“Adam?” Vonda called, staring at the young man, who was holding the you pair from his triplets, while the irl half snoozed lightly against her greatfather. She could spot the newborn babies nearby, teo by Halikan and Shikan, as well as a few of the teens.

  “Sir Vonda,” Adam called out, raising his brows towards her, noting that she carried a rge basket of food. “What brings you to these parts?”

  She pced down the basket, before taking her pce opposite the group. “I brought food and drinks, and I wao see your children.”

  “You know I won’t be able to help myself if you wao show off my children,” Adam said, pnting kisses oop of his children’s heads. “How are you enjoying the festival?”

  “I’m enjoying it, as always,” Vonda admitted. “You have decided to stay here?”

  “Just listening to the old man’s stories,” Adam said. “Hearing all about the mess he made in the north.”

  “I was wild in my youth,” Jarot firmed. “If it was not for my children, I would have brought the north under my heel.” His lips widened into the most wicked smirk.

  “Sir Royce probably would have had something to say about that,” Adam replied.

  “The Marshal would have tried,” Jarot replied, grinning wider. “If I tihey would have had to call for a new Knight of Death.”

  “Oh, really? I hear he’s about as strong as King Merryweather?”

  “If I chose to tih my journey, I would have cshed with him,” Jarot said, certain of it. “I would have grown to bee a Paragon, and I would have beaten him, as I had so many Aldishmen before him.”

  “You sure have a lot of faith in that.”

  “Faith? The Rot family is tougher than any other family in the Iyr,” Jarot stated. “King Merryweather has nothing to deal with our toughness, save for f us elsewhere. Even Jurot will be able to defeat him, if he travels with you for a few more years.”

  “Yeah, Jurot is pretty strong,” Adam admitted. “He’s hard to kill.”

  “Yes,” Jarot stated, grinning like a beast, slowly nodding his head with pride.

  Vonda blinked, unsure of how the pair could speak about such a topic like that so quickly. “I have heard many of your tales. Adam often reads them to the twins before they sleep.”

  Jarot threw a look towards Adam, who pretended as though he hadn’t heard what they were talking about, but the flush at his cheeks revealed his embarrassment. “If I knew I would have such cute greatchildren, I would have goo face the likes of the White Lion.”

  “Who is that?”

  “When I was a boy, there was an Aldishman called the White Lion,” Jarot said. “He slew a Grandmaster of the Order of Ice Bdes. He was hunted by the other orders of the north, but he mao defeat his pursuers. They were uo assassinate him too. He retired withiral Aldnd, and though some caused him trouble, he slew most who had goo do so.”

  “He sounds pretty strong.”

  “He was sidered one of the stro of the geion before mine,” Jarot firmed. “It is a shame he has since passed, he would have been a good fight.”

  “Did he have some kind of great magical on?”

  “A give,” Jarot firmed. “A heavy give which could rival even the likes of the Drakkensyer. It is now missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “It may be in the hands of someone who does not wish for the world to know they possess it,” Jarot admitted, before shrugging his shoulders. “A Dragon may possess it within their hoard, or it may have been swallowed up by the earth.”

  “So we have no idea?”

  Jarot nodded, and reached up to gently rub Konarot’s head. “Shall I tell you of when I met Fme Bde?”

  “Mm,” Konarot replied, hugging the older man’s front.

  “You met Fme Bde?” Vonda asked. She had heard Jurot speak of the Bdes previously, but had no idea that Jarot had met the weakest of the Bdes.

  “We cshed in our youth,” Jarot stated, thinking to the past. “I would have killed him, but it was a misuanding.”

  “Did you win?”

  “I would not have won.”

  “Really?” Adam asked, surprised. “He’s that strong?”

  “No,” Jarot replied, thinking back to the past. “I was wounded when we cshed. We fought for a short while but it ended when his panions arrived and stopped the fight.”

  “Were his panions anyone of note?”

  “They eventually formed a name for themselves, but Fme Bde is still the most famous.”

  “Fair, fair,” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head. “So his on, how strong is it?”

  “It is a Greater Enhanced bde which lights afme,” Jarot said. “It has allowed Fme Bde to bee renowned across the entire nd.”

  “Oh, cool,” Adam replied, thinking about Phantom and Wraith. The pair were also sidered Greater Enhanced bdes, but Phantom was in a league of its own. ‘Greater Enhanced…’

  “All who possess such ons bee well known across Aldnd, and many are known even beyond the try.”

  “Damn,” Adam whispered. “They might start calling me Purple Adam in Aswadasad? I o ge my niame, otherwise…”

  “Puthral Adam is better,” Jarot said. “They should know you are tied to the Iyr.”

  “Who doesn’t know I’m tied to the Iyr?” Adam asked. “Everyone I meet knows that I am.”

  “They should not fet.”

  “If they fet, they fet,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. “It will be their mistake.”

  Karot looked up towards Vonda, staring at her face, which was half hidden by her scarf. He blinked up at her ily. Vonda he boy looking at her and she smiled, before pig up a small bun to offer to him. The little boy took it from her and began to eat it slowly, some to his elder sister.

  “Vonda, are y to steal them from me too?”

  “They will be too hard to steal for the triplets have always loved you so dearly,” the young woman replied.

  “That’s true.” Adam accepted the bread bun Karot offered to him, eating from his son’s hands, before he brushed the boy’s hair. “Aren’t they so good, these children of mine?”

  “They are.”

  “These children of mihe words caused Adam to tingle, and he began to assault the children with his lips, kissing their faces all over.

  Vonda smiled, noting how rexed Adam had bee, almost melting into his seat.

  “Jirot is a good kid, but she’s not quite so nice.” Adam smiled, even at the thought of his daughter bullying him. “I hope she doesn’t go around bullying the children.”

  “Kuides her well.”

  Adam looked to his eldest daughter, who was sug her thumb, looking over to her father from her greatfather’s chest. “That’s right, you are a good girl too, Konarot.”

  Konarot smiled, before she returned back to sug ohumb. She felt a hand against the top of her head, and she rubbed her cheek against her greatfather’s chest. She gnced up towards him, seeing the smile on his face. She quickly hid herself against his chest again and closed her eyes.

  Vonda remained with Adam, and the pair assisted Shikan with the other babies too, going off to ge them. Adam was trusted, as a Nephew of the Rot family, though Vonda required an escort. It was ohing for Vonda to go around alohrough the Iyr, it was another for her to walk around with a child, sidering the Iyr’s pent for massacres when their children were harmed.

  The festival tinued, until the final day, when Jarot decided to explore the festival with the twins, with Adam watg over the twins. Jarot held up some food for the pair to eat from his hands, the two enjoyiing the hard vegetables.

  “They eat so well,” Jarot said.

  “Of course they do, my little chubby twins love to eat.”

  “They used to embrace me so tightly when they were children, but they do not remember me.”

  “They were the same with me not long ago,” Adam admitted. “Just give it a few weeks and they’ll want to py with you all the time.”

  Jarot sighed, rubbing his knee gently. If he had both legs he would have been able to keep up with the pair, but with the wooden leg, it was far more awkward. He thought about his dream of walking through a field carrying the pair, and realised it was impossible to truly enjoy something like that.

  “You two, if I hear you’re bullying your babo, I’ll…” Adam stared down at his twins who looked up at him ily, slowly chewing on the food. “I’ll tell you off, even if it hurts me. Do you uand? You have to be o babo.”

  “Babo,” Jirot said, pointing at the older Iyrman.

  “That’s right…” Adam reached over to rub her head gently. “He’s your babo, so be nice.”

  Jirot rubbed her head against his hand iurn, before pointing up at her father and babbling.

  “What do you mean you want to ge the deal?” Adam asked.

  Jirot babbled with more passion, before pausing, waiting for her father to respond.

  “You ’t just ge the deal, Jirot.”

  Jirot sighed, looking treatfather, pointing at her father. “Ee?” She shrugged her shoulders, before sighing agaiurning back to eating.

  “What did she say?” Jarot asked.

  “She said what she said,” Adam replied, nodding his head slowly.

  Jarot wasn’t sure what that meant, but he reached down to lift the girl up, before kissing the side of her head and nuzzled into her neck. He could feel how warm she was. “You ot bully your father, Jirot.”

  “Wa?” Jirot asked, shocked. She babbled furiously towards her greatfather.

  Jarot smiled. “Would you like more food?”

  Jirot stopped babbling, narrowing her eyes. “Num num,” she firmed.

  You have to respect Jirot f.