Omen: 4, 10

  “Nobby, my boy!” Adam called, seeing the rge figure waiting for him in the m besides his uncles.

  “That’s Nobby?” Lucy said, lig her lips, trying to stop her drool.

  Nobby he appearance of the Devilkin, and though he tried not to be taken aback, seeiare at him like he ieeat, it made him look aside.

  “Stop it,” Adam said, patting her back. “He’s just a wee boy of fifteen.”

  “He’s fifteen?” Lucy asked, staring at Adam. “You expect me to believe that.”

  “Nobby’s sixteen now, ain’t you, Nobby?” Remy said, patting the boy’s babsp;

  “Yes.”

  ‘That means he’s fio pluck,’ Lucy thought.

  “His birthday was the ninth of the ninth,” Remy said.

  “We took him out for some drinks,” Jeremy added.

  “Fel didn’t want to head to the bro-“

  Jeremy spped the table. “So, boss, what kinda work you need us for today?”

  “Same work as before, I think?” Adam said, looking to Nobby. “You spoke to your pops, Nobby?”

  “Yes.”

  “You want to be trained by the Iyrman?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your parents are fih that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright,” Adam said. “I o go and give them their sign up fee, and I’ll firm it with them, get that tract written up, and we head out.”

  “We should buy him an axe and a shield,” Jurot said.

  “You think he use axes like ours?” Adam asked.

  Jurot shook his head. “A smaller axe should be fine.”

  “You want him up in frht away?” Remy asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Adam said. “Nobby’s safe beside the three of us.”

  “I don’t mean no disrespect boss, but…”

  “Haven’t you heard?” Adam asked.

  “Heard what?”

  “The three of us are Experts.”

  “Experts?” Remy gasped.

  Jeremy stared at Adam, but his eyes fell to Jurot.

  Jurot smiled. “Yes,” he said.

  Jeremy and Remy raised their brows in surprise. “How did you mahat?”

  “Have you fotten who I am?” Adam asked. “Adam, Son of Fate. Don’t think about it too much.”

  ‘How did he bee an Expert so quickly?’

  ‘The Iyrman started his journey retly…’

  Jeremy and Remy could feel how heavy their purses were going to bee.

  ‘I’ll be able to take the missus out to that nice pce she wants to go too,’ Remy thought.

  ‘Should I buy a able?’ Jeremy thought. ‘A of chairs too? No, no, some es? From the East?’

  Adam could see them already calg how to spend the gold he was going to give them. He shook his head. “Jurot, take this gold and equip Nobby with a shield and an axe. I’ll go and sort out the tract.” Adam pced down ten gold s. “This should be fine, right?”

  Jurot aking Nobby with him to a smithy nearby.

  ‘Should I ask Thundersmith to make him something nice?’ Adam wondered. ‘Nah, maybe when he’s an Expert? Or when he’s finally Level Three or so?’

  “M, Tom,” Adam called, heading to the front desk. “Mind if we have a word?”

  “Is this about the tract?” Tom asked.

  Adam nodded. “Yeah.”

  Tht out a sheet of paper, letting Adam read it.

  “What do you think of the tract?” Adam asked.

  “I believe it is more than fair,” Tom said. “You decided to cut the tract up until the point that Nobby bees an Expert. Why?”

  “Well, I think it’ll take a couple of years to train the d, but I don’t know what my future will look like in that time,” Adam admitted. “Once we get there, I’ll figure the rest out with him and his parents.”

  Tom nodded. “We will send the tract with a worker and have them expiricacies. Luckily, it is simple enough to expin, and you haven’t include any vague nguage, other thaime it will take for Nobby to bee an Expert.”

  “It’s all thanks to you,” Adam said. “It was ten gold, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll leave the rest to you,” Adam said, pg down an obsidian gem.

  Tom bowed his head, accepting the gem, and he folded the tract up into an envelope.

  “Could I ask you to kindly break this gem?” Adam asked, pg down a tiger eye from the Iyr.

  “Break the gem?”

  “Into gold, I mean. Ah, actually, I need some more obsidian too.” Adam pced down awo tiger eyes. “Speaking of which, you send the moo Nobby’s parents monthly?”

  “We offer the service,” Tom said. “How long do you wish to send moo them.”

  “I don’t want to worry about it for a while,” Adam said. “So how about…” Adam pced down two tiger eyes gems. “How much will it cost for you to sort that out for me?”

  Tom stared at Adam. “You worry about the cost, we will send them the money monthly until these two gems run out.”

  “Now that I think about it…” Adam pced down ahree obsidian. “Thirteen months in a year, right? I don’t want to think about it until then.”

  Tom’s lips almost twitched into a smile. “As you wish.” He handed Adam the ge from breaking his various gems, a a note for the moo be sent to the group monthly.

  Tom recalled oion of the trabsp;

  ‘Twe days of paid vacation? How is it that his policies are greater than the Guild’s?’

  Adam stepped out, putting up his cloak to cover his ears, heading out towards Nobby’s pce, with his pouch fat and heavy with gold.

  ‘Damn. I’m so rich. Am I a fat ow? Nah, I don’t have a business. Yet.’

  Adam knocked on the door for the house and waited.

  “Yes?” called a familiar voibsp;

  “It’s me, Adam,” Adam said.

  “Just a moment!”

  Eventually the door ened and Ted’s wife opehe door.

  “Ah, good m, Mrs…”

  “You call me Annie.”

  “Ah, a beautiful name,” Adam said. “Mind if I e inside?”

  “Oh, um… please do,” she said, meekly, stepping back.

  Adam stepped io see that the girl eeking at him from the other room, and there was no one else around. There was some clothing which was folded ly, and a sewing needle nearby, threat slipped through it.

  “Where’s Ted?” Adam asked.

  “He’s at work,” Annie replied.

  “Oh,” Adam said. “Right. Well, I won’t be keeping you then.” Adam pced doouch of gold. “Here’s fifty gold.”

  “Fifty gold?” Annie asked, her eyes wide. She hadn’t ever seen that much oable.

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, simply.

  “For what?”

  “A thank you?” Adam said. “Something like that.”

  “A thank you?”

  “The moment Jurot id eyes on your son, he wao train him,” Adam said. “He’s a big, strong d. He’s an Iyrman’s…” Adam wasn’t sure if he should tihat sentence. “Well, you sider it a finder’s fee or something. Or, you sider it for what it really is.”

  “What is it really?” Annie asked nervously.

  “You’re both too thin,” Adam said. “And your daughter is so small. Use the moo eat properly, and to pay for whatever the little girl needs. It’s fifty gold to keep my scious clear.”

  Annie wasn’t sure what Adam was doing. She uood what he was saying, of course, but why would he care about them this much?

  “What’s her name?” Adam asked.

  For a moment, Annie’s eyes fshed with terror. “Anne.”

  “Is that your tle girl?” Adam asked.

  The girl had disappeared behind the frame, but she peeked out. She nodded her head slowly.

  Adam squatted down. “e here,” Adam said.

  Annie wasn’t sure what Adam was doing, but she was aware of the pan which was nearby. ‘He’s an Expert, but if I hit him in the back of the head.’

  Anne slowly drew nearer, wearing several yers s, though they were quite .

  Adam reached into his pocket. “Hold out your hand.”

  She looked to her mother, who had crept to the pan. Annie nodded her head slowly. Anne reached out with her tiny little hand.

  Adam pced a gold in her hand. “You know what this is?”

  She nodded her head.

  “This is yold . The gold in the bag is your parents’ gold, but this gold is yours. Only you’re allowed to spend it, uand?”

  The girl stared at the gold with bright eyes. She nodded her head emphatically.

  “What do you say when someone does something nice for you?” Adam asked.

  The girl looked up at Adam, a little fused.

  “Manners are free, don’t you know?” Adam joked.

  “Thank the kind man, Anne,” Annie said, the pan within arm’s reach.

  “Thank you,” the girl said, quietly.

  Adam smiled. “Alright. I’ll e by one day to check if they stole the gold from you. If they do, I’ll give them a good talking to, okay?”

  Anne nodded her head.

  “Alright, well, I should probably head back.” Adam hoisted himself up, before he turned. He he woman had gripped the pan, but hadn’t moved it. “I’ll leave you to your cooking.” Adam smiled, walking out. “Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye,” Annie said, unsure of what happened.

  Adam whistled, feeling good about giving away so much gold. ‘Damn. This is addig.’

  It was only after Adam had returned back to the Guild that he uood what had happened and why Annie had reached for the pan.

  ‘I just miss being a good big brother,’ Adam thought, ily as his heart ached.

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