A knock sounded from the door and it then opened up. A tired, grey-skinned man walked in and closed the door behind him.
"Palpo, you're late."
"Sorry… I've just been busy is all…" Eedaj took his time crossing the courtyard to find his seat beside Daliea. He took a moment to breathe before grabbing a few small portions for his plate.
"Palpo, what's wrong?"
"Nothing… don't mind me."
"What's 'palpo' mean again?" Lina asked.
Daliea looked across the table and answered, "It means father. And when he calls me 'dhendi', that means daughter."
"So I'm a dhendi too?" Lina glanced at her mom, who was eating slowly and too distracted to hear the current conversation.
"Yes, yes you are, Lina," Eliza stated. "Too bad my parents can't make it…"
"Yeah, and mine are busy drinking or running their tavern," added Maura. "Where's--"
Another knock sounded at the door, getting Eliza to shout, "Hurry up, Mother!"
"Sorry, I'm late…" Dragas giggled, closing the door behind her. "I was attending to the new plants and got carried away. They're developing quite nicely."
"Does that mean--"
"No, Jack, they won't be ready by the time you leave."
As Jack sighed and stuffed his face, two people remained unlively and weren't able to go unnoticed. After gulping down his current mouthful, Jack telepathically asked, 'Eedaj, what's on your mind? Is it still that?'
When Eedaj nodded and sighed, Jack stated, 'Don't worry yourself. I've got a plan. Just wait and see.'
'... I trust you, Jack. It's just… Maybe consult us all next time?' suggested the Mind God.
'I couldn't, not this time. I should've warned you not read Perchet's mind, then you wouldn't have become so stressed out.'
'But Jack… Do you understand what you've done?'
'I do, and I don't want to talk about it. What's done is done, there's no going back now. So please, don't mention anything to the others. It's better that way.'
"Jaaack?"
"Yes, Eliza?" Jack ended his mental conversation and verbally replied to his calling wife. "Need me to pass the spider soup?"
"No… I just want to know what you're talking about with Eedaj," stated Eliza.
"We--"
"Jack, we know that face. And your glances to Eedaj give you away," explained Eliza. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Then save that kind of talk for when it's just you two, or we'll feel left out."
"Sorry…" Cleaning his plate and readying for a second helping, Jack looked to the other awkwardly silent person. "Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm fine…"
"Then why are you letting Lina eat your food?"
"Huh?" Lunara blinked, only now noticing that Lina's tail was swiping food from her plates. But she didn't rebuke her daughter. "Sorry… I guess I'm just distracted…"
"Is it about Dad? Or… are you nervous about the trip?" asked Jack, getting everyone to listen in.
Sighing, Lunara gave a weak laugh. "I guess both… but mostly the trip…"
"Are you nervous about seeing the other hydras? Is that it?"
"I'd rather not show them my true form," replied Lunara.
Lina suddenly shouted, "I want to go to! Can I come, Mom?"
"No, sweetie… I don't know what will happen to you after we go into Glacier Keep…"
"But if Moranti and the swordsman are teleporting there after the keep opens, can't Moranti send me back home too?"
"That--"
"Please, Mom! I want to see more hydras…"
Facing her weakness, Lunara looked into Lina's baby hydra eyes and replied, "No… not this time…"
"But why… At least tell me why," asked Lina, not giving up.
"Jack, you convince her…"
Scratching his head, Jack shared his opinion, "Actually, I think it would be fine for her to go…"
"What?!"
"Mom, I'm going too, remember? And I doubt Halmut wants the other gods to start a fight outside of the keep. He knows that with Moranti we'll be able to transport any number of gods whenever we want. And he also knows that we can escape via teleportation, so ambushes wouldn't work too well either," reasoned Jack. "And, if you'd prefer, I can teleport us all directly into Glacier Reef with Eedaj's help. That is, if you're willing to share your past memories with me."
"That won't be needed," stated Lunara. "You'll teleport us to the Aazoon shore and I'll carry us there. We should find it in a day or two, giving us a day to relax and prepare to enter the keep."
"Then I get to come--"
"No!"
"Mom��� why are you against Lina going? Is it because of the other gods… or is it because of the other hydras?" questioned Jack.
Lunara opened her mouth but paused her tongue. A moment later, she sighed, "The latter…"
"But don't you think it would be best for Lina to at least see where her bloodline comes from? Couldn't visiting that environment be a good thing for her, letting her fully feel how powerful her body is to endure such water pressure and cold?"
"Yeah…" Lunara admitted. "I guess… it wouldn't be the worst thing…"
"Yay! Thank you, Mom!" Lina got up and gave Lunara a big hug, getting the Water Goddess to feel a bit better.
"... Will you really be fine that far down, Jack?" Lunara questioned, sharing the same concern of half the table.
"Don't worry about that. Thanks to Daruun, my body can function with breathing. So traveling underwater won't be of any worry, thanks to my water magic and my professional guide," answered Jack.
"Will you have your weapons done by then?" Eedaj asked.
Nodding, Jack replied, "Unlike the poison, I can speed up the weapons' production. Making the deadline won't be a problem at all. With that in mind, I should get going…"
Jack stuffed the second serving of food into his mouth and stood up. After forcing it down his throat with a satisfied smile, Jack waved to everyone. "I need to finish hammering and shaping everything. That way, tomorrow I'll be able to inscribe the correct enchantments and begin hardening and tempering everything. Then, all that's left is empowering them with my own energy and polishing them to look good."
Having said that, Jack was carried away in a flash of purple light.