The walls of Red Oak, not quite so imposing, but oh so familiar, greeted their eyes. They had spent a few days trekking through the forest, following the path, and other than some distant howling, the group didn’t meet much trouble.

Adam dropped the coins for their gate fee before making his way to the Adventurer’s Guild. He was eager to drop into a cool bath that evening. 

“You’ve finally returned,” Emma said, staring at the group. She noted the Iron Rank Tag on their necks. “I’ve heard that you had quite a bit of fun.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, smiling.

“Vice Master Paul told us about your journey,” she said, her eyes beaming.

“Oh? Is he here now?”

“He is.”

“Good,” Adam said, smirking. “We’ve got to tell him something. Though, I’d be surprised if he already hasn’t heard.”

“Heard what?” Paul asked, stepping through the back door. 

“In private, if you don’t mind,” Adam said, winking at him. 

“Okay?” Paul said, before leading them around back to another room.

Adam threw a look to Jurot. “Go on.”

Jurot smiled, before beginning to tell the tale of their journey back.

Paul rubbed his forehead at the end of the story. “You managed to slay a Blue Dragon?”

“Yep.”

“A Young Blue Dragon?”

“That’s right.”

Paul had heard that a party had dealt with a Blue Dragon recently, but he hadn’t thought twice about it. “Of course you did.”

“We had to leave behind a little bit of loot, but we managed to get most of it. Speaking of which, we should probably get a Bag of Holding or something. How much are they?”

“Bag of Holdings go for roughly five thousand gold, storage rings go from between one thousand to ten thousand, usually,” Paul said, still trying to process all he had learned about the Half Elf. He looked at the Dire Wolf cubs too, wondering how they had managed to get so lucky. ‘It’s not fair.’

“I guess I’ll have to spend a few months in the Iyr to make money then,” Adam said, chuckling.

“It is currently Duskval,” Dunes said. “We should complete a few quests before the snow of Nightval comes in.”

“Nightval is the time to rest from adventuring,” Jurot said. 

Dunes nodded.

“We have a couple of months yet, right?” Adam asked. 

Jurot nodded. “Duskval will cause some difficult, with all the rank, but it is a great time for Adventuring still. The heat of Noonval will no longer bother us.”

“Thank the Gods,” Adam grumbled. “I was sick and tired of that blasted sun, let me tell you.” 

“Should we quest a few times before heading to the Iyr?” Dunes asked.

Upon remembering the Iyr, Adam sighed. “Honestly? I want to head back to the Iyr. I’ve missed it so much.”

Jurot almost smiled. “Then let us rest in the Iyr for some time before continuing our questing.”

“We have a lot to do,” Adam said. “Can we bring along Dunes and Jonn to the Iyr? Is that fine?”

Jurot nodded. “They are our party members.”

Adam threw a look to Dunes. “Don’t you want to meet the descendant of that man?”

“Yes!” Dunes said, quickly. “I would love to meet them.”

“Then, that’s settled then. Let’s relax for the night and head back in the morning.” Adam threw a look to Jonn. “Right, you’re a part of our party too…”

“I will not cause trouble in the Iyr,” Jonn said, noting the look in Adam’s eyes.

“You’d better not.” Adam narrowed his eyes. ‘Oh, right, I also need to do that thing.’

Omen: 9, 19

“So you’re finally back,” she said. 

Adam smiled. “Yep,” he said, motioning a hand, allowing the young woman to lead him to the trees.

There she revealed a number of targets she had all but destroyed with her archery skills. 

“Not bad,” Adam said. 

Jurot nodded. “She has been practising well.”

“Stationary targets are one thing, and fighting in the heat of battle is another,” Adam said. 

“Don’t try to make excuses,” Brittany said, glaring at the Half Elf.

Adam threw a look to Jurot. “Can she come to the Iyr too?”

“She may come under my name,” Jurot said. “Once they learn of what we have done, we will be viewed in a new light.”

“A new light?” Adam asked. “That sounds pretty good to me.”

“So I can come?” Brittany asked, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, her eyes wide. 

“Yeah,” Adam said. 

Brittany quickly rushed off, grabbing the pack she had packed months ago. “Then let’s leave right away.”

“Leave right away?” Adam asked, tilting his head. “It’s evening and we’ve been travelling all day. We’ll be heading out in the morning.”

“What if you try and slip away when I’m sleeping?” Brittany asked.

“Have I broken my word yet?” Adam asked.

“No?”

“If you don’t trust me, you can stay here and rot in this village forever.”

“I… trust you.” Brittany narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m sure you do.” Adam smiled. 

Omen: 11, 19

“I didn’t expect you all to be back this day,” Chief Merl said, quickly approaching the group. 

“We missed this great village’s hospitality a little too much,” Adam joked, his eyes quickly finding the other Merl’s, before quickly returning to the Chief. “We’ve brought back quite the tale.”

“A tale?” Chief Merl asked. “Oh, yes! Please do come in and tell us.” Her eyes fell across Dunes for a moment, noting his dark skin. “An Aswadian?”

“War Priest Dunes,” the man said, bowing his head. “I’m a member of Adam’s fine party.”

Adam elbowed Jonn in the side. “This one’s a new member too,” Adam said, before tapping his helmet. “Oi, take it off.”

“Why?” Jonn asked.

“Just do what I said, you annoying bastard!” Adam reached up and grabbed Jonn’s helmet, taking it off. 

He stared at Chief Merl, who was eyeing him up. “Merl, come here,” the Chief said, calling her granddaughter. “You all must be so tired, come in, please,” she said, having Merl escort Jonn.

Adam narrowed his eyes at the Chief, who smiled innocently towards him. 

“A Dragon?” came a gasp from a villager around the fire.

Jurot was midway through the story as they had called. “A Dragon whose scales shimmered like sapphires.”

“A Blue Dragon? What’s a Blue Dragon doing in a forest?” a doubtful villager grumbled.

“We do not know,” Jurot said. “Perhaps it fled from an unknown enemy.”

“I’m not calling you a liar, Iyrman, but it is hard to belie-“

Jurot shut the villager up by raising up the Dragon’s head he had kept at his side, hidden away for the right moment. As the flames flickered, revealing the shimmering blue scales, suddenly the villagers gasped and began to clap, and Jurot continued his story.

Adam sipped away at the village’s brew, smiling as he watched Jurot regale the tale for all to hear.

Omen: 4, 11

“By the Gods,” Brittany gasped.

Even Dunes and Jonn were staring at the walls of the Front Iyr with reverence. 

“I have heard the tales,” Dunes said. “I thought they were exaggerating when I was young, and when I grew up, I knew that it was not hard to believe that the Iyrmen could do such things. Still, looking at it before me, I can’t help but say that the tales were underselling it.”

Jonn stared at the walls. ‘No wonder the Iyr has lasted so long, when their walls are so tall and sturdy.’ He recalled his time in his Order. ‘Those walls which had kept me so safe…’ A seed of doubt grew within his heart, wondering if the walls he had grown up in were truly safe.

“What do you think?” Adam asked, glancing at Jonn. “Are you going to take my warning of keeping out of trouble lightly now?”

“I never took it lightly,” Jonn said. “These walls are…” The Half Elf swallowed. “The Order of Hill Top has one of the greatest fortresses, but I’m not sure this can be compared to the Iyr’s walls.”

“This is just the front of the Iyr, the Front Iyr, the frontier,” Adam joked. “You should see the walls inside.”

The gates shook open for the group, which caused the rain which had been collected from the day before to fall away towards them, splashing at them harmlessly. 

Adam stared at the water and then to the gates.

‘Couldn’t they just flood their enemies if they tried to approach?’ Adam thought.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who had thought of that, as Dunes and Jonn, who were stepping along the wet path, noting the large walls which loomed on either side, imagined archers shooting down from atop the walls, and recalled the water which had flooded out. 

‘The Iyr is so scary,’ the pair thought.

As they approached the front of the gate, Lykan stared down at Fate’s Golden, noting the two strangers and Brittany.

“You’re bringing outsiders into the Iyr?” Lykan asked, looking right at Adam.

“Priest Dunes and Guardian Jonn are members of our party,” Jurot said. “Brittany is a member of one of the villages.”

“Members of your party?” Lykan stared at the Priest and Guardian.

“We have been through quite some trouble together,” Jurot said, grinning wide.

Lykan noted the grin on Jurot’s face, which caused him to crack a smile. “It seems you have quite the story to tell.”

 

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Adam has finally returned to the Iyr. Warning! Very long slice of life arc incoming! Also, it gets really cringe from here on out.