Robert wraps his arm around the armor, holding it out in front of us. “These ‘ere is th’ reason I got arrested! ‘er name’s Milli! She’s a mimic I raised from a tiny box!” We calm ourselves as we acclimate to the situation. Mange glances back and rolls his eyes before turning back to the group outside. “*haah* It’s alright, everyone! Not sure real emergency! Ya can come in!” The monsters begin funneling into the house. They’re all soaked since we couldn’t solve the problem before the rain began to fall. At least the children are relatively dry since they had been in the cart this whole time.

 

Lilac walks over to Robert and Milli. “Interesting! You tamed a mimic? How’d you do that?” Robert shakes his head. “Nah, nothin’ like that. I jus’ found ‘er, is all. She chose ta live ‘ere when she got old ‘nough ta make ‘er own decisions. Huge ‘elp ‘round the forge. Guess one ‘a them Heroes ratted on me fer ‘avin’ ‘er.”  Mange looks down at Milli. She turns to Mange, looking up at him with the face of the armor. “Seems she can take th’ shape of armor. Ain’t never seen a mimic do that!” Robert scratches his head. “Ta be honest, neither ‘ad I! Maybe she knew she ‘ad ta hide better.” Mange grabs Milli, inspecting her closely. “That’s even weirder. Usually, a mimic don’ change from its first form. They jus’ get bigger. She must really like ya!”

 

Robert walks over to a fireplace, throwing some wood sitting next to it into the burn pit, then sparking a flame with his fingers. He must be capable of fire magic like the Feline is. As the fire grew, Robert looked back towards the group. “Sorry ‘bout the trouble! Feel free ta dry off an’ get warm. I’ll make ya all some food while ya dry.” Lilac stops Robert. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of cooking something while you take care of those who need some equipment.” Robert smiles. “Pretty kind of ya! I’ll take ye up on that!” Robert heads towards a door leading deeper into the house. Milli follows him to the room.

 

Robert opens the door. A blazing heat floods into the room! It’s so intense that the fire from the pit feels insignificant by comparison! Milli walks in without a second thought. Robert looks back at us. “All of ya that need equipment better come in!” We stand still for a moment, hesitant to move closer to the extremely hot room. Fivi and the leader are reptilian species, so the heat should be simple for them. The Feline may have a simple time, as well, since he’s a fire mage. I, on the other hand, can’t enter that room! This makes the interior of the leader’s throne room in the volcano feel like a Luke warm bath! Fivi, the leader, and the Feline make their way to the room. They enter one by one before Robert closes the door behind them.

 

Now, I suppose the only thing we can do is wait. This Robert guy… he seems pretty eccentric. Maybe Gibson knows something about him. I walk over to Gibson as he and Jabari sit away from the fire and the monsters. I sit in a chair nearby them. Gibson looks up at me. “Oh, Laoch! How are you doing?” I point to the fire. Gibson shakes his head. “Sorry! I’m still kind of new to being around so many monsters. It’s nothing against anyone here, but I’m just not quite comfortable yet, you know?” I nod my head. Jabari clicks her tongue. “ Ya be talkin’ ta dis skeleton like it even undastands ya words.”

 

Gibson looks over at Jabari. “I’m sorry for whatever you went through, but I can’t hate Laoch. He saved my life twice and hasn’t actually asked for anything in return.” Jabari looks away. We sit quietly for a moment. “…I came ta dis land wit my family ta find a betta life.” Jabari says quietly. “De monstas back at my home were violent! Dey kill everyting dey see! We thought it can’t be worse elsewhere.” Jabari clenches her shirt tightly. “But den we got here… dem monstas had dere way wit me an’ my family… killed dem all… an’ kept me as a trinket…” Jabari’s voice trembles as she keeps talking. “I hate monstas…. Every one a’ dem can die… an’ da world would only be betta for it!”

 

Gibson looks down at his hands as he twiddles his thumbs. I look over to see the other monsters looking this way. A small reptilian child picks up a random tool off of the ground and walks over to Jabari, holding it close. The child lifts the tool up and sits it on Jabari’s lap. Jabari looks down at it. “What is dis?” She asks to the child. The child stands in a shy stance. “When I get sad, my mama gives me gifts to make me happy again.” Jabari lifts the tool up, looking at it. “But you had just picked dis up.” The child looks up at her. “Well, I don’t have any toys anymore, so I found something.” Jabari is clearly shocked at the response. She’s probably never had an interaction like this from a monster before. As much as she doesn’t trust anyone, I’d go as far to say she’s never had an interaction like this from ANYONE.

 

Jabari looks around to the others. Mange looks at her with a smile. “I’m sure Robert isn’t gonna miss one tool.” Jabari looks down at the child. The child is gazing at Jabari with a nervous look. Jabari holds the tool tightly in her hands. “I still hate monstas…” The child’s expression seems to sink. Jabari rests her hand on the child’s head, gently petting them. “I didn’t say I hated good children! Pick ya head up!” The tension fades from the room as the child smiles, jumping up onto Jabari’s lap, hugging her. The other children find random items on the ground, bringing them to Jabari. While Jabari may have had a difficult past, at least she still seems quite open to the idea that not all monsters are inherently evil. I guess that’s something both sides need to learn…

 

“Who’s ready to eat?” Lilac shouts as she pokes her head from the kitchen. The children rush towards her with excitement. The adults continue to warm themselves by the fire while the children eat first. Everyone seems to be relaxing, despite everything that’s been happening. After the children get their food, they run out to the main room, sitting around the fire while they eat. The adults eventually make their way to the kitchen, as well. I lean against the wall as I look around at the group. Honestly, even though there are humans eating together with us, this feels very natural.

 

Something about this just feels like how it should be. No conflict. No strife. Just monsters and humans simply existing in the presence of one another. They may not interact, or like each other, but they are willing to accept that they exist, and continue living as they would otherwise. I wonder… could the world ever be like this? Not just here, but everywhere. I think… it would be hard… but possible. It only takes one bad soul on either side to cause the whole thing to collapse. Everyone would need to be on their best behavior, humans AND monsters. Perhaps… one day…

 

A loud slam rattles the shelves of the main room as the door to the workshop swings open aggressively! A wave of heat floods out as Robert steps from the room. He’s no longer wearing a shirt, and he seems to be sweating profusely. “Good! I see yer all sittin’ down! Then let’s show off yer new Heroes!” The Feline quickly rushes put in his undergarments, dropping to the floor, seemingly soaked from head-to-toe in sweat. “What kind of insane human can bare that kind of heat?!” The leader steps out from the room, armored in smooth, metallic armor that fits his figure well with white cloth décor hanging from the shoulders matching the cloak. He’s carrying a very large metallic hammer trimmed with silver and etched with the image of a dragon on the sides.

 

The leader is carrying a red robe in his hand. He tosses it onto the Feline as the Feline continues to kneel on the ground. “Make yourself decent. There are children present.” The Feline holds his position for another moment, getting his breathing under control, then standing up, shaking off some of the sweat, splashing the nearest people with his disgusting bodily fluids. He then puts the robes on. Armored shoulders and armored belt on a crimson robe. Green design across the chest and back with fluffy flair around the ends of the sleeves and bottom. The Feline then adds the final touch, placing a matching headpiece on with a ruby in the crown of it, taking a staff with some kind of glowing, magical gem in the head of it in hand.

 

Everyone claps excitedly for the reveal. Robert looks back into the room. “Oi! Come on, then! No need ta be shy!” “I will not be seen like this!” Fivi shouts from the back room. She sounds nervous. Robert walks into the room. “Don’ think I’m gonna let ya waste all me hard work!” Robert shoves Fivi from the room. Fivi is wearing a chainmail chest piece that specifically covers the breasts with loose black cloth leggings with a red stripe on the sides, and what appears to be armored undergarments. There appears to be metal armaments hanging to the sides of her hips with softer footwear. She’s tightly clenching a large, powerful looking bow that appears to be made from some kind of creature horns with a metallic piece holding them together.

 

Fivi is clearly embarrassed by her outfit. “Please don’t look at me!” she shouts loudly. While some people look away, others can’t help themselves but stare. Her smooth reptilian body almost doesn’t suit the armor, but her embarrassed expression makes it feel too perfect. She looks back at Robert. “Why is my armor so revealing compared to the others?!” Robert looks at her with a serious expression. “What’s it matter how much skin is showin’? This equipment is probably th’ best I’ve ever made! Ya can move freely, an’ ya can withstand some pretty heavy hits, even on th’ parts that ain’t covered! Yer safer than th’ dragon or th’ jackal!”

 

Fivi covers herself, but calms down a little. “I-is this armor r-really that good?” Robert throws his arm over her shoulder. “Are ya kiddin’? This armor is the best me little fingers can weave!” The Minotaur stands up from the floor. He looks at the armor of the three, inspecting them. He snorts. “This armor isn’t even named! Impressive as it may be, without a name, it’s worthless!” Robert crosses his arms. “Haah~ As much as I wanna fight ya o’er yer criticism, I really can’t. Yer right, but humans can’t name equipment all like that.”

 

Mange steps towards us. “We can name equipment while humans can name us. That’s th’ trade th’ two used ta share back in th’ old times.” The leader looks up to Mange. “That’s right! My grandfather had spoken of this! This is why you had asked the merchant to give Laoch his name!” Gibson looks over to us. “I didn’t know all that! How come this isn’t common knowledge? It sounds to me that humans and monsters could benefit more working together!” Mange exhales. “Yer right, but that’s why no one knows anymore. I’ll tell ya the story I heard from an old wizard from the guild that left the bonds between humans and monsters broken.”