“I should write my will soon,” Adam said.

“What?” Jurot replied.

“Did you know that there’s a current Champion walking around?” Adam asked. 

“There may be many walking around,” Jurot said. “You speak of the Champion of Order?”

“Yeah.”

“What is the matter?”

“That Order guy doesn’t like me,” Adam said.

“You are chaotic,” Jurot replied.

Adam raised his brow.

“Why is that an issue?” Jurot asked.

“It’s an issue because there’s a high chance he’s hunting me down as we speak,” Adam said. 

“Why?”

“The Lord of Order doesn’t like me,” Adam said.

Jurot blinked at Adam. “I see.”

“Yeah.”

“What is a will?”

“A will is a piece of paper which tells people who gets what when I die,” Adam said.

Jurot nodded.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll leave all my stuff to you guys,” Adam said.

“To the Iyr?”

“Forty percent to Lanarot, twenty percent to you, twenty percent to Aunt, twenty percent to the rest of the Iyr.”

Jurot did not seem at all surprised by the way he divvied up his belongings. “I will inform the Iyr.”

“Thanks.”

“You need not worry, Adam.” Jurot placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I will face the Champion alongside you.”

“No,” Adam replied, bluntly.

Jurot stared at Adam, his eyes blank.

“You can’t do that. It’s unforgivable if I die, and it’s even more unforgivable if you die, Jurot. Who is going to raise our sister properly as an older brother?”

“Turot will,” Jurot replied, earnestly. 

“Well, yeah, but…” Adam stared at Jurot. “No. If the Champion of Order really does come, then you need to watch until the end and tell the Iyr my story.”

Jurot stared at Adam with a serious look. 

“Understand?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Jurot replied, nodding his head slowly.

‘I feel like that means something in the Iyr,’ Adam thought. “Good.”

Jurot spent the rest of the day pondering his thoughts. ‘What would mother want me to do?’

Omen: 12, 18

“Look, you’re costing me a lot of money and I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Adam said.

Sky stared at Adam. “Where do I go?”

“I thought you’d take it worse than that, admittedly,” Adam said, slightly disappointed. “Look, the Noble with us doesn’t like your kind. I know, I know, but he’s payin’ good money.” Adam tried not to smile at his terrible jokes.

“Is he joking with his Wolf?” Lucy whispered.

“Yes,” Jurot replied. “Are you surprised?”

Lucy paused for a moment. “No.”

“You can head to the Iyr, I’ll give you basic directions, but it is very hard to miss,” Adam said. “I’ll give you something to show an Iyrman so that they leave you alone. Make sure you speak loudly that you were sent by the Nephew of the Rot family, and that Adam, son of Fate, is your boss.”

“Yes, boss,” Sky replied. 

“That’s a good boy.” Adam brushed the Awakened Wolf’s hair. “If they do end up killing you, I’ll tell them off.”

Sky, who had been feeling reassured by his words, frowned.

Adam smiled warmly. 

Sky continued to frown.

“Thank you again, Adam,” Remy said.

“Becoming Porters for a Noble.” Jeremy shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I hope he’s paying well,” Adam said. “The good thing about Nobles is that they usually have money to burn.”

“Ay, we’re getting five gold a day,” Remy said.

“Five gold a day?” Adam asked. “I pay you guys five gold per day sometimes.” He shook his head. ‘Damn Nobles.’

“Come on, Nobby,” Remy said, getting the boy ready. 

The Porters were each carrying large packs, mostly full of equipment for the group, including the food and water the group required. The trusty palanquin that the Porters usually brought with them was nowhere to be seen.

“No Sky, no palanquin,” Adam said, shaking his head. He reached over and pat Zeus. “Looks like you’re going to need to carry everything, eh?”

Zeus remained silent. 

The group made their way out, heading South. 

“South?” Adam asked.

“We have some business to attend to in the south, so we will make our way dowan and find an Elder Wolf on the way,” Sir Landon said. 

“Alright,” Adam replied, though he wasn’t sure about that. ‘South, eh? Don’t they hate Elves?’

Jurot pat Adam’s back, trying to reassure him as they made their way south.

Omen: 17, 19

“Your spell is so useful,” Sir Landon said. “I am glad we brought you along.”

Adam smiled, freshly bathed out in the wild thanks to his spell. “Right? I hope you don’t forget the service I provide. I’m sure others would charge much more, but since you’re with me, you should count yourself fortunate.”

Sir Landon nodded his head slowly, wondering if he should put Adam in his place. ‘He is an Expert, both with blade and magic.’ He, wisely, thought better of it.

They continued along the road, and as the hours passed, they found a figure atop the hill, where the crossroads met and an encampment had been formed.

It was a young man, adorned in chain mail, a spear in hand. He lay on top of the hill, staring up at the sky. He frowned, his eyes sunken with a deep darkness. 

“Hey,” Adam said, his body blocking out the sky.

The young man’s skin was flaked by the sun, his lips dry from the lack of water. His eyes were barely open as he stared at the blurry figure.

“Lord Sozain? Is that you?” came the raspy voice.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so eager to seek your death yet, friend,” Adam said, causing both Jurot and Lucy to look his way with a curious expression. He ignored their gaze, taking a knee to help the young man drink. 

“Slowly,” Adam said, noting how the young man was only drinking half his water. “If you spill more of my water, I’ll slap you.” 

The young man pressed his lips properly against the waterskin. 

“So, stranger, what’s your name?” Adam asked, handing out some salted meat to the young man, who was leaning up against a half wall now.

“Fred,” he said.

“Adam, son of Fate,” Adam said.

Fred nodded his head slowly. “I… I…” He looked at the sky again. “I thought I could do something if I became an Adventurer. I tried so hard, but…” 

Adam sat down beside the young man, who was a little older than himself. He listened intently, curious as to why he found someone half dying near him. 

“I worked around this area, taking odd jobs now and again, but…” He looked up at the sky. “I arrived here not long ago and when I looked at the sky, I wondered what the point was. I’ve got no family. The only friends I have are this spear and this shield.” He shook his head. “The sky is so vast. The stars, there are so many. What’s the point in living when I’ve got nothing? When there are so many others out there who’ll do what I can do, but better. I’m just a no good nothin’.” He smiled and began to chuckle. “What’s the point, eh? Life is a meaningless struggle, and I got nothin’ to fight for.”

“Your King and country,” Sir Landon said, staring through his visor, standing above the young man in his breastplate. 

“My King and country?” Fred asked. “Hah!” He began to chuckle again, shaking his head. “My family was from Rock Hill. He, that King of ours, let my family be slaughtered, like chattel! And what about my country? It was my country which let the corpses of my family rot! Which left me to rot!”

“Careful of your words, boy,” the Knight said.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your family,” Adam said, removing his helmet. He revealed his leaf shaped ears to the young man, and the sorrowful expression on his beautiful face.

For a moment, Fred’s face flashed with rage, before it fell to shock, and finally sadness.

“I’ve lost my family too,” Adam said. “And before you ask, no, I had nothing to do with Rock Hill, nor any of my family.”

Fred closed his eyes, recalling the faces of his family. He had tried so hard to forget them. When he had first come out, he had managed to drink their faces away, he drank until he was nothing but a naive, hopeful fool. 

“I’m not from around here,” Adam explained. “I had no one. Just like you, I can’t see my family again.” Adam decided against making a joke about revival and Baktu. “I spent some time adventuring and found myself a new family. I’ve got an Aunt, a brother, and the most adorable little sister.”

“Cutest In The Whole World,” Jurot confirmed.

Adam nodded. “Even though we’ve left the Iyr, I think about her daily. Her wispy hair which I can still feel on my hands. Her chubby little cheeks I love to pull. I can sometimes hear her squealing with joy, the sounds of her tiny hands clapping every time she saw an Iyrman almost kill another during a spar.”

Fred opened his eyes and squinted at Adam. 

Adam gave him a look, one the young man understood. “I know, right? Iyrmen, man. Crazy.” He shook his head. “I pray she’s okay. In fact, I went to the temple in Red Oak and dropped a few Gems to Mother Soza.” He nodded to Sir Vonda, who bowed her head. “I asked her to make sure she watches over her, but then I remembered that the Iyr is Baktu’s domain, so I put some gems into his little tray and told him not to watch over her.” Adam smiled. 

“Baktu. That’s Lord Sozain, isn’t it?” Fred asked. 

“Yeah,” Adam said. “I think about how happy she’ll be when we return. I’ll be able to feel her wispy little hair, and pinch her adorable chubby cheeks, and I’ll hear her little giggles again. Well, I also think about whether she’ll remember my face, but the ears’ll help, I’m sure.”

Fred let out a soft snort, though did not smile. 

“That’s why I get up every morning. That’s why I take a step towards the south where I’m hated. That’s why I’m going to kill a bunch of Elder Wolves, so I can bring back some pelts for her.”

“We have enough pelts,” Jurot said.

“Then we’ll hand the pelts over to other families,” Adam retorted. He reached over and placed a hand on Fred’s shoulder. “You’ll find that too, Fred. A reason to go out to adventure. And, a reason to stop.”

 

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Another depressed guy? The current year truly is terrible.