest…
I remained silent for a few seconds. I didn't know how to comfort her with words, but I could help her.
Maybe, when I returned to the Forest of the Abandoned, I could look for that ring.
An object like that shouldn't be lost in such a cruel place.
After saying goodbye, I went down again until reaching the place where I had previously seen the small group. Everything indicated that, to reach the place they were looking for, they must have gone down those nearby stairs. Close enough, in fact, for me to be able to go too.
Without thinking more, I decided to venture in.
I descended the stone stairs. They seemed to lead to an ancient basement. The light danced on the walls thanks to the torches nailed into the rock, and a blue wooden door stood out on the side. Upon opening it, I found myself with a long hallway of bars.
Cells. A huge prison. Old. Silent.
And to one side of the entrance was Leaf, exploring the place with that curiosity of hers that oscillated between adorable and terrifying.
I approached.
— Hello, Leaf… do you know what this place is?
She smiled with a mischievous shadow.
— This? It's a prison, of course. You understand what it's for, right? Hehehe.
I didn't need an explanation. I understood it instantly.
— Hey where are you going! Hehehe.
I preferred not to answer. I turned around and left the enclosure, leaving behind that unsettling laugh that reverberated one second more in the bars.
I continued along the hallway. At the end of it there was a closed iron door that seemed to lead to an unknown place.
I opened it with my master key, that little miracle that never failed me.
I entered.
The path descended in the shape of "S", winding like an infinite spiral. Every time I turned a corner, new stone stairs appeared that went down a little more, and another narrow hallway that continued toward the next curve. I repeated that pattern six or seven times, until finally I reached an immense room.
The air was warm. Metallic.
There were blacksmithing materials everywhere: anvils, hammers, boxes with minerals of different colors, unfinished swords.
And there, in the center, a huge green-skinned monster with a single eye observed me with curiosity.
But it didn't attack me.
It spoke.
— Eh… who are you?
I stopped, surprised.
— Hello, I'm just a knight who was passing by the place. And who are you?
The giant let out a laugh that made the ground vibrate.
— Me? I'm the blacksmith Lops! Want stronger weapon? Then give me material and I make your weapon stronger.
His words had a mixture of enthusiasm and charming clumsiness.
I nodded.
— Then, please, reinforce my weapon.
I handed him my dragon sword.
Lops held it with enormous hands, examining it as if reading a book written in ancient runes.
— To reinforce this weapon I need three mineral fragments.
— Oh, I see… okay.
I took out my bag and gave him the fragments I had obtained in the Abandoned Mine. Lops got to work immediately. His blows on the metal resounded like tamed thunder.
When he finished, he spoke to me again.
— If you want to reinforce it more, give me three large minerals and six mineral pieces.
— Seriously you can reinforce it even more? Then here.
I searched in my bag. Luckily, I always kept everything I found. That bag was a blessing: it never weighed more, even if it was full. As if the space inside it defied every natural law.
Lops melted the minerals with skill, struck, shaped and recited strange words that seemed like ritual forging chants. My weapon shone with a new glow, as if awakening from a long sleep.
Finally, the blacksmith sighed with satisfaction.
— Done, I have finished. I could continue reinforcing, but I don't think you have a mineral slab… or do you?
— Ehh… no, that I don't have.
— Then take your weapon. Now it is level four. When you have more minerals, come back. Make it stronger! I always wait.
I took my weapon. It was beautiful. Powerful. Vibrant. As if a dragon had decided to live inside it.
I looked around and noticed a bonfire on the ground.
I lit it with incendato to return faster when I needed to improve my weapon.
A small anchor of fire in the middle of that underground sanctuary of iron and echoes.
And thus, with my reinforced sword and a new rest point, the path forward opened once again before me.