“Seems like I’m going to be talking with all the lads today,” Adam said, raising his brow towards the giant wall of mass known as Nobby.

Fred finished his drink, taking his cup with him. He nodded to Nobby, who returned with a simple bow of his head, before the giant boy sat down opposite Adam. Iyrmen peeked towards them, admiring the young man’s body, who was wider than any of them within the estate’s courtyard.

“Nobby,” Adam said, nodding his head. He poured himself some wine before pushing the bottle towards the boy, hesitating for a moment. ‘Can he drink? No, no. What kind of stupid thought was that?’

“Mister boss,” Nobby replied, quietly. His voice was small, and he squirmed in his chair.

“Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Yes.”

“Found some pretty Iyrmen ladies?”

Nobby’s cheeks turned slightly red and he shrunk.

“Have you already forgotten about Merl?” Adam teased, unable to control himself. After Jaygak teased him, he needed some way to relieve himself. ‘Bullying Nobby is so fun.’

Nobby huffed through his nostrils and turned redder under Adam’s teasing, taking a sip of the wine from the bottle. “No.”

Adam wiggled his brows at the large man, before chuckling. “So, what’s up?”

Nobby looked up. “The sky.”

“I deserved it that time,” Adam whispered to himself. “I mean, what do I owe the pleasure, Nobby? What do you need?”

“It’s nice in the Iyr,” he said.

‘Again?’ Adam thought, wondering if Nobby was going to be a repeat.

“Anne’s in school,” Nobby said, quietly.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Adam replied, finishing his wine. “I paid good money for her to get into school.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

Nobby remained quiet for a long moment. “I want to be stronger,” he eventually said.

“Do you want to marry an Iyrman?” Adam joked.

“I want to be strong.”

“Why?”

“You will look after my family?” Nobby asked.

“Of course.”

“I will be stronger.”

“How strong do you want to be?”

Nobby remained quiet, trying to understand what it meant to be strong, and how he could quantify it. He had lived with the Iyrmen for some time and understood they were stronger than the average Aldishman, but to be strong in the Iyr meant something else. He knew Adam was strong, though he had watched the Half Elf lose to a terrifying foe.

“Strong to protect your children,” Nobby said, with a flash of ingenuity.

Adam narrowed his eyes, a small smile forming on his lips. “Jaygak’s been a bad influence on you, Nobby.”

“…”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Number one enforcer.”

Adam smiled and reached up to pat Nobby’s shoulder, feeling how sturdy it was. “So will you protect Jirot and Jarot?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.” Adam hummed to himself quietly. He didn’t expect Nobby to strike through into his weakness. “Okay.”

“Thank you, mister boss.”

“Thank you, Nobby.” Adam leaned back and fell into thought. Jurot was what Nobby could aspire to be. The Iyrman had trained Nobby with the same abilities, the same rage, as his families. “Come with me.”

Adam led Nobby to the shared family estate, where Sonarot remained with Iyrmen Adam wasn’t familiar with, each from the various families. He saw Cirot and Sirot there too, sweeping the area in the courtyard.

“You have returned?” Sonarot accused. He had been forced to leave with the Priests, but he seemed to have lost them somehow.

“I’m with one of my companions, aren’t I?” Adam retorted, before settling himself down beside his Aunt, with Nobby sitting awkwardly beside him. “Have they been treating you well? I know how Jarot and Jirot get. Absolute troublemakers I say. They don’t get that from me, though, definitely not.”

Sonarot smiled. The joke was very Adam, as the Iyrmen would put it. “They are well behaved.”

“I’m sure they are,” Adam said, peeking down at his children suspiciously. “You see these troublemakers, Nobby?”

“Yes.”

“Cute, aren’t they?”

Nobby remained silent.

“Cutest In The Whole World.”

Nobby had heard the phrase before. Adam used it many times when referring to his sister, and Jurot had adopted the phrase too.

“How do you feel about protecting them?” Adam asked. “Goblins.”

“Okay,” Nobby replied.

“You don’t feel angry? Sad?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I do what you tell me,” Nobbly replied, simply.

“You don’t feel ashamed to protect Goblins?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Anne’s in school,” Nobby said. “Ma and pa. You’ll help.”

“Right,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “You don’t have to worry about your mother and father. Just you wait until the fort’s up and running. They’ll be some of the first people there. No matter what happens, Nobby, I’ll look after your family.”

“Thank you, mister boss.”

Adam smiled. “Number one enforcer…” Adam looked back down at his children. “My kids will be in danger all the time, so I’m going to make you strong. You’re going to need to be strong, so I think I need to make you a monster. The Iyrmen are going to love you, and if Merl doesn’t want you, you’re going to be swimming in Iyrmen, just like Fred.”

Sonarot eyed Adam up, wondering what he was talking about. This line of conversation piqued the interest of the other Iyrmen nearby.

“If you want to protect little Jirot and Jarot, then you’re going to need to be at least as strong as their greatfather, right?” Adam asked, leaning back into his chair casually. “What is he? Stronger than a Master, maybe a Grandmaster?”

Sonarot bowed her head.

“Then I suppose Nobby’s going to need to be at least a Grandmaster then,” Adam said.

“Is that so easy?” Sonarot asked.

Adam raised his brow towards her, and his Aunt understood what he was saying. After all, Adam was Adam.

“If Nobby is to be a Grandmaster, then what of you and Jurot?” Sonarot asked.

“Whatever gets Jurot to Diamond Rank,” Adam said. “Me? Well, we all know that I’m going to be Unrivalled Under The Heavens.” Adam’s face scrunched together, as though he had bitten into the flesh of a lemon. He was surprised that he hadn’t taken any damage from the cringe.

“There is no need to rush,” Sonarot said, placing a hand on Adam’s knee. “Take it one step at a time.”

“One step at a time,” Adam repeated, before thinking about the old monster known as Shama. “I’m not quite sure I can do that, but…”

“You are strong enough, for now.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“You will face a great many threats, as that will be your story, but you will carve a path which will be very different than any other before you.” Sonarot smiled warmly. “You will have many great stories to tell your children.”

Adam hummed quietly. “You know… I want to show off to my children, but isn’t it also cool if I’m the dopey, aloof father? Then, when something big happens, and maybe my children are in trouble, they find out how amazing I am? Isn’t that fun too?”

Sonarot continued to smile. It was a very Adam thing to think.

“Well, I suppose that’s spoiled because my Konarot is so smart. She’ll probably remember that I’m pretty strong as she grows. I probably won’t be able to trick her.” Adam sighed. “Plus, with all the stories which will be told about Jurot and I, Lanarot will be sure to speak to her little nieces and nephews about them all. I can’t pretend to be weak if I’ve already slain two Dragons.”

Nobby heard how Adam spoke of slaying two Dragons as something negative. It was a very Adam thing to do, he surmised.

“Hmmm.” Adam looked to Nobby. “Well…” His lips twitched into a smile. “Maybe that can’t be my story, but couldn’t that be your story? I’m sure you’ll be overshadowed in the stories when they’re going to be about Jurot, me, Jaygak, and Kitool. Plus then you have the others too, Dunes and Sir Vonda. Hell, Fred might even get his own stories too. Then there’s the teens too, and…” Adam huffed out, as though he was out of breath. “Why is our group so big?”

Nobby remained silent. Stories were one thing he didn’t care about. He could probably speak to his ma and pa and his sister about them, but it was the strength which Adam would give him, the money, which Nobby cared about most. If his sister could go through school and his parents were taken care of, that was all he needed. Everything else was irrelevant.

“Damn, that’s really cool,” Adam whispered. “Something happens. Perhaps a shipment gets lost or one of the kids, or a VIP gets abducted, or something. Then Nobby, you appear, and they have no idea who you are. Your opponents underestimate you and get absolutely bodied. You come back, mission complete, job done, you know? Actually, it probably makes sense if you’re defending a place, and you manage to force them away because you’re a tank.”

“I am certain that Nobby’s story will be greater than that,” Sonarot said, smiling at Adam’s imagination.

“Of course,” Adam said. “Nobby, you’re going to be my number one enforcer.”