Omen: 5, 9

  Adam sighed, staring out into the distahe ground rumbled as they charged towards the group, who had begun to prepare themselves to accept the charge.

  Korin held out his shield, and Sara’s fingers crackled with magical energy, ready to bst out magic. Fred peeked over his shield, his magical bde in hand, at the ready.

  Jurot, Jonn, Lucy, and Mara all waited, far too rexed for the trio’s liking, their ons in hand, their bodies ready t forward to attack.

  “Jurot, do you think they’re having fun without us?” Adam asked, frowning. “They’re growing up way too fast. They’re probably already walking and talking, w about their taxes.”

  “They do not pay taxes in the Iyr,” Jurot said.

  Adam slowly nodded his head. “I suppose you’re right.” He clutched his shield tighter in his left hand, waving it slowly, and raised up Wraith with his right hand. The magical energy flowed through his veins, with a fortable heat, before the magic dissipated into the air.

  “Fireball,” Adam ted.

  Mana 18 -> 15Spell: Fireball8D6 = 22 (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6)

  Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

  Mana 15 -> 12Spell: Fireball8D6 = 22 (1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4)

  A tiny bead of light shot from his axe, towards the approag mass of beasts. They were as tall as Adam while on all fours, bullish creatures, with rge horns which curled out from their skulls. Their fur was thick, hiding their muscur form. A dozen aurochs charged towards them, sn angrily.

  The tiny bead of light passed the first few aurochs, and Adam forced his body to ace more, f the magic through him again, ting the words to the spell. Yet, the aurochs did not hear the words, for an explosion of fire engulfed them, causing them to cry out. Auroch smmed against auroch as another ball of fme engulfed them, causing four of the mighty beasts to fall, and three others to cry out in pain, almost dead from the fire.

  The beasts looked around, fused by the fmes, some toppling over, while others tried to veer away. Unfortunately for them, Adam’s group fell upon them, like ravenous beasts themselves, as they leapt into the fray.

  Jurot leapt towards a wounded auroch, cutting into it with Phantom, expending a charge to kill the beast instantly, its body shuddering for only an instant as it snorted blood, before he spun and struother wounded auroch through its skull, expending another charge. He pulled his axe out, before a shadow engulfed him. Jurot mao flip over an auroch, only for ao skewer his side, punting him away. He grunted as he tumbled against the earth.

  Korin inhaled deeply, striking the auroch which struck Jurot, his bde narrowly grazing its side, but as he cut across a shoulder, his holy magics fshed white hot, causing the auroch to squeal.

  Lucy cut the st wounded auroch in half with her Great Destroyer. Destroyer, Mara’s greataxe, stru auroch deep through its side, almost cleaving it in half, as dark magigulfed the creature, Sara’s magic causing the skin of the creature to fke. Mara turned, quickly, seeing Lucy wrestling with an auroch as it tried to sm her down.

  Jonn and Fred stepped forward to sy another auroch, their bdes pierg through the chests of the mighty beast, causing it to scree pain, before it dropped.

  ‘Oh my Gods,’ Adam thought, shuddering. He held Wraith in hand, hesitating as the aurochs cried out in pain.

  Jurot leapt up onto his feet, inhaling deeply, before looking at the auroch which had mao force him onto the ground. He roared and cut its head off with a single swipe, expending his st charge. Lucy bisected another auroch, while Korin, Jonn, and Fred, killed that st auroch, bdes stig through the muscur form.

  “This didn’t feel that great,” Adam admitted. “Killing aurochs.”

  Victory!AurochsXP Gained: 700XP: 11 300 -> 12 000

  “We will butcher them,” Jurot assured. “They will not go to waste.”

  Adam nodded. Jurot began to butcher the creatures, while Korin began to cook. Lud Sara kept a, while Adam began to summon a tower for them. It was te in the day by the time they had found the aurochs, and the journey back would have taken them deep into the night, and would have been exhausting. Fred, Jonn, and Mara cut the nearby trees to form a fence around, while Adam summoned a tower.

  Mana: 12 -> 9Spell: Adam’s Tower

  He wiped his brow, before beginning to strip out of his clothes, and going off to take a quick dip. Once he was out, wearing his breast pte over his , he went about assisting his panions iing a small fort.

  To one side were the pins, and the other, a forest, one which they were inally going to explore for a few days, but twelve aurochs were just too good to pass up, especially sihey were headed the group’s way.

  “What’s up with the sed pot?” Adam asked.

  “It’s so I put some pero,” Korin said, revealing a small pouch. “A pepper from ion.” He tio khe dough he was w, while a rge metal sb was currently heating up to his side.

  “Ah,” Adam said, looking over to his panions. Most of them would have been fih it, but he wasn’t sure about Jonn or Fred, sihey were Aldish. “Fair. Though, I could always fvour the food to be less spicy.”

  “You will be uo magic away the burn,” Korin said.

  “Ah.”

  Once evening fell, the group had fiheir preparations, and sat together as Korin poured them eae of the soup.

  “If I had knoere going to e across so many aurochs, I would have ihe porters,” Adam said.

  “We will o leave much of it behind,” Jurot said. “Unless we make a sled.”

  “ we make a sled?” Adam looked to his brother, who narrowed his eyes.

  “We could.”

  “The’s make a sled,” Adam said, motioning his head to Zeus. “He’ll be able to pull along quite a bit, sidering he’s a giant elk and all.”

  Jurot nodded. “I will make it in the m.”

  “Are you dochering?”

  “No. It will be done soon. Much of the meat will be lost. If we had salt and barrels, we could keep more.”

  Adam began to tear into the ft bread, when Korin and Sara brought their together in prayer. Adam paused, before pg the ft bread down, and he began to pray too. “Baktu, please accept the deaths of these fis.”

  Ohe prayers were done, with Jurot, Lucy, and Mara already eating, Adam began to eat too. He dipped the ft bread into the soup, managing to grab some meat with his ft bread, before eating it.

  “If we had some butter, onions, and other spices, not those which are so fiery, then I could have made something far more delicious,” Korin said, chewing slowly.

  “I mean, it’s pretty good,” Adam said. The soup was quite salty, but the auroch meat was cooked through well within its own fat, though there was very little of it. Thankfully, they had some spices which Korin had shared, those which were not as hot as the pero pepper.

  “How much are the spices?” Adam asked.

  “Two gold for the pouch I showed you,” Korin said.

  Adam whistled. “Damn.”

  “It would cost no more than a few silver from where we are from, but this is not Aswadasad,” Korin said, shrugging. “The pouch I would like to buy, with other spices and cloves, is sold for five gold.”

  “Damn.” Adam whistled. “You’ve shared a lot of your spices with us, and I appreciate that. Make sure you grab some party funds to pay for any more that you might want.”

  “It is a pleasure for us to share our spices,” Korin replied. “There is no need for this.”

  “We’re not so poor that we ’t afford some spices,” Adam said. “ing to East Port did cost quite a pretty penny, but you always shared your spices with us. I already get enough heat in the south for being a damn leaf ear, I don’t need people hearing that I’m a cheap sod too.”

  Korin raised his brows at the slur, gng awkwardly towards Sara, before looking back to Adam. “Okay. Thank you.”

  “Good stuff.”

  The pair were still unsure of Adam, but sidering he was casually o them, they didn’t think too deeply about the topic.

  “Mind if I have some of the food with the pero pepper?” Adam asked.

  Korin handed him some meat which had been cooked with the pero pepper. Adam bit into it, feeling a familiar heat strike his lips. “Oh! Oh?” Adam tilted his head, blowing through his lips to cool them. “Have we had this before, Jurot?”

  “Dunes cooked food using pero,” Jurot said. “Lanarot did not like it.”

  “Ah!” Adam slowly nodded his head. “Makes sense.”

  “Dried pero sts for years,” Korin said. “I still have some from when we left.”

  “Unfortunately, gree does not st quite so long,” Sara said. “Only a year at most.”

  “Yes, but gree is not as good as pero.”

  “Gree is much better than pero,” Sara retorted.

  “Not even Lady Arya thinks so, otherwise why would she not make it st as long?”

  “It is because gree is too wonderful to st so long, otherwise it would be perfect, and nothing is perfect.”

  Adam chuckled. “What’s gree like?”

  “It is wonderful. It is fvourful, and hot, and brings a wonderful sensation to the lips,” Sara said.

  “Jaygak enjoys gree,” Jurot said. “It is very hot.”

  “Ah,” Adam said, his eyes falling over the Devilkin. “Fair.”

  “It is just that Korin ot handle heat.”

  “I handle heat!” Korin replied.

  Sara said something in the Aswadian tongue, but Adam swore he could hear the word Aldishman. Korin opened his mouth wide in shock for a moment, before closing it quickly. He replied with a whisper, and Sara raised her brows.

  “Hey,” Adam said. “If you’re poking fun at Aldishmen, you’re not allowed to. That’s my thing, isn’t it, Fred?”

  “Yes?” Fred replied, a hint of fusion in his voice.

  Adam chuckled. “Alright, well, make sure you all use the baths, if you want to. I’ll it between people. Sihere are eight of us, we’ll also take one hour shifts. Zeus and Hades will keep a too, so we don’t have to worry about being alone. I would prefer it if I have seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, so the st shift or the first shift, if it’s not a problem.”

  “Fred will take first watch,” Jurot said. “Korin will take sed, and I will take third.”

  “Alright,” Adam said, not needing his brother to expin anything. Adam gnced between the members of the group. ‘Oh. More than half of us have darkvision?’

  Thus begins XP farming!