Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG
[1242] – Y06.142 – Respecting Elders V

Zabir sat to one side, glancing over towards Adam and Ashuk, who were casually talking over their meal, the half elf placing down a gem to allow them to eat what they wanted, easily an entire month’s wage for most workers. ‘He knows Ashuk? Ashuk the Spear?’

Yasha’s eyes darted from the food to the inasir, who seemed so eager to chat with the half elf, the pair casually talking as though they had been friends for years. They spoke in Elementi, their voices like rushing water and popping bubbles, joining the ambiance of the music that floated through the air. ‘Ashuk the Spear? He is facing Ashuk the Spear? Why? What happened?’

John noted the looks on their faces, realising he was seeing himself from a week ago, before he had seen the monster known as Adam. He had already been convinced by the half elf, who spoke of such dangerous matters, such crazy situations, as simply as one might sip tea, and yet somehow, they had all turned out to be true, or at least, that’s what John thought. 

‘He handed them… fifty and sixty gold?’ John was fairly certain the gems were worth that much, and considering most people lives off of ten or so gold each month, his heart skipped a beat. Could he make that much? Even earning that just once would completely change his life, for couldn’t he send his children to the local temple to study for a short while? Perhaps he’d be able to study himself, and then teach his own children? He would need to pay a small fee for the various taxes from earning so much coin, but he’d be left with most of the coin regardless. 

The things he could do with sixty gold…

“Kizwolima, we’ve been eating too much all day, so make sure you eat slowly, and if you feel full you should stop, and if you feel hungry, you ask any of us and we’ll buy you food, okay?” Adam fussed over the girl, wiping her face with a damp cloth, for the girl’s face were already a mess from all the various fruits’ juices that spilled around her lips and down her chin. 

“Okay,” the girl replied after swallowing the fruit, reaching for another piece. “Thank you, mister Adam.”

“Oh, how polite our Kizwolima is,” Adam said, brushing her hair, before his hands jolted away, once more unsure of how close he should remain. 

“Is mister Adam treating you well?” Ashuk asked, the inasir glaring down at the girl, though it was his usual sight. 

“Yes…” Kizwolima leaned back towards Adam, reaching out to hold the half elf’s hand. 

Adam flushed lightly, brushing the back of her hand gently. “Isn’t mister Ashuk so nice? He’s making sure I’m not treating you wrongly! What a good guy!”

Kizwolima returned her attention back to her food, as though trying to ignore the fact that such a scary guy was looking at her, causing the half elf to laugh. Ashuk threw a look to Jash, who was glaring at him, but he could see it was because she was doing her best not to burst out into laughter. 

‘I probably shouldn’t eat too much, otherwise I’ll feel too bloated later,’ Adam thought, picking at the various fruits, and then noting the kebabs. ‘It probably should be fine, but if they’re too spicy, I’m going to have a nightmare in the bathroom later tonight.’

“We should fight soon, before we grow too weary in the evening,” Ashuk said.

“That’s a good idea,” Adam said, thinking about when they could go and fight. “Let’s fight in a couple of hours, after our food ahas had time to settle.”

“Adam,” Dunes called a short while into their meal. “Once we are done with the meal, I can lead us to a temple. We could drink tea and I can introduce you to some Priests so you are familiar with some in Arisa whenever you travel through, and they can provide a suitable place for sparring, since it is our speciality.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea! I should have thought about that, a Temple of War is probably the best place for something like that. That’s why we pay you the big bucks, eh?” Adam chuckled, causing Dunes to smile. “Would you mind sending word, I mean, Sending, to the others?”

“I will do so,” Dunes assured.

Once they were nearing the end of their meal, Adam introduced Ashuk to Zabir and Yasha formally, since they had sat at another table to eat their food digest their shock. 

“Ashuk the Spear, it is my honour,” Zabir said, bowing his head towards the inasir. 

“Honour? To meet me?” Ashuk joked, greeting the man, before patting his heart towards Yasha, who did the same, annoyed that he shared such a gendered greeting, but she forgave him since it was Ashuk. 

“I have heard your tales!” Yasha said, her eyes beaming up towards the fellow. “You, who defeated countless seawyrms, seadrakes, and even a sea dragon!”

“They were not countless, in the hundreds, but I did not defeat a sea dragon, for he was defeated by myself and my companions, not by me,” Ashuk stated.

“Whoa,” Adam whispered. “Hundreds of seawyrms and seadrakes?” 

“He works upon the Windy Warhawk,” Jurot said, as though that explained it all. 

“How did you meet Brother Adam?” Yasha asked, glancing aside towards the half elf, who wiped Kizwolima’s face, the girl burping as she rubbed her bulging stomach, which was full of fruit, the girl having ignored Adam’s countless warnings, but how was she meant to resist the irresistible fruit of melon? It was all the Aswadian’s fault for having such a delicious fruit!

“We met in Gold Port, as he fled from the King, and then we spoke and clashed upon the sea,” Ashuk said, doing his best not to give a different impressions. 

‘Fled from the…’

“I didn’t flee from the King, we decided to leave before I caused trouble for us, and since he doesn’t want to do business with us while the Reavers are causing a mess upon his land, all because he wants to protect the honour of a child mur-,”

“Adam,” Dunes called, hoping the half elf wouldn’t lead him to an early grave.

“Fine, fine, but I’m just saying, we were the ones who decided to leave, not that we were forced away. I can, with some minor trouble, still go to Gold Port, I assume,” Adam said, growing less confident with each passing word that slipped through his lips. “Right?”

Dunes remained uncertain, and was glad they were almost done with their meal. As they made their way to leave, Dunes sighed, for the half elf had stopped, suddenly alert. the half elf stopped, causing Dunes to sigh, but Adam turned, 

“Hello?” Adam said, as though he were speaking to a ghost, his eyes wide, as though he had smoked dragonweed during his meal, his eyes growing wide. He grabbed Jurot’s shoulders, his eyes darting to the musicians in the corner.

Jurot remained silent, watching his brother’s mind race. 

“Hey, hey,” Adam said, listening intently to the music, his heart skipping a beat, the way the woman, adorned to hide herself from the world plucked the strings. “Hey! Jurot! Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“The music! The dun dow dun dow.”

“Yes.”

“What? What is that?” Adam asked, focusing intently on the music, his leaf shaped ears twitching.

“It is a popular son in Aswadasad,” Dunes explained as the half elf began to bounce his head, as though recalling the music, humming to himself.

“Huh how, addicted to the shindig. Dun dun, he says I’m gonna win big. Choose not a life of intimidation, this that hmm to the reservation!” Adam shook Jurot’s shoulders lightly, flashing a wide, surprised smile. “Jurot! It’s, it’s, you know, the guys! Catchy beats and nonsense lyrics, it’s them!“

“Okay?”

“It’s the-,” Adam’s smile faltered, the half elf pulling his hands away, his smile quickly fading away. He blinked, glancing down, the realisation slowing his thundering heart. “Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

Jurot reached up and placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder, realising what happened to the half elf, whose hopes had been quickly dashed away. He slowly bowed his head and the half elf let out a gentle sigh, shaking his head lightly, blinking rapidly. 

“Adam?” Dunes called.

“It’s nothing,” Adam replied, in a tone that suggested it was something, but he didn’t want to talk about it. 

‘What just happened?’ Yasha thought, following after the small form of the half elf, who followed the Priest to the nearby temple. 

As the half elf followed Dunes, his mind returned back to his first life, ignoring the world around him. He ignored the heat, the noise of the city, the sharp smells, losing himself to the thousand memories which flooded his mind and his heart. The songs. The films. The food. 

“Hello,” Adam whispered, his words lost to the world. “It’s me. I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet, to go over everything. They say that time’s supposed to heal ya, but I ain’t done much-,”

Jurot noted the half elf reaching up to his eyes, the words far too real for him, the young man letting out a sharp breath, forcing away the tears from his eyes, his heart sinking deep within his chest. Jurot had no idea what memories flooding through the half elf’s mind, nor what the words meant, certain they were of a song, or a poem, but they were of a world he did not understand. A world with no way to bring back the dead, no matter how much gold one could spend, and yet a way to communicate freely a thousand miles away. No teleportation, but they could spend a single gold and travel upon a giant bird of steel, covering the distance from the Iyr to Red Oak in the span of an hour. 

“Mister Adam?” Kizwolima called, reaching up to the half elf’s hand, squeezing it gently. 

“Yeah?” Adam asked, through his tight throat.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just… I ate too much,” Adam joked, chuckling to himself.

“My tummy hurts.” 

Adam hoisted the girl up in his arms. “Alright, I’ll carry you, just this once, okay?”

“Thank you, mister Adam,” Kizwolima said, resting her head upon his shoulder, the girl clutching at his collar. 

Adam thought of how his sons and daughter would do the same, clutching at his collar, as though he would disappear from them. If he hadn’t gone through it twice already, he wouldn’t have thought anything of it, other than his children being so cute, but his heart throbbed, realising it could happen again. Then he looked down at the girl’s curly locks, realising Kizwolima had gone through it too, having been transported a world away from her own family. 

‘Don’t worry, little Kiz. I’ll make sure you can get back home, no matter what.’

Thank you, NHS.