“I have such a nice, long block of wood,” Adam said, revealing aem from his leather satchel. “I wao make it into a staff, but I’m not really good at wood w, and I know Jurot’s busy.”

  “I am not,” Jurot said.

  “Jurot,” Adam whispered. “You’re busy, right?”

  “No. I am not busy.”

  “Jurot,” Adam said, raising his brows. “The twins babone, so they’re going to need another positive role model to follow.”

  “Grandmother take that role.”

  “Yeah, but Jarot needs a male role model too,” Adam stated, raising his brows further towards his brother.

  “You are a good role model.”

  “From the Rot family, I mean.”

  “You are a member of this family,” Jurot stated.

  Adam looked to his Aunt, before taking a moment. “Jarot needs a male role model from the Rot family, who is tattooed, so that he feels wele by the family aaken care of.”

  Jurot inhaled deeply, ready to retort, but he could see that way his mother was looking at him, and then Jaygak’s expet eyes. There was something he was missing for sure. “I may be busy…” Jurot finally said, gng between everyoill uain of what was going on.

  “Oh dear, oh dear,” Adam said, looking to Saygak. “This wood be made into such a aff for you, but we’re going to o find someoo help with carving it.”

  Saygak squirmed shyly uhe sight of Adam’s gaze, before he looked over to his elder brother, Laygak, who was sitting right beside him, breaking apart a pepper for the boy. Laygak looked up at Adam with a half smile on his face, shaking his head lightly.

  “I am sure my brother find someone who work the wood into a staff,” Laygak said, ruffling Saygak’s hair, before the boy a pepper.

  Saygak bit it from his brother’s haing the pepper with a small smile on his face. Taygak inhaled deeply, and pointed up at her elder brother, before stopping, looking to Adam. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then slowly nodded her head. She gave him a thumbs up, as he always did to her.

  Adam smiled, returning the thumbs up, before Jaygak tiheir stories, mentioning how they had met with the other Iyrmen, and theories began.

  “I met some guy named Sir Gregory, I think it was?” Adam said. “Order of the Ice Bdes. I fought him in bat, and I mao beat him.”

  The children stared up at Adam, waiting for more, but that was all he said.

  “Don’t look at me like that!” Adam replied, frowning slightly. “He wasn’t even that good at fighting, so what am I meant to say?”

  “He’s a member of an order,” Jaygak said. “He was det.”

  “Well he wasn’t anything pared to the hts,” Adam stated.

  Jaygak thought back to Adam’s oppos, and she smiled, nodding her head lightly. Her rea caused the children to perk up from their disappoi. Adam went back to feeding his triplets from his hands, while she tio speak of the fights, each Iyrmen describing their own fights.

  “So there I was, rested and ready to fight,” Adam said. “I saw her, a woman adorned in a wall of steel, but it wasn’t steel, it was some kind of magical steel of sorts. I could see tiny bck etgs across her armour.”

  “Bde!” Taygak gasped, c her mouth in shock.

  “Bde,” Adam said, gng up towards the sky as though he was trying to remember. “Yes. Yes, that sounds abht. Bde was her name.”

  “Oooh!” The children cpped their haedly.

  “I had no idea she was s,” Adam said, nodding his head. “We fought, and she killed me, so I wasn’t able to return back to the Iyr to give my children their presents.”

  “Daddy!” Konarot pointed up towards him, her lips quivering as she pouted up at him.

  “It was just a joke, baby,” Adam cooed quietly towards her, pig her up to kiss her forehead. He nuzzled against her nose, brushing her cheek tenderly. “Okay, no more jokes. Daddy will try to be good.”

  Konarot tio pout up at him, her lips still quivering. She grabbed his shirt tight and hugged him close.

  “Tough crowd,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “Anyway, there she was. She had no bde that I saw, but as she prepared against me, she summoned her bde. It was such a wicked teique, a bde which appeared from nothingness. The battle began, and we cshed together. It was like a dance of steel, my axe, Wraith, meeting Bde’s bde. She was s and tough, I wasn’t able to managed a det blow, but she dropped her bde, and swung nothiowards me, and though it was imaginary at first, it appeared right within her hands and she struck me, almost felling me!”

  The children gasped, Lanarot stig more bread into her mouth as she watched, shocked. She wasn’t sure exactly what Adam was saying, but she uood it was crazy, si was her papa.

  “Me, Cousin Adam, the stro, almost falling to Bde?” Adam whispered, also in shock. “But, I could hear how much Jaygak would bully me if I fell, so I grabbed my axe in hand, and we went back to battle. This time I was focused, my mind trained by battling so many Iyrmen and hydras.” Adam reached up to his head, narrowing his eyes. “My axe had been honed by the time I spent with the greatest warriors in all the nd, so how could I are to lose to the likes of someone named Bde. I’m a member of the Rot family, you know? If someone’s going to beat me, it has to be with an axe!”

  Turot nodded his head, uanding the logic behind his words, whereas Taygak poi Adam, and then looked to his mother, looking to her for support.

  “So even though she could drop her bde and summon it, we fought again, but this time, my axe caught a k within her armour, and I used the greatest smite I could muster. I brought down divine magic, but… she stood. What a terrifying foe! I had used my axe with all the strength I could muster with my divine magic, but she still was ready to tear me apart!” Horror fshed across Adam’s face, and he reached up to pretend to rub his invisible sweat. “What a scary woman!”

  “Oooh!” the children firmed.

  “What could I do?” Adam whispered, shifting his body from side to side. “I mao defend myself against her onsught, and as she forced me on the back foot, I thought back to the times I lost. This time, though, I had Wraith and Strong Shield.” Adam raised his crimson shield. “Without them, I certainly would have fallen already! But! She was no Iyrman! She was no Lord of sud such! She was Bde! If I was going to lose, you o be at least an Iyrman or a Lord of something!” Adam pined, huffing quietly. “I won’t lose unless you’re actually super strong!”

  Konarot reached up with a sliced cucumber, it to her father. Adam leaned in to bite it, before tinuing the story. “So,” Adam said, chewing quickly before swallowing, “I focused my mind again. Bam! Crash! Cha! My axe met Bde’s bde, and then I spun to the side, burying my axe into the gap between her armour. Fwa! Cha! I struck her in the side and she fell to a knee, beaten!”

  “Ooooh!”

  “But then, right as I beat Bde, I had to fa eveer foe!” Adam stated, sitting up straighter as he stared down at the children with a deep seriousness. “I was escorted to the arena owner, a Devilkin woman by the name of… Lay? I took off my axe and shield and pced it to the side, and she checked to see whether I was lying about my age. Lying, me? Adam? Adam the Ho? I might joke sometimes, but I do not lie!”

  The children heir heads, mumbliween themselves in agreement. Katool wao speak up, but realised every time Adam had lied, it was for a joke. Is that still not lying, though? She narrowed her eyes.

  “So she had a spell cast oo speak only the truth.”

  “Zoaygak said.

  “That’s right, Zone of Truth,” Adam firmed. “She threatened me with a poison, Widow’s Tears. Apparently, a very powerful poison, something that kill people quickly.” Adam looked to Sonarot. “An easy way to go.” He winked, before smiling at the others. “Then she paid me my bet a me go. It wasn’t the st time I’d be speaking with her, I assure you.” Adam chuckled.

  “Cousin Adam, strong!” Taygak stated, pointing up at the young man.

  “Ho? I’m strong? Just you wait until you hear the rest of the story…”

  The Iyrmen each spoke of their own fights, and how well they had fought, as well as how well Timojin and Amokan had also fought. As Jaygak mentioned her fight with Kitool, her father pced a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

  “Good fight,” Taygak said, patting Jaygak’s thigh.

  “Yes,” Raygak firmed. “My sister is strong too!”

  “Kitool, is scary,” Adam firmed. “I’d rather fayone else but Kitool.”

  Katool looked up to her sister, her cheeky little grin pointed up towards her sister. “Yes.”

  “Who is that?” Adam said, staring at the young Katool.

  “I am Katool,” she replied, smiling wide at Adam’s joke, before realising it wasn’t her birthday.

  “What happeo your hair, Katool?” Adam asked. “It’s so long!”

  “Yes!” Katool shook her head a her hair bounce. “It is nice.”

  “Hmmm,” Adam slowly nodded his head. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

  They tihe tale, with the others not realising what was to e.

  Jaygak, one day you'll bee a mooo.