“Robert?” the boy asked, staring up at the half elf.

  “That’s your name now.”

  “The name’s Bobby, sir.”

  “That the name your pa gave you?”

  “Yes…”

  “You want to keep that name, or do you want to be Robert?” Adam asked. “Robert is more refined, and yoing to .”

  “Fined?”

  “Refined. More… noble.” Adam smiled.

  Robert narrowed his eyes towards the half elf, though squirmed uhe man’s gaze, before he pulled up his b and made to sleep. The boy remaihinking about what Adam had done for him. He had fought against nobles for him. Nobles! How he do such a thing?

  Adam went back to napping too, before he was awoken by Jurot, and the four of them made their way with the Baron to the shrine. A knight and a pair of guards followed them to the top of the hill nearby, still within the walls of the castle, where a tiny ruined shack hidden within the woods y.

  Once Adam stepped within the musky shack, dust kig up all around them, illuminated by the mooed the markings on the fllowing from the moonlight flooding through the broken ceiling.

  “Not going to lie, thought it was going to look fahan this,” Adam admitted.

  “The shrine was always quaint,” Baron Moonglow admitted, awkwardly. His eyes sed the four who seemed to be almost wide awake.

  “Alright, so, I’ll figure out how to ent, and then I’ll try to teach you aime,” Adam said, his eyes falling across the shack. “About, uh… you know. Earlier in the day. I was hot headed, and got a little…” Adam cleared his throat. “Hitting kids around me is a bad idea.”

  “You are more idealistic than I thought.”

  “Yeah, well…” Adam sighed. “Either way. I’m sorry, Lord Moonglow.”

  “Uood, Sir Adam.”

  Adam could still see the displeasure in the Baron’s eyes. ‘He’s probably pretty close to betraying me.’ “I’ll be sure to work hard on enting this sword.”

  “As you say.” The Baro, taking his ente with him. He was too tired to deal with Adam, especially sihere were so many moves to be made.

  Enting Check (Intelligence)(Moon Shrine)D20 + 9 = 8 (17)Omen: 6, 20 -> 620 + 7 = 27 (20)

  Adam plucked a Thread of Fate, a crow fluttering over the shack, a bloodstohin her beak, and thus Fate was forever ged.

  The half elf held onto bde the Baron had offered to him, sitting uhe warm moonlight. He remained silent and still as he felt the moon’s glow, which caused his entire body to tingle. He opened his eyes to see the moon’s light had all but disappeared from within the room.

  Runes faintly glowed on the bde’s steel.

  ‘What?’ Adam blinked, gng around, fused. ‘Did I fall asleep?’

  “Okay?” Jurot asked.

  “Okay,” Adam replied.

  “I will sleep.”

  Adam nodded, allowing Jurot to sleep, while Kitool awoke Jaygak, and the pair with the ability to see in the dark took watch together, silent as death.

  As dawn peeked through the shack, Jurot and Kitool awoke, noting the half elf had fallen asleep while hugging the bde. A single pair of steps made their way to the shack, but settled outside. Adam awoke a few moments ter, rubbing his eyes. He o his panions, before he yawned and got up.

  “Sir Adam?” called Sir Gerald.

  “Yeah?”

  “Have you pleted your task?”

  “I o ent it for a few more days,” Adam said, hopping onto his feet. “Thankfully, the enting has taken hold.”

  “May I enter?”

  “We’ll e out to you,” Adam said, nodding his head to his panions, before opening the door. He had half expected crossbows to point at him, but he only saw the lone knight. “Here.” Adam hahe bde to the knight. “I need a bath after all that hard work.”

  Sir Gerald took the bde silently.

  As they made their way back, Adam he dozens of warriors who had gathered together. Many wore very little in regards to armour, but most wore helmets and carried shields, each with a spear or bde at the ready.

  ‘There’s no way he expects them to handle us.’ Adam he same amount of people at the ready nearby, those who weren’t armed quite as heavily, but were ready to oxen and carts, each filled with sacks. ‘Oh?’

  “Sir Adam,” Baron Moonglow greeted, eyeing up the four. “Do you wish to sleep?”

  “Lord Moonglow,” Adam replied, gng around at all the soldiers nearby. “Perhaps, though I see that you’re ready to work.”

  “I pn on marg south to extend my reach,” the Baron stated.

  “Alright, well, let me bathe and I’ll be happy to support you.”

  “You do not wish to rest for the day?” Lord Matteas asked, hoping Adam would take the hint.

  “I said I’d make you king, and it’ll be better to do that by helping you expand your influeno point iing all these peasants killed, I probably get most barons to surrender within a minute or two.”

  Matteas felt a bead of sweat begin to drip down the side of his faoting how casual Adam was when speaking about it, as though he could truly do such a thing. “How did the enting go?”

  “Good, but I need more time.”

  “Would you prefer to remain behind to ent?”

  “I’ll be more useful at your side to make sure you don’t get killed, and to make sure you still have subjects to rule over.” Adam winced, feeling sick to the stomach at his words. ‘Damn it.’ “Plus, this first barony is going to be ours, isn’t it, t?”

  “…”

  Adam headed to the castle to bathe, and assisted Robert iing ready too. ‘Damn, I don’t really have anything for him right now…’

  Matteas releo Adam’s request, and the boy was outfitted with a helmet, a shirt, which was far te for him, and a spear and shield. “Is he your squire?”

  “Yep.” Adam fshed the baron a smile. “He’s one of the keys to make sure you keep your power.”

  “…” Matteas blinked.

  The army marched south, following the trail out towards the own. The soldiers and bourers were split into quarters, alternatiween each grouping so they were spread out evenly. The baron led with his knights, surrounded by four heavily armoured warriors, while Adam and his panions trailed behind.

  They had returned back to the vilge where they had procured their current horses, sing out their previous horses while gaining some sihey had a spare horse to trade at the time. The chief of the vilge came to meet with the Baron, gng at Adam and the others.

  “How I help you, lordship?” the chief asked. He was a young man, no older thay, but he wore his aor’s armour with pride, and carried a spear in hand. He stared up at the Baron with the fidenly a foolish youth could hold.

  “I have e to assist your vilge,” Lord Moonglow stated. “I have heard that your lord was retly killed, and I have e to extend my offer.”

  The chief gnced across all the soldiers, and raised his brows. “Your offer?”

  “You will swear yourself to me. Nothing will ge, save that you will have someone living to lord over you, rather than a foolish baron who got himself killed by extending himself too far.”

  “Heard the young dy took over.”

  “She will be relieved of her duties.”

  The chief threw a look to Adam, slowly chewing on his thoughts. “That the killer?”

  “That is Sir Adam, who indeed had killed the Baron for his betrayal.”

  “Don’t know about rayal, but heard he killed the Night Terror.”

  “So he cims.”

  “Suppose you have to be that strong to kill a bunch of knights,” the chief said, pnting his spear into the earth. “You’ll o speak with the baroness, but you stay the night.”

  “Will you guarantee us?”

  “Aye, I will.”

  Adam, in his near exhaustion, passed out almost immediately with Robert. The others took their watches, with Zee and Jurot’s steed also keeping watch. Somehow, the Baron hadn’t decided to betray them so far, but things always ged when darkness came.

  Omen: 1, 15

  “Looks like they were prepared,” Adam said, noting the soldiers who had stepped out to meet them halfway between the vilge and the town. There were easily a hundred soldiers, each as hastily brought together as Moonglow’s forces.

  “It seems that way.” The Baron stared at his oppos, almost outnumbered two to one. He rode up to meet with the enemy lord, each of them fnked by their ente. Adam followed on his horse too, too curious to stay behind. “Only my knights are to ese.”

  “I’m more than your knight, Baron,” Adam replied, almost chug.

  “Y to me my father’s murderer,” the young woman said, wearing her grand armour. Full pte, intricately detailed, certainly made to fit her rather than being passed down through the geions. “Not in s, but on a steed?”

  “Sir Adam is my knight,” Lord Moonglow said.

  “He’s a wicked fiend, a Night Lord!” the young Baroness snarled.

  “He is no Night Lord, and though he may be wicked, he is no fiend,” the Baron stated, firmly. “I ask that you surreo my authority, so that-,”

  “Surreo your authority? You, who surrounds himself along with my father’s murderer?” She undid her visor to reveal her tan skin and angry green eyes. She spat on the floor between them. “Curse on you! Curse on your father! Curse on your son! Surrender under my authority, and perhaps I will show you mercy!”

  “Then it’s to bdes.”

  “It’s to bdes,” the young woman firmed, raising her sword, which seemed to be made of earth.

  ‘Damn, that’s a nice sword.’

  *Checks sword stats.* Damn, that is a nice sword.