Omen: 5, 15

‘Wait, what? Wasn’t that the same Omen as yesterday?’

Adam continued his enchanting for nightval, with very little plans for anything else. All the while, the Great Elders were pressing Iromin to deal with the Half Elf, as he had promised.

“Did he lose his will to enchant during the festival?” Elder Forest asked. “Did he not wish to enchant since he does not make as much gold?”

“Did he, Adam, who had come to be beaten by the Lord of Flames, whose friend had died helplessly when he had promised to assist her, and then returned to adopt two children to save them from death, before finding he had children he had no knowledge of, becoming a father to five children total, decide to spend his time taking care of his children and enjoying the festival, a right afforded to all Guests of the Iyr, including that of the Prince of Giants, instead of enchanting?” Iromin asked. “Perhaps it was the gold. Shall we prepare more for Lord Morkarai?” The Chief turned to Elder Gold.

“I am sure it was said in jest,” Elder Gold said, throwing her fellow Great Elder a look. It was a bad idea to start joking with the Chief when they were already forcing his hand. “There are greater matters to deal with.” Elder Gold understood Iromin was putting Adam to one side in order to focus on more important tasks. The Chief had promised to deal with Adam, and though it was taking some time, they had gained five new valuable assets to test Adam with.

Then there was also the fact that Tariel was still in the Iyr. She had met Adam, the night before, but had almost immediately left. Though she threatened to cause trouble as a joke, she was mostly going around speaking with various Iyrmen, and admiring the Iyr she had access too. Not once had she caused any sort of trouble.

She, like Adam, caused the Iyr a great headache.

While enchanting, Adam found days where his Omen dictated that he should take a break, rolling less than 10 for each roll.

“Who is this handsome boy?” Adam asked, looking down at baby Jarot, who lifted his head up to look at his father. The boy smiled and gurgled at Adam, causing the Half Elf to wrap his arms around his son gently, though he wanted to crush him with a deep hug. “That’s right, it’s my little baby Jarot!”

Jirot too had begun to smile and coo up at Adam whenever she saw him. They hadn’t done so previously, but whenever they gained attention from the people around them, they were beginning to react. The other children were still not quite as developed, though they were older.

“Aren’t my children so smart?” Adam asked, puffing out his chest in pride. “They’re going to be so mischievous when they grow up because they’re going to be geniuses.”

“Goblins grow quicker than others,” Sonarot said.

Adam’s face turned stone cold. “No.”

Sonarot smiled at Adam, though she remained silent.

“Jarot and Jirot will remain small forever,” Adam said, rubbing Jarot’s back gently.

“Yes,” Jarot said, tickling Jirot’s stomach. “They will remain small forever, within our arms.”

“And arm,” Adam added, nodding his head.

Jurot remained quiet, wondering if the joke was funny, or cringe, or both.

Adam would spend his morning training lightly, allowing the children to train with him, though they only ran around and sometimes would squat, before they would play together. His triplets joined in with the other children, with the older children taking care of them, as was their role. He spent some time in the morning with his youngest babies too, giving them plenty of time to familiarise themselves with their father.

Then he would leave to enchant, which required many hours of his time, anywhere between six and nine hours, before he would return back to the estate. He would eat dinner with the Iyrmen, and also read to the children, or played Warriors and Wanderers with them. His own children would nestle beside him, listening intently to the game.

During this time, his companions would sometimes come to spend time with them. They would talk and eat, with Adam often fawning over his children in front of them, being all around annoying.

In the late evenings he would spend time with Asoyah, Turot, Lanarot, Churot, and his children, giving them more attention, assisting with their writing, counting, and knowledge of history. He would read to them, or he would listen to their reading.

There was something in his Adam’s heart which filled as the days passed. The time he spent with his families and working was steeling his heart and mind, pushing forcing the darkness which had seeped into him. Morkarai had managed to heal quite a large portion of it, but the remaining wisps of darkness were being forced away by the days he spent within the Iyr.

Yet, as his heart and mind were steeled, there was a single wisp of darkness which remained within him. It was one which Adam refused to allow escape, and he formed a box around it. Adam had become quite arrogant as he had travelled the land, completing impossible tasks almost effortlessly. His arrogance had caused some friction between himself and others, some of whom held greater power than himself, not by steel or magic, but social.

Adam had the Iyr to shield him, but every time he would invoke the Iyr, he knew the Great Elders viewed him as a thorn in their side. He was creating a relationship with the Iyr, and with his assistance of creating magical weapons, they would take to him more kindly, but there was a limit to their kindness. Adam wanted to push their limits further down, so that they would only abandon him when it was truly the worst situation for them, rather than a situation they could handle, but chose not to deal with due to it being annoying.

The wisp would remain within his heart, reminding him that he could not die this life. It was not death which he was afraid of, but what came after. If he died, what would happen to his children? Would he be reborn in a new life, without the family he adored? Would he be able to find his way back?

“Elder Zijin,” Adam greeted, finding the Elder writing in a book. It was the same book which Churot had handed him that morning, before he was taken to train with a Blood Mage.

“Adam,” Zijin said, placing the book down, revealing the equations which Churot had completed, all of which had been confirmed correct.

“I’m feeling really lucky today, so would you mind if I enchanting a Greater Enhanced weapon for myself? Well, it’s not for me, but you know…”

“Who is it for?”

“Someone who I don’t appreciate enough,” Adam replied, smiling at the Elder. “Also, do you have a really nice staff I could buy?”

“I will not stop you from enchanting something for her, but if you want a really nice staff, then I would like to trade for it,” Zijin said, smiling up at the Half Elf.

“What do you want to trade?”

“There was a weapon the Jin family handed to you for you to enchant,” Zijin said. “I would like to know the enchantment.”

“You don’t want it to be a surprise?”

“The Iyr does not enjoy surprises,” Zijin stated.

“Is it going to be a really nice staff?” Adam asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but your family is known to use greatswords, so…”

“If you do not trust my words, then I cannot give you a really nice staff.” Zijin shrugged his shoulders casually.

“Toosh.”

Zijin listened intently to the enchantment which Adam had placed on the greatsword. He wrote down something on a piece of paper, handing it to the Half Elf, before nodding his head to dismiss the youth.

The Elder wasn’t entirely certain which side of the book this news went in. His lips were a long smile, however, as the enchantment was truly worth handing over such a great weapon.

Mana: 18 -> 15

Enchanting Check

D20 + 7 = 10 (3)

Omen: 13, 20 -> 13

20 + 7 = 27

Adam plucked a Thread of Fate, which caused the baby to perk up for a moment, before he relaxed once more. The baby waited, wondering if something terrible would befall them.

“Ball,” Lanarot said, tossing the ball at her brother, waiting expectantly for him to throw it.

Adam picked it up, before tossing his hand forward, but he did not let go of the ball. Lanarot excitedly ran away, stopping as she tried to spot the balls with her eyes.

“Do not hide the ball from her,” Jarot berated, holding Karot up against him, letting the boy snooze against his chest. The boy’s tail swung from side to side gently beside the chair.

“Yeah, but this is so cute.”

“It is cute, but she must never doubt you,” Jarot said, his arm cradling Karot protectively.

Adam didn’t realise there was such a deep meaning behind the old man’s words, but he relented. He tossed the ball towards the girl, which landed near her. She turned to find the ball roll between her legs and she squatted down to try to catch it, but it had long disappeared. She looked through her legs to find it, rolling over, crawling, before finally running after it.

The words pierced through Adam.

She must never doubt you.

His mind was taken by the words, which refused to leave him, even as the days continued to pass.