“Boss, we really had to let ‘em go? Coulda killed him.”

“Too much light,” Moons replied. “If the noble wants the kid, they can get him from them. We know who they are, so send the word to let them know what happened. If she wanted to avoid this, she should have paid upfront.”

The thug remained silent. He hadn’t seen Moons like this before, but then again, he couldn’t blame him. The one known as Adam was someone who was crazy strong, someone who had completely pummelled the likes of Viper and Python, who were not unknown even to the likes of Moons.

“Who was it that brought them to us?” Moons asked.

“George.”

“Sink him.” Moons growled quietly, before a thought passed through his mind. “No. Don’t sink him. It’s bad luck sinking him when we met with someone like the Sister. Deal with him, and make sure he doesn’t come back.”

“Alright, boss.”

Meanwhile, Kitool led the way out, while Adam and Vonda escorted the four. The trio were heavily injured, and moved with the speed of those who were such.

“Manager Vonda, would you mind?” Adam asked.

Vonda prayed, placing a hand onto their shoulders, healing them with her magic. Due to her particular worship, her healing was greater than healing from other priests who did not worship Mother Soza as their primary Goddess.

“How about you, Alex? Do you need any healing?”

“No.”

“Alright…” Adam glanced towards Cobra and the others. “So, if you’re Cobra, and you’re Viper, then…”

“Python,” the young woman replied.

“Of course.”

Adam eyed each of them up. They were all similar enough in appearance, lightly tanned skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and they each wore similar outfits. Cobra’s hair had been cut short, while Viper’s hair was almost in a bob, and Python’s was shaved at the sides, and fairly short up top.

“So, what’s your story?”

“Let’s head back first,” Cobra said, her voice cold and stern. “We’ve got to make sure our brothers and sisters are okay.”

“Sure.”

Once Kitool had led them out of the alleys, Cobra took point, leading the way through a different set of alleys, making their way towards another area which lay in the shadows. The houses here were in a terrible state, boarded up, the wood rickety and rotten, and the people around were as hungry as they were dirty. The homeless around kept a small fire going which they bunched up around, though some of the streetfolk stayed away from them.

Cobra stumbled her way to a building, her eyes holding a vicious glare towards the others around, before she knocked on the door three times, before opening the door. “We’re back.”

Adam stepped in after the trio, noting the number of children around, over a dozen, as well as two more young women and a young man. Each were in quite the state, not quite as dirty as the others around, but equally as malnourished.

“This is quite a lot of siblings,” Adam said.

“Pardon the mess,” Cobra said. “Julia, put on some kip for our guests. You’ll have to excuse us, we’ve got no drinks to share.”

“Don’t worry about it…” Adam said, noting the looks from the children, half curious, half apprehensive, wholly afraid. “Good morning, everyone.”

“…”

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

Adam smiled awkwardly. “My name is Adam. I’m a… friend of Cobra’s.”

“He helped us get Alex back,” Cobra informed. The air in the mood lightened slightly at her words, but the tension of apprehension continued to cling in the air like a low stench.

Adam continued to smile awkwardly. “Kitool, why don’t you get some ingredients to make some food. Sister Vonda here, she knows how to create food from magic, but it doesn’t taste very nice. Nothing against her, of course, just that’s now how the magic works. Although…”

Adam placed a hand over his amulet, praying lightly, before clasping his hands together for a moment, before unravelling his hands for the children to see.

Mana: 19 -> 18

Spell: Goodberry

Ten berries formed within his hand, each ripe red, like cherries. The children’s eyes shot wide open in awe, while Cobra’s suspicious eyes remained vigilant against the stranger.

“Why don’t you each take a berry, and don’t worry, I can do this a few more times, one for everyone.” Adam said, while a few of the children stepped up towards him.

Cobra held out a hand to stop the children. “You pray to Lord Sozain?”

“I pray to Lord Sozain, Baktu, one might say, but I’m not a fan of death.” Adam motioned his head to Vonda. “Sister Vonda here tempers me. Well, she tries.”

“Are they safe to eat?”

“I would hope so, since I’ve been eating them for a while. They’re berries made of magic. Though you might feel hungry, you won’t need to eat anything for the entire day, save for the single berry.”

“Queer magic, that,” Cobra said. “Never heard of it before.”

“I can pray to Mother Soza to provide more food,” Vonda offered. “As Adam said, it will not taste good, but he has the ability to flavour it, and it will fill the group up.”

Cobra eyed up the pair suspiciously. It was awkward since they were priests, but she had to look after her siblings.

“I will procure food,” Kitool said.

“Viper, Python, why don’t you help Kitool here. I’m sure you know what the kids will enjoy eating, or what will be healthy for them, and she’ll need the help carrying all the food back.” Adam slipped a hand into his pouch, tossing out an obsidian gem.

Kitool caught the gem, waiting for the pair of women. They glanced towards their sister for permission, and she nodded.

“So… what’s the story with you all?” Adam asked as the trio set out.

“Viper and Python are my cousins,” Cobra said. “Our parents passed away when we were young. We were left to fend for ourselves. Everyone here has a similar story. We’ve been working at the pits to make some coin, but it hasn’t helped.”

“The pits?”

“It’s a place to fight underground. We kept winning, but then no one wanted to fight us. We…” Cobra glanced at the children. “We tried to find other work, but it’s been hard. We haven’t been eating much for the past month.”

“I count seventeen children and six adults,” Adam said. “Expensive to feed so many mouths if you don’t have a proper job.”

“Yes.”

“…” Adam placed the berries onto the table, taking one to eat himself.

Health: 73 -> 74

“I’m Executive Adam. I’m a smith, alchemist, and a warrior. You might have heard of me, I placed third in the Noonval Tournament last year, and Executive Kitool, the young woman who went to go buy some food with your sisters, she placed second.”

Cobra narrowed her eyes. “You fought in the tournament?”

“I usually wear purple armour.”

“You’re Purple Adam?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders gently, sighing at the name. “Yeah… I’m Purple Adam.” ‘It’s better than Unrivalled…’

Cobra took a berry, eating it, before noting how she felt slightly rejuvenated after eating it. She nodded to the others, who reached for the berries, biting them in half before offering the rest to another.

“No need to share,” Adam said, before reaching for his amulet, creating more berries.

Mana: 18 -> 17

Mana: 17 -> 16

“I’m not sure if they’ll work if you share them, but there you go.” Adam watched as everyone picked up a berry to eat, including Julia, who had brought over a large pot to begin cooking. “Hold on, let me clean your hands.”

Trick: Tricks

Adam reached over to cast a spell against the young woman, before the dirt and grime disappeared from her, scattering away onto the floor. The young woman eyed up her hands, noting how clean they had become.

“Thank you,” Julia said, though her eyes remained suspicious on the young man.

Adam nodded, smiling politely. “Were you all born in East Port?”

“Yes,” Cobra replied.

“Do you have any attachments to the city?”

“We were born here.”

“What about to the people of East Port?”

“Not much. Sometimes they show their kindness, but we still grew hungry.”

“Fair…” Adam slowly nodded his head.

“You’re looking to hire people for work?” Cobra asked.

“Yes.”

“What kind of work?”

“We work for the Enchanter. We need some muscle, hence why I’m interested in you snakes, but also youngsters to train into crafters, guards, labourers, so on.” Adam scanned the group as they ate, while Julia began making a fire. Adam could have used magic, but decided against using too much, just in case it offended her.

“You work for an enchanter?”

“Yes.”

“…” Cobra narrowed her eyes, even more confused.

“What I’m offering you all is a deal you probably won’t find anywhere else,” Adam said. “You can stay here and grow hungry, or you can join the business. We’ll deal with your housing, your food, your education, and so on and so on. Letters, numbers, a trade. If any of you have an affinity for the Divine, we can teach you priestly magics.”

“…” Cobra’s eyes remained focused on the stranger before her, who used so much magic, as though it was second nature to him. ‘What?’