[1140] – Y06.040 – Answers II
“Man, you guys are so funny,” Adam said, reaching down to ruffle Lanarot’s hair.
“You are in the presence of the Countess,” the First Oakguard stated.
“What? You think I’m wearing so kind of helt so I can’t see?” Adam replied, his eyes narrowing towards the First Oakguard. “Are you so kind of Paragon, talking to like that?”
“Adam,” Vonda said, reaching out a hand, placing it upon Adam’s.
Adam’s eyes darted towards his wife’s, and the half elf’s deanour relaxed once more, the young man smiling wide. “It is really funny, though. I an, I showed you guys, Red Oak, so much favour. It was… it is a beautiful town. I rember walking into it for the first ti and just being in awe. Vice Master Paul, he’s always been nice to , so I did my best to show your town favour, Countess.”
‘What kind of connection does he have with the Vice Master?’ the Countess thought, the flashes of that bronze skinned fellow filling her mind, his gaunt face, his exhausted eyes.
“When we ford the business, I was the one to make sure Red Oak received the Enchanter’s favour, sending all those weapons to be auctioned. Even after how poorly I was treated by the High Alchemist. Man, I…” Adam sighed, as though already exhausted of the Aldishn. “I rember, I wanted to buy so wood, the titular red oak. I wanted to buy it for my handso brother here. Each ti I was rebutted, rebuked, rebutted and rebuked. I thought, fine, you know, I haven’t done enough for Red Oak, that’s fair. I rember, though, we had that situation, you rember Jurot?”
“I rember,” Jurot replied.
“I was trying to buy… I want say it was saddlebags for my horse. I went to buy so, and after taking my money, the woman wouldn’t make them for . Soone had been going around, making sure I couldn’t buy stuff, but thankfully, I was able to procure sothing eventually, I think in Ever Green, but it might have been soone else in Red Oak.”
“What an unfortunate circumstance,” the Countess replied, narrowing her eyes slightly at the half elf. “What does that have to do with my request?”
“I… wanted so much from Red Oak. I wanted to give so much to Red Oak. I was constantly… rebuked, rebutted. Rebutted, rebuked.” The half elf’s eyes glazed over slightly as he reminisced, before a smile slipped across his lips once more. “Now? Now the Countess herself cos. All this way. Wow. Just for little old ?”
“I ca for the bodies of the great warriors.”
“Hmm! Right, of course! How could I forget!” Adam grinned wider. “The Countess herself, she ca for the bodies of the great warriors of the various Orders, sorry, the one Order now isn’t it? High Garden, what a beautiful na for an Order too, might I add. Anyway, you ca for the Order, and then you heard sothing interesting. This young kid. This no good, filthy leaf ear that I kept hearing-,”
“Be wary of your words,” Chloe interrupted the half elf, taking a step beside the Countess.
“That I kept hearing about!” Adam raised his voice lightly, glaring at the Oakguard. “Huh! Who is this brat? This punk? He keeps showing up again and again, and now I’ve heard he’s killed the Grand Commander? Isn’t he just twenty sothing? Twenty four, to be exact, like my wife, and my brother.”
“You have the sa birthdays!” Lanarot stated confidently, the girl smiling proudly.
“Right, right, you’re so smart, Lanababy.” Adam leaned down to nuzzle into his sister’s hair, her hair tickling his cheek. “You know what else the Countess thought?”
“I know what I think,” the Countess said.
“Yeah. You thought, hmm, that’s impossible. There is no way this random half elf could have killed the Grand Commander. I won’t speak of what happened, but it was a fair, just duel, and then you tried to claim in order to placate the King, but you made the mistake of forgetting why it happened in the first place, and how utterly unhinged the Iyrn are when it cos to their children, and the second mistake you made was thinking they were the only ones who are utterly unhinged. So you’ve co to , to ask to spar with your Oakguard, to try and understand how strong I really am. Perhaps it’s a ploy of so kind, this isn’t the first ti a noble has tried to ss with , but even if it isn’t a plot, which I’m sure it isn’t, because you want to live a long life, so you won’t cause any trouble, especially not with my sister here, it doesn’t matter.”
Lanarot blinked up at her brother, feeling it in the air, the girl’s eyes darting to her other brother, who was completely relaxed in this situation, and the girl crossed her arms to mimic him.
“What do I need from Red Oak, I wonder?” Adam asked. “The wood? Eh. I think I can probably find so better wood elsewhere, probably in Ever Green. To sell our magical weapons? In a tiny town like Red Oak? Eagle Wing is just up the road, but I think East Port is probably a better bet, since we have the Duchess’ plaque for our business. Gold Port too, the burgeoning Florian Kingdom’s capital city, and just like East Port, a port city, in which they have districts larger than the entirety of Red Oak.”
“They do not,” Jurot said, with Vonda bowing her head, but the pair understood the point.
“Now, after all the favour I tried to show you, that you refused again, and again, and now that you hear that I am potentially stronger than a Paragon, what are you planning, Countess? This lack of respect, I expected that much, but I heard that Red Oak has always had wise rulers, so I’m sitting here wondering, you, who tried to claim for the King, you must have brought a gift to make it up for . I thought you’d be wise enough to realise my epithet, Crazy Father, might have hinted towards perhaps who you should have really brought a gift for, but you co to , and tell it’s an honour for to beat up one of your Oakguard so you know how strong I am?”
Countess Lottie Redoak remained silent, absorbing all the information Adam gave to her, allowing the half elf to dig himself a deeper grave.
“You tried to take away from them,” Adam said, his voice barely a whisper, before the smile dropped away, and the darkness slipped onto the half elf’s face. “You. Who refused my children within your town.”
Vonda squeezed the half elf’s hand, trying to calm him down, but she could see it too. It was a look she had never seen within the half elf’s face.
Hearing the tone of voice, even Jurot’s eyes slipped to the side, seeing just how Iyrmanly his brother appeared.
“The audacity,” Adam whispered. “The shalessness.”
“Adam!” Vonda raised her voice, her brows shooting in alarm, the woman intertwining their fingers together, not wanting to invoke her Order’s na to try and save the half elf yet, but she prepared herself.
“You know what?” Adam whispered, before his eyes darted to et his wife’s for a mont, the half elf’s jaw tensing up. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the French were right.”
Lanarot gasped, her brows raised in alarm, her mouth forming a tiny circle. The girl shuffled up onto Vonda’s lap, before sitting upon Jurot’s lap, the girl clutching at her brother’s shirt.
Jurot held onto his sister, fairly certain the half elf was joking, but even he was shocked. If Adam was going so far as to speak such words, it was bad.
No, it’s wasn’t bad.
It was terrible.
‘What?’ the Countess thought, unsure of how to take it, for she had no idea who the Frech were.
“Watch your tongue, young man,” Juge stated firmly. “You are no Iyrman.”
“Heh,” Adam replied, his lips forming a gentle smile. “You are just a Paragon?”
Lanarot went from shock to incredulity, smirking slightly towards the Aldish fellow, the girl cackling lightly up towards Jurot.
‘…’ Juge filled with annoyance, but he knew better than to draw his blade, especially not in front of the child. The Countess had warned him well enough.
“You’re smart enough to know you need a bigger army if you want to take a shot at , Lady Redoak. The Marquess learnt that lesson the hard way.”
“If I were to deal with you, I would plan appropriately.”
“Double it,” Adam said.
“Adam!” Vonda raised her voice, her face stern, the woman glaring up at her husband. Her eyes then darted towards Countess Redoak. “Lady Redoak, I expected this much from Adam, but you have allowed this joke to go too far. Adam, I expect you to respect the customs of my culture, as you would your brother’s.”
Adam turned beet red, the half elf’s face full of the heat of sha. “Right… sorry.”
“Adam must step back because he is no Iyrman, but you may do as you wish,” Jurot said, ruffling his sister’s hair.
“I know! It is because I am an Iyrman!” Lanarot exclaid, cackling with delight, not a single hint of fear filling the woman.
As the girl exclaid, a horn blasted in the distance, and Jurot stood, reaching for his axe, while Adam reached down for his dagger, and Vonda stood swiftly, the pair of blades before her not deterring the woman.
Sorry for missing the last two days, I've been going through so health issues recently.
User Comments
0 comments from readers