518. Quest I

518. Quest I

“You did not have them pay into the party funds?” Lady Sara asked.

Adam eyed up the Aswadian party, which was in its own little corner, eating breakfast. He shook his head slowly. “No.”

“Why did you not ask it of them?”

“Ultimately, they’re not a part of our group, and they won’t have access to our party funds. Yourself and Korin, you’re Dunes’ friends, meaning you’re my friends. If I need to buy a diamond worth three hundred gold coins to bring you back from the dead, I’ll do that without any questions asked. For those guys? I’ll bring them back, but I won’t be happy about it.”

“You would revive us from death?”

“If I get to you quickly, yes,” Adam replied.

Lady Sara was beginning to understand what Dunes had explained to her.

‘Adam will say things you might doubt, but he is very much like an Iyrman. If he says ridiculous things, you should believe them to be true, and life will be so much easier.’

Adam was Adam.

“Are you adventuring?” Adam asked the Red River Squad.

“Yes,” Rose replied. “We plan on questing within the Cherry Wood.”

Adam looked at his party, with Jonn and Dunes heading out that day. “Would you mind if Jurot and I come along? I didn’t have anything planned today, and I think Jurot might be a little bored too.”

Rose wasn’t sure what Adam was trying to do. “You want to quest with us?”

“Yeah. It would be a good idea to quest together in the Cherry Wood before we trust each other with our lives.”

“How will we split the loot?” Rose asked. It was the most important question, the question of pay. There had been plenty of incidents in the past in which parties turned against another party, or even their own companions, for the sake of gold.

“Equal shares,” Adam said. “If there’s anything special about the loot, we’ll discuss it and come to an agreement once we’re back at the guild.”

Rose nodded. It was one thing for them to make a deal in the middle of the wood where no one would be able to help them, and another thing to return to the guild and have them oversee the deal. An Iyrman’s presence, especially one who was Bronze Rank, brought them great comfort.

“Before we go, let’s go do that,” Adam said, smiling towards Jurot.

Jurot nodded.

“Do what?” Rose asked.

Rose wasn’t entirely sure why they were at a bakery, but she followed them inside, enticed by the smell of fresh bread.

“I recognise that armour anywhere,” the chubby baker said, smiling towards the Iyrman and the Half Elf. Her dark eyes beamed at the pair as they entered the bakery, while she reached out to grab some jam buns.

Jurot placed down a gold coin as Adam tried to reach for his own pouch. “Bread.”

“Jam buns too,” Adam said, shaking his head. He let Jurot pay this time, aiming to pay the next time. “Whatever else we can spend eight silver coins on. You can keep the rest as a tip.”

“I’ll accept your tip kindly,” she said.

Adam winced, before realising she was actually talking to Jurot, causing him to smile. “We’re planning on heading to the tournament in East Aldland.”

“The Noonval Tournament of East Aldland?” Pam asked, her hands working on wrapping up the bread the pair had bought.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Adam replied.

“Do you have a sponsor?”

“We know a guy,” Adam said. “We’ll see if he’s up for sponsoring us.”

“I’m sure you’ll both do well,” Pam said. “Place a bet for me won’t you?”

“What’s the bet?”

“A gold,” Pam said.

“Just a gold? Jurot here will earn you hundreds.”

“I don’t think we have that kind of coin to spare,” she admitted. “Why don’t you put ten gold coins for me?”

“I’ll put your gold coins on Jurot, then,” Adam said, before patting Jurot’s back. “Why don’t you chat with Pam, let her know about...” Adam tried to remember anything of note they had done since the last time they had met Pam. He turned to Rose, motioning his head out, taking the basket full of bread with him. He offered the jam buns to the others around.

“Where is the Iyrman?” Zishan asked, staring at the jam buns suspiciously.

Adam bit into the jam bun, tasting the sweet fruit within. “Talking to the baker.”

“Is he not coming with us?”Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

“Oh, she’s actually a Princess?”

“Yes, though she does exert her powers much.”

“You’re allied with her?”

“We are an Order which she had created when she came to power, and we have assisted in keeping the land safe ever since.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Cool?”

“It means amazing, but in a...” Adam thought about how to explain it. “Awe inspiring, or so?”

“Ah.”

“We adventurers with a guy who was from Bronze Dragon. Is that a similar Order?”

“Yes, it was made by Veisswing, but he has distanced himself from it,” Rose said.

“Why? The Order started killing minorities?” Adam chuckled at his joke.

“Yes.”

Adam stopped, his face dropping into shock, a sheepishness overcoming him. “Oh.”

“They slaughtered Devilkin nearby their Order. Men. Women. Children. They slaughtered them all.”

“Was that recent?”

“No, it was over two hundred years ago. Almost half their ranks are Devilkin, and their current leader is a Devilkin too, Kal Zora.”

“Kal?” Adam asked. “Why do I know that name?”

“It is not a name, it is a title, like Sir.”

“Ah.”

“It is also the name of a Blakvatr,” Jurot said. “Kal Blakvatr.”

“Ah! The guy with the sword?” Adam asked.

“Drakkenslayer, the original blade of the Blackwater family.”

“That was it.”

“There is a civil war within Aldland,” Rose said. “Which side do you support?”

Adam glanced around, as though looking for someone listening in on their conversation. “Personally, I’m a fan of the previous King’s Sword. He was a nice old man. In fact, Jurot fought him, and got to face against a couple Fifth Gate spells.”

“Yes,” Jurot replied, almost smiling.

“I hear the King of Aldland hates Elves too, so...” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “Though, I’m not from this land, so I don’t care.”

“I thought you were not from this land,” Rose said.

“Oh yeah? How’d you gather that?”

“You call our land Aswadasad, it’s true name,” Rose said. “The Aldishmen have another name, Aswadia.”

“Ah, right, I did notice that. I just use whatever phrase the Iyrmen use.”

“Are you close with the Iyr-,” Rose began to ask, before Jurot stopped, raising up his arm.

The earth ahead of them pulsed and shifted, causing the trees to rock, before they fell. The stones and earth pulled upwards from the earth, as though gravity had reversed, before forming a large, vaguely humanoid shape.

“Urka!” Zishan shouted, magic crackling between his finger tips as he stepped backwards, ready to flee.

Rose stood in shock, coming face to face with such a creature for the first time in her life. For her and her party, this was certain death. “Oh, Noor.”

The earth around them continued to shift as they drew their weapons, and Adam and Jurot donned their shields, two more creatures forming as the earth shifted. Rose and her party stepped backwards, ready to bolt away from the impending death which swing down on her party, like the scythe of Lord Sozain.

“I’ll take the one on the left,” Adam said, feeling the tingling of Wraith gripped within his hand tightly.

“Okay,” Jurot replied.

A fight? Within 20 chapters? Is it true?