“Good morning to you fine folks,” the dark skinned man said with the slightest of accents. He was well built, though it was covered under his chain mail, and had dark hair and green eyes. At his side was a sword, and beside his leg was a round shield. “I have heard that you were looking for a Priest. Morn Dunes, but you can call me Dunes.
“We are,” Adam said, shaking his hand. “Adam, son of Fate.”
“Jurot, son of Surot.”
“Kitool, daughter of Zorool.”
“Jaygak, daughter of Lavgak.”
Dunes took Jaygak’s hand, kissing the back of it, before whispering something in something which sounded like fire crackling.
Jaygak tilted her head, her lips forming a smile, saying something back in Vilspeech. She wasn’t surprised that he knew Vilspeech, as some Aswadians would know it, but she hadn’t expected such favour.
“You don’t seem to be from around here,” Adam said. He had seen some darker skinned men in the soldiers of the Aswadians back when they were at the forest, but this was the first dark skinned man he had seen in Aldland.
“No. I am Aswadian, which I understand might be a problem for some people.” He glanced around to see the Iyrmen, before glancing to the helmeted Adam.
“How do you feel about elves?” Adam asked, smiling from behind his helmet.
“I haven’t heard anything good about them,” Dunes admitted. “My friend, Thordan Lighthammer, told me they’re a bunch of bastards.”
“What about half elves?”
“I suppose they’re half bastards?”
“You’re not wrong,” Adam said, taking off his helmet.
Dunes laughed. “I didn’t expect that.”
“I’m sure. Which god do you follow, Dunes?”
“The most divine Goddess of War, Lady Arya, of course.”
“You don’t say,” Adam said. “One of my favourite gods, after Baktu, Lord Sozain as you might know him.” Adam had realised he should probably show some courtesy to the gods, for now.
“You follow the good Lady as well?” Dunes asked, surprised. He hadn’t heard of an elf which worshipped one of their gods.
“Something like that,” Adam said, flashing a knowing smile. “We have an interesting relationship. I noticed that you had a sword by your side, not exactly the most Priestly of weapons.”
“The good Lady’s preferred weapon,” Dunes said. “Thordan and I fought about it often.”
“A dwarven friend, huh?” Adam said, shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of someone befriending a dwarf so quickly.”
“Saving his life several times sped up the process, admittedly.”
Adam smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Do you have anything against elves?”
“Not personally.”
“Good. Then we’ll do a few quests together to see if we’re compatible. I’m the leader of Fate’s Golden, our party, and we have established a rule about how we split the loot, but since you’re new and not officially a part of our party, you don’t have to follow it. I use magic and blade, like yourself, and Jurot uses his rage. Kitool is a…”
“Monk,” Kitool said.
Dunes nodded his head. “We have many Monks in our kingdom as well.”
“Jaygak is a Fighter too, though she’s much better equipped at dealing with fire than me,” Adam said, smiling.
“I am a Priest of Lady Arya. I finished my rites not long ago, and I’ve been in a handful of battles, but I’m no Iyrmen.” Dunes looked to the Iyrmen. “I haven’t met many Iyrmen, there were a few nearby, and they would often come by to spar with us.”
“You’re from Black Mountain?” Jaygak asked.
Dunes nodded.
“You could tell where he was from just from that?” Adam asked, glancing to Jaygak.
“If he’s a Priest of Wahtu and Iyrmen often spar with them, it was obvious,” she said. “He’s from Black Mountain, which holds the oldest temple of Wahtu.”
Dunes nodded. “That’s the one. Well, I’m from a small village near it, but yes, that is where I trained. Though don’t let the Easterners tell you that they have the oldest temple. Yes, their temple is older, but ours is the oldest temple which was made with the express intent of being Lady Arya’s temple.”
“Right,” Adam said, shaking his head.
“We have heard much of the Iyr within our temple. We grew up hearing the tales of the Iyr, especially the Second Blackwater Crisis.”
‘What a popular story,’ Adam thought.
“The Champion of War?” Jurot said, smiling slightly.
“The very same,” Dunes said.
“I think you mentioned him before,” Adam said, glancing to Jurot. “Was he the slime? No, no that was Lemon, wasn’t it?”
“Melon,” Jurot corrected.
“Whose Brandon the Bold then?”
“You don’t know about Brandon the Bold?” Dunes asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “He’s the most famous Champion of Lady Arya!”
“He was very strong,” Jurot said, nodding his head. “During the Second Blackwater Crisis, fifty years after the First Blackwater Crisis, there were three wars which erupted at the same time.”
“The War of Second Frost, the War of the South, the War of the Embers,” Jaygak said.
“The War of Second Frost was against the giants, who had come again to North Fort for vengeance.”
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“It was the same war in which Wujyn’s ancestor managed to earn the family name Jyn for her descendants,” Jaygak said. “It was the first war in which devilkin Iyrmen fought.”
“The Iyrmen sent out a hundred to each war. There was Atol Giantsbane, Balzar the Southern Dragon, and Miryah the Dragonslayer.” Jurot spoke of them with great reverence, and he looked up as though he was thinking of a different time.
“But there was one man, not an Iyrman, who matched them all,” Kitool said.
“Brandon the Bold,” Jurot whispered.
“Brandon the Bold,” Dunes said. “Or as we called him in the south, Great Brandon, Gladiator King.”
“He and the Southern Dragon met in combat during the War of the South,” Jaygak said. “It was almost an assured victory for the Iyrmen, but Brandon the Bold slew the Southern Dragon.”
“It was an unimaginable feat, for not even the King’s Sword of the time could have slain any of the three named Iyrmen,” Jurot assured.
“He couldn’t have slain a great many of those in the armies,” Kitool said.
“The war eventually ended in a stale mate,” Dunes said. “The Southern Kingdom had won the battle, but after seeing their greatest warrior barely manage to defeat but one of the many great warriors of the Iyr, the war ended. Great Brandon did not stop there, however, as he was still a Champion of Lady Arya, and so he joined the Iyr, his enemies, to fight against the giants and the dragons.”
“He fought alongside Atol and Miryah, assisting them in earning their titles,” Jurot said. “When they returned, they spoke of the dark skinned man, whose blade tore through giants and dragons.”
“They say that he was the strongest of the trio,” Dunes said, smiling.
Adam turned to Jurot, who nodded his head unashamedly. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa,” Adam whispered. There was only one other person that the Iyrmen praised so greatly who was not an Iyrman.
“Brandon was invited to the Iyr. He had three children, one which was raised in the Iyr and founded the Don family.They are a small family even now, having very few children each generation, but they go on to do great things. Randon, who is from the generation from before my own, is a Gold Rank Adventurer, one of the few to reach the title before forty.”
“Whoa,” Adam said. “So he still has descendants in the Iyr even today?” Adam hadn’t realised that the Iyr invited powerful people into the Iyr so their children could become Iyrmen.
“They are considered to be endangered, and so the Iyr had put them into Life Protection, which ended recently.”
“Wow,” Adam said. “I’d love to meet them.”
“Bandon is their current heir,” Jurot said. “He is but a boy, but will leave the Iyr soon.”
'I should meet him and try to earn his favour,' Adam thought. ‘If their family really is so powerful, I should try and get them on my side in case some of the Iyrmen end up disliking me for some reason.’
“You have.”
“What?”
“You have met him.”
“I have?” Adam asked, staring at Jurot. “When?”
“When you faced Amokan and Timojin, there were many children which had come to chat to you.”
“I remember,” Adam said. “Which one was he?”
“He had black hair and blue eyes. You let him hold your sword.”
“Oh! That kid!” Adam said, nodding his head. “If I had known he was some child of a legend, I would have let him play with it.”
Jurot looked at him. “Most children in the Iyr are children of legends.”
“Oh,” Adam said. “Right.”
“His family’s weapon is an artefact, one which rivals the very greatest weapons in the world,” Jurot said. “It was once lost, but was quickly found and retrieved.” Jurot stopped, wondering if he could mention the rest. “It is a longsword known as Blacksea.”
“What does it do?” Adam asked.
“It is made of divinesteel,” Dunes said, quickly chiming in. “It gives its wielder many abilities, mostly greater abilities to strike down a foe, but with each passing moment in combat, it grows ever more powerful.”
“Once the wielder is near death, it is the greatest weapon of all within the Iyr,” Kitool said. “I have had the pleasure of touching it.”
Jurot and Jaygak frowned slightly, understanding just what a boast it was.
“You’ve touched it?” Dunes asked, staring at Kitool. ‘Not only have they met a descendant of Great Brandon, but they also have touched his weapon? I’m so jealous.’
“Cool!” Adam said. “I want to see it too!”
“Me too!” Dunes cried, finally unable to contain his excitement. “He had left the weapon in the Iyr. Though we had managed to reacquire it at some point, the Iyr politely asked for it back.” He threw an awkward glance to the Iyrmen. “Which we of course returned upon their request.”
Jurot nodded his head slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Wahtu had given word of our fervour.”
“Iyrmen are some of the most devout followers, so we should of course take their wishes into consideration,” Dunes said, cracking a smile. “The Shen sure wishes he could say the same.”
“It is a great relationship between the Iyr and Black Mountain,” Kitool said. “We are always thankful for the temple for allowing us safe haven.”
“Well, it’s not as though its unearned,” Dunes said.
“The Don family has done much to bring us together,” Jurot said. “We Iyrmen do not forget our favours.”
“Or your grudges,” Adam joked, smiling wide, but he noted the dark expressions and nods of the Iyrmen.
“You mentioned Randon previously,” Dunes said. “Is he by any chance Marching Death?”
“Yes,” Jurot replied.
Dunes placed his head into his hands, shaking his head. “I had the chance to meet him in Black Mountain years ago, but I had decided to take the rites later. If I had known…”
“Anyway,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “Instead of geeking about history, should we quest?”
Dunes sighed, nodding his head. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t connect that the two were the same. They must have mentioned that Randon was Great Brandon’s descendant. Was I late for the announcement? Was I too drunk?’
“What should we do?” Adam asked.
“Slay,” Jurot said.
“Hunt,” Kitool said.
“Fight,” Jaygak said.
Adam looked to Dunes.
Dunes raised his brows. “I’m a Priest of war, so…”
“What should we do?” Adam asked, looking over the wall. “Goblin hunting?” Adam noted one of the quests. ‘Goblins? Are they monsters in this world?’
“Goblin hunting is difficult,” Jurot said.
“Another bear? Some boars?”
“What about forest wolves?” Jaygak asked. “Their fur is a popular gift in the Iyr.”
“Didn’t we say we should sell everything so we can make money?” Adam asked.
“Forest wolf fur is very popular,” Kitool said. “Especially with children.”
‘So, you have found my weakness,’ Adam thought. “Alright, let’s do that then.”
“I hope there is an Elder Wolf,” Jurot said, smiling.
“I hope not,” Jaygak said. “One of us almost died to a brown bear, remember?”
Jurot’s smile faded. “Sorry.”
“Then let’s fight some wolves. If there are any Elder Wolves, we’ll deal with them, alright Jurot?” Adam said, patting his back.
“I have some Tricks,” Dunes said. “Though I prefer being in the thick of things.”
“Sure, but it’ll be difficult for everyone if you go down. I know it’s going to be boring being in the back and safe, but I’d appreciate it if you healed.”
“I understand.”
“If things get dangerous, stay beside Kitool and Jaygak. The porters will be nearby too.”
“Porters?”
Adam nodded. “We have a trio of porters on our payroll. They’ve been extremely useful to us so far, and one of them is going to be trained by us one day.”
Dunes nodded. “How will the pay be split?”
“After the guild’s cut, everyone pays into the Party Fund with two tenths of their pay, and then everyone gets their split. Since I’m the leader, I’ll pay the porters from my own funds.”
“Party Fund?”
“It’ll be used to pay for things we all benefit from, including spell components. The Iyrmen pay their own tax back home, and it’s a hefty tax, so it’ll be difficult unless we have a shared Party Fund.”
He nodded. “I’ll put my coin into the Party Fund too. If there’s three Iyrmen about, I don’t think it’s a scam.”
Adam smiled.
They went through their routine of buying bread. Nobby was there in the morning, but Adam paid him a gold coin and had him return to stay with his father for the day, ignoring his protests.
Once the jam buns were bought, Adam using his own money to pay for it, they made their way out. “Let’s earn a bunch of coin today!” he exclaimed, laughing as they walked out into the forest.
Jurot and Kitool led the party, following the tracks. Dunes kept an eye out, though also kept back with Jaygak, speaking in the tongue of the devilkin.
“Something’s wrong,” Jurot said, donning his shield and grabbing his axe.
“I feel it too.” Kitool gripped her staff tighter, glancing around the area.
“The forest is different today,” Jurot whispered.
They had been travelling for a little over three hours, taking a break every so often. Adam donned his shield too, grabbing his die. Dunes had followed their lead, and so had Jaygak.
“What should we do?” Dunes asked.
“Jurot?” Adam asked. “What do you think? I don’t mind if we return. The quest isn’t exactly…”
Wisdom Save
D20 + 3 = 4 (1)
Adam’s body filled with a deep cold, and he stood up straighter. His brow filled with sweat.
The ground rumbled, and trees shook.
Leaping from the tree line appeared two large bears, with broad shoulders, and thick fur. They were brown, like a brown bear, but atop their heads were a large bud, as green as any herb he had seen.
“Mother’s tits!” Remy exclaimed.