“Take care of yourself,” Argon said, pg his hands on his brother’s shoulders.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, you’re the one heading south,” Dargon joked.

  Argon narrowed his eyes, but they shook forearms.

  “ime we meet, I will defeat you,” Amokan said.

  “Bring it,” Adam said, shaking his forearm.

  “We will meet again,” Timojin said, shaking Adam’s forearm. “Do not lose before then.”

  “If I lose, I lose, but at least it won’t be to you.” Adam smirked.

  Timojin ughed.

  The others exged their goodbyes with one another, and soon they each left. Okvar led them south towards Ever Green, and Wujyn led Adam and the rest towards Red Oak.

  They tio travel for days, stopping at the sed vilge and then at Lipetal, where Adam met a familiar face he had pletely fotten about.

  “Oh,” Adam said. “Brittany.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, nodding her head. She could feel that she had been fotten. “I’ve been practising.”

  “Show me,” Adam said, followio see a number of trees full of marks, before someone had the bright idea of making a target they could pin to a tree instead. “Not bad,” Adam said.

  “So you’ll take me with you?” Brittany asked.

  Adam turned and looked to Jaygak and Kitool, befng back to Brittany. “Do you think you could beat them in a battle?”

  “No,” Brittany said, staring at him like he was an idiot.

  “There’s a high ce they die out there, and you think you do better than them?”

  “I uand the danger!” Brittany urged. “I want to go out into the world! I want to leave this small vilge and explore the nd! I want to see the mountains! I want to see the sea!”

  “I know,” Adam said. “Now is not the right time. It’s only been a few months, and you o keep training. We, uh, the Iyrmen have trained for years to go out and explore. I’m not saying you ’t go out and explore as you are right now, I’m saying that you ’t protect yourself, and I definitely ’t protect you. I promised you that I will take you to adveo see the world for yourself, but give me time.” He pced a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

  Brittany sighed and bowed her head. She didn’t protest, instead going off to dwell ihoughts.

  “What’s the story between you two?” Jaygak asked. “Jilted lovers?”

  Adam gnced back to Jaygak. “That’s what you thought that was?”

  “I don’t know,” Jaygak said, shrugging her shoulders. “So what’s the story?”

  “Some vilge girl wants freedom, and she thinks I’m the path towards it.”

  “Are you?”

  “I am oh, sure,” Adam said. “My path is more difficult than she realises, and I’m not sure I should bring her out when she could die so quickly, not while I’m this weak.”

  Jaygak nodded her head, uanding the se behind what he said. “Do you pn on taking Lanarot out of the Iyr with you to see the world?”

  Adam smiled. “One day.”

  “When you’re strong?”

  “Yes.”

  “Kidnapping children is a terrible crime in the Iyr.”

  “I’m not going to kidnap her!” Adam snapped. “I, as her older brother, will pn a trip to the outside world. It will be done acc to the rules of the Iyr, or, I will speak to Sonarot about it and see what she thinks. This will be once I’m powerful, and with the ability to send her back quickly if something goes wrong.”

  “Once you’re an Expert, you might be able to take her out,” Jaygak said.

  “Expert?”

  “When mages cast Fireball, and when warriors strike like lightning.”

  “Ah,” Adam said, nodding his head.

  They rexed in the vilge for the day before heading out to Red Oak.

  Omen: 2, 9

  The huge walls of Red Oak ihem. “It’s been too long,” Adam said, staring at the stone walls. In parison to the Iyr, the walls of Red Oak were so puny.

  Kendal and Eshva sighed, having expected a fight on the way through the forest, but they had been lucky, or unlucky, and had e through ued.

  Rokat and Wujyn shook their heads at the pair. “It’s obvious we wouldn’t have fought anything,” Wujyn said. “What beasts would dare e to so many Iyrmen, especially a group led by a Mithril Rank?” Wujyn smiled, avoiding Adam’s stare.

  ‘I k!’

  Dargon gave them his sympathies too, patting their shoulders. “We’ll fight aime.”

  Currency: 10CP -> 9CP

  Adam flicked the guard a copper , nodding his head towards them. The cttered off the guard’s .

  “What are you doing?” the guard asked.

  “Paying the gate fee,” Adam said, pig up the and it to the guard. ‘That was embarrassing.’

  “Oh, you’re not an Iyrman?” the guard asked, taking the .

  “No,” Adam said, pointing to his helmet. “I kept it on.”

  “Why?”

  “I prefer keeping my helmet on.”

  “That’s suspicious.”

  “I’m walking around with almost ten Iyrmen,” Adam noted.

  “Fair py.” The guard nodded his head ahem through.

  They approached the Adventurer’s Guild, whied over the area to one side. Wujyn opehe doors and the adventurers within all gowards the group, noting the mass of Iyrmen, and quickly returo their drinks.

  At the desk was a young woman, with her red hair and her beautiful smile. “Wele,” she said, noting the group. She saw the one in puthral, w who it was, before seeing Jurot and the other Iyrmen.

  Adam took off his helmet, causing her eyes to fsh towards him. “Good afternoon,” Adam said, fshing a smile. “It’s been a while.”

  “Yes,” Emma said, switg around some papers. “It has beehought you two were dead, sidering you hadn’t e by.”

  “Fortunately not,” Adam said. “There was a minor issue and we recuperated in the Iyr. We had some matters to attend to too.”

  “Is that… puthral?” Emma asked, blinking at his armour.

  “It is,” Adam said. “Doesn’t it look pretty?” He knocked against the breastpte.

  “Pte mail?”

  “Yep.”

  “Is that…” She looked at the ons each of them held. “Are those magical ons?”

  “Yep,” Adam said, smiling at her. The Iyrmen knew not to reveal the secret, partly because Adam had spoken to them about it.

  Emma exged a look with Wujyn, but she didn’t give anything away. “Alright, well,” Emma said, posing herself. “The ime you plete a quest, please return expediently for your rewards.”

  “Sorry,” Adam said, chug lightly.

  Emma gave a look to Jurot, who nodded his head. “Good. Now hand over ys.”

  Stamps Gained: +4Stamps: 9 -> 13

  Quest plete: Balrog’s Fall+200XPXP: 1600 -> 1800

  “We will process yold soon,” she said.

  “How much gold?” Adam asked.

  “It will be one hundred gold s to each of you.”

  “ I get that in gems?”

  Emma nodded.

  Adam stepped aside. “Good luck,” he said to Jaygak and Kitool.

  “Two Iyrmen?” Emma said. “I should have expected, si’s that time of year.” She smiled.

  Paul stepped out from the ba to see Jaygak and Kitool were being processed. “Two Iyrmen? It’s our lucky day,” he said, befng over to see Adam. He blinked, uo process what he was saying. “Is that puthral pte mail?” Paul asked. He recalled Jurot, which reminded him of the swole half elf. ‘What?’

  Adam smiled, sitting down in the er with Jurot. Paul took Jaygak and Kitool away, though gnced back towards the half elf, who was sitting with the Iyrmen.

  Rokat sat down opposite Adam and sighed, whereas Kendal and Eshva were drinking away their sorrows, with Dargon soling them. “The look on his face was hirious.”

  “It’s been a while since I saw Vice Master Paul,” Wujyn admitted. “He o e to the Iyr more often.”

  ‘I’m not sure he wants to,’ Adam thought, recalling how Paul would only go when an Iyrman died nearby.

  “What are your pns?” Rokat asked.

  “Just, adventuring I suppose.” Adam threw a look to Jurot, who was chewing on some bread, staring down at it. Adam smiled. “Actually…”

  Jaygak and Kitool both returned after their examination, passing with flying colours as everyone expected.

  “How did the pair of you mao snag magical ons?” Paul asked.

  “Good fortune,” Kitool said.

  Jaygak’s lips twitched, but she knew better than to reveal the secret. She just smiled up at him.

  “Fine, keep your secrets,” Paul said, chug.

  Jaygak and Kitool hat the boys weren’t there, and that the other devilkin were missing.

  “You’re back!” Pam gasped, staring at the pair. Adam, in his infinite wisdom, put his helmet ba. She stared up at Adam for a moment, nnising him, but her eyes then fell back to Jurot.

  “Yes,” Jurot replied.

  “Isn’t that the Iyrman’s metal?” Pam asked, staring at the armour.

  “You’re right,” Adam said, pulling up his helmet to reveal just his face for a moment, before pushing it ba.

  “I hear it’s rare! How did you get it?” she asked, admiring the metal. She had never seen such a beautiful armour before.

  “I impressed the Iyrmen,” Adam replied, simply. “Anyway, it’s been a while since we’ve had your jam buns, so let’s order a few. Right, Jurot? You missed them too, didn’t you?”

  Jurot nodded. “Yes.”

  “We’ll take, uh, a basket of bread, and about…” Adam pced down two gold s. “However many jam buns we buy with the remainder.”

  “Are you going to return the basket?” Pam asked, squinting at him.

  “Of course,” he said. “We’ll pop by in the m aurn it then.”

  “Alright,” she said, going off to fill a basket with bread.

  Adam rubbed Jurot’s elbow. “e on, say something.”

  “It smells the same,” Jurot said.

  Adam blinked. ‘Why are you mentioning smell, you creep.’ Adam sighed, noting Jurot’s ears had turned slightly red. ‘Ho ho ho!’

  Currency: 100GP -> 98GP

  “Make sure you e bad order some more bread soon, okay?” Pam said, waving at them as they left.

  When they finally returned, with the devilkin women g themselves on bread and buns on Adam’s insistehey noted how Kitool and Jaygak were chatting with Paul iongue. Braun was also at the ter now, having takehe shift.

  “Hey,” Adam said, waving a jam bun. “Did you pass?”

  “Yes.”

  “Obviously.”

  Adam pced down the basket. “The’s celebrate!” He ate another jam bun, though had already eaten three so was beginning to feel a little sick. They drank in peace too, with Adam gng at Paul. “Do I have some work?”

  “I’ll see,” the Vice Master said. “So, about your armour.”

  “Isn’t it pretty?” Adam replied, smirking up at him.

  Paul could see Adam wasn’t going to reveal his secrets, so he sighed and shook his head. Even Jaygak and Kitool refused to say anything about it.

  Eventually, Adam made his way to the desk. “Good evening, Braun. Our party is looking for a Priest, are there any looking for a parthey be new, or they have a few quests uheir belt already, we don’t mind.”

  “You’re joining with the Iyrmen?” he asked.

  “The Iyrmen, Kitool and Jaygak, are joining us, Jurot and I,” Adam said.

  Braun narrowed his eyes, but nodded. “Your party’s name is Eternal Duo?”

  Adam coughed. ‘Oh, gods. Did I really that?’ “Uh, we ge that?”

  Braun nodded.

  “Give me a sed,” Adam said, returning to the others. “Hey, we o figure out a new name for our party.”

  Kitool bowed her head. “We have spoken of it.”

  “You have?”

  “Fate’s Golden,” Jaygak said, smirking up at him.

  “Wow, that’s a cool name. Who figured that out?”

  “Jurot,” the pair said.

  Adam smiled, staring at Jurot. “You know, I’ve been thinking you’re really good at naming things. I should e to you more often.”

  Jurot nodded his head.

  Adam went to ge the party’s name, ging it to Fate’s Golden. “Oh, and one more thing.”

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  I have to admit, when I imagine myself in Jurot's shoes, my naming abilities increase by 20%.