Y03 – 717. To Prepare

Y03 – 717. To Prepare

“No!” Jirot shouted. “You cannot.”

“I have to, my dear,” Adam informed, lifting the girl up to stop her complaining by cuddling her tightly. “I’ll have to leave the Iyr one day to go work for you, my sweet.”

“Kiss!” the girl complained, pouting towards her father.

Adam kissed her cheek and held her close to his chest. He gently rocked her from side to side.

“You did not wish to tell her the day we left?” Jurot asked.

“I can’t just do that,” Adam replied. “I have to prepare them for me to leave. I can’t just leave one day out of the blue.”

Jurot wasn’t sure what the colour meant, but he remained silent. He caught little Jarot pouting up towards his father before he was lifted up and embraced too.

“Daddy is going to work today but he’ll be back like normal, okay?”

“Okay...” Jirot sniffled. “You are leaving, daddy?”

“Not today.”

“Not day?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Adam spent the days enchanting the magical weapons. After six days of enchanting, creating six Basic weapons to auction off, he took the day off to spend time with his family and friends. He played warriors and wanderers with the children and spent time with his companions, many of whom spent their days speaking of their tales to the different Iyrmen families.

“Vonda, you aren’t allowed to steal my children from me,” Adam stated, noting how much time Karot spent listening to her order’s tales.

“Karot, do you like me more than your father?” Vonda asked.

Karot pouted shyly, before shaking his head. “Daddy...”

Vonda smiled, brushing the boy’s hair. “Do you love your grandmother or your father more?”

“Don’t tease him like that, only I can do that,” Adam complained, opening his arms for his son go run into them, embracing the boy. “You don’t have to reply.” Adam peppered the boy with kisses.

“Am I allowed to steal Gurot from you?” Vonda asked.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would not?”

Adam frowned. “How can you do this to me? This is why you have to be careful of nobles, Karot! They’ll steal away your chonky uncle from me!” Adam blew raspberries into his son’s stomach, causing him to cry and squeal.

Vonda smiled, though her thoughts fell to her goal for the year. They would need to head to East Port to confirm the matter. ‘I hope we can spend time in Liferiver...’

Once Adam was done with enchanting so many Basic weapons, he began working for the Iyr, placing the first pluck of the Greater enchantments onto each magical weapon, three at a time.

He worked hard, even up until the day before the group were about to leave. When he returned, he found a set of familiar faces.

“You guys came back at the right time,” Adam informed, approaching the group in the corner.

“We couldn’t leave you to corrupt the children,” Lucy retorted, allowing Jirot to grab onto her horns as they played. Little Jarot sat on Mara’s lap, staring up at the woman while she spoke about their adventures thus far.

“Have you been filled in on the plan?”

“There’s a plan?” Lucy asked.

“There’s always a plan,” Adam replied, taking a seat opposite her. “Just because you don’t follow the plan, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a plan.”

“I always follow the plan.”

“Name one time you followed the plan.”

“I sat with Yellow Turban during the tournament.”

“That wasn’t the plan, that was just very lucky.”

“It worked out in the end.”

“Just because-,”

“I was meant to equip everyone else with magical items too,” Adam replied. “I was more focused on making sure the auctions would pass by smoothly.”

Mara realised she should have expected something that ridiculous coming from his mouth.

“We are all armed with magical weapons that you-,” Jurot began.

“That the Enchanter has graced us with, yes,” Adam replied, raising his brows towards Jurot.

Jurot furrowed his brows, unsure why Adam wasn’t speaking so openly about it considering everyone here knew about his abilities.

“The Enchanter makes such great weapons, don’t they?” Adam asked, kissing Jirot and Jarot’s foreheads.

“Yes,” Jirot replied, giving Adam a thumbs up. “Gweat.” Little Jarot agreed with a nod and a smile.

“That’s right...” ‘I have to be more careful from now on. I can’t have too many people know, otherwise they might hurt you...’ Adam cuddled them closer.

“Nirot also has a magical weapons,” Jurot said carefully.

“Right, but what about Faool? Laygak? Naqokan, Uwajin, and Bavin? I don’t think they’ve gotten one yet.” ‘I should have focused on that instead of the Iyr...’ “I mean, even Nobby has a magical shield.”

“Have you thought of who should command the wolves?” Jurot asked.

“Not yet, no. I was thinking about meeting with various noble families, so I feel like I shouldn’t be the one commanding them. I was thinking you and Vonda help me out with that.”

“Kitool would be best,” Jurot stated.

Adam threw a look to Kitool, who nodded, before he slowly nodded too. “Alright, fair. An Iyrman and a noble priest of the land’s most respected order. That should cancel out how much of an idiot I am.”

“Mara and I can go adventure with the wolves,” Lucy offered. “They can be our mounts.”

“Sometimes, Lucy, I think you might actually be a genius.”

“I am a genius.”

“Keep telling yourself that and one day it might be true.” Adam chuckled, before stopping upon seeing Mara’s glare. “Anyway, that’s a great idea. We can have you three on the wolves since you don’t need to wear armour and they’ll appreciate that.”

“Nirot and Naqokan could ride Kit’a and Jay’a,” Jaygak offered.

“I want all the teens together in their own squad, and actually, I was hoping you would command them.”

“Me?” Jaygak asked, almost taken aback.

“Yeah. You and... Dunes, probably?” Adam thought. “Oh, and then Brittany and Nobby could go with the wolf squad, maybe? You guys won’t have healing, though... unless I put Jonn with you?”

“There would be an additional wolf.”

“Yeah, that’s too many wolves...” Adam thought about it for a moment. “Let’s leave Cloud here, and you guys can take...”

“Mighty,” Lucy informed.

“Wolfy,” Mara stated.

‘How am I not the worst at naming them?’ Adam thought. “Alright, well, sure...” Adam wasn’t sure how he felt about giving up his wolf to Jurot so he could give up his own to Mara. “Okay, let’s lock in the wolf squad, and then say there’s also a teen squad, and we can figure out the rest from there.”

“Not that much of a plan.”

“We can deviate from the plan when we feel like it, like when you went with Yellow Turban,” Adam stated. “Speaking of Yellow Turban, I hope we get to meet Kalid again, what a character.”

“Your obsession with children is becoming worrying, Adam,” Jaygak said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Jaygak, don’t joke about that sort of thing,” Adam replied, his voice never more stern.

Jaygak remained staring into Adam’s eyes, before relenting. “Sorry.”

Adam bowed his head, his cheeks flushing slightly. “I’m only pretending to be a little cringe, but Kalid is genuinely such a character.”

“You were pretending?”

“Mostly.”

Lucy and Mara both tensed up, before their eyes snapped to the side, where they found Vonda and Sonarot returning with the triplets, as well as a basket containing a certain baby.

If they talk about plot progression, does that mean the plot progresses?