65. Deals to Be Brokered

65. Deals to Be Brokered

When night came, the tree being knelt before a bush, which glowed, before it was full of blue flowers, which glowed gently under the moonlight.

“Is that the Blue Moon Rose?” Adam asked, breaking the awkward silence which had hung in the air over the past few hours.

“Yes,” it said.

“It’s not going to be poison, is it?” Adam asked. “I know I was threatening you and all, but I am going to assist in defending your forest when need be.”

“You will?” It stared at Adam.

“Well, yeah,” he replied, simply.

Even Jurot threw a look to Adam, recalling Adam’s conversation about the forest and the tree.

"Then I will replace it,” it said.

Adam blinked.

The tree did nothing to the bush.

“Was that a joke?”

“Yes.”

Adam couldn’t help himself as he threw his head back, laughing wildly like a hyena. He slapped his knee, trying to stop himself from crying. “Holy! I didn’t expect a tree to tell me a joke! You know, treeguy, you aren’t so bad. What’s your name, anyhow?”

“I have no name,” it said.

“Then let’s call you Oakson.”

“I am not an oak.”

“What are you then?” Adam asked. He knew very little about wood.

“Death ivory,” the three replied.

“Death ivory?” Jurot asked, suddenly perking up. “I had never seen death ivory before.” His eyes were beaming at the tree.

‘Right, he’s a wood nerd.’ “Let’s call you Big Ivory then.”

“Very well,” Big Ivory replied.

Adam sighed, staring at the roses. “That was much easier than I expected,” Adam admitted.

Jurot stared at the roses and smiled. “When we return...”

“When we return?” Adam asked.

“We will have a great story to tell. I will regale mother of the tale.” Jurot nodded.

“Right,” Adam chuckled. “Don’t forget all the parts with me, alright? I was a bit of a hero, wasn’t I?”

“I will not forget,” Jurot assured.

“Isn’t this my first true Iyrman tale?” Adam said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“You have been in a tale before, but this is the first where you did much for the Iyr,” Jurot said. “The first as a nephew of the Rot family.”

Adam flushed slightly, filling with embarrassment. “Make sure you make me sound cool, alright?” The half elf grinned wide, thinking about what he had done. ‘I was pretty heroic, wasn’t I?’

They went to sleep, the forest somehow the perfect temperature to sleep, slightly cool even with their blankets. They didn’t keep watch, though Big Ivory did leave them alone to sleep, as to not antagonise Lucy with his presence.

Omen: 10, 10

Adam yawned as he awoke, sleeping through a most restful night. “Good morning,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

Spell: Tricks

He cleaned himself off right away with his spell, and stretched out his body.

“Morning,” Lucy said, rubbing her eyes. “Did you just use magic?”

“Yes.”

“Did you clean yourself up?”

“Yes.”

“Quickly, servant, heal me at once,” Lucy demanded from the boy.

Adam blinked at her.

“Please,” she added.

“Good enough.”

Spell: Tricks

Jurot was currently training, going through a routine of callisthenics, and swung his axe a few times. Adam decided to join him, though they were quickly interrupted by a whisper floating on the wind.

“Some more guests have appeared,” Big Ivory’s words whispered along the breeze.

Lucy grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.

Adam exchanged a look with Jurot before they followed the path formed by the parting trees.

Adam whistled as he saw the soldiers, easily double the amount he had seen previously, though they were on the other side of the forest this time.

The soldiers here wore chain armour, just like those he had seen from the Kingdom, though they wore beautiful cloaks over their backs. Some were red, and a handful were a dark purple.

“What are you doing here, strangers?” A soldier stepped forward, raising a hand towards them to stop them from coming closer. “This forest has been claimed by Shen Khal.”

“First it was a King, and now it’s a Shen Khal?” Adam glanced over to Jurot.

“You think too much, Adam.”

“I’m a half pessimist and half realist,” Adam replied, smirking. “It’s part of my heritage.”

“If they do kill Okvar and the others, the Iyr will respond. It is up to Elder Peace if there will be a full war.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Adam said.

“Me too.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the Iyrmen at work,” Lucy said.

Adam shook his head.

The Iyrmen did not return that night.

The Iyrmen did not return the night after.

With each passing day, Adam grew more and more nervous. His insides were churning.

Though his life was currently idyllic, training in the morning, bathing in a lake, and then talking or thinking until the day passed by.

“It seems your chief has arrived,” Big Ivory said, his voice drifting along the wind.

Adam’s gut was still heavy as he heard Big Ivory’s voice. It had been roughly a week since he had last heard of the other Iyrmen. He hoped the Chief had better news.

The pair made their way out, coming to the edge of the forest, where they saw a little over a hundred Iyrmen, with a few familiar faces.

“You’ve held down the fort well,” Argon said, reaching out to shake their forearms.

“I didn’t expect to see you,” Adam admitted, also greeting the other three Iyrmen.

“Where is my brother?” Argon asked, noting that the other Iyrmen who had been sent out with his brother weren’t about.

“About that...”

“They have not returned,” Jurot said, bluntly.

Argon let out a soft hum, narrowing his eyes. He was smart enough to put the pieces together, though Tazwyn rested a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

Adam glanced at the Chief, and noted the devilkin beside him, whose forehead held a familiar pattern. A purple tilted cross, with hollowed hexes at the side. She also wore robed of the Iyr, with a staff at her back.

Then his eyes fell across the other Iyrmen, realising something. Argon and his cohorts were the youngest Iyrmen about. His eyes then fell to the hundreds of soldiers, who were tense.

Elder Ivory, who was watching from deep within the forest, mused on their thoughts. ‘I see now why Adam showed little fear.’

“We will continue to discuss the matter later, Duke,” the Chief said. “We must first settle the facts of the matter with our own.”

The Duke kept his head held high as he spoke to the Chief. “I hope to hear a reasonable response soon, Chief.”

The Chief, and the devilkin beside him, walked to the pair. “Jurot, Adam,” he greeted the pair, ruffling Jurot’s hair, and placing a strong hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I see you are well.”

“We were safe within the forest,” Adam said. “I’m so glad to see you,” he said, glancing across all the Iyrmen again. “All of you.”

“Do you have ill news?”

“Perhaps.”

“It seems they have come across trouble after they sent the message,” the Chief said, glancing to the devilkin beside him.

“We had a little trouble with the southerners too,” Adam said.

“What kind of trouble?”

“They said the Iyr couldn’t claim this land, and that the two of us should have surrendered to them until the issue was sorted out. They were open to coming to blows.”

The Chief’s eyes fell to Jurot, who nodded his head.

“They asked you to surrender?” the devilkin asked.

“They did,” Adam said. “I’m Adam, son of Fate, nephew of the Rot family.”

The woman bowed her head, holding out a hand to take his. “Elder Peace,” she replied, simply.

Adam blinked. “Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elder Peace.” He bowed his head respectfully.

“Let us discuss this matter within the forest,” Elder Peace said.

The Chief left for a moment to inform the Duke that they will return to speak.

“We should settle our affairs before you leave,” the Duke said.

“We will settle our affairs once we settle the matters with Aswadasad,” the Chief said.

“If you need assistance, we are willing to help,” the Duke said. “It is only right we should help our neighbours.”

“You would ask an Iyrman to share their prey?” the Chief replied. “It is Iyrman business, and must be settled by Iyrmen. We will need to first meet with the original Iyrmen who were within this forest, and then we can discuss the matter.”

The Duke retreated from the matter, allowing the Iyrmen to leave. Even if he did outnumber them ten to one, he wasn’t foolish enough to aggravate the Iyrmen when so many of them outmatched even him.

The Iyrmen then disappeared into the forest, where they were taken to the grove where Lucy waited with Mara.

The Iyrmen stared at the pair of demons for a moment, and Lucy stared at them in return, noting all the older men and women.

“You must be the Iyrmen!” she said, excitedly. She leapt onto her feet, staring at all of them in awe.

“Yes,” the Chief replied.

“Oh, right,” Adam said, having forgotten her for a moment. “We should probably explain everything.”

Click banner for Patreon and come join my too!

WARNING: Next chapter is hype.