Omen: 3, 4

  Adam stared down at the soup for a long while, staring at the murky liquid, coloured by the herbs a.

  “What’s wrong?” Jurot eventually asked, but only after his mother elbowed him gently in the side. He had watched Adam for the past couple of hours, noting his terrible mood, but had left him be.

  “I’m feeling unlucky today,” the half elf replied. “I won’t be able to begin enting.” He tio stare into his bowl. He had wao ent desperately. It would help in equipping the pair of them with better gear.

  Jurot stared at Adam, w if the e to luck was an elvish thing. His mother elbowed him again. “What do you mean? Why do you feel unlucky?”

  “Do you remember whe Balrog?” Adam asked.

  Jurot’s lips grew inte smile. “Yes,” he said. “I do.” He recalled the feeling of cutting into the man. He wondered when his father would return so he could tell the story.

  “I told you I’d make sure you could nd a hit on him. Well, if I was as unlucky as today, I wouldn’t be able to guarahat.”

  Jurot nodded his head slowly. “So you will be uo ent because you ot guarahat it will go well?”

  “Exactly,” Adam said, sipping the st of the soup, careful to not choke, in case his luck affected the rest of his life.

  Sonarot stared at her son, reag up to brush his hair, which caused him to bow his head slightly. ‘Oh, how my boy is growing up so fast.’ She hadn’t expected him to uand Adam’s worries, but it seemed she didn’t have to be too worried.

  “Will you be unlucky ihing?” Jurot asked, w how it worked.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to risk it.” Adam shrugged his shoulders.

  “Why don’t you walk around with Turot today?” Sonarot asked. “Since Lanarot’s birth, he’s been receiving less attention than usual.”

  “Ah,” Adam said, nodding his head. “I suppose I should. He’ll be looking after Lanarot whenever we’re gone, so I should treat him well.”

  Sonarot smiled, as Adam firmed he would be returning often to take care of Lanarot.

  Ohey fiheir breakfast, Adam went to find Turot, who ying with the other children of the Gak, Ool, and Kan families.

  “Hey Turot,” he called.

  The children instantly stopped pying and turo stare at Adam. He was a half elf, and though he spent some time with their older siblings, they hadn’t met him properly.

  Turot walked over to him. “Yes?” The boy stared up at him with his dark eyes.

  “I was just w, would you be able to show me around the Iyr?”

  Turot stared up at Adam, his eyes quickly brightening up. “Okay!” With that, Turot set off, marg out of the estate and down the road. Adam followed him, w where they were going.

  As they made their way through the Iyr, a few other children looked at Turot, who was leading the half elf around. The Iyrmen children began to point at them, mumbling something to each other.

  Turot let out the smuggest smile he could muster to the other children.

  ‘Oh?’ Adam thought, noting the behaviour between them. ‘Is he showing off that he knows a half elf? I really shouldn’t spoil him too much…’ He tio think about the matter for a short while.

  ‘Though, wouldn’t that increase his status? No, not just his status, but the status of the Rot family? Wouldn’t the other Iyrmen be more eager to help them? Then that popurity could be used to increase Lanarot’s popurity, couldn’t it? They’d be more willing to help her…’

  “Look!” Turot decred, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. The half elf’s feet had followed Turot some ways, until they arrived he river, but at a differeion than he was familiar with.

  Adam looked where Turot poio see a number of water mills spaced some ways from one another. “Oh!” Adam said, excitedly. He hadn’t expected there to be such teology in the Iyr.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 20 (18)

  “What’s that watermill for?” he said, noting the weird smell in the air. Not just that, but there was a small bird on one of them, staring right at him.

  “It makes paper,” Turot said.

  Adam’s ears twitched. ‘Paper?’ He recalled how Turot had casually brought him a small book to use for his recipes. “ it be used for wizards?”

  “Not this ourot said. “This mill is children’s paper.”

  “Children’s paper?” Adam asked. For half a momehought Turot meant they were making children into paper, only to realise that it was to make paper for children. “You make paper only for children?”

  Turot nodded his head. “We get lots of paper.” He rushed up towards one of many s to the side, hidden away by trees.

  An Iyrman opened up the door. “Yes?”

  “Book, please,” Turot said.

  “Did you run out?”

  “I had to give mio Adam,” Turot said, pointing to the half elf.

  The Iyrman stared at Adam, nodding his head at the half elf, befrabbing a small book and handing it to Turot.

  “Thank you,” Turot said, putting the book in his robes.

  “Why does the Iyr give so much paper to the children?” Adam asked ourot returned.

  “So we write and draw,” Turot replied, staring up at Adam. “What do you use paper for?”

  “To write and draw, but I also use it for my spells.”

  “We have some paper mills which make that kind of paper, but it’s for scrolls.” Turot narrowed his eyes, suddenly unsure if he was allowed to be mentioning things like that to Adam. He turned and then started to march off somewhere else.

  Adam followed him, wordless, letting the boy set the pace.

  “This is Stone of Chief,” Turot said, revealing a dark gem the size of a bull which was lodged into the mountain side.

  Adam bli it. ‘Whoa! How much gold would that be worth? A huhousand? More?’ “What is it?” Adam asked, staring at it. It seemed to be a giant gem, with nothing else of hough he wasn’t familiar with gems.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 12 (10)

  He didn’t notice the bird on a branch above him.

  “Stone of Chief,” Turot said, simply.

  “Yes, but… what do you do with it?”

  Turot stared at Adam for a long time. “Sometimes we look at it, but you don’t do anything with it. It’s Stone of Chief.”

  “Why is it called Stone of Chief?”

  “This was a stone which First Chief brought a in the rock.”

  “Oh, I see. Do you swear a new Chief beside it?” Adam tried to figure out the significe of the rock.

  “No, we don’t do that here.” Turot shook his head.

  “Where do you do it?”

  Turot marched off, heading towards the tre of the Iyr, catg many looks from the other Iyrmen. The tre of the Iyr was a rge open space, with very few buildings nearby. There were several statues, fag the eight roads, and a fountain in the tre. There were many Iyrmen rexing nearby, drinking some tea or hot milk, snag on food.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 5 (3)

  The bird remained watg him from a nearby building.

  “The new Chiefs are sworn here, but I’m too little to be there.”

  “How big do you o be?”

  “Like father.”

  “What about Jurot?”

  “No,” Turot said, shaking his head, causing his hair to flop about. “You o be big and you have to be at least Bronze Rank.”

  “What about me? Could I be there if I was Bronze Rank?”

  Turot squinted his eyes at Adam. ‘Are you stupid?’ Turot’s gaze said.

  “Nevermind,” Adam said, w why Turot was bullying him. “Are the Great Elders sworoo?”

  “No.” Turot tio march off, still not telling him where they were going. He led Adam out to the top of a nearby hill where there was a rge open field. The grass was deep crimson, and there were at least a hundred Iyrmen all training and sparring.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 12 (10)

  There was a snake in the grass, right beside his foot, but it was crimson, camoufging against it.

  “This is Blood Hill, where Elder Wrath is sworn.”

  “Is there a big fight to see who bees Elder Wrath?” Adam asked, looking at the field. The grass was all red, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of blood.

  Turot stared up at Adam, squinting his eyes, giving him the same look as before. “The previous Elder icks two Iyrmen, the Chief picks one Iyrman, and…” Turot tried to recall how many more could be nominated. “And some more are picked by the rest of the Iyr.”

  “I see,” Adam replied. “How is Elder icked and sworn?”

  “The Iyrman who wants to be Elder Wrath o vihe people by their deeds and their knowledge.” Turot nodded his head, gd he could recall the information. “Sometimes they fight too.”

  Adam blinked. “Do you want to be an Elder Wrath?”

  “No,” Turot said. “I want to be Elder Peace.”

  “Elder Peace?”

  “Elder Peace is the most important,” Turot said, matter of factly, turning and leading Adam away. After a few mihey appeared at a small area with a single pilr, made of smooth stone, jutting out from the ground.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 5 (3)

  A small squirrel stared at him from the side, but he was staring at the pilr.

  “Elder Peace is sworn here.” Turot looked around, noting the ck of Iyrmen, before rushing up to the pilr to rub it. Once he was done rubbing it, he stared at his hand, aurned, satisfied.

  Adam stepped towards it to rub it, but thought against it, just in case it would get him in trouble. “What about Elder Gold?”

  “They get sworhe warehouses,” Turot said. He didn’t move, though, not wanting to move to the warehouses, which didn’t intrigue him o.

  “Elder Forest?”

  Turot smiled, quickly st towards a se which Adam reised as leading towards the enting shrine, but Turot scampered towards a tunnel.

  There was an orcish Iyrman reading there, with a bde at his side. Upon seeing Adam approach, he raised a hand to stop the half elf. He said something iongue, only to realise he eaking in a nguage Adam didn’t uand, before switg to Aldspeech. “What are you doing here?”

  Turot looked up to Adam, raising his brows. ‘I’m leaving it to you,’ his face said.

  “I was being led by young Turot to see where Elder Forest is sworn in.”

  “Why?” the orcish Iyrman asked, squinting his eyes.

  “I saw Stone of Chief, Blood Hill, and the pilr where Elder Peace are sworn. I was hoping to see where Elder Forest was sworn too.”

  “Why?”

  Adam stared at the Iyrman. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I wao spend some time with Turot, who is showing me around the Iyr. He’s shown me some of the watermills in the Iyr. He’s such a smart young man, as smart as he is strong.” Adam chuckled.

  The Iyrman stared at Adam for a long while. “I will take you.”

  Turot marched forward, with Adam behind him, and the Iyrman at the rear. They walked through various tunnels, each with small glowing stones embedded in the walls, before they approached the top of a hill with a rge tree, made of from different colours of wood, red, blue, green, bck, and white, and had various fruits, copper, bronze, brass, silver, gold, and diamond.

  Perception CheckD20 + 2 = 6 (4)

  A small lizard stared at him from the base of the tree, but he was too enamoured by the tree and its fruit.

  “Here, Elder Forest is sworn,” Turot said.

  Adam here were a rge number of runes all around them, and surprisingly, they were in drakken. “What’s with the tree?”

  “It is a magical tree,” Turot said. “When its fruits fall, they are offered as prizes to Iyrmen.”

  “What do they do?”

  “They increase one’s innate ability,” the orcish Iyrman said. “Depending on the fruit, one would grow stronger, mile, tougher, more intelligence, a greater will, or beore likeable.”

  “Oh,” Adam said, suddenly perking up, a smile on his face.

  “Each Great Elder and Chief are gifted one ohey are sworn,” Turot said, recalling what he had been told.

  “Oh, cool,” Adam said. “Perhaps I should aim to bee a Great Elder.”

  Turot gave Adam the look, but he decided to humour Adam anyway. “Which Great Elder?”

  “Elder Peace?” Adam said, staring down at Turot, who narrowed his eyes at him. “No, no. Perhaps I’ll aim for Elder Story?”

  Turot’s face shook from side to side, aared at Adam as though he had just spped the boy in the face. The orcish Iyrman beside him pced a hand on the hilt of his bde. The lizard perked up its head, staring at Adam with a curious look.

  Adam’s cheeky smile quickly dropped, eyes dartiween the pair of Iyrmen. “What?”

  “Elder Story is not sworn in,” Turot said.

  “They’re not?” Adam asked.

  “No,” Turot said, blinking up at Adam. “Why would they be sworn in?”

  “Why wouldn’t they be?”

  “Little Turot,” the orcish Iyrman said, “you should return home.”

  “Okay,” Turot said, heeding the word of his elder.

  Adam followed after the boy, only to be caught by the Iyrman, who pced a hand on his shoulder. “You should e with me.”

  Adam tensed up when he was touched, but he rexed, nodding his head. He wasn’t stupid enough to dee, nor did he feel fident enough.

  He followed the Iyrman to one of the Elders, having Adam sit down and wait as they talked.

  “You should return to the Rot family,” the Elder said, shaking her head, a small smile on her fabsp;

  “Is everything okay?” Adam asked, slowly standing up.

  “Takrat does not uand that you wouldn’t know such things, and he doesn’t get your humour.”

  “Oh,” Adam said, sighing in relief. “Takrat?”

  “Yes?” the orcish Iyrman replied.

  “Well, isn’t that a ce.”

  “What do you mean?” Takrat asked.

  “I’ve retly heard the tale of Akrat, son of Ikrat.”

  “Bckwater Crisis?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Takrat recalled Adam was staying with the Rot family, so it was more than likely to be one of the first tales he’d hear. “That is a tale of my family, yes.”

  Adam nodded his head. “Akrat was very manly. I cried a few times throughout.”

  Takrat nodded his head.

  “I should be going,” Adam said, awkwardly retreating as he retuned back to the Rot family.

  “He reised the runes of the Drakken Tree,” Takrat said.

  “I will let Elder Forest know,” the Elder said.

  “He’s suspicious.”

  The Elder stared at Takrat. “Leave him be. I heard he met with the Great Elders retly. Do you think they’d let you intrude oter?”

  Takrat grunted, frowning. A bird nded on his shoulder, and he rubbed its head gently with a fihen, it flew off, returning back to its cave.

  When Adam returo the Rot family, Sonarot pat the seat beside her. “I see Turot got you in trouble.”

  Adam just chuckled. “Oh, no, it was me and my big mouth.”

  Sonarot asked it hrase from his homend. “Well, I heard you went to touch the Peace Pilr.”

  “I didn’t touch it,” Adam said. “Was I meant to?”

  “No,” Sonarot said. “Toug the Peace Pilr is not allowed.”

  “I see…” Adam said.

  Sonarot tio stare into his eyes. He knew what she wanted him to firm, and as the seds passed, he began to sweat.

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  Turot bullying Adam was really funny to me.

  Though...

  What's with all the animals cheg Adam out?

  Charima: 16

  Oh, that's why.