Adam stared at Vonda’s face in confusion, wondering why they were falling together. Jurot had managed to save him previously, but Vonda had thrown herself towards him when he had fallen.

‘Right,’ he thought, remembering that he was falling.

Mana: 16 -> 15

Spell: Feather Fall

Wizard’s Axe was currently in the form of a ring, but Adam was certain it would have still worked as a focus to channel his spell through. “Stop!” Adam chanted.

The pair still fell down, but as they approached the ground, they gently swayed before they landed on their feet, the spell righting them.

Vonda and Adam remained joined together by hand, and Vonda blinked, trying to see ahead of her.

“Mother’s dawn,” Vonda said, the words for the mace, and the glow filled the area, allowing them both to see more clearly, though Adam’s Half Elf eyes were able to see even in complete darkness.

Vonda realised they were still holding hands, and though she made to let go, Adam quickly pulled her closer to him. Vonda stared up at him in utter shock, her heart pounding even quicker, before she noted that he had his axe in hand, and she quickly turned, raising her mace high to see the giant skull of a serpent.

Adam had already defeated a giant bone snake, but the skull of this creature was at least twice or thrice the size of the previous giant bone snake’s.

Adam kept his axe pointed towards the giant skull, but as the moments passed, and the serpent’s skull remained still, they noticed that the skull, though facing them, was unmoving, and behind it was the rest of the creature’s bones, laying where they had fallen when it had died.

Constitution Save

D20 + 5 = 12 (7)

“Vonda, pardon my Aswadian, but this place smells like shit,” Adam said, coughing.

Vonda pulled up her scarf, managing to stave away most of the smell. “That isn’t Aswadian.”

“It’s a phrase,” Adam said, his eyes scanning around the area.

They were within a chamber, accompanied by a large serpentine creature, which had died long ago. Adam reached out with his axe, stepping towards it, pressing his axe against it.

“Adam!” Jurot shouted.

The shout had caused Adam to leap back, axe in hand still, but he quickly calmed as he looked up, seeing Jurot’s small head from at least a hundred metres above.

“Jurot!”

“I will come!”

“No you won’t!” Adam shouted back. “We’re safe, I think!”

Jurot couldn’t see much around them, Vonda’s Dawn giving little light for even his Iyrmen eyes. “Okay.”

Adam sighed, wondering what they should do. “Jurot, stay there for a bit in case we need you.”

“What about me?” Jaygak asked.

“I’m still not sure if you have anything to do with this.”

“Hey!” Jaygak shouted down at them. “Should I take that as a compliment?”

“Sure.”

“Can you joke even now?” Vonda asked, glancing around. Her mace gave off some decent light, but she chanted to cast her trick, Light, on her mace instead, which glowed slightly brighter.

“If you can’t joke even in times like this, what can you do?” Adam asked.

As they trekked around the pile of bones, they found that they had been in the corner of a much larger chamber which had been cut off by the snake, which had lain on a slightly raised platform.

Ahead of them was an altar with an egg, and nearby was a pool of water. As they continued to look around, they found that there was very little around.

“Help me out here,” Adam called, patting his chest.

“Yes?” Vonda asked.

“Sorry, just casting Guidance,” Adam said.

Guidance

1D3 = 3

Perception Check

D20 + 6 = 19 (13)

He wasn’t any good at it, though he was trained in Perception, Guidance managed to assist him well enough that Adam was certain there was nothing else around here.

They walked up to the egg cautiously, noting that it was made of stone.

“To whom which has appeared, thief or hero, please look after this child well, for they are blessed by Mahtu,” Vonda said, reading the inscription on the altar, which had just looked like symbols to Adam.

Adam looked to Vonda, and slowly nodded his head towards her. She stepped towards the altar freely, picking the egg up. They both waited for a moment to see what would happen, before she pulled away from the altar, with the heavy egg in her arms.

“Do you know what this is about?” Adam asked, looking to the egg, before looking at the long serpent beside them.

Vonda was looking at the long serpent, which was easily one hundred paces long, perhaps more. The skull of the creature showed it could have swallowed Jurot, Adam, and her entirely in a single snap of its jaws.

“No,” Vonda admitted. “I can vaguely recall something, but it is not coming to mind.”

“Jurot!” Adam shouted once they were at the hole. “Looks like we’re safe in this chamber. We found an egg made of stone.”

Jaygak looked to Jurot. “Did he say an egg made of stone?”

Jurot nodded. He couldn’t recall any stories about eggs made of stone in relation to Mahtu. “Okay.”

“We’ll talk about it later, but for now, why don’t you guys kick it in the temple. I’ll try and figure away to get out of here.”

“We will send down ropes!” Jurot shouted.

“You might need stronger ropes, so just rest in the temple and check up on us in the morning!” Adam turned to Vonda. “Will the statue close?”

Vonda shook her head. “It must be closed by us.”

“How do you open it?”

“You must cast several healing spells against it.”

“Can Dunes do it?”

“Yes.”

Adam explained the matter to Jurot, including that he’d be taking Hades, his owl familiar.

Mana: 15 -> 12

Spell: Adam’s Tower

Vonda wasn’t sure he should have summoned his tower, but it was something which would provide them protection. Hades remained at the window sill, staring at the entrance atop them and beside the snake. Since the tower was beside the snake, they would only need to concentrate on fighting through a much smaller gap beside the snake, rather than from all sides if he had summoned the tower in the centre of the chamber.

Adam sighed as he finished his bath, making sure to wash out his clothes, instead of using his magic. There was something romantic about working hard even though you could have taken it easy with technology, or in his case, magic.

‘Now I know why some rich people like to pretend to be poor for a few days now and again,’ Adam thought, nodding his head slowly.

Vonda had finished bathing some time later, appearing on the first floor, still in her chain mail in case something were to come and attack them.

“Hey, Vonda,” Adam called, taking a bite of his rations, tasting salted chips which had been smothered in chip shop vinegar, courtesy of his trick, Tricks.

“Yes?” Vonda asked, reaching for her own rations.

“How come you grabbed me?” Adam asked. “Pretty sure you would have made it by yourself.”

“Yes,” Vonda said, “perhaps I could have.”

“So…”

“Aren’t we friends?” Vonda asked.

Adam looked down at his rations, picking up a nut to eat. “I suppose we are.” Adam smiled, eating his rations quietly.

Once they had finished eating, Adam leaned back against the wall. “A stone egg. A stone egg.” He was trying to understand why there was a stone egg which was under the temple of Mahtu, Mother Soza.

Vonda looked at the egg, wrapping a spare scarf around it. It was quite hard to the touch, but she didn’t want to test just how much impact it could resist.

“A child blessed by Mother Soza,” Adam said, quietly. “No. Wait. Didn’t you say it was blessed by Mahtu?”

“Yes,” Vonda said, slowly bowing her head towards Adam. “It did.”

“That’s the Iyrman’s name for Mother Soza.”

“Yes.” Vonda, too, wondered why it used the Iyrman’s phrase. “In order to pick up the mace, I had to pray to Lord Sozain.”

“Baktu?” Adam asked.

Vonda nodded. “That was what was told to me. I prayed to Mother Soza, and I realised my mistake when I picked it up.”

“So it wasn’t Jaygak’s fault,” Adam said. “Is that why you reached out your hand to me? Guilt?” Adam smiled.

“No,” Vonda admitted. “I do think you are my friend, Adam.”

“Yeah.” Adam couldn’t help but to smile wider. “Let’s just keep blaming Jaygak, she’ll be happy for it.”

“She is an interesting Iyrman.”

“Did you think they were emotionless tools of destruction too?”

“No, but I did not expect any Iyrman to be like her.”

“She’s special because she’s horny,” Adam said.

Vonda threw him a look, and Adam’s eyes fell down to his food, which he stuffed into his mouth quickly. “She is quite special.”

“Seems that this temple has something to do with the Iyrmen, though it sounds like Jurot and the others know nothing about it.”

“Perhaps the Great Elders know?”

“Probably Elder Story, right?” Adam assumed. “They should know about that sort of thing.”

“Who is Elder Story?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “I met them, but they were behind a bunch of vines. Not really the most sociable Great Elder, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

“Have you met all the Great Elders?”

“Yes. They don’t seem to like me much. The Chief’s okay, though.”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Adam said, crossing his arms. “I’m a sweet, innocent Half Elf. Just ask Lanarot, she’ll tell you I’m good.”

Vonda raised her brows at Adam, but she smiled. She pulled down her scarf as she ate. It was only Adam and her, and she didn’t care if Adam saw the burn marks across her lower face and neck.

Adam stared at the egg, wondering what connection it had to the Iyr. ‘Child blessed by Mahtu. Child blessed by Mahtu. Child blessed by…’

“Are you going to take your egg to your Order? Order of… White Rose?”

“Order of Life’s Rose,” Vonda corrected.

Adam shook his head. “Priest of Life, Life’s Rose.” Adam tried to get the name to stick in his head.

“I may.”

“I think, maybe, you should take it to the Iyr first.”

“It is an egg that…” Vonda was going to say she found it, but that wasn’t entirely true. “I will think on the matter.”

“Regardless, since it’s a child of Mahtu, and you’re a Priest of Mahtu, then they can’t take it away from you.”

“What if they do?”

“I’ll complain their ears off,” Adam assured. “The Iyr has its rules, and I’m sure that they can’t take it away from you.”

“You seem to have a lot of trust in the Iyr,” Vonda said.

“If I can’t trust the Iyr, then what can I trust?”

“Jurot?”

“Well, yes, but you know what I mean.”

“Do I?” Vonda smiled.

“Oh, now you’re joking with me?” Adam asked. “Vonda, you can’t take funny from me, it’s the only thing I have going for me.”

“You are not as funny as you think you are,” Vonda dared to say, raising her brows at him.

“Yes,” Adam said. “That’s the point.”

“You truly are queer, Adam.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

Vonda continued to smile. The pair continued to speak with one another in the bedroom, with Hades keeping an eye out. When it was finally time to sleep, Adam wrapped his blanket around himself, and settled himself on the floor.

“It is your spell,” Vonda said, trying to get him to sleep on the bed.

“That’s right, and you’re my guest, so sleep on the bed, Vonda,” Adam said. “What’ll they say about me if they found out that I let a Priest of Life, a young lady, sleep on the floor while I took the bed? They’ll call me a no good knife ear.”

Vonda paused in shock with the fact he let slip a racial slur so freely. “Adam!”

“What?” Adam replied. “I can say it, I’m half Elf.”

Vonda turned a deeper red, and sat on the bed. She wondered how far she should go, but Adam was already nestled like a little egg in his blanket, which was cream with the symbol of the Rot family across it, the blue diamonds and the blue circle in the centre.

It was half way through the night Adam was jolted awake.

He had realised that he and Vonda were both sleeping in the same room.

That wasn’t a huge issue, Adam may be a virgin, but it was because it was voluntary.

However, they were in a dangerous place, with only a bird on lookout.

Though that was a huge issue, it wasn’t what had awoken Adam.

‘I’m a fucking idiot.’