“Adam, are you okay?” Sir Vonda asked.

  “I’m fine,” Adam said, throwing a gnce back towards the band approag the horizon behind them.

  Vonda remained silent for a long moment. “Are you certain?”

  “I think so?” Adam bli her curiously. “Why? Do I look like there’s something wrong?”

  “You just seemed tense.”

  “I did?”

  “Were you rexed?”

  “I think so.”

  “You were rather aggressive.”

  “Yeah, he was aggressive too.”

  “You’re normally not quite so aggressive.”

  “If he didn’t e at me with that type of energy, I wouldn’t have returhat type of energy.” Adam shrugged, as though it was truly that simple.

  “You normally don’t give in to such taunts easily.”

  “It wasn’t about the taunt, it was about what would have happened after the taunt,” Adam expihrowing a look back towards the band once more. “As much as it sounds like an excuse, because, let’s be real, it is an excuse, if we rolled on our backs when he came at us with that kind of energy, thehink he could do whatever he wao us.”

  “I would have stepped in,” Vonda reassured.

  “Sure, but you shouldn’t have to step up just because some idiot thinks he’s something because he rides on a warhorse.”

  “We were outnumbered three to one.”

  “A fair fight,” the brother replied together. ‘Nice.’

  “Many could have been hurt.”

  “Sure, but I care more about my group than his group. The fight would have ended after the sed Fireball, maybe the third. If we really , I’d cast it a fourth, a fifth time if need be.”

  Vonda blinked. “We are no longer iher realm.”

  “Sure, but I still cast five pretty easily,” Adam replied, as though what he said wasn’t ridiculous.

  ‘Ah. Adam is Adam.’ Vonda let out a long sigh. “Many of them would have died.”

  Adam tapped his amulet. “I don’t mind sending a bunch of idiots to the Lord.”

  “You do mind.”

  “…” Adam closed his eyes, feeling his heart slow slightly. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, Vonda, uh, Sir Vonda, I’ll try and… you know.”

  “I know.” The young woman held out her hands. Adam held up his hands and she held them. “Be careful the Iyr does not corrupt you, as it has corrupted your sister.”

  “It’s a terrible thing, isn’t it?”

  “A terrible thing, indeed,” she replied, her eyes smiling up towards him.

  “See, this is why I like you Sir Vonda. You got jokes.”

  “I got jokes?”

  “You got jokes.”

  “Is that… good?”

  “It may not be good, but it is cool.”

  “Is cool not good?”

  “I guess it is good.”

  Omen: 3, 14

  The party approached the front gates of River Hill, which were still opehat te. It revealed the inside of the town, which was built around several streams. The denizens hustled and bustled about withiown. Several guards remained on the walls of the town, and two stood eagerly at the gates. Each were adorned in scale mail, greyish, with a hint of blue. Those atop the walls carried crossbows, though they were unloaded.

  “Good afternoon,” the guard called out, before eyeing up the group. “Say, didn’t you pass by for the tour?”

  Adam tilted his head slightly. “Are you the guard that informed me about the armour shop?”

  “That I was.”

  “Bobby, right?”

  “No,” the guard said, looking to his side. “That’s Bobby, I’m Garry.”

  “You know what? I’m really impressed that I binked Bobby. I’m usually so terrible with names.”

  “Binked?” Bobby asked, eyeing up the giant in puthral. “Don’t go around binking people.”

  “Binked just means… uh… it means like… you know when you remember something, and you get it right? You bi right the first time, you know?”

  “Sng?” Garry asked.

  “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, good to see you both. As promised, we did well iour, and so we’ve e back to spend some in River Hill. We don’t have much time, admittedly, so I’ll order some scale mail and e fetch it aime, or I’ll arrange for it to be delivered, or something.”

  “Aye, you’ve really e for some scale mail?” Garry asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

  “We did really well iour,” Adam said, before motioning a hand to his panions. “Nobby here pced first for his segment, and the teen Iyrmen here pced took the spots. I took third in my segment, and Kitool and my brother here, both took first and sed pce.”

  “Ho! So you’re Fate’s Golden, are you?”

  “That’s right.” Adam couldn’t help the smile on his fabsp;

  “Jurot the Savage and Kitool the Steel Fist? Really?” Bobby asked, eyeing up the pair.

  “I am Jurot,” Jurot firmed.

  “I am Kitool,” Kitool firmed.

  “So you must be Purple Adam,” Garry said. “Made quite the betting on you.”

  “Purple Adam?” Adam replied, frowning. “Seriously?”

  “Aye, because of the armour.”

  “We’ve got the Savage, the Steel Fist, and… Purple.” Adam looked back at his brother. “That’s not fair. Why couldn’t they give me something cooler than Purple Adam? I could have been Adam the Axe, or, or, or…”

  “Adam the Axe is pretty good,” Garry said, nodding his head. “There’s a lot of people called the Axe, though. There’s only one Purple.”

  “I guess…” Adam frowned. “You know what, ime I enter a tour, I’m going to win it. Then I’ll get a cool name, like… Adam the Invincible. Or Adam the Immortal.”

  “Adam the Koro,” Jaygak added, fidently.

  “What does Koro mean?” Garry asked.

  “It means fool,” Adam replied. “Big talk from someone who dropped out.”

  “It wasn’t my touro win,” Jaygak replied, simply. After havien up Adam, her heart had eased slightly. Though she did not have her uses, it was she who had stopped Adam from saying something unfivable. “The our I join I’ll be sure to pce.”

  “Not win?”

  “No, I won’t be the Gak who will rise in this geion,” she replied, simply.

  “…” Adam wasn’t sure if he should keep bullying her.

  “Are the wolves with you?” Bobby asked.

  “They are,” Adam firmed.

  “Are they going to behave?” Garry asked.

  Adam looked back. “Are you?”

  “Yes,” Cloud, Adam’s Awakened Wolf, replied.

  “Gods!” Garry reached up to his heard. “He’s an Awakened Wolf?”

  “Yeah, he is.”

  The guards eyed up the wolves. “I’m not sure about that.”

  “They won’t act up. If they do, we’ll pensate, and we’ll put them down.”

  “Yes,” Jurot agreed.

  “You’ll be keeping an eye on them?”

  “We will.”

  “Alright…” Garry eyed up the group. “We’re meant to tax mounts and such a certain amount. With twenty six of you, the elk being a magical steed, it should be twenty six gold. You trading any goods?”

  “None,” Adam replied. “Oh, speaking of trade, we’ve got a pque from the Duchess.”

  Jurot pulled the pque out of his inner shirt pocket, revealing it to the guard.

  Garry whistled, the same as the uards had when they first saw the pque. “A silver pque? From the Duchess? The Duchess of East Port?”

  “That’s right.”

  Garry held it, noting the stamps on the pque, and he ha to Bobby, who took it back to verify it. “How’d you mao get a silver pque.”

  “We work for a business called the United Kindom, which isn’t very active right now, but it’s a business which sells magical ons.”

  “You got any magical ons on you?”

  “On us? Yeah. For trade? Nht now.”

  “So no trade goods?”

  “No?” Adam looked to Jurot. “I don’t think so.”

  “No,” Jurot firmed.

  “Still, the silver pque ges the fees to a silver per head, per mount, and per cart.”

  “I’ll hand over three gold, since I don’t want to deal with the ge.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How goes the war, anyhow?”

  “Well, I’ve heard,” Garry replied. “We’ve pincered off the left and right side of the pins, and there’s little ce the Traitor King is going to march his army through the hills towards us.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “He’s not aiming to fight and take territory, he’s aiming to protect his nds,” Garry said. “Heard that Ever Green should be taken by the end of season. Price of food’s rising a little, but the price of grain is the same as always, but that’s no surprise.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re not from Aldnd?”

  “No.”

  Garry slowly nodded his head. “The price of grain rarely ges in Aldnd, and iral Aldnd, it’s always been the same. Across Aldnd, the price of flour is subsidised by the nobles, and some flour is guara a certain price. Iral Aldnd, we have the King’s Dole. It’s the only region of reat try which has it, and it’s why we’re the best.”

  “Oh?”

  “The King’s Dole is given out seasonally, at least. A giant sack of flarry said, holding up his hands to reveal how big the sack was, apparently as big as his torso, “given to every family. In the capital, it’s a monthly occurrence, and usually, it’s twice a season for most towns and cities iral Aldnd. Course, cause of the war, it’s been reduced to once a season again.”

  Adam slowly nodded his head. “The flour that’s given out. Is it… free?”

  “Aye.”

  “All that flour?”

  “Aye.”

  Adam whistled. “Now that’s something.”

  “tral Aldnd grow enough to feed all of Aldnd. The subsidised flour of ions is all flour which is grown withiral Aldnd too.”

  “Wow.”

  “I’ve heard of Aldish soldiers dying from wounds of battle, poisons of the enemies, and disease,” Garry said, before his lips formed a small smile. “Never heard of any Aldish solder starving to death.”

  “That’s pretty cool.”

  “Aye,” Garry said. “It is.”

  When I bee president of the UK I will give everyone free bread.