After work they walk to the place at the port.

The rest of the working day for the both of them goes by in a breeze while they are both occupied with their respective work. Elyelen finishes up her work on the dagger by attaching the hilt to it. Previously, she has already sharpened it, hardened it once more and then heated it up again so it has just the right amount of hardness without becoming too brittle. She is excited to show it to Bricio, but he is nowhere to be seen which means that he probably is in the small room in the back where he keeps his documents. Quickly, Elyelen makes her way over to the room and knocks on the door a couple of times.

"Come in," it sounds from within the room. So she opens the door and walks inside. Bricio is sitting behind an old wooden table that he uses as a desk, looking through some papers when she enters. He looks surprised but quickly returns a smile: "Oh... Are you already done with your dagger?"

"Yes..."

"Good! Then come over here!"

Elyelen does what he says and places the finished dagger on the desk for him to inspect. The blacksmith takes one look at it before putting down all the other sheets he was reading at first place. His eyes travel over the blade for some time until they meet hers again; "That's really nice work."

The apprentice can't help but blush again. This praise feels so good coming out of his mouth.

"However, there are some slight mistakes. Look here: You have not tempered this part properly enough yet and the edge should be sharper than it currently is. But overall, and especially for your first time it is good work." Bricio points towards two areas that need improvement while Elyelen nods silently. "Oh right... I promised you to show you my favorite place at the port, right? Perfect timing then, I can't stand looking at this anymore," he says, gesturing down onto the pile of papers. When his apprentice is looking at the papers, Bricio just explains: "Don't worry about it. Just boring bills, taxes, orders, you name it. Come on, let's go."

And so the two walk through the city of Nel. Bricio's smithy is in the eastern part for the city, where most of the craftsmen have their shops and the big marketplaces are located. A wide road leads directly east and down towards the big port where merchant ships from all over the world are moored up every day. The buildings are mostly made out of wood or stone and there are lots of small streets with alleys between them, making everything look like a maze.

"It's still a bit strange to me, how so many people live together in such a small area," Elyelen comments as they pass walk down the wide street which is filled both with people and with horse-drawn carriages that carry goods back and forth between the port and the market district.

"At least it is never boring in the city. Something interesting always happens," Bricio laughs before pointing at an alleyway on one side: "There is a nice little tavern in there."

The elf looks around curiously: "Really? In that dark alleyway?"

"Sometimes, the best gems are hidden, Elyelen!" Bricio answers, but for today they pass the alleyway and finally make it to the port. Warehouses line up on the opposite side of the waterfront. At first sight, Nel doesn't seem very big compared to other cities, yet it has several different districts inside, each having its own character and charm.

Another turn right and then they can already see their destination. It is a plateau next to the port with some grass and a tall tree on top of it. The view over the ocean from here is amazing, especially since dawn is already approaching. The sun washes everything out into golden light while the waves crash onto the rocks below. On either side, ships of all kinds are moored up along with fishing boats or smaller merchant vessels that have come from far away places. Elyelen sits down in front of the tree and leans against it, watching all the things going on in the port, before Bricio sits down right next to her. He takes one look at his apprentice before speaking: "So... What do you think about this place so far?"

Elyelen answers: "It's great! I love how much there is to see in one spot." She points towards the ships at sea: "Sure, I have seen ships before, but never so many at once. It is fascinating, the captains must really know what they are doing so that they don't actually sail into each other. And then the people working on them..."

Bricio nods silently as he looks back over the cityscape. They sit like that for quite some time until Elyelen finally asks him something she has been thinking about ever since they started talking again after their conversation earlier today: "I'm sorry if my curiosity bothers you, but why are you showing me this place?"

"I..." This is actually the first time, that Elyelen has seen Bricio be a little bit nervous. He is usually so composed and it always seems like he knows exactly what words to use next, but now he seems to have to think about them carefully. "Well, you see... I thought it would be nice to show you around a bit. In fact there are... there are quite a few places I can show you inside and outside of Nel. Whenever we get the chance. But I guess I am just not sure whether it's appropriate or not." He hesitates for a moment before continuing: "Especially because of... well... I... I like you. I've liked you since we met a couple of weeks before." His eyes look down onto his hands which rest in front of him on the grass while she looks up at him curiously with her green eyes. Her head is slightly tilted to the left and she is waiting for an answer from him, yet all she sees is uncertainty written on Bricio's face. The blacksmith finally takes one deep breath in order to calm himself down, then he looks back into Elyelen's wide-open gaze and continues: "And I was wondering if maybe, if you felt the same way too..."