"SIR, SIR!"

You turn around and see Glen running after you with something in his hand. You don't walk any further away but you don't walk any closer either. Not because you don't want to talk to him just that he doesn't seem to run a lot and getting in the way of his predetermined path sounds like a good way to get run over.

He reaches you and bends on, putting his hand on his knees and panting a little, he wasn't kidding about exhausting himself over and over, you can't see any magic in him to help recover from that short sprint. "Sir." He sucks in a big lungful of air and hold out a small cloth bag. "Thank you."

You don't need to open it to know it's coins. "I told you you don't need to ..." You trail off. If you were a betting boy, how much would you bet that your mother visited Glen's parents and told them he would give this to the person who healed his wife. "What's in the bag."

"Everything I can afford." He said.

Not really answering the whole Zara of the thing. Well no point being subtle. "Did your parents tell you to give this to the person who healed your wife or something along those lines?"

Glen didn't flinch at you words. "No." Oh he's just gotten used to you spewing random crap half the time you talk. "I know you said you won't accept any money, but you gave my wife her eye back." He put the bag on the ground and stepped back. "Either you pick it up and keep it or some passerby does."

You look at the bag and up at him. You've no doubt he fully means to just leave that bag right there no matter what you do. "Thank you." You pick up the bag, it has eight coins in it but you don't both checking them.

"Will you be at the Church on the weekend?" He asked with trepidation and you let out a deep sigh. He rushed to explain. "When I was looking for someone to heal my wife I found the Church of Nurture and the priestess said that if I brought my wife the," he blushes slightly, "Stud, can heal her by drawing her faith into himself and returning it with the Mother's blessing."

"Oh did she." You thought Farah wasn't going to spread that sort of thing. "Look there was nothing religious about that, anyone can do it. Provided you can condense your aura inside yourself."

"She said the Stud would say that and she said it was true but that you had been led to the Church and given that knowledge by the Mother of All."

"Well, ok kinda but," you just sighed again, it was like talking to Oriana all over again, wait. "Was the Priestess an older women or a younger one."

"Younger." Glen looked like he was having seconds thoughts which is great.

"What I just did had nothing at all to do with the Mother of All aside from a purely technically standpoint." Glen didn't look like he understood what you just said, which fair. "If you want to go to the Church with your wife go for but," there are Goddess yes however neither of them are the Mother of All one is just cosplaying as her, didn't seem like the right thing to say. "Just don't go thanking religion for the works of man." You settled on.

Glen nodded, thanked you again went back home. You watched him leave, making sure he didn't drop anymore coin purses. When he was gone you looked a the purse. It was actaully a pretty neat little thing, a thread was sown into a loop up to as draw strings and there was a flower embroidered on it front. Suspiciously you checked for any magic but could see none. If this was your mothers work, it was about as indirect as always. Opening it up you took a little copper disk, it was a well worked bit of metal. The face of Aurora, or maybe one of her ancestors on one side and the royal coat of arms on the back. Not exactly impossible to fabricate but decently intricate that you could counterfeit it with total ease.

You put the coin back into the bag and took a moment. For the first time in your life in their world you actually had cash, shame you have no idea how much this is. Did Glen give you his life savings or his pocket change? You should find out, if its the former you might just go back and hand it over to Emily, or leave it in their kitchen.

That does mean you need to go and buy something. With what you aren't going to call a skip in your step you follow your nose to the closest bakery. Arriving you order a pasty and depart with one coin. You turn to leave when the baker coughs and hand you half a copper coin. You put it in the bag, not life savings at least, or you hope not anyway. Still fractionalised coining was interesting. You know about gold coins and presume there are silver as well, does that mean there are actually six amount, full and half coins or even more with quarter coins.

You take a bite of the first food you've ever bought and try not to be disappointed. It's fine, not really tasty or warm, in fact it might be a bit stale. But you bought it with your own money and you are going to eat the thing and be happy about it. And that is what you do while you make your way back to the palace to talk with Mary about organising a mass healing event, you'll word shops names for it later.

The city is looking much more normal now. You figure that the lack of any repeat of last night and have no doubt the story Aurora intended to spread about it being an Encantor's practice gone way to far has already taken root. You wonder how Lucia is doing with that ... she's going to shout at you again isn't she? You'll find Auria and use boobs as a distraction just in case.

Climbing up the hill to the palace you finish the pastry and wave at the Guards as you walk past. They don't react and you have to fight the childish urge to try and make them break their focus. Walking into the palace, much like the city it is a lot calmer. You're happy that Delilah and your fight didn't do too much damage, emotionally at least.

You approach a guard and ask if they know where Princess Mary is. The point you herish way not knowing precisely but at this time she is usually training. You head deeper into the palace stretching out your perception. You can feel your way through most doors to know which room are occupied and if any of those are by Mary.

You find her behind the palace running through forms with her sword with a few guards. You head over to them but hang back from interrupting, at least you intended to. "Hello Christopher." Mary says flatly ending her form and looking at you. The guard around her seemed to pick up on the awkwardness and hurry away. "I am sorry for how I acted before, it is unbecoming of a fiancé."

"We're-" you cut yourself off from making a stupid comment. "It was mostly my fault. I was hoping to talk you about the army however?"

You can see a spike of interest and curiosity. "What do you want to know?" She asks as she steps closer then hesitates. "Would you like to join me?" She gestures to the sword in her hand.

"Sure." You haven't done your morning routine today. She points at an array of swords set up on a wooden stand and you go to pick one up, with your right hand. You shove the wooden stand, the sudden anger at yourself for constantly forgetting about the temporary maiming turning the wooden standing into a pile of splinters against the palace wall. You blink at it, "S-sorry I didn't-"

"I see it a lot." Mary said gently walking over and grabbing your left hand. "Here." She puts her sword hilt into your hand and pulls you further onto the grass.

"Thanks. Actually that is kinda what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You know a why I can help you recover?" The hope in her question makes you smile at her. She then recovers. "Because if you finger work is anything to judge by I will desperately need your other hand back."

You laugh and smirk at you. "Seriously. I met a soldier who'd lost their eye and healed them. They mentioned there were others who'd been injured but hadn't regrown or recovered. I figured you could gather them all up and I could, mass aura share and restore them."

"What?" Mary asked giving you a baffled look. You quickly explained the whole magic healing thing, and how it differed from the other magic healing. The whole while Mary got an increasingly fascinated look in her eye. When you were finish you swear you could see her change the plans for her armies next campaign with you able to heal the injured in a day. "Of course. I'll arrange the cohort and have them assembled for you."

Well that went smoothly. "Great, for some reason I was expecting that to be harder." You lift the sword in your left hand, "Shale we?"

Mary smiled and grabbed a sword to replace the one she'd given you and together you ran through forms, and wow you are really bad with your left hand, literally every form was wrong on some point. Mary seemed to be more delicate when pointing them out than you'd have expected. She was taking this very seriously. After a while you were getting kinda used to your left hand but were a long way off comparable to you left.