Chapter 135: 121. Tea and Trouble

Father Hi stared at the Half Elf, who sipped the sweet tea which had been made. Jurot, who hadn’t made to drink the tea, did so when Adam sipped it.

The Father let out a long sigh of relief, realising that the pair were now comfortable enough to consume the drinks. They could have refused the food and drink if they didn’t trust the temple and its people, and they would have been unable to do anything about it.  

“We wished to ask you what you think of Jaghi,” Father Hi said, smiling warmly towards the Half Elf. His views on Jaghi would be important, after all, how else would they know of why the statues had awakened.

Adam continued to sip the tea, slurping it noisily, which broke the tension through the air. He placed the cup down on the table and intertwined his fingers together. His eyes met the Father’s, staring deep into them seriously.

“That’s… it?” the Half Elf asked. ‘There was no way they just called me here for my opinion on Jaghi. The three of them are the most powerful spellcasters in the entire town, and they’re asking me my thoughts about this place? No, there’s something more to it. Why do you bastards have to be so damn vague!’

Adam hated dealing with Nobles and the Clergy.

Father Hi smiled politely, bowing his head slowly. He couldn’t just ask such an important thing right away, not since they had a lot of business to deal with. He needed to ease Adam into the discussion.

“Well, I think…” Adam sighed, hating the fact they were taking the long way around to speak. “It’s certainly nicer to me than the other places I’ve visited. I was in Deadwood and Eagle Wing, and those two towns weren’t particularly kind to me. The people here don’t seem to mind me, which is nice.”

Father Hi dabbed at his face with a handkerchief he had procured from one of the many folds within his clothing. His body, being quite full of blubber due to the life of a Head Priest, was the type which often sweated easily, especially under such pressure. 

“Is that all you think of Jaghi?” the Father asked, smiling nervously towards the Half Elf.

Adam caught the eyes of the Father, which held knowledge which Adam didn’t, knowledge which made him so nervous when dealing with the Half Elf. ‘Seriously, it feels like I’m the one bullying you now. What the hell is going on?’

Jurot placed down his tea cup, having finished the tea, and he reached for a snack. 

Adam’s eyes snapped to Jurot, full of seriousness. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice simmering with offence.

“Eating the snacks,” Jurot replied, simply, biting into a hard biscuit, tasting the sugar. He understood just how amazing this snack was, since sugar wasn’t freely offered to guests typically.

“You can’t just drink the tea in one go,” Adam said, revealing how his own tea cup was mostly full. “You sip it, slowly.”

“It is a drink.”

“It’s not a drink, it’s tea,” Adam corrected. “Show some respect.”

Jurot stared at Adam. The Half Elf had never revealed any of his cultural practises before. 

“Sorry,” Jurot said.

Adam pat the Iyrman’s back. “It’s alright. I thought you drank tea in the Iyr?”

“We drink it slowly when it’s cold, but quickly when it’s warm.”

“You drink tea cold?” Adam asked, wondering if they had iced tea in the Iyr. ‘Why did I have to leave in the summer?’

“Sometimes,” Jurot said. “However, we drink tea differently depending on the weather.”

“Oh,” Adam said. “I see.”

‘Why are you two talking about tea?’ the High Priests of Jaghi thought.

Adam had switched to talking about tea partly to defuse the tension in the air, but he had learnt a little more about the Iyr by doing so. 

“Right, anyway,” Adam said, placing down his tea cup. “I think Jaghi is fine. The Acolytes here were a little weird, though. Have they never seen a Half Elf before?”

“Ah.” The chubby High Priest chuckled. “It’s just that they heard you curse, and we can’t accept that in the temple,” the High Priest dared to say, dabbing his forehead quickly to stop all the sweat which poured down like a river. ‘My heart can’t handle this.’

“Ah, right. I’m very sorry about that, I wasn’t filtering myself properly and cursed twice.” Adam slowly bowed his head in shame.

“Oh, please don’t worry about it,” the Father said. ‘He apologised just like that?’

“Is that what this is about? I didn’t mean to curse so much.” Adam tried not to sigh. ‘Seriously, you didn’t just bring me here to tell me off about me cursing, did you?’ 

“Oh, no, that’s not exactly the issue,” Father Hi said, trying to approach the topic diplomatically.

Mother Jaghi sighed, seeing just how much the High Priest was struggling.

The two Fathers threw her a look full of alarm. Father Jag had previously let slip something important, but even he knew his limits. Mother Jaghi on the other hand…

“Are you planning on destroying Jaghi?” Mother Jaghi asked, bluntly.

The two Guards almost shook their heads upon hearing what the Mother had asked, before reaching for their weapons.

Adam was half way through sipping his tea when she had asked the question, causing him to choke and gag on the tea, spraying it everywhere. He coughed, barely able to breath, wasting good tea as it splattered across the entire area, before he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

“You fu-“ Adam’s peripheral vision caught the sight of the two heavily armoured Guards, with their hands on their blades. “Excuse me?”

“We have received word that you awakened three statues, the combination of which is alarming to us,” Mother Jaghi said, seriously. 

Adam blinked. “Awakened statues?” He had no idea what that meant. ‘Golems? No, no, something else?’ “Sorry, but what did I do exactly?”

Mother Jaghi stared at the Half Elf, whose eyes were nearly forming question marks at her. “You prayed to three statues, correct? To Lady Arya, Lady Elaveil, and Lord Sozain?”

“Yeah.”

“They reacted to your prayers.”

“They did?” Adam asked. 

Mother Jaghi blinked, stared at the Half Elf, who was still looking confused at her, and then closed her eyes shut. 

‘Are you telling me that he had no idea what he had done?’

Father Hi tilted his head, causing the sweat to follow the rolls of his chins towards his Priestly garbs, his hand frozen as he clutched his handkerchief tight. 

Father Jag squinted his eyes. “You… didn’t know?” he asked.

“No,” Adam said. “I didn’t.”

“So…” the Mother began, “you weren’t planning on causing any trouble for us in Jaghi?”

“I never plan to cause trouble, but when you have ears like mine, it can’t help but find you,” Adam joked, only to see the seriousness in their eyes, causing him to clear his throat.  “No, I wasn’t planning on causing trouble.”

“Why did you pray to those three statues in particular?” Father Hi asked, beginning to calm down, his heart having almost burst through his chest from all the stress.

The air in the room began to lighten, the tension slowly oozing away as Adam slowly revealed that he had no idea what they were talking about.

“Oh,” Adam said, smiling. “Because I like them.” His eyes were full of brightness and cheer.

The tension returned, as though readying itself for all out war. 

The Guards stood up straighter, their hands gripping the handles of their blades tightly, ready to burst forward to cut the Half Elf down. 

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They noted the Iyrman, whose lips were slowly twitching into a smile, his eyes eager for battle. 

‘I bet they’re strong,’ Jurot thought, his fingers twitching, readying for a fight.

Father Hi’s sweat began to pour out suddenly, and the two other High Priests were sitting up straighter again, at full attention.

‘I suppose I shouldn’t have said that,’ Adam thought, staring at the scene before him. 

“Lady Arya has given me her favour before,” Adam said, clearing his throat, “and Dunes here is a member of our party,” 

‘I need to clear up any matters here so they don’t send assassins after me.’

He had no faith in the temple, and knew that they probably didn’t care for him, so if he gave them a reason to deal with him, they’d happily accept to stop any future trouble.

“Adam has been a wonderful follower of my good Lady in the time that I have met him,” Dunes said, placing a hand on the Half Elf’s back. “He had charged head first to battle with a White Dragon not long ago.”

“A White Dragon, you say?” Father Hi asked, clearing his throat from the nervousness which had built. “We heard of Vandra’s death, and that it was due to Iyrmen.”

“I helped, a little.” Adam tapped his sword and puffed out his chest. “I got the last hit on it, and my baby, Lightsear, took good care of her neck. It was quite the clean death, for such a vile being.”

“Oh my, how amazing,” Mother Jaghi said, clasping her hands together, her eyes sparkling towards the Half Elf. “You are such a strong warrior, aren’t you?”

Adam’s lips twitched into a smile. “Yes, that’s right, I am a strong warrior.” 

Adam almost felt like he was a six year old boy being complimented by his mother. It was a strange feeling for a man his age, but seeing how much praise Iyrmen received from their elders, he didn’t mind it.

“What of Lady Elaveil and Lord Sozain? Why do you like them?” Mother Jaghi asked, quickly leading him down the path to answer her questions.

Father Hi and Father Jag threw her a glance, nodding their heads approvingly. She had seemingly disarmed the young man, so she would be best to speak with him.

This was the strength of Mother Jaghi.

“When it comes to the God of Death, well, I have spent quite some time in the Iyr, and he’s a favourite of theirs.” Adam shrugged his shoulders. He couldn’t tell them why he really liked all three, so needed a decent reason for each.

The three High Priests nodded, for it was a well known fact that Lord Sozain, or Baktu as he was known in the Iyr, was the Iyr’s greatest deity. There were even rumours of a special relationship, though the Iyrmen hadn’t overtly confirmed the matter.

“I also personally like him because we’ve had some dealings with one another,” Adam said, putting his foot right into his mouth.

The three High Priests blinked simultaneously. 

‘Excuse me?’

“Lady Elaveil and I, well, our history is a little complicated, but I’ve assisted her before and I have a vested interest in making sure the good Lady is well.” Adam spoke about Lady Elaveil as though he were her uncle. 

The three High Priests glanced between one another, wondering if they were to allow him to talk in such a casual manner about the Gods. 

The Guards started to pull out their blades, but the trio of High Priests glared at them, causing them to pause.

‘Right, they haven’t asked for us to draw our blades yet,’ the Guards thought, keeping their blades gripped tightly in hand. It was only if Adam made a motion to attack that they could draw their blades to retaliate, otherwise they would have to wait. 

“What does a statue awakening mean exactly?” Adam asked, noting how eager the Guards were to fight. ‘If the statues awakening is a good thing, that should make them pause for a bit.’

“It means that the Gods have heard your prayers, and are giving you permission to do what you need in order to make that come true,” Mother Jaghi said. “That they agree and confirm your wishes.”

“Oh, really?” Adam smiled. “That’s good then.” 

He had no clue that the combination of the three Gods awakening was something terrifying to the people of Jaghi. 

“What exactly did you wish for?” Mother Jaghi asked, finally coming to the meat of the matter. 

“They say that if you talk about your wishes they won’t come true,” Adam retorted lightly, chuckling.

Mother Jaghi smiled, hiding her nervousness. “Who is it that says that?”

“My mother every time I blew out my birthday candles,” Adam said, confidently.

Jurot’s ears perked up, as this was one of the few times Adam had mentioned his mother. Even Dunes, who was mostly confused about the topic, noted the way the Iyrman reacted, which caused him to lean in slightly to listen.

“What?” Mother Jaghi asked, unsure of what he was talking about.

“Nothing.” Adam cleared his throat. “I just wished for their good health and to make sure they were alright.”

Mother Jaghi threw a look to Father Jag and Hi, before her eyes fell back onto Adam. “Whose good health?”

“The Gods’.”

“You wished for the good health of the Gods?” Mother Jaghi asked, trying to comprehend what he said.

“Yeah, you know, Lady Arya and the others.” Adam said, shrugging his shoulders. “I told them to take good care of themselves, and to be healthy and safe, and all that.”

The High Priests stared at the Half Elf, blinking their eyes rapidly at him.

They had never heard of anyone praying for the good health of the Gods.

Even Dunes had leaned forward to look at Adam, his contorted into confusion.

“What?” Adam asked.

“You wished for the good health of the Gods?” Dunes asked to confirm, having already heard it a few times.

“Yeah,” Adam replied, casually. “I want to make sure they are fine so they can continue providing people with magic. If they aren’t fine, then that would make how many thousands of people lose their powers? That would affect the entire region, no, the entire world.”

The Priests weren’t sure what Adam was talking about, but considering his ridiculous words, they decided against asking for more. 

“And that’s all you wished for?” Mother Jaghi asked, finally calming down again. If that was all that he had wished for, then that meant they had nothing to worry about. It would have been an issue if-

“Well, no,” Adam said, recalling one of his more concrete wishes. “I also wished for something else from Lord Sozain.”

 

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Oh yeah, he also wished for something from the God of Death.

:)

 

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