The kobold stood from where he had been sitting cross-legged by the fire.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting a human to visit our little dungeon.”

He looked around behind Daniel and then focused back on him.

“Did you really enter a dungeon by yourself? I mean, one hundred points for style but minus one thousand for common sense.”

Daniel stared at the kobold in disbelief.

His shirt was of a strange, collared design with buttons going up the front and worn open, displaying a black undershirt with white writing.

It was the single strangest clothing Daniel had ever seen. However, that wasn’t what had gotten his attention.

The markings on the shirt were those of a high priest.

He had only seen the symbols once before, during the high priest of Mercurius’s visit to Barda to personally bless the new temple.

Remembering his manners, Daniel bowed deeply to the kobold.

The kobold returned his bow with a nod of his head.

“I see someone has taught you proper manners,” he said, before waving it off.

“Don’t worry about any honorifics, we’re all just regular people…hanging out in dungeons with the fate of the world on the line.”

The kobold grinned at Daniel, who returned it with a confused smile.

“Hello. A kobold named Polto asked me to come here,” Daniel told the kobold.

Realization that he was about to deliver the body of a cleric to the high priest of a god, suddenly hit him, and his stomach dropped.

Priests were the most powerful people on the planet, providing they were in their temple’s domain. They wielded near infinite power and acted in their god’s name with all the divine strength that went along with it.

The diminutive high priest gave him a sad smile.

“I know he fell. You did well to bring his body and those of his friends to me.”

Daniel looked around for somewhere to lay their bodies out, but the kobold got his attention with a gesture.

“We don’t stand on ceremony here as ridiculous as that may sound,” he said, gesturing towards the temple.

“Please place their bodies here and I’ll take care of them,” the high priest pointed to a random place on the floor.

Crouching down, Daniel retrieved the bodies of the kobold’s party and then took a respectful step back.

“I see Jagarag isn’t here,” the kobold said, looking at the five bodies.

“Polto couldn’t find him, before he…” Daniel began.

The kobold waved it off. Then, with a fist held in the air, a bright light formed from his hand that increased in luminescence until Daniel could see nothing but the divine light.

It slowly faded away, and the cavern returned to normal.

As Daniel’s eyes adjusted to the ambient light, he saw the bodies were now gone.

“Jagarag missing just means that we need to make sure we provide a little extra for his family,” the kobold said with a sad smile.

Walking over to him, the high priest took Daniel by the elbow and led him over to sit by the fire.

“Don’t worry about Jagarag. All of those that fall in the name of KRAM are returned to the mountain of Alvin, where they can rest until they decide they want to be born into a new world,” the kobold explained.

Daniel, who had bowed his head as the weight of the party’s death hit him once again, looked up in surprise.

“Is that what happens when a follower of the Divine Path dies? They go to the realm of their god and are reborn into a new world?” Daniel asked.

“Sometimes,” the kobold responded.

“Before we go too far down the rabbit hole, I think introductions are in order,” the kobold explained while walking over towards the goblin.

“I am Plud, High Priest of KRAM!” then with a finger, he tapped the top of the goblin’s head.

“And this is Ratface,” he explained with a smile.

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Daniel stood and bowed.

“I am Daniel Bakerson of the town of Barda.”

The goblin finally looked up from the fire and turned to him with interest.

“Bakerson? Do you have baked goods? Pastries maybe?” he asked hopefully.

Caught a little off-guard, Daniel shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but no. My parents were bakers, but they’re gone, and I didn’t take up the profession.”

The goblin walked over to him and placed a consoling hand on his arm.

“That’s a shame. Baking is one of the most noble of professions.”

A cookie appeared in the goblin’s hand, and he handed it to Daniel with an understanding look.

“All children must choose their own path,” Ratface said as he turned and walked back to his seat by the fire.

Daniel inspected the cookie.

It appeared to be a sugar cookie of some sort, with purple icing, and the word KRAM! written in flowing pink script.

Taking a tentative bite, Daniel looked over to the goblin in appreciation, but he was already staring back into the fire, a wide smile on his broad green face.

“So, tell me, Daniel Bakerson; what are your plans from here?” Plud asked, taking a bite of his own conjured cookie.

Daniel returned to his seat by the fire and shrugged a bit uncomfortably.

“I plan on joining the Adventurers Guild,” he said. “…if I get out of this dungeon, anyway.”

The high priest gave him a sagely nod.

“Those two things tend to go hand in hand, though. Don’t they?”

Daniel finally cracked a smile.

“Yes. I supposed they do at that.”

Suddenly turning serious, Plud fixed him with a stare.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you, Daniel?”

The weight of the stare felt heavy as Daniel looked back at the kobold with concern.

“I…no,” he answered lamely.

“I see a man with the minor blessing of the God of Honor and Justice. One that took on a task from a group of people he had only just met. A group composed of what your own people would call the monster races,” the kobold stated, eyes still boring into him.

Daniel felt like the kobold was staring directly into his soul, and as a high priest, he very well could be.

“I see a man who, if given the chance, would save the world, even at the cost of his own life,” Plud continued.

“Would you say that’s a correct assessment of who you are as a person?” the kobold asked.

Daniel’s mouth felt dry, but he nodded to the kobold before he once again found his voice.

“Of course. I want to protect others. With my life, if necessary.”

The kobold clapped his hands together, and like a spell had been broken, the oppressive weight that Daniel had felt disappeared.

“A serious question for you, Daniel: Why don’t you want to walk the Path of the Divine?” the kobold asked.

Caught off guard by the query and the sudden change in tone of the kobold, he answered honestly.

“I don’t want to be in a position where I am told who to help at the cost of others.”

The kobold nodded thoughtfully.

“And what if the power you received wasn’t conditional? What if it was completely up to you how you used your power and who you saved? Would you still act with honor in the name of the god of justice?”

Daniel frowned at the kobold’s question.

“Of course. All I want to do is help people…”

Daniel felt a searing pain from his chest, and once again saw the divine white light that enveloped his vision.

The toothy smile of Plud was the first thing he saw as his vision cleared.

“What did you…?” Daniel began.

Plud laughed.

“Nope. Wasn’t me.”

Daniel brought up his System screen, and there it was:

Paladin of Honos Tier 1

Passive Ability: Divine Strength

Spell: Lay on Hands

Looking at his Stats, he saw that both his Strength and Willpower had gone up by one point.

Daniel was shocked. It would have cost him twelve System points to raise those Stats up to Tier Two.

Lay on Hands was a bit more of a mystery, but as he focused on it, he immediately understood. He could heal anyone, including himself, via touch for up to ten points of health per day.

Incredulous, he turned to the high priest.

“How did you make me a paladin of Honos?!” he asked.

Plud shrugged.

“I didn’t do anything. You were already walking the Path; you just hadn’t accepted it yet.”

Daniel gestured in confusion.

“But I haven’t done anything to prove myself worthy. Why would it even be available to me?”

“It’s not about that. It’s about who you are as a person. You’ve always acted with honor, but when the time came and you found yourself in a position to do something about an injustice, you did it without question,” Plud said.

Daniel made to speak, but the kobold cut him off.

“Our time here is at an end, Paladin of Honos, and it’s time for you to make a choice.”

Plud turned and walked to the shrine, hurrying up the marble stairs before gesturing for Daniel to follow him.

Placing his hands out in front of him, Plud closed his eyes and with a flash of light, two chests appeared on the white marble altar.

The high priest’s eyes opened, and golden light washed over Daniel and the cavern.

The kobold’s once gravelly voice now thrummed with power.

“KRAM is the god of the weak, the ugly, and the lost!”

Daniel stared with wide eyes as Plud’s divine gaze focused on him.

“Know this, Daniel Bakerson! KRAM rewards you for your service with this boon, to help you on your path,” the kobold boomed.

“The way will open, and you can leave this dungeon with our thanks,”

The imposing form of the kobold was suddenly gone, and he was just the friendly kobold once again.

“Or you take on the monstrous and unappreciated task of saving the world from the cataclysm that is coming,” the kobold said quietly.

Plud stepped out from behind the altar and stood before Daniel, looking up at his face.

“This isn’t some divine quest. If you accept this task, you will be personally responsible for the fate of the world.”

Daniel stared down at him, head swimming.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered.

“Daniel, you said you would protect others with your life; well, what we’re asking for you to do is much harder than that,” the kobold said.

“Protect the dragon. Save the world,” Daniel muttered.

The kobold nodded without a word.

Daniel didn’t really need to think about it. If he was needed to save the world, he would do it.

“Of course I will,”

Plud smiled brightly at him.

“I knew you would.”

Daniel held up a hand to the kobold, stopping him.

“It’s my turn to interrupt you. I have questions. A lot of them.”

“And all the answers are in that chest,” the kobold smiled.

He felt a tap at his back, and he turned to see Ratface.

“The world won’t really be destroyed, you know. The world will be just fine. Just…under new management,” the goblin said with a mischievous grin.

Daniel turned back to Plud.

“What does he mean by…” Daniel began.

With a start, he realized Plud and the entire shrine were gone.

He spun back towards Ratface, but the goblin was gone as well.

It was just him, two chests on the floor, and a fire.

“Now what?” he asked out loud.

From the fire, a tiny voice rang out.

“Hi.”