“If you are still looking for workers, the children I am with, they are talented.”

  “Right?” Adam furrowed his brows towards the old man.

  “They will grow well,” the old man assured. “They are their parents’ children, each who were quite talented. If you are willing to take them in and nurture them, you will not lose, and I will assist your business.”

  “You’ll assist me?”

  “I am good at medie.”

  “You are?” Adam asked, eyeing him up. “Are you a doctor?”

  “I have great medical abilities.”

  “Not a doctor though?”

  “I did not take the exams, but I am very good with medie. I have cured many, and I have deyed the death of many.”

  “My wife’s pretty good at medie, being who she is, but I would like another doctor. Although, you’ll o prove yourself at that sort of thing, but I’m not sure if I’m willing to potentially endanger someone for that.”

  “I am good at fighting too.”

  “Fighting?” Adam gnced down towards the scimitar at the old man’s side. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “How strong are you?”

  “I am strohan the royal ohin your pany, and the mermen guards,” the old Aswadian said fidently.

  “You know who he is?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “We almost crossed paths.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We almost crossed paths.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “I was tasked with fag another.”

  “I feel like it’d be too dangerous for me to ask.”

  “Yes.”

  “So you’re strong…”

  The old Aswadian bowed his head once more, feeling the gazes of the nearby Iyrmen on him. It was awkward for the Iyrmen to stare at him, sidering they were likely to have heard of him, but with his current appearance, he was fident they would struggle to pce him, and he was certain he could defeat these youngsters.

  “You’re pretty suspicious, and we’re currently going through a turbulent time…” ‘Is this some kind of test for me?’

  “I only ask this of you because you keep pany with Iyrmen.”

  “You trust the Iyrmen?”

  “Yes.”

  ‘Seriously…’ Adam wasn’t sure if he was saying all the right and wrong things to mess with him. “Do the children know magic?”

  “One of the children’s mother riest.”

  “Was?”

  “She has passed.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that…” Adam frowned. “Are they orphans?”

  “They are sidered to be orphans now.”

  ‘Seriously, you ’t give me straight answers?’ “Is there aer you?”

  “Yes.”

  “How strong are they?”

  “I deal with those who chase after me.”

  “You ’t do so when you’ve got to look after children?”

  “Yes.”

  ‘Damn.’ “Alright, well I’m a sucker for this kind of thing, so I at least take you and the children to the fort. I’ll sider them VIPs, very important people, so no one dare to y a hand on their head, and once we get to the fort, we’ll figure you out.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “You may call me Bil.”

  “Alright, sure.” Adam held out his hand. “Wele aboard, Bil.”

  “Thank you.” Bil shook Adam’s forearm, allowing the half elf to feel the bracers hidden underh his clothing.

  Jaygak watched as Bil left, returning back to his room to allow the sailor to go free. “He’s dangerous.”

  “Yeah, I gathered that much. Still, he has a bunch of kids, and it looks like they’re in trouble.”

  Jaygak let out a gentle sigh, but said nothing, not since Adam had already stated the children were VIPs. “Even if I long for blood, I’ll pray our journey goes smoothly.”

  “Yeah, here’s hoping.”

  The town they arrived at ter in the evening was small, smaller than Red Oak, but still provided them with ample fort within the inn. More figures made their travels upon the ship from the town, though none brought with them little children, and none gave out the aura of death Bil did.

  “Hmm, hmm,” the old man hummed, his long hair trailing down like tendrils of white. He sipped away at his drink, still humming as the day tinued, leaning over the railing lost in his thoughts.

  ‘Looks like he’s about to fall off,’ Adam thought, taking his pce beside the old man, staring down at the sea.

  “Water is so beautiful,” the old man said, in his heavy at.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “Terrible pce. Sea. Harsh, cruel mistress, they say, yes?”

  “That’s what they say, yeah.”

  “I have lover in o. Merman. Hmmm. Octopus, yes?” The old man raised his hands and waved them about as though he had many arms. “Tentacles, very nice.” He gave that kind of look only an old dirty sea dog could give.

  “Yeah, man, I got you,” Adam replied, gng aside quickly, smirking.

  “I think about o. I hear it call me. I live very long life, Noor bless me.”

  “Do you have any family?”

  “No.” The old man shook his head with such vigour, one might have thought he was offended by such a question.

  “Friends?”

  “No.”

  “What about your merman lover?”

  “No, no, no, no. Many years.” He waved his hand, dismissing the thoughts as a lifetime ago. “She much family now.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know.” He pat his heart gently. “I know.”

  “You should go check. You could see her again. Maybe she has no family, and she use those tentacles on you again. Maybe she has family, maybe you could be friends with her again? Not sure what Lord Sozain will say with me trying to stop you from whatever you’re trying to do but…” Adam held onto his amulet.

  Trick: Guidance1D3 = 1 (1)

  Persuasion CheckD20 + 5 + 1 = 15 (9)

  The old man shrugged his shoulders, but said nothing more, returning back to his drinking and his humming.

  A horn bsted during their jourhe rain pitter pattering onto the deck as a sailor yelped, barely dodging a grappling hook. The hook slipped onto the railing as the mermen began to hoist themselves up.

  Adam sighed, donning his shield, and grabbing his axe. ‘Alright.’

  “Be careful, Adam,” Jaygak said, inhaling deeply as she felt the cool rain against her skin. “Remember. No armour.”

  “Yeah,” Adam replied. ‘At least it isn’t the Twilight Month.’

  The h and h filled the air as the mermen, each slightly taller than the average sailor, climbed onto the deck, their snapping jaws cttering in the air. The cttering quietened as a trident pierced through one, before the Cuard kicked the merman off, while the sailors readied themselves, ready to attack.

  “Hey,” Adam said, stepping beside the Captain. “There’s only a handful of them, so we’ll hahem.”

  “You must be careful,” Captain Rais said. “They are dangerous.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said, hearing the g of the Cuard who were handling several of the feral mermen at once.

  “I will fight the big one,” Jurot said, his entire body fshing red hot.

  “Okay,” came the response from all three of the figures.

  Battle OrderD20 + 1 = 20 (19)

  Jurot’s hot red rage filled his entire body as he charged forward, approag the rgest of the mermen. A pair of tridents almost struck his side, but found their tridents against sword and staff. Jurot’s axe cshed against the rgest merman, who snarled with delight, but then shock as the pain rocked through their mind. The merman reached up, a mortal mistake as an axe split through their skull.

  Jaygak’s bde tore through a merman’s side as a trident cttered against her shield, before her shining bde pressed another back, the young inning her bde over her hand as the mermareated towards the railing, gng towards their side to notice the rest of their panions quickly overwhelmed.

  Kitool struck a merman down with her staff, crashing against the merman’s side, before she mao drop kiother off the side of the deck, the merman flipping over the railing, dealing only minor damage to the ship as they fell into the water.

  Morkarai’s bde cut through a merman almost through, the two halves dropping beside him as he plunged his bde into another merman, whose trident mao slip through to his side, cutting through his clothing, but the merman fell forever still.

  The Cuard, with their jaws flexing from the annoyand shame that he they were charged to protect had taken a blow, pierced through the mermen viciously with their tridents, kig them off the end of their tridents, smming their tridents lightly against the ship.

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)(Fnking)D20 + 11 = 21 (10)D20 + 11 = 26 (15)Hit!Mana: 25 -> 24Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 19 (2, 2)(2, 4)19 damage!

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)(Fnking)D20 + 11 = 21 (15)D20 + 11 = 26 (16)Hit!Mana: 24 -> 23Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 27 (2, 5)(5, 6)27 damage!

  Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)(Fnking)D20 + 11 = 12 (1)D20 + 11 = 26 (15)Hit!Mana: 23 -> 22Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 23 (3, 4)(2, 5)23 damage!

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe (Advantage)(Fnking)D20 + 11 = 13 (2)D20 + 11 = 17 (6)Hit!Mana: 22 -> 21Ability: Divine Smite2D6 + 2D6 + 9 = 26 (3, 5)(4, 5)26 damage!

  “Lord Sozain,” Adam called out, his heavy steps approag the feral mermen, who forced the sailors back with their long tridents. “Please accept these sacrifices in py family.”

  While the others had each siwo, or three mermen by their lonesome, there articur young man who, with every swing of his axe, sughtered a merman. His steps were heavier than his heart, as Adam sliced through the mermen as though carving through tender chi, his axe slig through the ribs of the first merman, a back swing cutting the neck of the sed, before he split the third’s skull, and the fourth, who held up their trident to defend himself, and had tried to turn to flee, lit from their left shoulder to their right hip.

  Adam ihe salty air, feeling the geter patter of rain against his skin as he closed his eyes, barely hearing the retreating cries of the mermeeeled his heart, feeling a siess rising within his gut, but he remained within the bnkness of his thoughts, allowing the darko apany him.

  “Aren’t you going to e out?” Karza asked, seemingly speaking to the air, but a moment ter, lightning crackled from her mouth as the shadow of a serpent loomed over the ship, shifting it slightly while a beam of water struck against the pair of Cuard. The lightning bsted the serpents side, causing it to vulse for a moment, before it retreated into the depths, fleeing with the handful of mermen who had mao survive the ill timed attack upon a particurly fortunate ship.

  Victory!XP Gained: +500XP: 8 900 -> 9 400

  Quest plete: Proteg the ShipXP Gained: +100XP: 9 400 -> 9 500

  “You should have kept the mermen at bay if you were just going to run,” Karza grumbled, crossing her arms, gng aside towards the rest of the figures.

  The Captain had mostly guessed Karza was a dragon, but after it was firmed, he bowed his head with a hand over his heart. He shouted something in Aswadian, and the sailors quickly threw the bodies overboard, not wanting t the ire of the mermen for keeping the dead, nor the various Sea Gods who may take the opportunity to curse them for not returning the mermen back to the sea.

  “Oi,” a figure called, wearing a tunic of scales, his long bck hair kept at bay by the turban he wore, his long beard long and wispy. He wielded a scimitar at his side, and the shield of alcohol iher. An amulet of silver dangled over his chest, engraved with the symbol of the waves, a general amulet of the sea rather than any particur deity. He shouted something in Aswadian, and the Captain replied.

  The Sea Priest gnced aside towards the sides of the ship and grumbled to himself, the sailors pig up the pieces, another holding onto the Priest so he wouldn’t fall, while the Priest ted the words to his magid began to mend the broken bits of ship together, somehow managing to reect even the railings together, and as much of the damage caused by the ons as he could.

  ‘Damn it,’ Adam thought, clouded by a storm of worries as he thought about the death he had brought. ‘Damn it.’

  As the ship tio sail from town to town, the noonval sun tio beat upon the half elf heavily, though the sailors had fixed up a small shelter for the half elf upon the deck, all the while he cooled their water for them.

  “He is not stingy with his magic,” a sailor said approvingly, ing the deck with a rag, while another checked the health of the various ropes.

  “He is fae, they are queer.”

  The sailor bowed his head, the logipletely sound to him.

  Adam sighed, drinking his cool water while in the shade, uo face Vonda while the stench of death g to him so retly. Adam winced slightly as a bird fluttered towards the shade, a bird ner than his palm, a pale shade of blue, almost white, with its head a deeper blue, while its beak was bck.

  “Hello,” Adam called out.

  The bird’s head tilted towards him.

  Adam reached up to his amulet, his free hand f symbols in the air while he ted the words to a spell.

  Mana: 25 -> 24Spell: Goodberry

  The ten berries flowed into his hands, each slightly rger than a grape, before he held o for the bird in his open palm. The bird half hopped towards his hand, before nibbling against the berry.

  “Seatit,” Captain Rais said. “Hard to see.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Good omen.”

  Adam he rest of the sailors were gng their way towards him and the seatit. “Yeah?”

  “Very good luck. Last time I see, ten, eleven years ago, She me letter. I helped protect the royal family on o. Paid for my grandson’s wedding.” Rais smiled a long smile, almost revealing his teeth through his beard. “Great fortune.”

  ‘The whipsh of emotion I’m having is going to take years off of me,’ Adam thought, letting out a sigh. “So, are you my good luck charm?”

  The seatit nibbled on the berry.

  I 't wait for this seatit o appear again!