It's impossible to tell how much time passes in the courtyard, the sky never changing, and the archway going from blank to showing your spawn point the only way to tell your sentence was up. So when Telina stepped out of the archway I could only guess it had been a few hours by the amount of drawing I had done.

I stood up and gave her a respectful nod, drawing her smile out as she stopped and looked me over before saying "I'm rather disappointed Loser, a couple of orcs managed to kill you and BigBob? It's rather embarrassing"

That got a chuckle from me as I said "Well, there were ten of them, but your right, we should have been able to beat them" She cocked her head and gave me a questioning look, so I shrugged and said "I screwed up. I should have followed up the holy fire attack with the holy light from the armor. That would have kept them stunned long enough for us to have attacked and taken out the leader and probably one or two more. Attacking would have put us amongst them and negated the archer's advantage, and Bob would have been a lot more effective" I shrugged again and said "not used to this magic stuff. I need to start thinking of it a little more tactically for these group engagements"

"Aah" she said with a nod "This is true. You have many advantages you seem unwilling to use, though I cannot fault those who will not use their power for anything other than great need" she waved a hand to dismiss the topic before crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall next to the portal, looking like someone having a casual conversation. Someone who was stunningly beautiful and extremely powerful, but still pretty relaxed looking.

"Susan and Ariel have completed their tasks in the Empire's capital and have begun visiting other cities. The empire has allied themselves with a few eternals for now, though the empress does not plan to ask more to join until she has seen how these do. Word is spreading of my paladin's deeds, and this is causing those we consider cursed ones to either release their captives and attempt to avoid my warriors, or to band together in hopes of overcoming them. Some few have begun plotting the overthrow of the empire, but I see little threat in this for now"

I gave a dismissive shrug and said "Anyone with a spawn point in the empire is screwed for now, and they'll figure that out quick enough. Biggest risks will be those like me who live in the uncontrolled territories and can fortify their spawn points"

"There are few enough of those" Telina said "the overmaster seemed to see that as a punishment, and he appeared to equate living outside a city with being a...hick?" she gave me a questioning look, but I just chuckled and said "Yeah, Tennant was an idiot, but not having lived in this world most people from our world would think living in places like Mudtown would be a hardship"

"As you say" Telina said, her expression showing her confusion, but she moved on by saying "You have found an ally in the empress, made my paladins a force for mercy and charity, and created a group who will resist those who would threaten our plans" she smiled at me and asked "What are your intentions now?"

I matched her stance, crossing my arms and leaning my shoulder against the wall as I considered her question and said "Well...help Maria get her people out into the world and the spawn point thing will be a pain in the butt for months to come. Outside of that, I'm looking forward to Dalmar's quest and maybe doing that dungeon escort thing. I'm going to put the word out in Mairisian City and Riverbend that I'm open for business" I stared at the sky as I thought about what else to say, finally adding "Depending on my travels, I might take a look at the Desolation and see what that's about. Maybe think about putting a portal near the border in case we need to deal with an attack, or we find a way to cure the blight"

"If there is, it is not known to us" Telina said "but the Blight is a painful wound to our land and it will continue to try and devour the rest as time passes. BigBob sees the Blight as a threat to all and prepares himself to battle it's undead forces. As my priest, it is within your power to offer this quest to BigBob"

Quest? I straightened up, studying her as she gave me a sly grin. I ran the idea through my head a few times, then asked "What would this quest be?"

She straightened up to match me, not losing the grin as she said "Ah, that is for my priest to determine" then she laughed, turned, and stepped through the portal.

Dang goddess, always having to have the last word.

I fell asleep at some point, and I woke up to find myself stepping into the middle of the Mudtown square. I can tell you that it's disorienting as hell when that happens. It took a few seconds for me to realize I wasn't dreaming, and seeing that a lot of buildings were now half stone, half timbered made it worse. All the mud and thatch buildings were gone, and the partial stone buildings appeared to be the next step from the all wooden buildings. The street was covered with a sort of crushed stone/gravel mix that seemed to be pretty firm. The place was busy, and I had to side step a horse pulling a wagon as it steered around Telina's pedestal and came up behind me, the dwarf holding the reins yelling out something I was sure was a curse in a language I didn't understand.

"Lord Loser" Seth yelled, looking up from where he had been banging on a glowing red piece of iron. The smithy had also become much nicer, with a stone forge inside a stone walled, timber topped, open front building. He set the iron in the forge and dusted his hands on his leather apron as he came over to grip arms with me. He looked me over, then chuckled and said "BigBob walked outta the air just a moment afore you. He tole me if'n you appear to let you know he be at ta inn"

A pair of guards, both with shields walked past, nodding and giving me a "Lord" as they passed, but otherwise leaving me to say to Seth "Well, I better get myself over there before he drinks everything" Seth chuckled, but turned back to his work as I stepped over to look at the Cup of Charity. It appeared to have  mostly silver coins now, with one or two gold pieces in it.

Telina’s Holy Cup of Blessing

Holy Aura (280 feet)

5pts/sec damage within 150 ft area against those who oppose Telina

50pts/sec damage if touched by those who oppose Telina

+10% Stat increase for 6 hours for Telina’s faithful – cast when within aura

+30% blessing of increased growth for plants within aura

+50% increase in healing rate while within Holy aura

(Does not stack with other blessings)

It had changed again, and not just the distance of the aura. The damage part seemed to have maxed out, but the distance for the blessing part was still growing. It still wasn't enough to catch all the fields, so I needed to remember to do a round of blessings on those. I was hoping the thing would keep growing until it covered the town walls, something that would be a major help if we were ever attacked.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Bob was sitting at a table talking with Mary when I came in, and he just grinned and toasted me with his mug as Mary ran over, blonde hair streaming behind her, blue eyes shining, and about tackled me to the ground. As I was kissing her I cast my first heal spell and decided the world could get along without me for while. I scooped her up and carried her upstairs as she laughed and kept kissing me.

The next morning she joined me for breakfast at my table, both of us sitting on the bench along the wall rather than the chairs so we could snuggle a little. She asked about my latest adventures, then had to go through my drawings and have them explained. That drew a few more people over, which worked out well since Bob came down about then and I could pawn the story telling off on him. He did a good job, telling the story of how the women were rescued from the clutches of the evil cursed ones by Telina's priest and her holy paladins, then led by Maria, the Laughing Ranger they traveled through the monster filled Forbidden Lands until they reached the Guardian's Castle. He gave it that name, which I hoped Maria would be ok with, because these things kind of stuck.

"It was in the throne room of the destroyed Lich King that Maria Dragonsbane was visited by the holy goddesses" Bob said to the crowd "Awed by their divine presence, Maria knelt, bowing her head to honor them. But the goddesses had not come to be worshipped, they had come to enact great change on the world. Evil had come to Tarinath, and Telina and her paladins could not stand alone against the cursed ones and the foul Blight, so the four goddesses, Tara, Tessa, Tanira, and Tyra had come to create a force for good, one that could guard the people from evil and meet it in battle. The eternals that Telina's champions had freed from bondage had suffered greatly, but having suffered, understood evil in ways that no other could. Having learned compassion and charity from Telina's priest, and been tempered in the fires of battle within the Forbidden Lands, these eternals were a force like no other upon the lands" he did the thing where he paused and seemed to study everyone, a stern look on his face, then said "But battle breeds anger and hate, so this force would need to be led by one who would stay true to what was good and right. One whose presence alone would engender joy and happiness. One who could sooth the despair of those who fight evil" he paused again before saying "There was only one who embodied these virtues. Only one who was already beloved of Telina and her priest. The goddesses had come before this one to ask her to lead, and Maria Dragonsbane, the Laughing Ranger, beloved of Telina, said..." the crowd all sort of sucked in a breath as Bob paused before saying "Yes"

I will be darned if the crowd didn't cheer. I began chuckling, getting a sideways glance and grin from Bob before he became stern again and raised his hand. The crowd silenced immediately, and Bob said "The Guardians Of Tarinath were born in that throne room. Crowned by four goddesses and blessed with power, the Queen of the Guardians of Tarinath accepted the oaths of all those she had led to this point deep in the Forbidden Lands. An oath to aid those in need, and to defend the lands from evil in all its forms. The Guardians were given black cloaks that day, cloaks that symbolized that darkness could not triumph as long as light existed within it. Cloaks that would mask the Guardians from those who would do evil, and strike fear into the hearts of those evil ones when a Guardian come to bestow justice"

Overall a pretty good performance. It captured everything I had been wanting people to know, and seeing how the dragon story traveled so well, I anticipated it wouldn't be long before this one was known across Tarinath. I really liked that he had woven Telina's presence throughout the story, making it sound like she was integral to starting the whole thing. Good publicity as it were. Didn't want my goddess feeling left out.

Andulin had shown up at some point, and he took me for a tour of the new wall. I brought Mary along, enjoying her smile and presence too much to leave her behind. The two main gates had sixty foot high towers completed, but the walls were still only twenty feet high, and Andulin said they would be forty feet when done. It was still impressive as hell, and I was sure it would be formidable when completed.

"Some few who travel through take injury when in the cups presence" Andulin said as we walked the perimeter "and this has affected which merchants now visit, but this has also meant that thieves no longer try their skills within the town. One does not need to be a good person to be in it's aura, as long as they intend no harm while here" he acknowledged salutes from a pair of guards at the new gates as we reached them and turned to walk back into town "There is enough coin to complete our defenses and hire those necessary to man them. I am still looking for a defensive mage, but have hired an ice elemental. From my understanding of what BigBob has said, I believe the confluence of portals here will allow us to bring in aid very quickly if required"

"True enough" I answered, stopping when we reached the cleared area around town so I could bless some fields. After I cast the first blessing and restored, I said "we will wish to support the Guardians in any way possible, so I will cast a portal blessing on any who are willing to travel to Queen Maria's castle. She will need not only guards, but cooks and servants to make her castle a home" I did another blessing as Andulin considered that.

"She will require a seneschal to order her household" Andulin said "as well as a guard captain to manage her defenses"

Mary and Andulin chatted as I finished the blessings, then they followed me to the town square and my final archway. I had been worried that dying would nullify my portal casting, but when I pulled it up, it went straight to the final blessing and it was only a moment later that I had another portal in place. I stepped through, waved at two startled, black cloaked women walking by, then hopped back through to Mudtown. I was chuckling at the looks on the women's faces even as I picked Mary up and gave her a hard kiss.

"Finally!" I said, setting her down and casting a healing spell on her just to hear her giggle "I am seriously burned out on running around the world putting these darn things in place" I snagged another kiss, then tucked Mary under my arm and headed toward the inn for a drink, figuring I would come back later to get with Maria.

----------------------------------------

Hi all.

Shorter chapter, but I'm having to do some editing on the sections after this one.