The supply train departed at dawn and returned by noon the next day—noisy, creaking, smelling of dried onions, fresh flour, and the cozy, almost forgotten scent of woodsmoke. At the gates of the Bronze Bastion, the watch no longer barked a sullen "Who goes there?" Now, they asked, "How many barrels?" And when a number was shouted back—one that brought the involuntary taste of fresh bread to the mouth—the soldiers simply offered a silent salute.
The gnomes and halflings entered the fortress neither as timid guests nor as arrogant victors. They entered as those who brought life itself. Leading the way was Balbap—his boots simply laced, his face open, his gaze direct.
Mangratum met them at the plaza. He ascended the same step from which his battle challenge had recently rung, but today his words held a very different weight. The weight of recognition, which is heavier than any gold.
"The Bronze Bastion needs the help of gnomes," he repeated, and his voice, amplified by the acoustics of the stone well, rang like a bell. After a pause, the Colonel added, dropping his military tone: "And I ask for this help. On behalf of the entire fortress. And... I ask forgiveness for the past. We pushed you out, deciding that steel was more important than bread. You survived without us. Now, we must survive together."
The silence that followed was initially stiff and prickly, like a burnt crust. And then it cracked. Someone started clapping, someone exhaled loudly, shedding the burden of a century-old grudge. The Forged—Sinister and Gauntlet—stood motionless beside their commander, and it seemed to me that for the first time in centuries, the note of eternal anxiety had vanished from their mechanical hum.
Balbap gave a single nod—short and workmanlike.
"Accepted, Colonel. We start with the ventilation. Today."
I watched this from the corner of my eye, feeling my new Shield vibrate almost imperceptibly on my arm, as if approving. My Leonin pride, for once, wasn't about a personal kill. It was about these full cauldrons over which hot steam began to shimmer.
The feast wasn't planned; it happened of its own accord. On tables hammered together from old crates, everything was laid out: thick soups with fragrant roots, bread with that "gnomish" crunchy crust, cured meat, and steaming porridges.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Dwarven pottage sat side-by-side with gnomic gravy. Flint ate silently and quickly, his Boots of Milather tucked under the table; I saw him occasionally wiggle his toes—the artifact gave him so much energy he simply couldn't sit still. Gellia laughed for the first time in days. Her new Belt fit perfectly, and I saw the return of that spark in her eyes that warriors have when they know their back is covered.
I drank my water slowly, watching an old halfling woman teach a dwarven boy to salt food "not by eye, but by tongue."
This is the real Bastion, I thought. Not stones, but people salting the soup together.
After lunch, they set up the hoops. Cagerun started as "wall-against-wall," but soon the teams mixed. Dwarves hoisted halflings so they could reach the ring, and gnomes passed to dwarves with such speed that Mangratum’s scribe could barely keep up with the score.
"Are you betting?" Mangratum teased Balbap as the ball struck the bronze shield acting as a hoop with a hollow thud.
"I am," the gnome replied. "Losers clean the cauldrons for a week."
"Deal!" the Commander smirked.
We didn't play. For us, the sense of the road played itself out. We stood in the shadows of the gallery, ready to leave. For me, it was a rare moment of absolute peace: watching the world spin around a shared table rather than my axe.
By evening, as the shadows grew long and blue, Mangratum approached us. No escort, a grease stain on his dress uniform.
"Better than I thought," he admitted. "Bread is also a weapon, Priorin. Thank you for the work. And for making me remember what it's like to be just a man, not a part of the wall."
"The road calls," Faurgar said, standing up. His voice was level, but I saw him cast one final glance at my Shield before turning away. "The Forbidden Lands won't wait for us to finish dessert."
"True," Mangratum agreed. "But if you return—know this: the gates of the Bastion are open to you. Not just by key, but by heart."
He gave my shield a friendly pat. The bronze rang—clear and bright. We walked across the plaza, past the dying game. On the steps of the avenue, I turned back: the hoop took the final ball, and a child’s cry of happiness reached us already in the half-light of the tunnel.
I walked on, feeling it: this time, I hadn't just protected lives. I had participated in a magic stronger than any artifact of Milather—a magic that leaves behind not ruins, but a working kitchen.
Ahead lay the darkness of the Forbidden Lands. The first leg of the journey was over. But the true challenge was only beginning.
END OF PART ONE
Vellaris has reached its conclusion, but the journey through the world of [Название книги] is only just beginning!
What’s Next? Here is the Roadmap:
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Part 2: Forbidden Lands (Coming Soon!) The translation is already complete! This arc is roughly the same size as Vellaris (~35k words) and will take the story into much darker, more dangerous territory. Get ready for a survival-heavy "hex-crawl" experience where the stakes are higher than ever.
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Part 3: Phesia (In Translation) This is the behemoth of the saga. Phesia is a massive arc—over 70,000 words in the English version. It’s the heart of the story, filled with deep lore, political shifts, and the biggest battles we’ve ever rolled for.
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Part 4: Erthrusia (The Live Frontier) This is where it gets exciting. We are currently playing through the Erthrusia arc at our gaming table. This means the story is literally being forged by the dice as we speak!
Erthrusia and the eventual leap to the Plane of Milather haven't been fully played out yet, you can influence the world.
Want more? If you want to see the Official Map of Erthrusia, character art, or the D&D 5e stat blocks we used in Vellaris, check out my Patreon [Link]. I’ve also posted some "Session Zero" notes there for the curious.
See you in the Forbidden Lands!
Also I would like to see you in
You can find some arts here already and I am sharing all my Dungeon Master notes there with maps and hints