Quest pleteDefend the Three Vilges+ 100XPXP: 360 -> 460

  Quest pleteDefeat Balrog the Bane and Rescue the Children+ 200XPXP: 460 -> 660

  Quest pleteJurot’s Shame+ 240XPXP: 660 -> 900

  ‘Hold on a sed, Bell.’

  [Okay.]

  ‘Yo-‘

  [A sed has passed.]

  ‘You must think you’re real funny.’

  [Yes.]

  ‘I swear, you…’ Adam inhaled deeply, rubbing his forehead. ‘Anyway, I’m pretty sure there’s ara two hundred XP that just randomly appeared.’

  [That was the experience for assisting iing the bandits in bat.]

  ‘I didn’t get a notification.’

  [You did.]

  ‘I did?’

  [You were too busy trating on Jurot.]

  ‘ht. I didn’t want him to die in front of me…’ Adam nodded his head slowly. ‘Still, that’s a lot of experience. How e I received more XP for helping Jurot nd a hit on Balrog than dealing with a rge group of bandits?’

  [Wasn’t helping Jurot more important thaing Balrog?]

  ‘And saving the children?’

  [Isn’t it?]

  Adam wasn’t sure how to respond. If the other Iyrmen hadn’t been around, would he have goo fight Balrog to save the children? ‘I’m too weak for that sort of thing right now.’ His lips formed a frown, not liking the fact the system had already figured him out.

  Tazwyn stared at Adam, w why he was so solemn again. ‘Just what are you thinking, son of Fate?’ She still couldn’t figure him out. Shouldn’t he be happy now that the children were safe? He had risked his life to protect them. Her eyes quickly son, whose dark gaze was firmly glued to Adam.

  Adam, blissfully unaware that an Iyrman was gring at him, walked over towards the elf and the dwarf girls, both of whom were screeg at each other in their own nguages beside Eshva, who seemed to be enjoying the screeg as though it were death metal.

  Adam tried to ignore what they were saying, w how the pair of them knew so many vile words at their age.

  “You damn rock muncher, just you wait until I get a bow in my hands!” the elf girl screamed, waviiny fist at the dwarf. She was short and thin, with long silver hair, which fell down to her lower back, and eyes of amethyst.

  “You damned leaf licker, what are you singing about? I’ll grab my hammer and smack you across the face!” The dwarf girl was almost her opposite, other than being short. She was stouter, with slightly paler skin, and eyes which were almost obsidian bck, the same as her short hair, which was cut in a bob.

  “You think I don’t know what you’re saying! I reise that word anywhere! Rock muncher! Iron sucker!”

  “You bi-“

  “Enough!” Adam eventually shouted, trying to catch their attention. “Shut your damn mouths, otherwise I’ll spank the pair of you!”

  The two girls, who didn’t even reach Adam’s waist with the tops of their heads, turo the man covered in , just like those who had kidhem. Seeing him in his heavy armour, the jangling which wasn’t of dwarven make, and behind his helmet, which made him more like a statue, they withdrew behind Eshva, hugging her powerful arms. The Iyrman smirked to herself, flexing her arms, showing off to the two girls. ‘Hehe.’

  ‘Why is he so angry?’ Tazwyn thought, uanding the half elf less and less. The girls were to scream at one another, as elves and dwarves should.

  Adam removed his helmet, having do to not scare the boys, due to what they probably had heard about elves. He revealed his pointed ears, gng down towards the elf and dwarf girl. ‘ht.’

  The dwarf girl gasped, staring up at him in shock. “You’re a leaf ea-“

  “Do you think I won’t spank yht in front of the Iyrmen?” Adam dropped his helmet beside him, and began to undo a glove. “It’s only because of me the Iyrmen came to help you, you know. They wao pay off Balrog and his goons, leaving you to your fate. I was the one who vihem to help.” He stared down at the familiar face of the dwarf girl. “The only reason you’re here to admire Eshva’s powerful biceps is because of me, and don’t you fet it!”

  “It’s a good thing you’re here,” the elf girl said, pointing to the dwarf girl. “The dwarf bitch is bullying me!” She stuck out her to the dwarf.

  “Hey! Watch yuage!” Adam’s brow pulsed, w how these two could hate each other so much that they’d be screaming at one another with so much profanity.

  “Excuse me, dearest worldly half cousin, whose path is-“

  “That’s not what I meant!” Adam tossed his glove beh his feet, w how these two could be so damn annoying. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. He had allowed himself to fall into their pace, which was something he couldn’t do as an adult.

  The elf girl stared at Adam in shock that he’d interrupt her, narrowing her amethyst eyes at him. ‘Well, what could I really expect from him? He is a half blood.’

  Adam dropped to one knee before the elf girl and smiled as warmly as he could, as though he didn’t want to toss some cereal at her. “Where are you from?”

  “I am from Green Vale Uhe Sixth Star,” the elf girl said, puffing out her chest in pride. She smirked at Adam, waiting for him to fall before her and prostrate himself.

  Adam blinked, rubbing his earlobe. “Excuse me?”

  The elf girl bli him iurn. “Green Vale Uhe Sixth Star,” she repeated, annunciating each word. “Near Orickle Beside Sun Rock.” She was sure he’d fall dorostate this time, after all, it was Green Vale Uhe Sixth Star, and not a pce like Three Tears And Two Hearts. ‘Eugh, I bet he’s from Three Tears And Two Hearts.’

  Adam shook his head. ‘Green Vale? Sixth Star? Trickle? Sun Rock? How the hell do elves hings in this world?’ It was only then he recalled how the first town he had set foot in was called Red Oak.

  “Are you even an elf?” the girl asked, pulling behind Eshva again, squeezing at her thick bicep and tricep with each hand, unsure of this strange half elf before her.

  ‘Hehe.’

  “Only half,” Adam said. “I’ve spent pretty much all my time in human nds.” Seeing how she had withdrawn, Adam shifted his focus to the dwarf, who looked so familiar.

  The little one pulled further behind Eshva, even taking a step towards the elf girl. Her eyes were squinted with dwarven suspi, which took years to dispel.

  “Little miss dwarf, are you by any ce a Thunderhammer?” Adam asked, w if she’d open up after hearing her name. He reised her almost immediately, but it wasn’t a bad idea to firm. After all, st time it wasn’t an elf girl who had been captured.

  “Tha’s right!” Thunderhammer squeezed Eshva’s shoulders. “He must be with tha bandits!”

  Adam cleared his throat. “Do you by any ow Thundersmith in Red Oak?” he asked, using the most harmless voice he could muster.

  “Aye, ah do!” Thunderhammer nodded her head. “He’s ma mother’s third cousin’s wife’s little brother’s sister in w’s uncle’s sed son, he is!”

  Adam blinked. “Of course he is.” He rubbed his earlobe agaiing out a soft sigh. ‘Why the hell do they make everything so damn long?’ He closed his eyes shut tight, trying to settle himself again. “Well, we’ll send word to him that you’re safe and sound and we’ll send you to him after we get you sorted out, alright?”

  “Hmph!” Thunderhammer narrowed her eyes, still sure that the half elf had been in collusion with the bandits, because of course a leaf ear bastard would be like that. “Ya better stay away from meh, ya hear?” She squinted her eyes nearly shut the entire way. “Ye and that other leaf ear!”

  “Hey!” Adam shough quickly calmed his voice. “I don’t want to hear any more cursing from either of you, alright? We’re all friends here.” He smiled, trying to recall how his teachers had stopped fights back when he was a kid.

  “How dare ya! After what yer people did ta ours!” Thunderhammer grit her teeth, almost snarling.

  “What do you mean? It was you rock munchers who-“

  “Enough!” Adam cpped his hands, cutting through their fight. “Right now you’re uhe prote of the Iyr, so act accly. I’ll be telling Thundersmith about your behaviour, little Thunderhammer, and you, little elf miss,” Adam snapped his eyes towards her, “I’ll go to Green Vale Sixth Star and have a word with your family too, about how you acted so…” He leaned in. “Humanly.”

  The elf girl stared up at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Oh? Wouldn’t I?” Adam stared into the girl’s eyes. “If either of you trouble the Iyrmen, I’ll be sure to punish you. Uood?”

  The girls stared up at him from behind Eshva, standing side by side.

  “Uood?” Adam repeated, raising his brows expetly.

  The girls heir heads, and with that, Adam stepped bad rubbed his forehead. ‘Seriously. Is this how Tazwyn and Dargon feel like?’

  “Do you think we’d let you harm them ohey’re in our prote?” Argon asked, approag the half elf. He had been listening in ily, and had almost drawn his sword when Adam tossed his glove down. Had he dared to make a move to harm any of the girls, he’d have justification to take an arm or two.

  “What!” Adam snapped his head towards him. “Do you really think I’d hurt them?”

  “Didn’t you threaten to spank them?” Argon asked, raising his brow.

  “I’d never hit a kid!” Adam gred at the Iyrman. “That was only a matter of speech! I’m a grown ass man! Why the hell would I go around hitting children?”

  “To disciplihem,” Argon said, answering his question early.

  Adam scoffed. “You really think hitting a bunch of kids as a grown ass man is disciplining them?” Adam cracked his knuckles. “They’ll o eat and driually. I’ll just use magiake their food taste terrible.” He threw a look back at the girls. “Like cow dung.”

  The girls raised their brows. The half elf was willing tue against an Iyrman, which meant he was crazy. If he was crazy, he’d actually do that.

  Argon squinted his eyes, unsure of how to reply to that. It wouldn’t hurt the children, but it certainly would get them to think twice. ‘He’s a lot scarier than I thought.’

  “Anyway,” Adam said, clearing his throat, “I hope it’s alright that I told them they were under your prote. It’s not my pce to say, but the Iyr is the safest pce for them. I thought it would be for the best…” Adam gowards the four boys, who were admiring the other Iyrmen. One had even walked up to Tazwyn, toug at her armour. The humans no doubt wouldn’t mind, and it seemed the girl had heard the tales of the Iyrmen too.

  “They would have been under our prote regardless if you were to say it.” Argon nodded his head slowly. “They were found at our borders, so we should take responsibility. They are children of various nobles, so we o protect them as best as we . If anything happens to them, we will be to bme. Within the Iyr, they will be safe.” Argon could se. These children would bring them great trouble, even if everything would go smoothly.

  “Then I don’t o worry about them.” Adam threw a quice to the other boys. ‘Right, I ’t just show the childreick, I o show the carrot too.’ Adam sauntered over to the boys, leaving Argoo his thoughts.

  ‘Did he just leave me?’ Argon blinked.

  “Hey there,” Adam said, smiling down towards the boys.

  The boys turo face him, noting his armour first, and then looked up to see his face, before quickly scrambling behind Dargon, Tazwyn, and Kandal.

  The three Iyrme out a soft sigh, enjoying the fact that the children were so eager to use them to defend themselves. The amount of stories they’d bring back to their families would be useful to them and the Iyr.

  Adam coughed, feeling the pain of beied. “Hey now, is that how you treat your saviour?” He tried to stop the frown from encroag on his fabsp;

  “W-who are you?” a boy said from behind Kandal, staring up at him in utter fear.

  “I’m Adam, son of Fate.” Adam could feel his heart slowly breaking. ‘Damn it! Why are they so scared of me?’

  “You’re not an Iyrman!” one accused, thinking himself a genius for notig the ck of the tattoo on his forehead.

  “You’re an elf,” another added, as though it were a sin.

  “Only half,” Adam replied. “I’m the one who got the Iyrmen to save you.”

  “Huh?” one said, stupidly.

  “What? What’s he trying to say?” another boy whispered loudly to his patriots.

  “He’s trying to say he ahe Iyrmen to save us.”

  “A half elf? anding Iyrmen?”

  Adam felt his brow pulse. ‘Calm down, you o use them to teach the girls. “Anyway, fet that. Balrog’s beaten, isn’t he? Did you know, Jurot here was the oo draw first blood against him?” Adam motioo the dark haired Iyrman, who was carving some wood.

  Upon hearing his name, Jurot gnced over. He smirked, puffing out his chest. “Hehe. That’s right, I was the oo draw first blood against him.” He reached down to pull out his axe, which still had a small amount of Balrog’s dried axe across the bde. Jurot pnned on leaving it behind to his parents.

  “Do you guys want to hold his axe?” Adam offered. “The same axe which hit Balrog? It’s a proper Iyrman’s axe.”

  The boys stared up at Jurot and his axe, their eyes eagerly beaming up at him.

  Jurot was almost blinded by their boyish hope, though he uood what they were feeling. He recalled how he was able to hold Elder Wrath’s axe, which ossibly one of the teest ons withiire Iyr. “Here,” Jurot said, holding out the handle of his axe.

  The boys quickly swarmed him, grabbing onto the axe, posing with it. They looked up at Jurot, asking him how he mao hit Balrog, and what the axe was made of, and how he mao be s.

  Adam threw a look to the girls, smirking at them. ‘How’s that, you little brats?’

  ‘Why’s he got such a stupid smirk on his face?’ Thunderhammer thought. ‘That axe isn’t even dwarven make. Stupid leaf ears, you just ’t uand them. I bet they didn’t even spend one hundred hours making that axe, ew.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Well, I guess it’s not terrible si’s Iyrman make. That steel looks quite oo, I wonder what ratio they used.’

  The elf girl narrowed her amethyst eyes suspiciously at Adam, noting how he was trying to taunt her. ‘Damn! I want to hold the axe too! If I get some of that blood…’ She could only imagihe curses she could infli Balrog’s soul.

  “We o talk,” Argon said, havi Adam have his fun.

  Adam could see the seriousness in Argon’s eyes. “Sure.”

  Argon led Adam away, though Tazwyn followed close behind, having been freed of the boys’ admiration. They sat down in eye sight of the bandits, who were currently ed up between one another, with ropes bound all about them food measure.

  “We must speak of how the loot should be split,” Argon said, staring deep into Adam’s eyes.

  “The loot?” Adam raised his brow.

  “That whice beloo the bandits.”

  “ht.” Adam rubbed his . “They would have loot, wouldn’t they? I guess I did help a little.” Adam’s lips twitched into a smile. “You wouldn’t have known about the childreher, if not for me.”

  ‘ime they tell me bring a half elf, I’ll refuse,’ Argon thought.

  “Plus, there’s the matter of our little bet.” Adam threw a look to Tazwyn, his lips pleting a smug smirk.

  “I will keep my side of the bet,” she assured, w why he would o firm. She was an Iyrman, whose words weighed heavier than all the gold within the Iyr.

  “Then, holy, I don’t know. How much should go to Jurot and I, sidering we aren’t anywhere within the same realm as powerful as either of you.”

  “That’s right,” Tazwyn said. “Even now, Dargon could slice through either of you like he was slig through bread.”

  Adam bli her. “Whoa, whoa.” Adam chuckled. “o be so harsh. Did I annoy you guys too much?”

  ‘Did you only just figure that out?’ Tazwyn thought, but she just sighed.

  “You will have twenty pert,” Argon said, ign Tazwyn’s look. She hadn’t recalled two important matters about the loot.

  “Twenty pert? That isn’t so bad.” Adam narrowed his eyes, having caught on to why he was being offered so much. “It’s not like I pin, anyway. You two could easily carve through me like you were carving a cake.”

  “Do you feel it’s too little?” Argon asked.

  “I think there’s quite an important discussion to be had. Last I recalled, Balrog was using an axe whice beloo the Gar family.”

  Even now, the two Iyrmen were surprised with how much Adam knew of the Iyr and its going ons. “The axe will be returo the Gar family,” Argon informed.

  “I’m sure, the axe should return to where it belongs. I hope that the Gar family knows who it was who assisted iurning the axe to them.” Adam smiled. “However, aren’t we both missing something else?”

  Argon slowly nodded his head. “You speak of the Moon Bde.”

  “Yes, the Moon Bde.”

  “It will also belong to the Iyr.”

  “So you get both magical ons and most of the loot?” Adam tutted at Argon. “I did some stuff too, ya know.”

  “It’s not enough to gain the Moon Bde.”

  “Even though I helped save six noble children? Not just noble children, but an elf and dwarf child too. It would be far too dangerous to cim reition for it, so I won’t ask for that, but will you really hand over only one fifth of the loot?”

  “Even so, it is too much to ask for the Moon Bde.”

  “Is it, really? I would hope the Iyr be fair in their distribution of ons,” Adam said, before noting hon’s eyes narrowed. “Alright, alright. It’s not like I fight you for more. At the very least, I want to study it, you’ll give me that much, won’t you?”

  “Study the sword?” Argon’s brows furrowed even deeper. ‘What? What is he trying to day?’

  “Are you an Enter?” Tazwyn asked, leaning in close, whispering the words. She uood how this was information which shouldn’t be said so freely.

  “Yeah.”

  Argon and Tazwyn blihey threw each other another look.

  ‘He’s lying, isn’t he?’ Argon stared at Tazwyn.

  ‘He’s crazy, but hasn’t he been telling the truth so far?’ Tazwyn replied.

  “Though, we keep that between us, alright?” Adam said, casually. “Entalia knows too, but I don’t want it spreading around.”

  Argon sighed. Adam had said so many ridiculous things, that he wasn’t sure if he should be so surprised. “How did you know the children were in Balrog’s care? I don’t believe he is someoo allow that kind of information to leak.”

  “Did you fet?” Adam asked, sitting up straight as he crossed his arms under his chest. “I’m Adam, son of Fate! It was divio me!” He ughed.

  Argon wasn’t sure if he should pursue the matter further. Adam was an enigma, something beyond his prehension. If Tazwyn couldn’t deal with Adam, then he didn’t expect himself to fare aer. ‘So, this is how Tazwyn feels.’

  “We will part the loot once we are within the Iyr,” Tazwyn said.

  “Alright.” Adam yawned, stretg out his arms. “I’ll leave you to sort it out. I don’t think you’ll short me, anyhow.”

  “Si all ended up well, we will leave this matter at just a warning,” Tazwyn said, staring at him. “Don’t do this again.”

  “Once I’m strong enough, I’ll be sure to let you Iyrmen fail as many children as you want iure.” Adam ughed.

  Argon narrowed his eyes again, gring at Adam.

  “It was just a joke,” Adam ughed. ‘I should stop pying with fire.’

  “If you try to use Jurot again, it will not end up with simple words,” Tazwyn warned.

  Adam cleared his throat. “I hear your warnings, Iyrmen. However, one day Jurot and I will be the best of friends. We will move together to deal with issues like this ourselves. I hope, when that day es, you will leave us to our business.”

  “You believe you and Jurot are so close?” Argon asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “No,” Adam said. “Jurot and I are almost like strangers, though we’ve known each other for a couple of weeks now.”

  “Do you believe he’d wish to be your friend?”

  “I don’t know, I hope so,” Adam admitted. He frowned, w if Jurot would be his friend. He had pnned on going on quite the journey with Jurot, adding to his story. “If he doesn’t, then I won’t help him with Pam.”

  “Pam?” Tazwyn asked, looking tot. She hadn’t heard the name when they were briefed about the situation.

  Adam smirked.

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  I wonder what chapter will entail?

  Could it possibly be?

  The end of Bckwater Crisis?