Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

[1051] – Y05.051 – Darkness Rising II

Adam held onto the watch, hearing the gently ticking as the seconds passed. It was heavy within his hand, his daughter reaching out to grab at it, but unable to take it from him. Adam planted a firm kiss upon her forehead as she complained, the girl babbling and grumbling, before finally giving into her father’s affection, giggling lightly.

Adam had accepted the watch with Filliam’s condolences, allowing the tinkerer to return once the awkwardness overcame the young man. His eyes fell to Kiara, who sat opposite the half elf awkwardly, her silver eyes glued to the table before them. She was still quite thin and small, her silver hair recently cut short.

“Is the Rot family treating you well?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Kiara replied, swallowing awkwardly. She was glad to finally be out of the shrine, but hearing the news that the children had been killed, she wished she was still working.

“Good. You let me know if they’re, uh, you know…” Adam inhaled deeply, trying to gather his thoughts, but his mind remained clouded with darkness.

Kiara nodded, allowing the silence to befall them again. She watched the father as he lifted his daughter up, standing her upon his lap, wrapping an arm around the girl’s back. He nuzzled against her nose, and stared into the girl’s hazel eyes, the baby staring deep into her father’s eyes in return, before she smiled.

“Look at those adorable little teeth peeking out,” Adam said, rubbing his cheek against his daughter’s, feeling her warmth against his own. “Mummy is telling me you like to bite your dummy, mm? Is that right?”

“Ogoo,” the girl replied, her innocent tone like that of a babe, but she was also her sister’s sister, so Adam did not allow her to fool him.

“Okay, but you can’t just nibble everything, okay?”

“Boo,” Virot confirmed, before her she sucked against her thumb, resting her head against her father’s shoulder.

Adam leaned back, his eyes falling to the rest of the children as they played in the extended estate. The Rot family children had all gathered around the pair of boys, eager to play with them, though they left Larot alone after a short while. They played ball with the twins, making sure to pass the ball to the pair often.

Adam inhaled sharply, noting all the glances from his twins, checking to see if he was still there. He smiled at them each time, nodding his head, and the twins smiled at him, before continuing their play.

‘Just a few more days,’ Adam thought. ‘Once I’m done enchanting, I’ll… I just need to do a little more, and then we can play together.’

Kiara remained focused on the half elf for a long while, uncertain of what to say to him. She had already given condolences, but the awkward air hung in the air.

“Are you still enchanting?” Adam asked, as though he didn’t know the answer to the question.

“Yes.”

Adam slowly nodded his head. “Good. Good. It’s good to keep busy. You’ll lose your mind if you have nothing to do, but make sure you take it easy too, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Can you make Basic Enhanced weapons?”

“Yes.”

“Greater Enhanced?”

“I think so.”

Adam slowly nodded his head. “Then you’ll have no worries about money. You can stay in the Iyr. The Iyrmen, they’ll watch over you. I’ll ask Aunt to… take good care of you.”

Kiara slowly bowed her head. She stared at the half elf, his eyes darkened by grief, dampened by sleeplessness. The half elf’s shoulders remained heavy with his burdens, but piece by piece, he was lightening the load. Though Kiara wasn’t entirely certain, she understood the conversation they had was more than just about working for the business.

Adam continued to enchant his axe over the days, returning to his twins, who tackled him after following their elder siblings to the entrance. The half elf even tried to tease them when he returned, picking a different entrance each time, but his triplet’s noses were too keen.

“We played with papo Gurot,” Jirot said, eating from her father’s hand. “We played with the wood.”

“What did you do with the wood?”

“I build a house.”

“I build a castle,” little Jarot said. “I made five towers.”

“A castle with five towers?” Adam asked, raising his brows. “Even daddy only makes one or two towers. Wow, my son is so amazing, isn’t he?”

Little Jarot flushed slightly, the boy slowly bowing his head, his lips pursed with a childish joy.

“Daddy, kako does not listen?” Jirot asked.

“Who?”

“Kako Minool. She does not play with us. We always tell her to play, but she does not?”

“Well, Minool likes to be alone, just like Minakan. It must be because their names begin with Min, perhaps they only like minimal contact?” Adam chuckled, causing his children to giggle too, the pair not understanding the joke in the slightest.

“You are so silly, daddy.” Jirot rested her head against his chest.

“I am so silly, aren’t I? I’m so silly, I haven’t even picked a book for you to read.”

“You do not pick, daddy, you are not a little child!”

“What do you mean? I can pick it if I want to, but normally I want you to pick it. Hmm, well, daddy does have a story from his home, maybe he can write it down to remember it?” Adam leaned back.

“Silly daddy, stars do not go to war.” Jirot reached up to pay her father’s shoulder gently, before hugging his front once more, with little Jarot cuddling up to his chest.

“Ah, yes. How right you are, my dear.” Adam pulled the pair closer.

In the evening, Vonda stole her husband away, sitting down beside him to one side as the children listened to Shikan’s tale. She allowed Virot to hold a finger, the little girl snoozing lightly within her father’s arms.

“Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you inform Mother Priest of the situation?”

“Mother Priest?” Adam threw a look to his wife. “What do you want me to tell her.”

As Mother Priest heard the message from the half elf, first annoyed by his audacity, but forgiving him due to the contents of the message. She remained silent for a short while, mostly because she had tied her own hands. It wasn’t easy for her to deny Adam, not when Vonda had put him up to it, and not when she, herself, had raised Vonda into the position of a Ray. There was only a half thought as to why Vonda didn’t send word, realising it was most likely due to the fact she was pregnant.

‘I am sorry for your loss, Adam. Please inform Ray Vonda of the same. I will pray on the matter and message you soon.’

Vonda listened to the words through her husband as her proxy. She slowly bowed her head to the half elf, before leaning her head against his shoulder.

Thus, she had involved the Order of Life’s Rose into the matter. Whatever small assistance they could provide may be enough between life and death. No matter what the situation was, one would have to take Life’s Rose seriously. It was the benefit of being one of the most prestigious Orders of the land.

Of course, there was the fact that Adam and the First Hope, the strongest Hope, were quite antagonistic to one another.

‘I can’t regret it now,’ Vonda thought, letting out a low sigh of relief.

There were others who also let out such sighs. Mulrot sat opposite Zirot, the pair of women sipping tea late in the night. It was the kind of tea which soothed one’s heart, and allowed them to sleep with ease.

“I can ask Steel Strike to assist,” Zirot offered, understanding her sister’s grief, for her heart hung heavy with the fact that their little boys had been killed. “If Tarot returns in time, he may go.”

Mulrot knew how unlikely it was for Tarot to return. She wanted to refuse Zirot, but considering that she was a Rot, how could she do so? Even as the Family Elder, she couldn’t dare to deny her sister such a right. “How could I not go?”

“You are the Family Elder,” Zirot said. “Your place is here. They will wish to see you when they go.”

“…” Mirot’s heart continued to ache, her hands tied by her duties in the Iyr. When she became the Family Elder, she had been warned of the pain of the title, and now she understood what her predecessor had meant.

The stars twinkled overhead, keeping the Iyrmen company. Chief Iromin’s vision began to blur slightly, and he closed them, glancing aside. He reached out towards the lantern, pulling it closer, while his ears twitched.

“What need do you have of me this late?” Iromin asked.

“I have come to make a request,” the figure said from within the shadows, her voice low, like the dimness of the lantern.

Iromin opened his eyes, throwing a tired look towards the bald woman, who clutched a staff in hand, using it as a walking stick, not that she needed it. “What is it?” Though he spoke the question, his tone implied he already knew.

“I request to take a leave until the matter is settled,” Shaool said, placing down the piece of paper.

It took only a moment for the Chief to read the request. He hadn’t expected Shaool to request to leave her duties, for she was one of the Ten Paragons. If he declined her request, she would accept it, he had no doubt about that. She was a Paragon, freedom was a luxury she could not afford, and with the Reavers soon to arrive, the chance of her leave to be granted was close to nil. There was a reason why she had come to him, and not the other Great Elders. Iromin signed the slip, allowing the Paragon to step away in order to complete her personal work.

“Thank you.” Shaool bowed her head and left into the darkness.

‘It is beginning,’ Iromin thought. It was sooner than he expected. The moment Shaool stepped out of her position, the Iyr would need to react accordingly, and thus world may react to the Iyr, and with the Reavers upon the horizon… ‘We must move carefully.’

The stress filled with Chief, but it was tempered by his rage.

Even if they would coax the Reavers to arrive quicker, the Iyr would not regret their actions.

Uh oh. 

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