Omen: 15, 17

“You are leaving?” Morkarai asked, surprised to see Adam so eager to leave so swiftly. The group had all gathered to eat breakfast together, with Merza silently ignoring them all, while Karza wolfed down her meat.

“Yeah, well, dawnval’s going to be a pain, and I’d rather we leave now before it becomes more difficult for my darling wife.”

Morkarai slowly bowed his head, frowning slightly. The group leaving this quickly left a bad taste in his mouth. He glanced towards the mermen for a moment. “Then it is my turn to escort you back.”

“Don’t you want to head back to your volcanoes?”

“I should greet your child before I leave to the volcanoes.”

Adam’s lips formed a wide smile. “I’m not sure how I feel about telling my kid they met a Prince, but I guess since it’s you, it’s fine.” He glanced towards the mermen, who suddenly couldn’t target Adam and his group any longer. ‘I’m glad Morkarai’s coming along.’

“Princess Mina will be disappointed to hear you are leaving so soon,” Princess Miza said, thinking upon Morkarai’s expectant look.

“Please pass on my apologies. Perhaps in the future we will be able to have a more auspicious meeting, and I do feel rather terrible that I didn’t bring anything good for our reunion.” Adam smiled, though it was a sad smile. He had been so excited to meet the little girl again, wanting to see how well she was growing. ‘What bad luck…’

“Sir Nakcht, escort my betrothed and his companions to the strait,” Miza commanded, motioning with her hands.

“As you wish, Your Grace,” the Coralguard, who was much shorter than the others, replied, stepping slightly to one side, standing behind the fire giant.

“Sir Kari, escort the Prince to the strait,” Merza added, with a smaller, but still very tall, Coralguard bowing before stepping behind the fire giant.

Morkarai could feel Adam’s gaze upon his neck. “With two Coralguard escorting us back, I am reassured our journey will pass by smoothly.”

‘Damn it.’ Adam frowned slightly, but he sipped at his drink. ‘There’s no way Mina could have been cursed unless some insiders helped…’

The group prepared quickly for their departure, with the Iyrmen needing but moments, while Adam assisted Vonda.

‘At least they’ve let us keep the seasilk clothes,’ Adam thought, packing away his own items, putting them within his pack. There was a vague sense that he had forgotten something, so he checked his items again and again, counting his diamonds, counting the rest of the gems and his coin.

Princess Miza and Prince Merza awaited for them at the temple, leading the group towards one of the towers, Adam noting how large the steps were. ‘What? Do they expect me to climb every single step?’

“I can assign the Coralguard to carry you,” Princess Miza offered.

Adam let out a soft sigh, before reaching down to his amulet, kissing it, feeling his Mana run through him as he chanted the words to his spell.

Mana: 25 -> 22

Spell: Fly

“My dear,” Adam called, holding out his arms, picking his wife up in the princess carry, before flying upwards. ‘How dare you try to lay your hands on my wife. I’m her husband, damn it, it’s my right!’

Jurot climbed over each of the steps, while Kitool walked along the steps vertically almost as easily as she walked across the land. Jaygak stared at the steps, in her full plate armour, and sighed. She grunted as she hoisted herself up the dozens of steps up towards the top of the tower. A pair of guards stared at the approaching group, the pair adorned in black cloaks, wearing dark scale armour, and wielding weapons made of what looked to be obsidian carved into tridents.

The guards glanced across the group, and upon seeing the strangers, the Prince, the Iyrmen, the Aldishmen, the demons, and the dragon, they decided against using their authority against the Princess. The Princess bowed her head lightly towards the guards, who thought for a moment on how to still exert their influence.

“What business does the Princess have with the circle of our humble temple?”

“My betrothed and his companions wish to use the circle for safe passage to Aswadasad.”

The guards remained silent for a long moment. ‘We were not informed.’

‘I will pay my dues,’ the Princess’ eyes assured.

“We wish you a safe passage,” the guards said in unison, before stepping aside.

As Adam stepped by the guards, he noted the faint symbol of a skull upon their tabards. “Do you follow the God of Death?”

The guards bowed their heads, their eyes falling down upon the half elf who was about half their height.

“Oh. Nice. Me too.” Adam motioned towards his amulet.

“Is that the symbol of the Iyr’s Lord of Death?”

“Baktu, yeah.”

“May you offer many blessings to your Lord of Death,” the guard stated, a hint of disdain within their voice.

“Right…” Adam picked up the hint and stepped into the room, noting the entire room was black, with silver trim breaking up all the tiny mosaic pieces, as well as the tiles across the rest of the room, and finally, the large circle full of magical runes within the centre of the room. He noted one of the guards followed them into the room.

The group could feel something within the room. Though the Prince and Princess felt the discomfort fill them, the Adam and his companions could feel something else.

‘Weird,’ Adam thought, feeling the familiar sensation through his body. “It kinda feels like the Iyr.”

“It is Baktu’s influence," Kitool said, feeling the familiar sensation through her body, one which she would seen feel on a greater level once she decided to take the rites.

“Your Lord of Death is very different to our God of Death,” the guard in black stated, before he stepped towards the middle of the room, slamming her trident within the ground beneath her, and the silver within the room began to glow faintly.

“We wish you a safe journey,” Princess Miza said.

“It was a pleasure to meet with you, and though the time we spent together was very little, I hope to return to grace myself with your company,” Morkarai said, bowing his head, before taking the hand she offered, pressing it against his forehead, before allowing her to withdraw it.

“Once you return, we should fight a darkness,” Prince Merza said.

“A darkness?” Karza asked, a wild grin appearing on her face. “Sounds like fun.”

“I will return soon, perhaps before the year passes,” the Prince said.

“Hey, this is a teleportation circle, isn’t it?” Adam asked.

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“It is,” the Princess confirmed.

“Is it going to do anything to Vonda or our baby?”

“No. It is perfectly safe, unless someone outside interferes, but the Aswadians would not, and the Divine have no reason to interfere in your journey.”

Adam remained silent for a long while. A cold bead of sweat ran down the side of his head, his hair beginning to stand on end. Adam almost choke as he tried to swallow.

Miza remained focused on the half elf, who had suddenly frozen up.

“Jurot…”Adam began, before switching into the Iyrmen’s tongue. “The Lord of Order, he’s not so petty enough to hurt my kid, right?”

Jurot glanced across the darkness all around them, noting the faint glowing of the silver illuminate more of the blackness within the room. “Baktu would not allow it.”

Adam thought back to his meeting with the Divine, and how close he had been to death with the Lord of Order aiming his blade towards him. Lord Sozain, God of Death, had merely raised a finger to stop the Lord of Order within his tracks.

‘How rude,’ Lord Sozain had said, a finger raised while keeping the Lord of Order at bay with a single black thread. ‘Did you think I would allow you to cut a guest of mine right before me?’

‘Lord Sozain, Baktu, even if I might not like the Divine, I like you, and I trust you with my life.’ However, as much as Adam trusted the God of Death with his life, it was another matter to trust the God of Death with his unborn child’s life. As much as he might not have trusted the God of Death with his child, it was his brother who had spoken up for the God of Death.

“Okay.”

The mermen royalty exchanged a look between one another, unsure of how to take their hesitancy. ‘Does he have an issue with the Divine?’

Adam placed a hand around his wife’s waist, with the group taking their place onto the large teleportation circle. He glanced towards the others, nodding his head awkwardly.

‘Everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Yeah. Everything’s going to okay.’

The guard raised her trident and slammed it into the circle once more, before the trident vibrated wildly within her hand, and she channelled the great magic through the trident. The runes on the floor began to glow, starting from the outside of the circle, before the light filled in the rest of the runes, following the maze of runes before reaching the trident, which soaked in the light. The light revealed cracks within the trident while the woman struggled to keep the trident. She inhaled sharply, feeling the searing pain course through her hands, up through her arm, and then through her body. The light grew brighter and brighter, before engulfing the entire group, including the temple guard, whose entire body flooded with pain, before the light engulfed them all.

‘So, you are Adam,’ the guard thought as the pain stopped, and the light faded.

Adam shut his eyes before the light became too unbearable, the warmth of the light filling his entire body, before it slowly cooled and his eyelids revealed the light had dimmed outside, before his eyes dared to flutter open. He rubbed his eyes with the side of his hand, before he glanced around, noting the lack of blackness around him. The white stone all around him took a moment through the brightness which had threatened to blind him, though eventually he noticed the dozen, normal sized, guards all around, each adorned in breastplate and wielding spears in hand.

“Noor bless you,” a voice called, a young man who wore robes of pure white, adorned with bits of gold, with a neatly trimmed beard only an Aswadian could grow. His eyes glanced across the group, noting the coalskinned fire giant, as well as the two mermen, each adorned in pink, meaning they were no doubt Coralguard, and the Iyrmen and Aldishmen. His head tilted slightly upon seeing Vonda, his lips forming a small smile.

“I am Prince Morkarai,” Morkarai said, reaching into his cloak, revealing a small golden plaque, which the Aswadian took, smiling more politely. “Princess Miza sends her gratitude.”

“It is a pleasure to meet with you, Prince Morkarai.” The Priest accepted the golden plaque, flashing a pearly while smile. “There is little better than golden gifts of gratitude. I will lead you.”

‘I didn’t expect him to speak Aldish,’ Adam thought, with his group followed the Priest through the stone building, noting the reliefs carved near the tall ceilings.

“I will inform the Faro of your arrival,” the Priest said as he led the group to the rooms within the largest temple of Aswadasad, which was more like an entire village rather than a temple. “She may wish to speak with you if you are not in a rush.”

“I am in some rush, but I will speak with her if she wishes,” Morkarai assured.

The Priest bowed his head lightly, glad that the Prince showed them and the Faro the proper respect. The rooms the Priest led them towards were large.

“Are you married?” the Priest asked, noting how Adam and Vonda were staying in the same room.

“We are,” Adam replied, almost too proudly. “How could you tell?”

“You both glow with such adoration,” the Priest replied, though he hadn’t guessed at all, rather he was going to inform them of the temple’s rules between two people sleeping in the same room.

“It’s because I’m so lucky to have someone like Ray Vonda as my wife.”

“I was uncertain you were truly a Ray, but it is a pleasure to meet you, Ray Vonda,” the Priest said, bowing his head lightly. He remained smiling, though the same thought passed through his mind, as it had done through many other’s. ‘Such a young Ray…’

“I apologise for not introducing myself properly until now, I am currently unwell due to certain matters.”

“It is no issue,” the Priest assured. ‘A Priest of the Mother is sick?’ “I will call for some fruit to your room.”

“Thank you,” Vonda replied.

“Yeah, thank you so much,” Adam said, reaching into his cloak. “I’m not sure if this is enough as a donation.”

“There is no need to donate, but if you insist, I shall take it as gratitude for Noor.”

“Yeah, well, Lord Noor sounds like a great Divine, though I’m not that familiar.”

“Are you Aldish?”

“Not exactly, but basically,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders, feeling an annoyance at being called Aldish. “We probably should know more considering some of our close friends are Aswadians, but what are the chances that our friends are from Black Mountain, eh?”

“Ah,” the Priest replied, smiling wider. “Our cousins at Black Mountain are unique.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.”

Many miles away, where Noor’s rays reached after pouring his grace over Aswadasad, Dunes led the prayers for the business and its people. The awkwardness of an Aswadian leading the prayers to Lady Arya had long passed, the people eagerly accepting any prayer for the Divine, especially Lady Arya when war was as commonplace as the seasons passing. It was only the smell of breakfast which brought the group out of their prayers.

Korin poured the porridge in for the children, smiling towards one of the boys. “There’s plenty of milk in the porridge.”

Alex smiled shyly, before rushing up beside the rest of his siblings. A large platter of fruit and nuts awaited the children, which they could sprinkle onto their porridge.

“Here,” Fred said, handing a small plate of fruit for George, before sipping his water.

George tapped his chin in response, and ate his porridge slowly, keeping his food separated so it was easier for the tongueless boy to eat.

“It’s going to rain,” Amira said, staring at the clouds in the distance.

“Noonval has just begun and it’s already raining?” Dunes shook his head. “Aldland surely is a cursed land.”

“A cursed land you wanted me to stay in for the rest of my life?”

“Perhaps it’s not so bad after all.” Dunes smiled. He glanced across the rest of the businessfolk. He thought about informing them of their Executives returning, but decided against it. He glanced towards his wife, and wondered if he should inform Adam of the good news, but decided against it. ‘Lady Arya, please bless their travels.’

“Dunes, I’ll lead the exercises this morning,” Korin said.

“If you wish,” Dunes replied, glancing towards the Aswadian, who had been so antsy recently, and with noonval here, the young man needed to let off steam. “I will prepare the studies after.” The Manager caught Cobra’s look, the woman nodding her head, with Dunes replying with his own nod, allowing her to begin her watch, not that she needed to.

Dunes noted the way the Iyrmen moved, with a few heading towards the south of the fort. Dunes approached the opening gates, noting the appearance of several more Iyrmen, many of whom he was familiar with. ‘We already have so many…’

“Manager Dunes,” Fakrot called, shaking the Manager’s forearm.

“Mister Fakrot,” Dunes replied, glancing between the tattoos. Each Iyrmen were of the Rot, Gak, Ool, and Kan families, the young Manager even noting the appearance of one of the Directors, Mirot. He glanced past the Iyrman’s shoulder, but noted no children. “I hope all is well.”

“All will be well soon.”

‘What does that mean?’ Dunes thought, allowing the Iyrmen to enter the fort, to check upon the business folk and to exchange words with the other Iyrmen nearby. The businessfolk remained staring at the Director, unsure if they should greet her, but she was currently busy with the other Iyrmen.

“I will go,” Kamrot said, upon hearing the issue.

“I will give my place to you,” Gangak said, and though she wished to go, she understood it was awkward since she wore heavy armour.

“Where is Jarot?”

“He remains with his greatson.”

“It must have taken you great effort.”

Gangak and Otkan both let out a sigh, raising their brows towards the Iyrman.

“Thank you,” Kamrot said, shaking Gangak’s forearm.

“You must return safely so that I can return to adore my greatson. I will inform the others to trade places with those who wish to go.” Gangak made her way to the other Gaks, who could trade places to allow the group to move swifter and without worry.

The Iyrmen quickly traded places, before the group were off, taking the boat out to follow the river southward. The businessfolk watched them go, staring at the Iyrmen who sailed downriver, each who were unarmoured, but carried with them an eagerness to kill.

“Is everything okay?” Dunes asked, approaching the Iyrman who had made a name for herself within Aswadasad.

“A child is sick.”

“Which child?”

Gangak smiled. “Manager Dunes, you should know what you know.”

“I should know if it’s related to the business.”

“It is not related to the business.”

Dunes stared into her eyes. The previous evening, he had heard Adam was returning, and he could hear something anxious within Adam’s voice. ‘Adam…’

“There is no need to worry.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“The Director has gone.”

‘So, is it one of his children?’

“You should know what you know,” Gangak warned.