“Why did you offer to assist the Noble?” Jurot asked, eating a fruit as he stared out at the Iyrmen who worked. He wao work too, but being a guest who had been io rex under Sir Merry’s name meant he o act appropriately.

  “He spent so much money oing his revenge against the Elder Wolf, but that robably only half the reason why he paid so much,” Adam replied, taking a bite of a fruit, feeling his tough it was to bite into, and how pin it tasted. ‘Is this a carrot?’ “He probably wao find someo to fight for him iour.”

  Jurot remained silent, waiting for Adam to tinue.

  “Oh,” Adam said. “You’re asking why I wasn’t so stupid to offend him and leave like I did with Sir Harvey?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve spent a little while thinking about it. I’m pretty intelligent and wise, but I don’t actually act like it.” Adam sighed. “I o act my age and not my shoe size, as they say.” Adam couldn’t help the smile which crept on his face, recalling how many teachers had berated their students with the line.

  Jurot remained silent, waiting for Adam to tinue.

  “Right, sorry.” Adam cleared his throat. “He spent that much gold only for us to refuse him. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s annoyed about how I treated him whearted some nonseh me. I have to remember that Nobles in this world are the same as the Nobles of my world. I had to throw him a bone, especially after disrespeg him so obviously. If I didn’t, I’d end up like one of the Knights in the river.”

  Jurot nodded. “I did not expect you to suddenly gain insight.”

  “I’ve always had this insight. I just decided that I kind of care about not dying a third time. Sure, maybe I’ll e back again, but…” Adam fell silent, shaking his head. He tio bite into the fruit, which he was certain was actually a vegetable. “I ’t be silly any more, Jurot.”

  Jurot nodded his head. “When will we leave?”

  “Tomorrow, probably,” Adam said.

  “Then I will inform Sir Merry,” Jurot said, standing. “I will cim my right to fight him before I leave.”

  “Alright,” Adam said, watg as the Iyrmen rushed off to go and speak with Sir Harold. Adam let out a small sigh, smiling to himself. ‘He really is like a little kid sometimes.’

  It hadn’t taken long for word to travel through the small vilge, and sooown had e together, bringing their drinks and snacks. The Iyrmen had been given their own small se, but many of them sat upon the roofs of the huts and s as they would do in the Iyr.

  Adam accepted a small cy bottle full of fruit wine and some fried bread which rinkled with just a touch of sugar.

  Vilgers tapped on drums, and others pyed flutes, revealing songs which had been passed down through the geions.

  Jurot wore his magical shield, but held a simple axe in one hand. “I, Jurot son of Surot, will face you! Though my shield is magical, I will not use its magics against you, Sir Merry.”

  “Do as you please, Iyrman,” Sir Harold replied, holding a sword with both hands, bowing his head. It was also a fairly simple sword, though it had been newly fed. The vilge smith had worked hard retly, as some Iyrmen fought without their magical ons, and Sir Merry would mirror them. He also wore a breastpte over his torso, not wanting t his entire armour to face a young Iyrman, though kept his amulet close to his chest. It held the symbol of Aldnd, a sword surrounded by rays of light.

  ‘Iyrman, please,’ the vilge smith thought. ‘Don’t destroy that armour.’

  Jurot raised his axe, readying himself to face against Sir Merry. He gripped his axe tight, before loosening his grip slightly. He had never expected that he’d be able to face the previous King’s Sword in a fight. His heart thundered in his chest, already excited about the tale he would tell when he’d return home.

  ‘Mother will love to hear this story.’

  “Watch carefully,” Sarot said, taking a seat beside Adam, who had been given a spaear the front, as was his right. “It must be you who repeats the tale.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said. “I uand.”

  Jurot and Sir Harold remained apart from one another. Silent. Still. Their bout had yet to officially begin.

  Sir Harold gripped his bde tighter. ‘I ’t end the bout too quickly,’ he thought. ‘I should allow him his fun for his assistance.’ However, he also uood that fag Jurot with everything he had would be fun for the boy too. ‘I ’t bully my juniors too much.’

  The pair remaiaring at one another, but the winds shifted.

  Jurot, who had been staring at Sir Harold for a long while, bolted fraceful like a panther. As his sandal boot struck the ground, his entire body turned red, his eyes white, and his mouth formed a wild grin of joy.

  As he swung, Sir Harold caught his axe, only to feel how hard his arms strained against the blow. ‘He truly is an Iyrman,’ Sir Harold thought, before he defended himself against another axe swipe of the young man, before bringing some distaween the pair of them, moving as gentle as a butterfly.

  Sir Harold’s bde moved casually through the air, though Jurot felt his hair stand up on end. Though the bde swam through the air, Jurot’s body moved on its own, his shield stopping a blow meant for his head, his axe catg another.

  ‘Damn,’ Adam thought. He watched as Sir Harold deflected Jurot’s axe blows and swung with his own bde, managing to nick Jurot against his body, nding soft blows against the Iyrman’s skin. ‘He really is a monster.’

  ‘Oh,’ Sir Harold thought, managing to nd a few blows onto the Iyrman’s body with his bde, though noted how it felt so tough. Even as his bde fshed white, he could sehat the young maed his assault. ‘You’re one of those.’

  The pair tio csh against one another, but Jurot mao push Sir Harold back with a fierce blow which would have split any normal man’s head in half. The older man had mao catch the blow, though it had caused his arms to scream as fiery pain flooded through him.

  ‘I’m too old for this,’ Sir Harold thought.

  The Iyrmen grunted and hummed to one another approvingly, watg as their young Iyrman fought Sir Merry. Even they were pleasantly surprised to see how well one of theirs was doing.

  “I ’t allow you to beat me so easily, young Iyrman,” Sir Harold ted, his sword filling with magical might, before he swung down to cut Jurot.

  Jurot caught the blow, but the csh had caused thuo rumble from the pair, causing nearby children to gasp, and babies to cry. Jurot’s arms shuddered from the effort of taking the blow. The bde fshed white as it struck Jurot’s side, though the Iyrman had mao step aside to dampen the blow.

  ‘He’s definitely an Expert,’ Sir Harold thought. He could barely believe it, an Iyrman who was an Expert at su age? ‘Is he being groomed freater position?’

  It was in the moment that he thought which Jurot struck true. Jurot had mao ssh across Sir Harold’s side, causing the old man’s leg to twitch. Sir Harold flexed his muscles, trying to not drop to a knee from the axe which had sunk across his leg.

  ‘What a scary young man,’ Sir Harold thought. ‘At this rate, I may very well lose.’ Sir Merry didn’t mind losing to the Iyrman, as he was holding back, but that would be unfair to the young man who had assisted him iurning the bodies, and would no doubt be a terrible story to tell.

  The Iyrmen tio grunt and hum, nodding their heads as they watched. Sarot’s lips were pulled taut as he struggled not to smile. Jurot utting on quite a show, and he fought with the Rot family’s teiques, hoo such a high proficy even at his age.

  “Jurot, wasn’t it?” Sir Harold asked, taking a moment to put some distaween them.

  “I am Jurot, son of Surot!” Jurot decred with a roar, leaping towards Sir Harold, his axe flying through the air.

  “I need a moment,” the retired man ted, raising his hand towards Jurot casually. His amulet fshed for an instant.

  Jurot, who was mid leap, disappeared, his roar id way. It was as though he did .

  Adam blinked, staring at where Jurot had been. He gnced around, noting the vilgers, who rubbed their eyes. The Iyrmen, oher hand, remaiill, watg the se ily, their eyes burning in the sight of the situation.

  Sir Royce raised his brows, taking himself away from his drink for a moment. “Ho?”

  “Do not look away, Adam,” Sarot said. “You must watch.”

  Adam’s eyes stopped looking about to find Jurot. ‘sidering how calm the Iyrmehere must be something else that’s going on.’

  Sir Harold drew his hand across his sword, and following his hand came a gentle white glow. “Jurot, son of Surot, has earhe right to fall uhis sword of mine.”

  ‘You better not mean to death, old man.’ It was a t for a spell, Adam assumed, for Sir Harold’s sake.

  The moment the t was finished, Jurot returned, blinking as he saw the familiar sight of the vilge appear once again. His shield and axe were still in hand, aried t his shield up towards Sir Harold’s bde, uanding what had happeo him.

  Sir Harold’s bde glowed white, but there was something else which had taken to the sword. The bde’s tip and edge were blue and purple, full of great magic. The air around them had ged, revealing the force of the spell. The bde crashed downwards, shattering Jurot’s axe, and it cut across his front

  Jurot, who had spent his time elsewhere for a moment, had lost his rage. It would had assisted in dealing with most of the blow’s force, though he could feel the assault in his mind ring true, causing his nostrils to fill with blood. . Unfortunately, the rest of the damage from the bde had also pushed through.

  The Iyrman dropped to his knees, feeling unsciousness begin to seep into his mind. He parying to call for his rage, trying to earn a few more seds.

  “Adam’s bde,” Jurot said, coughing up blood. “Is stronger.” His eyes rolled bato his skull as he fell forward.

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  After rolling for King's Sword, I realised how broken Adam is with Phantom.