Omen: 1, 3

“We should leave today,” Lucy said. “She’ll be safe in the Iyr.”

“Will she not be safe here?” Dunes asked, noting that they were surrounded by hundreds of Iyrmen, and some of whom were quite powerful.

“No,” Lucy replied. “She won’t.” Her eyes fell to Adam for support.

“It’s not that she won’t be safe here, but she’ll be much safer in the Iyr,” Adam said, glad that she had given him the chance to speak up. “Plus, this land here might come under threat if the war spills over, and I don’t know about you, but I worked really hard, and gave up too much, for Mara to die immediately after reuniting her with Lucy.”

The others decided against arguing with Adam, partly because his tongue was venomous, and partly because they understood that he wanted to return back to the Iyr eagerly. Even Dunes, who wished to continue the journey, understood Adam’s, and the party’s, worries.

They didn’t take long in gathering their supplies, the Iyrmen handing over small crates of dried fruit and meat for their journey, as well as some wine. Adam had planned on supplementing their journey with Goodberry, as he had done so far.

Adam eyed up his group, which had marched for so many weeks already. He thought about how tired he was too, but the thought of returning to the Iyr filled him with greater strength. Once they returned to the Iyr, they could take some time off and relax, before figuring out what to do next.

Adam’s heart throbbed, and a flash of fire appeared before his eyes. As quickly as it had come, it disappeared. Okvar placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder, nodding his head. The Orcish Iyrman, and Rasam, were also returning with the group, and would be able to keep them safe from almost anything which could try to bother them.

With two giant elks to assist, the group could still move swiftly, one of them carrying the Demon, who Adam would assist with his Mana. The rain did very little to hamper their movement as they trekked along the road, making their way to South Fort.

The guards stared down at their paper, counting the heads of the returning group. “One more Devilkin?”

‘Oh,’ Adam thought. ‘How did I not think of that?’

“She is a Guest of the Iyr,” Okvar said. “She was a victim of the forest, but she is now safe. It was one of our tasks when heading to the Awakened Forest.”

“One of them, eh?”

“The other was to send them information about matters of we Iyrmen.”

“Any matters we should know?”

“No, but the Iyr has been your ally for thousands of years,” Okvar said. “This fort, too, was returned due to the Iyr’s efforts.”

The guard raised her brow, wondering what the Iyrman was talking about. “Returned?”

“When it was lost to Aswabayad, it was we Iyrmen who returned it to Aldland’s hands.”

“We’ve never lost South Fort,” the guard said, simply. “You Iyrmen and your stories.”

“If you have heard an Iyrman lie, you should inform the Iyr,” Okvar said. “We will see who it is that speaks ghostly tales.”

The guard waved her hand, dismissing the Iyrmen through. Though the group was suspicious, it was made up of a large group of Iyrmen, and South Fort wasn’t going to trouble them. The Iyrmen, even if they did speak nonsense, were instrumental in dealing with Aswadia.

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‘Aswabayad? Is that some kind of Iyrmen name for Aswadia?’ the guard thought.

The rest of the journey passed by uneventfully, with the group skipping one town on the way to Goldport. They spent an evening at the Order past Goldport, which they had skipped on the way to the fort, though Adam didn’t spend much time admiring the villages or the defences of the Order. They continued along to the next town, and then to the Order, before marching their way towards Red Oak, reaching it at the beginning of the ninth month, the last month of Duskval.

It was roughly twenty days from Red Oak to South Fort, following the road all the way to the east, through and around the hills. They had somehow found themselves without much bother on the return journey, no old men who were utter monsters, not even Crowseer or a depressed youth needing help which Adam could invite to join his company.

Red Oak’s walls were a welcome sight, but only because it meant they were but a week away from the Iyr.

“We’ll take a rest here tomorrow,” Adam said once they were within the Adventurer’s Guild. His feet were throbbing, and though it was out of the good of his heart, he also had another matter to deal with within the town.

Jaygak eyed him up suspiciously, wondering what it could have meant, but when she caught Kitool’s eye, she realised why Adam wanted to take a rest here. It was because of that, after all.

‘We’re probably not going to come back for a little while so…’ Adam had sent Nobby’s family, Nobby, and Brittany, another one hundred gold coins each, using the Adventurer’s Guild’s service.

“Is everything alright?” Paul asked, noting how Adam was exhausted. He had never seen the Half Elf so down before.

“Yeah,” Adam replied. “We just met with one hell of a monster when we left Red Oak last time.”

Paul tried to recall the last time he had seen Adam. It hadn’t been long ago, barely a month or so. “What happened?”

Adam reached up to his forehead, rubbing it with the side of his fist. “There was a…” He sighed. “Ask the Iyrmen teens, they’ll explain everything.”

“Why don’t you?” Paul stared at the Half Elf. He had acted so queer, and considering what he knew from when Adam passed previously, he assumed he wouldn’t see the Half Elf until nightval.

“I don’t want to think about it.” Adam rubbed his forehead with both of his fists, feeling the pounding only grow.

Paul left Adam be, wondering what could have spooked the Half Elf who had faced Vandra with no fear. After hearing the tale from Naqokan, he understood why. He checked the records from within the Adventurer’s Guild, which had noted the appearance of this figure towards the beginning of the year, his first appearance noted within Aswadasad.

‘So, he really was an Idol? No, he seems far more powerful than a typical Idol…’ Paul wondered how powerful the figure was, noting the other figure which had appeared at the beginning of the year, and then the figure which had appeared in the year previous.

‘Lord Stokmar, and two more Idols?’ He checked where the figures had headed, and his eyes fell to the Guild’s map, checking the movements of the figures. Lord Stokmar had been noted to move to the mountains, presumably where the dwarves lived, whereas the other two figures had headed towards the west.

‘Of course it would be there of all place…’ He wondered if he should send a message to his wife, but he decided against it. It was no good to get involved in the Iyrman’s business. They stayed out of the Adventurer’s Guild business, and the Adventurer’s Guild stayed out of their business. ‘At least those two didn’t kill one of our operatives…’

Paul’s eyes fell to another folder, which held the information of another figure who had appeared near Aswadasad, one who held the abilities of lightning, and had dealt with their operative who had been assigned to keep an eye on them. ‘At least that one didn’t make his way to the Iyr.’ He sighed, wondering if he could ask for a raise.

Omen: 2, 4

Adam was glad he had decided to remain within Red Oak. ‘Damn. What is this luck?’ He sighed, thinking about what he needed to do that day. ‘I probably shouldn’t walk around alone…’

“Thank you, Sir Vonda,” Adam said. “I apologise for taking your time when I’ve been working you, and everyone else, so hard.”

“There are no thanks needed, Adam,” she assured. “I understand why you are uncomfortable walking alone within Red Oak.”

Adam’s ears twitched, and he wondered just how much trouble he was going to get into today. Jurot had left earlier, though Adam wasn’t sure where. The Iyrmen each left by themselves to do their own business, as they always did in the towns, even when they had been travelling.

‘Being with Sir Vonda should be alright, though. Having someone who is a Noble and a Priest beside me should keep away anyone too awful.’ He shook his head, trying not to think of Vonda as a convenient tool. ‘Should I buy her something as a thanks? No, isn’t that weird? It’s totally weird.’

“Adam?” Sir Vonda called, wondering why he was thinking so deeply. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Adam said. “I’m fine.”

Vonda smiled. “Shall we?”

“Yeah.”

Omen: 1, 6

‘Damn. What’s with this luck?’ Adam thought about delaying their departure, but thinking about spending another day away from the Iyr caused him to shudder.