The main speaker’s entourage, although a little confused, was quick to obey his order. Unfortunately for them, there were three tables and a dozen chairs worth of obstacles between us, some occupied by drunks and travelers. If it was a straight-up battle I probably would’ve had a hard time dealing with five enemies at once. I may have dealt with multiple Luxor Cultists at the same time back at home, but I have a feeling they were holding back knowing that they should not kill me. Not to mention that they were probably barely initiated for combat.

The first cultist manages to make his way through the chaos, knife out and ready for cold-blooded murder. In that case, I don’t have to hold anything back either. I take out my blacksmith hammer and use the extra range that it has to my advantage, crushing his lunged arm with a wholehearted Crack. A second cultist immediately reaches me and I barely dodge his dagger. Fighting with a hammer is different from a dagger, you have to go for joints and wide swings in order to deal damage. Otherwise, you have to go for an instant kill to the head. With his back now to me, I have a clear shot at the head and I take it without hesitation. The cultist promptly falls to the ground as I quickly turn back to see another two cultists lunging at me, both at once. I feel that familiar warmth around me again and I know I must be shrouded in the light. Not that I know what it means or what it does. Even so, I hope it somehow helps me in battle, because the odds are definitely not in my favor. I pick up my chair and throw it in their direction. They stagger for a second, which allows me to jump the cultist on the left with a clumsy leap to the head that does its job either way. I try to turn to the second cultist but he recovered from the shock of the chair much faster than I anticipated, his dagger way too close for comfort. I realize there’s no time to dodge or swing at him before he jabs me. I get ready to take the hit and ready my hammer for a counter atta-

FWOOSH

A shiny object passes my head with great speed, hitting the cultist right in the neck and stopping him in his tracks. I take the opportunity and deal a final blow to the head that turns into one last splash of gore. With no immediate danger in sight, I turn back and see the girl from before flashing a few throwing daggers before my eyes.

“Why did you help me?” I asked.

“You owe me drink,” she shrugged innocently.

“Fair enough.”

I take a look around and realize that most of the people had run out of the inn. I hear a groan nearby and notice the cultist whose arm I had smashed dragging himself on the ground. As soon as he sees me coming towards him he pulls out a knife and slashes his own throat. I sigh, his action reminding him of senseless loyalty and devotion. Once again I was surrounded by bodies. And in an inn of all places. There were plenty of witnesses and I doubt that self-defense would be a valid excuse if I was put on trial later on.

“Hey kid,” a voice calls. It was the innkeeper.

“Sorry for the mess,” I apologize.

He grins.

“No problem Rowan. As a matter of fact, I might as well have done it myself. They’ve been spreading their fucking religious crap around my inn for weeks now,” he laughs. However, his face turns grim all of a sudden and his smile fades.

“I heard the news kid. That your village burned to the ground and all. You have my condolences. You and your family used to be regulars.”

I smile sadly, but then I realize he said me and my family, not me and my dad.

“Me and my family?” I ask.

“Ah nevermind that. Perhaps its a story for another time. Have you had your meal yet?”

“No, actually. But I did order the season’s specialty. Although in the meantime things … came up,” I gesture to the cultists.

“Yeah, I’ll need to clean that up… Don’t worry, the meal is on the house. And I’ll tell you what, I’ll also give you a room for the night. For old times sake, eh?”

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“That would be most appreciated. And umm, a drink for the lady if you may.”

“Oh? I see you are a man of his word,” she says.

“You did save me, so if nothing else, I owe you double.”

“Two drinks it is then!” she announces.

The innkeeper laughs but nods.

“Wait, I never…”

“You did say you owe me double, did you not?” she interrupts me.

“I- I guess…”

“There we go! I have to admit, I like you more and more by the minute.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

“That’s a compliment, a compliment I say!”

“Alright, alright! Pipe down will you? We’ve caused enough of a ruckus already.”

“What do you mean we? It was you they were after.”

“Yes, and you helped me, which makes you my accomplice!”

“I just wanted my drink! I can’t be held accountable for that!”

“Of course you can be held accountable for that!”

“Yeah well I don’t want to be held accountable for it, so I won’t be.”

“You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Aww, thank you!” she exclaims.

I sigh for what feels like the millionth time today.

“Nevermind that. You mentioned they were acolytes of Luto. Who are they exactly?”

She drops the sassy act and finally puts on a more serious face.

“They are followers of Luto, the God of Earth. He is one of the most important Gods in Eneria. He has recently been trying to spread his influence even further, as you could see first hand yourself.”

“But why did you seem so distraught when you first saw them?” I ask.

“Because they’re the worst kind of people. They only care about material gain and only work in their God’s and their own interest. They don’t care about ordinary followers if they are not directly his acolytes spreading words of honey and deceit in search of even more followers. They would do anything to further their plans.”

She looks away for a second.

“You are from that village right? The one that just burned.”

“What makes you say that?” I frown.

“Observation. Speculation. I saw you listening to those men talk about it. I saw how your expression changed depending on what they were saying, as though you had more information about the matter, figuring out how much others know. I saw you try to be inconspicuous, just another traveler, but the way you act, the way you react, these subtle things give away a lot of info about a person.”

“Why did you approach me then?”

“Let’s say I am looking for… adventure. Simply put, you caught my eye.”

“You seem to know a lot more about Eneria than I do. Why do you think the acolytes of Luto attacked me?”

She looked away again for a brief moment before talking again. I am starting to see a pattern. As though she’s pondering how much she should divulge. Or perhaps she’s just looking to see if the waitress is on her way with the drinks.

“A God is as strong as his followers. The more he has, the more powerful he is. Of course, the quality of the followers matters too, but numbers usually outweigh quality. Also, every major God has a champion, a mortal that inherits the powers of his God through his faith. The more followers the God has, the more power he can give to his Champion. By your glowing aura during combat, I am guessing you are the champion of the God worshipped by the village that burned. I am also guessing that you are his last follower. Remember how I said that a God is as powerful as his followers? Well, that also works against them. If a God has no followers in the mortal realm, he’ll fade into nothingness, essentially dying. So if you die, your God dies too. However, if the last follower of a God is killed by the follower of another God, the patron God of the killer absorbs the other God, gaining immense power.”

I am shocked by the amount of information that was just dropped onto me, but I am even more shocked by the amount of information that she was able to deduce just from watching me behave.

“How do you know so much?”

She shrugs.

“What can I say, it’s kind of my specialty.”

“Speaking of specialties,” my appetite speaks for me.

The waitress arrives with the girl's drinks and my stew. My stomach churns in protest to my neglect over the day but I can finally eat now. While hungrily gulping down the bowl of steaming food, I realize that while she knows everything about me, she, on the other hand, is a complete stranger to me. I don’t know who she is, I don’t know where she came from, I don’t know what she wants to do next, I know nothing. Not even…

“Hey, we’ve been talking for a while but I never got your name,” I say.

“Oh.”

Even she seems surprised at that fact for a second.

“Ella. My name’s Ella. Pleased to meet you, Rowan,” she offers me a hand with a smile. Perhaps as a late greeting, or perhaps in a sign of new friendship.

“Pleased to meet you too Ella,” I smile back. I realize that it’s my first smile in a long time.