Demon's Virtue

Eiro loaded the crates into the carriage. They were filled with tons of dry goods that would last a while and were hard to get while travelling. In some barrels, boxes, and jars beside these crates, there were pickled and preserved foods that were good to have on hand, some water, a few bottles of wine, and of course some potions that Eiro wanted to have on hand. Not to mention a fair amount of different spices that were kept at the ready. The rest of the carriage was filled with clothes, some books, and camping gear. Of course, there were also some toys for Leon and Avalin. He also packed a few other supplies just in case, like some extra raw materials and specific woods in case he needed to repair Hannah's artificial body.

Being a young skeletal girl, she simply didn't have the capacity to feel pain with any of the bodyparts that Eiro had created for her. Similarly to Arc, she didn't always notice when she got injured, and healing magic wasn't effective on these prosthetics, no matter how complex and fitting they were for her. And though Eiro hadn't spent that much time with her, as Hannah was a quite shy girl, she was Ariella's foster-daughter. He wanted to do everything in his power to make sure she could have a good time on the trip as well. Beside that, he also brought some art supplies for Felix. Like readymade ink, some fabrics for canvases, and so on. He also brought some oil that they might be able to make some pigments for Felix on the road with whatever plants they might find on the road.

Beside all of this stuff, the kids also came by and brought some items that they wanted to have on their trips. Particular small trinkets, specific blankets or pillows, or just some clothes that they really, really wanted to wear on special occasions.

All of this was in one of the carriages. Albeit strengthened quite a bit, and enchanted with magic that would ensure that it could carry literally everything that they needed for the trip, plus some more, no matter how heavy it was, it was still just a relatively 'normal' transport cart that was used quite often by peddlers. Eiro would have either a duplicate of himself, one of the kids if they felt like it, or Mislan actually drive the carriage.

Eiro was going to drive the main carriage that everyone was actually going to ride in, which was made to simply be comfortable and a place for the kids to lounge in during the ride, which was also why it was actually quite large and bulky for a carriage. Though, when Eiro put it together, he was still able to make it look fairly good, or at least he thought so. There were also artificed enchantments on this carriage that would make the ride as smooth as possible, while also making the carriage lighter for Lugo, as the stag would be the one pulling it.

As for the other carriage, the one packed with all that stuff, was going to be drawn by two horses that Eiro had picked out. They were technically monsters, though they effectively were just a stronger, hardier horses. The monster town was trying to breed and raise these powerful horses as steeds. There weren't many that were particularly useful yet, so Eiro wanted to take two with him and raise them up as much as he could. One, the male, so that the monster town would have prime breeding stock, and one, the female, so that he could raise up a powerful horse for one of the kids. Particularly Arc, who seemed to be the most likely to head out on adventurers in the future, needed a trustworthy and powerful partner.

Lugo seemed a little bothered by the male horse's presence in particular, but after Eiro assured him that he wasn't being replaced, he did calm down a little at least.

"And you're sure you don't want to take one of my mechanical steeds? It should be much more effective than those things made of weak flesh and bones..." Partax grumbled, approaching the mare. She huffed deeply and breathed out strands of fire out of her nostrils.

"They're anything but weak, you know? They each have elemental powers. The stallion has dark magic, and the mare has fire magic," Eiro explained, "Not only are they physically extremely strong, and massive as you can see, but they can use both offensive and supportive magics. They're quite intelligent as well. What do your mechanical horses have to offer?"

Partax grumbled, "They're... very strong, and don't need to rest."

"Well, the rest of us need to rest and take breaks anyway, so that doesn't really help us out. Plus, in an emergency, I can use healing magic to recover some of their fatigue," Eiro explained, stroking the side of the stallion's neck, "I know that your mechanical horses are useful, but these kids are also just way less inconspicuous."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that, while I personally enjoy the look of your creations, they're not the least bit subtle. I want to not draw too much attention during this trip, it's also why I'm equipping Lugo with a harness that casts illusion magic on him to make his horns not quite as obvious. Even then, he's pushing the limits. Deer aren't usually animals used to draw carriages, after all."

Partax sighed, "Fine, then I guess I cannot get rid of these things after all..."

"... You wanted to just offload some creations you didn't have a use for onto me?"

"Of course, what do you think I am, some kind of charity? Pah!" Partax steered his mechanical seat away, and Eiro rolled his eyes, "Literally just use them for your guys' own trip. You're also leaving a couple days from now, right?"

The halfling stopped and turned around, "That is a good point. Yes, we should be able to make quite good use of these that way... Oh, if I can get the freerunning skill imbued onto them, we should be able to make it to our destination in no time... Hah! You have made a mistake, Eiro! I will be creating the fastest steeds ever seen in this world and beyond!"

"Sure, sure, do that," Eiro smiled, and Armodeus, who had been listening to the whole conversation, looked at him a bit nervously.

"Uh... sorry about that, lad. I think everyone is just a little on edge. It's been a while since we've all been back there. And I'm glad they're joining me, don't get me wrong, but..." the elder dwarf sighed, "I'm just a little afraid that I won't get a moment of quiet."

"Don't worry, I've got something for you," Eiro glanced around, to make sure none of the other masters saw this, and handed Armodeus a small box, "See it as a small departure gift."´

Confused, he opened the box, and saw two small cones in them. Picking one up, it was slightly squishy, and Armodeus quickly felt the magic flowing through this item, "This is..?"

"Earplugs, made from a gray slime, which is known for its stealth ability and is often used as soundproofing material, plus some extra levels of magic that I imbued in it. Once you put them on, you shouldn't be able to hear them anymore, and due to the slime's natural stealth... it's likely the others won't even notice. Except Shimour, but he's not the loudest of you lot anyway."

Armodeus let out a loud laugh, "Thank you, lad. I'm very happy that I've decided to come and join ye here back then."

"Me too. You have been a wonderful friend to me. This place is and will always continue to be your home, so please do not hesitate to come back," Eiro smiled, "And... I actually have something else. It's underneath the earplugs."

Even more confused, Armodeus pulled away the small silk handkerchief that the plugs sat on. Under it was an ornate ink pen, and a note underneath it.

"I've magically linked this with a pen in my office. Just follow the instructions on the paper below to set things up properly, in a safe space preferably. And once you've done so, any message that you write with that pen on the paper will be automatically written here onto the paper in my office, and vice-versa. With how far away you'll be, the kids will miss you too much while waiting on your letters."

The old man let out a slight sniffle. He was always an emotional man, and was built quite close to water, so Eiro wasn't surprised that he teared up a bit.

"Aye... Aye, thank you lad," Armodeus stepped forward and gave Eiro a hug, "I'm oh so thankful for this gift. I will make sure to send you a message once we arrive and have settled in."

The demon hugged his friend back, "I will make sure to write you of all the things we've seen and done once we're back from our trip as well."

"Aye, do that," Armodeus smiled, nodding his head. For now, he went around, properly saying goodbye to the kids as well. Them and Eiro were about to leave first, after all. Armodeus wanted to properly send them off. And Eiro knew that he wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was clear why the dwarf chose to depart after Eiro, Ariella, and the kids went off on their trip.

Because if he didn't, and everyone was sitting in the manor, he wouldn't be able to make himself leave.