Chapter 3: 2. The Test I

"Who are you?" Jurot asked, staring at the heavily armoured young man who was reaching out for him. He didn’t think twice about it, since the stranger was currently being restrained by a pair of Iyrmen, and another three remained nearby.

‘What kind of idiot would cause trouble for a group of Iyrmen?’

Emma and the adventurers were staring at Adam, who was still in shock. Emma glanced at the Iyrmen, who threw her a look. So far, it didn’t seem like the stranger had any ill intent, but they couldn’t be sure.

“Jurot, son of Surot. It’s you, isn’t it?” Adam asked desperately, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

The other Iyrmen threw looks between one another, sharing the same thought. Jurot hadn’t spent much time outside the Iyr, not long enough to make any friends. He had been with his father, mostly, and every so often with his aunt. It could have been a passerby that they assisted, but they couldn’t be sure.

“That’s right,” Jurot exclaimed, crossing his arms. “I am Jurot, son of Surot!” His voice reverberated throughout the entire Adventurer’s Guild, making sure everyone knew who he was, and who led his family. The opportunity to exclaim such a thing came rarely, and he took every moment to relish the moment.

Adam relaxed within the grip of the Iyrmen, and reached up towards his helmet. The Iyrmen let him go, seeing that he wasn’t making any aggressive movements. He revealed his face to them all.

The people around gasped, staring at Adam. They had taken note of him due to his antics, but now their eyes were firmly glued to the sides of his head, to one certain area in particular.

“It’s an elf!” an adventurer shouted, standing up and pointing, his shock getting the best of him.

Another adventurer backhanded him. “It’s a half elf, you twit! Can’t you use your eyes for once?”

Other adventurers looked towards the half elf, some with intrigue, and others with darkness in their eyes.

“It’s a leaf ear,” someone growled from the corner, clenching his fists tight, breaking the game tile within his hand.

One of his adventuring companions put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “And you’re going to make trouble in the Adventurer’s Guild?” She glared at him. “If you have a death wish, do it when we’re not around.”

The man grit his teeth, wishing he could shove his fist through the bastard half elf’s face, but he leaned back. “I’m not that stupid,” he said, looking at his companion.

“We can find another time. Take it easy,” the woman said. “You owe me a silver piece for a new tile.”

“I’ve never met a half elf,” Jurot said, looking to Adam, seeing the leaf shaped ears at his side.

“You might not know me, but man do I know you,” Adam said, a wide smile on his face. He let out a sigh of relief. “Son of Surot, and Son-“ Adam stopped, realising what he had done.

His emotions had gotten the best of him, and he had spilled out so much. He stared at Jurot, who had caught the first bit of his mother’s name, and saw the suspicion grow within the Iyrman’s eyes. ‘Shit.’

Jurot waited, wanting to hear the rest. He was certain he had never met with half elf before, and he wasn’t sure if his parents knew any half elves so intimately. The stranger had been so confident speaking to him, as though they had known each other for a while.

Adam reached up to rub his face, shaking his head. ‘What the hell am I doing?’ He continued to rub his forehead, wiping down his face, trying to wipe away his stupidity. “Nothing, nothing…” Adam cleared his throat, trying to change the topic. “I hope we can be good friend,” Adam said, reaching out his hand.

“Are you strong?” Jurot asked, still staring into the half elf’s eyes. The other Iyrmen were as suspicious as he, but they waited. They knew it was best to wait for another to continue to speak, so that they could take the rope that the half elf provided and strange him with it. Proverbially, of course, since they would actually use the cold hard steel at their side.

“Not as strong as you,” Adam replied back with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension in the air. He flashed the nicest smile he could, like a businessman.

Persuasion Check
D20 + 2 = 4 (2)

However, like a businessman, he had something to hide. Jurot’s Iyrman senses told him something was up, that Adam was trying to hide something from him.

Jurot didn’t shake Adam’s hand, raising his brow towards the half elf. “Then I do not know if we can be good friends.” How was one meant to be friends if they weren’t strong? What happened if he was pinned under a dragon, would the half elf be able to assist him? He’d just get himself killed.

“Well, we’ll just have to see,” Adam chuckled, pulling his hand away. “I’ve come to take the exam as well.” He looked towards Emma, who had been watching the half elf interact with the Iyrmen. “Is that alright?”

Emma wasn’t sure what was happening, but seeing as the tension had been defused, she returned back to her cheery, but professional, self. “You will need to fill out the form, but you can take the test at the same time. Two test takers today? My, my, you don’t get to see that often.” She smiled, though even she was suspicious about this half elf.

“How do you know of Jurot?” an Iyrman asked.

Adam didn’t recognise him, though he has sure he had seen the tattoo on the man’s forehead before as a blanket on an Iyrman’s hut. He was tall, with slightly tan skin, and built like an Iyrman. He was lean, and carried at his side a pair of swords.

“I’m a man of Fate,” Adam replied back, using whatever wits he had remaining after the shock of finding Jurot alive, and that he had seemingly returned to the world before he had left, though it was vastly different than before. “The gods helped me to know of him.” Technically it was the truth.

The Iyrman just nodded, as though what he had said had explained everything. The Iyrmen did not pretend to understand the gods. Instead, they followed the will of the various gods, and followed their own rites in accordance to the god’s laws.

Emma had already taken out the sheet of paper for Adam, a single sheet which asked for general information, with a box at the bottom to put in anything he’d like to reveal to the guild.

“This is the form which needs to be filled out. Do you know how to read and write?” It was a silly question, since Adam was a half elf, but she had to ask anyway.

Adam nodded as he took the sheet. He covered it with his body as he wrote down what he thought would be useful for the guild, and to catch their eye. He didn’t want to say anything out loud, in case other adventurer’s heard. He noted his ability to cast certain spells, Flame Bolt and Identify specifically, and his ability to smith.

Emma checked his notes, and then raised her brow. “Can you really do all these?”

Adam smiled smugly. “Yes. Yes I can.” He nodded slowly, feeling rather proud of himself.

[Why are you so proud? You didn’t earn any of them.]

‘I died twice for someone else, I feel like I have earned this and more.’

[…]

Emma checked the paper, and then handed it back to him. “Hand this to the Vice Master when you see him, he’ll need to read it in order to test you appropriately.”

“Understood,” Adam said, nodding his head.

Adam went to the back room, which had a myriad of weapons all over the walls, from swords to polearms. He also Jurot, who was sat up straight, like there was a sword glued to his back, arms crossed. His gaze pierced Adam like a pair of spears.

“Do you know my mother’s name?” Jurot asked. He had been curious, having heard most of his mother’s name leave Adam’s lips. Just who was Adam, and how much did he know?

“I believe so.” Adam had already said half of it, so he was in too deep to run away. He wasn’t going to lie to an Iyrman, that would be too awkward.

“What is it?” Jurot squinted his eyes, staring at Adam.

“Sonarot.”

Jurot sat up straighter, squinting at Adam with a deeper suspicion. How could Adam know about his mother’s name? “When did you meet my father?” Jurot could only surmise that Adam had met with his father, how else could he know all this information?

“I’ve never met your father.”

“You haven’t met my father?” Jurot repeated, unable to believe the words. He was less suspicious and more confused. ‘What?’

“No.” Adam shook his head.

“How do you know so much about me and my family?” Jurot tilted his head, trying to force the blood towards his brain to think harder.

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Adam sighed, unsure of what to say. He could see that Jurot wasn’t exactly taken with him. “Once we get to know each other better, I’ll let you know.” He couldn’t just reveal the fact that he had died, reborn into a new world only to let Jurot die, and then had died again.

However, it didn’t help Jurot calm his suspicions. Why would he say? Did he have something to hide?

‘Suspicious!’

Jurot would need to keep an eye on Adam for the good of the Iyr in case Adam was someone detrimental the his home.

“If it isn’t little Jurot,” called a familiar voice, though there was something off about it. Adam turned to see another familiar face. An older man with pale bronze skin, salt and pepper hair, and dark eyes. He wore a breast plate, which had a stylised sigil stamped against the front, and pieces of segmented armour across the rest of his body.

‘Vice Master Paul?’

Adam blinked a few times. There was something different about him. It didn’t take long to realise what it was.

‘He’s not depressed.’

It was so weird to see Paul not depressed or drinking. Adam understood why the man’s voice sounded so weird, it was far more joyful than he remembered.

“Paul of the Silver,” Jurot replied back respectfully, standing up to shake the Vice Master’s hand.

‘Silver?’

“I didn’t expect to see someone else. It’s not every day that we get two people to test at a time.” Paul reached out to shake Adam’s hand, before taking the sheet. He scanned it quickly, his eyes stopping near the bottom. His brows moved like a wave as he processed what Adam had written. He looked at the half elf. “A man of many talents, are you?”

“It’s good to be well rounded in life,” Adam replied back, smiling.

“I’ll have to verify some of your abilities separately later.” Paul eyed up the fully armoured newbie. ‘He’s either a youngster who talks big, or a hidden gem. Let’s see if he’s lucky or unlucky to be tested beside an Iyrman.’

Paul led them around to the long field, where adventurers would train their ranged abilities, though there wasn’t anyone here at the moment. “Drop your stuff to the side, and we’ll get started on your endurance test.” He looked to Adam. “You can keep your armour on, and I’ll take it into consideration as you run.” After all, Adam was going to be armoured whenever he was out adventuring.

Adam dropped his pack aside, covering it with his blanket, and Jurot did the same. He kept his axe to his side, but placed the javelins, which had been hidden under his heavy fur coat, into the coat and placed it atop his pack.

“All I want you to do is walk the length of the field, and then I’ll ask you to jog, before finally running. Keep going until I tell you to speed up, or until you feel like you can’t run any more.” Paul waited at one end. “Take your positions.” Paul motioned a hand on either side of the field.

Adam looked to Jurot, who stood on the right side of the field, so he went to the opposite side.

Constitution Save
D20 + 4 = 14 (10)
D20 + 4 = 17 (13)
D20 + 4 = 15 (11)

Adam started off at a decent pace, mostly matching Jurot. They walked for a few minutes before Paul shouted out for them to speed up, where they both fell into a jog. Jurot was glancing at Adam to see how well the half elf was doing, jogging for a few minutes together. Adam managed to match pace with him, even though he was wearing heavy armour.

‘He doesn’t seem to be as weak as I thought. Was he lying about being weaker than me? How can he keep up with me?’

“Alright, get to running! I want you running as hard as you can!” Paul’s voice cut through the air, and the pair began to quicken their steps.

Adam could already feel his breath hitch within his chest after a minute or two of running, but he continued to run. As they continued to run laps, Jurot was speeding ahead. He was three laps ahead before Adam slowed, jogging to a halt near Paul, keeled over as he held onto his knees. His breathing was hard and heavy, and he dropped down and rolled onto his side.

“Stick a fork in me, I’m done,” Adam managed to pant out, removing his helmet. His skin was full of sweat, though not as much as one would have expected considering he was being toasted in his armour.

Paul glanced at Adam, seeing his fine features. ‘A half elf?’ He hadn’t expected to meet a half elf, not after what happened all that time ago. However, his attention wasn’t held by Adam for long as he continued to count Jurot’s laps.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Paul eventually said when Jurot was most of the way back towards him.

Jurot skidded to a halt beside him, covered in sweat. He was panting quite heavily too, but the look in his eyes was that of a man on a runner’s high. He had just gotten into the zone, and probably could have gone for another hour if Paul would have allowed him.

“You both did well,” Paul said, marking something down on some paper. “Considering you were wearing heavy armour, you did well. Jurot, I didn’t see you wanting to slow down any time soon. Seems you’ve inherited the Will of the Iyrmen.” Paul chuckled.

Jurot smiled. “This much is nothing,” he said, puffing out his chest with pride. “If I can’t do this much, how could I call myself an Iyrman?”

First Test Complete
+10XP

‘I get experience for completing these kinds of tasks?’

“You two can take a few minutes to rest up, and then we’ll move to see how strong you are.” Paul went to stand beside their things, keeping an eye on them. He had been keeping an eye on them during the test, sometimes glancing aside, but he really didn’t have anything better to do at the moment.

“I hate running,” Adam said, panting for air still. “I like walking, maybe even a little jog, but running?” Adam shook his head. “Unless I’m chasing after something or running away, I hate it.”

“We need to practise so that we can chase things down or run away,” Jurot said. “Otherwise, you may not be able to run very far.”

“Why can’t swimming be the default?” Adam asked. “I like swimming, it’s so much more fun. You can float in the water, pretend you can do water magic, and swimming feels so much nicer.”

“Are you half a sea elf?” Jurot asked, wondering why Adam liked swimming so much.

“I don’t think so,” Adam replied back. He had no idea what kind of half elf he was. “Maybe part of my blood is sea elf? I like eating fish too, so maybe I do have some sea elf in me.”

“You don’t know your own heritage?” Jurot asked, half in shock. He had never met anyone who didn’t know their own heritage, though he had also grown up in the Iyr, where you learnt at least a hundred stories by the time you turned five years old.

“Maybe not,” Adam replied back. “All I know is that I’m alive, laying in a patch of grass, sweating my balls out.”

“To not know one’s heritage is to embrace a type of death,” Jurot said.

Adam turned his head to look at Jurot. “I never expected something so profound coming from you.”

“It is something the Chief always says,” Jurot admitted. “To not know your story means that it will be lost to history, dead.”

“Well, it’s not dead. I’m living and breathing, isn’t that proof of it?” Adam stared up at the young Iyrman.

“That’s true.” Jurot nodded his head, understanding the sentiment behind Adam’s words, even if he didn’t wholly agree to it.

‘Though, technically I don’t have a history…’ Adam thought about his presence in the world, and what kind of story his body had before. He shook his head. ‘No, no. I do have a history.’ He recalled his past life, flashes of it entering his mind. “My memories,” he said, looking to Jurot. “I still have my memories of my life, my existence.” Adam eventually stood up, stretching slightly as he did. “I’ve met you, meaning you will tell my story now, so that I may never die.”

Jurot’s lips curled into a smile. “That’s true,” the Iyrman said, nodding his head. “If an Iyrman speaks of you, you will never die.”

Adam looked up towards the sunny sky, seeing how clear it was. “That’s good. I’m getting a little sick of dying.”

Jurot looked at Adam with a curious look, his eyes filled with questions. There was something about what Adam had said which made the back of his brain tingle. ‘Just what is he talking about?’

 

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