Adam returned back to the inn, The Bck House Inn, built of stone painted bck, and iy of a Thousand Colours, su inn stood out like a mole upon clear skin. The building was warm, and the soft st of the noon’s meal filled the air. Though certain meals could be bought, the main meal was always whatever the house decided one should eat, not that Adam seemed to mind, the fluffy ft bread sprinkled with cheese and herbs was a delight.

  “Much better than pe, isn’t it?” Adam teased Elsie, who smiled shyly, befoing back to chewing her bread. ‘We’re spending a lot of money moving about. Thankfully we sold off a bunch of ons on the way, but maybe I should sell more to the Duchess before we go? I’d love to meet Yellow Turban before we go, too, but I probably shouldn’t be doing too much, in case I actally coething up.’

  Jurot remained silent as he ate his food, gng aside to Kitool and Vonda, exging a look with the Iyrman. ‘I should call for Iyrmen to assist us.’

  The doors of the inn opened, with a particur Iyrman, adorned in only a breastpte, stepped in the inn. She carried a basket full of bottles, and upon her lips she carried the wide smirk of mischief.

  “What are you pnning n-,” Adam said, before pausing, noting the heavily armoured figures behind her. “Well, well, well!”

  The half dragon’s brass scales shimmered uhe noonval sun. She snarled as she ehe inn. It was also obvious she was from the east, since most half dragons and drakkens from the north had white or silver scales.

  “I heard you needed help,” Vasera said, approag the group, noting the gazes upon her and her group of Oathsworn. Her brass scales tio shimmer even as she stepped into the inn, her horns covered with bits of and scales made of steel. She reached out to shake Adam’s fng aside towards Vonda, the woman nodding her head. “gratutions.”

  “Thank you,” Vonda replied, a gentle smile on her face.

  “Are you guys free for business?”

  “We’re open for business, but we’re too expeo be free.”

  “What is it? A hundred gold upfront, a hundred gold monthly?”

  “ you afford it?”

  “If you’re willing to receive the payment a little ter, ohe business has cashed in it’s…” Adam paused, furrowing his brow. ‘Didn’t I make… isn’t there a bunch of fire swords being aued off?’ “If you’re willing to be paid once we’re at the business, we deal with whatever other payments you need until then.”

  Vasera groaned quietly, falling into thought. “ you pay the seven hundred gold upfront?”

  Adam gowards Kitool, who nodded. “Seems we . I haven’t been keeping track of the gold retly, so I’m not sure how much we have, but we should be able to do that much. If nothing else, eak with the Duchess and figure something out.”

  “If you pay the upfront fee, we’ll allow you to dey the rest of the payment for a short while,” Vasera said, dropping herself with the group, gng across the rge group. She owards Morkarai, narrowing her eyes towards the fire giant. ‘Is he…’

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Golden Savage.”

  “You too,” Vasera replied, a wild grin appearing across her face, before her eyes darted to the half dragon beside the Prince. “Whose half spawn are you?”

  “I’m not a half breed,” Karza replied, grinning wider.

  “You’re not a Gryn, so are you a Drunda?” Vasera asked as if she didn’t know.

  Karza’s smile faded a touch, but she bowed her head. “You’re an awful way from home, aren’t you?”

  “Home is where the gold is.”

  The pair cackled lightly at the phrase, a joke between those on blood.

  “How have you guys been?” Adam asked, gng aside towards Rook.

  “We’ve been living as we have,” Rook replied, shaking his head, sighing lightly.

  “That bad?”

  “Vasera’s been causing trouble when she’s not hired so we’ve been taking work swiftly. We haven’t worked this month, though, since we’ve been w so hard.”

  “I’m sorry to cut your holiday short.”

  “We were running out of anyway.”

  “Running out of money? You?”

  Rook shrugged his shoulders, the dark skinned fellow fshing a cheeky smile. He reached up to rub his bald head. “I’ve been taking to shaving now, and the creams I buy, they are worth their weight in gold, though I pay silvers for them.”

  “I was going to say, you look good bald, though that might just be because you’re a handsome devil.”

  Rook’s lips twitched slightly. “I do not have horns. Perhaps if I did, I wouldn’t have shaved.” He tio rub his hand all along his smooth head, before he leaned ba his chair, gng across towards the other patrons. “Jera.” Rook motioned with his head, and their panion, Jera, made his way to go pay for their stay.

  “It’s my good luck that you guys are about. I was thinking about hiring some meraries to assist us on the way back.”

  “I see you’ve adopted more children,” Rook said, before his eyes fell to the dark skinned Aswadian. He nodded his head to the older man, who replied back with a nod of his own head. ‘And who is this?’

  “Not yet. I guess we’ve sort of adopted Elsie, but…” Adam shook his head. “We’ll see.”

  “I should have expected that you needed our help because of children.”

  “It feels weird when you say it that way.”

  “Your queerness astounds me. If we thought you were queer in that way, we would have tried to cut you down.”

  “If I was queer that way, I’d have cut myself down long ago,” Adam assured. “Anyway, are you guys pnning to settle down soon, or what?”

  “Not yet.” Rook chuckled, before the group found themselves talking more over the wine Jaygak had bought.

  Later in the evening, while the group were all s up as they rexed, they spoke over snacks.

  “We should procure a wagon and a carriage,” Jaygak said, calg the amount they’d o spend.

  “ we afford it?”

  “It’s the fourth month, we afford it, the aus have passed,” Jaygak replied, estimating the amount they could access within their bank. “Are you sure you don’t wish to know.”

  “Do we have enough to return with no worries?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s all I o know.” Adam let out a long sigh.

  “We should take the path through Eagle Wing,” Jurot said.

  “Eagle Wing? Alright.”

  “ we visit Life River first?” Vonda asked.

  “Sure.” Adam smiled, reag out to squeeze her haly. “So how many wagons and stuff should we buy?”

  “We should buy enough so that none of us o walk. We will be able to move quicker since we have hired the Golden Savages.”

  “Why is…” Adam blinked. ‘Oh yeah.’ “I’ll leave you and Jurot to do that, since Jurot knows about wood.”

  “Yes,” Jurot replied, nodding his head, gd his brother could be wise in times like this.

  A few days ter, the group left the city. Adam sat at the front of the carriage, pulled along by Zeus, while Vonda and Mara remained within the carriage’s walls. Bil sat with Kitool and Jaygak, along with the seven children in their own wagon, pulled along by the steed Jurot summoned with his statue. Jurot himself sat within the cart, which had repced their previous cart, and allowed Morkarai to keep other items within his ring. The ohe rest of the people, save for Vasera and Rook, who rode at the front and the back of the caravan respectively upon their magical steeds.

  ‘Let’s hope nothing bad happens,’ Adam thought, only just realising how many hydras he had e across from his path to and from Life River previously.

  The forest around them covered much of their journey forward. Adam sometimes froze in pce as he dispced himself into his familiar, Hades, who flew around above them and circled the air, keeping an eye for any threats.

  The evening sun fell upoown. Built around a rge river, surrounded by miles upon miles of farms, and rather than the high, dull grey stone he was used to, the wooden fences around the town rippled from the river like waves.

  The wooden buildings were of a myriad of sizes, made of all manner of wood, and in all manner of styles, though none dared to grow too tall, for hope that the rge stone fortress, which made its home upon the isnd in the tre of the river, could overlook their homes with its warmth. The rge river, which split the river in two, was ected only by a bridge, which circled around the fortress.

  The fortress was the rgest structure withiown, at least five stories high. The isnd itself was rge, a vilge of its own, and the only bridge of the town wound its way around the isnd, not quite eg the isnd to the bridge. Even now, thousands of people travelled across the bridge.

  The guards at the front were a pair of young men, one in his early twehe other in his early thirties. They both wielded a staff in hand, while carrying smaller clubs at their side, the pair wearing scale tunics which were slightly te for them. Their cloaks were piogether by a token the size of one’s palm, the engraved rose withioken providing more prote thaheir scale.

  “Hah! Now that’s a rge caravan!” The younger guard’s eyes beamed brightly. “What is it that you trade?”

  “Magical ons,” Adam replied, nodding his head towards the guard.

  “That purple armour…” The uard gnced between Adam and the rest. ‘Why dhe armour?’

  “I’d love to chat, but we’ve some business with the Order of Life’s Rose,” Adam said, reag down for the gate fee. It was one gold per adult, a silver per child, and a gold per animal and cart, from what he recalled.

  “Is this your first time in Life River?” The uard eyed up the entire caravan, before his eyes returned back to the young man in purple armour who was dealing with his s. “We’ve no gate fee.”

  “I know, but I like paying anyway, it’s the least I could do,” Adam said, handing over a ft twenty gold. “It’s not enough, but hopefully it’ll be enough.”

  “What business do you have with Life’s Rose?”

  “The Ray wishes to return.”

  “What?”

  “Ray Vonda,” Adam said, motioning his hand to the carriage. “She wished to return to Life’s Rose.”

  The guard narrowed his eyes, gng towards the carriage. “There’s a Ray in the carriage.”

  Adam hopped off the carriage, before knog on the door. It opened, with Mara peeking out towards the half elf, before she pulled away to allow Vonda to step out. She wore her full habit, c her almost head to toe, and the pair of holy symbols rested against her chest.

  “Ray Vonda,” the guard said, tipping his helmet, the other quickly doing the same upon seeing Vonda’s face. “We didn’t know you were ing.”

  “I apologise, I should have sent word ahead.”

  “It’s no bother at all. I’ll send along word, shall I?”

  “There is no he Order is expeg me,” Vonda assured.

  The guard wasn’t sure if this roper protocol, but even if Vonda wasn’t who she said she was, this was far above his station. “As you say, Ray.”

  As the carriage passed through, the guards gnced between one another, and they informed their higher ups of the situation.

  “It’s most likely the real Ray,” the Captain replied, gng over towards the caravan. “The man in puthral is her husband.”

  “Her husband?”

  “The Seventh Hope came back from the wedding earlier this year.”

  “I didn’t know he was her husband,” the guard admitted, hoping he hadn’t offehe fellow.

  “I’ll follow them to make sure they’ve made it just fihe Captain, a woman ihirties, donned her cloak of white, and stepped out, carrying her woode her side as she trekked through the town, following behind. She caught Rook’s eyes, the merary bowing his head, and the Captain bowed her head iurn.

  “I should have asked the Ray to pray for me.”

  “She looked a little sick,” the younger guard replied.

  “Don’t be silly, Ray’s don’t get sick.”

  “Suppose you’re right. Musta been the light.”

  “Yeah,” the uard replied, gd he wasn’t the only one who had realised the Ray had looked a little off. ‘Musta been the light…’

  Progress? This quickly?