413. Horizon I

413. Horizon I

“Why do you always take so long in the bath?” Lucy asked, rubbing her stomach which was full of meat and potatoes.

Adam sighed as he sipped his milk, relaxing within the Adventurer’s Guild, surrounding the noisiness of the adventurers. “There’s nothing like a nice, long, hot bath after a week of travel.”

The group had managed to arrive peacefully to Red Oak, even while walking past the boundaries between the two forests. The Guards had been surprised to see so many Iyrmen, but had welcome them in eagerly.

“We’ll leave around noon,” Adam said, patting his own stomach. “I want to go to the market and buy some stuff before we leave.”

“Why?” Jaygak asked.

“I want to buy gifts for the children.” Even after spending a week away, Adam couldn’t help but think about Lanarot and the others, and what they were doing without their amazing Cousin.

“They will be awkward to carry with us,” Jaygak said. “We should buy them upon our return.”

Adam narrowed his eyes at Jaygak. “Who are you and what have you done with Jaygak?”

“It’s not hard to be wiser than you, thankfully.” Jaygak smirked, relaxing back into her chair.

Adam remained with his eyes narrowed towards her, before the group finally made their way out of Red Oak. Adam was glad he had told Sky to return, otherwise he would have had to summon a tower nearby again, and if he had summoned it too close, he’d have to deal with the Guards again.

Omen: 8, 20

It was noon the day after they had left Red Oak when they spotted him. He was an older man, adorned in light clothes, even in the season of duskval, which was cool, with a chilly wind, and rain every so often. The outfit he wore was similar to that of the Iyrmen, though the stranger was no Iyrman, for though his forehead was tattooed, it was a collection of four dots in the centre which formed a diamond.

Adam couldn’t quite place it, but the stranger felt so familiar to him, something which most of the group shared. As the large group approached the stranger, Adam called out to him. “Hello there!”

The old man stopped, his eyes falling across the entire group. He was utterly confused by the scene he saw before him. ‘Iyrmen, obviously.’ They weren’t the first Iyrmen he had met, and he had passed by a few on his current journeys. However, there were a large number of them, more than he had spotted at one time.

‘Are they training the youth?’ He stopped the thoughts, as there were other matters to think about. There were others with the group, a pair of Priests, and two which caught his interest. Two of them smelled weird, but in two different ways.

There was also that. That thing which he recognised from years past, which he hadn’t expected to see here, especially not with someone so weak.

“Young woman, why don’t you hand over that sword?” the old man asked, extending out his hand. He stared directly at the Devilkin, who wore Stormdrake at her side.

‘Ah,’ the old man thought, the temperature falling back to normal. Suddenly, it all made sense. ‘I should make sure.’ “By whom?”

“Some old guy named Strom,” Adam said, wondering if he should say more.

‘Strom?’ The name sounded familiar, but of course the Lord of Storms would call himself Strom. “Yes. That would make sense.” The old man bowed his head. “Very well, then. I must ask you to excuse me.” If that man had given it up, then there was nothing he could have done, not unless he wanted to hear about it for years to come. He wasn’t sure he could handle hearing all the nagging, and there was also the matter of taking a blade which most likely belonged to the Iyr. ‘I should have let the matter go when I thought of it.’

“Sure,” Adam replied, noting how the air had changed. He rubbed his finger along Wizard’s Axe, which was currently in the form of a ring around his finger, and sighed with relief. ‘Sheesh. Here I thought we were going to fight.’

“However, I am going to have to ask the other young lady to surrender,” the old man said, politely.

“Which young lady?” Adam asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“The Demon Lord.”

There was a sudden movement as Jurot and Adam both stepped forward, ahead of Lucy. It was then Adam understood the severity of the issue. It was one thing to recognise Stormdrake’s obvious brilliance, but it was another thing to catch sight of Lucy and know that she was not only a Demon, but the Demon Lord.

“What are you talking about?” Adam asked, almost willing Wizard’s Axe into axe form. He kept it at bay, since if he summoned his axe, then this would have gone too far.

“I speak of the Demon Lord,” the old man said, raising a finger and pointing it to Lucy.

For a moment, Lucy felt something seize her heart, feeling a heavy pressure against her as the old man pointed towards her, but the moment passed. She had felt a deadly pressure for just a moment, her instincts telling her that this old man was not good news.

“Young man, why don’t you step aside?” The old man asked, noting that Adam had taken the lead, and it seemed the others of the group looked to him. He, the stranger from another world, was in command of this group, which also possessed two Iyrmen who were greater in power?

“Lucy is my friend,” Adam said, his fingers twitching still. One arm had reached back for his shield, and he gently rubbed along the cool edge. ‘Who the hell is this guy? Just how fearless can one guy be?’

The old man remained quiet for some time, trying to understand how to navigate the conversation. The seconds ticked by, with the tension in the air growing thick. The old man was still pointing at the Demon Lord, a girl not even a century old.

His tattoo grew warm, and a scream pierced the air.

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I didn't realise this was the next chapter, and I also didn't realise that it was going to be the last chapter that I owed. What wonderful timing.