Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG
[1280] – Y06.180 – Strong II

John could feel the searing heat of Aswadasad against his skin, the young man sweating before he had begun his morning run. The nearby acolytes joined the young father, running along the young man, eager to show him up. Except, this pale skinned Florian kept up quite well with them, even under the noonval sun. They ran an additional lap, two, three, all while under the watchful eye of one of their trainers, who sent out waves of annoyance towards them, daring them to allow the young Florian to show them up.

“Hey!” called a fool, his hands upon his waist as he glared at the young father. “Are you planning on killing yourself under the Aswadian heat?”

John remained silent as Adam admonished him, the half elf pretending not to notice the young acolytes and the Priest beside them all staring at the young half elf expectantly.

“If you get struck by heatwave you’re just going to cause them trouble,” Adam grumbled, glancing aside as he switched to Aswadic. “Florians, am I right?”

The Priest smiled, bowing his head lightly, before Adam motioned a hand for John to follow him. As the pair stepped away, allowing the acolytes to finally take a breather, the half elf continued to admonish him.

“Seriously! We’re in someone else’s home, so how could you try to show them up?” Adam asked, tutting.

“What happened?” Dunes asked, noting the pair returning.

“Nothing, why?”

“You are smiling so brightly, it is almost blinding,” the Priest of War said, adorned in his light robes, wearing a lighter set of his vestments which displayed his symbol so proudly, though quite different to the other Priests around.

“Ah? Well, whose to say?” Adam replied, hiding his smirk behind a curled finger. “John, you can train with Yasha with your spear, and then-,”

Dunes raised his brows, for the half elf had suddenly stopped, wincing.

“You can train…” Adam began, trying to figure out how to word it. “Yasha, train John in spearmanship a little, and then later on, John, make sure you complete two more laps in front of the Priests, okay?”

“Yes, Brother,” the young man replied, understanding what Adam had done, and what he was doing.

“Dunes, this is the capital of Aswadasad, isn’t it?” Adam blurted out, his eyes darting to the side to meet Dunes’ gaze.

“Mo Dunes,” Dunes corrected. “Yes?”

Adam blinked. “Sorry.”

Dunes replied with a nod of his head, watching as Adam let the shame melt into his bones, before finally, he did that.

Adam’s laughter filled the air, the young half elf grinning wild like a beast, revealing who his grandfather was. “This is the capital of not just a region, but the entire land, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Adam’s howling laughter continued to fill the air, before he finally stopped, noting the confusion upon their faces. Adam smiled innocently. “This is the first time I’ve been in the capital of a country, and I just realised that. Mo Dunes, should we go explore?”

“Yes, let us explore the capital together,” Dunes replied, smiling warmly, taking on the role of watching over the half elf.

“You all, make sure you explore the place too! All those of you who are not Iyrmen, you need to be escorted by an Iyrman. Make sure you move around in pairs, since cities are cities, and a city this big draws long shadows.” Adam glanced between them all. “Honestly, it felt really cool to say something poetic like that, but just to be clear, what I’m saying is that it might be dangerous since it’s the city, and usually there is more crime in a city, so make sure you take someone else with you. Just because almost all of you are Experts, be careful!”

Dunes eyed up Adam, noting how comfortable the half elf had been when he had managed to say something wise.

Adam informed them to be careful with spending their gold, but almost immediately folded, allowing them to spend so much gold, one might have thought they were all nobles.

“Also, John, Yasha, uncle Zabir, you’ll each have a hundred gold to spend freely, and the business will match whatever coin you wish to spend too, so if you spend a hundred gold, the business will also hand over a hundred gold for you to spend. Just make sure to write everything up, including stuff like silvers or behts you spend on food, clothing, going to a bathhouse, buying weapons, whatever. If you need more money, you can come and speak to any of the Executives, and if it sounds reasonable, or fun, we’ll hand over more gold.”

The trio stared at the half elf, unsure if they were willing to accept such heavy favour.

“Hey! If you don’t let me spoil you, how can I show off to my children?” Adam asked. “You all! Don’t forget that you all need to spend money too! You need to buy a lot of gifts, not just for the children in the Iyr, but the children in the business too! Why else did we all come out here to the capital? Don’t waste your time here doing ridiculous stuff like fighting really strong monsters! You should spend it appropriately!”

‘He really is a crazy father,’ the Malawi thought as the trio left, that of Adam, Dunes, and Uli, and considering what Dunes had informed her the previous night, Adam probably did need the likes of Mo Dunes and Kal Uli to keep him out of trouble.

‘Please keep some distance from Adam,’ Dunes had requested. ‘Right now, he is…’

The Malawi could see the uncertainty upon Dunes’ face, for even though Dunes had known Adam for six years, there was something the young Priest had noticed and wished to deal with. The woman thought of Adam’s fight with the Poison Sword Dragon, and how he had managed to strike him down within a single round. ‘If he had been even half a moment slower, I would not have even thought of him…’

Ashmir glanced behind him, noticing Faool following him. The pair exchanged a look for a moment, and Ashmir decided against refuting the young man’s company, allowing him to accompany the old man into the capital, which he had once called his home. He hoped his new appearance allowed him to walk into the roads unnoticed, having replaced his spear with a shortblade at his side, his hair so different, his beard different, even his demeanour was different.

“I will accompany you in our stay in the capital,” Nirot said, eyeing up the young father.

“Thank you,” John replied, thinking nothing of it, training with Yasha, while Zabir watched.

The old Zabir watched over the training, closing his eyes, seeing memories of old, of the young Yasha completing the drills.

‘Are you tired?’ Zabir had asked, when his hair had been less salt and more pepper.

‘No!’ the girl replied, and though she was not even ten, she held a glare within her eyes, the kind that stated she would rise up to become one of the greatest warriors in the land. However, even as a Mulazim, he was uncertain he would be able to allow her to rise that high.

Zabir thought of the merchants who had tried to harass his granddaughter. His eyes darted to the side, towards the judgemental eyes of some of the acolytes, who watched as they trained in the spear within Lady Arya’s temple, devoted to swords. Indeed, though the blade was the favoured weapon, so many weapons were used in war, so were they a temple to swords or war? He could already hear their criticism, of being polite, and being moderate within their temple.

“Nobby,” Jurot called, stretching out his neck.

“Okay,” Nobby replied.

The pair began to train early in the morning, exchanging axe blows, and though the acolytes looked openly towards the pair, they did not hold such a judgemental gaze towards the Iyrmen. Zabir watched too, mesmerised by the pair, and while Jurot, the grandson of the Mad Dog was strong, it seemed as though Nobby was a wall of steel himself.

“You are training well,” Jurot said, patting Nobby’s shoulder.

Nobby flushed lightly. “Thank you, mister boss.”

“There is a tournament held next month,” Jurot said. “Do you wish to join it?”

“No, mister boss,” Nobby replied.

“I can convince Adam to stay,” the Iyrman assured.

“No, mister boss,” Nobby replied once more. “Thank you.”

“Okay.” Jurot pat his shoulder once more, feeling how heavy it had become, the weight of responsibility having forged him into a monster. Jurot glanced aside, towards John, who was completing his morning routine, that which had forged a body all Iyrmen envied.

“Nobby,” Jurot called.

“Yes, mister boss?”

“There is no need to rush,” Jurot assured.

Nobby bowed his head lightly, and with that, the pair went to bathe to cool off from the heavy heat.

Kitool stared out towards Yasha and John training, coveting the young man for herself, but since Adam had already claimed him, she had to let him go. The heat caused even her to sweat, and she glanced to the side, hearing the ghostly voice of someone bullying her for sweating in such lovely weather. She closed her eyes, wondering if Jaygak hadn’t gained a limp, if she could have convinced the young woman to come with them to Aswadasad. In her heart, she knew it was futile, since Jaygak had been laying down the foundation of her retirement, and she had already stated her intentions as a child to retire as a Master long ago.

“Does it hurt?” Laygak asked.

“It does,” Kitool admitted.

“At least you have the shame to keep your thoughts to yourself,” Laygak teased.

“You have grown courageous,” Kitool replied.

“I think I heard Taygak,” Laygak said, stepping out of range of her staff, though that was only if she showed mercy, and even as he stepped towards Taygak, so far away, he knew he was still within her range.

“Mister Bael,” Kizwolima whispered.

“Yes?”

“I need the toilet,” the girl whispered, flushing a little.

“Okay.”

What a chill chapter. I bet nothing crazy is going to happen soon.