“Kalid is always thankful,” Kalid said, taking Vonda’s hands in his own, before taking Adam’s hands too. “You e to stall, I get you best cloth, no problem.”

  “I appreciate that young man,” Adam replied.

  “I am not young man, I am Kalid,” the boy replied, firmly, before he fixed his yellow turban and marched off, a guard following him.

  “You think the guard is mad we decided to tag along?” Adam asked.

  “No,” Vonda replied. “I am sure they are thankful they did not have to pay the silver.”

  Adam smiled. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

  “Should we return to the guild?”

  “I suppose we should,” Adam said, turning on his heel, before trying to recall where the guild was. “Oh. Sir Vonda, do you know where a, uh…” Adam tried to find the right words for it. “You know, an agency for finding lost people?”

  “You could put up a request in the guild,” Vonda offered.

  “I could, but isn’t that a little too public?” Adam asked, before clearing his throat. “You know what, Sir Vonda? Sometimes I’ll say something, and after saying it, I realise just how stupid it sounds.”

  “You have the wisdom to realise it, and that is most important.” Vonda smiled from behind her scarf. She escorted Adam back to the guild, taking the side roads away.

  ‘Isn’t this city the best for buying cloth?’ Adam thought. ‘I could get some for the business.’

  The pair passed by a particur shop, causing Adam to stop. ‘Shouldn’t we grab one for adventuring?’

  Meanwhile, the teen Iyrmen sat within the Adventurer’s Guild, eyeing up the other adventurers nearby. They guessed how powerful each adventurer was, finding most fit in the Expert category.

  “Have you felt yourself growing more powerful?” Naqokan asked.

  “Not yet,” Nirot admitted.

  “Is he ign us on purpose?” Laygak asked, whittling away at a piece of wood in the er, blowing the scraps and dust into a saearby.

  “No,” Nirot replied, firmly, gring at the Devilkin.

  Laygak smiled ily, before returning back to his whittling. “Adam is focused on emp Nobby. He did promise the young man first.”

  “Adam will take us with him to quest, he has promised,” Nirot remihe Devilkin, whed his shoulders, returning back to whittling away at his block. It was beginning to take form into the rough shape of an owl.

  “Adam has so quickly made Nobby into a near Expert,” Faool said, biting into a dried fruit. It was chewy, and still ever so sweet. “It will be fortunate if we bee Adepts by the end of the year.”

  Nirot thought about how powerful she would be as a. With her abilities, that of the Rot family, she would be as powerful as perhaps the average Expert, or only slightly weaker. However, it was such a rge differeo be a with such abilities, and though being an Expert would increase her strength by aier, there was nothing like the jump between that of her current state into a.

  “I still wish to bee an Expert before the year ends,” Nirot admitted.

  “We must work hard,” Faool said, simply, returning back to his food.

  Uwajin remained napping, her arms crossed as she sat opposite them. Naqokan stared at the young Iyrman who she had brought into the group, before her eyes fell to Bavin, the young man who was the grandson of the previous Elder Wrath. He was far meeker than the previous Great Elder, who was known as a genius among geniuses. Even Jarot, Nirot’s grandfather, the wild, untamed beast that he was, couldn’t beat the mind of that Iyrman.

  Naqokan’s thoughts then wandered, as they always did. “Bavin, are you well?”

  “Yes,” the young Iyrman replied, quietly.

  Naqokan wondered how Bavi sidering they were travelling with Dunes. Dunes’ father had been the oo beat the previous Elder Wrath, and had joihe Mir family, due to the venience his name ended with Mir, and then the family mao wie for Shamir to bee Elder Wrath.

  ‘Was it Adam’s fault?’

  Duepped into the Adventurer’s Guild, followed by Lady Sara and Korin. They he Iyrmen, nodding their heads as they entered, before they approached the group.

  “Aswadians?” came a voice from a nearby adventurer. It was an older Aldishman, his hair half greyed, and his wrinkles deep set within his face, with scars of old. The tag which y loosely around his neck was gold, revealing his strength to be at least a Grandmaster.

  “Yes,” Dunes replied.

  “You from an Order?”

  “Bck Mountain,” Dunes firmed.

  “Ah,” the Aldishman said, nodding his head. “Thought you might be from Gold Sands.”

  “Do you know someone from Gold Sands?”

  “Aye, an oldie like me. Three Cws, they call him.”

  “Kal Akmed,” Lady Sara said, recalling the niame. “How do you know of him?”

  “We fought ba the day,” the old man admitted. “This was back when he first picked up the Three Cws.” He pulled his shirt down from his colr, revealing the scars across the side of his neck. “Could have left me for dead, but fed me a potion. I awoke, and found a bde the day after, somehow.” He revealed the sword, which had been ed around in a scarf beside him. It was grey, with a stony appearance, as though it was made from stone.

  “You are Stone Sword?” Nirot asked.

  “How could you tell?” the Aldishman replied, uo tain his smile.

  “A lucky guess?” Dunes joked. “Even I have heard of you. Are you here to fight iour?”

  “That I am,” the old man admitted. “It’s been a few years, and I haven’t mao wi.”

  “This tour will be quite the show if you are to fight,” Dunes said. “It is a shame we may miss it.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We’re looking for our panion,” Dunes said. “We pced a request with the guild for any information. Her name is Amira, a Devilkin from our order.”

  “Apologies, but I’ve never met the girl.”

  Dunes bowed his head, a taut smile appearing on his face. “A shame.”

  “If I hear anything, I’ll send word your way,” the man said. “What’s your name?”

  “Dunes. Morn Dunes.”

  “Prefer your sed name, do you?”

  “I do.”

  “Same. The name’s Fisher Bck. Parents were fishers, fishers of East Port,” he said, smiling. “They decided I should be proud of the heritage. Hadn’t realised I could introduce myself using my surill, Stone Sword does souer.”

  Dunes smiled. “I wish you the best of lu winning the tourhis year.”

  The Aldishman nodded, raising his mug of ale.

  “Could we buy you a drink?” Nirot asked.

  “I won’t refuse free drinks,” Stone Sword said.

  Naqokan kicked Uwajin’s shily, causing the girl to sit upright as she awoke, blinking away the sleepiness immediately. Naqokan motioned her head to the old man, and Uwajin quickly realised it was Stone Sword.

  “Ah,” came another familiar voice, as Adam stepped into the guild. “Dunes, we were just talking about you.”

  “What is it?”

  “I had the genius idea of asking the guild to put up a reward for information on Amira,” Adam said.

  Dunes blinked, before looking towards the ter, and the wall behind it, where several posters were stuck to the wall, one of a young Devilkin woman.

  “You know, Dunes, sometimes I feel like the world is against me.”

  Vonda smiled from beside Adam. “Perhaps you will think of another way to help.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said, sighing. “Perhaps I will. Speaking of which, I bought something which’ll help us during our adventuring.”

  “What is it?” Dunes asked.

  “e outside, I’ll show you,” Adam said, motioning his head to outside.

  “Adam, did you buy a cart?” Jaygak asked, half peering outside as she stepped into the guild.

  “Why did you have to ruin the surprise?” Adam asked.

  “If I don’t do that, why would I even be here?” Jaygak retorted.

  Adam remained silent, trying to e up with something. “Not sure.”

  Jaygak frowned. “That was mean, even for you, Adam.”

  “I don’t want to hear that from you.”

  “What have I dohat was ever so bad?”

  “You stak’s peppers.”

  “What did I do to you?” Jaygak corrected. “Besides, I didn’t steal his peppers, I borrowed them.”

  Adam raised his brow. “Surely you do better than that.”

  “Why did you buy a cart?” Jaygak said, ging the topic as quickly as she could. “How will we use it when we go off the trail?”

  “Jurot and I lift it,” Adam said, flexing his muscles from under his clothing, only to realise his clothing hid it too well. “If we need more help, then Nirot, Bavin, Naqokan, and Uwajin help us carry it off the road for a bit.”

  “Laygak help too,” Jaygak added, frowning. “Just because he’s my cousin, it doesn’t mean he’s as weak as me.”

  “He doesn’t o, since he’ll be too busy looking out for you,” Adam expined.

  “Who is looking out for who?”

  “I think that’s whom is looking out for whom,” Adam replied, unsure if that was true.

  “Adam, let’s show them the cart,” Vonda said, trying to get Adam to stop teasing Jaygak, who had been sighing far too often for her liking during their journey.

  “It was only fifty gold,” Adam said.

  “Carts are usually forty,” Jaygak informed.

  “Yeah, but this isn’t any cart, it’s our cart.” Adam smiled wide.

  The Iyrmen stared at the cart, before looking to Laygak, whed his shoulders. He had no idea what was so special about the cart that Adam overpaid by at least ten gold. However, seeing the smile on Adam’s face, they didn’t mention it.

  Thank you, Laygak, for allowing Adam to live his peace.