Omen: 13, 18

Adam went through his morning motions, though this time also assisted the ox like Nobby, who had been training with him every morning. Adam continued to teach him the basics of using a shield and spear.

“Once Jurot gets back, he’ll teach you the axe properly,” Adam assured.

“Okay, mister boss,” Nobby replied, the same as he always did.

Adam smiled. There was something about being called mister boss which filled him with a greater sense of purpose. It also stroked his ego, which he supposed was the real reason.

During breakfast, he noted that Katool was back to normal, eating with her mother and father as she always did. The girl enjoyed the porridge her parents had made, with a splash of honey, and a side of her favourite fruits.

Lanarot slapped Adam’s side, the juices of her own fruit dribbling down her face as she held out her hand for her older brother’s bread.

“What, are you feeling sad I didn’t play with you?” Adam asked, some of his bread for her, before nibbling on the rest.

Lanarot stuck the bread into her mouth with half her hand, before reaching for more bread as she ate.

“Slowly,” Adam said, trying to make sure his baby sister didn’t choke.

“Are you enchanting today?” Shikan asked. He assumed Adam was going to since he had taken a rare day off the day before to humour Katool.

“Yeah, I am feel extremely lucky today,” Adam said, stretching out his arms. “Hopefully I’ll be done with Vonda’s mace tomorrow.”

Some of the Iyrmen were still not used to how quickly Adam enchanted. Some of them already knew what he was, but others decided against thinking too deeply about the situation. They were Iyrmen, and they should know what they should know, and no more.

Mana: 18 -> 16

Enchanting Check

D20 + 7 = 19 (12)

Omen: 13, 18 -> 13

18 + 7 = 25

Adam plucked a Thread of Fate.

The young woman stared at the city ahead of her, seeing the distant figures all bustling from street to street. They were her people, the very same people she would rule one day once her father would pass the throne to her. She sighed, understanding that the upcoming year would be difficult, as-

She slipped to the side quickly, narrowly dodging a dagger meant for her heart. There had been a chill in the moment before, causing her to react. The ring of her finger morphed into a sword, which lit aflame as she caught the second blow of the dagger with her Deep Flame Blade.

“Assassin!” the young woman called, waving her flaming sword ahead of her violently, causing the figure, who was clad in the same light sand colour of the castle, to hesitate for a moment.

The moment of surprise was gone, and so the figure quickly turned to flee. A nearby Faris, who was within the reach of a shout, quickly dashed towards their lady. As the Assassin leapt off the balcony, the Faris followed upon the shout of a second Faris who had appeared, blade out.

Thus Fate was forever changed.

Adam sighed, at the end of his enchanting, feeling the drain of losing his Mana. ‘I need to be careful, otherwise I’ll get sick again.’ Though he had warned himself, he had no intention to stop.

Omen: 15, 16

‘Damn,’ Adam thought, looking at the pair of rolls. His Omen today was great, but it wasn’t good enough for the likes of Vonda’s mace. ‘I should try and make some money then.’

Mana: 18 -> 16

Enchanting Check

D20 + 7 = 17 (10)

Omen: 15, 16 -> 15

16 + 7 = 23

Adam plucked a Thread of Fate.

The stranger looked out to the small contingent who had rode out to meet him. He had been walking through the mountains, alone.

He was an older man, adorned in light clothes, which was to be expected for even the mountains of Aswadia were hot, though they were of fine make. They looked similar to the clothing of the Iyrmen, though the stranger was no Iyrman, for though his forehead was tattooed, it was a collection of four dots in the centre which formed a diamond.

The Captain stared down at the stranger from atop horseback, though the stranger was so tall that the Captain was only an inch taller whilst on his horse. He was keenly aware of the strangers blade, which was strapped to his side.

“These are dangerous lands, stranger,” the Captain said. “The mountains are full of horrors, from Swordbeaks, to Mountain Lions, and even Drakes if you’re unlucky.”

At the mention of Drakes, the stranger’s lips formed a small sneer. His eyes fell across the Captain for a moment, and though the Soldiers behind the Captain fell out of sight from the path, he still could sense how many there were.

‘A dozen,’ the stranger thought. It was a trivial enough encounter, but they had stopped him on his journey.

“State your name, stranger,” the Captain called. When he did not reply, the Captain changed his language to Aldish, wondering if perhaps that worked. When that did not work, he switched to Drakken, though it was not quite as refined.

After a few moments, one of the other Soldiers whispered to the Captain. “You think he’s deaf?”

The Captain made a few gestures with his hand, but the stranger did not answer.

“Maybe he’s slow?” the Soldier said. “My cousins kid’s a little slow. He plays with his blocks and doesn’t tend the field, even though he’s twelve.”

“I don’t know,” the Captain replied. “We can’t just let him walk the path alone. Let’s escort him to the post and interrogate him.”

“Ye should step aside while you are able,” the stranger finally called, in the tongue of the Aswadians, though it was strange. It was definitely the old tongue of the Aswadian people, though it had not changed much over the centuries.

“State your name and business, stranger,” the Captain called. There was something in his gut which told him he needed to pay attention. ‘There’s something wrong.’

“Merely passing by,” the stranger said. “I’m making my way to the next country.”

The Captain stared at the old man. ‘What?’

“Step aside,” the stranger repeated.

“You are heading to Aldland?” the Captain asked. “What is your business there?”

“I…” the stranger began, only to pause. ‘Why do I need to explain myself to you?’ He wanted to state it aloud, but he understood that it was a terrible idea to break the agreement in dealing with the earthly realms of the mortals. “I wish to see the sights.”

The Captain remained staring at the old man. His duties were to make sure that the mountains were safe, and to report anything interesting. This area was not one which anyone could walk around safely, but here was an old man who wished to walk by the land, wanting to head to Aldland, which was hundreds of miles away from East Aswadia.

‘No,’ the Captain thought. Though he could have stopped the stranger, he decided against it. “If you travel along this path for three days you’ll find the main road towards Baytsuth. A ship can take you to Aldland in a couple of weeks rather than months.”

The stranger bowed his head, and the Captain brought up his hand to motion for them to return back to their post.

“Captain, we can’t just let him walk through the mountains,” the Soldier said. “He’s suspicious. Even if he isn’t, the mountains are dangerous.”

“He will be fine,” the Captain said, slowly rubbing his horse’s neck gently. “You would not worry for East Scimitar trekking through the mountains, would you?”

“Of course not,” the Soldier replied, almost indignantly, though he remembered he was speaking to his superior. “Other than the handful of Dragons, who could threaten the East Scimitar?”

“Do you think the Dragons are the only ones who can roam freely?” the Captain asked.

“There’s West Scimitar too,” the Soldier added. “Maybe a few of the Black Hands, and some of the Adventurers. General Halwe.”

The Captain shot a glare back to the Soldier when he mentioned the name of the disgraced General, which caused the Soldier to quieten down. “There are many who could walk these trails by themselves. Those you mentioned, the greater of the Iyrmen, unless you’ve forgotten that we lost hundreds of our brothers and sisters when they stole the Awakened Forest from us.”

The Soldier cleared his throat, glancing aside to avoid the glare of his Captain. “Right. Sorry, Captain.”

The Captain sighed, wiping his face, trying to understand how he came to this position. ‘Just how many monsters walk these lands?”

Meanwhile, the stranger followed on foot, though the Soldiers were drawing away. He sighed, staring up at the sky, wondering if he should take to the air instead. ‘No. I need to understand what the realm is like,’ he thought. It had been some time since he last came to Aswadia, and he would need to understand the situation here in order to take a position, even if it was to remain neutral.

Thus Fate was forever changed.

Adam stared at the longsword he had made during the Twilight Month, well crafted as most of the weapons he made were. ‘I need to enchant the Ban’s weapons too.’ He stared up at the sky. ‘So much to do. So little time.’