Beyond Chaos - A DiceRPG-[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 some kind of helmet so I can’t see?” Adam replied, his eyes narrowing towards the First Oakguard. “Are you some kind of Paragon, talking to me 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 demeanour relaxed once more, the young man smiling wide. “It is really funny, though. I mean, I showed you guys, Red Oak, so much favour. It was… it is a beautiful town. I remember walking into it for the first time and just being in awe. Vice Master Paul, he’s always been nice to me, 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 formed 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 Aldishmen. “I remember, I wanted to buy some wood, the titular red oak. I wanted to buy it for my handsome brother here. Each time I was rebutted, rebuked, rebutted and rebuked. I thought, fine, you know, I haven’t done enough for Red Oak, that’s fair. I remember, though, we had that situation, you remember Jurot?”

“I remember,” Jurot replied.

“I was trying to buy… I want say it was saddlebags for my horse. I went to buy some, and after taking my money, the woman wouldn’t make them for me. Someone had been going around, making sure I couldn’t buy stuff, but thankfully, I was able to procure something eventually, I think in Ever Green, but it might have been someone 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 comes. All this way. Wow. Just for little old me?”

“I came for the bodies of the great warriors.”

“Hmm! Right, of course! How could I forget!” Adam grinned wider. “The Countess herself, she came for the bodies of the great warriors of the various Orders, sorry, the one Order now isn’t it? High Garden, what a beautiful name for an Order too, might I add. Anyway, you came for the Order, and then you heard something 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 something? Twenty four, to be exact, like my wife, and my brother.”

“You have the same 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 me 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 Iyrmen are when it comes to their children, and the second mistake you made was thinking they were the only ones who are utterly unhinged. So you’ve come to me, to ask me to spar with your Oakguard, to try and understand how strong I really am. Perhaps it’s a ploy of some kind, this isn’t the first time a noble has tried to mess with me, 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.”

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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 some 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 me for the King, you must have brought me a gift to make it up for me. 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 come to me, and tell me it’s an honour for me 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 me 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.

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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 shamelessness.”

“Adam!” Vonda raised her voice, her brows shooting in alarm, the woman intertwining their fingers together, not wanting to invoke her Order’s name to try and save the half elf yet, but she prepared herself.

“You know what?” Adam whispered, before his eyes darted to meet his wife’s for a moment, 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 me, 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 shame. “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 exclaimed, cackling with delight, not a single hint of fear filling the woman.

As the girl exclaimed, 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.