The pair returned back to the guild, finding their panions had also returned from their adventuring. Dunes rexed in one er, while Jonn and the others rexed in the another er. Oire side was full of Adam’s adventuring group. Lucy’s head nted firmly oable, revealing how well her questing had gone.

  “How was it?” Adam asked, pg the pie slice down, it to Dunes’ group.

  “Well,” Dunes replied. He could feel the stares of the Aldishmen nearby, who weren’t used to seeing Aswadians so far west. “Six boars.”

  “A bear,” Lucy said. She stirred from the pie Jurot had pced down in front of them. She cut a piece for herself, chewing it slowly.

  “Just a bear?” Adam asked.

  Lucy grunted affirmatively.

  Adam gnced between the members of the different parties, realising none of the members ihird group had the same level of trag skill as those from the first two groups. ‘Oh dear.’

  “Are we staying here long?” Lucy grumbled quietly. “Aren’t we meant to be going on some kind of adveo sy mohat are ravaging the nd?”

  Adam chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’ll figure something out for you. I’ll o speak with the porters and the farmers.”

  Lucy groaned in gratitude, still chewing her pie slowly.

  “We requested some parts of the creatures we slew,” Dunes said. “It should be pced within the party bank that you opened.”

  “Great, thank you.” Adam bowed his head to Dunes. “Right. Have you all heard that the tour has been pulled forward a month?”

  “The fifth month?” Dunes asked.

  “Yeah. We might be able to find Amira there. If she’s out and about, wouldn’t she want to fight at the tour?”

  “She may,” Dunes admitted. “We could spend the time trying to fihere are quite a few Devilkin i Port, though she might be easier to spot than most. There aren’t many Devilkin from our order who would travel through Aldnd.”

  “We’ll stay here for a couple more days, and once we’ve finished our preparations, we should be good to go.” Adam g the teen Iyrmen, who seemed to be far quieter than before. ‘Why are you all so quiet nowadays?’

  “Adam?” called a voibsp;

  ‘Who did I piss off this time?’ Adam thought. He turo see familiar faces ehe guild. A man with a heavily scarred face, followed by four others, a pair of men and women. Three of them wore mail, and two of them wore leather. They left a bear outside, for the guild to deal with.

  “Speak of the…” Adam thought against using the phrase. “Riice armour.” He reached out to shake Rick’s forearm.

  “Thank you,” the adventuring farmer replied. “How have you been?”

  “Not bad, not bad, you?”

  “Well.”

  “Good, good. Adventuring safely, I hope?”

  “Always.”

  “We were just talking about you, actually.”

  “Yes?”

  “We were pnning on going to East Port, sying all kinds of beasties on the way, before, maybe, participating iour,” Adam said. “I was hoping that you would join us.”

  Rick eyed up the rest of the adventurers at Adam’s side. The Demons, the Iyrmen, the Aswadians, and more. He had fought alongside many of them before, and Adam had treated them well enough. “How long will we o be gone?”

  “We’ll be adventuring most of this year, I imagine,” Adam said. “Travelling through the nd. We’ll be pig up as many as we , before it gets too insane.”

  “What is the deal?”

  Adam looked back at his group, before looking back at Rid the other farmers. It had been a while sihey st met, roughly a year. ‘They must have beeing slowly, as always.’ Adam had yet to pluck them for his business.

  “The young ones, Nobby, Brittany, and the teen Iyrmen, will receive one share total. Teically, I’m the one who is paying them to train them, and they’ll owe me ohey bee Experts. However, I’d like them to get something. The rest of us, we each get a full share, individually.”

  Rick extended an arm out, shaking Adam’s forearm. “When do we leave?”

  “Soon, in the few days,” Adam said, though he had no idea the exact date they’d leave. “I still have the porters to speak to.”

  Omen: 1, 16

  Adam bathed early in the m, before donning his gear. The previous evening had been quite eventful. He made his way down to find the various groups waiting for him, from his own adventuring party, to the farmers, to the porters, and the Asarty.

  “Remy, Jeremy,” Adam greeted the preeting Jeremy and Jeremiah, whose names were so fusing in a way that made sense. Remy was actually Jeremy, and Jeremy was actually Jeremiah. Though the pair looked nearly identical, they were actually cousins, as firmed by Jurot.

  “I love the armour!” Adam smirked. “Is that kura…bolo?” He had fotten the name of the creature with the stoerior, but was certain he was close.

  “Kurabara,” Remy replied, smiling awkwardly. He wore peared to be a breastpte made of thick hide, that of a she party slew in the previous year, with ptes that appeared to be made of sto within it.

  “Thank you again for the ptes,” Jeremy said, tipping his helmet, which was also new.

  “I’ll be sure to work you hard for the few months to make up for it,” Adam said, smiling. “Since you owe me, we’ll say you each get a half share, with the other half going to me?”

  “As you say, mister Adam,” Remy said. They had stated the terms in the previous year, borrowing a few hundred gold from the Half Elf. The armour had suited them well, saving them multiple times already.

  Adam made a mental o hand over ten gold to each of them, and the farmers, to make sure they could send some money back to their families. ‘It won’t do good to starve their children if they’re going to be w for me.’

  Adam’s eyes fell to the group of Aswadians who had arrived the evening prior. There were six of them total, four of whom wore armour, mail, with one wearing scale mail, and tore none. Each of them wore iron tags, stamped several times.

  ‘Three or so?’ Adam assumed, trying to figure out their levels.

  One of the unarmoured Aswadians was like Kitool, in the sehat she did not o wear armour while fighting in close bat. She was one of two Devilkin, the other wearing heavy armour. The st unarmoured individual other was no doubt some kind of mage, since he was a handsome fellow without any scars, and very few callouses on his hands.

  “Adam,” Adam said, reag out a hand to greet them.

  “Rose, and we’re the Red River Squad,” the unarmoured woman said, shaking the Half Elf’s forearm. Once Adam had introduced himself to each of her party, she tinued. “You’re the leader of the party?”

  “That I am,” Adam replied. “Why?”

  “There are Iyrmen in your party,” she said, simply.

  Adam couldn’t help but to smile. “One of them is my brother, and I make sure to keep my ear open to whatever they say. Are you the leader of your party?”

  “I am.”

  “Great.” Adam greeted the rest of the party too, shaking their forearms. “We’re Fate’s Golden, and Rick’s party is currently w under us too.”

  “You’re of different ranks?” she asked, noting how the group wore different coloured tags, with a different number of stamps too.

  “You know how it is,” Adam said. “Only a few of us have sin Dragons, but I guarahat roup is det. The weakest members of roup are at the level of the teen Iyrmen.” Adam motioned his head to Nirot and the others.

  “Your party has sin Dragons?”

  “At least one, but we helped in killing aoo,” Adam said. “We slew a Blue Dragon, and a White Dragon.”

  “Vandra,” Jurot said.

  “Vandra?” Rose replied, trying to think of the he rest of her party tried to recall the name.

  “The White Terror,” Zishan said, nodding his head. “She is from further east of Aswadasad. She terrorised the coast to the south of the federacy. You slew her?”

  “I mean, I helped?” Adam said, smiling politely. “Teically, the Vice Master and a couple of Iyrme with her. I, oher hand, mahe st blow.”

  “So you took the glory?” Rose asked.

  Adam shrugged his shoulders. “Like I said, I helped.”

  Rose narrowed her eyes. “Will you cim victory over our kills too.”

  “We will cim to help each other in sying the various beasts we meet,” Adam stated. “We share in lory, in the same way we share loot.”

  “How will we share it?”

  “The teen Iyrmen, Nobby, and Brittany will share a single full share,” Adam said. “Everyone else gets a whole share individually. The porters owe me some , so I’ll be g a half share from each of them, but that’s their business.”

  “The porters will gain a full share?” Rose eyed them up. “Are they strong?”

  “You see their armour?” Adam asked. “That stohere is made from kurabara. Eae would give an Expert trouble. They were there when we fought the kurabaras.”

  “They were there, but did they fight?” Her eyes tio s them. It was ohing if they were fighting, but if they were p? “They should not cim a full share if they ot fight or keep up with us.”

  “Speaking of being uo keep up,” Adam began, his voice l. He paused, taking a moment to pose himself. “Do you believe you could keep up with me?”

  “Are you an Expert?” Rose asked.

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “Remy and Jeremy may fight alongside us, but their goal is to help with carrying equipment. Do you have anything which will help us carry the remains of what we kill?”

  “No.”

  “I have a steed that help carry things, a giant elk. Jeremy and Remy have their panquin, or whatever it’s called. I expect, if a fight breaks out, they will assist us. After that, they will be responsible for carrying the items, in which they will get a fair share. The more they get, the harder they will work. Now, I don’t mind if you want to ge the shares depending on the work that we do, but I assure you, none of you will be able to keep up with Jurot and I, or even half the people that make up my party. So if you want to decrease their share, that’s fine, but we will decrease your share accly.”

  Rose looked to Dunes and the other Aswadians, and spoke up iongue. “Order of Bck Mountain?”

  Dunes nodded. “Red Sun?” he asked iongue.

  Rose nodded. “You follow this Half Elf? Has he forced you into his debt in this cursed nd?”

  “He has, but not in the way you think.” Dunes almost chuckled, fshing a knowing smile. “I follow him because if he were to face the six of you alone, I would bet on him.”

  Rose’s eyes so Adam once more, noting how he stood so casually in front of her, his elbow wresting against his axe. From the entire versation, she hadn’t been sure of Adam, who seemed to take the glory from the others within his pany. Yet, it didn’t make sense.

  Dunes, and the other two Aswadians, were from Bck Mountain. Bck Mountain, known as the region which held the oldest temple to the Goddess of War. There were also more than a few Iyrmen within the party, which would make it easier for anyone if they wished to bee known as Dragon syers. Yet, it was ohing to party with one or two Iyrmen, but to have so many follow him? And it was something else for oo allow the Half Elf to call him their brother.

  “How strong are you?” Rose asked.

  Adam eyed the group up. He could have mentioned how he would probably be able to beat all six of them by himself, but that wouldn’t be ducive towards a friendly enviro if they were going to travel with each other. “Uh. Let’s see…” Adam turo Jurot. “Would you say I’d rank top three from roups?”

  Jurot paused for a long moment. What Adam said was teically true, since being the stro would put him iop three. “Yes.”

  Adam shrugged towards Rose again. “I’ve never heard of an Iyrman lie before.”

  “Nor have I,” Rose said, extending a hand to shake Adam’s forearm. “A full share it is.”

  Adam thought for a moment as she held out her hand. She had taken quite a shot at Remy and Jeremy, who worked under him. However, he shook her forearm. “I think your words, though impolite, were from a paking sure that you and your owaken care of, so I won’t hold them against you. I hope that we will have a fruitful retionship, Rose of the Red River Squad.”

  Tbh I'm not 100% sure Adam would beat all of them when he's only a single pers-

  *Rereads Adam's spells.*

  Oh. Nvm.