‘Well that was easy…’ Adam thought, walking alongside the Hope. He had seen the smile on the Hope's face, ohat stated she was ready for whatever the Captain decided.

  Addler let out a soft sigh, a cautious eye falling across the captain. "Y'alright, Cap'in?"

  Jill turowards Addler, her eyes filled with a vicioushe guard hadn't expected. "The noble's going to have my head."

  "..." Addler decided against saying any more while the Captain marched bato the city.

  'Diviake you!' the Captain thought, already hearing the sighs of the higher ups, and could smell the assig she would be sent to for at least a few months, or if they were particurly annoyed, years. 'Damned Marquise and her ridiculous games!'

  The group arrived at one of the temples, a smaller temple within one of the districts, though calling it a small temple was quite the disservice. It was a rge estate, o quite matg a minor ates, though no doubt it held great wealth. The entire plex was near white, save for the colours all across it's trim, the etched stone revealing many stories of the temple, painted vibrantly with colours o Portians could name.

  'Damn,' Adam thought, gng around the temple.

  A Muided them through the temple, allowing the children to stay within rather bare, but well built, rooms. However, the children didn't seem to mind, not when the shelter was so sturdy, and filled with the tingles of divine magic all throughout.

  "What would be an appropriate donation withiemple?" Adam asked, letting out a soft sigh.

  "You are under our prote," the Hope replied. "You have donated much."

  The Mother beside the Hope smiled ily, ahe Hope would refuse a donation to the temple. Though they worked closely, it wasn't as though the ey worshipped them with as much zeal as those of Life River.

  "Right..." Adam met the Mother's eyes, noting the look on her face. "Well, we're not the kind who will leave the temple without appropriate worship. I'll leave the children here with Ray Vonda and the Aswadians, but we'll find our lodgings elsewhere. We'll be sure to return with a donation for the Good Mother, lest you believe we shirk her."

  The Mother's eyes fell towards the heavily armoured young man adorned in purple, then towards the amulet around his neck, that made of obsidian. She vaguely recalled a rumour which had passed by, of a young man who had been chosen by the Lord of Death. "..."

  "Ray Vonda, you don't mind, do you?" Adam asked.

  "No," Vonda replied, smiling warmly. "The children will be safe withiemple. I believe it would be best for Hope Willow to assist you, so that trouble is deyed by her presence."

  Adam frowned. "I'd rather you babysit me."

  "A Hope outranks that of a Ray, Adam."

  "A Ray possesses the will of our Mother," the Hope stated firmly. Though, she couldn't ht deny that Vonda was indeed outranked by herself, though it articurly awkward, as Vonda was a Ray uhe direand of the Order of Life's Rose rather than herself. Hope Willow personally anded four of the Rays beside her, and typically took five with her, one which took the and uhe Mother Priest, and acted as a sed in and in case something happened.

  If every Hope left, with the assistance of one of the Rays uhe Mother Priest, that still left fourteen Rays at the order, just in case. Vonda, as well as another, were uhe direand of the Mother Priest. Vonda's particur ast had been rather problematiot that the group uood that.

  Hope Willow thought back to the se.

  “It is against vention,” Hope Robert stated, his voice level and calm.

  “It is an exceptional decision for an exceptional time,” Mother Priest replied.

  “The First Hope is right,” Sed Hope Ava stated. “We are already in a time wheh Hope Thomas has gaihe right at su age, but Mother Vonda, though with the piety to reach the title of Mother, should not have a seat among us. We must sider the pany she keeps, that of the grandson of the Undying Jarot.”

  “Mad Dog Jarot,” Lily, the Third Hope, said. Her hair was equally as short as Ava’s strawberry blonde hair, though it was darker, chestnut in colour, her amber eyes curious. There was definitely something about the situation she was missing, though she wasn’t quite sure what it was. “Perhaps it would be best to allow her to remain within their pany, a touch of the Good Mainst the death the Iyrmen bring.”

  Willow remained silent, yielding her moment to speak to the Fifth Hope.

  “There is no need for the Mother to gaile of Ray, for she has yet to gain the wisdom of a Mother,” Hope Sophia had said, the woman, almost as well built as Willow, though slightly short and thinner. Her hair was bck, her skin tan, her eyes iween the darkness of her hair and skin.

  “It is against vention,” Isabel said. “We have already broken through vention for the Seventh Hope. It may be taken that we are disregarding the rules of those who came before us, those who had built this order into the grand force that it is now. Even now, the King heeds our words, because we are for tradition, a tradition of carrying the Mother’s will, of stability.”

  “I will leave the matter between those of my elders,” Hope Thomas said, unsure of what he should say. He had been rather young wheook the role of Seventh Hope, so such was hollow. However, he had made quite a name for himself, and he had been personally groomed by a Hope. Mother Vonda was not quite the same. Though she had gained a name for herself, she had shown little want to bee a Ray, but now…

  “The Mother’s panions were not just of the Iyrmen,” the Fourth Hope said. “There was the Brother, Adam, along with those of the Order of Bck Mountain. I spoke with Brother Dunes, who has revealed a peculiarity within the group which we should sider. It may be the case that the Mother should watch over the group, but the title of Ray may allow her greater ability to do so.”

  “eculiarity has you speak for breaking vention?” Hope Robert asked.

  “The same peculiarity which had defeated our Seventh Hope, before fag you so eagerly,” Willow replied, her voice curt. “I am not fident I will be able to defeat the young man, and though it seemed he was ready to fight that day, and perhaps other days he may not be quite so fortuhe young man from Aswadasad believed Adam could defeat any of the Hopes, save perhaps the First Hope.”

  Hope Robert could still feel the phantom pain within his arm after ing to blows with Adam. “I will admit we had uimated him, but I do not believe the ime we csh…” He felt the gaze of Mother Priest against him. “If we were to csh again, I do not believe he would be able to defeat me.”

  “His panions all believe he would be able to csh with you, our First Hope, who cims the title as the stro within our order, and who csh against the stro across not just East Aldnd, but all of Aldnd. Does he not travel with the likes of the grandchildren of Mad Dog, and not just his grandchildren, but the grandson of the previous Elder Wrath.”

  The silence grew for a moment.

  That was it.

  Indeed, Adam’s strength was truly terrifying, but wasn’t his pany also ridiculous?

  What did the Iyr see in the young man, or was it that it was just Fate that so many great figures surrounded him?

  The discussion had sted for a long while after, though eventually one of the Rays retired, taking the title of High Priest, while allowing Mother Vonda to immediately asd to her pce. It was dht before the young womaurned back to the group, with orders to watch over the group.

  Willow followed Adam as he made his way to procure an inn for his group, while the Iyrmen and porters took the cart and wagons full of hydras to the Guild, with a Ray to firm the matter.

  ‘Should I have left Jonn with them too?’ Adam thought. ‘No, Nobby and Fred are enough. They o personally watch over the boys, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep, but I o show them that I trust them.’

  Adam found an inn with the farmers, an inn which was fairly close to the temple, just in case anything happened. However, as he approached the inn, he go the side, where anroup tally met them.

  ‘No,’ Adam thought, noting the way the knight was staring at him. ‘It’s not a ce.’

  She was a heavily armoured knight, whose armour was made of a darker steel, engraved with the image of one of the noble symbols which seemed vaguely familiar to the half elf.

  That of Tiderobsp;

  A small smile appeared on Adam’s face.

  There was no chapter in Ba Sing Se.