A tired-looking barmaid placed a bowl filled with porridge in front of her.

“Rough night?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, the owner had us clear the room and scrub the floor after everyone went to their rooms,” she replied.

“Why’d he do that?” Anna asked.

“He wanted to make sure no one could tell there was a brawl here last night. An inn can get a reputation for fighting, and then we’d only get the bad sort,” she replied.

“Even out here?” Anna asked.

“You’d be surprised how far word can spread,” the barmaid replied.

“Fair enough,” Anna said.

“Anyway, if you all need anything else, just wave me over,” she replied.

“Okay,” Anna said.

The barmaid finished passing out the bowls of porridge and then walked away. Anna scooped up a mouthful of porridge with her spoon and ate it. It was salty with a tangy flavor that she assumed came from the pickled pork mixed in with the oats.

I wish it was a sweet porridge, but with how cheap this place is, there was no way they’d serve sugar or honey.

The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what she wanted, so she let her mind wander while she ate, her thoughts going back to the events of the last year.

“I wonder how Qrixit’s doing?” she asked.

“What was that?” Lyreen asked.

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about Qrixit. I wonder how he’s doing,” Anna replied.

“Ah, well, you were speaking the trade language,” Lyreen said.

“I was?” Anna asked.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

“Sorry,” Anna said.

“No need to apologize. I was just wondering what was going on. Most of the time when you mumble to yourself, you speak common or dwarven. It was just different, that’s all,” Lyreen replied.

“Well, I did spend the last year speaking it, so I guess I’m just used to it,” Anna said.

“Yeah, probably,” Lyreen replied.

They went back to eating, and Anna looked around the room as she finished her breakfast. She noticed one of the paladin candidates staring at her. He quickly looked away when their eyes met.

Scrawny little shit, isn’t he? And what kind of paladin wears glasses?

She finished her food and pushed her bowl away. The others finished a few minutes later. They got up from the table and left the inn, tossing their keys into a basket near the door.

Once outside, they got back on the road and continued their trek north. A few minutes later, the paladin candidates walked up next to them, and the outspoken one from the night before moved over to Voekeer.

“Looks like we’re heading the same way,” he said.

“Seems like,” Voekeer replied.

“Mind if we join you?” the paladin candidate asked.

Voekeer shrugged.

“Sure, why not,” he replied.

“Great! I’m Arthur by the way,” the paladin candidate replied.

“Voekeer,” Voekeer replied.

“Good to meet you,” Arthur said.

“Good to meet you, too,” Voekeer replied.

Once the two of them finished shaking hands, the other paladin candidates walked closer to the party, each one nearing a different member. The skinny man headed her way. She suppressed the urge to sigh, fully expecting it after she caught him staring that morning.

Thanks, Voekeer. Now I get to listen to this prick chat me up for the next couple of hours.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

He walked right past her to Elaine and held out his hand.

“I’m Issac,” he said.

Elaine looked even more baffled by this development than Anna, though she recovered much quicker.

“Elaine,” she replied.

She took his hand and shook it.

“Tell me, are your tattoos based on the Vedol people by any chance?” he asked.

“They are! You know, most people don’t even know about the desert nomads let alone the names of the tribes,” Elaine replied.

“I thought so, though they appear to have been heavily modified,” he said.

“They have. Instead of simply converting my mana to death mana, they also amplify it and work like a focus,” she replied.

“That’s amazing! How did you manage it?” he asked.

“I used the works of an arc lich along with a few spells from the pearl tower,” Elaine replied.

“How in the world do you get life spells to work with necromancy?” he asked.

“I didn’t. I just used the amplification portion of the spell,” Elaine replied.

She went on to describe exactly how she’d modified the spell, as well as how they worked, all while pointing out the various symbols on her skin.

“What about the amplification tattoos?” he asked.

“Those are on my chest,” Elaine replied.

“Is that so? Well now, that gives me even more of a reason to want to examine them,” he said.

Elaine grinned at him.

“I’m sure I could arrange that,” she said.

Anna sighed and quickened her pace. She had no desire to listen to them flirt with one and other. She walked up to the front of the group and next to Voekeer who was currently in a deep conversation with Arthur.

“Say, Anna, you’re a swordswoman, too, so maybe you can settle something for us,” he said.

“Sure, what is it?” she asked.

“We are trying to figure out if a long sword is superior to an arming sword,” he said.

“Neither. They’re different weapons. It’s like trying to compare a club to a spear,” she replied.

Both men grew quiet as they thought it over.

“Fair enough, but if you could only choose one sword to use for the rest of your life, what would that be?” Arthur asked.

“Oh, that’s easy. I’d pick Ted,” Anna replied.

“Ted?” Arthur asked.

“She’s got a magic sword she named Ted,” Voekeer replied.

Arthur’s eyes lit up.

“You have a magic sword?!” he asked.

“Yep, it’s made from adamantine, it can fix itself, and it talks, too!” Anna replied.

“May I see it?” he asked.

“Sure,” Anna replied.

She stopped and took off her pack. The others crowded around her as she opened it. She drew her sword from its sheath and held it out for everyone to see.

“BACK AWAY, MY LORD! IT’S ONE OF THE BLADES OF DESPAIR!” Issac shouted.

“It’s a what now?” Anna asked.

“A black blade of despair! Only minions of the dark one can wield them!” Issac replied.

“I’m not anyone’s minion!” Anna said.

“Then why do you have that sword?” Arthur asked.

“Because I beat up the dark one’s fifth general and took it,” Anna replied.

“That’s not possible! No human could defeat one of the ten dark generals!” Issac said.

“She’s not human,” Barika replied.

The priestess walked up next to her and put her hand on Anna’s shoulder.

“Then what is she?” Arthur asked.

“She’s the offspring of a powerful extraplanar entity that was accidentally summoned to our world,” Elaine replied.

She walked up beside Anna and held out her hand.

“Give me the sword,” she said.

Anna passed Ted to Elaine who held it up for the men to see.

“Ted isn’t one of the black blades anymore. It was severely damaged during her fight with the general and didn’t restore itself until she used it to kill three men she caught trying to murder a woman!” she said.

She passed Anna back the sword.

“Put it away and let’s get going,” she added.

Anna put Ted back in its sheath, and they strapped it to her pack again and slung it over her shoulders.

The party turned and walked away, leaving the young men standing there. They continued on until the sun was high in the sky. They stepped off the road, and she took off her pack and passed out the smoked sausages.

“Why did you tell them what I am?” she asked.

Elaine sighed.

“Sorry about that. I just didn’t want them to start spreading rumors that you were a darkling or something,” she said.

“It’s alright,” Anna replied.

“No, it isn’t! You help people wherever we go! It’s not right that everyone’s suspicious of you like this!” Elaine said.

“People don’t know that I help, and even if they did, they’d still be scared of me just like those farmers,” Anna replied.

“Farmers? What farmers?” Elaine asked.

“When I first left Fishport, we stopped at a small farmstead. I helped Barika heal a boy whose leg had healed wrong. I was able to break it with my thumbs and she healed it right. When his mother asked why I was so strong, I told her I was part fairy. That’s what I told people at the time. After they found out I was different, they treated me like shit, even though I’d just helped them,” Anna replied.

“Fuck them!” Elaine said.

Anna laughed.

“You know, I’ve told you that story before, and that was pretty much what you said the first time,” she replied.

Elaine frowned.

“You did?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Anna replied.

Elaine furrowed her brows.

“It’s alright if you don’t remember. It was right after we met,” Anna added.

Elaine nodded.

“We might want to eat on the road. I don’t know about all of you, but I’d rather not run into them again,” she said.

The others agreed, so after she’d passed the food out, they started off again.

“Hey! Wait up!” Arthur said.

They turned around to see the paladin candidates running up the road.

“What do you want?” Voekeer asked.

“To apologize. We shouldn’t have judged you like that,” he replied.

He looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Why bother? We’re never going to see each other again after today,” Anna said.

“Well, uh, actually, I wanted to know if you’d aid us on our quest?” he asked.

“Do what now?” Anna asked.

“We’re on a quest to find a way to lift the curse placed on our kingdom!” he replied.

“Why the fuck would anyone send a bunch of paladin candidates on a quest like that?” Anna asked.

The young men looked at each other for a moment before turning their gaze towards the party again.

“We’re not paladin candidates,” Arthur replied.

“Then who the fuck are you, and why can you use divine power?” Anna asked.

“How did you know that?!” he asked.

“Answer my fucking question, and I might tell you!” Anna replied.

Arthur sighed and then nodded.

“Alright then, I’m Arthur Wyrmbane, second prince of Thornvald,” he replied.

Anna blinked twice at his response.

“You have got to be shitting me!” she said.