The jouro Deadwood passed by ufully. Adam and Jurot assisted the elder Iyrmen in pr gifts. Jarot allowed Adam to spend far too much money on the gifts, while spending his own eagerly too, buying as many gifts as he could for all the children, from those of the Rot family, to all those in the surrounding families too. Gangak did the same, spending her gold as easily as Adam caused chaos.

  The trio of elder Iyrmen stood at the front gate as the carriages darted away, having said their goodbyes.

  “You endured well,” Gangak said, pg a hand on the old man’s shoulder.

  “What must I endure?” Jarot asked, dismissing the words. His eyes remained focus on the carriages. “My grandson is in danger, but I am having fun in Deadwood?”

  “Even if he dies, he had brought glory to his family.”

  “He is no Iyrman,” Jarot replied, simply, feeling the ache within his heart. He could imagine Jurot dying, and his heart swelled with pride, but upon thinking of the death of his randson, he who was not an Iyrman?

  “You must have faith in him,” Gangak stated.

  “Does it look like I have no faith?” Jarot asked. “Not even the Iyr could kill him without my permission, so the world ot!”

  “You should have more faith in yrandnephew.”

  “Do you wao beat you?”

  The guards gnced aside to the Iyrmen, hearing the growling of their tongue, hoping they wouldn’t cause any trouble, but this was the first time they had seen a group of Iyrmen this old all moving together.

  While their elders worried over them, the younger fellows each rexed now that they had more space within the carriages. Even though the space was still slightly cramped, it was far more open, with four people still driving the carriages, or rather, sitting on the driver’s seats at the front of the carriages while the magical steeds pulled them along.

  “How quickly we make it to Eagle Wing?” Adam asked.

  “We will pass through the first fort, but we should stay within the sed,” Jurot said.

  “Will we be alright, what with, you know, the Managers?”

  “…” Jurot crossed his arms. If they still had the elder Iyrmen, it wouldn’t have been an issue, though the forts nearby were under heavy influence from Eagle Wing. ‘If there are members of the Order of Eagle Wing, we should be able to pass by, since we do not have such bad blood.’ “We could pass through to Eagle Wing, though we will arrive te at night, and our bodies will ache.”

  “Let’s do that.”

  “Okay.”

  The walls were long and wide, ing around the yered town, built upon the hill. The guards stood at attention, adorned in their breastpte, stamped with the symbol of an eagle, their dusky tan cloaks shifting slightly uhe noonval wind. Spears in hand, they carried short bdes at their side. It was their helmets, which reminded Adam of the Order of the Wings, for small wings emerged from the sides of their helmets.

  “Halt!” shouted the guards, before Jogak stepped forward to deal with them.

  Ohe matters were resolved, from the gate fees, to the myriad of questions Jogak answered, revealing the pque of Bow to answer some questions more vaguely than the guards would have liked, the carriage were allowed within.

  The pathway smooth and wide, allowing fifty people to march through the road if he buildings to the side made of smooth stone or wood, each of them small cubes. Eagle Wing khree colours, tan, cream, while the st was a colour which was rarer now, sanguine. Most within Eagle Wing walked about with a small bde or axe at their side, few also walking around with a staff in hand. The ier of the town began almost a half mile ahead, with its ow of walls and guards, but the bustling people blocked their view.

  “You know,” Adam said within the carriage. “We didn’t really e aany issues, did we?”

  “No,” Jurot agreed. “The forts may be dealing with the matters, or it may be the influence of the Reavers.”

  ‘Reavers…’ Adam frowned, uo help that perhaps he was responsible for them appearing. ‘Starsword said that I was at fault for the civil wars. The Iyr probably knows, but they still let me leave? If I was the Iyr, I’d have ed me up forever.’

  The group stayed within an inn of the town, though he wide berth most people gave to them. They were far too colourful fle Wing, the group stig out like sore thumbs iown.

  ‘I feel like this pce didn’t like me either, but it’s not like we’ll stay too long.’

  Mork yawned lightly, sipping his mug of ale slowly, before taking a bite of his cracker, which was topped with cheese and jam. “The guards around Eagle Wing sure are something.”

  “They’re not so bad, for Southerners,” Treed.

  “Are we passing through the Order?” Mork asked.

  “The Order’s to the east, but we’ll be heading north,” Fred replied, sipping his own mug of ale, while another drink.

  “Is the business really payin’ for all our food?” Tork asked.

  “Aye,” Fred replied, leaning ba his seat, having a mind to order another dessert, but he was already feeling a little too heavy.

  “Where are you headed?” Mork asked.

  “Just o swing my bde after dinner,” Fred replied.

  “I’ll join you,” Mork said, grunting as he stood, feeling heavy from his meal.

  The pair made their way outside to the inn’s courtyard, where they found other travellers and warriors, each rexing after dinner. Some were swinging their bdes around, others stretg their bodies, and others smoking in the er, watg the smoke head towards the heavens.

  Fred drew his bde, feeling the great magic within it even through his gloves. The bde carried with it a particur sheen of blue, that which was more than mundane. He cut through the air a few times, his swordpy not quite as impressive as the deadly Iyrmen he apanied, holding too much roughness, but the magic of the bde allowed him to swing it near effortlessly.

  “Nice bde,” a woman called from the side. She was ihirties or forties, with short hair, a sharp jaw line, and a scar across her cheek to her forehead, the bde having missed her eye. She wore a shirt, but little more, and carried a bde at her side. She motioning with her hand to allow Fred to approach her.

  “Thank you,” Fred replied, sheathing his bde, approag the woman, shadowed by Mork.

  “Brother,” the woman said, bowing her head, causing Mork to nod his head iurn. “Say, where did you find that bde?”

  “It was gifted to me.”

  “You work for a noble?”

  “No, a business.”

  “Which business is that?”

  “The United Kindom.”

  “Ah,” the woman said, her smile growing slightly. “Are you a Mahen?”

  “No, I’m a Lead.”

  “Lead?”

  “I’m below a Manager.”

  “How lucky for you!” The woman fshed a wide smile. “I heard you got into some trouble with the Marquess?”

  “…”

  “Right, I probably shouldn’t ask,” the woman said, patting the seat to one side.

  Fred gnced around towards her panions, a mert, and a group of uards. He pulled a chair back. “Brother.” Fred allowed Mork to sit down in the seat first, before taking his pce beside the Priest.

  “Don’t be so tense, I won’t bite.” She chuckled. “I heard from my uhat the warriors of the business were a strong bunch. I’m not ied in pig a fight.”

  “Who is your uncle?”

  “He’s a Marshal now.”

  “Marshal… Stone Sword?”

  She bowed her head. “Thanks to him, I got a business here as a guard. Sometimes I work with the nearby merts who want to head north. It’s dangerous, so they need an Expert like me, for my bde, and my brains. Mao buy myself a bde a couple years back, too.”

  “What kind of bde?”

  “Basic. What about yours? It doesn’t look simple.”

  “It’s a Greater Enhanced sword.”

  “Horse shit!” The woman blinked, surprised by her own outburst. “Really?”

  Fred undid his sword belt and pced it oable, which meant he was fident enough that she wouldn’t steal it, or rather, that he could keep it. The woman reached over, feeling the hilt of the bde, and the tingles which ran through her hand and her arm. She drew the bde slightly, staring at the steel of the bde for a moment, before pg it back down.

  “It’s powerful, that’s for sure,” she whispered. “How strong are you?”

  “I’m an Expert, at least.”

  “At least?”

  “I’m not good at uanding that sort of thing, but Jonn told me that I’m a step above an Expert, but he’s a step above me, but he’s not a Master yet.”

  “Jonn?”

  “He’s another Lead. He’s got a-,”

  “Lead Fred,” Mork said, interrupting the young man from saying too much. “We o grab Tork before he causes trouble.”

  Fred gnced aside to Mork, his eyes curious. “Okay?”

  “It’s a pleasure to sit with you all, but I’ve got to stop my brother from causing trouble. He must be on his sixth drink by now, and I don’t want him to cause us to lose our job.”

  “Whose going to lose us our job?” Tork asked, grunting, carrying a small tray of cheese. “I came all this way to get you some cheese and you’re speaking so darkly about me?”

  Somehow, it was a differe of brothers causing trouble this time. Somehow, as the group tinued forward, there was little trouble.

  During one break at lunch, Adam gnced up to see crows flying overhead. He frowned. “It just had to be ohirteenth, huh?”

  “Misfortune?” Jurot asked.

  “Something like that.” Adam stared up at the crows as they tio fly towards the dire of the fort. ‘Seriously, why do I always over think about those sorts of things.’ “At least it isn’t raining.”

  Bael yawned, feeling the first of the rain beginning to fall onto him, the young man smirking towards the half elf.

  ‘How does he do it?’ Adam thought, noting how the cloud so suddenly ged above them. ‘It’s really impressive.’

  The rain fell across the nd. From the path to West Wood the group were travelling, to the south, where the Orders had gathered together in the fort, where King Merryweather gathered with the Orders, from the Orders of Aldnd, to the Orders of the newly blossomed kingdom of Floria.

  They, too, were at the fort.

  The rain fell upoent, the rhythmic patter filled the space within. It was then, the tension in the air rose, the dles flickering, casting shadows against the walls.

  Chief Iromin stood. “I must leave.”

  “What is so important that you must leave your task here?” Elder Peace asked, rubbing along her prayer beads.

  “I must return to deal with Adam.”

  Elder Peace stopped rubbing her beads for a moment. “Okay.”

  Meanwhile, it was the calm before the storm within the Iyr.

  Elder Zijin stared at the slip of paper, and for once, his face betrayed his emotions. His eyes widened, before he ched his fist around the slip. He stared ahead of him, but saw nothing.

  “Churot, return to the shared estate,” the Elder said, standing up carefully, as though his bones were made of sand.

  “Okay,” the young Iyrman said, pg a ribbon he had received from Adam into the book, befetting up and walking back to the shared estate, oblivious to the Elder’s worries.

  “e,” Zijin said, holding out his pque, as the aide accepted it from his hand, before the Elder stormed off, allowing the aide to deal with his responsibilities. Though it was important to deal with Adam at this moment, he o deal with the matters of the Iyr’s future first.

  “Elder Zijin?” Jaygak asked, surrounded by the books, the young woman staring up at the Elder with surprise. ‘Wasn’t I meant to be studying alone?’

  “Follow me,” Zijin said, causing the young Iyrman to stand at attention, marg after the Elder, who crossed his hands behind his back as he led the young woman towards one of the cave plexes. “You will study in solitude.”

  Jaygak remained silent, not yet taking a step within the cave, which would isote her for an indefiime. Of course, sihe Elder had told her to do it, she would do it. “Is it Adam?”

  “I will inform you of the matter before it is too te,” Zijin assured. “You should study without distras so that you assist.”

  “Okay,” Jaygak replied, her entire body tensing up, before she rexed. ‘Elder Zijin wouldn’t allow him to die so easily.’

  Elder Zijin’s thoughts were upon the pair. ‘Adam will find out the day after tomorrow, but Jarot will learn of the matter today or tomorrow. Otkan and Gangak may be able to deal with him for now, but I o send someone before he causes too much destru.’

  Elder Zijin blocked out the dark thoughts, dealing with the tasks at hand, but even then, he could feel the grief and the rage build deep within him.

  Uh oh. What did he do this time?