“How is it that such things always happen to you?” Dunes laughed. The buzz of alcohol permeated through him, as it did for most of them.

The group was no longer in the guild, but an inn which Kitool had found for them. There were a fair number of patrons, with quite a few who seemed to wear fine clothing, with rings that denoted their families. They were taken to an underground room lit by small gem stones, and food and drinks had been brought to them before they were left be for the next hour, with walls which could not hear.

Jaygak frowned, thinking about how useful she had been to Adam. ‘Attacking him first was good, but…’ She looked to Kitool who had brought them to a place they could speak freely, something extremely valuable to Adam, who wanted to speak his words freely. She glanced aside, noting the lack of Jurot, who had gone to do what was expected of him. He had done so much for Adam, unlike her.

“It do be that way sometimes,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. Since Kitool had said it was safe to speak, he had decided to tell Dunes as much as he could, all the while sipping his tea. He had decided against drinking, wanting to keep his mind clear.

“Anyway, I’ll be here for at least a few weeks to try and help you. I’ve got gold to burn, so let’s not spare any expense in helping you find your wom-, friend.” Adam cleared his throat, though his eyes sparkled mischievously.

Dunes sighed, fighting away the flush on his cheeks. “It will be awkward to find her still. There are almost two million people in this city, and two million across the region at least.”

“We’ll find her,” Adam assured. “Jurot said he might know some people who can help.”

Jaygak’s brow twitched, and she slumped slightly. ‘Jurot will probably meet one of his contacts. It’s awkward for me to move freely since we’re in West Aldland.’ She looked to Uwajin, who was perhaps the only one who would find it more difficult to act alone in the city, due to West Aldland’s general hatred of Horcs, though of course she was no Horc, she was an Iyrman.

“You don’t have to spend any coin in helping, we can sort it out diplomatically,” Dunes stated.

“There are two metals which allow diplomacy,” Adam said. “Gold and steel.”

“Steel is not a metal, it is an alloy,” Korin spoke up, sipping more of his drink right after.

“You know what I mean,” Adam grumbled, while they continued to drink and eat within the underground room. The bread here was soft, not quite as bland as typical bread. ‘Did they put milk into it? I bet Lanababy would love it.’

While the group were having fun eating and drinking their fill, Jurot was busy with his own business. He had decided to head to a particular building on a particular road, to place down a particular amount of coin, to meet with a particular fellow.

Jurot was led to a room in the back, where he sat by the candle light, his arms crossed. “How long have you been following me?” Jurot asked the darkness.

“Not that long,” the young man replied, before stepping out from the shadows and into the light, grabbing the chair, turning it around so that his back was free to leap away in peace. “Shouldn’t you give us a report before you make a request?”

“I can give my report to you,” Jurot replied.

“So what’s your name?” the young hooded man asked.

“You should introduce yourself first.”

“You can call me Tarren.” He flashed a charming smile towards Jurot.

“Jurot, son of Sonarot.”

“First place in the Noonval Tournament,” Tarren noted. “I’m rather scared to be stuck in the same room with you.”

Jurot was pretty sure he could beat the young man, though it would have been awkward due to how swift they could move. If he could have the first swing, he’d win for sure. Still, it would have been an awkward fight. “What is your rank?”

“Silver.”

‘Is he the next…’ Jurot let the thoughts fall away. “I am in need of you to find someone.”

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“Who?”

“Amira. She is a Devilkin from Aswadasad.”

“You think she’s here?”

“She may or may not be,” Jurot replied.

“Are you calling in a favour?”

“We will pay for it.”

“How much?”

“What is the price?”

“Hmm.” Tarren tapped his chin, leaning his head forward slightly. “I’ll need to send a bunch of the coppers out to search for information, and I’ll need a few other silvers to take charge. If you don’t want to personally ask our gold, then we can charge you a thousand gold coins for each month.”

“Okay,” Jurot replied.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“…” Tarren remained silent for a long moment. “Why is this Devilkin so important you’re willing to spend a thousand gold each month to find her?”

“Are you calling in a favour?”

“Consider it a curiosity.”

“She is a friend of a friend.”

“You’re willing to pay so much for a friend of a friend?”

“I am not paying.”

“Who is?”

“My brother.”

Tarren remained silent, trying to remember if Jurot had a sibling. “Third place?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Tarren said, as though his curiosity hadn’t been piqued. “Are you going to report now?”

“Yes.”

Once Jurot finished his report, he returned back to the inn that Kitool had taken them to.

“A thousand gold a month?” Adam asked, nibbling on the bread. ‘Isn’t it like twelve gold a month for the average wage? So they’re moving, what, a hundred people or so? No, probably less, they’ll need some of the gold for bribes and stuff probably.’

“Yes.”

“They won’t scam me?”

“They will not.”

“Alright. I’ll prepare the gold. I can set up a thousand gold a month for a year, that should be alright.”

“Isn’t the party fund for the entire group?” Dunes asked, doing his best not to choke on his food.

“I’m not using the party fund, I’m using my own funds,” Adam stated, firmly. “I’m not that stupid.”

“No, it’s not about you being stupid…” Dunes remained frozen in shock. “How much money do you have?”

“Hmm,” Adam replied, trying to recall how much he had. ‘Aren’t I too wealthy now? No, I doubt this would be enough to even allow me to match the Barons…’ “Enough that I can spend a thousand gold a month for the year and still be alright.”

“Adam, that’s too much.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“We don’t have to spend that much on-,”

“Dunes,” Adam interrupted the Aswadian, “how much money do you think I have?”

“Fourteen thousand?”

“I have more than that,” Adam stated. “I’ve got all this gold, now tell me, what am I going to spend it on?”

“Your business?”

“Sure, but if I need a few thousand gold, I’ll just work and make a bunch of gold,” Adam said, letting slip his ability to make too much gold too quickly. “I don’t have anything to spend the money on right now, so I might as well help you out.”

“Adam, that’s too much.”

“I’m not doing it out of the good of my heart. I’m doing it because it’s an investment in you. I’m sure you’ll repay me in some way, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“That’s too much, Adam.”

“Gold is meant to be spent,” Adam stated. “Just because my children are part Dragons, it doesn’t mean I’m a Dragon.”

Jaygak let out a cough, stifling her laughter. There’s no way he could be a Dragon, considering how much wealth he had given up freely. “You’re going to spend thousands of gold on Dunes?”

“Sure.”

“Just like that?”

“Sure.”

“Adam… are you actually crazy?” Jaygak asked. It was a weird question to ask, since she knew the answer. She continued to drink down more wine, staring up at the crazy Half Elf.

“If I need money, I’ll just borrow it from the Iyr,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll pay them back as much as they want, so it’s not a big deal.”

“Still, it’s so much money!” Jaygak exchanged glances with Dunes, who seemed uncomfortable that Adam was doing so much for him. However, it wasn’t like she was trying to talk him out of it.

“Dunes isn’t a stranger to me,” Adam said. “If I can spend three hundred gold bringing back Rick from death, then spending a few thousand gold on Dunes makes sense.”

“It’s not a few thousand gold, Adam! It’s ten thousand! Ten thousand gold!” Jaygak threw back another shot of wine, sighing. “Do you know what you can do with that much gold? If you wanted to be a noble, you could do so! You could even create a small army with that much coin!”

“Become a noble? What kind of guy do you think I am?” Adam shouted back at her, his jaws tensing. “Jaygak, are you trying to start a fight?”

“Draw your axe right now, you crazy bastard!” Jaygak shouted at him. “If you think I won’t beat you up just because I’m weaker than you, then you have forgotten I’m an Iyrman too!”

“It’s my money! I can spend it however I want! If I want to give each of my children three thousand gold, I’ll do it damn it! If I want to spend it all on Dunes, then I’ll spend it all on Dunes. If I want to throw it into the sea, I’ll throw it into the sea! You can’t stop me!” Adam shouted back at her, the pair threatening to fight one another.

“Damn it, Adam! You crazy bastard!”

“Whose a bastard? You’re the bastard, Jaygak!”

“Damn it!” Jaygak threw herself at Adam.

Athletics Check

D20 + 8 = 21 (13)

They grabbed onto each other’s hands and Jaygak forced Adam to sit back down, pinning him under her. “There’s a limit to how much of a fool you can be, Adam!”

“A fool?” Adam grit his teeth, trying to push her away from him. She almost looked like she really wanted to kill him, or perhaps it was something else? “You can call me a fool for starting a fight with the Duchess, but you can’t call me a fool for wanting to help my friend!”

“I can call you a fool for whatever reason I want! Your gold is your gold, but my tongue is my tongue!”

“Jaygak,” Jurot called. “Enough.”

Jaygak stared down at Adam, the pair still wrestling with one another, hands intertwined roughly. She slowly relaxed, and Adam did the same, before she finally retreated back.

“You’re an idiot, Adam,” Jaygak grumbled. “You’re crazy.”

“If I wasn’t a crazy idiot, you wouldn’t like me as much.”

Jaygak covered her eyes, her face twitching as she forced herself to calm down. She wiped away the tears with her palms. “Damn it, Adam.”