Adam groaned as he y before Sonarot, a pillow against his lower back. It was early evening, and Adam and Shikan had spent close to six hours w on cutting down trees, managing to cut down six trees.

  “How is it that my Nephew is always so hurt when you take him?” Sonarot asked.

  “He has been spending too much time enting and not training,” Shikan said. “He will be fier a good night’s rest.”

  Sonarot sighed, though it wasn’t as though he was wrong. The rain began to trickle into the Iyr, and so the families retired to their homes. Sonarot kept looking out the window as she knitted.

  “Lanarot,” Adam said, the girl crawling over him repeatedly like he was some kind of obstacle. “You must get revenge for me.”

  Lanarot babbled as she tio crawl over her brother, before finding her favourite cube and pying with it, sug against it and tossing it, alternatiweewo.

  Eventually it was time to feed Lanarot, so Adam sat up against the wall, with the girl on his p as he fed her some softly boiled fruit.

  There were two light knocks on he door, followed by two harder knocks. Quickly, the woma out of her chair and opehe door. “Wele home,” she said, quickly embrag her son.

  “Mother! I have returned!” Jurot decred, embrag his mht, letting her kiss his face all over. Then he gnced over to Adam and Lanarot. “I have returned.” He smiled wide, puffing out his chest. “We have sin a Greater Elder Wolf!”

  Adam remained sitting down with Lanarot on his p, still feeding the girl. She was eating from his fingers, though sometimes picked up a piece for herself to eat.

  Jurot remaianding, smiling down at his siblings, all the while Adam ignored him.

  The silence became awkward as Sonarot watched what ying out, w what Adam nning.

  “Hmph,” Adam eventually said. “Look who came crawling back, Lanarot. It’s your brother who didn’t eve say goodbye to us.”

  “I said goodbye to Lanarot,” Jurot replied, nodding his head.

  “You see?” Adam frowned. “He’s admitting to the fact he didn’t even say goodbye to me. Then he went to have fun and adventure all without me!”

  Lanarot bit onto the fruit and nibbled it, before looking up at Jurot. She stared up at him for a moment, befoing back to eating her fruit.

  “How much did you guys even make for the party fund?” Adam asked, still not looking at Jurot.

  “One hundred gold,” Jurot said. “We earned close to a thousand gold on our adventure.”

  “Do you hear that, Lanarot? They went out without me and didn’t even mao make as much as me. What a bunch of no good…” Adam realised he couldn’t curse. “No gooders!”

  “Ooh,” Lanarot babbled as she bit into another piece of fruit, tossing one half of it.

  “Yeah, right?” Adam replied, as though she wasn’t just babbling.

  Sonarot pced a hand on Adam’s head, brushing his hair. “Will you not greet your brother properly?”

  Adam couldn’t fight against his Aunt who always treated him so well. “I would, but my legs still hurt so I ’t stand up.”

  “What happeo ys?” Jurot asked. There were very few things which had ever harmed Adam to su extent.

  “Work,” Adam said, seriously, as though he had faced a nightmare.

  “He cut Stormwood with Shikan,” Sonarot expined.

  “Stormwood?” Jurot said, surprised. He hadn’t expected that they would reveal the existence of the wood to the Half Elf so quickly. “Were we gifted some?”

  “Wele back, you damn wood nerd.” Adam reached out his hand, and Jurot shook the Half Elf’s forearm. “So what’s this about a Greater Wolfy thing?”

  “Greater Elder Wolf,” Jurot said, smiling wide. “We-“

  “Jurot, before you tihere is someone you should meet,” Sonarot said.

  “Yes?” Jurot asked, before someoackled him from behind.

  “Cousin Jurot!” Nirot shouted, hugging him tight.

  Jurot skid forward from the tackle, but then looked back towards his cousin. “You have returned.”

  The pair embraced tightly for a long moment, before Nirot pulled back. “Jurot, this Half Elf here says he is your brother!”

  “He is,” Jurot said. “This is Adam, son of Fate.”

  Nirot hadn’t expected to hear it from his lips. “He is?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did he bee your brother?”

  “I will tell you the stories tomorrow,” Jurot said. “Let me speak of the ret story. If you hear it after, you will not appreciate it as much.”

  “They call him a Dragon Syer,” Nirot said, staring up at her cousin.

  Jurot’s lips twitched.

  Nirot stared up at him, full of shock. ‘A Dragon? Really?’

  Jurot then revealed something from his pack, revealing a dark wood.

  “What is that?” Adam asked, leaning in to it.

  “Deadwood?” Sonarot asked.

  Adam’s eyes went wide with arm. “How did you mahat?”

  “Deadwood Minor,” Jurot said. “From a vilge.”

  “Is it like Deadwood?”

  “It is close to Deadwood.”

  Eventually Jurot sat down and began to speak of the tale of his most ret adveh the others.

  “That’s quite the tale,” Adam said, raising his brows. ‘What kind of creatures are those? Damn! I want to meet them too!’

  “Travellers from Hakor?” Sonarot said. “ Waterveil?”

  “Do you know of them, mother?” Jurot asked.

  “I believe there is a tale which mentions Hakor and Waterveil from the Yah family,” she said. “Do you pn on heading to Hakor?”

  “I do not know,” he admitted, but revealed the dagger which he had been given. It was made of bronze, and was intricately detailed. “This was the dagger which had been given to state that I am a friend.”

  Sonarot smiled. “You have done well.” She brushed his hair, kissing his forehead.

  Lanarot crawled beside Jurot, staring up at him. She reised him and the tattoo and giggled, before crawling onto his p.

  Jurot picked her up by the side of her chest under her armpits, and stared into her eyes. They were his mother’s eyes, and now his sister’s eyes. However, his heart did not pound quite so hard as it had do time.

  “You have grown well,” he said.

  “She has teeth,” Adam said. “They’re great at eating.”

  Jurot nodded his head slowly, already used to the queer thoughts Adam had.

  Adam g the dagger, the bde of which was about as long and wide as his hand. “What a hefty dagger. Ah, speaking of which. Do you want to see the ons I ented? I was really lucky.”

  Adam revealed the swords he had ented, as well as the axe. “This is Dunes’ Sword, which is probably my sed best on to date. One could argue it’s my best, but I like my axe more.”

  “An axe?” Jurot asked, but he picked up Dunes’ Sword. He meditated with it, since Adam had revealed it to him first, and after a while he trained in the rain, sshing around, cutting into some wood. “It is quite a powerful bde. Dunes will like it.”

  Adam smiled. “Where are they, anyway?”

  “They are in a hut,” Jurot said. “They will meet us in the m.”

  “Don’t tell Duhat you got to py with it first, I don’t want him to feel bad,” Adam joked. “Tomorrow you py with my axe si’s already quite te.” He wondered what Jurot would think of his axe.

  “This bde may be best in your hands,” Jurot said. “Or Jonn’s.”

  “Jonn is a butt,” Adam said, simply. “I don’t trust him with a magical bde yet. He’s still not sworn his Oaths to me, so he suck it. Plus, I said it would be for Dunes, so it belongs to Dunes.”

  Jurot nodded. He liked that about Adam, the fact that he kept his word, even if it was easier aer for him not to keep it. The bde was also greater than his own axe in some ways, though it was far more temperamental.

  “These two are for Entalia, for when she brings me back those ons,” Adam said, smiling.

  “Why did you trade for the Sapphicule ons?” Jurot asked. “These ons are greater than the Sapphicule ons you will receive.”

  “I assume that the Sapphicule ons will allow me to ent easier, so I may be able to ent them with a greater entment. Also, aren’t they really cool?” Adam ughed.

  Jurot stared at him.

  “Jurot, I traded them to her because she’s my friend,” Adam said. “Even if she is a stranger right now, we’ll be closer iure.”

  Jurot nodded.

  “Entalia?” Nirot asked, gng between the pair. “The Silver Nightmare?”

  “Yeah,” Adam said.

  Nirot gnced between the pair of them again. ‘Am I the only one here who is normal?’

  Lanarot yawned. “Oo,” she said, resting her head against Adam’s side.

  “Are you tired, little Lanababy?” Adam asked as he picked her up and pat her back gently. “Go ahead and sleep. I’ll protect you from any nightmares. Now that Jurot’s back, he’ll be able to help too.”

  Jurot stared at Adam. ‘Lanarot will need me to uand what it means to be normal.’

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  Adam is going to be the most embarrassing father in the Iyr.

  Nay, Aldnd.

  Nay, the entire world.