"Larot became sick," Sonarot said, spooning mushy fruit into the boy's mouth.
"Sick?"
"A fever took him. Many left to find the herbs required. Fakrot lost his eye during the leave."
A sudden chill filled Adam. It was a chill which hurt his heart deeply. He knew, deep within his soul, he was to blame for what happened. He had so many questions to ask, though none were more important than what he should say.
"I'm sorry, and thank you."
"Do you need to apologise?" Fakrot asked, sitting taller and prouder. "My eye was a small price to pay for my grandnephew's health."
Adam dared to glance into his Aunt's eyes, before his eyes fell. "Yeah. Well..." Adam brushed along his daughter's face, rubbing Konarot's cheek gently. His eyes fell to Larot, who ate from his grandmother's spoon silently, ignoring his own father. 'Was it an Omen? I didn't use it much, but...'
"Larot eats well," Sonarot said. "Almost as well as Gurot."
"He should eat more so he can become a chonky boy too," Adam said, cutting up a piece of meat for his daughter, bringing it to her lips with his fingers. Konarot opened her mouth wide for the food, slowly chewing it, gently purring within her father’s lap. Adam held the girl within his sight, his eyes following along the shape of her face, the scar beside her eye, her leaf shaped ears, her minute nose, her thin lips, her pointed chin, her pale skin, the strands of silver hair which fell against her neck. Adam had no doubt she wouldn't remember this moment, but for Adam, this was a moment he might never forget. He hoped he'd never forget.
"Konarot."
Konarot's expectant eyes met her father's. Adam smiled, leaning down to nuzzle her nose, before rubbing his cheek against hers.
"Did you say welcome back to mummy?"
Konarot shook her head.
"You have to say welcome back to mummy too. Go on. Vonda, Ray Vonda," Adam quickly corrected himself. "Konarot wants to say something."
Konarot pouted up towards the woman, but as her father brushed her hand with his own, she squirmed. "Welcome back..."
"Thank you," Vonda replied, smiling gently towards the girl, but she allowed her daughter space.
"Well done." Adam kissed his eldest daughter's forehead, before glancing to the others.
"Welcome back, mummy," Karot said, smiling shyly.
"Thank you," Vonda replied, reaching out to rub along his cheek tenderly, while Kirot glanced at her sister, before slowly bowing her head and sheepishly mumbling a greeting too. Vonda reached out towards her silver hair, brushing it tenderly, rubbing her thumb along the girl's forehead.
'I need to figure out a way for Konarot to get along with Vonda...' Adam rubbed the side of his neck gently. He reached down to tickle Konarot's nose gently, the girl squirming slightly against her father, before smiling innocently. “Konababy, who gave you permission to be so cute?” Adam pulled her to his chest and planted a firm kiss atop her head once more.
Bilal remained silent, his eyes fixated curiously on the half elf who adored his children so much. He had never seen anyone dote on their children as much as Adam doted on his own for the short while they had returned.
As the evening continued to pass, the children finishing their meals, and some yawning and groaning for sleep, the stranger who had arrived with his own children stood tall and strong. The fire giant stood opposite, swinging his blade lightly as he warmed himself up.
“I shouldn’t have to explain to either of you that this is just to test Bilal’s abilities, and it’s not to kill one another,” Adam said. “If the Prince ends up dying, you’re going to find yourself dead, and Prince Morkarai, if you kill Bilal, I won’t let you go so easily.”
“I kn-,”
“Lord Morkarai,” Jurot corrected.
“Yes?”
“It is Lord Morkarai, not Prince Morkarai,” Jurot said, his eyes glued to Adam’s. “This land is the land of the Iyr.”
“Ah, right, right, my bad,” Adam replied, clearing his throat. “Anyway, this is just to test how strong Bilal is.”
Bilal and Morkarai continued to prepare, finishing their warm ups, and as Adam readied himself to allow them to begin, his sleeve was pulled.
“Daddy. Toilet.”
Adam glanced down towards his daughter, whose amber eyes stared up towards him expectantly. “Okay.”
Adam followed his twins to the nearby toilets, waiting for them nearby, before assisting them in cleaning up and washing their hands. “Make sure you get your nails too, like this, against your palms.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I doing it, look daddy, I doing it,” Jirot said, rubbing her nails against her palms, before washing her hands within the sink, before climbing down to allow Jarot to wash his hands.
As they returned, the fight had just begun, with the blurry form of Bilal shooting towards Morkarai, as the fire giant brought down his mighty blade. Bilal’s body shifted slightly as he narrowly dodged the blade, his finger slipping against the giant’s neck, jabbing him hard, and the body of the Prince fell completely still. Bilal’s open palm struck the Prince against his helmet, against the side of his neck, and against the side of his knees too. Morkarai remained still as Bilal continued to rain down blows against him, and as the seconds continued to pass, the cacophony of strikes echoing within the business.
“Enough!” Adam called after his nerves filled his heart with a terrible chill. He reached into his cloak for his diamond, just in case Bilal had gone too far. The Aswadian pulled back, waiting for Morkarai to regain his strength, the fire giant finally coughing out as he dropped to a knee.
“I will concede defeat,” Morkarai said, having not expected such onslaught. He could feel the soreness of his skin, especially the skin which had peeled away thanks to the deathly aura Bilal’s hands brought. As the seconds passed, the sickness in his gut also began to fade.
“You will recover soon,” Bilal said, bowing his head lightly.
‘What kind of monster is he?’ Adam thought. ‘I suppose he’s like Kitool, but his tradition is different? He’s one hell of a monster being able to beat Morkarai that easy, I’ll probably have a tough time against him too.’
“You know…” Adam began. “I can’t really get a good sense of how tough you are if you don’t get hit.”
Bilal bowed his head.
Lay on Hands: 35 -> 15
“Thank you.” Morkarai felt the warmth of Adam’s magic fill him, though he was still heavily injured.
“Manager Dunes, please continue to heal the Pri-, the Lord,” Adam said, before eyeing up Bilal, who had surprised him with his great strength. “How strong are you?”
“I am more powerful than a Grandmaster,” Bilal stated.
“Are you a Paragon?”
“No.”
“How strong are you exactly?”
Bilal remained silent for a moment. He was unsure of how much to say to the half elf, but seeing how Adam treated his workers, and the bavwa, he spoke up. “I have mastered my body so that I will not seem to grow older, and I do not require sustenance in the form of food or water.”
“Ah!” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head, while Kitool raised her brows.
‘He is between a Master and Paragon,’ she thought, before she patted Adam’s arm, causing him to jolt. She motioned with her head elsewhere. “He understands all languages. You must be careful when speaking in front of him.”
“I said quite a bit in front of him already, I think…” Adam rubbed the side of his neck, wondering how much he had let slip. “It should be alright, I didn’t really say too much.”
Kitool bowed her head. “I should have warned you previously. I assumed he was a Grandmaster, so he would have had such an ability.”
“It’s fine, I’m the one who should have been more careful.” Adam let out a soft sigh, rubbing the side of his neck harder. “It’s alright.”
Jurot eyed Bilal up suspiciously, still unsure of who he was. However, he had already sent word to the Iyr, and they must have known who he was by now.
“I’m going to make a few attacks at you, and I want to see how well you feel after them. You can attack back if you like, but I won’t kill you or anything like that.”
“Very well,” Bilal replied, readying himself.
Fighting Spirit: 3 -> 2
Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)
D20 + 10 = 14 (4)
D20 + 10 = 23 (13)
Hit!
Wraith: 3 -> 2
Mana: 25 -> 24
Ability: Divine Smite
2D6 + 2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 28 (2, 5)(1, 5)(1, 5)
28 damage!
Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)
D20 + 10 = 12 (2)
D20 + 10 = 28 (18)
Hit!
Wraith: 2 -> 1
Mana: 24 -> 23
Ability: Divine Smite
2D6 + 2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 28 (2, 3)(2, 3)(4, 5)
28 damage!
Adam and Bilal clashed together, with Bilal wincing slightly as the chill of Wraith and the radiant might of Adam’s abilities rocked through his body.
“How do you feel?” Adam asked, as though he hadn’t just dealt enough damage to completely knock out an Expert.
“I am fine.”
“How many more of those could you take before you were knocked unconscious?”
“I could take twice as many clashes before I fall.”
‘So about one fifty then?’ Adam thought, before nodding his head. “You’re pretty strong.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright, well, I’ll speak with the President to see if you can join.” Adam then noted how everyone was looking their way, the curiosity in their eyes betraying their thoughts. “I hope you all enjoyed the fight, but I think it’s time for the children to sleep.”
Once the businessfolk fled the scene, Adam dropped down beside Vonda, letting out a sigh. He yawned, feeling the tiredness invade his body. ‘I really need a bath.’
Bilal could still feel it, the gazes of all the figures all around him, judging him. He had long heard of the Iyr while he worked in Aswadasad, and though he had come across a few, he had never had the chance to step onto the Iyr’s lands. ‘I see how they have lasted this long…’
“President, shall we discuss with Bilal about the deal?” Adam asked.
“Okay,” Sonarot replied, handing Larot to his mother, before she led Adam, Bilal, and Jurot towards the building in the inner area of the fort. She began to make tea as the three men took their place at the table. “Your name is Bilal?”
“It is what I go by.”
“Okay,” Sonarot replied, pouring them each a cup of tea. “You have great strength.”
“I trained in Aswadasad and was active for many years.”
“Not under the name of Bilal?”
“I believe you already know who I am,” Bilal replied bluntly.
“Why have you come?”
“I require assistance,” Bilal replied, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts. “I would like for the children to remain here. I believe this business will allow them to flourish. Treat the children well, allow them to learn what they can, and I will lend you my strength. I will live for two decades, perhaps three decades more, and I do not need to eat or drink, so as long as I am housed at the business, you will have one as strong as I assisting.”
“We’ll give them basic education,” Adam assured. “If they want to learn more advanced education, they’ll have to sign a ten year contract with us. They’ll be able to leave once they’re about, what, twenty six or so?”
“You mentioned the education previously, but you did not go into detail.”
“We’ll teach the children basic education, and if they are more capable, we’ll move them to advanced education. Basic education consists of numbers and letters, physical training, the languages of Aldish and Aswadian, and training with simple weapons. Advanced education consists of more numbers and letters, think more of a noble’s education, though perhaps not quite as comprehensive as the topics they learn, since we focus on more practical skills. Martial weapons, alchemy, smithing, priestly magics, potentially arcane magic, and potentially enchanting.”
Bilal blinked, taking a moment to compose himself. ‘What did he just say?’