Adam made the necessary preparations for the payment to Nobby’s family. He had given Nobby ten gold s to hand to his parents for that month, but he’d o set up the payments for the ninth month onwards.

  ‘ht, Sir Landon also paid moo Nobby too,’ Adam recalled, trying to figure out how he should split that to the family. ‘I’ll give them aen gold for this month, and then fifteen gold each month for two years? I’ll make it start from year.’

  The group spent a few days in Red Oak, allowing everyoo rex. Adam thought about going to visit the porters and the farmers, but decided against it. Instead, he set up an additional payment of ten gold each month for them, starting from the ninth month, up until the end of the year.

  Adam spent more money on gifts for the children, buying daggers for each of the children, from his own children, to the other babies, to even the older children. Once he had spent a princely sum within Red Oak for the gifts, the group readied themselves to return back to the Iyr, with a cart full of all the souvenirs the group had bought, most of which were bought by a singur Half Elf.

  Mana: 21 -> 18Spell: Sending

  “Chief. In Red Oak. Returning soon. I bring back the group? Alsuests. Oh! Very important guest! Very very important guest! Chief, very-”

  The spell cut off.

  ‘Oops,’ Adam thought, having pletely fotten about Umbra. He wasn’t sure how to talk about her through the spell either.

  “Okay.”

  Omen 6, 15

  Adam stared at the cart, which had been covered by a rge tarp, though Adam wasn’t sure if it was enough to protect the gifts. ‘Hmmm…’ He eyed up Zeus too, w if this was too much for the elk to pull along.

  Nobby also returned, bringing with him two small sacks, which he held out to Adam.

  “What is it?” Adam asked, reag for the sacks.

  “Ma finished your task.”

  “Oh!” Adam smiled, peeking into one of the sacks, before seeing the fresh vegetables. ‘Eh?’ He checked the other, which was full of bits. “Nice!”

  Ohe group were ready, having secured the crate of food, and the barrels of ale, he bad side of the cart, they stepped out of Red Oak, making their way back to the Iyr.

  ‘A shame I couldn’t meet with Paul, but I guess he was busy, what with the war and all…’

  Other than the soldiers which had passed through Red Oak, they had barely recalled there was an ongoing war. Adam thought little of it, si was, apparently, going to end before the year’s end.

  Adam eyed up the barrels of ale, half of which Jaygak had bought with her. ‘I didn’t expect her t bauch…’ They had fought lightly about the ale, sihey had so many things t back, but she was adamant that they the barrels.

  Jurot and Lucy rode the Awakened Wolves, while Jonn rode on his elk. Mara rode Cloud, though Adam had offered Vonda the wolf, but she was heavily armoured and therefore would have pced a heavy strain on the Awakened Wolf.

  Dunes, Korin, Amira, and Lady Sara all gathered as a group together, standing behind the pair who were leading the wagon, Jaygak and Kitool. Adam remained he back with the teen Iyrmen, Nobby, and Fred. Umbra y on the wagon’s seat, staring up at the sky.

  Adam remaiense, but within the walls of his puthral armour, he felt safe. Mostly safe. There was still the fact that they had met two random fellows, each who were such a great threat that they could, by themselves, sway a war in the favour of their allies.

  ‘Home stretch, but we gotta be careful…’

  They trekked through the forest, with Adam creating two towers to protect them in the evening. The group used a small outpost that they had made previously, though it had taken a short while to recim it from nature.

  Omen: 2, 16

  “A storm is ing,” Umbra said, still rexing on the driver’s seat of the cart.

  “A storm?”

  “A terrible storm,” Umbra said.

  “What is it?”

  “A storm.”

  “Yeah, but who is it?”

  “Who?”

  “It’s a… oh, you mean like lightning and thunder?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh…” Adam blinked. “I thought you meant in a metaphorical sense.”

  Umbra just let out a soft sigh. She didn’t help as the group began to cut down the nearby trees to make a fence. Jurot and the others couldn’t sehe storm, but as the hour passed, they could see the clouds in the distance.

  “Adam, you should make more towers,” Jurot said.

  “How many?”

  “As many as you wish,” Jurot stated.

  Adam ted how many of them there were. He would o make six towers for them all to be fortable, though five made more sense. He summoned out six towers, splitting the group into six different groups. Umbra remained with Jurot, Kitool, and Adam.

  Adam looked to the cart, and the two steeds.

  “…”

  Mana: 3 -> 0Spell: Tower of Adam

  Hades and Zeus kept a, while the Awakened Wolves rexed with Lud Mara iower. By the time evening approached, the rain began to fall across the nd, first as a pitter patter, but eventually into a shower, before they could no longer hear themselves think, and could no longer see everees around them.

  The sky fshed. A moment passed. Two moments. Three moments. Thunder rumbled.

  Umbra remaiop the tower, rexing as the water fell across the nd, threatening to flood the nearby river. She hummed quietly, a tuhat her father would often hum to her.

  “That’s a lot of rain,” Adam said, staring out, but barely being able to see anything.

  “It will not be over soon,” Jurot said, eyeing up the river, which even his Iyrman eyes could barely spot. Luckily they had formed the outpost some ways away, on slightly higher ground. If the river did flood, it would flood away from them.

  “If we left the day after Nobby’s party, we could have been back at the Iyr by the time of this storm…” Adam sighed. “No, maybe this storm is for us?”

  “It could be.” Jurot stared out into the distance. “It does not storm like this often.”

  “The giants must be fighting,” Jaygak said. “The Stiants may be warring in the sky.”

  “Is that a thing?” Adam asked.

  “A thing?” Jaygak asked.

  “I mean, does that really happen?”

  “Often,” Jaygak firmed. “Typically in the mountains, but many times in the sky.”

  “…” Adam furrowed his brows. ‘Did Stiants fly?’ Adam recalled back to his previous life. ‘The bridge, maybe?’

  “You should be careful, Adam,” Jaygak said, almost beginning to whisper, though loudly due to the storm. “In these realms, you may be strong, but in the Higher Realms, you would be sidered an ant, like me.”

  “You’re not an ant,” Adam said, frowning. “Don’t be like that, Jaygak.”

  “I’m an ant pared to you, Adam.”

  “I’m not sure about that.”

  “I am certain.”

  “Stop it, Jaygak!” Adam growled. “Why are you here, anyway? You should be looking after the others!”

  “I wao be here because I was bored,” Jaygak said, taking out her wineskin. “Let’s drink a little.”

  “We should keep on edge, otherwise-,”

  “Otherwise you’ll kill me from how tense you are,” Jaygak stated, p him a small cup of wine. “Now drink it, you monster.”

  “Monster? I’m not a monster!”

  “If you’re not a monster, what are you?”

  “An ant!”

  “An ant? An ant? If you’re an ant, what am I?”

  “Jaygak, daughter of Lavgak!”

  “You and ylib tongue,” Jaygak grumbled, before sipping some wioo. She tio pour Adam some cups of wine, every so often doing the same for Jurot and Kitool, but she khey wao be alert in case anything happened.

  “Anyway, don’t say that type of thing,” Adam stated. “You’re not some ant, Jaygak. Aren’t you pretty damn strong?”

  “Am I?”

  “Fred fears you.”

  “Fred fears his own shadow.”

  “That’s not true. He’s an Expert, like you, but he’s still scared of you. Jaygak, the Devilkin. Wait until you’re a Master, then we’ll see who will call you an ant.”

  “I’m not the one whose going t the name of Gak to the ti,” Jaygak said. “This geion will not belong to me.”

  “If not you, then who?”

  “Taygak,” Jaygak said. “Raygak, Saygak too.”

  “Hmm.” Adam thought about the young Taygak, who was always so stern, and the pair of boys. Raygak, who was often bullied by Jaygak, and Saygak, who Adam had corrupted into being a Blood Mage. “I guess that’s true.”

  “I’ll just clear the path,” Jaygak said. “Then you’ll have to carry them up.”

  “Of course I will,” Adam said, sipping more of the wine. He stared at Jaygak. “Jaygak, you know I think you’re coht?”

  “Cool? I’m hot!” She reached out with her hands, but decided against spraying out fire, in case they really did o fight.

  “Hot means something else,” Adam said.

  “What does it mean?”

  “Something like beautiful.”

  “I am hot,” Jaygak stated, motioning to her horns.

  Adam shook his head, smiling slightly. Thehought about the other Devilkin. “Hey, uh, Amira doesn’t have horns. Should I avoid talking about them?” Adam’s words were a whisper, almost drowned out by the rain and thunder, but Jaygak was still an Iyrman, and her keen ears picked up on the whisper.

  “I don’t know why they were cut off, but that’s probably a good idea,” she admitted.

  “Hmm…” Adam thought for a long moment. “You think their kids will be cute?”

  “Probably.”

  “Not as cute as mine,” he retorted, firmly.

  “They might be as cute as yours,” Jaygak said. “They’ll have horns.”

  “You’re right,” Adam said, nodding his head slowly. “They’ll have horns.” ‘Since I helped save her, that means I dote oht? They won’t pin if I gift them a few magical items, will they? Just, two or three for each of them, it’s more than I spent on their mother…’

  ‘Jaygak knows him so well,’ Jurot thought, noting how Adam’s shoulders were no longer so stiff.

  “You have a visitor,” Umbra’s voice called, carrying through the whipping winds and the heavy rain.

  Adam’s shoulders tensed up once more as he stood, making his way down to the bottom floor, before stepping out into the rain, which crashed against him and his armour, spttering into tiny pieces. He couldn’t see anything past the fehey had made, but cutting through the thick rain was a e.

  “Oh no,” Adam whispered, staring at the e. ‘Gods damn it.’

  Not again!