Fighting breaks out...

Several days pass by without incident, positive or negative. The clouds gave way after the second day, providing clear but windy days for the rest of the way so far. The most interesting thing to happen to happen was the wildlife, having seen a golden eagle among other examples of nature's beauty that you would have never seen staying in the city. What time wasn't spent admiring the landscape, was spent in conversation with the Colonel. True to your earlier suspicions, she has been putting your faith and beliefs on trial, trying to find or create holes in your paradigm and expose them. To her credit, Dilah has the experience and the patience to converse without being judgmental, and you start to see why she and Fergus would get along; they are intellectual equals of each other. You, unfortunately are not, and have found yourself in doubt, and at times suppressing anger at her for how she asks and answers questions. You decide to try to put her on the defensive, and see if that changes your outcome.

"Dilah, may I ask you a question?" You start, following a road as it crosses back and forth over a brook, with a series of small bridges.

"Certainly, Demetria." Dilah walked with her hands behind her back, as was her norm, as if the entire world were being subjected to her field inspection.

"Mastro, and The Watch don't teach that people are inherently good, do they?"

"No, they do not." She responded. Possibly anticipating the direction of the conversation, she provided only what was needed to answer the question.

"Isn't that a really pessimistic view of the world though? To think that everyone out there is some variation of evil."

"That is a pessimistic view, yes, but the Watch of the Eternal Flame doesn't promote that view either."

You stumble mentally, having found that you're already in trouble "I don't understand."

Dilah smiled as she looked to the side at you "Few do, at least from our perspective..." She draws her sword out from her sheath, and carefully hands it to you "Now, is this sword good, or is it evil?"

"Neither, it's just a sword."

"Indeed. I could have had this sword made to help defend the innocent or protect a country, but someone could take this from me and use it to commit a cold-blooded ****, or use it to help invade a foreign land."

"So....there is no good or evil?" You ask for clarification

"Hardly. Good and evil still very much exists in this world. We do not care if a person was born good or born evil, but has that person done good or done evil. Actions and circumstances matter. Just as a piece of iron forged into a sword in wartime may have been the head of a plow in peace, we are all forged by the environments that we find ourselves in."

You can't deny that there is at least some veracity to her statements, but it also leaves the world a lot grayer than you had seen it before, though you aren't fully ready to submit to her.

"But, doesn't the fact that most people don't do bad things than mean that most folks are good?"

Dilah was fast to react "Doesn't the fact that your entire congregation is expected to confess their wrong doings to a priest mean that most of them are not?"

"Yes" you answer feebily "But only so that they can be forgiven and move towards redemption. Do you not believe in such things?"

Dilah takes her weapon back and puts it back in it's scabbard. "Yes and no."

"What's the yes, and what's the no?"

"Forgiveness is doled out to the willing and the deserving, but at a cost. The wrongdoer seeking forgiveness must do something to make right the situation. Redemption is left to the God of Justice himself. I suspect this is why your Archdeacon ran to the Phoenican church, and not to me." Her tone changed from humored to a more flat, resentful tone.

"What do you mean?" You ask

"Fergus devoted himself to a Goddess that would forgive him immediately for whatever transgressions he committed during the war, rather than working with his friend and work his forgiveness through deeds, rather than simply because he wants it."

"But, Fergus stayed in the church, for a long time, to the point that he now leads it. His deeds still have made up for whatever wrongs he committed." Phrased as a defiant counter, not as a question, Dilah was **** to consider this, and nodded slowly.

"That is a point well made, and I suspect whatever he's doing now, he's still trying to seek forgiveness."

The conversation dies down for a while, and you find yourself tossing an uncomfortable idea in your head for a while. Unable to settle it, you get it out quickly "Dilancia, why are you always asking and challenging what I believe?" The question is asked more crossly than you intended, but you also can't deny the sincerity of the feelings.

"Because you've gone too long in your life without someone doing it."

"What does that mean? Are you trying to convert me or something?"

"I think deep down we both know the main reason you are Sister of Phoenica is because you were never given an opportunity to be anything else. If your faith is never challenged, if your beliefs are never questioned and defended, can you honestly say that you believe them?"

"That's not my fault" You reply, defiantly

"I never said it was your fault, or anyone's. You became what you are through your environment, same as the rest of us. The question is, do you wish to yourself become anything else? You've already left your church. Assuming we find Fergus, do you really want to go back? Would you rather stay in the cathedral and contemplating the eternal struggle between good and evil, or would you rather be out in the world doing something about it?"

Dilancia's final question ended the conversation, and stung, in a few different ways. You are left following behind her and Xandria, taking an account of your life so far, wondering what you've really done with it. You recognize you're only a few years past adulthood, but you still start to wonder if she's judging you. That is her religion, after all; judging people for their actions. If the feelings you and her have are going to lead anywhere, this dichotomy between the two of you could make things complicated. She, is complicated, you recognize. You like that about her, you start to realize. Still, you keep your thoughts to yourself for the time being, the rest of the journey quiet. The three of you share a rabbit soup for dinner. Dilah insists on having the third watch, being the one to awaken with the sun. You and Xandria are more than willing to provide it to her, and you choose to take the first watch.

Not falling asleep is admittedly a struggle after a long day of travel, but the best way to fight against is to prevent from getting too comfortable; staying out of your heavy blanket and keeping on your feet. Thankfully, your demonic eyes permit you seeing as easily at night as you do during the day, so you don't have to keep a fire going that would attract attention unnecessarily. After about two hours since the other two have slept, your mind starts to wander. You start to stare at Dilah in her sleep, examining what features you find particularly beautiful, using memory and imagination for the parts you can't see immediately.

Your imagination gets a hold of you before too long, imagining her and you getting in bed together, as lovers. Watching her strong body straddle you, riding your cock slowly, your hands fondling each other slowly as you discover each other for a second time. In your imagination, your body starts to beckon. You start to stroke your cock slowly, longing for Dilah, hoping you don't get caught. That would certainly lead to some judgement. Your masturbation is cut short by distinct rustling in the distance. Putting one weapon down for another, you take your hammer out and do a small survey of the area. Before too long, you find the culprit, and you're immediately fearful of the implications.

The undead. A walking skeleton, seemingly without real intelligence or perception. On all instinct, you throw yourself at the animated corpse. Crushing it with your hammer is seemingly easy against the dried and feeble bones. You awaken your comrades, Dilah first

"Dilah, there's undead in the area, I just found one!" The paladin startles awake immediately "There's never just one, we have to find the rest, and the source of this evil, and destroy it!" Xandria awakens quickly as well, and you press on through the night. You come across the remains of a small town, long since abandoned. Mindless undead in various states of decay wander the derelict buildings.

"What could have caused this?" You ask Dilah quietly

"A number of things. A person buried without the appropriate rites. A curse laid upon the land. The taint of a nearby vampire. Those are the most common. We can worry about that later. Right now, we have to deal with this. Are you ready?"

You and Xandria nod. The half-elf draws a curved sword and joins in the charge, staying close to one another as you bravely eradicate the area of this evil menace. You've never really been in a battle like this before, and the rush of it passes quickly. They defend themselves to the ability they can, but they are no match for the three of you. Dozens of defeated zombies and skeletons litter the ground before it's all over, the rush of your first battle coursing through you, having lost real sense of time and events.

"Well, that was the easy part." Dilah says out loud, as she puts her weapon away

"What do you mean? We're done, aren't we?"

"With the immediate threat, yes, but lands of darkness, hordes of the undead, these things don't just happen. We have to find the source and eliminate this evil."

"But"

"No, Demetria. The Archdeacon can wait. He has to wait. This is a matter of life and ****."