“I remember the st guy who tried to take a on from our Jaygak,” Adam said, leaning bato his chair, gng up towards the ceiling. “What a monster…” Adam slowly smiled. “Beat us like dogs. I fell instantly. Me. Adam. In this armour of mine. Didn’t even st more than a moment against him.”

  Adam shook his head, sipping the wine slowly. “My sed loss to date. My st loss… no, I’ve lost three times? Right? Right.” Adam slowly nodded his head, recalling that he had beeen by the trio around him.

  “That guy, he let us wail on him.” Adam motioned as though he was striking someoedly with a bde. “Not just us four, but other pretty scary panions too. Just let us beat on him, but he didn’t twitch. We were like ants against a boar. Then, he almost killed us all.” Adam inhaled deeply, before staring into the noble’s eyes. “You know what he did?”

  “What did he do?”

  “That on. It was a on much better than this one. A on worth more than all of our ons, and even this castle, bined.” Adam remaiaring into the noble’s eyes, and though his lips were pyfully smiling, his eyes were starkly serious. “He left it. He was too scared to take the on. Why? Why did a monster like that leave it?”

  Adam leaned in, chewing on his thoughts for a moment. “Even the greatest of monsters across the entire nd value their lives, and if you want to take Great Moon from us, you’d better be prepared to pay the price.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Baron John’s lips tio form a smile, though his eyes remained focused on Adam.

  “Threatening a noble?” Adam asked, watg as the knight tensed up. “We’ve sent all manner of creatures to meet the God of Death. You know, the thing with the God of Death…” Adam leaned back, still smiling towards the his time his eyes beaming with a pyfulness. “Death doesn’t discriminate, and nor do our bdes. If you want to covet something like Great Moon, then you o send a letter to call for other knights, because you certainly don’t have enough to deal with us.”

  “There are many who believe themselves to be more powerful than reat warriors,” the baron said, his eyes also growing pyful. “Do you believe yourself to be so powerful?”

  Adam gnced between the heavily armoured knights, noting the sounds of uards surrounding the room, though not yet entering. “I t what, a dozen guards? Two knights. A retired nobleman whose only half armoured. I re that Jurot and Jaygak hahe three of you, and Kitool and I hahe rest.”

  “You’re outnumbered four to one.”

  “A fair fight.”

  Intimidation CheckD20 + 6 = 22 (16)

  The Baron held out the bde to Jaygak, letting it go, but his eyes never left Adam’s. A cold bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck. He had faced many a creature. Those who crept in the night. Those who did not. John had mao live until his forties, with bde in hand, because his neck would tell him when he should and should not step forward, with bde in hand.

  “I’m just letting you know, Baron John Firstfield, that if your knight draws his bde, yoing to have to find a new knight.”

  “Threatening a noble is punishable by death.”

  “Funny that,” Adam replied, smiling wider, his eyes still pyful. “Threatening my friends has the same punishment.”

  Jurot reached up to rub his ear lobe gently, feeling the tension within the air. Jaygak spotted the sign, and Kitool did so a half moment ter.

  The baro Adam, who had decided against shutting his mouth. It was ohing for him to warn the baron, but it was ao tio berate him, especially in front of his vassals. “We should have disarmed you before you arrived.”

  “Yeah.”

  Battle OrderD20 + 1 = 4 (3)

  Health: 78 -> 74

  The symphony of metal filled the air as the group leapt up from the table, kig away the chairs towards the rushing guards, before drawing their ons. Had it not been for the fact they had been sitting, they would have been able to cut the noble’s head off before he could have even reached for his bde. Baron John slipped back as the knights cut towards the group, Adam and Jurot both meeting their bdes, but spears pushed through against their sides, meeting puthral and iron skin.

  Kitool grabbed her staff, but from her position to the side, her staff scraped against the table. Uo wield it properly, the guards forced her back as she tried to defend herself. Fortunately, she was able to split between a spear blow, and her heel dropped a guard, while she crushed another’s windpipe. She spuaff arouhreatening any uard who wished to step forward.

  Jaygak’s bde caught a spear, before she side stepped and slipped the spear against the side of her armour. She struck the guard swiftly betwee, before cutting across another’s neck, causing him to drop. “Adam!”

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, gring at the knight in front of him.

  Fighting Spirit: 3 -> 2Health: 74 -> 78

  Attack - WraithD20 + 10 = 24 (14)D20 + 10 = 27 (17)Hit!Mana: 21 -> 20Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 27 (2, 6)(4, 6)27 damage!

  Attack - WraithD20 + 10 = 24 (6)D20 + 10 = 27 (19)Critical hit!Mana: 20 -> 19Ability: Divine Smite4D6 + 4D6 + 9 = 45 (2, 4, 5, 6)(3, 4, 6, 6)45 damage!

  Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

  Attack - WraithD20 + 10 = 11 (1)D20 + 10 = 24 (14)Hit!Mana: 19 -> 18Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 19 (2, 2)(2, 4)19 damage!

  Attack - WraithD20 + 10 = 24 (14)D20 + 10 = 27 (17)Hit!Mana: 18 -> 17Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 20 (1, 1)(4, 5)20 damage!

  “I told you, didn’t I?” Adam asked, Wraith holding the greatsword at bay. “Yoing to need a new knight!” The pair cshed once more, with Adam f the knight backwards while the baron readied himself. Adam’s axe forced the knight back, fshing white hot, before he cut through the side of the knight’s neck, the rge armoured figure swaying for a moment before he dropped to a knee.

  Phantom fshed and the knight coughed up blood before dropping, the two great warriors so close to death within an instant, while the baron clutched his bde. He stared at them in shock, his eyes wide.

  A silence fell within the room. It was that kind of silence, a silence which fell before the storm.

  “They were nobles, weren’t they?” Adam asked.

  “Yes…”

  Adam slowly nod his head. He inhaled deeply. He hadn’t killed anyone in this life. Beasts, sure. Undead, of course. People? No. Even when he fought against Balrog and the other bandits who trafficked children, he had held back to not kill any of them.

  “Okay.”

  The baro out a sigh as he heard the word, and as he stepped forward to meet Adam in battle, Wraith cut through the noble’s arm, disarming him of both bone and silver. The nobleman howled in pain and dropped to his krembling before the Half Elf. The guards to clutch their spears tighter, but they could not step forward. No, not when su intense aura of death g around the four.

  “We-we surrender,” Baron John whimpered, clutg his arm, trying to pull his sleeve up and around his wound to stop the blood.

  “No,” Adam replied.

  “No?” The baron stared up at Adam, his eyes wide with shock.

  Adam threw a look to Jurot, nodded, and turned. He heard the Iyrman’s axe hack apart the three, while he watched the guards jolt and shake from the shock of the sight. Blood began to pool under Adam’s boots, the young man’s lips quivering.

  “We’re…” Adam began, trying to gather himself. “We’re going to take our loot, and we’re going to leave. Anyone else who wants to die to proteeone else’s wealth, you be my guest.” Adam motioned a hand towards his brother. “Otherwise, you should step aside, so we take our silver and gold.”

  The guards swallowed, staring at the Half Elf. The four seemed retively unphased after being targeted by two knights and a dozen knights, and with their stro dying so easily before the group, the guards decided against stepping forward.

  “Who is going to be a good little helper?” Adam asked. “Who knows where the lord’s room is, and where he keeps the good stuff?”

  “You ’t expect us to help you,” a guard said, doing his best to stand tall. If they couldn’t stop these crazy savages, they at least wouldn’t help them.

  “If no oeps forward with the information then yoing to be the first to get cut down,” Adam said, pointing towards the guard who spoke. “One by one, we’ll start killing you. If you run, you’ll be hunted, like deer.”

  “Okay,” one said, inhaling deeply. “I, uh, I take you.”

  “Good.”

  “You’ll let us live?”

  “Not only will I let you live, I’ll hand over some to you, young man,” Adam said. “You’re the only reason why any of yoing to be returning to your families tonight.”

  Nobles, am I right?