The Paladin's Quest

Marielle rowed her little sloop across the channel. The seas were calm, but the entire channel was blanketed in a thick fog. She navigated the waters cautiously. If she ran aground on the island of Vangel it would be incredibly difficult to get home. Furthermore, to get stranded on her first missive alone would not reflect well on her or Helios, her god and savior.

She was a paladin in the church, her job was to investigate supernatural reports and, if necessary, act on them. The temple of Helios sent missionaries to all four corners of the map, and they would often come back with stories of the demonic. When they did, Paladins like Marielle were sent to look into it. Usually, the reports were baseless, but they were true enough to justify the travel. Additionally, on the occasions that there was no nefarious magic, the presence of a paladin in a town served to show the common folk that Helios and his servants would keep them safe if they kept the faith.

The priest that had reported back had been lured to the uninhabited island of Vangel by the promise and corruption of treasure. He was scared back off the island by what he described as a ghost. Marielle had heard enough stories of ghosts turning out to be a creaky hinge or a fallen tree from many a cowardly priest to be too concerned, but she was called to serve, and so she would serve.

She found a safe place to go ashore, and did so. The island expanded into what appeared to be a vast forest. Vangel was mostly unmapped because of its dense foliage, but she would navigate based on the land anyway. She found a place to make camp and did so, then unloaded her gear.

The preparations for base camp and the slow sailing lead to the sun dipping in the sky as she finished. She had hoped to get a start today, but to navigate at dark without knowing what she was dealing with was folly. She stepped into her tent, removing her helm and allowing her medium length blonde hair to fall to her shoulders. She removed her mail and changed into her traveling clothes for more comfort in sleep. The clothes clung to her thin, fit frame as she laid out her bed roll, blew the candle out, and tried to get some rest.