Adam completed his tasks at the Adventurer’s Guild, identifying several items for them over the course of the day. Once he was done, he placed some of the coin within the party fund, some in his personal funds, and the rest he set aside to pay Nobby and Brittany.

‘Do I split it in half for both of them, or do I send more to Nobby’s family?’ Adam thought. ‘I guess I could give a half share to Anne? I guess she can’t really complain since we’ve lent her a magical weapon.’

Later in the evening, Adam and Jurot made their way to Nobby’s home. On the way, they procured some bread, though not from their typical bakery. Jurot remained silent about the matter.

“Before we quest,” Adam assured.

“Good evening,” Ted said. He was an older fellow, though no longer quite as thin as Adam recalled. He was filling out, with his lean body betraying his returning strength. His eyes held greater strength too, and a welcoming gaze.

“Good evening, Ted,” Adam said, revealing the bread he had brought within a small sack. “I brought Jurot with me since he’s probably the best person to tell you how well Nobby’s doing. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all,” Ted said, before inviting the pair inside.

The room was filled with the scent of food, from breads, to porridges, to grilled meat and vegetables.

“Who is this?” Adam asked, staring down at the little girl, who was sitting beside her towering brother. She was still small and thin, though, like her parents, not quite as thin as the first time they had met.

“Anne,” the girl said, pressing herself against her brother’s side.

“Right, right,” Adam said, smiling down at her. “Did you get your gold?”

Anne smiled coyly from behind Nobby’s massive arm. “Yes.”

“Did you get to spend your last gold by yourself?” Adam asked. After the girl nodded, he smiled. “What did you buy?”

“Dress.”

“Ah, how wonderful,” Adam replied, still smiling wide. “One day you’ll be earning a lot more money, so you’ll be able to buy lots of dresses.” The girl continued to smile from beside her brother, still half hidden behind him.

The group settled to eat dinner together, though there was still food baking for later that evening. Adam ate more eagerly with the family, feeling at ease since he had assisted in putting the meal together. He did not eat any of the bread he had bought, however.

“Nobby mastered the core abilities the last time we returned,” Jurot began, explaining the situation to Ted and Annie. “He has gained greater strength recently, and will soon become an Expert.”

“I still can’t believe my ears,” Ted said.

“Even from an Iyrman?” Adam joked.

Ted’s face dropped. “Oh, I didn’t mean nothing like that.”

Jurot threw Adam a look. “Okay.”

“I’m just kidding,” Adam replied, winking at Anne, before chuckling lightly. “Once he becomes an Expert, we can discuss a new payment for him. I increased the next few months payment by a little, but send word to the guild if you need more for anything. I told Nobby that I’d take care of you all, and a gold or two each month won’t bother me too much.”

“We thank you kindly, but you already pay us so well,” Ted replied, firmly.

“Alright,” Adam replied, understanding that this may have been a matter of pride for the old man. “Well, accept the bonus anyway, since he’s about to be an Expert. I was thinking about increasing it recently, but I recently became a father to five children.”

Ted almost whistled from hearing how many children. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. They’re the cutest little children. Their cheeks are so chubby, and I can’t help but want to squeeze them. They’re growing up so fast already. I swear, by the time I return to the Iyr, they’ll be walking around, talking about how they want to go around killing all kinds of creatures.” Adam chuckled, before frowning. “Why can’t they stay small and cute forever?”

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“They should grow up big and strong so they can work on the fields, or as porters,” Ted said.

Adam cleared his throat. “Anyway, about Nobby. Hopefully he’ll become an Expert soon, preferably before the tournament.”

“The tournament?” Annie asked, carefully.

“The Noonval Tournament of East Aldland?” Ted asked.

“That’s the one.”

“Are you going to participate?” Ted narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

“We might,” Adam admitted. “We’re not completely sure about it, but it’s a good shout. We’re looking for someone, and it may be that they’ll be at the tournament, so we’ll swing by. We know a Lord over there who might want to sponsor us, and, if Nobby wants to, he could enter it too.”

“I hear sometimes accidents happen in the tournaments,” Annie said, cautiously. “They say that some of those who enter don’t come out alive.”

“Nobby, like Jurot, is hard to kill,” Adam said, eyeing up the boy, who was built like a damn auroch. “I know that personally.”

The parents blinked at Adam’s words, but let them go. “As long as you aren’t forcing him,” Annie said.

“No, no. We might be participating, but if we’re not, he most likely won’t either. I’ll take Nobby’s feelings into consideration if we do anything like that, I assure you.”

“Okay,” Annie replied.

“Nobby is worth more than thirty gold,” Adam joked, raising his brows towards the pair. “I don’t want him dead. If he’s dead, then who is going to be my number one enforcer?”

“Nobby is strong,” Jurot assured. “If he does not wish to fight, he will not fight.”

“I’ve heard the tournament’s been pushed forward by a month,” Ted said. “They say it’s because of the war, for one reason or another.”

“Pushed forward, so it’ll be in the fifth month?”

“Tha’s right.”

“I guess we should probably make a move quicker than expected then,” Adam said, looking to Jurot, who nodded. He had already known about the matter of the tournament, but had yet to bring it up for Lucy’s sake.

“Oh, right,” Adam said, having remembered the reason why he had come to meet them. “We’ll discuss the payment for Nobby later, I think we mentioned that earlier, but I’m not sure if I let you know about who Jurot and I work for, and the plans for the business.”

“The business?” Annie asked. “You mentioned something about a business before.”

“Did I tell you what it was?” Adam asked.

“No.”

“Well, sorry about that. Jurot and I work for an enchanter, someone who makes magical weapons.”

Ted and Annie raised their brows in surprise, glancing between one another. Suddenly, things began to make sense about how Adam could offer magical weapons. However, they were certain it was Adam who was going to be providing magical weapons for the boy, and not whoever he worked for.

“Technically, Jurot and I work for the business, and Nobby is working for me personally, but I think that the business wouldn’t mind a great warrior like him,” Adam said. “We hold a lot of sway in the business. Jurot’s mother is the President of the business, and his aunts and uncles make up the Directors, something like the council. The Enchanter doesn’t really have a rank, they just want to enchant. Jurot and I are directly under the Directors, but we basically have the ability to do whatever we want, as long as the Directors and President don’t tell us to stop.”

Jurot nodded, confirming Adam’s words. He didn’t know exactly how the business worked, but he followed Adam’s lead.

“This business…” Ted began, waiting for Adam to expand.

“Essentially, the Enchanter makes magical weapons. We assist them by procuring materials, and selling the items. The tournament seems to be a great place to advertise, though we’re also going there for another reason.”

“Nobby is going to help sell magical weapons?” Ted asked.

“Well, he’ll help us in procuring materials and selling the magical weapons. Not just weapons, armour and items too.” Adam smiled. “We have found a place for our headquarters, a place that we can do business out of. It’ll be just a little west from here, near the Iyrman’s lands.”

“On the Iyr’s land,” Jurot corrected.

“Yeah.” Adam continued to smile. “It’ll essentially be a small village within a fort. There will be places for Nobby and the rest of you. I imagine Anne will also move there, and she’ll be educated there.”

“Our family has lived in Red Oak for generations,” Ted said. “We live a fine life here.”

“I want you to live a great life at the fort,” Adam said. “We can discuss the specifics later, I just want you to be open to the thought of moving. I won’t force you, but I’m sure you’ll feel more comfortable being near Nobby, and Nobby will be comfortable being near you.”

“We’ll think about it,” Ted said.

They enjoyed their meal, Annie revealing the fruit pie she had baked for the group. It wasn’t quite as sweet as the factory made pies Adam had eaten in his first life, but they held a warmth of a mother within them.

“Iyrman,” Ted called, before correcting himself quickly, “Jurot. If Nobby were to fight in the tournament, how would he do?”

“As an Expert he would place in the top three,” Jurot replied, instantly.

Ted raised his brows in surprise. The fact that Jurot had replied so quickly meant he had thought about it previously, or he was that confident in Nobby’s abilities. His Nobby could take top three in the tournament? Not just any tournament, but the Noonval Tournament of East Aldland? “And as he is now?”

“Top five.”

Ted watched the pair leave, each taking a slice of pie with them. He turned back to look at Nobby. The boy, who had always been so big for his age, so strong for his age, and so dumb for his age, could reach the heights of placing so high in one of the greatest tournaments in all the land?

“Top five?” Adam asked, surprised to hear such a statement. “I didn’t expect him to place in the top five.”

“Nobby is strong for his age,” Jurot replied. “Stronger than I was at his age.”

“Yeah, well, still. Does being strong for your age really matter? What if he comes across someone older, someone more experienced?”

“The tournament is divided by age,” Jurot explained.

“Oh.”