“Is the Iyrman your brother?” Adil asked.

“Yes.”

“Is he really your brother?” Adil asked Jurot.

“Yes.”

“He is no Iyrman.”

“He is no Iyrman, but he is my brother.”

Adil extended a hand out towards the Half Elf. “It is pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, Adil.”

The guards brought a small crate of trinkets, many of which were made of wood. Jurot and Laygak inspected the different woods, noting the woods which came from further east. Adil also held out a small pouch of spices. “A gift.”

“A gift?” Adam asked. “I didn’t bring something for you.”

“No problem, is gift for you, no problem.”

“Adil Al Zuhd, was it?” Adam replied. “Is that the name of your people?”

“Yes.”

“If I ever make my way that way, I’ll be sure to pay a visit,” Adam assured.

“We are from very far.”

“How far?”

“Confederacy.”

“Oh. I suppose we could still make our way one day, in the far future.”

“You come to our land, in plains in Chakar, say you know Zain Al Zuhd and Adil Al Zuhd.”

“I will,” Adam stated. “I’m not sure I can say the same, since technically I live in the Iyr, but if you ever have need to buy magical weapons, please do come to us.”

“You sell magical weapons?”

“I’m a Chief Executive Officer of the United Kindom, and we work for an enchanter who currently specialises in magical weapons,” Adam stated. “We currently aren’t active with our business, but we will be in the next few years.”

“We will remember,” Adil stated.

The pair kept conversing for a short while, before the groups said their goodbyes, and passed one another. Adil rode up to Zain, staring out ahead, but not looking at anything in particular, lost deep within his thoughts.

“He said he works for an enchanter in the Iyr,” Adil said. “He said that Flaming Hyena, Rook, used a weapon that the enchanter made, and that it was difficult to face him in the tournament.”

“He must beat Rook if he beat Vasera,” Zain said, before realising how young Adam was. “So he is the same age as Vasera?” Zain wasn’t sure if he had heard of Adam before, but that wasn’t shocking since Adam was a prodigy of a distant land.

“No. He is the same age as his brother, Jurot.”

“How old?” Zain asked, noting how the older man had avoided answering so clearly.

Adil remained silent for a long while. “Twenty.”

“Twenty?”

“And half.”

Zain stared at Adil, the older man who was a distant relative. “He is same age as me, but can beat Vasera?”

“He said that his brother, and woman beside with staff, could beat Vasera too.”

“…”

“Iyrmen. Awakened Wolves. The young man also wore puthral.”

“Puthral?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“It is armour of the Iyrmen. Almost as light as mithril of Elves.”

“The purple armour?”

“Yes.”

Zain wondered what kind of crazy nonsense was happening in the Aldish lands. “They work for enchanter?”

“Yes.”

“Iyrmen too?”

“Yes.”

Zain thought about how easily Adam had handed out the gems, and how relaxed he had been the entire time. ‘If three of them could beat Vasera, then they must be quite strong. No, he was surrounded by more great warriors too.’ He noted the two Iyrmen who had worn full plate armour, and then the others, especially the beautiful woman who kept to the side, and had constantly looked elsewhere, as though they were so insignificant.

“When we return, we will speak with father,” Zain said.

“Yes,” Adil replied.

Meanwhile, Adam was trying to understand how important the people he had just met were.

“The Al Zuhd family are well known for their caravan guards, unmatched on land.” Dunes paused. “No, they are only matched by the Al Jumal family. The Al Zuhd family are best on the land, but not the deserts. The Al Jumal family are best within the desert. They hold a monopoly on the best camels.”

“So they’re still pretty important?”

“They are well known within their specific Ejirate, and carry some weight in the nearby lands,” Dunes confirmed. “They would have tried to take more gold from you if you were not surrounded by so many Iyrmen.”

“I thought they were going to start trouble.”

“If there was no war, they would have perhaps tried to threaten you,” Dunes said. “They are not mistaken for Aswadians, but if they did try to start something, if they did not finish what they started, they would be in great trouble.”

“So they’re not good guys?”

“They are as good as any other people,” Dunes stated, shrugging his shoulders.

“Why are they travelling so far in Aldland while on land?”

“They provide guards for any caravan group,” Dunes said, before realising many of the merchants were also dark skinned. “Hmm. Perhaps they had special orders for the various inner land town and cities? It is rare, but there are times when towns and cities contact distant merchants to sell their wares within their towns and cities, partly to tax them, but partly to bring wonders and treasures from the east.”

“Fair.”

“I should have asked.”

“It’s alright. If it was shady business, then best we didn’t pry. I swore we would have fought though, things are going too well.”

“Are you wanting to fight?”

“In some sense,” Adam admitted. “Things are going too well.”

“It will be fine, Adam.”

“Yeah…”

Omen: 7, 9

“I don’t like it,” Adam whispered, staring at the walls of Deadwood before them. The journey had been fraught with little danger. ‘Aren’t there meant to be Beast Waves?’ “Do you think another God is nearby?”

“I do not know,” Jurot admitted.

“I don’t like it, Jurot. I don’t like it one bit.”

“Awakened Wolves?” the guards asked, tensing up as Jurot reached within his tunic.

“Yes,” the Iyrman said, handing over the silver plaque, before the group were allowed within the town walls without much more trouble.

Once the group were settled at the guild, Adam let out a sigh of relief, especially when he saw the appearance of a familiar form. A heavily armoured woman, adorned in darker metal, with a large blade on her back.

“Sir Kanna, what do we owe the pleasure?” Adam asked, almost beaming up at her.

Sir Kanna hadn’t expected him to be smiling so much, but it made sense. “I have come to congratulate your group on behalf of the Countess.”

‘If it’s just the Countess, I’ll be fine,’ Adam thought, still beaming up at the knight. “I’m not sure why she had to go so far for the likes of us, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

“The Countess invites you to her estate.”

“Once again, I must refuse,” Adam replied, still smiling so joyfully at the knight. “We have done very little to allow our business to work here within the recent future, due to our business elsewhere.” Adam’s lips formed a wider smile. “The Duchess of East Port found our insignificant business sufficient enough to strike a deal.”

Sir Kanna remained silent, glaring down at the smiling Half Elf. ‘Is he asking for death?’

“It appears we’re still welcome in Deadwood, though, so I can at least say that I appreciate that,” Adam stated, narrowing his eyes slightly. “We’ll be sure to keep out of trouble.”

“As you say, Executive,” Sir Kanna stated, before excusing herself, stepping out of the guild, with so many adventurer’s eyes glaring at her back

“Jurot,” Adam called out quietly, before switching into the Iyrman’s tongue, leaning in to whisper. “What do you think? Could you beat her?”

“Yes.” Jurot was pretty sure, with Phantom and Mighty Roar, he could beat the Darkknight, not that it would have been easy.

“What about me?”

“I could not beat you.”

“No, I mean, you probably could,” Adam replied, raising his brow at Jurot, “but I’m asking whether or not I could beat her.”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm.” Adam slowly nodded his head. He wondered how strong she was, sure she was at least a Master, but was she closer to a Grandmaster? ‘Whose the strongest person I’ve beaten?’ Adam thought about the tournament, not remembering how he had fought a Fire Giant Prince.

‘Hopefully she doesn’t start any trouble, but if she does, then the rest of the journey should go smoothly, right?’ Adam thought, looking out towards the doors Sir Kanna had walked through. ‘I wonder if another God is nearby, ready to cause trouble…’

The group only spent a single night in Deadwood, with Adam not comfortable with spending much time in the town due to their frosty relationship with the Duchess. They made their way through the dangerous forest, following the road towards Red Oak. They could feel distant gazes as they made their way through the forest. The forest was quieter than usual, but they could hear the ecosystem at work, from distant insects and birds, to a number of smaller creatures.

Omen: 9, 20

“I don’t like this one bit,” Adam whispered, staring at the walls of Red Oak. “Not one bit.”

“We are close now,” Jurot said.

“Yeah…” Adam’s eyes scanned across the walls. “We’re close.”