When night came, the tree being knelt before a bush, which glowed, before it was full of blue flowers, which glowed gently under the moonlight.

“Is that the Blue Moon Rose?” Adam asked, breaking the awkward silence which had hung in the air over the past few hours.

“Yes,” it said.

“It’s not going to be poison, is it?” Adam asked. “I know I was threatening you and all, but I am going to assist in defending your forest when need be.”

“You will?” It stared at Adam.

“Well, yeah,” he replied, simply.

Even Jurot threw a look to Adam, recalling Adam’s conversation about the forest and the tree.

"Then I will replace it,” it said.

Adam blinked.

The tree did nothing to the bush.

“Was that a joke?”

“Yes.”

Adam couldn’t help himself as he threw his head back, laughing wildly like a hyena. He slapped his knee, trying to stop himself from crying. “Holy! I didn’t expect a tree to tell me a joke! You know, treeguy, you aren’t so bad. What’s your name, anyhow?”

“I have no name,” it said.

“Then let’s call you Oakson.”

“I am not an oak.”

“What are you then?” Adam asked. He knew very little about wood.

“Death ivory,” the three replied.

“Death ivory?” Jurot asked, suddenly perking up. “I had never seen death ivory before.” His eyes were beaming at the tree.

‘Right, he’s a wood nerd.’ “Let’s call you Big Ivory then.”

“Very well,” Big Ivory replied.

Adam sighed, staring at the roses. “That was much easier than I expected,” Adam admitted.

Jurot stared at the roses and smiled. “When we return…”

“When we return?” Adam asked.

“We will have a great story to tell. I will regale mother of the tale.” Jurot nodded.

“Right,” Adam chuckled. “Don’t forget all the parts with me, alright? I was a bit of a hero, wasn’t I?”

“I will not forget,” Jurot assured.

“Isn’t this my first true Iyrman tale?” Adam said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“You have been in a tale before, but this is the first where you did much for the Iyr,” Jurot said. “The first as a nephew of the Rot family.”

Adam flushed slightly, filling with embarrassment. “Make sure you make me sound cool, alright?” The half elf grinned wide, thinking about what he had done. ‘I was pretty heroic, wasn’t I?’

They went to sleep, the forest somehow the perfect temperature to sleep, slightly cool even with their blankets. They didn’t keep watch, though Big Ivory did leave them alone to sleep, as to not antagonise Lucy with his presence.

Omen: 10, 10

Adam yawned as he awoke, sleeping through a most restful night. “Good morning,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

Spell: Tricks

He cleaned himself off right away with his spell, and stretched out his body.

“Morning,” Lucy said, rubbing her eyes. “Did you just use magic?”

“Yes.”

“Did you clean yourself up?”

“Yes.”

“Quickly, servant, heal me at once,” Lucy demanded from the boy.

Adam blinked at her.

“Please,” she added.

“Good enough.”

Spell: Tricks

Jurot was currently training, going through a routine of callisthenics, and swung his axe a few times. Adam decided to join him, though they were quickly interrupted by a whisper floating on the wind.

“Some more guests have appeared,” Big Ivory’s words whispered along the breeze.

Lucy grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.

Adam exchanged a look with Jurot before they followed the path formed by the parting trees.

Adam whistled as he saw the soldiers, easily double the amount he had seen previously, though they were on the other side of the forest this time.

The soldiers here wore chain armour, just like those he had seen from the Kingdom, though they wore beautiful cloaks over their backs. Some were red, and a handful were a dark purple.

“What are you doing here, strangers?” A soldier stepped forward, raising a hand towards them to stop them from coming closer. “This forest has been claimed by Shen Khal.”

“First it was a King, and now it’s a Shen Khal?” Adam glanced over to Jurot.

“Shen Khal is the Shen of Aswadasad,” Jurot replied. “The ruler of the Kingdom.”

“Ah,” Adam said, nodding his head.

“I will ask you to leave,” the soldier said.

“The forest has been claimed by the Iyr,” Jurot said, staring at the soldier.

“The Iyr?” the soldier replied, staring at Jurot, noting his tattooed forehead, and then to Adam. For a long moment they fell into thought, recalling what had been said to him previously. “We have no qualms with your great warriors, young man, but you cannot claim this forest. It’s not your land.”

“The Chief will come to discuss this matter with you,” Jurot replied.

“We’re just here to pass the message,” Adam said. “That the Iyr was the first to claim the land, the specifics can be forged later.”

“There is no discussion, young man,” the soldier replied. “Retreat from this land, or we will come to blows.” He had to claim the forest at any cost, those were his orders.

Jurot threw a look to Adam. He hadn’t expected someone to state something so overtly hostile to him, he was just a messenger for the Iyr.

“Uh,” Adam said, noting Jurot’s look. “Well, we are still waiting for our companions. Would you mind waiting for their return? It’s only the two of us right now, and it’ll be dangerous for us to leave without them.”

Persuasion Check

D20 + 4 = 5 (1)

Adam had forgotten a very important detail when discussing with soldiers of a hostile force.

The soldier glanced back to his fellow soldiers and back to Adam. “I will ask you to surrender, Iyrmen. We will set you free once the issue has been resolved.” ‘Since it’s only those two, it should be fine.’

Adam threw a look to Jurot as the soldiers began to move. “Well, peace out,” Adam said, quickly grabbing the Iyrman’s shoulder and retreating back into the forest, running back through the path which opened as the soldiers disappeared behind them.

The soldier sighed, rubbing his forehead. “We need to send word back to the city.” ‘Some Iyrmen had recently arrived within the city. If they are truly trying to claim our land, this may end up messy…’

“Damn, they really threatened us,” Adam said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “I didn’t expect that.”

Jurot’s face darkened and he slowly nodded his head. “I will inform the Chief when he arrives.”

“Looks like Awsawad doesn’t respect the Iyr, huh?” Adam wondered if the Iyrmen had troubles with the Kingdom to the south.

“Aswadasad,” Jurot corrected. “We have sent many Iyrmen down south to adventure, but it appears they do not respect us.” Jurot grew quiet as they returned to the

“That’s just how it goes. Do you have a treaty with them?”

“Yes.”

“Oh?”

“A simple non aggressive pact, nothing more.”

“So nothing which would stop them from warring with you?”

“It has been too long since we have warred. Currently, we have a hundred Iyrmen as part of the army against them, but they understand that we are not formally at war.”

“That’s complicated,” Adam said. “Technically a hundred Iyrmen are warring against them, but the rest are neutral to them…”

“It is simple,” Jurot said. “There are currently one hundred Iyrmen as part of the Kingdom of Blackwater, and they are soldiers within the army. However, the Iyrmen outside of that unit, are free to move as they please between the lands.”

“They accept that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Otherwise they would lose the business of the Iyrmen.”

“Oh, right. The one thing which is above all else. Cold, hard, delicious gold.”

Jurot glanced at Adam, wondering why he would describe gold as delicious. ‘It must be an elvish thing.’

They eventually returned back to the grove, where Lucy was laying near Mara, talking to her in low growls. She glanced up to see the half elf and Iyrman return. “You’ve finally returned.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, nodding his head.

“Why are your faces like that?”

“Like what?” Adam asked, raising his brow.

“Full of worry.”

“We’re worried.”

She blinked. “Yes,” she said, “obviously. Why?”

“There could be a fight soon.”

“A fight with who?”

“The…” Adam looked to Jurot. “The Kingdom to the south.”

“Aswadasad,” Jurot said.

“I’ll be honest with you, Jurot, I will probably forget that a lot.” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just in my culture.”

“Bah! I’ll deal with them!” Lucy declared.

“You?” Adam asked. “You can’t even deal with a tree, so don’t even think about it.”

“Just you wait!” Lucy grumbled loudly.

Adam sat down and fell into thought. “Hey, Jurot, won’t Okvar and the others find trouble in the city?”

“They shouldn’t,” Jurot replied, simply.

“What if they do?”

“The Chief will resolve the matter.”

“What if they kill Okvar and the others?”

“You think too much, Adam.”

“I’m a half pessimist and half realist,” Adam replied, smirking. “It’s part of my heritage.”

“If they do kill Okvar and the others, the Iyr will respond. It is up to Elder Peace if there will be a full war.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Adam said.

“Me too.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the Iyrmen at work,” Lucy said.

Adam shook his head.

The Iyrmen did not return that night.

The Iyrmen did not return the night after.

With each passing day, Adam grew more and more nervous. His insides were churning.

Though his life was currently idyllic, training in the morning, bathing in a lake, and then talking or thinking until the day passed by.

“It seems your chief has arrived,” Big Ivory said, his voice drifting along the wind.

Adam’s gut was still heavy as he heard Big Ivory’s voice. It had been roughly a week since he had last heard of the other Iyrmen. He hoped the Chief had better news.

The pair made their way out, coming to the edge of the forest, where they saw a little over a hundred Iyrmen, with a few familiar faces.

“You’ve held down the fort well,” Argon said, reaching out to shake their forearms.

“I didn’t expect to see you,” Adam admitted, also greeting the other three Iyrmen.

“Where is my brother?” Argon asked, noting that the other Iyrmen who had been sent out with his brother weren’t about.

“About that…”

“They have not returned,” Jurot said, bluntly.

Argon let out a soft hum, narrowing his eyes. He was smart enough to put the pieces together, though Tazwyn rested a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

Adam glanced at the Chief, and noted the devilkin beside him, whose forehead held a familiar pattern. A purple tilted cross, with hollowed hexes at the side. She also wore robed of the Iyr, with a staff at her back.

Then his eyes fell across the other Iyrmen, realising something. Argon and his cohorts were the youngest Iyrmen about. His eyes then fell to the hundreds of soldiers, who were tense.

Big Ivory, who was watching from deep within the forest, mused on their thoughts. ‘I see now why Adam showed little fear.’

“We will continue to discuss the matter later, Duke,” the Chief said. “We must first settle the facts of the matter with our own.”

The Duke kept his head held high as he spoke to the Chief. “I hope to hear a reasonable response soon, Chief.”

The Chief, and the devilkin beside him, walked to the pair. “Jurot, Adam,” he greeted the pair, ruffling Jurot’s hair, and placing a strong hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I see you are well.”

“We were safe within the forest,” Adam said. “I’m so glad to see you,” he said, glancing across all the Iyrmen again. “All of you.”

“Do you have ill news?”

“Perhaps.”

“It seems they have come across trouble after they sent the message,” the Chief said, glancing to the devilkin beside him.

“We had a little trouble with the southerners too,” Adam said.

“What kind of trouble?”

“They said the Iyr couldn’t claim this land, and that the two of us should have surrendered to them until the issue was sorted out. They were open to coming to blows.”

The Chief’s eyes fell to Jurot, who nodded his head.

“They asked you to surrender?” the devilkin asked.

“They did,” Adam said. “I’m Adam, son of Fate, nephew of the Rot family.”

The woman bowed her head, holding out a hand to take his. “Elder Peace,” she replied, simply.

Adam blinked. “Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elder Peace.” He bowed his head respectfully.

“Let us discuss this matter within the forest,” Elder Peace said.

The Chief left for a moment to inform the Duke that they will return to speak.

“We should settle our affairs before you leave,” the Duke said.

“We will settle our affairs once we settle the matters with Aswadasad,” the Chief said.

“If you need assistance, we are willing to help,” the Duke said. “It is only right we should help our neighbours.”

“You would ask an Iyrman to share their prey?” the Chief replied. “It is Iyrman business, and must be settled by Iyrmen. We will need to first meet with the original Iyrmen who were within this forest, and then we can discuss the matter.”

The Duke retreated from the matter, allowing the Iyrmen to leave. Even if he did outnumber them ten to one, he wasn’t foolish enough to aggravate the Iyrmen when so many of them outmatched even him.

The Iyrmen then disappeared into the forest, where they were taken to the grove where Lucy waited with Mara.

The Iyrmen stared at the pair of demons for a moment, and Lucy stared at them in return, noting all the older men and women.

“You must be the Iyrmen!” she said, excitedly. She leapt onto her feet, staring at all of them in awe.

“Yes,” the Chief replied.

“Oh, right,” Adam said, having forgotten her for a moment. “We should probably explain everything.”