“Adam?” Vonda called, staring at the young man, who was holding the youngest pair from his triplets, while the older girl half snoozed lightly against her greatfather. She could spot the newborn babies nearby, tended to by Halikan and Shikan, as well as a few of the teens.

“Sir Vonda,” Adam called out, raising his brows towards her, noting that she carried a large basket of food. “What brings you to these parts?”

She placed down the basket, before taking her place opposite the group. “I brought food and drinks, and I wanted to see your children.”

“You know I won’t be able to help myself if you want me to show off my children,” Adam said, planting kisses on the top of his children’s heads. “How are you enjoying the festival?”

“I’m enjoying it, as always,” Vonda admitted. “You have decided to stay here?”

“Just listening to the old man’s stories,” Adam said. “Hearing all about the mess he made in the north.”

“I was wild in my youth,” Jarot confirmed. “If it was not for my children, I would have brought the north under my heel.” His lips widened into the most wicked smirk.

“Sir Royce probably would have had something to say about that,” Adam replied.

“The Marshal would have tried,” Jarot replied, grinning wider. “If I continued, they would have had to call for a new Knight of Death.”

“Oh, really? I hear he’s about as strong as King Merryweather?”

“If I chose to continue with my journey, I would have clashed with him,” Jarot said, certain of it. “I would have grown to become a Paragon, and I would have beaten him, as I had so many Aldishmen before him.”

“You sure have a lot of faith in that.”

“Faith? The Rot family is tougher than any other family in the Iyr,” Jarot stated. “King Merryweather has nothing to deal with our toughness, save for forcing us elsewhere. Even Jurot will be able to defeat him, if he travels with you for a few more years.”

“Yeah, Jurot is pretty strong,” Adam admitted. “He’s hard to kill.”

“Yes,” Jarot stated, grinning like a beast, slowly nodding his head with pride.

Vonda blinked, unsure of how the pair could speak about such a topic like that so quickly. “I have heard many of your tales. Adam often reads them to the twins before they sleep.”

Jarot threw a look towards Adam, who pretended as though he hadn’t heard what they were talking about, but the flush at his cheeks revealed his embarrassment. “If I knew I would have such cute greatchildren, I would have gone to face the likes of the White Lion.”

“Who is that?”

“When I was a boy, there was an Aldishman called the White Lion,” Jarot said. “He slew a Grandmaster of the Order of Ice Blades. He was hunted by the other orders of the north, but he managed to defeat his pursuers. They were unable to assassinate him too. He retired within Central Aldland, and though some caused him trouble, he slew most who had gone to do so.”

“He sounds pretty strong.”

“He was considered one of the strongest of the generation before mine,” Jarot confirmed. “It is a shame he has since passed, he would have been a good fight.”

“Did he have some kind of great magical weapon?”

“A glaive,” Jarot confirmed. “A heavy glaive which could rival even the likes of the Drakkenslayer. It is now missing.”

“Missing?”

“It may be in the hands of someone who does not wish for the world to know they possess it,” Jarot admitted, before shrugging his shoulders. “A Dragon may possess it within their hoard, or it may have been swallowed up by the earth.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“So we have no idea?”

Jarot nodded, and reached up to gently rub Konarot’s head. “Shall I tell you of when I met Flame Blade?”

“Mm,” Konarot replied, hugging the older man’s front.

“You met Flame Blade?” Vonda asked. She had heard Jurot speak of the Blades previously, but had no idea that Jarot had met the weakest of the Blades.

“We clashed in our youth,” Jarot stated, thinking to the past. “I would have killed him, but it was a misunderstanding.”

“Did you win?”

“I would not have won.”

“Really?” Adam asked, surprised. “He’s that strong?”

“No,” Jarot replied, thinking back to the past. “I was wounded when we clashed. We fought for a short while but it ended when his companions arrived and stopped the fight.”

“Were his companions anyone of note?”

“They eventually formed a name for themselves, but Flame Blade is still the most famous.”

“Fair, fair,” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head. “So his weapon, how strong is it?”

“It is a Greater Enhanced blade which lights aflame,” Jarot said. “It has allowed Flame Blade to become renowned across the entire land.”

“Oh, cool,” Adam replied, thinking about Phantom and Wraith. The pair were also considered Greater Enhanced blades, but Phantom was in a league of its own. ‘Greater Enhanced…’

“All who possess such weapons become well known across Aldland, and many are known even beyond the country.”

“Damn,” Adam whispered. “They might start calling me Purple Adam in Aswadasad? I need to change my nickname, otherwise…”

“Puthral Adam is better,” Jarot said. “They should know you are tied to the Iyr.”

“Who doesn’t know I’m tied to the Iyr?” Adam asked. “Everyone I meet knows that I am.”

“They should not forget.”

“If they forget, they forget,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. “It will be their mistake.”

Karot looked up towards Vonda, staring at her face, which was half hidden by her scarf. He blinked up at her innocently. Vonda noted the boy looking at her and she smiled, before picking up a small bun to offer to him. The little boy took it from her and began to eat it slowly, offering some to his elder sister.

“Vonda, are you trying to steal them from me too?”

“They will be too hard to steal for the triplets have always loved you so dearly,” the young woman replied.

“That’s true.” Adam accepted the bread bun Karot offered to him, eating from his son’s hands, before he brushed the boy’s hair. “Aren’t they so good, these children of mine?”

“They are.”

“These children of mine…” The words caused Adam to tingle, and he began to assault the children with his lips, kissing their faces all over.

Vonda smiled, noting how relaxed Adam had become, almost melting into his seat.

“Jirot is a good kid, but she’s not quite so nice.” Adam smiled, even at the thought of his daughter bullying him. “I hope she doesn’t go around bullying the children.”

“Konarot guides her well.”

Adam looked to his eldest daughter, who was sucking her thumb, looking over to her father from her greatfather’s chest. “That’s right, you are a good girl too, Konarot.”

Konarot smiled, before she returned back to sucking on her thumb. She felt a hand against the top of her head, and she rubbed her cheek against her greatfather’s chest. She glanced up towards him, seeing the smile on his face. She quickly hid herself against his chest again and closed her eyes.

Vonda remained with Adam, and the pair assisted Shikan with the other babies too, going off to change them. Adam was trusted, as a Nephew of the Rot family, though Vonda required an escort. It was one thing for Vonda to go around alone through the Iyr, it was another for her to walk around with a child, considering the Iyr’s penchant for massacres when their children were harmed.

The festival continued, until the final day, when Jarot decided to explore the festival with the twins, with Adam watching over the twins. Jarot held up some food for the pair to eat from his hands, the two enjoying eating the hard vegetables.

“They eat so well,” Jarot said.

“Of course they do, my little chubby twins love to eat.”

“They used to embrace me so tightly when they were children, but they do not remember me.”

“They were the same with me not long ago,” Adam admitted. “Just give it a few weeks and they’ll want to play with you all the time.”

Jarot sighed, rubbing his knee gently. If he had both legs he would have been able to keep up with the pair, but with the wooden leg, it was far more awkward. He thought about his dream of walking through a field carrying the pair, and realised it was impossible to truly enjoy something like that.

“You two, if I hear you’re bullying your babo, I’ll…” Adam stared down at his twins who looked up at him innocently, slowly chewing on the food. “I’ll tell you off, even if it hurts me. Do you understand? You have to be nice to babo.”

“Babo,” Jirot said, pointing at the older Iyrman.

“That’s right…” Adam reached over to rub her head gently. “He’s your babo, so be nice.”

Jirot rubbed her head against his hand in return, before pointing up at her father and babbling.

“What do you mean you want to change the deal?” Adam asked.

Jirot babbled with more passion, before pausing, waiting for her father to respond.

“You can’t just change the deal, Jirot.”

Jirot sighed, looking to her greatfather, pointing at her father. “Ee?” She shrugged her shoulders, before sighing again, returning back to eating.

“What did she say?” Jarot asked.

“She said what she said,” Adam replied, nodding his head slowly.

Jarot wasn’t sure what that meant, but he reached down to lift the girl up, before kissing the side of her head and nuzzled into her neck. He could feel how warm she was. “You cannot bully your father, Jirot.”

“Wa?” Jirot asked, shocked. She babbled furiously towards her greatfather.

Jarot smiled. “Would you like more food?”

Jirot stopped babbling, narrowing her eyes. “Num num,” she confirmed.