Victory!XP Gained: +1 500XP: 7 400 -> 8 900

  "Adam!" Morkarai shouted, his voice eg through the hallway. A bead of sweat dropped down from the side of his forehead as he stared at the se before him. Adam towered over the Prince of the Mermen, the royal guard pointed his trident towards the half elf who had beaten his Prinscious. It was not the fact that Adam, whose greatest strength erhaps his great Defence, had mao beat the Prihout his puthral armour, which caused the Prio pause, but the fact that Adam's eyes were so full of shod terror.

  "Vonda," Adam gasped, feeling the dread fill his heart, before he stepped over the unscious Prince.

  Health: 91 -> 71

  The guard smmed the back of his trident against Adam, causing the half elf to stumble forward, though he tio dart forward. Several guards emerged suddenly, from both sides of the hallon hearing the echoes of the battle, and upon seeing the Prince down, and a fleeing half elf, they readied their longspears.

  "Wait, Adam," Morkarai called.

  "We o che Vonda," Adam replied, grabbing onto the fire giant Prince's shirt, gripping it tight. "Now."

  "It will take more time if you rush."

  "You don't uand!"

  "No, you do not uand," Morkarai replied, inhaling deeply before pg a rge hand over Adam's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Expin yourself at once."

  "The Prince harassed me until we fought, but I made a mistake during the fight."

  "So you killed him?"

  "What? No." Adam gnced back towards the unscious Prince. "I'll get him up."

  Lay on Hands: 35 -> 34

  The Prince gasped for air as his eyes fell open to see the form of the retreating half elf, before the sight of his royal guard peeked down towards him. 'What?'

  "e on," Adam urged, motioning a hand for the fire giant to lead them, who stood awkwardly.

  'You should at least expin yourself...' Morkarai sighed, before leading the way towards the guards. "Step aside."

  The guards held their spears towards the pair, though their spears remained focused mostly upon the half elf, and not towards their guest.

  "Is this how you will treat me?" Morkarai asked, his beard shifting slightly as he narrowed his eyes. "You should know who I am."

  "You must remain while the matter is expined."

  "Is this how it is? Your Prince forces me into a spar and then you threaten me once he loses? I gave him the dignity of a defeat!” Adam grit his teeth, g his fists. ‘I ’t make a mess right now, Vonda’s in danger. Damn it! This is why I hate nobles.’

  “How did you do it?” the merman prince asked. “You should not have been able to defeat me so simply.”

  “I used all the powers afforded to me by the Divio defeat you.”

  “It is impossible for you to defeat me.”

  Adam inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes, reag up to his amulet. “Prince Morkarai. If anything happens to Vonda or my child because they’ve deyed me, know that I’m going to make a mess.”

  Morkarai could feel the throbbing in his head. “Why would something happen to Vonda or your child.”

  “I… made a mistake.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I wasn’t thinking straight,” Adam admitted.

  Adam, in his anger and annoyance, had plucked a Thread of Fate, and thus Fate was forever ged. It was only upon seeing the words of victory, that he had realised what he had done.

  “Prince Merza, there is an emergency that I o tend to,” Morkarai said. “Will you stop us from moving?”

  Prince Merza, full of fury and shame, gred at the half elf, who seemed to be entirely ign him. “You may go.” He motioned a hand towards the guards, who pulled their longspears bad allowed the pair to leave, their steps eg through the hallway, before the lighter set quied into a sprint.

  “Vonda!” Adam said, panting for air as he stormed into the room. “Are you okay?”

  “Adam?” Vonda replied, staring up at the half elf, her eyes full of curiosity. “I’m fine. What’s the matter?”

  “Are you sure?” Adam asked, quickly taking his pce beside her, taking her hand within his own.

  “I’m fine,” Vonda assured, rubbihumb along the sides of his thumb gently.

  “I’m su idiot.” Adam pced his head against her shoulder, shaking his head. ‘Oh man. What was I thinking?’

  Jurot remained silent, staring at the half elf, w what would have made him behave like this. ‘To have a child is so scary.’

  Morkarai was still uain what Adam had done, but he took his pce opposite the half elf, crossing his arms. “You should expin yourself. What happened, and how did you defeat Prince Merza?”

  “He picked a fight with me so we sparred. I beat him up with a couple of…” Adam wasn’t sure how to describe it to the fire giant. “Let’s just say that I got lucky, and then I made my own luck.”

  “What was the rumble of thunder?”

  “Thunderous Smite.”

  Morkarai inhaled deeply, gng aside, w how Adam could do something so stupid. “You should be gd I had arrived quickly.”

  “Yeah…” Adam held onto Vonda’s hands, the woman uanding what had spooked Adam so much.

  Omen: 9

  ‘Why the hell am I using my Omen right now? Am I an idiot?’ Adam pressed his forehead against Vonda’s for a moment, before pnting a kiss on her cheek and pulling back. ‘Damn it, you idiot! Damn it!’

  “It will be fine.” Vonda squeezed his hands once more, before slipping a hand away, while iwining her left hand with his right hand, brushihumb along the back of his hand. “It’s fine.”

  Adam leaned ba his chair, feeling the warmth of his wife’s hands against his own. Her hands felt rough, a so soft.

  “It is a good tale to defeat Prince Merza,” Jurot said, noting how his brother jolted upon his voice, their eyes meeting one another’s.

  “Jurot? How long have you been here.”

  “I was always here.”

  “Seriously…”

  Mnced down towards Adam, noting his seasilk clothing. “You mao defeat the Prince dressed like that?”

  “Why? Am I not dressed fanough to win?”

  Morkarai shook his head, reag up to cover his eyes, before leaning back. ‘Adam…’

  Vonda and Jurot exged a look, uanding what Morkarai was getting at, meanwhile Adam’s slowly calmed down and fell deep into his thoughts.

  ‘I did beat him pretty easily with my smites, but it’s not like I’ll only be sparring with tons of crazy strong people.’ Adam gnced aside towards his Health. ‘I be taken out pretty easily still. I burst him down with all of Wraith and a pretty strong Divine Smite, a whole 3 Mana, but I ’t do that often. I ’t use my fights against Prince Morkarai and the merman Prince as a barometer on how strong I really am.’

  While Adam thought about how stroruly was, his brother did the same. ‘Adam defeat Prince Merza with his ability to shift Fate and his magical ons. Without them, how would he fair? Without a Greater shield, and his Greater Enhanced axe, how strong is he? He should not overestimate himself yet.’

  ‘Wraith only drop down three charges, and I shouldn’t dip inter Divine Smites yet, not when they don’t scale as well,’ Adam thought. ‘If I somehow have a on deal 2D6 with 1 Mana, and then spend 1 Mana on my Divine Smite to deal 2D6, I make oack with 6D6 plus 9. That’s, what, ten attacks for 60D6 plus 90? An average of about…’

  [300.]

  ‘Thanks. Yeah, three hundred if I mao hit every siack. That’s what, thirty per hit? That’s crazy high. Right now I burst someone down with Wraith, I’ve cleared a whole hundred, but if they only have fifty or sixty, then a hundred damage is overkill. I burn out too quickly, and even though my damage is good for bursting, my Defence is better suited for lhts against most people. I’m pretty tough with my puthral and my shield, so I should be able to st a while unless I’m against any area of effect stuff.’

  Adam let out a long sigh. ‘Living is so difficult when you’re as stupid as me.’

  Morkarai was also deep in thought. He would o speak with the Prier to expihing. He would o listen to Prince Merza’s words first and then he’d o call upon Adam for the truth. He was fairly certain he could keep Adam alive as long as he spoke the truth, but there was the matter of Adam paying the appropriate respect.

  “Hey, Prince Morkarai?” Adam called out.

  Morkarai tensed up. “Yes?”

  “How e you’re walking around without guards?”

  “I have you to ese.”

  “No, I mean, when you were making your way to the Iyr.”

  “I travelled with anroup while I made my way to the Iyr.”

  “Didn’t you run into any trouble?”

  “I crushed stoo dust and they thought against it.”

  “Damn. You’re so manly.”

  “Adam… may we speak alone?”

  “Sure.”

  Adam followed Morkarai out, having no idea the mess he had caused while the mermen royalty argued against one another elsewhere. His heart had long calmed from his ay, Vonda’s presence a gentle light that pushed away whatever darkness dared to daoo close to her husband.

  “About Vonda…”

  “Yeah?”

  “I am sorry, truly. If I had known she regnant, I would not have brought her in such a manner.”

  “I know…” Adam decided against threatening the Prince. “Vonda will be alright, and so will my little ohey’re both going to be okay…”

  Morkarai could hear it within the half elf’s voice. “I will pray they will both remaihy.”

  “Yeah.”

  The Prince allowed Adam to return back to Vonda, and since Jurot was there, he expected there to be little trouble. The guilt tio eat away at his heart. ‘I should speak with my betrothed.’

  “How ridiculous! He must have used something underhao defeat me!” Prince Merza sossing the bottle against the wall, grabbing ao see if he could strike the same spot again.

  “It is assured,” the guard replied, trying to recall the fight. It had sted just a few moments, with the Prince eagerly dang around the half elf, before the half elf struck with such a vicioushat the Prince fell a moment ter.

  “Are you doh your tantrum?” Princess Miza asked, sipping at her wine, noting all the good wine her foolish younger brother was wasting away.

  A knock at the door took their attention, while the guard beside the door excimed. “Prince Morkarai requests an audience.”

  “Inform him to wait a moment with our apologies,” Princess Miza replied, allowing the servants to up the area first, before allowing the Prio step within.

  “I didn’t expeeet you again like that,” Morkarai said, grasping Merza’s forearm.

  “I was defeated by unknown magics,” Merza replied, puffing up his chest. “I am ashamed to say I let down my guard.”

  “It’s no shame to say you lost to Adam. Even I lost to him, though I held back at the time.”

  “You lost to the boy?” Merza asked, the shock evident within his eyes.

  Mnced aside to the Princess, before taking a seat beside her, allowing her servants to pour him a warm drink. “I’ve e to speak with you both about my friend.”

  “It seems you’ve kept many things a secret from us,” the Princess said, before sipping her warm drink.

  “I will tio keep many things a secret from you, but you should be gd that you found that Ray Vonda regnant, otherwise Prince Merza here had almost spoilt my gift to you.”

  “Yift to me is a meeting with the boy?”

  “You are smart enough to uand why it was my gift now, surely.”

  Princess Miza stared deep into Morkarai’s eyes for a long moment. It was already something that Adam had mao meet with her younger sister and mao save her with his alchemy, it was ahing that his alchemic abilities were surpassed by his great fighting abilities, so great that they were, even if he only had a hand in killing Vandra, he had essentially defeated a Cuard, as well as her younger brother, whose strength surpassed the Grandmasters of the ndkin.

  “Are you saying he has the ability to defeat me?” Prince Merza asked, narrowing his eyes towards the fire giant.

  “Even without his ridiculously great defensive capabilities, he beat you so handily, yuards almost killed him. If anything would have happeo him, I would have broken the e, not wanting to befall whatever curse would have taken you.”

  Princess Miza sat up straighter, her eyes glued to Morkarai’s, which met hers as he gred towards her. “I should be gd to say nothing happened.”

  “Yes,” Morkarai stated, feeling the heat within him quickly dissipate. “You should be so gd. I will speak with Adam to make sure your retionship with him is still secured, but I ot say the same betweeionship between your brother and he.”

  “I do not o be so close with a boy,” Merza said, causing his elder sister to gre at him, though he avoided the gre by gng aside towards the wall.

  ‘Just how much do you prize the boy for you to threaten such a thing?’ Miza thought.

  Sorry, I got sick. I'll post up double chapters at the end of the week to make up for it.