It was a beautiful evening, the scent of the earth expanding across the land, the flowers having begun to wilt, for it was that season, but the gentle smells filled the air. It was that kind of environment, the kind that was suitable for conversation which was not terrible, though not quite so unterrible.

The heavily armoured figures glared towards the half elf, who spoke so openly with their charge, the boy who was eagerly speaking about this and that, not exactly secrets, but not speech which should be shared so. As a boy, it was that kind of eagerness, and they could not criticise him.

As one finally caught the gaze of the Priest, he half stepped away, while the Priest approached, smiling politely.

"That fellow…" The guard paused a moment, considering how much respect he should be showing, especially since he was a Priest of Death. "The Brother, will he cause trouble?"

"Mo Adam causes much trouble, too much trouble, but for the likes of the Lady, you have no worries, or rather, you may worry slightly, but no harm will befall her," Dunes assured, since the woman was not the kind of figure Adam would bully, or at the very least, he would not harm her, though some light bullying may be appropriate.

"You flew on a gryphon?" Adam gasped, his brows raised in surprise, though he was certainly putting on greater airs. "How amazing! Aren't you so lucky?"

"Yes! I flew above the clouds!" Ara said, for apparently his father had gained control over a gryphon with ease, and while many found claiming such a creature difficult, his father, on the other hand, was the kind of being who could so easily claim a vicious, wild beast.

"Above the clouds!" Adam gasped, clapping his hands with excitement. "How amazing, young Ara, for you to fly so high up in the sky!"

Ara flushed lightly, he couldn't help but smile so proudly from the half elf's words, for who else could say they had flown in the sky upon gryphonback? Even among the King's companions, and their own children and grandchildren, there were so few.

"Mo Adam, who is the strongest person you fought?" Ara asked, having almost forgotten his question as the half elf had listened intently to his stories.

"The strongest I've fought? Oh, my, my, who is to say? One could say my friend, Bael, is the strongest I've fought, but since you haven't heard of him, it's difficult to reveal to you how strong I am. Then, I suppose, from all those you may know, I have defeated quite a few Grand Commanders, Fariqi, from those in Aldland, from those in Floria, even those in Aswadasad."

"What! Mo Adam, are you joking?"

"Joking, me?" Adam raised a brow, but smiled wide. "Sometimes I joke, but who is to say whether I am joking about this, or perhaps, if I am was always joking when we spoke, or if I wasn't joking in the slightest?"

"You! You speak like the rivers!" Ara laughed, only to freeze for he certainly couldn't say that about a Brother, but thankfully Adam laughed so heartily, easing the boy's worries slightly, while his mother had reached over to stop him from speaking such awful words to a Mo.

"Young Ara, may I speak with you?" Dunes asked, since Adam's presence caused far too much stress, whereas speaking to him, even if he was a Brother of Lady Arya, within Floria, that was more comfortable, and as an Aswadian, even the mother and bodyguards would feel more comfortable.

Once the young man was away, the woman stared at the half elf, who pretended as though she wasn't staring at him so much. He sipped his tea lightly, tasting the gentle berry flavour, before finally peeking over towards her.

"I feel a little guilty, Lady Eyla," Adam said.

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"What is it, that you feel so guilty, Mo?" Eyla replied, glad he could speak Aswadian, even if most around could not hear their words.

"When I originally came here, I came to beat up your husband," Adam said, speaking far more casually than he should, holding just a hint of arrogance, in the sense that he spoke the words calmly.

"For… defeating your grandfather?" Eyla asked, taking a moment since he had spoken so calmly about the matter, and so informally.

"I would have faced him to defeat him if he had just defeated my grandfather, since I wanted to beat up one of the few people to ever defeat me, just to make an excuse, but it's not just that he defeated my grandfather, but that…" Adam closed his eyes, recalling how small the old man had looked once he had returned, though his children had certainly brightened the old man up. One day, perhaps, he could see the Mad Dog who did not slumber. "Your husband took my grandfather's leg."

"…" Eyla swallowed nervously, feeling a lump within her throat and chest, the woman tensing up from the half elf before her. It was not just because of his words, but because of the way he spoke them, as though he, Adam, could defeat the likes of her husband, who was such a terrifying figure that even King Merryweather would have to think twice before facing him, in the sense they were rather powerful, not that he would not do his duty to face her husband.

"I was going to take his leg, but when we meet, I'll definitely beat him, but I won't do something like that," Adam said, sipping his tea.

"No matter who you are, you cannot threaten a Lord of Floria, especially the Blood Knight, who was commended for his virtues during the war," the guard warned, who was one of those Aswadasad had sent under King Merryweather's employ, while Floria had sent a few of their own to assist the Shen.

"Courage? It's not courage, but the lack of my intelligence, that allows me to… I didn't threaten him, though? We will come to blows, because that is how Fate has brought us together, he and I, but I said it, didn't I? I would show him mercy?"

The guard tensed up slightly, feeling the heat flood through his body, as the half elf often spurred, but it was awkward to draw his blade, since he was a guest of Lord Asa, and the Priest had already vouched for him.

"You speak so freely for you do not know his strength," the guard said.

"I heard from Lord Asa that he is so much stronger than me, but that's because I decided to grow slowly," Adam informed, as though the matter were truly so simple. "One day, however, I will make the decision to become more powerful. Whether or not I defeat him, it's a power that I hold within my own hands."

"You said you fought the Fariq of High Garden?"

"So I did," the half elf confirmed.

'Did… the Fariq not die?' the guard thought.

Adam held the guard's gaze for a long while, noting how he had suddenly grown quiet. The half elf slowly began to smile, leaning back within his seat. 'You're so lucky my wife is a Ray of Hope, otherwise I'd be swinging around my title as a Mo of Death, then we'll see who has the courage to speak up, huh?'

Eyla remained silent too, partly because everything he had said had been so astonishing, but considering what she had heard from the Mo of Black Mountain, it seemed the figure before her was similar to her husband, in the sense he was a terrifying force that defied logic. This figure was going to face her husband?

"Young man, why don't you-," Asa began, only to pause as Adam's entire body tensed, and suddenly Asa was within his sights. For a moment, there was that kind of aura falling between them, but it faded almost an instant later. "Is there a need to speak so aggressively?"

"Aggressively? Is that how you viewed it?" Adam let out a long sigh, full of awkwardness. "I only wanted to ease her worries."

"Is that how one unburdens another's heart?"

"I have a small issue with your husband, Lady Eyla, and I wanted to inform you, and to inform you that though there are many who would want him dead, for one reason or another, I am not one of them. I, Adam, a Priest of Baktu, do not wish to see him dead, I just wish to beat him once."

"It sounds more like a threat."

"I meant in a more romantic, we are destined to face once, and then we'll go about our business with our hearts eased," Adam replied casually, dismissing the worries with a hand. "If you prefer, I can claim him for Death, but if I do that, then it would be too late to take those words back."

Asa wondered what it was about this half elf that begged for death, but then again, Adam wasn't even a century old.

"Lady Eyla, I apologise, I didn't mean to worry you. I am used to speaking from one warrior to another, and I forget that sometimes, for those who are not in the world full of steel, full of blood, that such talk is discomforting. I have no qualms at all with you, your children, and outside of wanting to defeat your husband once, I only have positive feelings for your family." Adam then slowly stood, noting the way the guards shifted, causing him to tilt his head slightly, as though they were puppies trying to threaten him. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Lady Eyla, and if I offended you in any way."

"How could you offend me, Mo?" The Lady smiled awkwardly.