Omen: 6, 11

  “Stop it,” Adam said, pig up Jarot to embrace him tightly, sh him with affe. “Don’t you know it’s illegal to be this cute?”

  Adam’s five children were all adorned iire of the Iyr, with all those withi family wearing identical outfits. They wrey clothing, the Rot family symbol of a blue circle and diamonds embroidered along the shoulders where the outer shirt cut off at an ahey also wore a deep blue sash around their waists, which kept their outer shirt taiogether, rather than with buttons.

  “Jurot,” Adam said, kissing Jarot’s neck, causing the boy to squirm and smile within his father’s arms.

  “Yes, they are,” Jurot firmed, his eyes staring down at the triplets. They were staring up at their father, wanting more affe for themselves. Konarot noted Jurot was staring at him, and she stared back at him. During the st duskval festival, they hid behind their father, but now they looked at him so defiantly.

  “Papa! I am cute!” Lanarot shouted, pointing up at her brother.

  “Quietly,” Adam whispered, before lifting his sister up, huggiight, pnting a firm kiss on her forehead too. “Yes, you are.”

  Lanarot smiled, her eyes narrowing with satisfa, before she grabbed Adam’s head and kissed his cheek. “Papa is cute.”

  “I am?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you say so, then it must be true,” Adam ruffled her hair, before realising it had been brushed to look so . ‘Oops.’ Adam spent a short while brushing her hair to fix her hair.

  Jurot and Lanarot explored the festival with Adam, who was mostly trying to rein in his you daughter, who was marg off randomly through the festival. Adam held her in one arm and fed her with the other, realising it was the best way to keep her out of trouble. Luckily for him, Konarot kept the other children in line, whereas Jurot watched over their little sister.

  “Thanks,” Adam said, chewing the food Jurot offered to him, holding it towards Adam’s lips so he could eat too. The s tained long strips of meat and thinly cut vegetables. The bread itself was also thered in hot butter and herbs, adding a little kick of fvour with every bite.

  “No, I feeding,” Lanarot said, holding out her food towards her older brother. Adam leaned in to eat from her hand, though some of the vegetables spilled on the floor. “Oh no.” The girl gasped.

  “Papa Jurot will feed me, okay?”

  “No, I feeding.”

  “We ’t waste food, it’s not good.”

  “No good,” Lanarot firmed, huffing slightly, before pulling the together and dev it like she had been starving feions.

  Eventually they found the area where the children could toss small filled bags into circles which were made of ropes. Lanarot was eager to start, tossing the bags eagerly. Adam and Jurot watched the children as they pyed. The soft musi the distance eg around.

  “Look at ‘em,” Adam whispered, watg Jirot and Jarot tossing the bags too, both managing to nd them within the various circles. “They could only crawl when we left, and now…”

  “They are growing up well.”

  “Yeah…” Adam smiled slightly, his lips pulled taut as he thought about what he o do for them. ‘I spent so long enting, so I should make sure to hug them a lot this week.’

  The pair tio explore the festival with the children, watg the fights, in which Lanarot squealed so eagerly, but Karot and Jarot shirked way from the sight. Adam fed each of them, before finding the Iyrmen who were cooking pizza.

  “You should eat this,” Adam said, excitedly, slices to the children.

  Jirot and Jarot seemed to enjoy eating all of the pizza, while the triplets offered Lanarot their crusts. Lanarot, being a bread fiend, happily accepted every bit of crust, dipping them into a small pot of sauce they had been offered.

  Jarot yawned, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. He looked up at his father with his sleepy eyes, and Adam picked the boy up. He was still so small, shorter than all of his triplets, and he was a little chubby. Adam recalled that Gurot had finally mao grow taller than the pair, who were ohe size of pears within his hands.

  “Let’s go take a nap,” Adam said, leading them out to find a small se to the side.

  A few Iyrmen were already watg over young children who were snoozing aware in the courtyard of a shared family estate. They eyed up Adam suspiciously, but said nothing as Jurot pced down a basket of food for them, before carrying a smaller basket so Adam and he could sna peace as they watched over the children. Jurot sometimes threw Adam a gnoting the satisfa on the young Half Elf’s fabsp;

  ‘…’

  Adam had killed a hydra, something whily a few people could cim, but he was far happier handing Asorot the scale tunic. Adam had killed twons, but he preferred to talk about his children than such a great feat. Yet, though Adam loved his children so much, he still went to work for twelve days, to ent a pair of fming swords. Jurot wasirely certain how to ect those thoughts together.

  Onight fell, they returned back to the shared family estate. Adam helped his children up for the night, allowing Jirot and Jarot to cuddle up within his arms as he read, while his triplets y all around him.

  “Did you have a ime at the festival?” Adam asked.

  “No,” Jirot replied, before cag up at him.

  “Silly girl.” Adam poked her nose gently, before speaking with each of his childreually, he picked out a book and read it to them, before they turned in for the night.

  As the festival progressed, Adam spent time with the others, allowing his children to explore with others.

  “I ’t believe you’re stealing my children like this,” Adam said.

  “They are my grandchildren,” Sonarot replied, simply, before pig up Konarot, brushing her hair. Mirot picked the twins up, holding them close turot stared up at her in shock. How could they do this to him? That was where he should be.

  Konarot pouted slightly towards her grandmother, but she didn’t pin. She waved towards her father, and Adam waved back. His heart sank watg the children go, but he supposed he should spend some time with Jurot, Kitool, and Jaygak.

  Adam sipped the wine in a quiet er alongside his closest panions. “Man, it’s only been, what, almost three years since we’ve known each other?”

  “Yes,” Jurot replied.

  “Time flies, huh?” Adam let out a long, tired sigh. “This wasly how I thought things would go?”

  “How did you think it would go?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I thought we’d go out and adventure, more than now, and more… freely.” Adam thought back to his first few years in the Iyr. He had spent so much time enting, and though certainly it had helped him in his adventures, it had taken a lot of time out of him. Yet, his pns were always to spend the time enting first so he could adventure freely, but then…

  “Your children are growing well,” Jurot said, p Adam some more wine.

  “Yeah…” Adam sipped more wine.

  “Don’t worry, Adam, you’re still an idiot,” Jaygak said, patting his shoulder.

  “Since you’ve decided to fight, I think my debt has been repaid,” Adam replied, smirking slightly.

  “You’ve been w too hard not to spend up all that frustrati to bully me.”

  “Trying?” Adam narrowed his eyes at the young woman’s smirk. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend, otherwise I’d take offeo that.”

  “Best friend?”

  “Yeah, best friend,” Adam replied, w if she’d deny him.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means from all my friends, you’re the one I’m closest to.”

  “What of Jurot?”

  “Jurot doesn’t t, he’s my brother.”

  “What of Kitool?”

  “Kitool is more like…” Adam thought. “Kitool is more like the big sister that looks after her idiot younger brother.”

  Kitool bowed her head, accepting the wratefully.

  “Out of everyone in this world, you’re the people I trust the most,” Adam said, p them all wine, before sipping more of his own.

  “An Iyrman’s trust is harder to earn,” Jaygak said.

  “I don’t know, I feel like Jurot trusts me pretty good.”

  “I do,” Jurot firmed.

  “See.”

  “He doesn’t t, he’s your brother,” Jaygak grumbled quietly.

  “I guess you’re right.” Adam smiled, drinking into the night with his panions. Fortunately for him, they stopped him before he became too much of a fool, not wanting him to act up in front of his children.

  The festival tio pass, with Tarot and Zirot also stealing his children from him, though it allowed Adam to meet with Dunes and the others. Adam hat Dunes ending a lot of time with Amira, and Sara and Korin remained a pair glued together too.

  Dunes held out ara kebab for Adam, eating some of the grilled vegetables. “Thank you again, Adam.”

  “Any time,” Adam replied, accepting the kebab, unsure why Dunes was thanking him. “What are you thanking me for, exactly?”

  “For your assistah finding Amira.”

  “It’s not like I did much,” Adam said, before realising he had spend a few thousand gold. “I mean, it’s not like I helped find her, I just paid the bribes.”

  “It is more than I could do.”

  “Yeah, well, now you’ll be doing things I ’t dht?” Adam winked, rubbing his elbow against Dunes’ side. Dunes furrowed his brows curiously, before he uood what Adam was getting at.

  ‘I should leave him to his friends and family.’ Fred thought, expl the festival himself. He gnced around towards the Iyrmen women, w if he’d be able to caty of their attention. Theed the other Iyrmen nearby, their steel and silver tokens, and he realised that there would be no way he could do so, not when he was sidered average in the Iyr, even as an Expert.

  Adam was able to spend one day with all the children, taking the teen Iyrmen with him. “Yes, good job, Gurot, high five!” he said, allowing the boy to high five him when he mao throw the bag well. He missed the nding, but it was a mighty throw.

  “Inakan, no!” Adam picked her up as she almost walked into the way of other Iyrmen. They had stopped, but hadn’t realised that she wouldn’t stop. “What are you doing, you silly girl?” Adam stared at the girl, who twitched and looked his way, squinting her eyes towards him. “I ’t be mad at you, though, my Inakan.”

  “He keeps calling them his,” Nirot said, throwing a look to Naqokan.

  “When we marry, she will be his little sister,” Naqokan replied, simply.

  “…” Nirot couldn’t refute that.

  Adam excitedly pyed with the children, befoing to nap with them, Nirot and Naqokan remaining with him to watch over the childreually they returned back to the shared estate, where they saw a set of familiar faces, those they hadn’t seen in almost a year.

  “My my, who are these strange faces?” Adam said, approag the trio, holding Inakan in his arms. “So you finally show your faow? After you missed our beautiful babies birth-,” Adam joked, before he froze in pce, shocked.

  He hadn’t expected the older Iyrmen to return. One was an older woman, with red skin and a set of horns which grew out the side of her forehead. She was Gangak, the Family Elder of the Gak family, who had forced her way to fight, leaving her duties to anak. She carried a bde at her side, a bde of deep blue, the Gak’s family’s most prized possession.

  The other was Otkan, who was tall and strong, and would have been a beautiful woman if it wasn’t for the huge scar across her left eye and down the side of her neck. Adam had fought her once, and she had held back against him, giving him just enough of an edge to bet her with his luck. She carried a greatswainst her back, but it was a on she could no longer used, for where her arm should have been, was the inner shirt that was tied around the stub whied at her elbow.

  The same Otkan which had goo kill Fryn and survived?

  The st was the one Adam’s you son was named after.

  The Jarot, whose name was still well known among the eion.

  The Jarot, who went out to the north to make a mess.

  The Jarot, who had defeated Seasword in his youth.

  The Jarot who had goo kill Fryn, and had given up his arm in shame afterwards, aired.

  The Jarot who, even with his one arm, had been the first figure to beat Adam handily in this life, even though the old man had used a mundane axe. Adam had been wielding one of the greatest ons he had created even to that day, and he had still lost against the terriying old man.

  Adam grew hot with shame for a moment, and his heart pounded wildly in his heart. Jarot sat beside Otkan, whose missing arm was more obvious. Jarot’s hand remained on his knee, and had almost hidden the fact that he now had a wooden leg.

  ‘What happened?’

  Oh no.