Mana: 25 -> 22Spell: Sending

  “Hey dear, we’re i Port. No, North Amber. I hope you’re all well. I love you. Send my love to our adorable children.”

  ‘I am gd you are well. All is well. Virot is growing well.’ Adam could feel his wife’s smirk even through the spell. ‘She loves to smile.’ He could eve grow within his mind. ‘Jirot is taking care of me. So is Konarot.’

  ‘Konarot?’ Adam thought. ‘Is she saying that to make me feel better?’ Adam thought to ask, but he didn’t dare to find out the answer. He grabbed the pillow on the bed and held it within his arms, holding it gently, as though it were a child. ‘I ’t believe I’m missing my baby girl’s first few weeks. I guess I should at least win if I’m going to be missing it!’

  Mana: 22 -> 19Spell: Sending

  “I hope you are well. We will definitely win! Send all our love to our children, and to you of course, and to your daughter.” Adam smirked, something which Sonarot could no doubt feel. It was a shy smirk, but a smirk regardless.

  ‘We are well. Jarot cries much because he misses you. Kirot wipes his face well. We love you too. Good luck.’

  Adam frowned, sitting up on his bed. “Jarot, my boy, how you cry for your daddy? No, what am I saying, it’s all your stupid daddy’s fault.” Adam’s voice was barely a whisper. “Don’t worry, daddy’s going to win, and even if daddy wins, I’ll let you bully me as much as you want.”

  Mana: 19 -> 16Spell: Sending

  “Larot, are you well? Enjoy your time and grow well. I’ll bring a nice on back for you. What would you like? An axe? Sword?” The spell faded before Adam could say much else.

  Adam heard it, like a hiss within his mind, for a moment jolting up off his bed, grabbing his axe. As the moments passed, his eyes darting around the room, he realised he didn’t receive bay word. ‘Oh. Ss? Ss for Sword?’

  It was the day when Jaygak gred towards the half elf, raising his brow.

  “Jaygak.”

  “Adam.”

  “For the first time, I heard Larot speak, and he requested from me, his father, a sword.”

  Jaygak inhaled deeply, and gnced aside towards the amberite onry, each which required piles of gold. She picked up each, eyeing them up. The mert watched the Iyrman, the middle aged woman not suspicious of the Iyrman, but more so she wished to see the sword py of the Iyr.

  Jaygak fiesting two of the bdes, not even having swung them, when she reached for the third. Her eyes he symbol engraved against the ft of the bde, just above the hilt, lingering for a moment. “May I?”

  The mert nodded, and the young icked up the bde. She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the bde, the way it fought against her, the way it gave in to her. She raised the bde, and cut down in front of her with a single ssh.

  “How much is this bde?”

  “Ohousand and two hundred gold.”

  ‘Higher than expected, but within the range.’ “Okay.”

  Adam stood there awkwardly. He had done his best not to spend too much, but now, Jaygak was asking him to spend this much. ‘Am I meant to thank you? What am I saying, of course I should!’ “Thank you.”

  “May we pce a deposit and pay for it after we wiour?” Jaygak asked.

  “You’ll o pay at least a hundred.”

  “I will do it,” Jaygak said, reag into her cloak, tossing out a gem, an amber which had been cut particurly to denote a hundred gold.

  “Alright,” the mert said, snatg the gem from the air.

  “Hold on, shouldn’t I pay for it.”

  “You will not allow me to help buy the first gift for my nephew?”

  “Even if I beat you with a bde, I ’t beat yolden, no, your ruby tongue, Jaygak.”

  Jaygak winked, before the pair made their way to the arena, where the sponsorship preliminaries were currently taking pce. They watched those who had yet to be sponsored spar. Meanwhile, Adam thought about whether they should adventure, but he supposed, sihey had two weeks, they may as well take the time off to prepare.

  “A bde?” Jurot asked. “He should use an axe.”

  “What I do? My son asked for a sword.”

  “Okay,” Jurot replied, allowing the matter to drop.

  “When we bet?”

  “They will opeting at the end of the month.”

  “The st day?”

  “Yes.”

  “So we’ve got about a couple of weeks, a little uo make some gold?” Adam fell into thought. ‘I mean, we do have a lot of money, so, I bet a lht?’

  “How much do you wish to bet?”

  “As much as I . I know you and I are both going to win.”

  “There is always a possibility we may not, so you should bet moderately,” Jurot said, reag out to pce a hand on his brother’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

  Adam smiled. “Yeah, I’ll do just that. Plus, they’re Northerners, but they’re still Aldish, ain’t that right, Jaygak?”

  Jaygak’s lips formed the widest grin, the woman gng aside to Kitool, who remained focused on the sparring in front of them.

  “Should we milk the nobles?” Adam asked. “Let’s try and earn some more moo bet?”

  “Jaygak?” Jurot asked.

  “Okay.”

  Adam gnced aside to Kitool, who usually went to make the deals, but he didn’t mention anything. Instead, he waited for the pair to work their magid magic they worked.

  “You really do have the gift of the gab,” Adam said, raising his brows at how much they had mao earn.

  “Thank you,” Jaygak replied, assuming it meant that she was good with her tongue.

  ‘Sreater Enhanced ons, all with the same specifications, five charges of some fire damage?’ Adam thought about how amazing these ons should be, sidering they had each paid five thousand upfront. ‘Well, that means we have, what, over forty thousand? Forty five, plus my owhousands, plus the couple of thousand from the businessfolk? I also have the money from Dunes and the others too.’

  Adam let out a long sigh, taking out his book, writing down the numbers, and how much he was willing to drop, and how much he would be willing to drop if he ended up losing half, and how much if he were to lose it all. ‘Forty thousand should be… no, no, I should keep a few months in reserve, just in case. Hold on, I could dip into the children’s-,’

  Jaygak jolted up beside the half elf, who had smmed his book shut, while freezing in pce. “Adam?”

  “Jaygak…”

  “Okay?”

  “I’m a fool of a father, so I ’t do anything like that.”

  “What?”

  “If nothing else, Jaygak, I’m a fool of a father. I be a coward, I be a cheat, but I ’t fet, I’m a fool of a father. I ’t do anything that would jeopardise my children, or their future.”

  Jaygak furrowed her brows, w what Adam had thought for him to react this way. “Okay?”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  The days tio pass by, with Adam having no idea the mess he caused ba the business.

  “We ot accept,” Stephen said, sitting before the dark skinned Aswadian. “This was not what romised.”

  “The Enter, upon hearing of yoals, and your assistance across the nd, decided to increase the terms for you, in order for you to plete your task more thhly,” Dunes replied, fshing a pearly white smile.

  “We only brought five hundred gold.”

  “sider it an additional donation for your work, and in exge, just take into sideration the favour we request of you, which is to speak of our business highly during your adventures. If you , please, now and again, speak politely of our business which has allowed you to procure its fine magical onry.”

  “That’s all?” Stephen replied, still uain, for something received for free was more costly than those which were bought and paid for.

  “It is more than enough,” Dunes said. “We have also donated in a simir mao the Order of the Wings, who gdly received such favour.”

  ‘The Order of the Wings?’ Stephen thought, his mind suddenly rag. ‘y is the business making? If they’re involving the Order of the Wings…’ Stephen’s thoughts fell away. ‘The Order of the Wings is ral, though?’

  Adam’s antics, as per usual, were fusing everyone, even those who had no idea that they were his antics.

  As the sponsorship preliminaries tinued, rumours and whispers abound, while Adam made his way towards the estate, followed by Jaygak, who had been requested for by the Grand Duchess.

  ‘Small,’ Jaygak thought upon seeing the building, but she uood the Grand Duchess owhe entire se she could see, crossing even mountains.

  The giant mountain of steel gred suspiciously at the pair, before he stepped aside, allowing the pair within the small estate, which was still rger than many onfolk homes.

  As the oured them tea, Adam gnced around towards the sword once more, which was certainly that person’s sword. ‘What did he say? It was-,’

  “Are you going to wait until the tea is cold?” the Grand Duchess asked.

  “Ah, no,” Adam replied, reag out for the tea, blowing against it before sipping.

  “I have invited you to tell you the Nightval Bde will be participating withiour,” the Grand Duchess said.

  Adam go Jaygak, who raised her brows, as though questioning the Grand Duchess.

  ‘She’s hard to read,’ the Grand Duchess thought, sippiea. “She fought elsewhere, but she will return soon, and will likely take first p the tour.”

  “She’s that strong?”

  “She is the greatest genius the North has ever created,” the woman said. “She is twenty five, and almost, how the Guild would say, Silver Rank.”

  ‘Level 11, then?’ “Oh? That is pretty quick.”

  “She wields great magical items, from her armour, to her ons.”

  “That sounds so scary,” Adam replied, smiling slightly. “However, when it es to magical items, I’m pretty fident.”

  “Do you still io take first?”

  “I suppose I’ll o try a little harder, but…” Adam smiled wider, before wing, feeling Jaygak jab him in the side. “I’m certain it will be quite difficult, but I io do my best, Grand Duchess.”

  “My granddaughter will still wish to take the top four, along with Sir Roseia,” the woman sipped her tea. “You will o work hard, Jaygak.”

  “I will do what I to not disappoint the Iyr, or my siblings.”

  “Your niece, either,” Adam added.

  “I ’t disappoint her, since I’m not you.”

  “It hurts because it’s true,” Adam replied, jabbing her back gently.

  “I will pray you do not face her immediately,” the Grand Duchess said.

  “Me her,” Adam said, uanding that, since she had spoken the words, he robably going to face her first.

  ‘The Nightval Bde?’ Jaygak thought as the pair made their way out, having spent an hour speaking with the Grand Duchess, who had wished to listen to her family’s tales. ‘I didn’t expect her to join.’ The young Iyrman sighed, uanding how difficult it would for her to p the top five.

  She was even more annoyed when more warriors of various Orders and nobility arrived, each of which swelled the tour’s numbers, and many of whom were quite talented.

  ‘Is the world against me?’ Jaygak thought, reag up to her forehead, rubbing it gently. ‘Raygak. Kavgak. Maygak.’ The young woman frowned, before stepping out to train, feeling the crisp air against her skin.

  Adam waited until the bets were finally open, taking the rest of the Iyrmen with him. The bookkeepers each stared at the half elf, who pced down gem after gem, and chests of in front of them, with very specific bets. He he estimated odds of return for each of them to win, and noticed he was at roughly ten to one, just like Jurot, whereas Kitool, who had joihe upper range bracket, was somewhere closer to forty to one.

  However, Adam pced down so much , he shifted the odds freat many of the bets.

  ‘Who in the Divine is this guy?’

  “No, what am I doing,” Adam said, shaking his head, before writing down more plete bets. “ge it to five thousand each, and then I’ll bet some matatch too.”

  ‘Five thousand each?’ The bookkeeper checked the bets, noting that this group bet almost as hard as some of the nobles. ‘What a ridiculous tour!’

  “What?” Jaygak asked. “You bet oo p the top four?”

  “Yeah,” Adam said.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Why am I crazy?”

  “Top four, Adam? Don’t you uand who is joining ment?”

  “Well, there’s me, you, and a couple more strong people, then a bunch of people we beat up.”

  “Adam!”

  “If it’s so difficult, just use my shield, and I’ll just keep using my magiy armour.”

  “Adam!”

  “Plus, it’s only five thousand gold, why are you pining?”

  “Adam!” Jaygak reached out and grabbed his colr. “That , it’s for the business, not for us to py around with!”

  “Jaygak,” Adam said, reag up to hold the back of one of her hands. “You o e top four.”

  “How I do that? Adam, do you uand? I won’t be fighting with magipared to everyone else, I don’t have mu that regards. Great Moon is powerful, but I ’t, I ’t keep up with some of the best.”

  “Then, use Strong Shield, a me borrow your shield.”

  “My shield?”

  “Since yoing to p the top four for your siblings, shouldn’t I also do something for my adorable cousins?”

  “Aren’t you listening?”

  “Jaygak,” Adam said, reag up to grab her shoulder, squeezing it. “The Jaygak that you know, and the…” Adam realised his point made no sense, so he waited. “Show it to me. Show the Jaygak that little Kavgak sees. Show the Jaygak Raygak sees. In this tour, show it to everyohe grandniece of the Fme Brand. Show everyone what it means to be a Gak.”

  Adam about to lose himself to an addi he should never flirt with.

  Gambling?

  No.

  Teasing Iyrmen.