Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG
[1176] – Y06.076 – The First Rain of Noonval V

“We should have gone to fight too,” Chosen complained, sipping away at the village’s grainwine, filled with annoyance, further amplified with alcohol, tempered by his want to annoy his best friend.

“Was there a need for us to fight?” Tanagek replied, sipping away at the grainwine within his cup, already feeling the alcohol tingling through him, a gentleness that limbered up his body, though his body grew sluggish.

“You speak such words, but hold such a look within your eye?” Chosen replied, grinning wide as Tanagek filled with further annoyance. “We step out and when we reach the village upon our border, there are already two Reavers? I thought Jurot was exaggerating.”

“When does Jurot exaggerate?” Tanagek replied with a raised brow.

“When he speaks of his children.”

“Are they not the cutest?”

Chosen thought for a moment, before a wider smile appeared upon his lips. “It appears I have spoken as a fool.”

“When do you not?”

“When I praise you.”

“You are also a fool then.”

Chosen laughed, nodding his head to agree as Tanagek poured him a drink. He leaned back within his chair, taking in the sight of the darkening sky, his body flush with the warmth of the alcohol, and the spirit of greater adventure. His arm nestled against his blade. He could feel the gentle tingle of magic. Basic Enhanced. It felt easier to wield and floated through the air better than most mundane weapons, but it was not quite as easy as the Bloodblade.

‘It hits harder and if you need it to, it can hit even harder for about a minute each day. If you need to recharge it, go to sleep and wake up, learn Third Gate spells, or just bring it to me. It’s not like I’m cheap with my magic, you know?’

‘What of my blade?’ Tanagek had asked.

‘It does the same too, they all do,’ Adam replied.

‘What insanity is this?’ Chosen thought, reaching up to rub his pulsing forehead. ‘A… Chaos Enchanter? Jurot, do you understand? Your brother…’

The young Iyrman could feel a fraction of the stress the Great Elders must have felt, for even though Adam had been nothing but polite and thoughtful towards him and his family, Chosen was certain it was best to kill the half elf.

Tanagek felt the gentle tingle of the blade at his side, and though it held the exact same enchantment as the magical weapons gifted to all the others, it was formed in a very different shape. It looked similar to a particular blade, while Chosen’s blade was tinged with red.

‘It’s no Fresh Snow Zephyr,’ Adam said, though he had looked to Jurot for support to check if he had recalled the right name. ‘It’s still pretty good though, yeah?’

‘Pretty good?’ Tanagek thought. Fresh Snow Zephyr was a great blade, it allowed one to move swiftly during immediate danger. However, this sword struck as heavy as a greatsword, and once per day could surpass even that, striking as heavily as an Oathsworn might with their righteous fury. To call it pretty good would be an understatement.

While the two thought of the insanity they had witnessed in the last few days, with Jurot’s words proving true before they had left the Iyr, and then even within moments of stepping off the Iyr’s land, there were others who thought deeply upon serious matters of fools.

‘He is too swift,’ Kitool thought, her eyes snapping towards Bael for a moment, before they fell away to the sky again. When it came to swiftness, she surpassed all within her companions, save, apparently, for two. Bael had been the one who had guided Adam to the Reavers, for he had burst forward with lightning crackling all about him, while the half elf had done that.

It had made sense Adam would cast such a spell, for the worry within his heart was greater than his greed for magic, which was so close to zero, one might have truly thought he had no greed for magic.

She had spurred herself forward with her own ability, and managed to appear a short while later, though it had taken her long enough that Adam had already killed one of the Reavers, while Bael was brutally beating another with the greatest of joy. Not only was the fool quick, but he was also strong. She had barely seen it the previous year, but this year, she had seen how viciously he could fight against someone with greater strength. The woman recalled the oaths she had sworn, and the rites she had performed the previous year to gain the privilege of her abilities.

As the sky darkened, Adam gathered all his companions together, from those of the Iyr, to those of the business, and as he gathered his companions, he appeared too. An older man, with dark skin littered with scars. A lean muscular form, that had grown slightly chubbier thanks to his retirement within the Iyr. His hair was no longer as long or as thick as it once was, nearly trimmed almost to the skin, though his beard remained heavy. His eyes were dark and tired, though held a great resoluteness within.

Adam remained silent as he approached, taking his place beside the half elf. The pair exchanged a look, while Adam’s eyes darted towards Dunes, who stood awkwardly, half ignoring the older man, who half ignored him in return.

“Alright, well…” Adam began, clearing his throat. His eyes took in the sight of all those before him. “It seems like the Reavers are pretty strong. Even after it… beat Nobby, I still barely took its head off with enough damage to kill an Expert twice over.”

Jurot’s ears twitched, his eyes meeting Kitool’s, the pair nodding their heads. Adam’s ability to figure out just how deep his axe cut was extremely impressive, and as far as they were concerned, completely accurate. The others who had travelled with Adam previously held his words equally as heavy, while Tanagek and Chosen wondered if the being known as Bell had anything to do with it.

“Nobby, you fought it one on one, didn’t you?” Adam asked.

“Yes.”

Adam frowned, not wanting to admit that was the case. When he had appeared, he had noted the other Reaver had been fairly relaxed, save for when it drew its blade to face against Bael. If they had fought Nobby two against one, then he’d worry less, but if even the likes of Nobby couldn’t deal with a Reaver, suddenly things seemed far more dangerous.

“I’m not sure how I feel about taking everyone out when it’s so dangerous, especially when we’re taking Taygak with us,” Adam admitted.

“We have made the preparations to assist Taygak,” Jurot stated simply.

“Though you may not have prepared, we have,” Tagak stated firmly, his eyes glaring at the half elf.

“Did you make enough preparations thinking the Reavers were at least this strong?” Adam asked.

“We made the preparations with the assumption each Reaver was as strong as a Grandmaster wielding Greater equipment,” Jurot replied, standing tall and proud.

“I feel like we’re going to be really unlucky this year too,” Adam admitted, not wanting to bring the morale down so early, but they needed to face the reality of the situation, especially when he was involved.

“We have prepared for that too,” Jurot assured, before his eyes darted to the side, where Blues perched upon the roof of a hut, its eyes focused upon the Iyrman.

Adam remained deep in thought for a long while. His eyes then fell to Ashmir, who was as still as a statue, and silent as death. ‘If the Lion King is coming along, then…’

“If you use my name, it may cause some trouble,” Ashmir said, noting the way the young half elf looked at him. “The names of the Iyr, Black Mountain, are great.”

“I’m just thinking, since you are so old now, if you can even make the journey,” Adam replied, doing his best to keep a straight face.

“Ask Elder Wrath,” Ashmir stated. “This one, or the previous, if I am too old to fight.”

Adam let out a small scoff, partly out of nerves, partly out of fear, and partly out of how funny the statement was. “I guess so. Though, that doesn’t give you the right to bully Bavin, alright?”

Ashmir remained silent, while Adam listened to their thoughts for a short while longer, until he relented, agreeing with them to continue.

Nobby made his way back to the cabin, where he found Merry fast asleep, the boy completely tuckered out from his play. Nobby stared at the boy, who was chubbier than before, but was still smaller than his peers, and struggled to see or hear quite as well. He coughed within his sleep, the kind of cough Nobby had gotten used to hearing from his son, but it still pained his heart.

As he stared at the boy, he saw it. He blinked, the blackness overwhelming him, the chill. As he opened his eyes, he recalled the scene, the warmth of the magic he had felt. He could see Adam’s face staring down at him in utter shock, the relief slowly invading the half elf, though Adam had remained tense.

However, Nobby had seen it.

It hadn’t been the first time he had seen such magic.

It was probably why Ray Vonda had fallen for him.

‘Thank you, mister boss.’

Ok I will admit that the chapters are still a bit slow, but I promise you, this next arc? It's... really good.

In order to celebrate how much success this story has recently achieved, I'll be posting up double chapters on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, unless I forget, in which case please remind me on Wednesday.

If you want more chapters, I'm still posting up additional chapters for every new patron!