Omen: 5, 5

“Churot’s going to be happy to know that I’m going to be Awakening him today,” Adam said.

“In the evening?” Sonarot asked.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Adam didn’t feel like being exhausted the entire day.

After his morning workout, he helped cook with the Gak family. He ate the spiced meat, and then took a bite of the soft pepper, which caused him to gasp for air, sipping the cool drink. He had used his trick on the water to cool it down for them all to enjoy.

Raygak winced as he ate a particularly spicy pepper. He made a face as though he had been stabbed, but his eyes were full of joy. Taygak rubbed his back, making sure he was okay. Saygak looked at the pepper before him, and decided to give it to Raygak, who happily accepted.

“Thank you,” Raygak gasped aloud, before lifting the pepper up, sipping his water, before finding his pepper had been half eaten. He looked up to Jaygak who was chewing with a smile. Raygak frowned, but he quickly shoved the rest of the pepper into his mouth, wincing again.

Jaygak smiled, rubbing his back gently. “Careful, my little Raygak. It’s still too hot for you.”

“No,” Raygak replied, but he started to pant before he reached for the cool water.

“It is, right?”

Raygak held the water glass. “No!”

Jaygak stared at him, as Raygak glared back up at her, before tears fell down his cheeks, and he turned, drinking his water in shame. Jaygak rubbed his hair, making sure he was okay with losing, before she continued eating her own spicy food.

Adam smiled, enjoying the fact the pair of them were so close. Adam shot Jurot a look. Jurot understood what Adam was saying, and so brought a pepper to Lanarot’s lips, before Sonarot and Adam grabbed his arm, and as Lanarot leaned in to bite the pepper, Sonarot quickly brought some bread up to the girl to distract her.

“You cannot feed her this pepper yet,” Sonarot said, her heart pounding wildly. “Dip your bread into the soup and feed it to her.”

Jurot did as she asked, bringing the slightly soggy bread to Lanarot’s lips. She leaned in and bit into it, chewing it for a moment, before her brows went up in alarm. She opened her mouth and began to spit out the food, shaking her head.

“She does not like it,” Jurot gathered.

Sonarot brushed her daughter’s hair gently, before offering her own bread. Lanarot pulled away, thinking it was a trap, before Sonarot brought her some fruit. “She will enjoy it in time.”

Kitool offered Katool a pepper, who looked at the pepper, and then to her sister. The complicated feeling on the girl’s face told Kitool all she needed to know. Katool didn’t want to eat it, but didn’t want to refuse Kitool. Kitool bit into it instead, tasting the slight heat, which danced along her tongue.

Katool offered her sister some fruit, but Kitool brought the fruit to Katool’s lips instead, since it was the girl’s favourite. “It is okay.”

Katool smiled, stuffing her face with fruit.

When breakfast passed, Adam played Warriors and Wanderers with the children, allowing their parents to listen in. Sonarot and Jurot were also there to play with them, having the day off with Adam to relax.

It wasn’t quite so relaxing, as the one revealed to be behind the entire adventure was a wicked Bronze Dragon, who also had manticores assisting her.

“Katool, you recognise these manticores as the manticores which fled you and the party,” Adam said.

Katool gasped, picking up her sheet, her nose against it as she tried to find her spells.

“Taygak, kill Dragon!” Taygak declared.

Adam smiled. “Roll for initiative.”

It was quite the gruelling fight, with spells being shot out, blade piercing scale and hide, and as the fight continued, one by one they dropped. The manticores had been dealt with nearly immediately, though Taygak had gone to face the Dragon with Raygak and Saygak. However, with the focus split, it had allowed the Dragon to deal with the trio as the other four dispatched the manticores. The Gaks and Katool had fallen quickly, and had acted so by laying down on their fronts, looking up towards the game.

“I will pick up the sword!” Turot said when Raygak’s character had fallen.

“You do not-,” Jurot began, stopping himself as he recalled it was just a game.

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“You have the Bloodsword in hand, and you can hear it whispering in your mind, you can feel it in your heart. It wants the Dragon’s blood! Will you feed it, Turot?”

“I will feed it!” Turot declared.

The fight continued, and as it did, Turot and Jurot found themselves falling in the fray, before Damokan too fell. The three all laid down.

“It’s up to you,” Adam said, looking to Sonarot and Kalokan.

“Kalokan, you should take the Bloodsword and flee,” Sonarot said, smiling at her.

Kalokan looked up at her aunt, and then to her sheet, before looking to Damokan. “No.” She held Damokan’s hand and rolled with the other, using the Bloodsword’s stats.

As the girl counted her roll, Adam rubbed his eyes, trying not to cry. ‘My adorable Cousins are too cute. This isn’t fair.’

Sonarot smiled, and checked her sheet. She could see the spell which could have forced Kalokan away, but she decided against using it. “Then I will flee, to live another day.”

The children stared up at her in shock. “You would run?” Turot asked.

“In this game, I am not an Iyrman,” Sonarot said, smiling at the children. “I will pick up the storage ring off Jurot’s finger, cast my spell, and I will appear back at the Adventurer’s Guild.” She rolled her dice.

“Near the Adventurer’s Guild?” Adam clarified. “The Adventurer’s Guild has wards against such spells, and you would know that.”

“Yes,” she said, managing to pass her roll.

Kalokan finished adding her damage roll. Adam checked the statistics of the Bronze Dragon, then to Kalokan. He calculated the average damage of his Aunt’s best spell, and sighed. They wouldn’t have been able to kill it together.

“Kalokan, you pierce through the Dragon’s chest, but as you do, the Dragon opens it’s maw and lightning begins to crackle.” Adam began to roll his dice. “How healthy were you?”

“Twelve.”

Adam looked at his dice. “That’s a lot of fives…”

Kalokan stared at Adam, and when he frowned, tilting his head, Kalokan fell beside her twin brother.

“So ends the journeys of your characters, with a Bronze Dragon heavily wounded, but not dead, and Aunt Sonarot alive, near the Adventurer’s Guild, perhaps to call for support, or perhaps to use the ring’s loot to live her life in luxury, but that is where we’ll end the adventure.”

They all sat back up and clapped.

“Aunt Sonarot, you must avenge us,” Turot said.

“Hmmm, perhaps I will?” Sonarot replied, brushing Turot’s hair. “I am too weak to fight them alone.”

“Right, alone,” Adam said. “Although…” He looked to his Aunts. “For the next month, I’ll be working a bunch, but I’ll try to take the day off to also play Warriors and Wanderers with you all too. Perhaps you can avenge them?”

The women had been interested in playing, and now with their children’s characters dead, they wondered if it was a good time to help. Even they were interested in the way Warriors and Wanderers worked.

“Mother,” Taygak said. “Avenge.”

The children looked up towards their mothers expectantly.

“I’ll prepare the next adventure then,” Adam said, smiling at his Aunts.

“Oosh!” Lanarot declared, tossing her wooden die, rolling a four.

“Perhaps you can play too, Lanababy,” Adam said, brushing her hair.

As the day passed, Adam spent some time with his companions, and even Sky, who was enjoying himself hunting with the Iyrmen.

‘I should make it a habit of hanging out with the others,’ Adam thought.

Mana: 18 -> 8

XP: 12 800 -> 12 300

Health: 65 -> 25

Exhaustion: 0 -> 1

“Are you excited?” Adam asked. He had asked Vonda to accompany him once more to assist, just in case.

“Yes,” Churot replied, wiping off his sweat. He could feel it more now, the tingling in his heart and his fingertips.

“I hope you’re a good boy for your grandfather and grandmother,” Adam ruffling his hair.

“Yes.”

“Of course he is,” Jarot stated. “He is my cute grandson.”

“I am not cute,” Churot said.

“My handsome grandson,” Jarot said, brushing the boy’s hair.

“Yes,” Churot stated.

“They begin to rebel at his age,” Jarot said, with a large smile.

Vonda couldn’t help but smile too. Seeing all these different Iyrmen, they seemed almost…

Human.

“Speaking of which, when is Churot’s birthday?” Adam asked.

“The first month of Duskval,” Jarot said. “The thirteenth.”

“Oh? Not long after the twins then.”

Jarot nodded.

“I wonder what I should get you?” Adam teased.

“Scribe Mage,” Churot said, eagerly.

“Of course.” Adam chuckled. “I should be heading out then.”

Adam said his goodbyes to the Rot family, before heading back to the shared family estate with Vonda. “Isn’t my Cousin so cute?”

“Yes,” Vonda replied. Half Elves also felt Human to her, though Adam was still quite queer.

Meanwhile, Iromin sat with the other Great Elders. “I do not like this.”

“It must be done,” Elder Forest said. “We must know if he can be trusted, truly.”

Iromin could have refused, since technically Adam was under his jurisdiction, but they had been quite tolerant of Adam thus far, so he needed to return their faith in him back to them.

“I will think of how to test him,” Iromin finally said.

Omen: 9, 19

Adam had thought about using his Omen, but realised he should probably take the day off so he could enchant the next day for the Iyr, and alternate between doing so and assisting Churot.

“Uh,” Adam said, looking down at the child. “Who is that?”

It was a young Iyrman, no more than six years old. They hid behind the Chief, staring up at the Half Elf.

“His name is Asoyah,” the Chief said. It was quite a huge clue as to the child’s identity, but he decided to give Adam that much. “The boy is young, but he is here to stay with the families here. His parents have passed, and due to your relationship with the Yah family, we have decided to place him here for now.”

“What relationship do I have with the Yah family?” Adam asked.

“You brought someone from Waterveil here,” Iromin said. “We have considered it Fate.”

“Ah,” Adam said, understanding the logic, even if it was rather roundabout. “Okay. So…”

“If you could also mentor him when you have spare time, the Iyr will take it into consideration,” Iromin said.

“A test, huh?” Adam frowned. “I don’t like the fact that you’ve brought me an orphan to test me with, it’s not fair to him.”

“Asoyah is no orphan, Adam,” Iromin stated. “There are no orphans in the Iyr.”

Adam cleared his throat. “I think you know what I mean.”

“I believe, considering your relationship with the children here, it would be best for Asoyah to be here.”

“Alright,” Adam said. “I’ll help.” Adam turned to the rest of the children, who were staring up at the Chief. “Did you hear? Asoyah will be with us from now on, so that means you all need to be good to him and help him, okay?”

“Okay,” the children replied.

Adam introduced himself and others to the boy, all the while Iromin watched. He knew this much wouldn’t appease the Great Elders, but if Adam could assist the boy well, then there would be no need for more.