The gates of Crescent were firmly shut, and in front of them stood two paladins, posted there to stop and search all who entered the city – and probably to catch any undesirables.
Visibly unpleased by the current state of the city, Rosie snarled as she peered at the gates. “Well that’s a fucking problem right there, can I even get in anymore?”
“My outfit should be enough to fool them. I still look like I outrank a run-of-the-mill paladin, so they probably won’t dare ask too many questions. So please, just play along.” Emilia pointed out and straightened her armor. “I’m so sorry if I say something horrible.”
As they approached the gates, the paladins noticed them and one of them came fort to greet the priestess. Wearing an armor similar in design to the one Alex had worn though much more basic and lacking in decoration, he clearly belonged to the bottom rank of the same order of church paladins.
“Halt, priestess. Why have you brought this disgusting creature to our holy city?” He asked and saluted Emilia.
“Mind your rank, soldier!” Emilia scolded the paladin. “My business is mine and mine alone. But if you must know, I have been using it as a physical aid. After all, it’s the only thing they’re fit to do.”
“And what about the child?” The paladin continued his query.
Emilia frowned. “Nosy, aren’t you? Do they not teach you how a paladin is supposed to conduct themselves in the presence of a priestess? She’s here to learn the ways of the church under my supervision, she’ll probably end up outranking you by the time we leave.” Emilia lied and placed her hand on Anastacia’s head. “Can we enter now? I have some urgent business inside.”
The paladin waved his hand for the other one, who began to open the gates. “As you probably know, we prefer to have the beasts leashed or cuffed, so please put these on it. Like with any animal, even the obedient ones can lash out, and yours is far from small.” The paladin laughed and handed Emilia a pair of handcuffs.
The priestess carefully fastened the cuffs around Rosie’s wrists and almost broke into tears. During the entire conversation, Emilia had to use every last bit of her self-discipline to not start bashing the paladin’s head in with her mace.
After reluctantly allowing the paladin to check the cuffs, they were allowed in without further inspection of their backpacks, further displaying Emilia’s surprisingly high position within the church.
After making sure they weren’t within the paladin’s earshot, Anastacia couldn’t hold it in anymore. “What the fuck is wrong with this place? Just say the word and I’ll wipe this shithole off the map.” She said and lifted her arms up.
“Don’t do that. I’m sure there are still plenty of good people living here, it’s just the church that has gone to shit in the last couple of years. Let’s just head to an inn I know.” Emilia sighed and pulled up her hood, partly to avoid attention and partly because she was tearing up after her act.
The city was still as busy as Emilia remembered, but something had changed for the worse: back when she still lived in Crescent, there were maybe three or four paladins stationed at the church, but now there were dozens of them patrolling the streets. While the beastfolk weren’t all too common even back then, they were still treated as normal citizens, aside from not being allowed in the church; which was something Emilia couldn’t believe she let slide back then. Being surrounded by enough people that accepted something horrible as a part of normal life, can make anyone blind to even worse things – though that was only an excuse she made up to give herself a pass.
They navigated trough narrow alleys, avoiding any bigger streets whenever they could. Even though Emilia hadn’t been in the city for a while, and most of the paladins had only been brought in after she left, there was a big risk of running into someone who knew her and would blow their cover. Keeping their hoods on and heads low, they eventually reached the inn unnoticed.
“The owner is my friend, he’ll let us stay in a room with a bit of privacy.” Emilia whispered and headed inside.
Immediately after opening the door, Emilia began to doubt her plan. The whole room was packed with fully armored paladins, chomping down on their meals. The sudden appearance of a priestess caused a small commotion, which only grew louder once Emilia’s companions stepped in.
“Do. Not. Start. A. Fight.” The priestess whispered to both of them separately, since she wasn’t entirely sure which one was more eager to teach the paladins some manners.
As they headed to the counter, someone in the crowd threw a bottle at Rosie, clearly aiming for her head but missing and hitting her shoulder instead. The bottle bounced off harmlessly, but both the tigress and Anastacia were one mean comment away from slaughtering everyone in the room. Even though she was cuffed, Rosie could easily take care of the paladins immediately around them while Anastacia could focus on the rest.
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Behind the counter stood a short stout man, roughly as old as Gilbert and extremely harmless looking. His face had immediately lit up in hope when he had recognized the priestess as his friend. “W… what can I do for you, your holiness?” He carefully asked, trying to not look suspicious to the paladins.
Emilia placed her mace on the counter. “I would like to rent a room for me, and my apprentice. The beast needs to be watched at all times, so I would like to have it stay in the room as well.” She said with a stern tone but winked at the innkeeper at the end.
The man could hardly contain his joy. “Emilia! Didn’t you-“ He said but was silenced by the priestess pressing a finger on his lips.
“I said. I would like to rent a room.” Emilia insisted and slightly nodded towards Rosie.
The innkeeper finally caught on and wiped the smile form his face. “O…of course! I’m so sorry. Though I can’t ask someone as divine as you to pay for one of my humble rooms. Please, follow me.” He calmed down and led them through a narrow corridor into a staircase leading to the basement.
The room they arrived in was some kind of storage, with assorted furniture and spare bedding piled everywhere. But behind a couple of cupboards and chars, were two beds and table, clearly put there to house someone who didn’t want to be seen.
The innkeeper put his lantern on the table and started dusting the beds. “I assume you want to stay out of sight? Last time I saw you, you weren’t exactly in good terms with the church. That hasn’t changed, has it?” He asked with a hushed voice.
Emilia smiled. “I only serve Lady Sylvia, the church has nothing to do with her anymore, that much is clear to me. Good to see you’re still sane too, Ed.” She whispered and hugged the innkeeper.
Once freed from the priestess’ grasp, the old man turned to Rosie. “I assume miss tigress here is restrained only for the looks? I don’t remember you supporting the teachings about humanity’s superiority over beastfolk.” He said and inspected the handcuffs. “Nice to meet you, my name is Edgar, I’ve let this girl sleep her hangover away in here ever since she started drinking.”
Rosie sniffed the top of Edgar’s head. “Look at that, the first decent person in this shitheap of a city. Call me Rosie.” She whispered.
“You know, Rosie owns an inn too. She’s an amazing cook.” Emilia explained excitedly while unlocking the cuffs.
While the others got to know each other, Anastacia remembered that her feet were at the point of giving out, her anger towards the paladins had just numbed her to it temporarily. After shedding off whatever she was carrying, she collapsed into one of the beds and started massaging her shins.
Noticing her the innkeeper turned his attention to the necromancer. “Oh, what about the young lass? An apprentice you said?” He asked.
“That would be Anna, we work together as adventurers. She’s a bit whiny but tries her best most of the time. Also, she’s probably the most powerful necromancer in the world, but don’t worry about that.” Emilia explained.
Edgar nodded. “If you say so. I hear some nasty things about them necromancers, but if she’s your friend, she can’t be all bad.” He reasoned. “What brings you back here? Last time I saw you, you were drunk out of your mind and couldn’t get out fast enough.”
“We just came here to shop a bit, but honestly this place is beyond fucked so I don’t think that’s happening. We should probably just leave.” Emilia sighed and sat down on the other bed.
“The market is still fine, after I get you a normal cloak, you and the lass can still go there no problem. I fear Rosie will have to stay here though.” The innkeeper suggested.
Emilia looked at Rosie to see how she felt about waiting inside for a day.
“Don’t worry about it, kitten and you can go check out what the market has to offer. If you get the chance, I could give you a list of the stuff I came to buy for the inn, and maybe you could get them for me? I was going to rent a carriage to get them back to Valor too, so we could just slip out in it too.” She said and sat down next to Emilia.
Edgar looked like he was deep in thought. “If it’s goods for an inn you’re looking for, I know the right place. No one would bat an eye if I went to get them.” He offered kindly.
It was decided that Anastacia and Emilia were going to check the market in the morning, while Edgar would rent the wagon and get the goods for Rosie to be delivered.
That night both Anastacia and Emilia had a hard time falling asleep.
Anastacia wondered if it would be justified to kill off all the church paladins, since it would free the people of Crescent from having to pay for indulgences; and because no one there knew what she was, so it would be a piece of cake. But would that make her just as bad as the necromancers of Mournvalley? Killing off anyone that didn’t agree with her seemed like something they would do and not what she was aiming for.
She was also worried that the stench of dead things had gotten stuck on her, because no one wanted to share a bed with her, despite her being the smallest of the three. It must have been very uncomfortable for both Rosie and Emilia to have to sleep together in a small bed, barely large enough for one.
Meanwhile in the other bed, Emilia was being bothered by her own troubles. By asking Edgar, the priestess had gotten the full picture of what happened to Crescent after she had left: The church had suddenly increased its influence and eventually completely dethroned the duke, who had previously governed over it. Now they were demanding tributes from the people in exchange for indulgences at an increasing rate. It was disheartening for Emilia to see what was once her hometown be reduced to that state. Concerned for the people she had once helped, she sought strength from her Goddess and got an answer part of her had hoped for:
“The tale of this sorry excuse of a church must come to an end, and who would be more fitting to bring it down than a loyal priestess? The people still believe, and I am not without power here. Rest now my child, for tomorrow we’ll sing for the end of these times of falsehood and mockery.”
Hearing that, Emilia knew that silently leaving was no longer an option. “Anna, are you still awake?” She whispered.
“Yeah?” The necromancer answered.
“We might have to start a fight after all” The priestess sighed.
While the two plotted, Rosie was perfectly happy sharing the small bed with Emilia and had fallen asleep without any difficulties.