Omen: 3, 15

Adam yawned as he ate a late breakfast, or as some might call it, lunch. He had worked until the early hours of the morning, replying to every offer he had received, before handing the letters for the guild. It had cost him a pretty penny, due to the fact this wasn’t technically guild business, but with the money he should be making from the business, it wasn’t a big deal.

“What are you guys doing here?” Adam asked, sipping his milk as he eyed up Brittany, Jonn, Fred, and Nobby.

“Relaxing,” Brittany replied.

“Fair. Don’t waste all your time here, though. You should go out to the market and spend the coin while you can. You’ll probably be able to find nice stuff in East Port.” Adam noted the way Brittany was looking at him. “What?”

“We’ve got no money.”

“…” Adam furrowed his brows. “You do?”

“Do I?”

“Your bank should be full of coin from how much we’ve paid you.”

“Are you paying it into the guild?”

“I think so.”

“Oh,” Brittany replied. She flushed slightly with embarrassment, having thought she wouldn’t been able to enjoy the city.

“That being said, I guess I can give you some coin to spend while you’re still here anyhow. Consider it a bonus for working so hard, and make sure you spend it all, alright?” Adam’s eyes were glued to the large boy known as Nobby.

“Okay, mister boss.”

‘I’m glad I left the party fund in the guild, otherwise we’d be in big trouble,’ Adam thought. They were nearing two thousand gold in expenses, and it had been only half the year. They did complete a task which paid the group three thousand, but that only meant three hundred went into the party fund. ‘It’s not like we had plans to make much coin this year outside of enchanting.’

Upon Kitool’s return a short while after lunch, Adam recalled the important business which needed to be done. ‘Oh yeah.’

As the pair approached the outer area of the Duchess’ estate, barely able to see beyond the large walls, they were greeted by several armed guards. Adam gathered they weren’t as easy to deal with as the typical guard, no doubt birthed into life solely to become guards of the Duchess’ estate. They wore breastplates, engraved with all manner of simple designs, long blue cloaks which were not quite as vibrant as those of the Duchess’ personal guard, and carried spears in hand, which were firmly stamped into the ground.

“Turn back,” a guard warned. “This is Duchess Dalia Eastsea’s estate!”

“Yeah, we know,” Adam replied. “We’re here to speak of business with the Duchess.”

“State your business.”

“We’re Executives from United Kindom,” Adam explained, before motioning to Kitool, who revealed the silver plaque.

Upon seeing the silver plaque, one of the guards stepped forward, taking it with their free hand. They eyed it up for a long moment while the other guard eyed up the pair. The guard checking the plaque then took in the sight of the pair.

“What are your names?”

“Adam.”

“Kitool.”

“The Duchess will be informed of your visit,” the guard said, before leaving them with the other guard, taking the plaque with him.

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“So, you worked here long?” Adam asked.

The guard remained silent.

“Okay.” Adam cleared his throat, glancing towards Kitool, before realising he should keep his mouth shut. ‘I can’t really blame them, I guess…’

As the minutes passed, another guard arrived, who brought forth a garish carriage, painted a deep blue with silver trim all across it. “I will escort you to a more comfortable place to wait.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Adam motioned a hand for Kitool to enter first, following after her. The carriage was plush within, and Adam’s bottom was thankful for it. The pair were brought to a manor, where servants began to tend to them. Adam and Kitool sat awkwardly within the large manor, which was far too big for the pair, but housed all manner of amenities for them. The servants brought cheese, wine, and fruit for the pair as they waited.

All the bother from the servants caused Adam to frown, not enjoying how so many people were serving him. ‘This land needs to go through a few revolutions.’

An hour passed before a servant returned with the silver plaque, the woman bowing at the hip slightly. “Our deepest apologies, Executives, but the Duchess is currently occupied. She invites the esteemed guests to meet with her grace at noon on the eleventh.”

“Is that the eleventh of this month?” Adam asked.

“That is correct.”

“Alright. Thank you for the cheese and wine, it was delicious.” Adam bowed his head lightly. The servant noted Adam had only sipped a small amount of wine, but had consumed a sickeningly large amount of cheese.

Adam rubbed his stomach once he was outside, throwing a look to Kitool. “Where did they find all that cheese?”

“The Duchess’ wealth is vast, like the ocean,” Kitool replied.

“It wasn’t that waste of an hour, I guess. I’m too cheesed up to check the market today.” Adam continued to rub his stomach, before noting the looks he was getting from the nearby wanderers. “Thanks for coming along, Kitool. Without you, I’m sure it would have gone worse.”

“You are not so unwise you would have caused trouble here.”

Adam smirked slightly towards her, watching as she stifled a sigh, before the pair made their way back to the guild. ‘Now that I think about it, I don’t really talk to Kitool much.’ “So… how’s life?”

“Well.”

“Right. Uh…” Adam remained quiet for a short while. “I keep forgetting how much of a monster you are.”

“You are a bigger monster than I.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe, but you’re scarier.”

“You have a greater capacity to kill than I.”

“I’m not entirely sure that’s true.”

“I have seen it.”

“Alright, this conversation’s making me depressed. Let’s talk about what we should buy for Katool, Jitool, and Minool.”

“They will enjoy all we buy.”

“What’s something nice from East Port we can buy? Colourful scarves? Maybe some sashes?”

Kitool blinked, her eyes falling to Adam, who, for once, said something sensible. “You do not wish to buy them weapons?”

“I’ve already bought them so many weapons, and they’ve also gotten a token to enchant them.”

Kitool bowed her head, understanding this was merely the calm after a storm, or perhaps it was the calm before the storm?

“I can’t believe you’ve turned Katool against me.”

“I have not turned her against you.”

“When did Katool bully me as eagerly as this?”

“Always.”

“…” Adam thought about his relationship with Kitool. “You’re right.”

Kitool thought of her younger siblings, from the tiny Katool to the even more minuscule Minool. She originally planned to squander her abilities, but after meeting Adam, and seeing the changed within Jaygak, she had decided to finally take a step forward. Like her grandaunt, she would give herself to the Iyr.

Her grandaunt, Shaool, had paved the way for her and she had almost stopped before taking a step onto the path, but now she would clear the way for her younger siblings. Jaygak was doing the same for Laygak, though he had chosen to do the same for Taygak.

The path had been paved by the previous generations, and the path was cleared by them. The shade was a metaphor for stunted growth typically, but in the Iyr it was something which allowed the older generation to grow their young carefully. Once the stable foundation was formed, the youth would be able to step outside, only knowing unbridled growth under the sun.

The sun for most Iyrmen were the various beasts and warriors within Aldland. They would wet their blades with blood, and return enriched by the nutrient only the crimson liquid could provide. However, Katool and the others, their sun was very different. Their sun was made of pure chaos, a sun which beat down heavily, and overbearingly, and yet not in a way to destroy them, but in a way to rapidly force them towards the sky.

That sun was Adam.

‘No,’ Kitool thought, realising how quickly the metaphor broke apart. Adam may be able to provide the children a rapid growth, something which no doubt kept the Great Elders, and her aunts and uncles, awake, there was something else which was important to factor into the equation.

“No, maybe we should get them some more magical items?” Adam asked, thinking about how many months he hadn’t seen them. “They’ve probably forgotten us so we need to bring back a lot, don’t we?”

Adam was definitely far too overbearing, and his rays of light would definitely burn the children. If Adam was the sun, then Kitool, Jurot, and even Jaygak, would provide the shade to make sure Adam didn’t burn the children.

“It shouldn’t take too long…” Adam thought about his abilities to passively enchant.

They would also need to make sure Adam didn’t get himself killed.