Day 6

By the time I woke up, the wagon was already moving. Sitting nearby were the two girls I’d spent so much time in this world alongside. Seeing their smiling faces as I awoke, I decided then and there. They would be my new purpose. I couldn’t protect Rachel before. I wasn’t there. On Earth, I couldn’t have done anything even if I was. In this world, I have power, however small. With what little power I possess, I can protect those dear to me. I smiled.

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake,” said Lucille.

“What time is it?” I mumbled.

“Almost noon,” said Lucille. “We decided to let you sleep in.”

“What she means to say is that you looked so cute sleeping, she couldn’t bear to wake you up!” Sofia teased. The Paladin blushed.

“Hey!” Lucille complained.

“What? I agreed with you, remember,” Sofia said, either further teasing Lucille or missing the point entirely. I sat up against the edge of the wagon, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My stomach growled.

“A-anyway,” Lucille changed the subject. “You must be hungry. Here, we have some leftovers from breakfast.”

“Thanks,” I said, graciously taking the food. It was but more of the fish we had received a few days ago, but with Flora and Sofia’s cooking abilities, it still tasted delicious. I peeked my head out of the front of the wagon. “Hey, Flora. Where are we right now?”

“Oh, you’re up,” she smiled. “Right now, we’re only a few hours away from Hearthvale. With some luck, we’ll make it there before sundown.”

“Thank you Flora. You’ve been a big help this past week. I’ll try and make it up to you when we get there,” I said.

“Huh?” She blushed. “Oh, not at all, if anything you’ve helped me out so much, I mean, you’ve saved my life a bunch of times, and, and, and-” she continued to nervously stammer on.

“What all do you know about this Hearthvale place?” I asked. “It seems like a good idea to know what we’re getting into.”

“Oh, uh, not much to be honest. I’m kinda ashamed to admit that this isn’t my normal trade route, so I haven’t actually been there before. I only just did this shipment for the church people as a sort of desperation move to be honest,” Flora said. “Lucille might know more, being a paladin and all. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Thanks for the help anyway,” I said before pulling my head back into the interior of the wagon. “Do either of you two know anything about Hearthvale?”

“I don’t know too much about Hearthvale specifically, but I do know quite a bit about our client, the Church of Esther, having lived at a church myself for some time,” said Lucille.

“Go on,” I said.

“Hearthvale is home to the Eastern branch of the Church of Esther. The central branch, the most powerful, is back in Regnus. There are three other branches in the other cardinal directions across Regnica. Hearthvale’s Church should be led by the Bishop of the East, Arlo,” she said.

“Who’s this Arlo guy?” Sofia asked.

“The Bishop of the East, and leader of the eastern branch. He’s the newest and youngest of the five bishops, having been promoted only nineteen years ago,” she said.

“ *ONLY* twenty!?” I exclaimed.

“Well, the other bishops have held their seats for at least three decades, and were only selected as bishops in their late forties or later. Arlo was selected at age 20,” said Lucille.

“So, he’s like some sorta religious prodigy or something?” asked Sofia.

“How do you even rise in the ranks of the church?” I asked.

“Similar to an adventurer. Leveling up works differently for holy classes such as priests, clerics, and paladins. For a holy class to level up, they have to perform acts of good, not merely slay wild monsters. Protecting innocents, healing the injured, passing judgement upon the evil. These acts cause growth in holy classes. While on pilgrimage, priests and clerics of the church strive to perform as many acts of good as they can, thus raising their level. After the pilgrimage is over, one is placed into a position deemed worthy of their level. From there, most proceed for do more acts of good, slowly raising their level and their rank within the church. When Bishop Arlo came back from his pilgrimage, becoming a Bishop was the only suitable position for one of his caliber,” said Lucille.

“So not only is this Arlo dude a really strong former adventurer, he’s also a super nice guy?” asked Sofia.

“Indeed,” said Lucille.

“Well that’s good to hear,” I said.

“Oh, and speaking of levels,” Sofia said. “Check your card. I leveled up the other day and didn’t notice until this morning. You might have too, Flynn.”

“Oh really? What’d you learn?” I asked, pulling out my adventurer’s card.

“I invested in ‘Elemental Authority’,” she said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“It’s a skill that increases how well I’m able to control elemental based spells. So, hopefully, I can cause less forest fires,” she sighed.

“That’s good, Sofia,” said Lucille. The mage smiled awkwardly.

True enough, my card said I was now level 3, with two more unallocated skill points. Searching through my skill list, I chose two new skills to invest in.

Shade: Using a combination of magic and sneaking maneuvers, the caster makes the target temporarily hidden from detection by both enemies and neutral parties. Party members can still see those under the affects of Shade.

Bolster: Casting this spell on an ally will increase their overall abilities and efficacy. Cannot be used on the caster.

“What’d ya get? Lemme see,” Sofia said, eagerly peeking at my card.

“Looks like a stealth ability and a party buff,” I said.

“Those will both likely prove to be useful,” said Lucille.

“Hey guys!” Said Flora from up front. “I can see Hearthvale, just up ahead! Get ready, we’ll be there in just a bit!”