Mirio awoke to the sound of engraving tools scraping against jewels. The gentle hum of his master echoed in the small room. Mirio turned his head to see his master tower over him in size. He then sat up on the table, and looked over at the wolf puppy which was now twice his size. He rubbed his head, “What the hell is going on” his voice squeaked out like that of a mouse.

“Wait? Hey! WHY AM I SO DAMN SMALL!”

Gnome “I had to get you into my house some way, so I cast a reduction of size spell on you”

Mirio “Oh, right… It will wear off right?”

Gnome “Heh heh, yes, but not while you are in my house, and don’t you dare try to enlarge yourself while in here”

Mirio “Whoa look at all those pieces of Jewelry, I have never seen so many in one place, you are like a little dragon with a treasure horde in here”

Gnome “A home is where you surround yourself with what is most precious, so how is that so strange”

Mirio “No it makes sense, it is just… Very you”

The gnome nodded, “Now that you are awake, will you tell me where you found this fella, and that Lich Lord”

Mirio, “I was heading back to Gimly when I thought it would be nice to train by the Canal, but as I made my way there I had to sneak through the fog, and I hid from a skeletal warrior in some rock crags”

Gnome, “And you noticed there was a temple and figured, well while I am here, why not clear out the place? Does that about sum it up”

Mirio laughed nervously, “Well, kinda, yeah… But I mean, I cast detect evil and I saw a blue glow surrounded by evil”

The gnome turned away from its jewelry and put down its tools, “And somehow you got between a lich lord and a puppy that it was about to sacrifice to the god of the hidden and corrupt”

Mirio, “Hey! Do you know what that god was! I’d never heard of it before!”

Gnome, “Few who hear of it live long enough to remember it, he is not one who allows his secrets to be exposed easily”

The gnome then prodded Mirio with a staff sat by his desk, “And you went and stirred up the hornet’s nest”

Mirio, “Sorry, I didn’t know, I was just trying to do what I thought was right”

Gnome, “And so what happened before you were knocked unconscious”

Mirio, “The lich had a strange black dagger, but it was cursed, and it turned into these black tendrils that tried to kill me by suffocating me in a black covering film of divine magic”

Gnome, “The dagger! Where is it now!”

Mirio, “I think it evaporated, either that or it is still inside of me somehow, the shadow said it was a curse that had continuous power, so I figured that it was a strange curse connected to divine cantrip continua, so I drew up some magic circles like this to ward it off”

Gnome, “You saw the lord of corruption himself! And lived! And wait! You then devised a counter to his curse? And used a kind of magic you are barely versed in to create a new kind of magic circle that enables a constant flow of your magic to go into cantrip continua”

Mirio, “Hey! I didn’t say it was easy okay! I just said that it was what I did given the choices I had”

Gnome, “Normally people wouldn’t see those opportunities. Even me as a master of the Arcane, when I stumbled across one of his crypts was almost outwitted by the damned evil bastard”

Mirio, “There are more of those tombs? Just fantastic… How come you never warned me about them?”

Gnome, “I was hoping it would never come up”

Mirio, “Ha, nice one… All jokes aside though, I think that bastard really did curse me”

Gnome, “Yeah you probably should keep that ward up”

Mirio, “Will you study the ward? See if we can improve it somehow”

Gnome, “But I have other things to do”

Mirio, “Inscribe gems and make jewelry?”

Gnome, “Something like that. Why don’t you pop outside now that you are awake and I’ll get you back to normal size, that mousey voice doesn’t suit you and I think you are giving the puppy an earache”

Mirio, “Alright alright, thanks for the help with the Lich btw, I didn’t mean to bring that drama your way but if I ran to Gimly it would have destroyed everything”

Gnome, “You did the right thing. Now let’s get you back to normal size”, he then clicked his fingers and Mirio popped back into his full size

The gnome chuckled, “That wolf seems bonded to you now, you’d best give him a name”

Mirio, “Alright I will do, I’ll head off now, thanks for the help”

The gnome dismissively handwaved Mirio off and returned into his hut, “Now where was I?”

...

Mirio entered the outskirts of the village caked in dirt and blood. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers to dispel the mage armor, and jogged back towards his house. He looked intensely at the house for a moment and considered if he should bathe there, but then turned towards the market square. Something about the home he lived in felt accusatory, as if it would lash out and scream at him, and question why he had done what he had done without any attempt to understand. Mirio figured it would be better to come back later as if nothing had happened rather than give his family something to make a fuss about.

He slowed from his brisk jog to a walking pace and eyed a merchant stall with a display of statuettes, candle holders, lanterns, picture frames, and engraved furniture. “Hi there, I have a statuette and I was wondering what you think it might be worth”.

The merchant offered out her hand and pulled out a monocle to observe its shape, composition, and quality. “This was made of obsidian, yet its details are fine and smooth like sculpted glass. Meaning it was difficult to make, likely the act of magic”.

Mirio, “Wait, you can make statues with magic”

Merchant, “Yes, it is very difficult but it can be done, this piece was likely made with several magicians working together, some forming the constant high temperature and others moulding its form. It is a complicated procedure, one not utilised for ordinary trinkets. It is likely this was used as an offering to a god, or it is a carving of a god, or one of their immortal avatars”

Mirio, “Avatars?”

Merchant, “Sometimes the gods choose to walk the world as flesh and blood, and when they do this they are known as an avatar. For example the Goddess Calypso walked as flesh and blood not more than half a century ago, men everywhere flocked from across every continent in an attempt to woo her and gain her love. However, none succeeded, Gods are fickle beings”

Mirio, “Is it worth anything?”

Merchant, “To the right buyer it would be, someone of the faith, but I don’t recognise the faith this represents so I don’t think I could find a buyer quickly. Though perhaps one of the nobles from Elmvale might be interested. I can’t offer you full price for it but I suppose 25 gold pieces”

Mirio’s jaw dropped open a little bit, “A whole 25 pieces! DEAL!”

Sierra, “Stop!”, she grabbed onto Mirio’s hand as he thrust it forward, and then calmly urged him to lower his hand and the statuette, “You can’t just go accepting the first deal you are offered Mirio, people will take advantage of you”. She began to blush and then discretely removed her hand from his, “And I don’t mean to insult the good merchant here, I am sure their intentions are honest, but that isn’t how business is done”.

Mirio, “Sierra, what are you doing here in Gimly?”

Sierra, “My father is of one of the heads of the noble houses, he sends me on errands to find artifacts and magical curiosities in the surrounding cities”

Mirio, “Wouldn’t you rather spend the weekend off rather than working for your father?”

Sierra, “No-no, I enjoy doing it, and it allows me to make money for the things I want to buy”

Mirio, “Oh, okay… Well, I suppose I should ask some other shops the price they’d offer”, he then scratched his head, “But I don’t feel like running from town to town you know, seems like a lot of work”

Sierra, “I heard you are joining the guard, yes? How much do they pay per day?”

Mirio, “About 2 gold”

Sierra, “And that is above average, most citizens would be lucky to make half that. And how long do you think it would take you to go to each city and ask around for prices?”

Mirio, “I suppose a day at most”

Sierra, “And if you found a place that offered you 27 gold instead of 25 it would equal the same as an honest day’s work, yes?”

Mirio, “That is true”

Sierra, “But you are actually likely just by the laws of probability, that the first shop you ask at is not the highest price you will get if you ask around. There will be a range, and that range is going to be more than 10 percent, it might even be 20 percent, or if you are really lucky you might find that your item has a special buyer who will buy it for five times the price or more!”, Sierra stumbled on her words for a moment, “And that is why! You have to keep shopping Mirio!”

Mirio, “I hadn’t really thought of it like that, thanks, I suppose I will keep asking around” he then opened his pouch and slipped the statuette inside. The puppy wolf stared at Sierra from underneath Mirio’s other arm, panting happily.

“Yuff! Yuff!”

Sierra’s eyes constricted, and she then looked Mirio up and down, and a disdainful look shot across her face, “Why are you so dirty? And is that blood?”.

Mirio looked at here with a slanted gaze, *she reacted to the puppy, is she afraid of animals?*, “Oh yeah got a bit messy from some training, I’m actually on my way to the barracks now and I’ll take a bath there and clean up. I’d stay and shop with you, but like you can see I’m kind of stinky, but thank you for the advice, I appreciate it”

Sierra “Oh okay, I’ll see you at school”

Mirio made his way to the barracks and then walked into the changing rooms, he took off his belt, shoes, shirt and began to unbuckle his pants. He then heard a creak from just around one of the dividers. “Ah I see I am not alone” he said out loudly so the other person might clearly hear.

A woman with brunette hair tied into a braid stepped out from behind the divider and tied up the last of the laces on her leather trainee armor, “Don’t worry, I’m all done”. She paused for a moment with the last lace in her mouth and looked Mirio up and down. His shoulders were broad, and even though drenched in sweat and caked in grime and bits of blood here and there he almost shimmered in the dim light that cut through the glazed windows.

*Hmph he looks strong*

She then turned without any further comment and casually walked out to the training grounds.

Mirio looked at the puppy, “Who was that!”, but it didn’t notice or care and scratched behind its ear beside the bath. Mirio then put his hand in the water and carved out a magic circle, it took a few minutes for the water to heat up but before long steam drifted like a dream off of the surface. He took off his breeches and got into the bath and scrubbed the blood and dirt from his face, hands and arms. After he was done cleaning he hung his arms over the tub and looked at the puppy.

“I should name you shouldn’t I…”

He lifted a finger to his temple and rubbed it as he thought for a moment on a good name for the Dire wolf. One that would fit its character.

“You seem to take everything breezy don’t you, so how about I call you Ezee and Zee for short”

The puppy looked up at him and stared into his eyes, “Yeah, your name is Ezee. Do you like it boy?”

Ezee opened his mouth and began to pant, Mirio then leaned over and picked him up, “Let’s give you a proper bath… Afterward you will feel as good as new”. He then scrubbed all the dirt and grime from his paws and out from the stubborn little clumps of fur. After washing away the mud and grime, Mirio lifted him out of the water and channeled prestidigitation, blowing him dry within a matter of seconds until he was fluffy and ready to meet the day. Mirio then stepped out of the bath and cast the cantrip again to dry off his body, a shimmer of light making a rainbow as the water particles became a mist.

“Ahh, that is better”, Mirio then grabbed his clothes and cast the spell again causing them to spirale under the force of the spell before gently floating back down in spotless condition. He slid on his breeches, shoes, belt, and shirt, and then headed out towards the training field.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The woman was training her swordwork on one of the wooden posts. Mirio leaned up against the wall and observed her for a moment, carefully watching her technique and movements. She shuffled her feet in and out from the post gracefully, and her strikes landed with a crisp snap to them. She was trained well. Her fighting style wasn’t flashy, but neither was it just a few basics thrown together. She was constantly changing angle, striking two or three blows from the left and then shifting out to the right to assault the wooden pole with a few more. She also controlled her pace, making sure to keep her breath steady and to not swing herself into exhaustion. She also varied her combinations from high to low, and employed an array of foot feints, slips, and counter blows.

Mirio was in a half trance watching her, to him it was as if he was watching a dance, and he was following every step as though he himself were following along. And as he watched a part of him felt warm, and his heart opened up causing him to lose all fear of going up to and talking to a strange woman he had never met before.

He walked over to where she was training to let his presence be known, but kept a respectful distance and showed no sign of interrupting her practice. He instead appeared with a demeanor that suggested he was enjoying watching and willing to provide support and encouragement. The appreciation of swordplay was a language he knew she understood so he was not worried that she would get the wrong idea.

She wiped her brow and turned towards him, “You were the guy from before right, are you here to train too?”

Ezee trotted over and hid behind Mirio’s legs.

“Yeah, sorry for not announcing my entry, I thought it was going to be empty at this time of day. I mostly just came to clean up, got a bit messy out training in the Misty Meadows”

She raised an eyebrow at what Mirio had said, but also glanced down at Ezee. “Is that a dire wolf pup?”

“Um… If I said no, you’d spot I was lying wouldn’t you”

“Yes, I’d definitely call you on it. He is cute does he have a name”

Mirio smiled proudly and crossed his arms, “Ezee”

“Ezee huh? That is a cute name, yeah I can see him being easy going”

Eeze still remained cautiously behind Mirio’s legs.

“I am Mirio by the way, I just joined the guard, yesterday actually”

“Oh! I’m Kabi, just a trainee. I come to train here when it is quiet and have time off. My dad home schools me so, I use it as time for myself”

“Nice to meet you Kabi. I noticed your form is really good, you have an efficient style. Constantly moving, good pressure, controlling distance, and fluid striking”

Her eyes widened a little at his recognition of her hard work, “Thank you! I try my best to get technique down”. She reached to her side and grasped her flask. She took a swig while keeping eye contact with Mirio and then put the lid back on.

Mirio looked her up and down and smiled gently with his eyes.

Kabi “So why were you training in the Misty Meadows, isn’t that really dangerous”

Mirio’s face became gaunt, and his eyes looked straight forward half dead inside, “Yes. It is way too dangerous”

Kabi glowed and broke out in a radiant smile, “That is so funny! Why did you train there then!”

Mirio “Oh you know, just testing myself” he said tongue and cheek, he then jokingly dusted his shoulder, “I am a guard now and all”.

Kabi “Oh is that right! So now you are a guard you can act all tough huh? I see how it is” she winked.

Mirio smiled and enjoyed the banter but then became a little bit more serious, “I usually know how to avoid the wolf pack territories, and go out to visit a master of the arcane. I wanted to ask him some questions about magic, but on the way back I took a detour and kinda got into some stuff. Wound up in a pretty nasty fight, found this guy in trouble, burned up a firewall scroll to save this guy, and then fled for my life”

Kabi “Wait, you found Ezee just today! And you train magic, and somehow had a firewall scroll? This sounds like a good story”

Mirio, “Yeah, found him today, his parents were turned by a Lich Lord… Uh, actually maybe I shouldn’t talk about it. It was just a really dangerous situation. I’d found the scroll on a long dead adventurer in a tomb”

Kabi, “Could you take me to the tomb? I’d love to see it!”

Mirio “Well, I guess I could show you if you want, but we’ll have to take turns carrying Ezee. He can’t walk the whole way and it is a little annoying to carry him”

Kabi scrambled and ran off towards the changing rooms, “Just give me a second to get some stuff”

Mirio laughed and smiled “Sure no problem”

Kabi returned with a bow over her shoulder a sword at her side, and a quiver of arrows, “Alright let’s go”

Mirio and Kabi headed through the market, pointing at things and laughing at the comments each of them made. Sierra glimpsed over and saw him for a moment between the crowd, she turned around to say something but then her eyes caught onto a woman laughing happily beside him, “Oh I see…”.

Kabi “Can I hold Ezee”

Mirio “Sure, let’s switch when we get to the stables outside town”

Kabi “Gosh he’s so cute”

Mirio “Probably going to grow into an enormous monster of a wolf though, especially with the way I’ll feed him”

Kabi “Haha, all the town folk will step carefully around the guard with the enormous dire wolf pet”

Mirio “I think it takes them a year or so to grow up. I am also thinking of getting a horse with my money from guard work”

Kabi “Why not just wait and you can ride Ezee here” she laughed

Mirio “No way I couldn’t strip him of dignity like that”

Kabi “But you are okay stripping the dignity of your horse”

Mirio “Naturally, because horses have dark hair, and anything with dark hair can be treated that way”

Kabi “Oh ho ho!” she slapped his shoulder, “So I have dark hair, are you saying that about me too now”

Mirio “I’m not saying that… Not directly at least”

Kabi threw her head back in laughter, and then wiped a tear away with one finger, “Ah it is good to be out on an adventure, my father is way too overprotective”

Mirio “My father is a total weirdo, always gloats, thinks highly of himself and has an obsession with bandit like mindsets for some reason”

Kabi “Mine is such a weirdo too, I swear he has nothing to say in conversations either, he just talks about the weather and the technique a gardener used to cut the grass”

Mirio “I’m sure our dads would get along then, cuz my dad does the same”

Kabi stopped and looked over to her left “Oh it is the stable, you want to take Ezee back? I’m happy to keep carrying him though”

Mirio “Sure, you can carry him, just let me know if you want to swap. Oh and by the way we will be heading into the mists, so just keep alert. I know a path around the wolf territories, but it is still dangerous”

Kabi nodded and smiled “Of course I will keep it to a whisper and keep alert”

Mirio nodded back and led her into the mists.

Kabi whispered, “Whoa this is kinda spooky huh? Can barely see ten paces ahead of us, how do you not get lost in the mist and lose your direction”

Mirio “that is part of why it is so dangerous, but there is a magic in the air here that can be sensed, and the mist mostly lays low, so if you blast some magical gusts you can glimpse some of the landmarks”

Kabi, “This mist is way more serious than I thought, is it weird that it kind of scares me a bit, not a lot but… It is like something out of a horror story almost”

Mirio “Nah, in horror stories it’s all swampy, the grass under our feet is fresh, the sun still shines over head, and the air is fresh”

Kabi “Ha I just don’t want to be a girl relying on the guy to lead her through the fog so my mind is thinking how do I get outta here if I have to”

Mirio “Oh haha, yeah sorry, I’m not a guy who will act all heroic to impress a girl”

Kabi “Ah, good, haha, you seem cool actually”

Mirio “Thanks, it isn’t all that much further now, it is up by these rock crags you see sticking up out of the fog. Now, we have to stop talking, as there might be a couple wandering skeletons left, do you want to grab my hand just so we don’t get lost”

Kabi’s hand slipped into Mirio’s. It was warm and soft and she gently squeezed, seemingly without nerves. Mirio focused by the task at hand also wasn’t nervous though it was one of the first times he had held a woman’s hand.

He moved slowly and Kabi trailed behind, while looking around at all angles, until they reached the rock formation, “Here it is” he whispered. He gently released her hand and slipped between the rocks and moved ahead “Come on”. She squeezed between the rocks and then stood up close to Mirio in front of the entrance, their breath close enough to be felt on each other’s faces.

Mirio then slipped through the narrow passage way and into the first room of the tomb.

Kabi then handed Ezee to Mirio, and squeezed through herself, her bust sliding against the walls, “Yikes it really is a narrow entrance”

Mirio lit a light stone and attached it to his belt.

Kabi “Whoa, awesome… Oh is that a corpse?”

Mirio “Yeah, some unlucky adventurer, he was the one that had the firewall scroll, he also had a shield which came in handy, oh and two minor healing potions which also helped out. Ok look here, there is an inscription see”

Kabi approached the wall, “Spooky, it says it is holding someone here under a curse, do you know who?”

Mirio “Actually, I was too busy saving this guy and running away last time”

Kabi “Wait, the Lich Lord isn’t here anymore is he?”

Mirio “No no, he’s dead”

Kabi “Dead!” she looked at him in disbelief, “Did you?!”

Mirio “No, I actually fled to the master magician and he defeated it, he cast a spell that made an explosion larger than anything I’d ever seen. It should be safe in here, or at least I hope. Actually could you hold Ezee and just let me go ahead for a bit so I can check and you just wait here”

Kabi reached out and grabbed Ezee, but then reached out and grabbed Mirio’s hand “But wait, just… Be careful”

Mirio winked “I’ll be careful, and I’ll be right back, just call if you need me okay”

Kabi nodded, and then awkwardly looked around the room as Mirio jogged off through the tomb. After a nervous thirty seconds or so, Mirio returned “It’s all clear come on”.

Kabi “I can’t believe you came in here all alone, I’d be so scared”

They turned the corner and entered the side room.

Kabi “Omg, what happened in here, there are two massive Dire wolves, and two piles of bones. And that pile of bones had plate armor and is huge” her eyes were wide in shock. “That is too much, how the hell did you fight them, and are those wolves Ezee’s parents!?”

Mirio “Yeah, it looks like they are, the Lich sacrificed them and then reanimated their bodies, fighting them was hardcore. But I actually took on this normal skeleton first, then got the upper hand on this big one, he was originally in the room ahead, and the wolves were in the main chamber, but in the process of fighting them I kind of had to retreat so I ended up fighting them here”

Kabi “Are you okay! Geez, how come you aren’t badly injured or anything” she stopped him by the shoulder and started patting down his body, “Yeah nothing hurts right?”

Mirio gently grabbed her hand “No I’m fine, really”

Kabi “It is like a miracle or something”

Mirio then stepped over the bodies and headed to the gate room

Kabi “There is half a leg and an arm from that giant skeleton”

Mirio “Yeah cut them off here, and then he smashed the door open, and the two wolves charged at me so I fell back into the hall for cover”

Kabi “That was really smart, they are big so you’d only have to fight one at a time”

Mirio “In theory yeah, but they were agile as hell, it wasn’t that much different than fighting them together, they were just so fast it was absurd… Monsters are no joke it doesn’t matter how good of a fighter you are it is scary as all hell”

Mirio then stepped into the hall, “I didn’t spend much time in here, just a few seconds, I ran straight to Ezee, leaped over the fallen pillar and cast the firewall spell to contain the Lich, then ran like hell, it eventually caught up by flying after me”

Kabi “Stop explaining it, I’m feeling the dread of how bad that would have been, let’s go take a closer look at the altar, who knows maybe you left some treasure behind”

Kabi then ran off ahead and scurried around the pillar, and then stood still on the other side, “Look it is the scorch marks from your spell, it even melted the stone a bit, and here is the altar”

Mirio, “Yeah, Ezee was here. He isn’t scared is he?”

Kabi looked down and met eyes with the little puppy “No he’s fine”. She then walked around and investigated the room, “Look there, it’s a sarcophagus”.

Mirio, “I am not sure we should touch that”

Kabi “But think about the guy these people cursed, maybe his body has a cursed item on it and his soul can’t be free”

Mirio “But what if he wasn’t a good person either, and it was just bad people fighting bad people you know?”

Kabi “I think it is more likely he was a knight if he was the enemy of someone who uses curses”. She then walked over to the sarcophagus and slid open the lid. Ezee sneezed at the dust that blew up. Mirio jogged over and put his hand at Kabi and gently eased her back.

Kabi “Easy Mirio, don’t you think your hand is awfully close to my goods” she said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, “And I thought you didn’t play hero”

Mirio “Sorry just on edge, wait… What is that”

Kabi “Looks like a skeleton to me”

Mirio “There is some kind of locket, and it looks like it has an inscription”

Mirio reached in and grabbed the locket and unhooked the chain and slid it away from the body “So you can carry my heart with you everywhere you go. Come home safe, Love Calypso”

Kabi “Like the Goddess Calypso!? She was in avatar form like fifty years ago”

Mirio “Yeah but this skeleton and tomb seems a lot older than that”

Kabi “Maybe it was her previous incarnation then?”

Mirio “Let’s not jump to conclusions though, he might have just been a paladin or cleric”

Kabi “With a love poem written on it as if from Calypso… No that is silly, he definitely knew her, and she loved him”

Mirio “What do we do then, take his bones? Take them to a Cleric at a temple of Calypso maybe? There is one in Elmvale I think”

Kabi “I’m carrying Ezee, he’s all cuddly, and he thinks I am cuddly too, so you carry them”

Mirio “Not to let you off the hook easy or anything, but I kinda feel bad for him, so I’ll carry him” he bent over close to the bones and whispered “I will take you somewhere safe, away from this place, I will be moving you now though okay”. He then gently gathered the bones into a bundle along with the locket.

Mirio “Okay, lets go to Elmvale”

Kabi smiled, “Yeah!”

… An hour later…

Cleric “Thank you for bringing his bones, I shall see to it he is given the proper burial rights so that he may finally be at peace”

Mirio “And here is locket, it’s the most precious thing he has now”

Cleric “You are very kind”

Mirio cast prestidigitation and cleaned off his arms, then reached out to Ezee, “Alright give me him”, and scooped Ezee back into his arms. Ezee panted happily at the prospect of being back with Mirio.

Cleric “Wait, before you go… I notice divine mana on you… Are you by chance a paladin?”

Mirio “I am”

Cleric “Oh wonderful, and may I ask which god did you swear your oath to? Calypso perhaps?” he said hopefully.

Mirio “Oath?”

Cleric “Yes, every Paladin swears an oath to a god or goddess to access their divine power. It also applies to us Clerics as well”

Mirio’s face became devoid of emotion as he realised he might have been doing something considered strange, he then laughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head, “Um well, the thing is, I kind of learned how to use divine magic on my own”

The Cleric’s expression became blank, “You jest surely. Only gods can grant divine magic. Or perhaps you have a blessing from one of them in any case”

Mirio’s face dropped again, the Cleric’s suggestion felt invasive to him, as if it cut too deep. He couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if the voice he heard in the womb was the voice of a god or goddess. His face scrunched up almost as if he was in pain as he considered the possibility *no, it can’t be… It can’t have been a god’s influence… There is nothing divine about that energy*

Cleric “Are you okay?”

Mirio “Yes, I am fine thank you, but I do not have a god or goddess I worship. Though I do have an oath”

Cleric “I’d love to hear it”

Mirio dipped his head, and gently touched his right arm where the shadow dagger had first corrupted his flesh. Tiny magic circles whirled under his skin and he could feel them sing and dance in response to his touch. His eyes closed, and a dark aura surrounded him.

“I will fight hardest when weakest,

I will not be defeated by veils of truth,

I will remember who I am,

I won’t let this be cheapened,

I believe in more”

As Mirio opened his eyes he saw both Kabi and the Cleric looking at him curiously.

Kabi “You recited that like a real paladin! No wonder you smited those skeletons and undead!”

Cleric “I see… You are indeed a true Paladin, it is a fine oath… Perhaps one day the origin of your divine power will be revealed” the man then rubbed his chin, “May I ask of you a task perhaps, if your services are for hire. I need someone to escort some of our trainees to the western kingdom’s capital.

Mirio “I am afraid I am only fifteen, and I have not travelled that far west before, I don’t think I’d be the right fit”

Cleric “FIFTEEN! My holy Calypso child! And you are a Paladin already…” he smiled and composed himself, “Well then I know you will have a very bright future, and I know that something out there is looking out for you”

Mirio “Well thanks for helping put this man’s bones to rest. Just one thing before I go”

Cleric “Yes”

Mirio “I found this statuette in the same place as the remains, it is apparently for worship but I do not know which god, or how much it might be worth”

Cleric “Hrmm, yes it is crafted in the style for worship, it’s very smooth in its construction so it was made very skillfully. I do not know which god but some buyers would pay up to one platinum for such craftsmanship, as it takes a very high level magician to create this level of detailing”

Mirio “Do you know where I might be able to sell it for that?”

The Cleric shook his head, “Without knowing the god or avatar it represents it is hard to say, but in a capital city you could surely find a buyer, especially in the Eastern Empire”

Mirio sighed and put the statuette away, “Well, thanks, bye”

Kabi waved to the Cleric “Bye”

As they exited the church Kabi turned to Mirio “You are a mysterious one Mirio, I can’t quite figure you out, but in a good way. Thank you for the adventure today, it was really fun” she smiled and sparkled. “We should do something again some time, but right now I have to get back home or my family might freak out. I train at midday some days, if you get time come down as well and I’m sure we’ll see each other again”

Mirio “Sure I work there now, so if you ever need to just ask for me”

Kabi “Mmph!”

She then turned on her heels and jogged off, turning around to wave once more before she went.