“Okay?” Jirot asked, rubbing her babo’s knee gently.

  “I am okay,” Malfev replied, leaning ba his chair, feeling the various old aches pulse through him from age.

  “You must be fortable babo,” Jirot stated, raising her brows at the older man. “You must tell me if you are not, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Daddy, e,” Jirot called, the girl being her father with her hand, and waited for him to get up before she turned and sauntered her way towards the other old Iyrmen who were rexing.

  “Did you see?” Otkan asked, the woman reag out with a hand, brushing the girl’s hair.

  “I see, nano! I see!” Jirot promised, before g the old woman’s wrist with her hands, rubbing her cheek against the back of her nano’s wrinkled hand, speckled with the spots of age, and the scars of battle.

  “Did you see me too?” Jogak asked, the Iyrman wing as he leaned ba his chair.

  “I see you too, baba,” the girl firmed, siaygak had pointed Laygak and Jaygak out, and they were near Jogak. Jirot caught Jaygak’s eyes, who smiled at the girl, and the girl smiled back, before she followed Jaygak’s hand motion towards her baba. The girl skipped her way to Jaygak, who whispered into her ear.

  “Baba…” Little Jarot pouted up at the Iyrman, who pihe boy’s nose gently. Jarot smiled, his amber eyes full of such a sweetness.

  Jirot sauntered over to Jogak, pg a hand on his khe girl sighing, shaking her head. “You are too old now, baba. You ot. No more, okay?”

  Jogak picked the girl up, blowing raspberries into her neck, causio squeal and cry out, before he let the girl dowing her flee away from him. His eyes darted to his daughter, who was busy looking at nothing in particur. “Were you going to tell me you were a Master?”

  “Is that so important?” Jaygak asked, smirking wide towards her father, who tinued pretending to be annoyed, but he couldn’t hide the pride within his eyes.

  “Babo, you fighted too?” Jirot asked, patting the old Iyrman on his knee gently, feeling the cool steel against her hand.

  “I also fought,” Dogek firmed.

  “How you take it from my daddy?” Jirot tutted, but her lips formed a wide smirk, the girl winking, before she crossed her arms behind her bad sauntered away from the likes of Duteous Dogek, cheg upon the rest of the Iyrmen.

  “e on,” Adam said, ruffling his children’s silver hair. “You o che your elders too!”

  Tonagek met Karot’s gaze, the boy pouting, before rushing up to climb up beside his grandmother, the boy hiding within her bosom.

  “Okay?” Konarot asked, holding out her hand.

  “Okay,” Tonagek replied, accepting the girl’s hand, feeling how small it was. Not the scaly talons she once possessed, soft, unlike his own hands, hardened by his life as an Iyrman. “Did you see?”

  “I see.”

  “Good.” Tonagek pulled the girl close, pnting a kiss atop her head, allowio rejoin her siblings near her grandmother.

  “You fight so good!” Jirot said, holding up a thumbs up for her uncle.

  “Thank you,” Tanagek replied.

  “You must work hard because you are young!” Jirot pat his knee, before marg her way to Chosen, giving him the same pliments, and tinuing along. Little Jarot hopped along beside her, letting his sister guide his way.

  Tanagek followed the girl and the boy with his eyes, before he gnced aside towards all the older Iyrmen, some of whom had taken heavy wounds from fighting their oppos, others taking heavy wounds fhting the young Iyrmen’s oppos too. ‘The Iyr… is the Iyr.’

  “You finally learnt how to think?” Chosen teased, before he chuckled, only to cough in pain.

  Tanagek smiled.

  “Bo bo bo!” Virot pined, holding out her hands questioningly. “Nana! Bobobo!”

  “They had to fight,” Sonarot replied, gng down to Karot, who tio hide behind her arm. “It had to be do was to protect you, and your brothers and sisters.”

  “Wa?”

  “Yes.”

  “Keh,” the girl replied, before she heard her sister call out to her, and Virot smiled shtly.

  “Virot! You silly girl! You are b nana?” Jirot asked, holding out her arms, and Virot instantly gave in, hugging her sister. “What I am saying? How you bother nana? You are too cute.”

  Virot squealed under her sister’s kisses, Jirot brushing the girl’s hair behind her leaf shaped ear, and held her hand.

  “It is time to sleep,” Jirot informed.

  “No!” Virot pined.

  “You don’t start!” Jirot huffed, before hugging her sister tighter, and led her away. “e.”

  “Kekeke!”

  “Jarot,” the older crippled Iyrman called. “Will you take Damrot?”

  “I do it!” the boy assured, while the older Iyrman’s eyes fell to a group of Iyrmen who stalked beside the four children as they made their way, led by Sonarot.

  “Look!” Katool showed off trandmother. “Sentinel’s Rest.”

  “How amazing,” Kamool replied, the older woman with short white hair, and a calm smile upon her lips. “Did you thank your cousin?”

  “I did!” Katool replied, though she furrowed her brows, turning slightly red. “I did!”

  “I am certain he knows yrateful.”

  “I will thank him again to show him how much I am grateful!” Katool rushed away, leaviinel’s Rest with her grandmother.

  Kamool felt the great magic within the bde, her own thoughts upon how she could take oire world with it within her grasp. She decided against uanding the logic of how the bde came to her family, for there was a young half elf involved, and that was the reason for the logic, or the ck of it. ‘I should have fought harder.’

  “Sorry Dunes,” Adam said, rubbing his forehead, feeling the ache of stress. He had to fight his body to move, the aftermath of the battle making his body as stiff as dry mud.

  “For what?”

  “I didn’t the bde before I sheathed it.”

  Dunes let out a sigh, almost surprised that he expected something serious. “It is fine.”

  “…”

  “…”

  The pair burst out into ughter, before Adam stopped, taking the sword and using his magic to it, before sheathing it once more.

  ‘Did he fet?’ Duhought, but he khe answer already when the half elf turned red with embarrassment.

  “Aba!” Ranya called as she rushed up towards her father, panting lightly. She blinked, having fotten why she had e to get him, before the girl smiled brightly. “Aba!”

  “Yes,” Dunes replied, lifting her up, pretending tle, before embrag the girl tight.

  “Ranya, you’re too cute to be his daughter,” Adam joked. “You should be my daughter, since I’m so handsome.”

  “You are?” Dunes asked.

  “My Jirot says I am,” Adam replied, his eyes daring Duo refute the words, but the Priest shrunk from the gaze.

  “Then it must be true…” Dunes cleared his throat lightly, wing slightly as his daughter grabbed his face, and babbled.

  “Adam,” called a voice from the shadows, causing Adam to jolt.

  “Every time!” Adam pined, standing up, gng at the aides, before following the Iyrmen away.

  Jaygak stepped her way towards Dunes, every other step slightly shorter thaher, before she dropped down beside the Priest. She rested Bloodseeker beside the Priest, smiling at the girl. “Are you bullying your father too, Ranya?”

  “Hehehe!” Ranya hid within her father’s beard.

  “She is growing well.”

  Dunes let out a low groan, brushing the girl’s hair with a hand. “I now uand Adam’s pints. She is growing too quickly.”

  Jaygak smiled wide. “I remember when Raygak used to cry when I stole his peppers.”

  “He still cries when you steal his peppers.”

  “Perhaps they do not grow as quickly as we think,” Jaygak joked.

  Meanwhile, Adam stepped within his house, sitting opposite the Chief, reag for the cup. “I don’t know how I feel you trespassing in my home to make me tea. It feels weird.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “Did you knock?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s fihen.”

  “Do not worry. I would not have entered unless I k was empty, or if there was an assassin.”

  Adam’s frown deepened. “They wouldn’t send assassins after me, would they? Whoever… they are?”

  “You have survived several attempts already,” Iromin said.

  “I did?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.” Adam blinked, unsure of how to feel about that. “How?”

  “You beat them.”

  “Oh. I did?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you know they were assassins?”

  “We know.”

  “Man, you Iyrmen are always so scary.”

  Iromin smiled, sipping the tea. “It has been some times since I was able to see such a great dispy. It was greater than st year.”

  “Like I said, you Iyrmen are scary.”

  “Yes.”

  Adam sipped his tea, his tongue numbing slightly at the heat, but no doubt it would have scalded him years ago. He stared down at his refle within the dark liquid, only just seeing the depression in his eyes. “Was it a good idea to kill them?” “It would have beeo keep some alive, but none were so young to adopt into the Iyr. They broke their word, there was nothing else to be done. Elder Peace will discuss with the tess, and if she must, the King.”

  ”This is going to be quite the issue, you sure you should be so…” Adam stopped before he said something too stupid even for him.

  “There is no issue. We killed them on our nds. The Aldish ws do not apply.”

  “Are you uimating the Aldishmen?”

  “We will simply close ates for a few years if it must e to that. If we are to war, then we will sughter a few thousand Aldishmen, allow them to retreat and lick their wounds. We will impose a harsher treaty among them, one where we will not hand over any soldiers during war.”

  ‘Why are you talking about it like it’s a piic?’ Adam thought, sipping his tea. “What about taking nd from them?”

  “We have our nd.”

  “You could cim more, to the river and beyond.”

  “We prefer our hills.”

  Adam nodded his head lightly. “Since we’re here, drinking tea and all, I’d like to discuss some business matters with you.”

  “Privately?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay.” Iromin he look from his aide, but he gestured with a hand. Even if Adam wao do something, he was only half as strong as he typically was at this time. Also, he had doffed his armour already, which made him easier to kill. Iromin caught Adam’s eyes, and could see the boy held simir thoughts, the half elf uanding his position.

  Iromin smiled.

  The Iyr scares me.