Adam held onto the watch, hearing the gently tig as the seds passed. It was heavy within his hand, his daughter reag out to grab at it, but uo take it from him. Adam pnted a firm kiss upon her forehead as she pihe girl babbling and grumbling, before finally giving into her father’s affe, giggling lightly.

  Adam had accepted the watch with Filliam’s dolences, allowing the tio return ohe awkwardness overcame the young man. His eyes fell to Kiara, who sat opposite the half elf awkwardly, her silver eyes glued to the table before them. She was still quite thin and small, her silver hair retly cut short.

  “Is the Rot family treating you well?” Adam asked.

  “Yes,” Kiara replied, swallowing awkwardly. She was gd to finally be out of the shrine, but hearing the hat the children had been killed, she wished she was still w.

  “Good. You let me know if they’re, uh, you know…” Adam inhaled deeply, trying to gather his thoughts, but his mind remained clouded with darkness.

  Kiara nodded, allowing the sileo befall them again. She watched the father as he lifted his daughter up, standing her upon his p, ing an arm around the girl’s back. He nuzzled against her nose, and stared into the girl’s hazel eyes, the baby staring deep into her father’s eyes iurn, before she smiled.

  “Look at those adorable little teeth peeking out,” Adam said, rubbing his cheek against his daughter’s, feeling her warmth against his own. “Mummy is telling me you like to bite your dummy, mm? Is that right?”

  “Ogoo,” the girl replied, her ione like that of a babe, but she was also her sister’s sister, so Adam did not allow her to fool him.

  “Okay, but you ’t just nibble everything, okay?”

  “Boo,” Virot firmed, before she sucked against her thumb, resting her head against her father’s shoulder.

  Adam leaned back, his eyes falling to the rest of the children as they pyed iended estate. The Rot family children had all gathered around the pair of boys, eager to py with them, though they left Larot aloer a short while. They pyed ball with the twins, making sure to pass the ball to the pair often.

  Adam inhaled sharply, noting all the gnces from his twins, cheg to see if he was still there. He smiled at them each time, nodding his head, and the twins smiled at him, before tinuing their py.

  ‘Just a few more days,’ Adam thought. ‘Once I’m done enting, I’ll… I just o do a little more, and then y together.’

  Kiara remained focused on the half elf for a long while, uain of what to say to him. She had already given dolences, but the awkward air hung in the air.

  “Are you still enting?” Adam asked, as though he didn’t know the ao the question.

  “Yes.”

  Adam slowly nodded his head. “Good. Good. It’s good to keep busy. You’ll lose your mind if you have nothing to do, but make sure you take it easy too, alright?”

  “Okay.”

  “ you make Basihanced ons?”

  “Yes.”

  “Greater Enhanced?”

  “I think so.”

  Adam slowly nodded his head. “Then you’ll have no worries about money. You stay in the Iyr. The Iyrmen, they’ll watch over you. I’ll ask Aunt to… take good care of you.”

  Kiara slowly bowed her head. She stared at the half elf, his eyes darkened by grief, dampened by sleeplessness. The half elf’s shoulders remained heavy with his burdens, but piece by piece, he was lightening the load. Though Kiara wasirely certain, she uood the versation they had was more than just about w for the business.

  Adam tio ent his axe over the days, returning to his twins, who tackled him after following their elder siblings to the entrahe half elf even tried to tease them wheurned, pig a differerance each time, but his triplet’s noses were too keen.

  “We pyed with papo Gurot,” Jirot said, eating from her father’s hand. “We pyed with the wood.”

  “What did you do with the wood?”

  “I build a house.”

  “I build a castle,” little Jarot said. “I made five towers.”

  “A castle with five towers?” Adam asked, raising his brows. “Even daddy only makes one or two towers. Wow, my son is so amazing, isn’t he?”

  Little Jarot flushed slightly, the boy slowly bowing his head, his lips pursed with a childish joy.

  “Daddy, kako does not listen?” Jirot asked.

  “Who?”

  “Kako Minool. She does not py with us. We always tell her to py, but she does not?”

  “Well, Minool likes to be alone, just like Minakan. It must be because their names begin with Min, perhaps they only like minimal tact?” Adam chuckled, causing his children to giggle too, the pair not uanding the joke in the slightest.

  “You are so silly, daddy.” Jirot rested her head against his chest.

  “I am so silly, aren’t I? I’m so silly, I haven’t even picked a book for you to read.”

  “You do not pick, daddy, you are not a little child!”

  “What do you mean? I pick it if I want to, but normally I want you to pick it. Hmm, well, daddy does have a story from his home, maybe he write it down to remember it?” Adam leaned back.

  “Silly daddy, stars do not go to war.” Jirot reached up to pat her father’s shoulder gently, before hugging his front once more, with little Jarot cuddling up to his chest.

  “Ah, yes. Hht you are, my dear.” Adam pulled the pair closer.

  In the evening, Vonda stole her husband away, sitting down beside him to one side as the children listeo Shikan’s tale. She allowed Virot to hold a fihe little girl snoozing lightly within her father’s arms.

  “Adam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you inform Mother Priest of the situation?”

  “Mother Priest?” Adam threw a look to his wife. “What do you wao tell her.”

  As Mother Priest heard the message from the half elf, first annoyed by his audacity, but fiving him due to the tents of the message. She remained silent for a short while, mostly because she had tied her own hands. It wasn’t easy for her to deny Adam, not when Vonda had put him up to it, and not when she, herself, had raised Vonda into the position of a Ray. There was only a half thought as to why Vonda didn’t send word, realising it was most likely due to the fact she regnant.

  ‘I am sorry for your loss, Adam. Please inform Ray Vonda of the same. I will pray oter and message you soon.’

  Vonda listeo the words through her husband as her proxy. She slowly bowed her head to the half elf, before leaning her head against his shoulder.

  Thus, she had involved the Order of Life’s Rose into the matter. Whatever small assistahey could provide may be enough between life ah. No matter what the situation was, one would have to take Life’s Rose seriously. It was the be of being one of the most prestigious Orders of the nd.

  Of course, there was the fact that Adam and the First Hope, the stro Hope, were quite antagonistic to one another.

  ‘I ’t regret it now,’ Vonda thought, letting out a low sigh of relief.

  There were others who also let out such sighs. Mulrot sat opposite Zirot, the pair of women sippie in the night. It was the kind of tea which soothed one’s heart, and allowed them to sleep with ease.

  “I ask Steel Strike to assist,” Zirot offered, uanding her sister’s grief, for her heart hung heavy with the fact that their little boys had been killed. “If Tarot returns in time, he may go.”

  Mulrot knew how unlikely it was for Tarot to return. She wao refuse Zirot, but sidering that she was a Rot, how could she do so? Even as the Family Elder, she couldn’t dare to deny her sister such a right. “How could I not go?”

  “You are the Family Elder,” Zirot said. “Your pce is here. They will wish to see you when they go.”

  “…” Mirot’s heart tio ache, her hands tied by her duties in the Iyr. When she became the Family Elder, she had been warned of the pain of the title, and now she uood what her predecessor had meant.

  The stars twinkled overhead, keeping the Iyrmen pany. Chief Iromin’s vision began to blur slightly, and he closed them, gng aside. He reached out towards the ntern, pulling it closer, while his ears twitched.

  “What need do you have of me this te?” Iromin asked.

  “I have e to make a request,” the figure said from within the shadows, her voice low, like the dimness of the ntern.

  Iromin opened his eyes, throwing a tired look towards the bald woman, who clutched a staff in hand, using it as a walking stiot that she . “What is it?” Though he spoke the question, his tone implied he already knew.

  “I request to take a leave until the matter is settled,” Shaool said, pg down the piece of paper.

  It took only a moment for the Chief to read the request. He hadn’t expected Shaool to request to leave her duties, for she was one of the Ten Paragons. If he deed her request, she would accept it, he had no doubt about that. She aragon, freedom was a luxury she could not afford, and with the Reavers soon to arrive, the ce of her leave to be granted was close to nil. There was a reason why she had e to him, and not the reat Elders. Iromin sighe slip, allowing the Paragon to step away in order to plete her personal work.

  “Thank you.” Shaool bowed her head a into the darkness.

  ‘It is beginning,’ Iromin thought. It was soohan he expected. The moment Shaool stepped out of her position, the Iyr would o react accly, and thus world may react to the Iyr, and with the Reavers upon the horizon… ‘We must move carefully.’

  The stress filled the Chief, but it was tempered by his rage.

  Even if they would coax the Reavers to arrive quicker, the Iyr would nret their as.

  Uh oh.