Forge woke when the carriage stopped outside the temple.

Still groggy, he climbed down from the incredibly comfortable seat and gazed up at the fortress-like structure.

Turning to the rest of his party, he grinned.

“This was only my second time being carried around by horse and also my second time falling asleep,” he said.

Lioness openly laughed, before putting her hands up in apology.

“I’m sorry, it’s just my little sister also falls asleep during carriage rides. Of course, she’s less than a year old.”

The entire team laughed at that, and some of the tension broke.

Forge smiled good-naturedly at his team.

He was pleased the black cloud surrounding the group since Mountain Fury’s death had begun to lift.

None of them had really known the monk, but he was one of them. Someone who had started a new life in the name of saving the world from the monsters that would rampage unchecked.

Forge’s face fell as a thought occurred to him.

Silver Blade had aimed the weapon specifically at him.

A weapon like the one used to kill Polto.

Was this connected?

“What’s wrong?” Green Falcon asked.

“I’ve seen the sort of weapon the duelist used before. I thought it was part of a larger problem and just a coincidence that I was involved, but what if it’s not?” he said.

“Do you think he was after you specifically?” Gideon asked.

“Maybe…” Forge trailed off.

The elf and orcs had gone after Polto’s party. He hadn’t even considered it before, but of course, it must have been about the dragon.

And they had been so close to where he and the other guards had camped. The camp with the noble, the Treasurer of Barda, no less.

Was it all connected?

“After this, we need to have a serious talk,” he told the group.

Gideon put his hands on his hips and shot him an exasperated look.

“You’re already a paladin with fire tentacles. Can’t I at least be the mysterious one?”

“The sword, right?” Green Falcon asked.

The swordsman nodded.

“Family heirloom that required you to unlock specific stats?” she continued.

Gideon deflated.

The cleric of Honos watched on, amused, but had clearly had enough of the banter.

“Let’s go. I’d like to catch the priest while he’s still awake. Unless one of you wants to wake him up.”

The group made a show of putting their heads down and following the cleric through the large doors.

One did not upset a priest in their temple.

Forge looked around. This wasn’t his first time in a temple of Honos, but there was a vast difference between the temple in the small town of Barda, and this one that served the thousands of people that lived in the city.

Forge smiled up at the frescoes that lined the upper walls. They told the stories of the brave men and women that traveled the lands, helping those in need.

It was why he had chosen Honos’s blessing.

A follower of Honos would never have left people outside of a gate to die. Not even the demand of the nobles would have stopped one from risking their life to save another’s.

He spotted a familiar face and gave a wave.

The cleric that he had met when first entering the city gave him a smile and walked over to join them.

“I barely recognized you without your mask,” he laughed.

“My name is Forge. A brand-new adventurer with the Guild,” he offered in way of greeting.

The man nodded in understanding.

“I’m Gordon and am truly pleased to meet you.”

Forge turned to the cleric that had brought them to the temple.

“It seems I make a habit of not getting names,” he said in apology.

“I’m Forge, and I wanted to thank you for your help,” he said with a bow.

The cleric laughed.

“I, Lawrence, greet you, Forge, Paladin of Honos.”

“Very formal,” came another voice.

A man in the robes of a priest had joined them at some point.

The group turned to look at the priest, who smiled benevolently at them.

“You’re all much less terse than I was expecting of those that walk the Divine Path,” Green Falcon observed.

The priest gave her a quick bow, followed by a genuine smile.

“The followers of Honos live their lives with no regrets. We act immediately when needed, no matter the situation, and damn the consequences,” he said.

“Oh, don’t you worry, young lady. I, for one, find those that follow Hypros to not only be strong in body, but in honor as well. You and all your friends are welcome in our temple.”

The priest had been looking at everyone, but his eyes had kept drifting back to Forge.

“Please forgive me. By tradition, priests give up their names, similar to how adventurers give up theirs when joining the Guild. We are no longer the people we were, but defined by our job.”

Finally, turning his full attention to Forge, the priest gave him a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, but this is exciting for me. Did you know you’re only the second paladin I’ve ever met in the forty years I’ve been the priest of this temple?”

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He turned to the rest of the party.

“Unlike priests and clerics, paladins are chosen by the gods themselves.”

“I guess that makes sense. Even so, you’ve only met one other paladin? Are we really so rare?” Forge asked, surprised.

“Yes, and no. Need determines who is chosen as a paladin. And…you know the saying about combat classes, don’t you?” the priest asked.

Forge turned to his team, waiting for an answer.

“Warriors fight at the front. Slingers fight from the rear. Monks strike from odd angles. Spellcasters control the field of battle. And Paladins face impossible odds and die,” Lioness said.

The priest gave her a nod and turned back to Forge.

“The gods choose their paladins during times of conflict, but most never reach a temple.”

Lawrence clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“We’d prefer if you didn’t die. So, we’re going to see what we can do to help.”

He turned to the priest.

“Would you mind giving them a little juice? Forge actually fell asleep in the carriage.”

Lioness snorted a laugh at that.

The priest held out his hands, and a wave of divine magic passed over them.

Forge felt rejuvenated and wide awake.

Turning to look at the group, he saw they were now all impeccably clean.

“This is the second time I’ve seen this spell. Is it something I can get as a paladin?” he asked.

The priest turned to him with surprise.

“Who else cast this spell on you?”

Not seeing a reason to conceal the information, Forge answered.

“A cleric of KRAM cast it on me,”

Lawrence’s eyebrows raised at that.

“I’m not familiar with KRAM, but the cleric must have been high tiered to gain that spell and be able to cast it on another.”

The priest considered his statement.

“I am somewhat familiar with KRAM.”

He stepped forward and placed a hand on Forge’s shoulder.

“Were there many of them?”

“There were six of them, but later I met the High Priest and another guy.”

“What were their names?” he asked.

“Ratface and Plud.”

His eyes turned wild.

“What did they do? What did they say?”

The priest’s sudden intensity surprised him.

“Plud got me to agree to be a paladin of Honos, and then they gave me a quest.”

Hurrying to cut off the priest’s next question, Forge continued.

“They told me it was not a divine quest, but it was up to me to…complete it.”

The clerics turned their questioning gaze to the priest.

“What does this mean? How can a High Priest of another god make him a paladin?” Lawrence asked.

The priest held up a hand as he thought through the situation.

“It means that Forge was the only one available at that time and place, and Honos made him a paladin to deal with it.”

The priest glowed for a moment, and his expression changed.

“Enough of this.”

He turned to the two clerics.

“There is nothing we can do but help the paladin on his path. Give him the armor and make sure his party is provided with provisions and potions.”

The priest bowed deep to Forge.

“It was a true honor to meet you. Please know, the temples of Honos are more to you now than a sanctuary. They are also a home if you ever need one.”

The priest disappeared without so much as a flash of light. Blinking out of existence like he had never been there.

Lawrence turned to the group and gave them a wide smile.

“Yes. I agree that was incredibly weird.”

That seemed to break the tension, and the group followed the two priests deeper into the temple.

Arriving at what could only be called an armory, the group admired the racked weapons and armors that lined the walls.

Four large circles dominated the floor of the room, and Forge studied them in an attempt to decipher their meaning.

They were unlike the other glyphs he had seen and seemed to create complex geometric patterns that must have meaning to someone with the right class.

“Sword circles,” Gideon said as the others looked on.

“They’re used to show the angle and flow of sword movements.”

Gordon nodded his agreement.

“Like Hypros, we are a martial order,” he explained.

Lawrence led them over to a tall dresser, which he threw open with a flourish.

“I present to you: The Pride of Honos.”

Polished steel armor, gilded with gold, seemed to glow with an internal light, and Forge felt his mask respond.

“It’s not only divine armor, but a named item,” he explained.

Gideon looked on in open admiration.

“What’s it called?”

“I just told you. The Pride of Honos,” the cleric responded with a smirk.

“And what’s it do?” asked Green Falcon.

Lawrence grinned like a maniac.

“No idea! And frankly, I’m excited to find out.”

“Class locked?” Gideon asked.

“It’s really specific. Only a paladin of Honos can wear it.”

Forge considered the shining armor, and the way his mask seemed to respond to it.

It thankfully wasn’t full plate, he thought.

The set consisted of a breastplate, pauldrons, half-gauntlets, vambraces, tasset, and greaves. However, it was the blackened scalemail covering everything else that made him grin.

A fitting armor for a Dragon Guardian.

“Alright, Forge. Put it on,” Green Falcon said with an innocent smile.

Feeling something calling to him, Forge stepped up to the armor and placed his hand on the breastplate.

Lawrence cleared his throat.

“I think the paladin might need some privacy.”

A collective groan followed by laughter reached Forge as he heard them leave, however his attention was fully on the armor.

It was speaking to him through his System messages.

System Message: Greetings Paladin Forge!

System Message: May This Armor Protect You.

System Message: May You Protect The World.

System Message: Be The World You Wish To Protect.

“Cinder, are you seeing this?” he asked.

“Yes!”

“I wonder if it’s the armor’s enchanter talking, or Honos himself.”

“Squirrel.”

Daniel removed his hand from the armor.

“You think a squirrel is talking to us?”

“Sneaky.”

“Alright, so we’re going with either armor, god, or a squirrel?”

“Yes,” came the serious voice of the dragon.

“Alright. I can’t argue with your logic.”

***

Forge wasn’t even surprised when his mask fit perfectly into the scale-mail coif.

“I guess Plud was serious about his gift helping me on my path,” he told Cinder.

The armor fit like it was tailor made for his body.

The pauldrons gave his already wide shoulders even more width, but still somehow fit perfectly under his cloak.

Opening his System messages after donning the armor, he wasn’t surprised by what he saw.

System Message: Pride Of Honos Set Completed!!! 5 System Points Awarded.

Forge checked his new armor on his System screen.

Mask of the Paladin was gone, replaced with Pride of the Paladin.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any information listed for the armor.

Peering down at the sword-circles on the floor, Forge summoned his mace.

He stepped forward into a diagonal swing along the line drawn on the floor.

Pivoting on his rear foot, he swung the mace up and horizontally across his body to block a riposte before spinning the tip and swinging at a new angle.

He moved back and forth, fighting an imaginary battle as he felt out for any binding points in the armor, but there were none.

He heard a polite clapping and turned to spot the team watching him.

Gideon gave him a nod.

“Not bad. Though you’ll want to close in if your opponent’s weapon has more reach than yours,” he observed.

Smiling behind his mask, Forge cast a firebolt, causing it to fade away after it reached where his target would be; then moved in, making multiple quick strikes with his mace.

“Or…you could shoot fire at their head. That works too,” the swordsman admitted.

Gordon and Lawrence watched him as he moved and then bowed to him in unison.

“You are every inch the paladin of legend,” Gordon stated.

Forge gave the pair a deep bow, then addressed his team.

“I think I’m ready.”

Lawrence held up a finger.

“You did say you also needed a ritual circle.”

Forge stored his mace and nodded.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do you have a realm ring?” Green Falcon asked.

Forge sighed. He had completely forgotten that he’d not mentioned it to them.

“Yes, and a few other secrets,” he said with a friendly smile.

Green Falcon turned to Lioness.

“Do you think if we stand close to him, some of his luck will rub off on us?”

Lioness looked serious.

“Are you going to share your other secrets with us?” she asked.

Forge knew he could trust the Honos clerics, and he was pretty sure he could trust his new teammates, but his job was to protect the dragon.

Making up his mind, he reached out to Cinder.

“It’s time to let the team know about you.”

He felt Cinder’s acknowledgement.

“Yes. I’ll tell you my secrets, but I’ll need a promise from each of you that you’ll keep my secrets, no matter what happens,” he said.

The group looked at each other in agreement, but Lioness stepped forward.

“What if I can’t promise to fully keep your secret? I’m a cleric of Hypros. I can’t lie to them.”

She gestured toward the two clerics.

“Forge, if one of us were to tell you a secret, would you keep it from the temple you serve?” she asked.

“Of course. I don’t lie, but that doesn’t mean I would break my oath to keep a secret,” he replied.

“And let me be clear about something. I don’t serve the temple. Anyone can ask me for help, and I of course will proudly help the temple in any way I can, but I will always follow my own path above everything else, whether it be the Guild, the Kingdom, or Honos himself,” he continued.

Gideon looked up towards the ceiling as if waiting for lightning to strike Forge down.

Lawrence pat Lioness consolingly on the arm.

“Better get used to it. They don’t choose paladins for their obedience. They’re chosen because they’ll always do the right thing, no matter the cost.”

Lioness thought about it for a moment.

“I take my oath as a cleric seriously, but as you said, I can keep a secret, providing it’s in the best interest of all involved.”

“And in whose best interest is it, to keep your secret?” Green Falcon asked.

“Everyone’s,” Forge answered.