"Is there an issue, young kal?" Dunes asked, holding the young man's gaze, who was only a few years his senior.

"No issue at all, Mo," Aklas replied, though he held the Mo's gaze for a long while, before finally storming off with his group. 'How dare you.'

"You should ask ahm Ali, he'll tell you I was quite well behaved," Adam said, through a pained voice that suggested he wasn't quite as innocent as he claimed.

"Your friend… is a Mo?" Ali asked.

"He is."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Ali remained silent.

'It was that bad?' Dunes thought, his eyes darting towards the half elf, who flushed a gently scarlet.

"I was a little cheeky, sure, but I was pretty respectful. I was nice to the fellow who wanted to beat me up, I let him go after showing him a little bit of my strength."

"How little?"

"A third," Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I no armour, no weapon, I only smote him a little, I got really lucky too."

'Adam with a third of his strength is still…'

"Then when his boss came around, he was in a bad mood and instantly picked a fight with me, but I was still trying to be nice, and I even stepped back when he asked me to, and then he kept pulling me back in, and that really pissed me off, and look, still no Fireballs, is there?" Adam asked, holding out his arms to the rest of the barbershop that was pristine.

"If you had brought a Fireball into this barbershop, even if you were in the right, I would have left the business," Dunes warned, his eyes stern, glaring at the half elf.

Adam cleared his throat, flushing with embarrassment. "I would have paid for it, and I would have compensated ahm Ali and the rest of the people around."

"It is not about the money," Dunes said, tilting his head slightly, his eye knowing.

Adam could feel what he was trying to say with his eyes. "Sorry. I mean, I didn't do it, so I guess that's good."

"Unfortunately we will need to deal with the situation, or I fear the barbershop may be in great trouble," Dunes said, having seen the rage within the other fellow's eyes.

"We'll have to go with the second plan then."

"What is that?"

"The second plan is to give a lot of money to the local noble in order to put more effort into guarding this area," Adam said, as though it was really quite so simple. "If he didn't want to accept the thousand gold, then I'll spend ten thousand to teach him a lesson."

"That may still be difficult."

"The next plan is less costly, but since your Order is busy, I don't want to bother them," Adam said. "I'm not expecting either to be cheap."

"It is not about the money, though it helps."

"If during this time, with the Reavers all around, the nobles and the Order of Black Mountain, if they refuse piles of silver, gold, and magical weapons, then I suppose I'll have to deal with the Reavers myself, so that way I can claim all the magical weapons," Adam joked, but the annoyance in his tone was more than evident.

Dunes blinked, wondering how he hadn't thought that Adam wouldn't have done something like that.

It was Adam, after all.

"We just need to speak with the noble family, that's all," Adam said, as though it were so simple.

"Are you sure you wish to speak with nobles?"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Adam frowned slightly, though mostly at himself. "I'll behave."

Dunes chuckled, flashing a wide smile towards the pair. "It is a good think they are family of a friend of ours, so I hope you will treat them well."

"They are?"

Dunes remained silent, throwing a look to Jurot, who remained silent.

"Whose?"

Dunes furrowed his brows towards the half elf, for his memory wasn't that bad, was it? Usually it was just his memory when it came to names…

"It's that obvious?" Adam asked, thinking about who he knew that had a connection to Aswadasad. 'It's probably someone from Black Mountain, but whose a-,'

Jurot decided to sit on the stool the moment Adam had finally recalled who, the half elf covering his eyes in shame.

The entire complex was beautiful, forged out of sandstone that was more than likely imported, engraved along the top and bottom with various symbols, curiously enough to the half elf, of drakken design. The guards upfront were adorned in chain over leather, long cloaks pooling behind them, their scarves hiding the bulky helmet beneath, while the sabres at their side, hung loosely.

Dunes smiled politely towards them, and after greeting the guards, the steward, a young woman adorned in pure white, greeted the young man, before inviting them within. The greenery within reminded Adam this place was truly in Aswadasad, the sharp wind whipping at his clothing as he made his way to a small gazebo, where they would wait before being met.

"It's a nice place, huh?" Adam said, eyeing up the designs of the area, including the wooden half walls, each smoothed out, with tiny engravings along the bottom, this time in devilkin.

"It is," Dunes said, noting how different it was from the last time he had been here almost a decade ago.

Uli's eyes followed a bee which buzzed from flower to flower while Adam was almost distracted by the rest of the architecture, until his distraction was broken by a woman. Wrinkles like rivers poured down her face, her colourful attire clashing against the rest of the world, her skin a deep purple, her attire bright yellow with a rainbow of flowers falling against the sun yellow. As she approached, a pair of guards escorted her, each adorned in breastplate, long capes billowing in the breeze, the woman wielded a sabre, the man a pair of rapiers.

"Mo Dunes," the woman called, reaching out her hands for the young man, allowing him to hold onto them. "I see you are well."

"I am, Matriarch, and I see you are as healthy as ever," Dunes replied politely.

"I hear you have some business you wish to speak of?"

'If she wants to speak quickly of business, she must be annoyed,' Dunes thought. "This is Executive Adam of the United Kindom, and Kal Uli, of Black Lion."

The woman's eyes fell to the half elf, about to greet him, but when she heard who Uli was, her eyes darted to him. She slowly bowed her head, and Kal Uli returned a bow of his head in return, and after a long moment passed between them, she stepped beyond them and sat down on the larger chair, which could allow two to sit side by side, and was covered in cushions. The two guards flanked her on either side. "I am Lady Grace, Matriarch of this humble town. You may speak freely here."

"I have come to ask for assistance, Matriarch," Dunes said, smiling awkwardly. He didn't want to ask for help on behalf of Black Mountain, but since he was a Manager of the United Kindom, it was less troublesome.

"What assistance do you require, Mo of Black Mountain."

Dunes continued to smile awkwardly. "I am currently assisting a business, and we were hoping we could request the support of a few guards."

"What is this business that you are assisting, Mo?"

"It is a business that deals in the trade of magical weapons," Dunes stated, holding the woman's gaze.

The Matriarch sat a little taller, leaning in slightly, clasping her hands together as she furrowed her brows. "Magical weapons?"

"The business deals in Basic, Basic Enhanced, Greater, and Greater Enhanced weapons, Matriarch," Dunes said, smiling more innocently, glad it had perked her up.

The Matriarch, already annoyed by Black Mountain thanks to a particular young man, narrowed her eyes towards Dunes, wondering what he was playing at. "You are close with this business, Mo?"

"I am a Manager, my position is quite high within the business, and with my connection to Black Mountain, still a Mo of Black Mountain, I hold greater influence than a typical Manager."

'I see,' the woman thought, noting the way the young man was looking at her now that he realised he had managed to gain her attention. "You require additional guards, Mo?"

"It is an awkward situation, but we have certain responsibilities to this town that we cannot deal with without support," Dunes admitted. "I was hoping you would be willing to allow us to hire a few guards from your family in order to deal with our duties here."

"You require guards for duties within our humble town?"

"There is a neighbourhood we are interested in, Rising, which we would like to watch over while our Order is currently indisposed with the Reavers."

'Ah,' the woman thought. "In this time it is awkward, but since it is you asking, Mo Dunes of Black Mountain, I am certain we are able to assist in some way. How many guards do you require?"

"Two guards who could patrol the neighbourhood," Dunes requested.

"Nine," Adam said. "Three per eight hour shift, one can stay at the barbershop, the other two can patrol nearby, and they can switch within their shifts. I want one for the morning, one for the late afternoons and evenings, and I want one for the night."

The Matriarch wasn't sure who this fool was to interrupt their conversation to request so many guards. "That would be quite awkward."

"We will hand over one thousand gold up front, we will prepare Basic Weapons for the nine guards, plus an additional Greater weapon for the family," Adam said, as though he were offering fruit to the woman. "We will require the guards to remain for at least two years, and though I don't expect you to send Experts, I trust you will send someone dependable. I believe that is more than a fair price, roughly, what, if my maths is somewhat accurate, fifty gold a month for each guard? Something like that?"

The Matriarch blinked.