“What do you think?” Adam asked as he followed Jurot along the large road out towards the forest.

“What do I think about what?” Jurot asked.

“Mary and Marie. How do they compare to Pam?” Adam couldn’t help but smirk at Jurot.

Jurot remained looking ahead, deep in thought. “I think you need to find yourself a woman.”

“What?”

“Your mind is full with women.”

“I’m a health young man, of course my mind is full with women.”

“Is it full with women when you draw your sword? Is that why it slips?”

“That might be why, yeah.”

“…”

“…”

“I think Pam is prettier,” Jurot said, eventually.

“I thought so.”

‘…’ Jurot couldn’t help but feel he had been trapped by Adam in some way. However, he had already thought too much, so he let the thought fall away.

Silence encompassed them both as they approached the forest. “Have you hunted boar often?” Adam asked, wondering if there were any boars near the Iyr.

“Many times. We hunt boars once a year as a family,” Jurot said. “Once you turn eight, you may join your family on the yearly hunts. I have slain a few recently.”

“That’s cool. I’ll have to follow your lead then. Any tips?”

“Don’t die. Kill it.” Jurot was entirely sincere in his response. It was the typical response of an Iyrman. Someone would eventually learn how to slay something when they face it, and so what were the use of tips?

Adam nodded. “I’ll use my Flame Bolt on it from afar until it gets into range. Is that alright?”

“We don’t have to worry about how we kill it. We will make plenty of gold regardless of how we slay it, as long as we don’t completely ruin it.”

“Do we get a bonus for bringing it back without much damage?” Adam asked.

“Bringing it back will give us plenty of gold. Whatever bonus we receive for its quality is minimal in comparison.”

“Alright.”

As they approached the forest, Jurot stopped often to check the ground and the bushes. He was looking for something which gave him any hints of a boar having been here recently. Adam waited for him to do his business, as he didn’t have many ways he could assist.

The forest sounds accompanied them as Jurot led them in, the sounds of birds tweeting in the distance, the branches swaying, the sound of chain jingling and jangling. Every so often Adam would step on a twig, which would give up their position to anything further away, but Jurot didn’t say anything about it. He understood that people couldn’t be as well footed as he, an Iyrman.

“Boar tracks,” Jurot said, pointing to the ground.

Survival Check

D20 + 1 = 7 (6)

Adam looked down at the tracks and blinked. “If you say so.”

“Fresh. No more than two hours old.”

“Must be an early riser. Is that normal?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Don’t die. Kill it.”

“Good plan.”

Jurot continued to lead them forward, stopping at some bushes and touching them. Adam couldn’t see what Jurot saw, but trusted in the Iyrman’s abilities. Jurot’s actions were like that of a doctor, he’s touch things seemingly at random, but years of training gave him the ability to make sense of all kinds of things.

Adam, on the other hand, walked around like a fumbling buffoon. ‘I have things I can do, and he has things he can do.’

Jurot stopped for a moment, caressing a tree tenderly. “This is good wood,” he said. “I should return to fell it.”

“…”

Then the Iyrman continued, raising a hand. “We are close.”

Adam grabbed his shield, readying it. He also held his die in one hand too, ready just in case he needed to cast spells. Jurot only knew of Flame Bolt at the moment, and though he wasn’t hiding any of his spells, he wasn’t going to tell Jurot everything at once. Where was the fun in that?

Jurot raised a hand, motioning with a finger towards the boar in the distance, which Adam could see between some trees. The boar was chewing on something on the ground, before it sniffed the air, and then turned to look at Jurot and Adam, seeing the pair of them.

“Good luck,” Adam said, patting Jurot’s back as the Iyrman donned his shield.

Battle Order

D20 + 1 = 21 (20)

Since the boar had already spotted them, Adam didn’t waste any time. He held out his hand, which soon was coated in red flames. “Fire Fist!”

Spell

Flame Bolt

D20 + 4 = 21 (17)

1D6 = 6 (6)

6 fire damage!

The flames shot forward, still in the shape of a fist. The boar was already charging forward, and the fire made it slow its charge, though dissipated once it struck the creature’s face.

‘Should I use Hex as well? No, not yet.’

Jurot was also quick to act, grabbing a javelin at his side as he stormed towards the charging boar. He grit his teeth, allowing the rage to fill his entire body, his blood boiling. He tossed the javelin furiously, which struck the boar’s side leaving a nasty gash, causing it to squeal angrily.

It grew enraged as well. How dare these people come and bother it as it was minding its own business? It’s tusks gleamed, ready to skewer the pair of them. As it charged forward, Jurot braced himself. He planted his feet firmly into the ground. As the boar slammed towards him, he grasped the base of the boar’s tusks. He slid back slightly, the blow impacting through his bones, a grunt slipping out of his lips.

‘Damn! That looked like it hurt!’

The boar’s charge had allowed it to gain some momentum, so even though Jurot had managed to catch the boar, it had wounded him slightly. Fortunately, he was an Iyrman, and had learnt how to harness his rage. A boar striking him was nothing more than a bee sting. Well, a slightly more painful bee sting.

Adam recalled when Jurot had tanked for him last time. A chill ran through his body. Though he wanted to remain at ranged, he wasn’t sure if he should allow Jurot to keep tanking the blows on his behalf.

Attack (Flanking)

D20 + 6 = 23 (17)

1D6 + 1D3 + 4 = 13 (6)(3)

13 damage!

Adam drew his sword, leaping into action. Jurot wasn’t so far, so Adam was able to veer around the boar. He struck the beast through it’s side with a heavy blow, cutting through so that blood soaked the steel which poked out of its side. The boar twitched, spluttering out the last few moment’s of its life. It fell limp in Jurot’s grip, dropping down before them.

Victory!

Boar

+30XP

“You aren't as weak as I thought," Jurot admitted as he allowed the boar to drop. He had been ready to grab his axe to finally slay it, but seeing that Adam had been able to kill it so cleanly with his sword, his hands relaxed.

“I either drop my sword, or I drop the enemy,” Adam joked.

Jurot smiled. “My eyes see that is true.”

Adam chuckled. “Let’s head back quickly. You took a bit of damage, and I’m not sure my luck with last. If something appears, let’s just flee.”

Jurot wasn’t sure why Adam was so willing to flee when they had done so well. “…” He didn’t appreciate such cowardly talk, not after such a successful hunt.

Adam sheathed his blade and hoisted the boar up over his shoulders, the boar’s legs in front of his shoulders, the boar’s stomach against the back of his head. “Whoa, you’re a big boy, ain’t you?”

“I’ll carry it,” Jurot said. Adam wasn’t struggling, but when it came to displaying one’s strength, shouldn’t an Iyrman be the one to do it?

“I think I should,” Adam said. “You should concentrate on finding our tracks for the way back.”

“I know the way back. You use magic. You need to have your hands free to use them. You wear heavy armour. It is best for me to carry the boar.”

Jurot had come at Adam with arrows of logic, which struck him clean. ‘Whoa, you’re way smarter than I thought you were.’

Of course, it was purely because Jurot wanted to show off his strength for the Iyr.

“Well, that does make sense. Alright, let’s do that then.” Adam gave up right away, as there was no reason to start an argument with Jurot over nothing. Plus, it did make sense.

Adam grabbed his die in one hand, just in case. As they made their way back, Adam remained on high alert. His eyes flashed from tree to tree, from the ground to the sky. His fingers twitched, at the ready to draw his blade should he need to.

‘This must be the first time he has been out. He sounds so wise, but does not act like it.’ Jurot would sometimes glance back towards Adam, seeing the way the half elf was so tense.

‘Being low level isn’t fun at all…’ Adam’s eyes continue to glance from here to there, glancing everywhere. ‘Jurot died just like this last time. I need to make sure we’re okay this time, even if means abandoning the boar and coming back empty handed. No bear is going to kill him this time, regardless of how terribly punny its name is.’

"Jurot, I'm serious. If a bear or two appears, we drop the boar and run. There's no need to die to a bear. We can't die to anything less than a dragon, otherwise I won't be able to rest in peace!" Adam grew colder and colder, a sense of dread taking root deep within him. ‘Where are you, you bastard?’

‘Coward’s talk,’ Jurot thought. ‘I need to stay with him. Adam son of Fate, what are your motives?’

“Jurot?”

Jurot replied with a short grunt, though Adam wasn’t sure if it was a commitment to what he said.

‘Don’t be like that, Jurot…’ The half elf sighed, hoping that Jurot had taken his words to heart. “Won’t it be cool if your story ended by facing a dragon rather than a bear?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s survive long enough so that we can face a dragon and live, alright? Hell, a dragon might not be a good enough story…” Adam continued to glance all around them.

“…” Jurot wasn’t sure what Adam was talking about. He wanted to run away from a bear to slay a dragon? ‘You’re a strange one.’

They finally came across the stone of the road, and could see the stone of civilisation not too far away. Adam’s shoulders dropped and he let out a sigh of relief, though kept glancing back towards the forest as they left.

Adam wasn’t sure how many hours had passed, but he was sure it was more than just two or three hours. When they approached the gate, they saw that the shifts had changed to another set of guards.

“Isn’t that them?”

“Right. Iyrman and cheeky chain boy.”

“Ho! Seems you’ve made it in one piece!” The guard waved towards them.

“That’s right!” Adam shouted back.

“I expected as much,” a guard said. “If you’re with an Iyrman, chances are high that you’ll come back safe and sound.”

“Unless you feel like dying a glorious death.”

“I’m not sure dying to a boar is glorious,” Adam chuckled. “How’s the shift?”

“Not bad, not bad.” The guards looked at the boar. They noted the wounds on the creature. “It’s a little burnt, and there’s a bit of a gash, maybe from a javelin?”

“The killing blow though,” the other guard said, pointing to the wound near the neck. “A sword.”

The guards noticed that Adam was the only one with a sword. They looked to Jurot. “Did he kill it?”

“He did,” Jurot said.

“Well now!” The guard nodded his head. “Good job! I didn’t expect someone to outshine an Iyrman on their first quest.”

“Thank you, but Jurot would have been fine without me.” Adam smiled, reaching down towards his pouch to get his gate fee. He looked to Jurot, whose hands were busy. “I’ll pay your gate fee since it’s awkward for you.”

“No need,” a guard said. “Iyrmen don’t need to pay the gate fee in Red Oak.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“We’re not stupid enough to charge them.”

Adam felt as though there was something more than that, but he just nodded.

Currency

7CP -> 6CP

‘Looks the Iyrmen have some tax free incentives. I should become an Iyrman too.’