7. The Terrible Twosome

7. The Terrible Twosome

Adam couldn’t taste his meal any longer, and so quickly ate. There was a morsel of doubt which he had consumed with his food, forming a knot within his chest. He excused himself quickly, and Jurot, who had seen the darkness encroach on the half elf’s face, let him go.

‘Adam son of Fate, your business is your own.’ However, he understood he had his own business too.

Adam retired to bed, falling onto it. He did not pull the blanket over himself, instead embracing the coolness of the air, staring at the ceiling.

[What are you thinking about?]

“Life,” Adam said. “In a sense.”

[What about life are you thinking about?]

“The last time I went to the Iyr, it was to bring Jurot home. I was invited by the Iyr because of his death, and assisting in guiding him home. This time I made a bit of a mess with our first interaction, but more importantly... I’m not really wanted in the Iyr, am I?”

[Do you regret Jurot living?]

“Bell, you sure say some stupid shit for a system.”

[...]

“I’m glad he’s alive, but...” Adam sighed. “This isn’t a time loop. Things have changed. There are things that I know and things that I don’t know. Jurot looks a little older, and his forehead is tattooed. I assume it’s something about being an Iyrman, but last time the pattern was only on his blanket and his shield. I assume the Iyr is still near enough the same place, but what if it’s changed? What’s all this about elves and dwarves, and elves and orcs? Where’s James? What about George and Fotti? What about Iromin? Since when did he carve statues?”

[Did he carve statues last time?]

“... I don’t know.”

[...]

“That’s beside the point.”

[What is the point?]

“The friends that I made before. Can I make them again this time? Will Entalia be willing to trust me in this life? What about Joti?” Adam reached up to his face, covering his eyes. “Back when I made a deal with Belle, he said I’d be the one to die. But...” He shut his eyes tight. “Since this world is so new, doesn’t that mean...”

[...]

“The world that I knew. The people I met. Aren’t they dead too? So am I the only one whose alive?” He pressed his fingers tight against his skull, marking his skin red under his fingers.

[...]

Adam eventually calmed down, sighing. “How much XP do I have?”

[240XP.]

“Oh? That’s quite a lot for one day. You said I could spend experience on acquiring new features? How much is Tricks?”

[200XP.]

“Oh. I should have bought that before I bathed.” Adam shook his head. It would have made drying his clothes an absolute breeze, and he didn’t need to dash back to his room. “I’ll buy it.”

XP

240/240 -> 40/240

Spell Acquired

Tricks

“Stabilise, Guidance, Flame Bolt, and Tricks.” Adam sighed. “I’ve covered all the bases.” There was still a knot within chest, but he did feel lighter. “I’ve had quite the day today...” He closed his eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Bell.”

[Good night, Jack.]

“...”

When he awoke in the morning, he donned his armour and strapped his blade to his side. He clutched at his arcane focus, which was always within arm’s reach somewhere. His heavy steps revealed his presence to the adventurers in the morning.

Many had already finished their breakfast and chosen their quests, others went elsewhere to relax and spend their coin, rather than alongside other brutish and sweaty adventurers.

Jurot waved at Adam, sitting in the corner and mid way through his second breakfast. “Adam son of Fate, come.”

Adam had nothing better to do, so he grabbed a bowl of porridge and a few boiled eggs, before sitting down beside Jurot. He salted and peppered his eggs, and slightly salted his porridge. “Morning,” Adam said.

“I am an Iyrman,” Jurot said. “Half and half is fair.”

“I should mention that yesterday I dropped my sword, but it wasn’t the only thing which dropped.” Adam winked.

Persuasion Check

D20 + 4 = 17 (13)

Jurot narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded. “That is true.”

Adam chuckled. “Then, let’s sign the contract and get to picking our first quest.”

The pair signed away their names to the template contract, where Tom first wrote their names in the party members section, had them both sign it, and then confirmed the signing. “Congratulations, you’ve formed a party. Do you have a name in mind?”

“Half Elf and Iyrman,” Adam said as a choke.

“Iyrman and Half Elf,” Jurot replied.

“It was a joke,” Adam said, looking to Jurot. “There’s no way we’re calling ourselves such a boring name.”

“There is no need to think too deeply about our name,” Jurot said. “We should spend less time thinking of a name, and more time picking a quest.”

“A name is what we go by. You have pride in the name Jurot, don’t you? Ju of the Rot family, Jurot son of Surot. Isn’t this the same?”

“In a way,” Jurot admitted.

“Then let’s pick something which embodies us both. Something like...”

“Muscle and Elf.”

Adam almost choked on air. “No.”

“Elf and Muscle?”

“Still no.”

“...”

“...”

“This is much harder than I expected.”

“Something cool, like...”

“...”

“The Two...” He had a word he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure he wanted it to be associated with him. ‘This really is harder than I expected.’

Tom watched the two of them think of a name right in front of the reception.

“Immortal Duo,” Adam said.

“Immortal Duo?”

“We will be immortalised once people hear of our deeds, our stories.”

At first, Jurot had thought perhaps Adam had a bigger ego than he, but as he heard the reasoning, he slowly nodded along. “Our stories will be told for generations!”

“Until the end of days,” Adam said, smiling.

Tom had gone through quite some harsh training to become a guild worker. He had to learn how to use a variety of weapons. He recalled having fought Paul until he was half dying countless times. He was beaten to a pulp repeatedly. He had to learn hundreds of rules to recite back at the drop of a pin. Due to all his training, he was able to stop his face from cringing at their terrible name.

“I’ll write that down, shall I?” Tom asked, keeping his voice even, not giving anything away.

“Yes,” the pair replied.

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