The m, Jurot took Adam’s children with him and Pam. Unfortunately, Larot had been cimed by Mulrot for the day. He had he way she had looked at them, and he did not like it.

  “Papo Juroh,” Jirot said, fiddling with his colr while he carried her.

  “Yes?”

  “You are so big and stuhrong.”

  “I am not strong.”

  “No?” The girl furrowed her brows, tilting her head slightly.

  “No.”

  “Nana is big and stuhrong?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stuhronger you?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot gasped. “Yes?”

  “Yes.”

  She gasped towards her twin brother, their eyes wide, their brows raised in utter shock. “Wow! Nana is so stuhrong! I love nana!”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes! I love nana, and I love daddy!”

  “I love nana and daddy too!” Jarot added.

  “What of me?” Jurot asked.

  “No!” Jirot cackled.

  Jarot cackled too, before he stared up at his uncle. “Papo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you.”

  Jurot’s heart throbbed. “I love you too, Jarot.”

  “Papo! I love you too!” Jirot cimed, grabbing her uncle’s face before kissing his cheek.

  Jurot flushed slightly, and he wondered if the Iyr would allow him to leave to kill a hydra. “I love you too.” Jurot kissed his nied op their foreheads tenderly.

  Pam gowards them, her eyes wide. ‘They really are his nied nephew? Does he think they’re…’ She gnced around, noting the hord devilkin about, though she would never dare call Iyrmen such.

  “Papo?” Jirot called, reag up to his hair, brushing it gently with her tiny green hair.

  “Yes?”

  “You ah small?”

  “I am big.”

  “You ah small and now you ah big?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have daddy?”

  Jurot paused for a moment. “Yes.”

  “Baba?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot bli her uncle, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Where is baba?”

  “He is missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “Yes. He is missing and we ot find him.”

  “Baba is big and stuhrong?”

  “Yes.” Jurot thought back to his father, who had quite some time before he had left the Iyr to adventure. He thought back to all the expeditions he had taken in the Aldish nds. “Baba is strohan nana.”

  Jirot gasped. “No!”

  “Yes.”

  “No?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my gosh!” The girl excimed breathlessly. She stabilised herself with a hand against her uncle’s shoulder before sitting up taller, pointing to her chest. “I am stuhrohan baba!”

  “Will you be strohan your father?” Jurot asked, having picked up how to speak with children from watg Adam navigate such a minefield.

  “Yes. I am Demon Load and I protecc daddy, and papo, and nana, and babo, and nano, and nana, and papo, and kako, and mummy and daddy.” The girl smiled wide, puckering her lips slightly. “You ot say, is secret, okay?” She leaned in and pced a hand on her lip.

  Jurot pressed his cheek against hers, rubbing her cheek tenderly with his own. “Do you like Ray Vonda?”

  Jirot nodded shyly, burying her face against Jurot’s neck.

  “You must treat her well, she is a Priest of Mahtu, and a Ray of Life’s Rose.”

  “I always good, papo!” The girl threw out her hands with practised feigned innoce, though her lips formed a small smirk a moment ter.

  “Kako!” Jarot called, squirming to the side as he poio Jaygak.

  Jurot passed the pair of twins away to their aunt, who hoisted them into her arms and peppered them with kisses.

  “Jirot, Jarot, have you caused trouble?” Jaygak asked, nuzzling the children.

  “No!” Jirot replied.

  “Why not?” Jaygak ughed, causing Jirot and Jarot to ugh too, the children giggling wildly. Jaygak gnced between Jurot and Pam. “Is the Iyr as you expected?”

  “It’s very different, but also as I expected,” Pam admitted, gng between the devilkin and the goblins. ‘…’

  “How is it different?” Jaygak asked curiously, and partly because she was going to inform the Elder of Pam’s words.

  “The walls were bigger than I imagined.”

  Jaygak smiled, before she was distracted by Jarot reag up to her horns. “How you sneak a touy horns?”

  “You are so puhritty, kako.” Jarot flushed, pulling his hands back to his chest, bowing his head lightly as though he had been caught sneaking out a potato as Jirot had previously.

  “I’m pretty?”

  “Yes…”

  “Do you love me?”

  “Yes,” Jarot replied.

  “No, I love daddy and mommy,” Jirot said, cag lightly.

  “Not me?”

  “Nooo!” Jirot tossed her head ba a cackle, c her face.

  “Why not?”

  “Kako is too silly.”

  “Who said that?”

  “Daddy.” Jirot replied, reag down to fiddle with Jaygak’s colr. “Kako is so silly.”

  “But I’m s?”

  “Really?” Jirot tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “You ah joking?”

  Jaygak narrowed her eyes. “I fought a knight! I even fought Butcher Marmak.”

  “You fighted so good?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot inhaled deeply. She closed her eyes and thought. “Okay. I love you too, kako.”

  “That’s right.” Jaygak kissed her forehead. “Do you like Kitool?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Kako so smaht.”

  “I am smart too.”

  Jirot side eyed the young woman.

  “Jurot, your niece is bullying me.”

  “She is your oo.”

  “It’s why I get to bully them back.” Jaygak bleberries into their necks, causing the children to squeal again.

  Pam gnced down at the half dragon children, pulling back for a moment as Kirot held up a bread bun for her. “Thank you.” Pam cautiously took the bread from the tiny girl.

  Kirot smiled politely before she rushed over to her uo hide behind his leg, with Karot following after to hide behind Jurot too. The pair g Pam from beside their uncle, whose arms were crossed, his stance firm and strong.

  ‘They are cute…’ Pam gnced over to the goblins, who were so small and round, the pair still giggling and cag at their aunt.

  They eventually returned back to the shared estate, with Jurot carrying both Kirot and Karot within his arms, the pair resting their heads on their uncle’s shoulder, before they finally go one side.

  “Adam, your children were bullying me!” Jaygak huffed.

  “You probably deserved it,” Adam said, holding out his arms, causing his twins to squirm towards him.

  “Wait until I have children of my own!”

  Adam nuzzled against his twins, gng to the side to see Pam peeking towards them, though her eyes darted away. ‘Yoing to have to get used to it.’

  The st day of the festival arrived, with no Konarot in sight.

  However, anuest appeared.

  “You are to marry?” Morkarai asked, his eyes wide. “To who?”

  Adam motioned a hand to Vonda. “Lord Morkarai, Ray Vonda. Ray Vonda, Lord Morkarai.”

  “We have met,” Morkarai said, bowing his head to the Ray.

  “It is always a pleasure,” Vonda replied, bowing her head.

  “I thought Ray Vonda was the most obvious choice, so I thought you would marry another.”

  “Who do you think I’d marry?”

  “Lucy, Mara, Kitool. I thought Jaygak, but she has spoken of her love for horns, and you are not blessed with such. I would have thought perhaps a Demigod would e to marry you.”

  “Eugh,” Lucy said, before quickly sipping her wine. “I would never.” She flushed slightly. ‘It should be fio tease him a little?’

  “…” Mara replied. She sat tall and strong, her eyes slowly sing towards the half elf who she owed a great deal towards.

  “I couldn’t marry any of them,” Adam replied, narrowing his eyes towards Lucy for a moment as he sipped his own wine. “I mean, Lucy’s my friend, same as Mara and Kitool. In terms of Demigods… Well, I don’t really like nobles.”

  “Was Vonda not your friend?”

  “Well, yes, but, you know...” Adam flushed, sipping again “Anyway, you’re ing to my wedding, aren’t you?”

  “I will if you are inviting me.”

  “Of course.”

  “When is the wedding.”

  “Uh, I think the end of month?” Adam gnced over to Vonda, who nodded. “Oh, and Dunes is marrying too, you should go to his wedding.”

  “When is it?”

  “The end of this month.”

  “I will e if I am invited.”

  “I’ll ask him now, if you want.”

  Morkarai nodded.

  Dunes wasn’t sure why Adam was trying to give him a heart attack from the tents of the Sending.

  ‘He may. I hope you are enjoying yourself. Please inform me when Konarot has recovered.’

  Adam gnced around to his friends, who were all calm in her matter, more worried for Adam. ‘I guess it is the Iyr…’

  “I have heard your daughter is being treated by the Iyr.”

  “Yeah. They’re taking out the, uh… Arcarius Gem?”

  Morkarai blinked. ‘…’ He blinked again, befng aside to see the Iyrmen were judging the way he had taken the news. He sipped his fire wine. “Of course they are.” ‘Of course it is your child who possesses such a gem.’

  Morkarai uood his ces of leaving the Iyr alive had decreased substantially. He reached up to rub his forehead. “I wish you had not informed me of that matter.”

  “Why not?”

  “It is a dangerous matter to know.”

  “Why?”

  “It is one of the Gems of Jiad.”

  “The what?”

  “The gems which Ajax the Immortal possesses,” Jurot stated, having just realised Adam had no idea what they had been talking about. They had already spoken about it previously, but it had been some time. ‘Adam truly is terrible with names.’

  History CheckD20 + 3 = 6 (3)

  “Who?”

  “Ajax the Mouse, also known as Ajax the Immortal, has collected the Three Gems of Jiad,” Morkarai began. “Each gem is worth aire’s city’s blood. Any with the gem is a target, even for the likes ons, and not even dragons are exempt. They say some of the gems are in the possession ons, but even if they grant great powers to even dragons, they may not accept such a boon for the target upon their back would be too great to bear.”

  “Oh.” Adam inhaled deeply, realising what the gem meant. “Oh fuck.”

  “Oh fuck,” called a little voice.

  Adam turned his head to see Jirot blinking up towards him i from beside him, holding her bottle of milk iiny green hands. He sighed. ‘Oh fuck.’

  Mistakes were made...