“Swifter than any river. Sturdier than any hill.” Pual held the woman’s helmet, staring into her eyes through her visor as he half sang the words.

  “Iggritte,” the woman said. “Iggritte.”

  “Taller than the skies! Mightier than the mountains!”

  “Iggritte,” the womaed. “Iggritte.”

  “Nobby,” Adam called, causing the boy to turn to face him.

  “Yes, mister boss?”

  “If you win, I’ll send the gold to your family,” Adam said.

  “Okay,” the boy replied, donning his shield.”

  “Ten gold on my Iggritte!” Pual whipped around, pointing towards the sky. “Bregor would never five me if I bet any less.”

  “Ten gold it is,” Adam said, nodding his head. “Yirl got any magical items or such?”

  “No,” Pual replied. “Your boy?”

  “Don’t believe so,” Adam said, eyeing him up. “I don’t think his axe is at least. Sir Vonda, mind cheg for us?”

  “As you wish,” Vonda replied, holding onto her shield as she began to pray, beginning the ritual to cast her spell. She did not have free access to the spell, but as a ritual, as long as she had the time to cast the spell, she would not o expend much of her magical might.

  The guards watched from the walls, having forced them out of the town so as to not distract the others around them.

  “What do you think?” Bobby asked.

  “I’m betting on the boy,” James said.

  “I’ll bet on the girl. A copper?”

  “A copper it is.”

  “Why the boy?”

  “Look at him. He’s big. He’s tough. He’s also got no armour, and carries with him an axe and shield. Who else is unarmoured and carries an axe and shield?”

  “Damn it,” Bobby grumbled, eyeing up Jurot.

  The uards had also bet on their favourites, evenly split between the young man and woman.

  Sir Vonda bowed her head, firming that her of them were using magical ons.

  “How I believe you?” Pual asked.

  “She’s Sir Vonda, of Life’s Rose,” Adam said.

  “The Order?” Pual asked.

  “Yes,” Sir Vonda firmed.

  Pual took off his hat, pg it against his chest before he bowed his head. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Sir Vonda.”

  “The pleasure is mine,” Sir Vonda replied, returning a gentle bow of her head.

  Adam handed Jurot his ten gold. “Will you hand yold to the Iyrman.”

  “I’ll keep it for now,” Pual replied. “It’s easier just to collect yours.”

  Adam chuckled lightly from under his helmet. “Suit yourself.”

  Iggritte and Nobby stood opposite one anreatsword, and shield and axe in hand. The pair remaiill, while Pual brought out a small flute.

  “May I?” Pual asked.

  “You may.”

  “Once I blow my flute, you may begin,” Pual said, before he inhaled deeply, and he pyed a small ditty. He was acutely aware of the spell which still permeated the air from the Priest.

  Nobby’s entire body unwound like a poung tiger, his axe meeting the young woman’s greatsword, the sound of steel striking steel sang in the air. His entire body had turned red with rage, his veins throbbing, his eyes almost purely white as they gred at the woman.

  Iggritt’s muscles burned with effort as she mao defend against Nobby’s blow, but she brought her bde down to strike against the young man, striking his shield, denting it.

  “Her natural strength is greater than Nobby,” Jurot said, his arms crossed.

  “Strohan our Nobby?” Adam asked.

  “She is as strong as you,” Jurot firmed.

  ‘So a twenty Strength? Does that mean Nobby is aeen?’

  “That’s it, Iggritte!” Pual shouted as the young woman gaihe upper hand, managing to use Nobby’s rage against him. She allowed Nobby to strike her against her armour, and though she felt the blows, she used the blow to charge her own attacks, swinging with such great force that she dented Nobby’s shield further.

  The pair in a heated battle, with Nobby finding that he was beginning to miss or strike only gng blows. Pual’s brow began to sparkle with sweat, watg the young man take Iggritte’s great blows. ‘How is he still up?’

  Adam remained watg from beside Jurot, the pair’s arms crossed as they casually watched. “Look at him go,” the Half Elf said. “That’s my number one enforcer.”

  Nobby’s ears twitched, and he paused, allowing Iggritte a moment to gather herself. She inhaled deeply, gaining some of her strength back, before the pair met in a great battle again. They cshed, steel ringing against steel one more, and though the young woman stepped forward, pushing past her limits to try and strike Nobby, she could feel how close to the edge her body was.

  Nobby caught her greatsword with his shield, before swiping across her side, the force of the blow pushing deeper through the , before the young woman dropped to a knee. Even as she had mao use Nobby’s rage against him, she hadn’t mao forobby to take a siep back.

  Adam cpped and the guards whistled at the end of the bout. “Atta boy, Nobby! There are mountains beyond the mountains, and skies above the the skies!” The Half Elf’s ughter filled the air. ‘I really am in the wrong genre.’

  “hought I’d see the day Iggritte would fall so easily,” Pual admitted, tossing a gem Adam’s way. “How’d he get s? Had him wrestle bears and oxen like the northerners?”

  Adam rolled the gem between his finger. “No, his training wasn’t quite so easy.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “He trained with the Iyrmen.”

  “Oh.” Pual gowards Jurot, whose lips were twitg upwards, but not quite into a smile. “Makes sense.”

  “There’s two things I know in life,” Adam said, dropping the s and gem into his pouch. “You never bet against Iyrmen, you never bet against someorained by Iyrmen, and that maths sucks.”

  “That’s three things,” Pual said.

  “The fourth thing is that I’m not very good at telling jokes.”

  Pual nodded.

  “This guy’s cold, Jurot,” Adam whispered, sighing. “e on, you know that was funny.”

  “It was not.”

  “I bet Churot would appreciate it.”

  Jurot narrowed his eyes, before slowly nodding his head.

  Once Sir Vonda had healed the pair, they shook forearms.

  “You fight well,” Iggritte said.

  “Yes,” Nobby replied, simply.

  “Hey, hey,” Adam called. “No flirting. Nobby’s engaged. e on, Nobby, what are you doing? You have Merl.”

  Nobby’s cheeks flushed red. “Okay.”

  “Unless of course you don’t want to marry Merl, in which case you let me know and I’ll sort it out, alright?” Adam leaned in to whisper into the young man’s ear. “If you want a big strong woman instead, that’s fioo. Whatever makes you happy.”

  “No,” Nobby replied. “Merl is good.”

  “That’s right,” Adam said, leaning in to whisper even more quietly. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

  “Yes.” His cheeks turned redder.

  Adam pat Nobby’s back, chug again. “Alright, let’s get going. We’ve dillied and we’ve dallied enough.”

  The group tinued forward, with two new panions apanying them. They kept an eye and ear out for any bother on the way to Water Ford.

  “Hmm,” Jurot said, staring out into the distance.

  “Jurot, I feel like we’re cursed with good fortune,” Adam said, staring out to the walls of Water Ford, a rge town built beside the river, with a part of the town built over it.

  “No,” Jurot replied, disagreeing with Adam’s assessment.

  “Let’s agree to disagree.”

  “Okay.”

  They made their way into Water Ford to rest up for the night. Adam paid the gate fee, including the gate fee for the new pair.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Adam said.

  “That’s awfully kind of you,” Pual replied, tipping his hat.

  “Why’s it awful when I do it?” Adam asked, before chug to himself. “Man, it feels so nice making jokes when they won’t get me killed. Gods, I missed it so much.”

  “Who threateo kill you for jokes?” Pual asked.

  “Everyone, basically,” Adam replied. “I felt like I’d die in the Iyr if I joked around too much.” ‘Though, sidering Elder Story is gohat makes sense.’ “oo, but they mostly want to kill me for another reason.”

  “Is it because you’re a…” Pual asked.

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, nodding his head. “It is.”

  Pual nodded, ahe matter end there. He and Iggritte made their way to a different inn, though promised to meet up in the m.

  The group made their way to the guild to settle themselves. This guild was built simir to every uild, though was built beside the river. Jurot, Jaygak, and Kitool exged a look ohey had settled within the guild, making their way out.

  Omen: 7, 13

  Without much bother, they headed out the m. They didn’t spend much time expl any of the towns, with Adam too focused on heading to East Port.

  he te afternoon, the Half Elf stopped, causing everyone else to stop. Adam turned back to look to the horizon, uo see the town behind him.

  ‘God damn it!’ Adam thought. “Jurot?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m an idiot.”

  “Yes?”

  “Why didn’t we ask around for Amira in the previous towns?”

  Jurot blinked. “It would be best to ask i Port.”

  “Even so…” Adam sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Alright. Once we’re i Port we’re going to quest like there’s no tomorrow. We’re going to make a bunoo fill up the party fund and we’re going to put hundreds of gold into finding Dunes’ girl.”

  “She’s not my girl,” Dunes replied back.

  “Yeah, yeah, and I’m not an idiot,” Adam replied.

  “You are not an idiot,” Vonda firmed.

  “Don’t you start, Sir Vonda,” Adam grumbled, before he marched forward. “Where the hell is all the trouble? I want some XP!”

  “Who in the seven underworlds is Ecks?” Pual asked.

  Jaygak coughed into ughter. “Now that was funny!”

  “Be careful, Jaygak,” Adam said. “You’ve only got the one magical on, and whose to say it won’t find its way bae.”

  “You’d take away yift to me?” Jaygak gasped, grabbing her bde.

  “Only if I’m bullying you.”

  Jaygak remained silent as they tinued along their way, following the King’s Road to East Port, which was only a few days away.

  As the days passed, they found themselves finding a stranger on the road.

  There he stood. It was a man who stood taller than any other man Adam had ever seen, save one. He came like a mountain, adorned in heavy pte mail from head to toe, with a sword as big as he strapped to his back.

  “Hey, Jurot,” Adam muttered, motioning his head to the rge figure up ahead. “Isn’t that…”

  “Sir Robert, the Mountain,” Jurot firmed.

  “There are only two things I know about Sir Robert. He’s strohan Vice Master Paul, he’s from Rock Hill, and the st time we met, the only time we met, he wao kill me.”

  I made the joke in the ents and didn't realise I also wrote it in this chapter.

  Adam's joking has gotten worse, but so has his ces to die.

  Nice.