Adam shuddered as he awoke, feeling the hot rays of the sun seep through the window and onto his body. He sat up, looking to find Jurot on his bed, carving away at a block of wood.

“You have finally awoken,” Jurot said.

“Don’t tell me I’ve been out for days.”

“No,” Jurot said.

“Weeks?”

“It is later afternoon,” Jurot said.

“The same day?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Adam said, a little disappointed. “I thought this was going to be the time I rest up for weeks to heal up everything because I did something cool…”

Jurot stared at him for a moment before returning back to his wood. “You were hurt quite bad.”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t realise making potions could almost kill you.”

“No,” Adam said. “It wasn’t making potions that killed me, it was me being stupid.”

Jurot nodded his head, understanding the sentiment. “Will you continue to be stupid?”

“Probably.”

“Even if it kills you?”

“A man is free to do as he pleases as long as he doesn’t hurt others.”

“Lanarot will be hurt if you die.”

Adam’s eyes fell to Jurot’s face, who was staring at the wooden block. “So, you have found my weakness.”

“It is well known to all of us,” he said.

Adam side. “Sometimes, Jurot, you say the smartest things.”

“Even a broken watch is right twice a day,” Jurot said.

Adam smiled.

Once he had filled his stomach with lunch, he caught Elowen staring at him, and she motioned with her head for him to follow.

“Oh my,” Adam said, looking down at the tiny baby wrapped in thick cloth. Her skin was the colour of the ocean, with a pattern of silver around her entire face. There were small gills at her neck and her fingers were slightly webbed, but otherwise she looked like a normal baby girl.

She smiled, revealing her pointed, shark like teeth.

‘Okay, maybe not like a normal girl?’ Adam thought.

She cooed and giggled as she stared up at him.

“Who is this little adorable girl?” Adam asked, holding out his finger.

The Princess grabbed his finger, her tiny hand gripping it tight. She noticed his pointed ears, and reached up at them with her webbed hands.

“This is Princess Mina’tu’rea’wyz’wyl,” Elowen said.

“Can I just call her Princess Mina?” Adam asked, already forgetting most of the name.

Elowen bowed her head.

“Are you feeling better now my little Princess?” Adam asked. “Oh my, look at how lively and happy you are.”

“She was unable to act much due to her condition,” Elowen said, staring at the Princess. “The curse had made it so that she was unable to move or speak for the entire year.”

“How did she eat?” Adam asked.

“She was able to consume food once a month, and only when we were in absolute safety,” Elowen said.

Adam frowned, before staring down at the girl, who was nibbling on his finger gently. “Who did this to her?”

Elowen and Redboulder exchanged a glance. “You’ve helped us so much, but we are unable to tell you that. There are some private matters.”

Adam nodded his head slowly. “Alright,” he said.

“We cannot thank you enough, Adam,” Elowen said. “I am unsure of how we are able to repay you.”

“Hmm…” Adam thought for a long moment. “As long as Princess Mina grows up big and strong, then I suppose it’s fine.”

Elowen wasn’t sure what Adam was doing. He had gone so far to help them, and he hadn’t revealed why. She was partly afraid to ask, wondering if perhaps he was a being from above, and so decided against asking.

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“Did you hear that, little Princess? Make sure you grow up big and strong, okay? If they don’t feed you properly, I’ll come by and sort them out. If anyone bullies you, you can come to me, and I’ll sort them out too.” Adam reached up to brush the thin hair on the top of her head, which was dark and curly.

Princess Mina smiled at him and squealed, trying to grab at him with her tiny hands.

Adam, who had been half dead when he had fallen asleep the night before, was suddenly filled with a greater strength. Where as his body was still aching, his soul was completely filled.

‘I hope Lanarot is doing fine too,’ Adam thought, thinking about his little sister. ‘It’s been too long.’

“Aizaban, Lanban,” Adam called to the two Iyrmen once he returned back to the common room of the Adventurer’s Guild. “I need you two to continue on with that party.”

“Is this a part of your request?” Lanban asked.

“Yes,” Adam said. “The first part is done, but they need to safely arrive to where they need to be.”

Lanban nodded.

“Your goal is to protect the child,” Adam whispered in their tongue. “Once she is safe with the Giants, then you can return. If the Giants refuse to deal with them, then I’d ask you bring them back to the Iyr.”

The pair stared at him. ‘Bring them back to the Iyr?’

“Will they be Guests of the Rot family?” Aizaban asked in their tongue.

Adam crossed his arms and stared at Aizaban, but remained silent. ‘Why did you have to ask such an awkward question?’

Adam wasn’t sure just how integrated in the family he was, nor what he could do. Even if he could, should he?

“Yes,” he finally said. ‘It might be awkward, but this is about a cursed Princess who wasn’t able to live a decent life. Even if it’s awkward, I have to do at least that much.’

Aizaban nodded her head. “We will do as you ask.”

Eventually, Adam retired back to his room, where Jurot had finished a Dragon in wood.

“Whoa,” he said, leaning in to check it out. “How are you so good at Woodcarving?”

“Practise,” Jurot said. “I have spent more than half my life Woodcarving.”

“That’s cool,” Adam said. “How old were you when you picked up woodcarving?”

“I was eight,” Jurot said. “All Iyrmen begin learning their trade from the ages between eight and ten.”

“Why did you pick woodcarving?”

“I was given the option between pottery, woodcarving, and brewing. I chose woodcarving because it was something I could do while I was out adventuring.”

“It’s also such a cool craft,” Adam said. “I mean, you get to create things with your own hands. You can create so many useful things, and so many trinkets to gift. What can I do?”

“You can create potions and magical weapons,” Jurot said, staring at Adam with his slightly narrowed eyes.

“That’s not what I meant,” Adam said, turning slightly red in embarrassment. “Think about it. You can carve wood and make so many toys for our little sister, but what can I do? Make her a magical axe so she can cut herself? Make her a potion which she’ll choke on? What’s the side effects of consuming magical potions on little children? It’s not fair!”

“You could create spell scrolls,” Jurot said.

“So she can Fire Bolt the air?”

“Yes.”

Adam blinked. “That’s like giving her a gun, Jurot.”

Jurot stared at him expectantly.

“Oh, right. There’s probably no guns in this world.”

“What is a gun?”

“Something which shouldn’t be introduced,” Adam said. “I won’t be the one to do it.”

Jurot stared at him expectantly.

“Anyway…” Adam crossed his arms. “I guess I could scribe a spell scroll or two? It is quite expensive, though, and she can’t really use them right now.”

Jurot nodded his head slowly.

Adam fell into thought, thinking about he could do. ‘Should I learn how to tailor? Then I can make her adorable dresses. Or maybe I could learn how to cook properly, and then I can make her lots of delicious treats. Or I could…’

“Adam?” Jurot called out.

“Yes?”

“Previously you told me that you did not like to kill,” he said.

“I don’t.”

“Why did you kill Vandra?”

“Vandra?” Adam thought. “She’s a Dragon.”

“Yes,” he said, staring at Adam expectantly again.

“I think, because she’s a Dragon and so much more powerful than us, and that she was trying to kill a bunch of people trying to save a little baby, it was fine to kill her.” Adam recalled how many sentient creatures he had killed thus far. It hadn’t been many, though most of them had been full of evil like that thing’s progeny.

“Okay,” Jurot said.

Omen: 2, 11

Adam stared at the temple within Jaghi. “This is a temple?”

It wasn’t just big, or huge, it was unbelievably titanic. He had thought that it was large, and that it would end a few feet into the mountain side, but it continued deeper within.

The temple was made of small white bricks lain together into a large dome, with windows made of colourful glass.

There were ten statues outside, each of some kind of warrior, which flanked on either side of the entrance, which was a large wooden door made of black wood.

As he stepped inside, he saw just how deep the temple truly was, with a number of pillars spaced evenly throughout, which assisted in keeping the ceiling up from crashing down on the thousands of believers.

Adam looked out to the end of the room, where the temple’s main room stopped, about five hundred steps away, only to have three exits which were covered by long strips of cloths people could move aside to enter the next area.

Adam gathered that the temple ran even deeper, through those cloths, as he didn’t note Sozain’s iconography here, nor most of the Gods he knew about.

There was the iconography of the God of Crafts, Goddess of Stonework, Goddess of War, the Goddess of Life, and the Goddess of Balance engraved into the stone within the room. There was a statue of each, one in each corner, with the Goddess of Balance’s statue in the centre, where it acted like a pillar to keep the ceiling up.

“Damn,” Adam whispered, causing a few passer bys to glare at him. “Sorry.”

The Half Elf stepped further inside, feeling the raw magical energy which was seeped within the temple.

He paused, shuddering.

There were eyes of unseen beings weighing down on his shoulders.

He approached one statue in particular, which was of a beautiful woman, who held onto a blade which had been planted into the base of the statue. The blade was large, and wasn’t made of stone, but was a real blade, made of a grey and red gem, one which only a Giant, or an Iyrman, could swing properly.

In front of the statue was a dark skinned man, which most kept away from, praying quietly as he knelt before the statue.

“Oof,” Adam grunted, taking a knee beside Dunes, before bowing his head before Arya’s statue. “It’s a shame they didn’t manage to carve your likeness properly, but it’ll do.”

Dunes finished the current prayer and opened an eye. “I didn’t expect to see you, Adam.”

“Good,” Adam said. “It means I’m not easy to figure out. That means I can surprise my enemies in battle.” Adam winked.

Dunes smiled. “Have you come to pray to the good Lady?”

“Lady Arya and Lady Elaveil, yes,” Adam said. “I thought I should pay my respects to the pair, since I haven’t yet. Though, I don’t see Lord Sozain’s statue.”

“His statue is further in,” Dunes said.

“How deep does this temple go anyway?” Adam asked, looking towards the end of the room.

“There are another three rooms this large further in,” Dunes said.

Adam whistled. “Damn.”

Dunes narrowed his eyes towards the cursing Half Elf.

“Sorry.”