8D6 = 33 (1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6)
33 damage!
The shock within the girl’s eyes was quickly overwhelmed by the reflection of the inferno appearing from nothingness. The inferno spread from the hydras to the girl’s heart, which shuddered with shock, her fingers clamping tighter around Ray Vonda’s cloak. Though the flames spread into the girl’s heart, it was the death brought by the figures in front, which butchered the hydras with ease, which cemented something even deeper within her beating heart.
Morkarai’s blade swam through the air, cutting through a head, the heat of his blade almost cauterising the wound immediately. “I will handle this hydra myself!” The fire giant’s chuckle filled the air, the hydra’s cries threatening to drown them as a staff crushed against a head.
“We are still escorting you, Prince Morkarai,” Kitool said, her voice calm, too calm for one who was in the middle of facing a hydra.
Jurot’s entire body, red hot with rage, burned with effort as his axe tore through a hydra’s head, while the glowing blade beside him spun, cutting another hydra head. The pair of demons also spent little time debating how much to play with their food, their giant axes threatening to bisect the hydras in half.
“Do you see?” Adam asked, the distant screeching and growling growing quieter with each passing moment. “As long as we are here, you’re safe.”
The camp fire crackled lightly as the girl stared down at her meal of hydra meat, salted lightly, though the half elf had waved his hand across it with magic. She bit into it slowly, the expectant eyes of the Ray urging the girl to eat. She winced at the flavour before pulling back, staring at the meat.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s yummy, mister.”
Victory!
XP Gained: +1 200
XP: XP: 4 900 -> 6 100
“I made it taste like chicken tikka masala, so of course you’d like it.”
“It’s gotta lotta spices!”
“That’s right! See? This is why I like you East Aldish, you at least have good taste.”
“We only gets to eat spicy food during the festival,” Elsie said, stabbing her fork into the meat before bringing it up to her lips, biting into the hydra meat eagerly, almost shoving the entire thing into her mouth. She chewed the tough meat slowly, groaning with delight from the flavours dancing on her tongue.
After the meal, Kitool took the girl for a walk around the encampment. She handed the girl Tigerstaff, the great magics jolting against the girl’s fingers.
“So…” Adam began.
Jurot shook his head. “None survived.”
“Did you find her sister?”
“Yes.” Jurot shook his head again slowly.
“Damn…” Adam inhaled deeply. “So… what do we do with her? Vonda says we should adopt her into the business.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have any other opinions?”
“No.”
“Fair enough.”
Vonda sipped her water lightly, tasting the apple flavour from her husband’s magic. “We should allow her to remain within one of the temples in East Port. Upon our return, we should take her with us.”
“Okay,” the brothers replied.
“Do you have any other opinions?” Vonda joked.
“No.”
Jaygak’s eyes fell towards the girl. She exchanged glances with the demons. ‘Of course he finds another child.’ Jaygak was also distracted by another thought. It was that kind of thought, a thought which had slowly begun to creep into her heart.
‘Hydras have become easier to slay.’
She understood the difference between a hydra and herself, however she was certain the trio of Iyrmen could take on a hydra with great success. Her eyes fell down towards her blade, which was greater than most blades with its enchantments, and even greater upon calling forth its greater magic within.
Adam and Vonda used their magic to treat the hydra skin, before the group settled for the night, having buried the bodies of the dead creatures. They set up their watches once more, each taking an hour and a half as they had since the loss of Amokan and Timojin, though with the magical steed and familiar supporting them.
Elsie’s eyes remained fixated on the dark skinned fire giant over lunch, the girl slowly eating the porridge. Vonda remained beside the girl, who didn’t feel comfortable without seeing the Ray within sight. The others were glad the girl was so distracted, allowing Adam, Jurot, and Kitool to step away for a short while. They weren’t that far away, a few miles ahead of the road.
Adam stared down at the packed earth, remaining quiet for a long while. He held the pieces of cloth within his hand, the colourful cloths stained with blood. Jurot and Kitool waited patiently for Adam to begin the prayers.
“Lord Sozain, Baktu, please watch over them well.” Adam cast his light magic, Tricks, to clean the blood, before slipping the cloths between the jewellery which they had found upon the bodies. “You don’t have to worry. Elsie’ll be treated well in the business, I promise you that.”
Elsie eyed up the returning trio. “Did you find it, mister?”
“I did,” Jurot said, nodding his head.
“I’m always dropping things too.”
“What do you drop?” Adam asked.
“Sometimes I drop cups and bowls, accidentally, accidentally,” the girl assured, flushing slightly red.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“Of course. Come on, we’ll be at East Port soon.”
“Okay!” the girl replied, excited to reunite with her parents.
Adam’s lower lip quivered slightly at the girl’s excitement. ‘Damn.’
Morkarai placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder, before climbing onto the cart, the girl settling herself beside Vonda. She stared down at the hydra skin on the floor, keeping her feet off of it.
“It’s okay,” Vonda said, brushing through the girl’s hair.
Elsie slowly placed her feet onto the hydra skin, before glancing up towards Vonda to see if she’d get into trouble.
The walls of the city loomed high over the city, the evening sun at their backs. The guards glared towards the suspicious strangers, especially the large figure in heavy armour, before Vonda stepped off the cart and dealt with the guards with ease.
This was the first town or city in East Aldland they had come across since their journey, and with the town of Liferiver only a few days away, the influence of the order hung tightly onto the city, like the vibrant colours which painted the walls of every building, or the cloths which covered them.
All those who walked within East Port carried with them bits of cloth, from sashed around their waist, to bandannas tied around their heads, even tiny strips of cloth around their belts, each a vibrant colour, like that of the sun, or the sight of the sea during a dawnval day.
“Allow me to take you to a particular inn,” Morkarai said.
“We should head to the Guild first,” Adam replied.
“We should head to the inn first,” Morkarai urged.
Elsie glanced towards Vonda for support, who smiled warmly, brushing her the girl’s hair with a finger.
Adam was too distracted in his thoughts to realise they had arrived at the inn not even an hour later, the sky purple with the setting sun. The painting of a faceless mermaid adorned the side. The wooden doors opened to reveal an inn with fineries Adam hadn’t expected, with trimmings of silver scattered all around the wooden room, which was large enough to hold twenty rectangular tables with ease. Many of the tables were currently preoccupied by small groups, though there were a few who sat by their lonesome selves in the corner, eating their meals silently. A dozen gazes fell upon the group.
“How may I assist?” an attendant called, wearing ocean blue attire, with a white sash around his waist. He was well built, as lean as an Iyrman, though perhaps not quite as battle ready. He had white hair, no doubt dyed, his brows a lighter blue. His eyes remained fixated on the fire giant before him, though he had already sensed the Iyrmen behind him, and the figure of the Ray.
Morkarai motioned towards a table near the back, which was currently unoccupied. He pointed with his finger and middle finger at once, before the group made their way to the back, taking over the table, while also taking over the table beside it, each enough for six people.
“Sea milk, a meal of meat and potatoes, with a side of crab.” Morkarai placed down a copper coin, a silver coin, and then a gold coin, each side by side.
“We are all out of crab, will lobsters do you fine?”
“As long as they are fresh from the sea.”
“How many lobsters?”
Morkarai glanced to the side, his eyes falling over Elsie for a moment. “Eight.”
The worker bowed his head, before accepted eight coins of each denomination, one by one, then finally slipped away into the back room.
“I’ve procured passage onto a ship for each of us,” Morkarai said.
“How much?” Adam asked.
“It is settled,” Morkarai replied simply. “You will need to dismiss Zeus.”
“What about our cart?”
“You may bring it.”
“Cool.”
“We should leave tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
“It is best to leave sooner rather than later.”
“I guess we’ll need to work hard tonight…” Adam exchanged a look with Vonda.
Adam didn’t taste the meal, too busy drowning within worry. He followed Ray Vonda through the city, who led the pair to a temple. The temple was small, smaller than even the inn, though was made of hardy smooth stone.
A Priest spotted the heavily armoured figures, and though she tensed up for a moment, she noted the appearance of a particular figure.
“Ray Vonda,” Vonda introduced herself, removing her helmet to reveal her face, and the attire she wore befitting that of a Ray, which hid all but her face and hands. “I have come to discuss a matter with you.”
The Priest quickly invited the trio into the temple, taking them to a small room to one side, pouring them each a cup of tea. “I did not expect a Ray.”
“I apologise for coming so suddenly…” Vonda could feel the light sickness which spread through her, how her body had swollen up within the armour. She pushed away the thought. Her heart pounded wildly within her chest, but as the moments passed, she calmed herself.
Adam wasn’t sure if Elsie should have been there, and he inhaled deeply, bracing himself. When the girl began to cry, a deep wound engraved into his heart. A short while later, the half elf stood outside the temple, his eyes focusing on the night sky. The stars, now more familiar to him than the stars of his first life, sparkled brightly within the sky.
“Brother Adam?” the Mother called.
“Is she okay?”
“She is quiet now.”
“Yeah…”
“You buried the dead?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have the items which belong to them?”
“Yeah.”
“It is customary to donate the items to the Priests who dealt with their funeral.”
“I’m keeping them safe for Elsie for now, and then I’ll hand them to her once we’re at the business.”
“I have been informed you wished to adopt the girl into the business.”
“Yeah.”
“Since she is an orphan, we are also able to take in the girl, to provide a life for her at the temple.”
“She’ll be fine at the business,” Adam replied, still staring at the stars.
“It would be best for her to grow within the temple, where she grew up and where she was raised.”
“It’s best for her to grow up surrounded by little worries and lots of love.”
“Do you believe you can provide that?”
Adam inhaled sharply, glancing back towards the Mother, a small smile on his face. “There are lots of things I’m confident in, but that’s the number one thing I’m confident in most.”
“More so than our temple to Mother Soza?”
“I’m sure you’ll do very good, but we’ve already decided to adopt her into the business. Right now she’s a VIP.”
“A vee eye pee?”
Adam reached into his pocket and held out an amber gem towards the Mother. “It means we’ll be paying you a hundred gold a month to watch over her while we’re gone.”
The Mother blinked. “The customary amount is one gold a day.”
Adam smiled. “She’s our VIP. I hope you will watch over her appropriately while we finish our business.”
The Mother could feel something emanating from the half elf. Her eyes glanced down towards the symbol on his amulet. “You follow the Iyr’s Lord of Death.”
“Baktu, or Lord Sozain as you might know him.”
The Mother opened her mouth to refute his words, but she paused for a moment. She could feel the heaviness of Adam’s smile pressing upon her. It was a smile she had seen very few times previously, those who were high ranking members of various orders, or those among the higher nobility.
‘What gives you such right to look upon me in such a way?’
“Mother,” Adam began. “Last year, there were those who wished to take our VIPs from us.”
The Mother’s eyes flashed with recognition upon the words. Last year there were many goings on, from the meeting between the Kings, to the King of Aldland and his issues with the Priests of Nature, and even the Iyr’s escorting of the Florian King back to his country. Then there was the exiling of the three orders which had watched over Floria for centuries. Among them, there were a handful of local events which had sparked a wildfire of rumours within the city.
The rumour of the Marquess, one of the highest ranking nobles across East Aldland, who had caused trouble upon a group for a Sorcerer. The Order of Life’s Rose had gotten involved, but rather than Life’s Rose complaining about the death caused by the Marquess, it was the Order of Life’s Rose defending the death caused by a particular group.
Outnumbered by the elite army under the command of the Marshal of the East, and yet somehow the group had come out, not only unscathed, but having defeated the small army composed of Experts, and more.
Adam smiled as the recognition fell across her eyes. Then, for a moment, something else flashed across his eyes. “If anything happens to our VIP while we’re gone, I’ll be holding you responsible.”
“Are you threatening me,” the Mother asked, narrowing her eyes towards the half elf, who for a moment looked worried.
Adam was Trained in a large manner of skills, and it was one particular skill which had caused worry for one of the Iyrmen at the Guild, who had been tasked with dealing with the matter of the hydras.
‘It should be fine since he’s with his wife,’ Jaygak thought, with a supernatural sense. ‘He wouldn’t cause trouble for a Priest of Life…’
In her heart, she knew she was wrong.
Indeed, for Adam was the kind to threaten anyone, including the Divine.