The air around the courtyard was tense, tense enough to cause the children to stick to their family.

‘Did he really just…’ Sir Vonda thought, blinking at Adam. Having heard that he wanted a practise round against Gorot, she assumed he wanted to test the waters, to gain some experience against the man for their bout the next day.

No one expected Adam to truly to beat the Iyrman.

All save five people.

Sonarot. Strom. Jarot. Zijin. Iromin.

“Did he really defeat you in a single blow?” Iromin asked, standing beside Kaygak, having appeared from nowhere.

“Yes,” she said.

“Did you hold back?”

“No.”

“Chief!” Taygak said, pointing at him, before the children swarmed around him.

“What are you doing here?” Adam asked. “Come to see my magnificent abilities?”

“Yes,” the Chief replied. “I heard that you were fighting Kaygak, but then I heard that you were fighting Gorot in the same day so I thought I should come watch.”

“What did you think?”

“You are certainly you,” Iromin said, already preparing himself to meet with the other Great Elders.

Zijin sighed, understanding that his workload had increased, but that was what it meant to be an Elder.

“Thanks?” Adam replied, unsure if the Chief was poking fun at him.

“Did you hold back?” Iromin asked Gorot.

Gorot shook his head, drinking a health potion to deal with most of the wounds he had sustained from coming across Adam.

It was one thing to defeat Kaygak in a single blow, but it was another to rest for an hour and face another Expert after, and come out relatively unscathed.

Tough Spirit: 1 -> 0

2D6 + 5 = 10 (2, 3)

Health: 36 -> 46

Adam flexed, sure he wasn’t going to be fighting, but he wanted to be prepared in case anything happened.

“Did you bet on me again?” Adam asked, looking to Jarot.

“How can I bet when it’s my son and grandson fighting?” Jarot asked.

“Oh, fair,” Adam replied, smiling. “I should have bet with my dear Uncle since it was a separate spar.”

“No,” Gorot said. “I will surrender my fight tomorrow. There is no need to face you again when you are stronger as I have been thoroughly defeated today.”

“You sure?” Adam asked. “I said that today didn’t count.”

“I am certain.” Gorot narrowed his eyes, not liking how Adam was poking fun at him when the Half Elf had already won.

“Then I guess that means our bout will come sooner, Aunt,” Adam said. “Are you as excited as me?”

Mirot remained silent. There was a way she could all but guarantee her win, but she wasn’t sure whether she should do it. Adam had said they may use whatever tools they may, but some tools were too expensive to be used during spars and duels.

“Aunt Mirot?”

Mirot nodded slowly, falling back into thought.

A storm quickly appeared within the courtyard, as once the shock had worn off, the Iyrmen quickly swarmed Adam, trying to shake his forearm, as well as to touch his weapons and armour.

‘What the hell?’ Adam thought, as they came upon him.

“Are you not willing to marry one of my grandchildren?” the older Iyrman said, smoking her pipe.

“Thank you for the offer, but I would prefer not to marry yet,” Adam replied, shaking forearms with all the Iyrmen.

The roasted boar was quickly cut out for people to eat, with the older Iyrmen talking to each other.

‘I think I may have made a grave mistake,’ Adam thought, sitting opposite the four teens, who were all eating the roasted boar.

“You are much stronger than I thought,” Naqokan said.

“Thank you.”

“Your Phantom is a powerful weapon.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you truly make it?”

“Yeah.”

Naqokan slowly nodded her head, wondering if she’d be able to learn the way Adam enchanted, or if he’d teach it to their children.

‘A grave mistake,’ Adam confirmed, noting the look on her face.

Sonarot eventually sat down beside him, placing down Lanarot so that she could eat. “I believed you would defeat brother, but I still cannot believe this.”

Adam shrugged. “I was lucky.”

“No,” Sonarot said. “It was luck that you defeated Kaygak in a single blow, but to defeat the pair of them? That is not luck, Adam.”

“It was a part of my luck,” Adam said. “Plus, I have Phantom. This bad boy was designed for true strikes. It’s why I increased my ability to guarantee criticals, uh, striking true.”

Lanarot chewed on some fruit, looking up at Adam as she chewed, before looking back down at her fruit.

“Did you watch?” Adam asked, tickling her head with a finger.

She looked up at him and smiled a toothy smile, before sticking her hand in to eat some more fruit.

“Of course you did,” Adam said, brushing her hair. “Otherwise, how could I have won against them both?”

“You have not lost in front of her?” Naqokan asked, remembering his statement.

“Nope,” Adam said. “I don’t plan on starting tomorrow, either.”

Naqokan smiled. “You believe you can defeat Aunt Mirot?”

Adam looked down at Lanarot. “What do you think, Lanababy? You think I can win?”

Lanarot tossed some of her fruit away, before laughing.

“I think that’s a yes,” Adam said, kissing the girl’s forehead.

Iromin returned back to his estate. He sighed, putting out the snacks as the other Great Elders approached. Even Elder Wrath was here, though he had made his intention to drop his place known.

“I have heard that he was going to fight his Aunt today,” Elder Gold said.

“He did,” Iromin said, sipping some of his tea, tasting how sweet it was. “He faced his Uncle too.”

The Great Elders listened intently, though heard the crunching of Elder Forest eating some of the hard snacks, before she fell silent.

“He beat them both.”

Elder Forest almost choked on the snacks, quickly drinking down some water. “He beat them both? Together?”

“No,” Iromin said. “He defeated Kaygak in a single blow, and then rested an hour, before defeating his Uncle within moments.”

“Adam? The Nephew of the Rot family?” Elder Forest asked.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“His weapon, Phantom, played a large part in defeating Kaygak. His weapon, his spells, his smites, his ability to wield Fate.

“If he can truly defeat Kaygak within a single blow, he’s more dangerous than we expected,” Elder Gold said, catching Elder Forest’s eyes.

“I believe without Phantom, he would be unable to do so,” Iromin said. “He has fought without his axe before, and he seems far more bearable.”

“Even so, he faced two Experts within a single day, back to back,” Elder Teacher finally spoke up. “We have confirmed him to be only an Expert, and now we are confirming that his abilities appear to be more in line with that of a Master or Grandmaster.”

“He is truly a boon to the Rot family,” Iromin said, and the others fell silent. He gathered how badly they wished to protest, but they kept their tongues in check.

“I cannot believe I have missed the sight,” Elder Wrath said. “It is a shame.”

“He will be fighting his Aunt, Mirot, tomorrow. We should be able to see the fight, and truly see his capabilities. She is a Rage Dancer of the Rot family. Phantom was designed to fight the Rot family, so we may see the true effects of his weapon when they fight.”

“Who do you think will win?” Elder Wrath asked.

“If he can strike true once more? Adam. If he cannot? I believe it is a bout of near equals.”

Elder Wrath noted the term which had been used.

Near equals.

“If he does beat his Aunt with ease…” Elder Teacher began, before raising his brows to the Chief.

“I will make a judgement,” Iromin replied.

Elder Gold wondered if she should have accepted Adam’s request back then. ‘No. It was a good deal. Adam is as predictable as he is chaotic.’ She sighed.

“I hope you are right, Chief Iromin,” Elder Peace said. “Adam had come to us early in the year. Lord Strom had come to us late in the year.”

“Do you believe they are connected?” Iromin asked.

“Did you not say that Adam had managed to guess most of Lord Strom’s identity?”

“To say that he guessed Lord Strom’s identity would be charitable,” Iromin said. “Lord Strom had spelled it out to him. He had also lost Stormdrake to Adam.”

“He lost Stormdrake?” Elder Peace asked, tilting her head. She wasn’t sure she had heard the Chief correctly.

“Yes.”

“Was it a planned loss?”

“I do not believe so, but I cannot comprehend either of them.”

“Who can?”

Elder Gold tapped the table with a finger. “Stormdrake and Phantom? That is not something we can allow.”

Elder Forest caught Elder Gold’s eyes. “Are we thieves?” She smirked.

“No.”

“Adam created the weapon using his own means,” Iromin stated.

“Within the safety of our walls, and the shrines which we have maintained for generations,” Elder Gold said.

“I will deal with it,” Iromin assured.

“A shadow looms over the Iyr,” Elder Peace said. “Let us hope it provides us shade under the sun.”