“Good m to you fine folks,” the dark skinned man said with the slightest of ats. He was well built, though it was covered under his mail, and had dark hair and green eyes. At his side was a sword, and beside his leg was a round shield. “I have heard that you were looking for a Priest. Morn Dunes, but you call me Dunes.

  “We are,” Adam said, shaking his hand. “Adam, son of Fate.”

  “Jurot, son of Surot.”

  “Kitool, daughter of Zorool.”

  “Jaygak, daughter of Lavgak.”

  Duook Jaygak’s hand, kissing the back of it, before whispering something in something which sounded like fire crag.

  Jaygak tilted her head, her lips f a smile, saying something ba Vilspeech. She wasn’t surprised that he knew Vilspeech, as some Aswadians would know it, but she hadn’t expected such favour.

  “You don’t seem to be from around here,” Adam said. He had seen some darker skinned men in the soldiers of the Aswadians back when they were at the forest, but this was the first dark skinned man he had seen in Aldnd.

  “No. I am Aswadian, which I uand might be a problem for some people.” He gnced around to see the Iyrmen, befng to the helmeted Adam.

  “How do you feel about elves?” Adam asked, smiling from behind his helmet.

  “I haven’t heard anything good about them,” Dunes admitted. “My friend, Thordan Lighthammer, told me they’re a bunch of bastards.”

  “What about half elves?”

  “I suppose they’re half bastards?”

  “You’re n,” Adam said, taking off his helmet.

  Dunes ughed. “I didn’t expect that.”

  “I’m sure. Which god do you follow, Dunes?”

  “The most divine Goddess of War, Lady Arya, of course.”

  “You don’t say,” Adam said. “One of my favourite gods, after Baktu, Lord Sozain as you might know him.” Adam had realised he should probably show some courtesy to the gods, for now.

  “You follow the good Lady as well?” Dunes asked, surprised. He hadn’t heard of an elf which worshipped one of their gods.

  “Something like that,” Adam said, fshing a knowing smile. “We have an iiionship. I noticed that you had a sword by your side, ly the most Priestly of ons.”

  “The good Lady’s preferred on,” Dunes said. “Thordan and I fought about it often.”

  “A dwarven friend, huh?” Adam said, shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of someone befriending a dwarf so quickly.”

  “Saving his life several times sped up the process, admittedly.”

  Adam smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Do you have anything against elves?”

  “Not personally.”

  “Good. Then we’ll do a few quests together to see if we’re patible. I’m the leader of Fate’s Golden, our party, and we have established a rule about how we split the loot, but since you’re new and not officially a part of our party, you don’t have to follow it. I use magid bde, like yourself, and Jurot uses his rage. Kitool is a…”

  “Monk,” Kitool said.

  Dunes nodded his head. “We have many Monks in our kingdom as well.”

  “Jaygak is a Fighter too, though she’s much better equipped at dealing with fire than me,” Adam said, smiling.

  “I am a Priest of Lady Arya. I finished my rites not long ago, and I’ve been in a handful of battles, but I’m no Iyrmen.” Dunes looked to the Iyrmen. “I haven’t met many Iyrmen, there were a few nearby, and they would often e by to spar with us.”

  “You’re from Bck Mountain?” Jaygak asked.

  Dunes nodded.

  “You could tell where he was from just from that?” Adam asked, gng to Jaygak.

  “If he’s a Priest of Wahtu and Iyrmen often spar with them, it was obvious,” she said. “He’s from Bck Mountain, which holds the oldest temple of Wahtu.”

  Dunes nodded. “That’s the one. Well, I’m from a small vilge near it, but yes, that is where I traihough don’t let the Easterell you that they have the oldest temple. Yes, their temple is older, but ours is the oldest temple which was made with the express i of being Lady Arya’s temple.”

  “Right,” Adam said, shaking his head.

  “We have heard much of the Iyr within our temple. We grew up hearing the tales of the Iyr, especially the Sed Bckwater Crisis.”

  ‘What a popur story,’ Adam thought.

  “The Champion of War?” Jurot said, smiling slightly.

  “The very same,” Dunes said.

  “I think you mentioned him before,” Adam said, gng to Jurot. “Was he the slime? No, no that was Lemon, wasn’t it?”

  “Melon,” Jurot corrected.

  “Whose Brandon the Bold then?”

  “You don’t know about Brandon the Bold?” Dunes asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “He’s the most famous Champion of Lady Arya!”

  “He was very strong,” Jurot said, nodding his head. “During the Sed Bckwater Crisis, fifty years after the First Bckwater Crisis, there were three wars which erupted at the same time.”

  “The War of Sed Frost, the War of the South, the War of the Embers,” Jaygak said.

  “The War of Sed Frost was against the giants, who had e again to North Fort for vengeance.”

  “It was the same war in which Wujyn’s aor mao earn the family name Jyn for her desdants,” Jaygak said. “It was the first war in which devilkin Iyrmen fought.”

  “The Iyrme out a huo each war. There was Atol Giantsbane, Balzar the Southern Dragon, and Miryah the Dragonsyer.” Jurot spoke of them with great reverence, and he looked up as though he was thinking of a different time.

  “But there was one man, not an Iyrman, who matched them all,” Kitool said.

  “Brandon the Bold,” Jurot whispered.

  “Brandon the Bold,” Dunes said. “Or as we called him in the south, Great Brandon, Gdiator King.”

  “He and the Southern Drago in bat during the War of the South,” Jaygak said. “It was almost an assured victory for the Iyrmen, but Brandon the Bold slew the Southern Dragon.”

  “It was an unimaginable feat, for not even the King’s Sword of the time could have sin any of the three named Iyrmen,” Jurot assured.

  “He couldn’t have sin a great many of those in the armies,” Kitool said.

  “The war eventually ended in a stale mate,” Dunes said. “The Southern Kingdom had wotle, but after seeing their greatest warrior barely mao defeat but one of the many great warriors of the Iyr, the war ended. Great Brandon did no stop there, however, as he was still a Champion of Lady Arya, and so he joihe Iyr, his eo fight against the giants and the dragons.”

  “He fought alongside Atol and Miryah, assisting them in earning their titles,” Jurot said. “When they returhey spoke of the dark skinned man, whose bde tore through giants and dragons.”

  “They say that he was the stro of the trio,” Dunes said, smiling.

  Adam turo Jurot, who nodded his head unashamedly. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Whoa,” Adam whispered. There was only oher person that the Iyrmen praised so greatly who was not an Iyrman.

  “Brandon was io the Iyr. He had three children, one which was raised in the Iyr and fouhe Don family.They are a small family even now, having very few children each geion, but they go on to do great things. Randon, who is from the geion from before my own, is a Gold Rank Adventurer, one of the few to reach the title before forty.”

  “Whoa,” Adam said. “So he still has desdants in the Iyr even today?” Adam hadn’t realised that the Iyr invited powerful people into the Iyr so their children could bee Iyrmen.

  “They are sidered to be endangered, and so the Iyr had put the into Life Prote, whided retly.”

  “Wow,” Adam said. “I’d love to meet them.”

  “Bandon is their current heir,” Jurot said. “He is but a boy, but will leave the Iyr soon.”

  “I should meet him and try to earn his favour,” Adam thought. ‘If their family really is so powerful, I should try ahem on my side in case some of the Iyrmen end up disliking me for some reason.’

  “You have.”

  “What?”

  “You have met him.”

  “I have?” Adam asked, staring at Jurot. “When?”

  “When you faced Amokan and Timojin, there were many children which had e to chat to you.”

  “I remember,” Adam said. “Whie was he?”

  “He had bck hair and blue eyes. You let him hold your sword.”

  “Oh! That kid!” Adam said, nodding his head. “If I had known he was some child of a legend, I would have let him py with it.”

  Jurot looked at him. “Most children in the Iyr are children of legends.”

  “Oh,” Adam said. “Right.”

  “His family’s on is an artefact, one which rivals the very greatest ons in the world,” Jurot said. “It was once lost, but was quickly found arieved.” Jurot stopped, w if he could mention the rest. “It is a longsword known as Bcksea.”

  “What does it do?” Adam asked.

  “It is made of divieel,” Dunes said, quickly chiming in. “It gives its wielder many abilities, mostly greater abilities to strike down a foe, but with each passing moment in bat, it grows ever more powerful.”

  “Ohe wielder is near death, it is the greatest on of all within the Iyr,” Kitool said. “I have had the pleasure of toug it.”

  Jurot and Jaygak frowned slightly, uanding just what a boast it was.

  “You’ve touched it?” Dunes asked, staring at Kitool. ‘Not only have they met a desdant of Great Brandon, but they also have touched his on? I’m so jealous.’

  “Cool!” Adam said. “I want to see it too!”

  “Me too!” Dunes cried, finally uo tain his excitement. “He had left the on in the Iyr. Though we had mao reacquire it at some point, the Iyr politely asked for it back.” He threw an awkward go the Iyrmen. “Which we of course returned upon their request.”

  Jurot nodded his head slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Wahtu had given word of our fervour.”

  “Iyrmen are some of the most devout followers, so we should of course take their wishes into sidering,” Dunes said, crag a smile. “The Shen sure wishes he could say the same.”

  “It is a great retionship between the Iyr and Bck Mountain,” Kitool said. “We are always thankful for the temple for allowing us safe haven.”

  “Well, it’s not as though its unearned,” Dunes said.

  “The Don family has done much t us together,” Jurot said. “We Iyrmen do not fet our favours.”

  “Or yrudges,” Adam joked, smiling wide, but he he dark expressions and nods of the Iyrmen.

  “You mentioned Randon previously,” Dunes said. “Is he by any ce Marg Death?”

  “Yes,” Jurot replied.

  Dunes pced his head into his hands, shaking his head. “I had the eet him in Bck Mountain years ago, but I had decided to take the rites ter. If I had known…”

  “Anyway,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “Instead of geeking about history, should we quest?”

  Dunes sighed, nodding his head. ‘I ’t believe I didn’t ect that the two were the same. They must have mentiohat Randon was Great Brandon’s desdant. Was I te for the annou? Was I too drunk?’

  “What should we do?” Adam asked.

  “Sy,” Jurot said.

  “Hunt,” Kitool said.

  “Fight,” Jaygak said.

  Adam looked to Dunes.

  Dunes raised his brows. “I’m a Priest of war, so…”

  “What should we do?” Adam asked, looking over the wall. “Goblin hunting?” Adam noted one of the quests. ‘Goblins? Are they monsters in this world?’

  “Goblin hunting is difficult,” Jurot said.

  “Another bear? Some boars?”

  “What about forest wolves?” Jaygak asked. “Their fur is a pift in the Iyr.”

  “Didn’t we say we should sell everything so we make money?” Adam asked.

  “Forest wolf fur is very popur,” Kitool said. “Especially with children.”

  ‘So, you have found my weakness,’ Adam thought. “Alright, let’s do that then.”

  “I hope there is an Elder Wolf,” Jurot said, smiling.

  “I hope not,” Jaygak said. “One of us almost died to a brown bear, remember?”

  Jurot’s smile faded. “Sorry.”

  “The’s fight some wolves. If there are any Elder Wolves, we’ll deal with them, alright Jurot?” Adam said, patting his back.

  “I have some Tricks,” Dunes said. “Though I prefer being ihick of things.”

  “Sure, but it’ll be difficult for everyone if you go down. I know it’s going to be b being in the bad safe, but I’d appreciate it if you healed.”

  “I uand.”

  “If things get dangerous, stay beside Kitool and Jaygak. The porters will be nearby too.”

  “Porters?”

  Adam nodded. “We have a trio of porters on our payroll. They’ve beeremely useful to us so far, and one of them is going to be trained by us one day.”

  Dunes nodded. “How will the pay be split?”

  “After the guild’s cut, everyone pays into the Party Fund with two tenths of their pay, and then everyoheir split. Since I’m the leader, I’ll pay the porters from my own funds.”

  “Party Fund?”

  “It’ll be used to pay for things we all be from, including spell pos. The Iyrmen pay their own tax bae, and it’s a hefty tax, so it’ll be difficult unless we have a shared Party Fund.”

  He nodded. “I’ll put my into the Party Fund too. If there’s three Iyrmen about, I don’t think it’s a scam.”

  Adam smiled.

  They went through their routine of buying bread. Nobby was there in the m, but Adam paid him a gold and had him return to stay with his father for the day, ign his protests.

  Ohe jam buns were bought, Adam using his own moo pay for it, they made their way out. “Let’s earn a bunch of today!” he excimed, ughing as they walked out into the forest.

  Jurot and Kitool led the party, following the tracks. Dunes kept a, though also kept back with Jaygak, speaking iongue of the devilkin.

  “Something’s wrong,” Jurot said, donning his shield and grabbing his axe.

  “I feel it too.” Kitool gripped her staff tighter, gng around the area.

  “The forest is different today,” Jurot whispered.

  They had been travelling for a little over three hours, taking a break every so often. Adam donned his shield too, grabbing his die. Dunes had followed their lead, and so had Jaygak.

  “What should we do?” Dunes asked.

  “Jurot?” Adam asked. “What do you think? I don’t mind if we return. The quest isly…”

  Wisdom Save D20 + 3 = 4 (1)

  Adam’s body filled with a deep cold, aood up straighter. His brow filled with sweat.

  The ground rumbled, and trees shook.

  Leaping from the tree line appeared twe bears, with broad shoulders, and thick fur. They were brown, like a brown bear, but atop their heads were a rge bud, as green as any herb he had seen.

  “Mother’s tits!” Remy excimed.

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