Daniel relaxed in the tub. The bathhouse was expensive but worth the three gold, well, six gold, he amended.

The pleasant woman at the front desk had helpfully agreed to help Angela get cleaned up.

He didn’t want to threaten someone without cause, so he let Angela know that if there was any problem, to scream his name and he’d come running; all in earshot of the woman.

Now clean after his long journey, he just luxuriated in the feeling of the hot water.

It was tempting to use the full hour, but he had things to do. Truth to tell, he was incredibly excited to go to the guild and fulfill his lifelong dream.

Standing, he reached for a towel. His new life was about to begin.

***

Angela was distrustful of strangers at the best of times. She had to be. That’s how you survived in the city.

It was Greta that had explained to her the dangers of the street and the people that preyed on the ones they felt were weak.

She had told her what to look for. Watch out for men in fancy clothes in general, but always look a person in the eyes. A smile could hide cruelty, but that smile never reached their eyes.

Forge had been different. There had been something about him that just made her want to trust him.

She giggled to herself as she thought of Greta’s face when she showed up with him. His mirror mask must have looked terrifying.

It hadn’t bothered her in the least, and when he removed the mask, she finally saw his eyes.

They were kind.

She sat in the bath for a moment more, then retrieved her towel.

Forge had bought her clothes and even let her pick them out.

They were perfect and wouldn’t stand out, so she could continue to get around the city with no one noticing her.

She hurriedly dressed in the simple work clothes, then looked at the fancy brush that lay by the mirror.

She combed back her hair and tied it back, then silently appraised the brush. It was obviously expensive.

Placing it back by the mirror and looking away, she put on the sandals she had received from the tailor.

They were comfortable, but impractical.

There was no way she could climb up the drainpipes with them, but the tailor was making her a new set of shoes.

She turned to the mirror but couldn’t look herself in the eyes.

This wasn’t the first time she’d taken advantage of someone nice.

She had always been small for her age.

A little dirt on her face and she looked much younger than her thirteen years.

Moving aside the box her clothes had been in; she took the small, sheathed dagger and placed it in the pocket of her new pants.

Gathering herself, she took a deep breath.

She would help the paladin as much as she could, and if, in his kindness, he bought her some things she needed, it not only helped her, but would make him feel good about himself.

It was just survival.

Opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, she looked both ways down the hall but wasn’t sure which way to go.

Seeing an open door down the hall on the right, she headed that way, looking for the storefront.

As she approached, a rough hand reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, and she screamed.

***

Daniel heard the girl’s scream.

About to don his shirt, he dropped it and kicked open the door and looked down the long hallway.

Through his mask, he saw a large man pinning Angela against the wall.

He raced down the hallway, and the man turned to him, eyes going wide.

Reaching for his sword, the burly man screamed as Daniel’s mace slammed into his wrist, breaking it.

“Stop!” came a voice from the room.

A well-dressed man stepped out and froze at the sight of him.

“A…paladin of Honos,” the man said.

He seemed to come to a decision quickly.

Grabbing the burly man by the shoulder, he pushed him roughly into the room. The whole time the guard’s hate-filled eyes stared at Daniel.

“I apologize. My bodyguard is overprotective of me. However, I see there is no reason for concern with a paladin on the premises.”

Ignoring the man for the moment, Forge turned to Angela.

“Are you okay?”

The girl’s eyes were wide as she stared at him.

Daniel winced. He must look like a lunatic, standing half dressed in the hall, holding a weapon.

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Angela, clearly frightened, nodded her head and moved to stand behind him.

Relaxing, he held off on storing his mace in the ring.

Turning to face the man who had stopped the fight, he nodded.

“I understand. Does your bodyguard need healing for his wrist?”

The man shot him a friendly smile.

“That is a very kind offer, but I think my man should have to deal with the pain until he can make his way to the temple. I am sure you, of all people, understand the need for penance.”

Daniel nodded and turned back to Angela.

“I’ll finish getting ready and we can go.”

Angela gave him a weak smile, and Daniel felt his heart break for the little girl.

She must have been terrified, and it was his fault.

He should have insisted on her room being closer, but the nearby rooms had needed cleaning.

Oh well, he’d try to make it up to her. He was hungry and was sure she was as well. Maybe they could go somewhere nice for lunch before they got their clothes.

He headed back to his room to finish getting dressed.

Knowing how the man knew he was a paladin was obvious. At least now, he thought.

Imagine his surprise when he had taken off his shirt to discover his chest now bore the sigil of Honos.

Daniel grinned. He had always wanted a tattoo.

***

Angela stood just outside the door and waited for Forge.

The rough handling of the guard had been nothing new to her.

She had screamed like she was supposed to, and was prepared to turn on the waterworks, when Forge had burst down the hallway.

He had only been wearing a pair of black pants and his mask, and the symbol of Honos on his chest had seemed to glow a golden color.

Then that weird weapon had appeared in his hand and slammed into the guard.

He had looked like a hero out of a storybook.

And then, when she had moved behind him, she got her second shock.

He had another tattoo on his back.

One of a red dragon.

She had then dutifully followed him, but had shot a glance back at the man from the room and saw the smile spread across his face.

A smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

***

Lunch had been nice. Unable to decide on what to choose, they had picked out three dishes and shared them family-style.

The food had been an eye-opening experience for him. While he was very familiar with quality baked goods, the southern town of Barda saw little in the way of the high-quality foods found in the city.

Likewise, having clothes tailor-made for him was a novel experience.

He wasn’t a fan of the clerk taking his measurements. Back in Barda, that sort of touching would indicate they were courting.

Comfort aside, the tailor completed the clothes while they waited.

In an amazingly short amount of time, he was wearing his first custom set of clothing.

The new clothes felt amazing, and the new boots felt tailor made for his feet, unlike the very basic boots he had received as a guard, that were a half-size too big.

Angela came out of her fitting room and showed off her new clothes.

She had opted to wear the black set of boys’ pants and shirt she had picked out, possibly to match him, and with the gold embellishments on the sleeves of the shirt, looked like some young noble on their way about town.

Daniel gave her an approving thumbs up. He had mentally changed his approximation of her age after seeing her cleaned up.

While before she could have passed for ten, she now appeared somewhat older.

He’d need to ask her what her plans were.

There was a very strong chance she would decline any advice he gave her, but he had to try.

Having her go back to her old life just didn’t sit well with him, but with any luck, the Guild or the Temple might provide an option for her until she reached sixteen and connected to the System.

“How do I look?” he asked.

She looked him over with a critical eye.

“Good, but kind of normal.”

He turned and looked at himself in one of the shop mirrors.

“I shouldn’t look normal?”

She shook her head.

“You’re not normal, you’re a paladin. You don’t look right without your mask and cape-thing.”

She brightened excitedly.

“Ooh, and you need to get the big shiny armor!”

She gave him an earnest look.

“Paladins always wear shiny armor.”

Daniel scrunched up his face at the suggestion.

“Isn’t that too much? I don’t want to look like some kind of pretty-boy knight.”

Daniel stuck his nose up in the air, squared his shoulders, and strutted back and forth.

“Greetings citizens! it is I, the fancy, shiny Paladin of Honos. You can see my armor from a mile away, and if I fall into the water, I’ll wave at you from the bottom of the sea.”

He struck a pose, and Angela giggled into her hands.

Patting her on the shoulder, he smiled.

“I’ll think about it. I promise.”

He looked over at the long garment boxes that held the rest of their clothes and gestured to the clerk.

“Do you mind if I leave these here for the moment? I need to run a few errands and secure lodging,” he explained.

“Of course,” the clerk said with a friendly smile.

Angela leaned into him and whispered.

“I think she likes you. I bet if you showed up in that shiny armor, she would jump into your arms and demand marriage.”

Obviously hearing the comment, the clerk blushed and looked away, while Daniel wanted to climb into a hole.

He stepped over, grabbed his cloak, and put it on.

Summoning the mask to his hand beneath the cloak, he placed it over his face and turned to Angela.

“Traitor,” he accused her with mock outrage.

She attempted to stifle a laugh, but failed, then smiled brightly at him.

“You could ride up on a white stallion…”

Daniel stepped between Angela and the blushing clerk and bowed.

“Thank you very much for your help,” he said, summoning two gold coins to his hand.

“Have a nice day,” he told her, handing her the gold.

“Maria,” she said.

He froze, but recovered quickly.

“Have a wonderful day, Maria,” he said with another small bow.

Turning towards the door, he made a shooing motion to Angela.

“Go go go,” he told her.

Angela called out to the clerk as Daniel swept her out the door.

“Thanks, Maria! See you soon!”

Finally getting her outside, he stared down at the girl.

“I know you can’t see it, but just know I’m sticking my tongue out at you right now.”

Angela laughed.

“Right, so…I have something I want to talk to you about,” he said.

Angela nodded.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Not what she’d been expecting. She gazed up at him, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

He spread his hands out.

“What do you want to do with your life? Do you want to become a tailor, maybe a chef?”

She stared at him for a long moment.

“People like me don’t get those kinds of jobs,” she said with a serious expression.

Daniel shrugged.

“Why not? I’m willing to help you. We can check with the Guild or maybe the Temple and see if we can get you into a program to help you on your path.”

She turned away and began walking.

“Come on. Let’s get you to the Guild. We can take the streets now,” she called out over her shoulder.

He understood. Who did he think he was, anyway? She had her own path to walk, and she had obviously survived just fine without him.

Well, not fine, he decided.

In truth, he didn’t know what kind of situation she had.

Deciding to keep his mouth shut for the moment, he moved to walk next to her.

After a few turns, he saw what had to be the Guild.

It sat on a hill, perhaps a motte, he thought.

A long path of stone steps led up to a strange structure, and a thirty-foot wall surrounded a building that looked like it could withstand a siege.

He spotted multiple watchtowers with guards manning the parapets.

Most striking of all was the giant round eye-like window, watching over the city beneath it.

“It certainly is impressive,” he said.

“Wow!” came the dragon’s voice.

Cinder had been quiet most of the day. Content to watch the antics of Angela as she had led him around the city.

“This is it,” he told the dragon.

“Angela,” Cinder said.

Daniel turned to look at the young girl and removed his mask.

“Thank you for your help, Angela.”

He paused as he considered his next words.

“I never had any siblings, and I lost my parents when I was young.”

He stopped as his emotions got the best of him.

“You’re the only person I know in this city. And I’m hoping that you’ll still be my friend after this.”

She stared at him without comment, so he continued.

“This is the start of a new life for me, and I’d like you to be part of it. So, no pressure, but please contact me if you need any help or even want to just hang out.”

He gave her a smile, and after a moment, she returned it.

Kneeling down to look her in the eyes, he shrugged.

“If you need me, either let the guild or the temple know, and I’ll come running,” he promised.

She stared at him; her smile fading.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course. paladins don’t lie,” he said with a smile.

She lurched forward and gave him a hug, then released him and took two steps back.

“Be safe, Forge,” she said, before turning and running down the street and disappearing into an alley.

Daniel sighed.

She knew where to reach him, and he had no doubt she would survive just fine without him.

Standing, he turned toward the militant structure and began walking the steps.

His new life awaited him.