Omen: 4, 15

  The knight stood at the entrance of the Adventurer’s Guild, waiting for Adam and his panions to finish with their m preparations. She had been told to wait, especially for the Half Elf, who enjoyed his baths.

  “Hoo!” Adam groaned, stretg out his ned his shoulders as he stepped out. Adam eyed up the heavily armoured knight in front of him, nodding his head at them. “Appreciate you waiting, thanks.”

  The knight’s eyes fell across the group. The Half Elf, who wore his puthral breastpte, and a scarf around his head, and three Iyrmen, one of whom was a Devilkin.

  “I shall escort you now,” the knight said, before turning on her heel and marg away. Two city guards brought up the rear as the guard brought them to a carriage, with twe warhorses ready to pull them along. The coat of arms on the carriage was that of a small wave within a rge circle.

  The knight opehe door for them, and offered her hand. Adam motioned a hand to his panioering after them. ook her hand, but Adam thanked her, before he sat down within the carriage, beside Jurot.

  “Ooh,” Adam said, feeling the cushion under his bottom. “Nice.”

  The knight hopped onto her own horse, and the guards stood behind the carriage as it set off towards the Littlesea estate.

  “Did you know his name was Littlesea?” Adam whispered.

  “Yes.”

  Adam smirked and shook his head. “No wonder he always said he was of East Port.”

  “It is a good name,” Jurot said. “He desds from the iport family.”

  “That right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, damn,” Adam said. “What happeo that family anyhow?”

  “They were forced to step down,” Jurot said.

  “Why’s that?”

  “They tried to rebel against Aldnd, but they failed,” Jurot stated as matter of factly as he always did. “They were spared, but were forced to take the position of Barons Littlesea of East Port.”

  “Well, damn.” Adam replied, his brows raised. “Why did they rebel?”

  “It was during a time that the royal family’s influend power waned.”

  “Did that happen a lot?”

  “More than once.”

  “Fair.”

  Soon the group arrived at the Littlesea estate, which spread wide and far. Adam assumed at least a few hundred people must have lived here, most of them servants. It was separated by walls and fences, and was beside a few other ates. At least a dozen or so guards patrolled around the area, while dozens of other servants went about their work.

  The knight offered her hand to assist the group out, but ook her hand. Adam nodded and thanked her, before she began to lead them along the long path towards a rge manor, which could have easily housed a hundred Littleseas, but no doubt only housed a handful and their many servants. They eventually veered off to the side to a smaller manor, which would could have houses thirty or so Littleseas, but no doubt only housed just ohere were other manors and small estates which y nearby.

  A beautiful young woman stood at the front of the manor they were brought to, her dark hair slicked back, cut shorter than typical. She wore a small hat atop her head, and carried at her side a dagger. Her eyes were a deep grey, which gred at the group with a deep iy.

  “Greetings to Adam, Jurot, Kitool, and Jaygak,” the young woman said, bowing stiffly at a particur angle. “Please, follow me.” She turned swiftly and almost bounced away into the estate.

  It was about as Adam expected, with various plinths which held the busts of all manner of important people, some out of marble, others out of bronze and silver. In the rge entrance hall, a suit of armour osed in a strike, while a stuffed wolf y u helplessly. As they tinued, Adam he other furnishings, and the painting hanging on the wall, great ses of history, most false, others less false.

  As they passed through an archway into a dining room, Adam saw the form of a familiar face, one which was mangled in the noble’s youth. Freshly trimmed bck hair, and striking blue eyes, the young form of Sir Landon, who was in his mid twenties or so, sat at one side of a table. The table was a rge semi circle, though Sir Landon sat at the side with a ft edge. Two knights stood oher side of him, both familiar to Adam. Adam’s eyes lingered on one of their swords.

  “Fate’s Golden,” Sir Landon said, motioning for them to sit. “It has been some time.”

  “It sure has,” Adam replied, taking a seat opposite him. Jurot sat to his right, pg the crimson shield onto the table. Iyrmen could carry ons wherever they pleased, and this exteo the estates of nobles.

  “I didn’t expect you all to e to East Port so soon,” the young nobleman said, pausing.

  “Well, you know.” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “We thought about visiting the rge city, for one reason or another.”

  “Do you pn to quest nearby?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Adam said.

  “Have you broken your fast?”

  “A little,” Adam replied, assuming he meant if they ate breakfast.

  “Bring us some wine and cheese, and the fruits of East Port,” Sir Landon directed.

  “Nice pce,” Adam said. “You said you were the… fourth son?”

  “The third son.”

  “Ah,” Adam replied, nodding his head slowly. “I liked the trepie the, what do you call it?”

  “The entrance hall?”

  “I thought there was a fancier name for it.”

  “The grand foyer.”

  “That was it, yeah. I liked the delier too. Were they sapphires?”

  “Sea sapphires.”

  “Are they different to nd sapphires?”

  “They’re worth more.”

  “Of course they are.” Adam chuckled. “Right, uh, I told the children that you generously donated some tris.”

  Sir Landon recalled how much he disliked Adam, his lips frowning slightly.

  “What?” Adam asked. “They really liked the tris.”

  “I’m sure they did.”

  “It was a wise decision to make, like graciously allowing us to keep the twilight fox core,” Adam said. “We remembered the favour you showed us, Sir Landon.”

  “You’re willing to listen to my request?” Sir Landon asked.

  “Let’s see how good your wine and cheese is,” Adam replied, smirking slightly.

  The servants brought the wine and cheese, a ptter of at least thirty different kinds of cheese, and three bottles of wine, each identical to one another. It was the butler who poured them their wiarting with Sir Landon, before moving to Kitool, who sat to Adam’s left, and then Adam, then Jurot, and finally Jaygak.

  Adam sipped the wine, sweet and smooth. He bit into the various cheeses, though there were some far too pu for him.

  “Salifi gold?” Jurot asked, motioning to a cheese.

  “You know of it?” Sir Landon asked.

  “I ate some when I was a boy,” Jurot said, cutting himself a tiny piece, chewing it slowly. “It is as good as I remember.”

  Adam cut a thin slice for himself, before chewing on it. It was more powerful thahought, the fvour attag his mouth with fury. He coughed, chewing it more quickly, before swallowing it. He g Jurot, who was eating a small portion about as thin and wide as his pinky nail. Adam sipped on his wine, before sipping some water, and tasting a more manageable amount of cheese. The fvour was still great, but this time did not assault him so harshly.

  “You know what? That is some Gouda cheese,” he said, before chug. He elbowed Jurot gently. “Get it? Gouda?”

  “No,” Jurot replied.

  “It’s like the name of the cheese.”

  “Gouda cheese?” Jurot asked.

  “Yeah. Gouda cheese.”

  “There is no such cheese I have heard of,” Jurot said, who had eaten hundreds of cheese.

  “Oh.” Adam blinked. ‘Is it named after a pce? Oh.’ “The joke’s funnier if you… it doesn’t matter.” Adam sighed, sipping more wine. Adam picked at the fruit in front of him, tasting how sweet each was. “It really was a good joke.”

  “I am sure it was,” Jurot replied.

  Adam tio pick at the fruit. “So, what do you think, Jurot? Is the wine and cheese good?”

  “They are good,” Jurot firmed.

  “Your hospitality is wonderful, Sir Landon,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “I appreciate the fact that you didn’t ask us to remove our ons too.”

  “I do not believe you are so foolish to attack me in my own home after being paraded through the city,” Sir Landon said.

  “You shouldn’t uimate how stupid…” Adam paused, furrowing his brows. “You’re right, of course, Sir Landon.”

  Sir Landon wasn’t sure if he should give so much faith to Adam. “Have you e to ehe tour?”

  “We’ve been thinking about it.”

  “Would you be willing to enter under our name?”

  “Perhaps. What are the bes of entering under your name?” Adam asked.

  “You would be uhe name of a noble, and would be awarded certain privileges that e with that fact. If you would e into any minor trouble, my name would shield you. Of course, if you certainly did do something wrong, my name would take a hit, but I’m sure it is in our best i for us to both remain on our best behaviour in a mutually beneficial retionship.”

  “We were pnning oering with our ons with the purpose of promoting a business we are a part of,” Adam said.

  “Which business is that?”

  “We work for an enter who works closely with the Iyr,” Adam said. “They made our ons. You’re familiar with their work, I’m sure.”

  Jurot pced Phantom onto the table, causing his knights to tense up for a moment, but they rexed.

  “Wasn’t this axe your on?”

  “A on made by the Enter, but another was made for me, and this was fou within Jurot’s hand,” Adam said, carefully.

  Sir Landon furrowed his brows. “I am quite familiar with your Enter’s work. It is fine work.”

  Adam smiled. “It sure is.”

  “I would like to offer yourself, Jurot, and Kitool my name,” Sir Landon said. “I would have offered more, but three is best. I will pay you fifty gold for each win in the main tour, and you may keep all the prize money you earn. I would also like you to assist me after the tour.”

  “How do you want us to assist you?” Adam asked.

  “I need your assistance, all your assistance,” he said, gng towards Jaygak, “in sying a few creatures. I am engaged, and wish to offer my betrothed something of great value.”

  “Romance, eh?” Adam sighed. “You really know how to pull my heartstrings, Sir Landon. Alright, well, we’ll fight for you during the tour, and we’ll try and assist you after, but we might have some other matters to attend to. I ’t spend too long adventuring, I o return to… do some business in duskval.”

  “As long as I have your word that you will assist me,” Sir Landon said, signalling to his butler, who pulled out a scroll from her pocket, which was far too small to house such a scroll.

  Adam read through it, realising it had been written by the Adventurer’s Guild st evening. Adam ha to Jurot, who sed it, aur back to Adam. Adam gave him a look, but Kitool and Jaygak didn’t seem bothered in the slightest about reading it.

  “Alright,” Adam said, signing the dot with the name of the party.

  “Before you go, my knight would like to face you in bat,” Sir Landon said. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

  Adam eyed the knight up, gng down at his sword once more. “Alright.”

  A familiar, mangled fabsp;

  Am I bringing baPCs to flesh them out?

  It couldn't possibly be...

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