Frost Armour And Elsa

We get through the skeletons dungeon with ease, supporting Skylar where we need to. She needs it less this time because we’ve been through the skeletons dungeon so many times, but I still keep a watchful eye to make sure she’s not in too much danger.

We make it past the overlord and I’m eager to see what loot it dropped. Finally, gloriously, I see the ring. “Fuck yeah!” I exclaim happily, and Ivy giggles at my celebration. I’m itching to get home so I can complete the set and see if the enchantments on my armour are similar to the ones on Skylar’s.

We waste no time at getting out of the dungeon and walking back inside. I take a moment to deliberate which ring I should replace. As much as I don’t like taking off the shiny ring I’ve had since the first few days of getting my powers that gives me a ton of bonuses to being well liked, it’s the right choice. I suppose I can swap it around too, whenever I need to.

The popups that follow when I complete the set show enchantments for the armour set that are indeed very similar to the ones on Skylar’s set. Resizing, a comfort enchantment, lightweight and manoeuvrability, all expected. Also as expected, I get a 20% bonus to frost elemental attack damage, very handy for my magic.

I also get a 20% bonus to resistance against both frost and fire damage. I guess the element of fire functions as the opposite of frost, instead of water. That being the case, I’m really curious as to what the opposite of water might be. In addition to these enchantments, I also get a 10% bonus to intellect and wisdom, which must be to compensate for me not having a spellpower stat.

The modifier gives me an extra 100 mana to play with, as well as a decently higher mana regeneration, both of which I’m pretty happy about. Satisfied, I take my armour off and sit down on the couch with Skylar, while Mia and Ivy go to the kitchen to start preparing lunch for when Elsa gets here.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her. The maiden of shadow sighs. “I could be better in all honesty.” She says. I nod in understanding. “Still frustrated about the dungeons?” I ask. “It’s kind of hard not to be.” She replies. I hold her close, squeezing her gently, and she nuzzles up against me.

“I guess telling you that you’re amazing and a valuable member of our guild regardless of how hard you can punch, won’t really help?” I say, and Skylar snorts. “Not really, but thank you though. I know it’s something I’m just going to have to accept. I just wish I could do more.” She says.

“Do you want us to look out for you more in dungeons? Like the same we do for Paige?” I ask her, and she shakes her head immediately. “No, I’d like to avoid that if possible. I feel a responsibility to you all, I want to pull my own weight, as much as I can.” I stroke her hair gently.

“I understand that. Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? If you need us, we’re here for you.” I tell her. “Thank you Gem.” She whispers, and I rub her back comfortingly. “I love you. We all do. Your value as a human being is not derived from how ‘useful’ you are.” I say, using air quotes for the word useful.

“Your feelings are valid and we’ll always be here to help you through them. But please don’t ever think that you need to be able to fight the same people we can to be loved. You will always be loved and appreciated regardless.” I tell her. She looks up at me, smiling. “You’re the best, you know that?” She says.

“Not really, you are.” I say. We both know that this is a losing debate. We’ve had it before. Each one of the four of us thinks that the other three are the best. Nobody is ever really right, and that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we love each other, past anything I thought possible.

Skylar and I stay cuddled on the couch until we receive a text that Elsa is off work and ready to have lunch with us. Mia calls out just then that lunch is ready. The perfect timing is really satisfying. I use my inventory to change into a pair of casual clothes and do a quick check with Skylar. “How do I look?” She smiles at me. “Stunning. Now go, you adorable woman.”

I grin at her, before reaching down and petting Luna gently. She mews happily and I giggle at her cuteness. I stand up and walk outside, exiting the barrier to pick up Elsa. She’s standing outside the entrance to the Fateweaver building, and I walk briskly over to her. She spots me easily and flashes me an enchantingly beautiful smile.

“How are you?” She asks in her soft, gentle voice as I approach. “Pretty good today, yourself?” I ask. “Work was good but a bit stressful. It’s going to be nice to relax.” She says, smiling at me. I smile back, and invite her to the party. She accepts the invite and I take us both back inside the Kingdom.

She looks around, a little awestruck by the surrounding landscape. I grin at her reaction. “I know. It never really gets old.” Elsa smiles at my words. Then I remember something. “Just before we go inside, you should know that Ivy and I got pet cats, and Skylar got a pet wolf. The cats are a little shy, but yeah.” I tell her.

Elsa squeaks excitedly and I giggle at her reaction. “I love cats! Why a wolf though?” She asks. I shrug amusedly. “I have no idea. Skylar just wanted one, so she got one.” The Fateweaver giggles, a soft, gentle and mesmerising sound. We walk inside together and Mia squeals as soon as she sees our guest.

“Oh my Gaia, hi! It’s good to see you!” Mia says and Elsa giggles at her enthusiasm. “Are you okay with hugs?” The aeromancer continues. The petite woman nods and Mia immediately scoops her up into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you all.” Elsa says softly, the smile on her face and how she hugs Mia back conveying that she means it.

After Mia releases her, Ivy hugs her next. “It’s really lovely to see you again.” The healer says. Elsa doesn’t speak, letting her smile do the work for her. “Ready for lunch then?” Mia asks, clapping her gently on the back. Before Elsa can answer, she spots the kittens, keeping their distance and observing her curiously.

She holds her hands to her mouth in shock and cute aggression. “They’re so cute! I love them so much! Can I pet them?” She whispers. “If they let you, sure. Just be gentle.” I tell her, mentally face palming as I remember that I’m talking to quite possibly the most gentle person in the world.

Elsa crouches down and scoots towards them. Luna takes a few steps backwards, not wanting to engage. Sol looks to Ivy and cocks her head to the side, meowing uncertainly. Ivy nods at the orange kitten. “It’s okay, she’s a friend.” The healer reassures.

That seems to be enough for Sol, who pads forward and starts to sniff the gentle woman. Elsa holds still and lets the cat do her sniff test. Sol is satisfied after a few seconds and meows at Elsa, moving forward to let our friend pat her. Elsa strokes her soft fur, giggling softly. “Hehe she’s cute.” Elsa coos gently, and my heart melts for her.

Once Sol has had her fill of pets, she stands up and walks to her food bowl and begins eating. Elsa takes that as her cue and stands up, walking with us to the dining room. We all sit down and dig into the delicious meal that Mia and Ivy have prepared for us all.

We exchange niceties and general pleasant conversation to start with. Elsa tells us about how she’s going with her fateweaver studies. She’s really passionate about the whole thing and it’s clear that while she isn’t the most powerful out of her cohort of fateweavers in the guild, she’s one of the most dedicated and passionate.

Apart from progressing more in her studies, she hasn’t really been up to all that much. She’s working on a new painting and promises to show it to us once she’s done, and we’re looking forward to seeing it. In turn, we tell her about the new things we’ve been doing since adjusting to our new home.

Obviously there are the pets we’ve gotten, but we also tell her about Paige, and how she’s joined our guild. Elsa says she’d like to meet the goth girl sometime, and we readily agree. We tell Elsa about how we met Skylar’s parents, glossing over most of the more serious details and just telling her the pleasant parts of it.

Elsa also mentions that she told her superiors about the existence of our barrier, and that they would like permission from us to allow Elsa to study our barrier for them. We happily agree to that, not least because it’ll let us hang out with Elsa more. She’s overjoyed to hear that, saying that she’s really curious about how this barrier works.