Never had a town looked more inviting to Adam. Built around a large river, surrounded by miles upon miles of farms, and rather than the high, dull grey stone he was used to, the walls, or rather the fences, were formed up of wood, emanating from the river like ripples.

The wooden buildings were of a myriad of sizes, made of all manner of wood, and in all manner of styles, though each did not daring to grow too tall to the sky. It was not that they feared growing too tall to upset anyone in particular, but they feared their homes could not be overlooked by the imposing stature of the large stone fortress which made its home upon the island in the middle of the river which split the town in two. Only a bridge connected it to the town together.

The fortress was the largest structure, at least five stories high. The island itself was large, a village of its own, and the only bridge of the town wound its way around the island, not quite connected to the island, which was almost its own little isolated civilisation.

“Damn,” Adam whispered, noting the number of people crossing along the bridge during the evening, easily numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands. Each side of the river had its own docks down river of the fort, though Adam couldn’t see much past it.

The guards at the front were a young boy, perhaps in his early teens, and an older woman, in her late fifties or so. They both wielded a staff in hand, while carrying smaller clubs at their side, and the boy wore a scale tunic, one which was far too large for him, while the woman wore thick clothing, with a thin disc of metal which lay over her breast. Their cloaks were pinned together by a token the size of one’s palm, the engraved rose within the token perhaps their greatest armour.

Upon seeing Hope Robert riding his mount, leading the procession of wagons, the pair stood at attention. Robert raised his hand, motioning them to sit from afar, though Adam raised his brows at the gesture, as it meant something completely different to him.

“Please, sit,” Hope Robert called once they had approached from far enough away.

The boy made to sit, but the older woman slapped his back, grumbling at him to remain standing.

“Hope Robert, you’re returned!” the old woman exclaimed, smiling joyfully towards the First Hope. “It warms my heart to see you return safe and sound.”

“The Great Mother warmed us with her presence,” Hope Robert replied. “I do not wish to appear rude, but I must take this group to the Holy Temple of Our Great Mother, for certain matters of the order.”

“Oh yes, no bother, Hope Robert, didn’t mean to keep you,” the old woman said, stepping aside with such swiftness, one might had expected she was a woman half her age.

The boy shuffled to one side, his eyes beaming towards Robert, who smiled down towards him, waving a hand, before continuing to ride up ahead. He watched as the wagons continued, while the young man in purple remained behind, holding a a handful of gold coins.

“Oh, there’s nothing like a gate fee in Life River, Brother,” the woman said, noting the amulet on his breast. It was made of obsidian, and held quite the terrifying symbol, one she was familiar with only from a particular culture.

“I merely wish to donate to the temple appropriately,” Adam said, holding out the ten gold coins. “Life River has always treated us well, and we’ll be imposing for some time.”

“There’s nothing like imposition here, Brother,” the older woman said, still not daring to take his coin.

“Sister Vonda, would you mind?”

“Jannet, please.”

“Oh! Sister Vonda, you’ve returned!” the old woman said, having been distracted by the appearance of the First Hope and the young priest who worshipped the Iyr’s Lord of Death.

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“I have, with many blessings from Mother Soza,” Vonda said, who placed the gold into the old woman’s hands, while Adam shuffled away as quietly as he could, allowing Vonda to deal with the gate guards.

Adam spotted all the liveliness within the town, even as it approached this late, with commonfolk all meeting together outside their homes to share their food and drink with one another, speaking of the day’s work.

The snake sisters followed silently, their eyes glued to Adam, who was humming quietly to himself in the best mood. Yesterday, he had been so utterly stressed out, but that morning he had awoken with a chipperness they hadn’t seen before.

‘I can probably take on two Masters today,’ he had informed Vonda with such a wide smile.

None of the others had reacted as though what he had said was out of the ordinary, from the Iyrmen to the porters, it was as though it was just any other day to them.

‘I can’t believe that I believe him…’ Cobra thought.

Yesterday, Adam had faced against a small army of highly trained house guards. House guards weren’t like typical guards, they were more elite, trained by the house they were sworn to protect. They were, in some ways, a small order by themselves, though of course the King and the various duchal families had to keep that in check.

Still, for Adam, and the devilkin noble, to take out such a large group within the span of moments, it was utterly shocking. Cobra had heard that magic was dangerous, but it was only after seeing how a group of Experts were so easily dispatched that she truly understood how powerful such magic was, and how utterly terrifying.

The group were led towards the order, and while many of the commonfolk glanced over to the see the large wolves, most paid more attention to the First Hope. They stood up, some taking off their hats, either tipping them towards the First Hope, or holding them against their chest. There were cheers and hurrahs, and the noisiness of adoration filled across the group.

‘This feels kinda good,’ Adam thought. ‘No wonder they all have such big egos.’

“Don’t be seduced by their cheering,” Jaygak said, glancing towards Lucy, who was soaking it all in. “It’s nothing compared to the children of the Iyr.”

“Sometimes you say things which are right, but they are so obvious that it still makes you sound stupid.”

“Sometimes you say things which are right, but they are so obvious, it still makes you sound stupid.”

“Hey.” Adam wasn’t sure how he felt about her turning it around on him. “You need to be more original.”

“I improved what you said.”

“What did you improve?”

“Words are like blades, they should be efficient to strike true.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you should not use the word that too often in your speech, for it dampens the meaning.”

“Well, then, you shouldn’t have said for, because it dampened your meaning.”

“Yes, but I am an Iyrman,” Jaygak replied, flashing a smirk. “Even the Marquise cannot swing her blade towards me after what we had done.”

“…” Adam frowned. “Am I really in that much trouble?”

“Yes.”

“Is it bad?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not going to abandon me, are you?”

“If I abandon you, I won’t be able to see you getting bullied by Jirot.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Adam replied, nodding his head. ‘I knew I was in trouble, but if she’s joking about it, it should be fine.’

“Though, whether you live or die, it is up to whether you find the one thing you need.”

“What is that?”

“An order which will be willing to defend you against the accusations that the Marquise will send your way.”

“Where am I going to…”

Jaygak smiled.

‘Right. The only people who can cause nobles trouble are priests…’ Adam glanced towards Dunes. ‘It’s not like I can…’ Adam’s eyes then fell to the fortress. ‘Oh, right.’ “Jaygak…”

“Yes?”

“I think I’ve been pretending I’m stupid for so long that I might actually be stupid.”

“You’ve been pretending?”

Adam sighed, unable to respond. ‘No, I might actually be that stupid.’

Hope Robert led the group towards the bank of the river, the fortress up ahead. He blew a horn, and made a motion with his hands. A group of priests arrived, and a spell was cast, before the First Hope replied aloud.

“By the Mother’s grace, I have brought special guests for the order.”

“You hear that?” a child asked.

“We’re special guests!”

“Yeah, we are!”

“Yo,” Adam exclaimed aloud as he watched as a bridge of light formed from the island in the middle, connecting to the bank on this side. He glanced around to the others, seeing only the commonfolk responding with surprise and awe. “Why aren’t you guys impressed?”

“It’s just a bridge made of light,” Jaygak replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“What do you mean it’s just a bridge made of light? That’s so cool!”

“Why are you acting like it’s so impressive?” Lucy asked. “I’ll take you to see the Bridge of Fire one day, and then you’ll see something even more impressive.”

“I mean, yeah, a bridge of fire is cool, but it’s a bridge of light! It’s a bridge of light!”

“Hah!” Lucy snorted. “It’s only a bridge for a few steps. The Bridge of Fire is easily a mile long.”

“Damn, that is pretty impressive,” Adam replied. “Still, it’s a bridge of light! Of light!”