“Cousin Adam, are you going to smith today?” Turot asked after breakfast.

“I don’t think so,” Adam replied. “Why?”

“Can we play Warriors and Wanderers?” Turot asked, a boyish innocence in his eyes.

‘Oh, yeah,’ Adam thought. He had forgotten about the game due to all the happenings recently, but he had promised them a game some time ago. “Yeah. Why don’t you go and call all the other children and I’ll go get my notes.”

Turot quickly sped away, going to find the other children to inform them of the game.

‘How am I going to get him out of the hole I dug last time?’ Adam thought, trying to prepare something for all the children.

“What are you doing?” Dunes asked, watching as Adam placed down a blanket and began to set up wooden pieces everywhere, placing down sheets of paper on slabs of wood, keeping them down with wooden pieces against the corners of each sheet.

“I’m setting up the game,” Adam said.

“Which games?”

“Warrior and Wanderers.”

“Is that a game within the Iyr?”

“Technically, yes,” Adam said. “I invented it.” ‘I mean, I stole it from my world and brought it here.’

“May I watch?”

“Sure,” Adam said, looking to the others. “You can all watch, I guess.”

The children sat down in front of the empty sheets, with Adam handing Turot his old sheet. “First thing’s first, we’re all going to create new characters.”

Adam assisted them in creating their characters. None of them picked the Mage class, which was to be expected, and each of them chose either the Priest or Fighter. Then, once the session began, Jurot and Sonarot’s characters were split off, leaving Turot by himself against a number of Orcs.

Fortunately for him, the other characters, who had been planning on defeating the Orcs, had appeared, and the group all fought against the Orcs.

“I use magic!” Katool declared, raising her hands as she made noises. “Guiding Bolt!”

“I will chop them up,” Raygak declared.

“Taygak fight!” Taygak said, pointing to her foe, an vaguely humanoid wood piece which represented the Orc.

“I will use my sword,” Saygak said.

“Sword,” Damokan and Kalokan both said.

“And my axe!” Turot declared.

Adam chuckled, allowing them all to roll, before narrating what happened for them. “Katool, your Guiding Bolt hits the Orc’s shield, and bounces off. Raygak, you use your sword and fell the Orc with his raised shield, distracted by Katool’s Guiding Bolt.”

Katool huffed, and nodded to Raygak, who nodded back.

“Unfortunately, Taygak, the Orc is very strong, so he fights you too, catching your sword with his own.”

“Taygak fight!” the girl declared.

“Saygak and Damokan, you two try to use your swords to fell the Orcs in front of you, but they are quite powerful too, and you cannot wound them.”

Saygak looked at his notes. “I can heal?”

“You haven’t been attacked yet.”

“Okay.”

“Kalokan, you help your brother and the Orc falls under your mighty blow.”

Kalokan pat Damokan’s back gently. “I come help.”

Damokan nodded his head.

The story continued, with Taygak and Damokan falling in battle, but the others manage to defeat the Orcs.

“Taygak dead?” Taygak asked.

“Unfortunately, your character has fallen in battle,” Adam, said, nervously. “You fought well.” He smiled

Taygak fell onto her back, arms splayed on either side of her, remaining silent.

“Taygak?” Adam called.

“Taygak dead,” she said.

Damokan followed her lead, also pretending to be dead.

“Even though you two fell, there were also some warriors you had left back to guard the camp, so you can play them, okay?” Adam said, having them cross out their names and write new names onto their old sheets.

The pair sat back up, with their sheets in hand, ready to play more. The game ended, with the group back at camp, planning on how to help Jurot and Sonarot’s characters, who seemed to be missing.

“Aren’t you all so good?” Adam said. “Well done!”

“We are strong?” Katool said.

“Your characters are so amazing and strong,” Adam assured, patting Katool’s head. “You all did amazing. Next time, we’ll see if we can’t save Jurot and Aunt Sonarot’s characters, okay?”

“We will save,” Taygak assured.

Adam sent them on their way, making quick notes about the story, as well as the various children. Katool was bad at maths, though that was to be expected, but Turot and Raygak were not great either. ‘I’ll need to keep that in mind going forward. I should try and help them with their maths.’

“So that was Warriors and Wanderers,” Citool said, having watched from afar. She, like Adam’s compatriots, had been watching the children play, acting out their little fights and their story. “It was a play formed through dice rolls?”

Adam snapped his fingers. “Exactly. That’s how I’ll try and describe it from now on.”

“Did you come up with the story yourself?” Citool asked.

“Kind of,” Adam said. “I planned for a few minutes to figure out the broad strokes of the story and then allow the children and the dice develop how it unfolds.”

“I see.” Citool slowly nodded her head. “Why did you choose Orcs to be the villains?”

“I rolled for it,” Adam said. “Actually, they were the good guys, but when I rolled, they ended up betraying the group.”

“It was a wonderful game. Katool, did you have fun?”

Katool’s bob bounced as she nodded. “Yes, mother.”

“Good.” Citool brushed her daughter’s hair.

“Cousin Adam, will you read us a story?” Turot asked, pushing his luck. They still had many hours in the day, and the Twilight Month was usually quite boring for the children.

“Sure,” Adam said. “Which story should I read?”

“Blackwater Crisis!” Turot said.

“Dragon slay,” Taygak said.

“Chief Okkan,” Damokan said, with Kalokan nodding her head.

“Why don’t you all get your books and we’ll roll to see which story I read?” Adam offered, causing the children to dash away back to their homes as he packed everything up.

“This Warriors and Wanderers is a game you created?” Vonda asked.

“Something like that,” Adam said. “I used to play a game very similar to it back home.”

“So you are a story teller and the children are characters within the story,” Vonda mused to herself. “What an amazing game.”

“Right?” Adam said. “I made it pretty simple for the children to play, but it can become pretty complex. Though, that doesn’t mean it’ll be any better.”

“It’s rare for something more complex to be better,” Vonda said. “A simple life is best.”

The others left to assist the Iyr, dwelling on their thoughts. Adam was queer, that was for certain, but his heart seemed so gentle. If they hadn’t seen him slay a number of creatures with a single swing, including beating Iyrmen, and even one of them with a single blow.

Taygak managed to roll the highest, so Adam read her book, which was about a distant ancestor who had managed to slay a Blue Dragon. ‘The Gak family has a particular tendency of disliking Blue Dragons.’

“Mogak, strong,” Taygak said at the end of the story, nodding her head.

“That’s right,” Adam replied, placing down the book. “She was so strong. Are you going to be as strong as her Taygak?”

“No,” Taygak replied. “Taygak Steel.”

“Steel? Why Steel? You don’t want to be Gold?”

“No. Taygak cannot.”

“Why not?”

“Weak,” she said.

“Weak? Who says you’re weak?” Adam asked. “Who said that?”

“Mother, father,” she replied. “Gak weak.”

Adam crossed his arms, trying to think. “Taygak. If you want to become Gold, you should aim for it. I will help you if you need it.”

“Promise?” Damokan asked.

“That’s right. Didn’t I promise I’d help? If you want to be strong, I will help you. Once you are trained by the Iyr, I will help you after.”

“Adam strong,” Taygak said.

“Right. I’m strong, so if you ever get into trouble, you can ask me for help.”

“It is no good to be reliant,” Turot said. “That is what mother says.”

“Yes, but…” Adam wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘That is a good point.’ “If you are strong, you will help Lanarot, right?”

“Yes,” Turot said. “I am older.”

“That’s right. Lanarot is going to be trained by Jurot and I, so she will be strong. As her older Cousins, you will need to be strong too.”

“Adam,” called a familiar voice.

For a moment, Adam thought he was in trouble, but he quickly realised who had called for him. “Yes, Filliam?”

Filliam carried with him a small box, approaching the group. His eyes were tired, but there was a large smile plastered on his face. “I’ve done it!”

“Ah?” Adam replied, smiling. “Come here, my adorable little Cousins.”

The children quickly approached Adam and Filliam. Adam raised his brow, before they quickly formed a queue, with the youngest up front, and the oldest in the back. Filliam opened up the box to reveal the trinkets.

Filliam picked up the toy, which was a small round ball, which could be wound up by a small key, which also formed the copter blades. “Once you’ve wound it up, you’ll see how it begins to slowly turn?” The blades began to turn slowly as he held the ball. “Toss it up.” Filliam threw the ball up gently, and the blades quickly spun allowing the ball to glide downwards. “Do not try to catch it. Let it fall in peace, otherwise you will hurt yourself.”

“Right,” Adam said. “You can only play with them in the courtyard, and made sure Lanarot isn’t nearby. She is still a little girl so this toy can hurt her.”

“Okay,” the children replied, before grabbing their trinkets, and playing with them.

“Good job, Filliam,” Adam said.

“It’s difficult to make trinkets for children,” the young Tinkerer said. “They’re as easy to hurt as they are easy to please.” He looked out to the children. “Though, it is worth it.”

Adam smiled, and the pair watched as the children played with the newly made trinkets.

“What will you call them?” Filliam asked.

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “Gliderballs?”