The return to town was uneventful; most of the creatures of the forest were now avoiding the party, likely sensing their level. As they entered the outskirts of Traville, they ran across an interesting sight.
A tall, dark-skinned man with long hair and a braided beard stood at the edge of town and kissed the ground. His nameplate read, "John Calvin - Level 2 Fighter - Unknown" Kneeling down he exclaimed with passion, "Finally! Civilization!"
Lance smiled.
Sparky was the first to run over and strike up a conversation. Soon they were walking together toward the middle of town, laughing at some joke or another. They merged their path back to the main party, and Sparky played the part of the gracious host.
"Everyone, this is John; he is a minister sent in here to evangelize. John, this is Lance; he was a seminary student before getting stuck in here with us and has been leading while we get settled here."
Lance spoke up, "Hey John, it is great to have you here. Seems you didn't love the wilderness so much."
"What is there to love?" The big man said in a loud southern voice. "I fought a goblin, and he nearly killed me. Then I ran into a pair of wolves that almost finished the job." John shuddered. "Civilized men are not supposed to live this way."
"I take it you're not a gamer?" Lance queried.
"Not in the least. There were lots of young bucks who were raring to go in, but the conference turned all of them away. I am a widower, and so when there was no one else, I volunteered. I guess I didn't know what I was getting into."
Lance laughed. "I guess not. But I think you may have solved a problem that I have been pondering for a while. This valley,” he pointed around them, “is what is called a starter area. It’s designed to be a safer place for new characters to get started. In a few days, many of us are going to be moving on to the more advanced areas, but I feel that there is a great need for a mission station right here in Traville."
John smiled and looked around him. "As I got near town, the creatures seemed to be fewer. I would have no problem setting up shop here, even right on this hill.” He pointed to a small hill in the middle of town that had a park-like feel to it. “I am a street preacher and evangelist, and this is exactly what I was hoping for." His smile split his face from ear to ear. Then he seemed to notice that most of the buildings in town were destroyed. "Um, is it truly safe here?"
Sparky continued to walk along next to John and chimed in. "Normally it is fine, except when the evil priestess of Dajixian decides to show up and destroy the whole place with her orcs and goblins."
"How often does that happen?" John asked with apparent trepidation.
"It has only happened one time so far, but she said she would be back in a couple of weeks, so maybe a week and a half until she returns," Lance said.
"But it's okay. We're going to kill her before that," Sparky interjected.
John grimaced. "I guess this is a game."
“That it is.”
"Hey Cletus," Lance said. "Do deaths during events like the destruction of Traville count toward the three lives we have? How about getting killed by other players?"
John's eyes got wide as Cletus appeared. "Rocket Raccoon! I am a big fan!"
"In the flesh." Cletus spun around and showed off his outfit.
"Wait, he called you Cletus."
"I am, but Lance here made me take this admittedly awesome form instead of my normal one."
Suddenly, a Cletus in the original devil form popped into existence. "Can you look like that?" John pointed to the Rocket Raccoon version.
"Sure thing boss, just please don't turn me off again."
Otis popped into existence. "Hey, you mind if I..."
The glare from the newly transformed Cletus could have melted stone.
The party’s Cletus popped up, walked over to the new Cletus and placed his hand on his head like a Vulcan mind meld.
John's Cletus's eyes widened and he said, "Really."
The other one nodded and then spoke to Otis. "You were going to answer about the death thing?"
"Oh yeah,” the little orc said, “I got a bit distracted for a moment. Player vs. Player deaths never count toward your three deaths, and deaths during events are like dying in a dungeon. So, the same rules there with the two free deaths per event.”
"What's up with three deaths, you can't actually die in this game, can you?"
"Nope," Lance replied. “But if you die three times in the starter area, you get sent to a different starter area and put back to level 1 to start over.”
"Okay, I don't intend to die at all," Pastor John replied.
Lucinda leaned in as they walked along. "Happens to the best of us."
John looked over the party and after a pause said, "It sure is amazing to meet a group of Christians on my first day here. I suppose providential is a better word for it.”
"So one question," Lance said. "Is John Calvin your real name?"
"That's the name that my mama gave me. She taught me what it meant, and why he was important. I prefer John Bunyan, but Calvin is still in my library for sure.”
“Hey, is there any place a guy can get some food around here?”
The party smiled and led him to the Bird and Baby.
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*****
After dinner, one that had John regularly exclaiming how good the cookin' was, Lance had an idea.
"Hey Sparky, can I borrow your hat for a bit?"
"Only if you put it on first," the mage replied as he took off his hat and handed it over to Lance.
Lance put it on, made a goofy face with crossed eyes and all, and then said, "All of us have a good bit of coin and keep earning more. But Pastor John is here on a mission trip and is not going to be heading out to fight and earn. Maybe he could be a tentmaker like Paul was, but for now, he has little or no money. This place is just as much a real place with real money as the regular world we came from. This is our home and we should treat it that way; we should all be tithing on our income."
Lance then proceeded to pass the hat around, and everyone dropped coins in.
“Okay, here are my thoughts: I am going to get him some basic supplies and some things to pass out to newbs coming into the game over at Gwen's supply shop. And then with the rest of the money, I am going to get him a place and meals here at the Bird and Baby.” When everyone nodded, Lance got up and headed out of the inn.
When he arrived at Gwen's, she was sitting just outside her burnt-out building, looking less glum than the last time he had seen her.
"Hey Lance, how are things going?"
"Things are going well, and I don't want to share the details, but it looks like we have some help coming on that quest I told you about last time." Lance drew his thumb across his neck in the universal sign of killing someone, indicating Borgakh.
"That is good news." Gwen sat up straighter.
"How are things going for you?"
Gwen smiled."As well as can be expected. The payments on the building itself are suspended until it is rebuilt. I still have a smaller payment for buying the business, but that is not so steep. Once that was resolved, the next problem was where to store all my stuff. Turns out some adventurers were out and found an item that has really solved that problem for me."
She turned around and patted her hand on a large chest sitting on top of a low table, which made it exactly the right height for her to reach in and pull things out.
Lance looked the item over. "I have never heard of a chest being an item. They normally hold items, but you are saying that the chest itself is an item?"
"Yes, it is. It is called a dimensional trunk, and it can hold a lot of stuff. I can summon whatever I want from the trunk, and it automatically organizes everything I put in there. According to the description, it has a 50 foot by 50 foot by 20 foot high space inside. That's easily as large as my warehouse, and it is a lot easier to put things away and get them out with the trunk. Also, I have soul-bound the item so it can not be stolen or accessed by others. The players had no idea what to do with an item like this, so they gave it to me for a steal. To say I owe that party one for dragging it all the way out of a dungeon for me is an understatement.”
Lance nodded. "I am so glad you are doing better and have your business figured out post-Borgakh. As much as I love talking with you, this is not just a social call today. We have had a new guy come in but he is not going to be going out adventuring."
"So he is going to become a crafter instead?"
"Maybe, but initially, he is going to be working as an evangelist. And my party will be supporting him through our tithe."
"Wow, you guys really take this God stuff seriously. Most of the Christians I have been around showed up on Sunday, dropped a twenty into the plate as it passed, and then went home to drink beer and watch the seasonal sport."
Lance shook his head. "Social Christians give people the wrong idea regarding what being a Christian means."
Gwen looked at him expectantly almost as if she was asking him, Well spill it, what IS being a Christian all about?
"Being a Christian is about being saved by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for you. Many Christians stop there, and that is kind of okay. But the scriptures teach that those who are saved will joyfully become Christ’s slaves. I know that this sounds extreme but ‘slave’ is exactly what Paul called himself when he wrote his letter to the Philippian Church. The Greek word translates to bondservant or house slave. If Jesus has died to save me, it seems to me that I owe him my life, and slavery to a kind and generous master can be a wonderful thing."
"Yeah, that is not at all what I thought it was, and that does make a lot more sense,” Gwen said. “So, what do you need today? I got a shipment of rope in, interested?"
"Not today.” Lance smiled. “When newbies come up to you when they first hit town, what sort of things do they ask you for?"
"Well, there are the realistic things and the unrealistic things. Many ask if I can give them a deal on a '+1 Sword of Slaying' but most leave with two things: food and a blanket."
"Yes, that is exactly what I was hoping for. Do you mind if you sell a lot of food and blankets today and fewer in the future?"
"Any business person would rather make large sales, it’s always more efficient," she said.
"And always cheaper to buy in bulk." He smiled back.
"Yes, a little." She looked somewhat worried.
"How about 10% off if we buy 50 blankets, and 200 rations?"
"Yeah, that would be great," she said with a relieved smile on her face.
Lance watched with amazement as she reached into her dimensional trunk and with each motion pulled out exactly what she needed. Soon his inventory was full, so he had to buy a bigger backpack to fit all of the items. He ended up moving all of the items to the new backpack and bought John some other basic supplies, including some rope.
Returning back to the Bird and the Baby, Lance handed John the backpack.
“Whoa,” John said, appearing close to tears. “If I needed any motivation to get out there and share the gospel, this would be it.”
“We are glad to help out, brother,” Lance said with a huge grin on his face. “When you get back this evening, you will have a room for the night. We are going to set you up here with room and board for as long as we can.”
“Would you guys mind praying with me before I head out?” John asked.
“Not at all,” Grog said. “Mind if I start?”
Every member of the party prayed at length for John’s ministry and when it was John’s turn, he thanked the Lord for all He had done. There was not a dry eye around the table as John got up to leave.
Once John had left, Lance talked the innkeeper into a good price for room and board and got John set up for the next month and a half.
*****
Lance looked around the group and asked the obvious question. "Does anyone have any thoughts on what the dragon said?"
Duke, Caisin's assistant, appeared in the air and raised his hand.
"Yes, Duke?" Lance said.
The small dwarven figure snapped a tight salute and said, "Dragons are evil, and we should have nothing to do with them. That is all, sir." He then lowered his salute.
"I agree, Duke, and I am sure many here do as well, but what are we to do? We didn't ask to get involved with a dragon, much less the servants of the Dragon goddess. But here we are. I doubt we can back out now that we have agreed with them."
Lucinda spoke up. "Yeah, I agree but we need to figure out what we can do to protect ourselves from the dragons. How can we be extra careful?"
Everyone nodded, but no one said anything.
After a minute, Lance shrugged. “Okay, I think the best we can do for now is to keep our eyes and ears open. I just feel like the balance thing the dragon kept talking about is kind of tenuous. It said they need to balance things out but I feel as if it will be putting its claw on the scales somehow.
“So, how about the missions? We have two parts to this: first, get the staff from the goblins, and second destroy the box the wraiths are holding. In both cases, we are going to need stealth over brawn, but having some strength backing Lucinda and I up will be an excellent thing if it works out.”
Lucinda chimed in, "I know we got some pretty good maps of the goblin valley and can plan our attack, but we’ve got nothing more than a dot on a map for the wraith home. I think we need more info before we dive in."
"Agreed," Lance said. "But let's take one step at a time. We know that we need to break into the goblin shaman's home to steal his staff, which somehow opens up the wraith's home. Maybe we will be able to find a map there or something."
"I sure hope so," Lucinda said, shaking her head. "I hate going in blind. We could barely handle a single wraith, and now we are going to head into their home to steal something from their temple. Nuts!"