Omen: 7, 10

  “Jurot?”

  “Yes?

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Adam asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Are those…”

  “Yes.”

  Adam slowly nodded his head, staring out towards the rge creatures, which had been spotted by those on watch. The group had one person on watch at all times, with Zeus and Hades also keeping a, ready to make noise.

  The creatures were rge, the size of brown bears, and though they were bearish in both form and size, their faces were different. They had the faces of birds, and their upper third was covered ihers, which shifted as though they were blooming flowers.

  “Owl-,”

  “Hawkbears,” Lady Sara gasped. “I thought our teachers were jesting, but there really are hawkbears in Aldnd!”

  Korin’s eyes were wide too, nodding his head slowly. Dunes eyed up the creatures, barely able to believe it. There were times when their mentors had spoken of great beasts in Aldnd, but sometimes it would be purely to jest.

  “Oh,” Adam said, nodding his head slowly. “Yeah, they do look more hawkish, I suppose.”

  As the seds passed, the hawkbears he outpost which had been built over the st evening, and even more appeared. Adam ted them as they approached, each from one side of the forest. They had made towards the other side of the forest, but had stopped upon seeing the group.

  “A baker’s dozen,” Adam said, ting thirteen.

  “A baker’s dozen?” Jurot asked.

  “Thirteen.”

  “Is that a saying from where you are from?”

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, casually, donning Strong Shield. “It means thirteen, probably because bakers didn’t want to get their heads lopped off for not providing enough bread.”

  Jurot blinked, donning his own shield. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so responded as he always did. “Okay.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s true,” Adam admitted as the group readied themselves. ‘Should I go in and fight with just the teens and Nobby? How would the XP be split then? Bell?’

  [If the others do not wish to support you, then it would be split betweeive partits.]

  ‘Hmm…’ Adam eyed up the creatures. He could probably kill a handful of them by himself, and if the teens dodged, he could probably take out enough of them to fore away. ‘Each would give what, 500? So that’s 6500XP, split about 700 each or so? That should make a dent in increasing their XP. What if I ’t kill enough? Then my precious Cousins would be in danger.’

  Adam could feel it, the gre from his panion, who was eager to spill blood. He sighed, and raised his axe. “Brace yourselves!”

  Mana: 21 -> 18Spell: Fireball8D6 = 35 (2, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 6, 6)

  Mana: 18 -> 15Spell: Fireball8D6 = 25 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5)

  Mana: 15 -> 12Spell: Fireball8D6 = 16 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3)

  Adam rained Fireballs from the sky, striking three different groups of hawkbears, while beams of light and bolts of fire shot forward to strike the creatures. An arrow whizzed by, striking a hawkbear across the side, causing it to screech.

  The hawkbears charged towards the group, as many of Adam’s panio from the walls, almost all Iyrmen, as the two groups met in bat.

  “What’s the point of these walls if you all jump into the battle?” Adam asked, looking to Dunes, whed his shoulders, a over the walls, nding just ahead of the gech.

  Jurot’s axe cut down two of the charging hawkbears, expending charges of his Phantom, causing the two to shriek in pain before they were silenced. Jaygak’s Stormdrake crackled as she cut across a hawkbear, dodging a cw swipe from another before she spun, cutting into a hawkbear’s neck, before raising her shield to deflect a cw. Lucy’s Great Destroyer cleaved a hawkbear in half, and Mara stepped beside her, a hawkbear dropping behind her.

  Dunes raised his sword, praying his Goddess as bdes of holy magic surrounded him, stabbing any hawkbear which dared to ehe glowing circle around him. Korin ughed wildly as a bear struck across his shield, before he stabbed it, smiting the creature to death, while the brother and sister bination and Charley killed another with their own might, before stepping forward to meet another.

  Nobby raised his shield, managing to force the hawkbear away with his great strength, before his axe struto its neck, while Nirot cleaved through the hawkbear’s thigh, staying beside the rge boy. Naqokan and Uwajin hacked into a hawkbear, cleaving through its arms. Laygak mao jab a creature in the side, while Faool clobbered it with his staff. Bavin held up his axe, side stepping the hawkbear, hiding behind his shield as he stared at it awkwardly. He hacked forward with his axe, barely managing to cut across it. The hawkbear screeched into his face, while a javelin struck its neck.

  “Excuse me,” Jeremy said from the walls, before looking to Adam. “ I stay here?”

  Adam pced a hand on his shoulder. “I’m gd that there’s someoh some sense here.”

  Jeremy bowed his head, gd that Adam wasn’t f him into the fray. He looked to his side, where Ivy was knog another arrow, ready to fire.

  Kitool moved swiftly between the hawkbears the teens were fag, jabbing them with her finger aaff, causing them to freeze ihe teen Iyrmen groaned, but did not make any more pints as they cut the hawkbears down. Kitool looked up to Adam. Her thoughts fell to what Jurot had told her back when the Half Elf had beaten the Prince of the Fire Giants.

  It didn’t take long for the group to sughter the hawkbears. Adam’s Fireballs had softehem up for the group, which allowed them all easy kills.

  Victory!Ha Gained: +350XP: 7550 -> 7900

  ‘Nice,’ Adam thought. He had inally thought they’d receive only a couple of hundred with so many, but the teens and Nobby made up quite a rge portion of the group.

  “We should be careful,” Jurot said. “The st week of the month will bring us many great dangers.”

  “Well, sounds like we’ll be having a fun time,” Adam said, smiling slightly. ‘I wonder if I earn enough XP to Level Up again? Hey, Bell, what’s the XP penalty to Level Up?’

  [100%]

  Adam frowned. ‘How e it’s…’ Adam decided against thinking deeper into the matter, since he remembered the fact his presence brought too much Chaos into the world. ‘I really shouldn’t Level Up too quickly. How fast am I levelling so far?’

  [Too quickly.]

  ‘Really?’

  [Yes.]

  ‘Oh. Why didn’t you tell me?’

  [It is why you have a penalty…]

  ‘Don’t patronise me, Bell.’

  […]

  “Let’s get these hawkbears butchered,” Adam said, patting Jeremy on his back. “Good work, as always. Don’t get swept up by the Iyrmen. Nobby, e here.”

  “Yes, mister boss.”

  “What are you doing w your uncle like this?” Adam asked, frowning at the young man. “I don’t want you to charge in to every enemy we face, alright?”

  “Sorry, mister boss.”

  “Nirot, good work on proteg Nobby.”

  Nirot nodded her head iurn a back to assisting her cousin in bringing in the bodies.

  Adam’s eyes fell to Bavin. “You don’t have to charge iher, Bavin.”

  “I am an Iyrman,” Bavin replied, simply.

  “I know, but still.” Adam wasn’t sure if he should be telling Bavin off. He may have been meek, but he was still an Iyrman. “Alright, if yoing in to fight, stay beside Nobby. I want you two helping each other out from now on.”

  “Okay,” Bavin replied.

  ‘Seriously, how is this kid that guy’s grandson?’ Adam thought. As the group returo the fort, beginning the butchering, Adam mumbled aloud. “I wonder how hawkbear meat tastes.”

  “I hear it tastes like chi,” Korin said, readying the rge pot, grabbing his pouch of spices.

  “Then we’re going to be eating good tonight,” Adam said, uo tain his smile. “If only we had some…” Adam furrowed his brows. “Do we have oil?”

  “We do,” Korin said, the one who had been in charge of pr ingredients before they left.

  “We have chi. We have flour. We have eggs…” Adam narrowed his eyes. “You bought some salt and spices?”

  “I did,” Korin replied.

  “Hmmm.” Adam thought deeply. “Let’s cook a little bit of the meat to firm whether it cooks like chi, and then I have something I’d like to make.”

  Jurot cut a small sb of meat, while Korin cooked it, only seasoning it with some salt. He spoke aloud, ting each sed as it passed by, and o had been cooked on both sides, he cut into it, feeling how easy it was to cut, before biting into it. “It’s a little tougher than chi, but tastes simir enough.”

  “Good,” Adam said. “Let me use a pot and some of the spices. I’ll also need some flour and some eggs.”

  Korin looked to Dunes, whed his shoulders, but they allowed Adam the ingredients. Adam cooled the pot repeatedly over the few hours, while the group ate in peace, some of them rexing, while others kept a.

  Adam bit into the crispy co he had formed. “Oh yeah,” he said, lig his lips. “Not quite as I remember it, but this would kill with some sauce.” Adam bit into the fried chi again. It was slightly dry, but he had missed the taste regardless. ‘I’d love some sad cream right now. Sweet chilli? Oh man, oh man.’ Adam could feel the burn in his eyes as he reminisced.

  “I thought you were going to make chi tikka masa,” Jurot admitted, biting into the crispy fried chi.

  “I o taste different spices for that,” Adam admitted. “Though, then again, I’m irely sure how it’s made. I think there’s cream and yoghurt, but, it is what it is. Actually, if I want to make it, I probably want to go to Aswadasad. I assume the spices would be found there, so…”

  “It does need some sauce, but it is good,” Korin admitted. “I did not know you could cook.”

  “Ah, barely,” Adam said, waving his hand dismissively. “You should swing by the Iyr for some pizza, though. It’s probably the best thing I’ve ied since we’ve arrived.”

  “I will have to,” the Aswadian Guardian said.

  Adam looked up towards the sky, falling into thought. ‘I do miss it…’ He made the same face he always made, one which Jurnised. Adam was thinking about that thing, the thing he swore not t into the world. His twin cousins had mentiohey had tried it before, but they had disliked it. Jurot supposed, however, that everyone had their own tastes.

  I'm craving some fried chi...