“Casterville, you say?” Caster gulped.

“I do. At least that’s the lead the spy I’ve deployed to the area has given me.”

A spy? Does Griffin have spies?! Well, it does make sense. He is the son of an Old God after all.

“Oh? So secretive! It’s exciting.” Caster smiled almost flirtatiously.

Don’t get any ideas, missy.

“Oh, it’s nothing. This mission is far below this Agent’s standards. It’s nothing compared to the espionage they go through in their missions to the other Nations. Infiltrating a tiny village is nothing compared to that.”

The spy infiltrated Casterville?! I better keep on the lookout. What if this spy interrogates or kills one of the others?! Caster was growing more worried by the second.

“Why not just invite Casterville to be a part of the Cairngowan empire? If that’s where this creature might be hiding, it has to be worth claiming that territory of your own?” Caster suggested.

I don’t want Casterville to join Cairngowan at all, but if there’s any chance Griffin and his father or just their army attacks it, I doubt I’d be able to fend it off just yet. I might as well suggest this for now, then at worst instead of attacking he might try diplomacy. Caster racked her brain trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this situation alive.

“That’s… not a terrible idea.” Griffin’s eyes rolled toward the window. “The locals may not fear me as much as they would have before. When the creature used the Godhead to overpower me, he may have given them great resolve to try to do the same thing themselves. And if they do…” Griffin’s fingers twitched as he held them near the window. At the tip of each of his fingers was a spark of flame, lighting up his sharp grin. “…I’ll remind them why they were afraid.”

What an ass! Just admit it, you got outplayed! Noob.

“I doubt they’ll put up much of a fight. Now that you know this creature has one of those Godhead thingies you’ll be able to beat him no problem I bet.” Caster reassured her overeager past opponent.

“Yet again, you speak the truth. Where’d a woman learn to be such a good advisor anyway? I didn’t expect a country girl to know so much about statecraft.”

Slap him!

“Just because I was raised on a farm doesn’t mean I’m some country bumpkin,” Caster huffed with a frown, looking out the window.

Griffin raised his hand, sitting up slightly in his seat as if he were about to apologize. As he opened his mouth, Caster let a playful grin escape the corner of her mouth.

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“You are a clever lady; I’ll give you that.” Griffin sat back with a coy smirk on his face.

“My pa worked as a farmer all his life, but since he’s been the head rancher of Hale’s Pass main source of food, he heard a lot of talk and learned about who does what and how cities work. I guess he taught me more than most know about this kind of stuff.”

"Hmm. Good man. Oh! In case the savages do try to attack us, I'd like to give a defensive Ability to you so that you can remain safe from most attacks if they somehow manage to blindsight me and attack you."

An Ability!

"An Ability?!" Caster failed to hold back her excitement.

"Yes, it's one of the many Faith skills I've acquired over the years. It's called Overshield. It will effectively give you bonus health on top of what you have. For instance, what's your current Vitality Stat? If you don't mind me asking... that is."

Why'd he hesitate like that? I guess these Stat boxes are a pretty private thing. Even sharing one aspect of it can be dangerous. How lewd!

"I have... 2 Vitality."

"Oh, wow. That means you only have 40 HP! Well, we all have to start somewhere after all. I have 70 Vitality, which gives me 1,000 HP exactly. If that seems high, it really isn't, in fact, that number is standard for a Lord-tier Challenger like me."

Wow, cool humble-brag buddy.

"Here, take this. It's a Lord-tier Faith Ability because it has no level requirements to cast. It's called Overshield, try it out." Griffin offered something in his hand. It glowed like a lightbulb, but its intensity was low enough to stare out without discomfort.

Caster reached out and took it from his hand.

Ability Learned! Fast Overshield!

This Ability allows the user to add a 250 HP shield over their standard HP meter. This shield does not diminish over time, it cannot be stacked and takes 2x damage from physical attacks. 0 Level Requirements. Costs 0 Mana. 30 Second Casting time.

There are many shield-related Abilities within the Faith and Vitality Stats. This version of Overshield is designed to gain a free, quick-fix advantage before a fight breaks out - not as a long-term sustainment solution.

Equip Ability? [Yes] No

Equipped!

Woah, that's six times my current health. I guess it isn't really that much now that I think about it. Griffin could probably break this thing in one hit, but I don't think any of the villagers could - other than Elenore.

"T-thank you, Lord Griffin."

"Like I said, it's just Griffin." Griffin shrugged. "Go ahead, try casting it."

Caster nodded, then focused. Putting her hands together while keeping her eyes closed, he focused on casting Fast Overshield. The warm glow of gold enveloped her body as the Ability began to charge up its power.

If this is the 'Fast' Overshield, I don't think I have the patience to learn any of the other ones.

After 30 seconds, Caster opened her eyes and hands. The golden glow shone one last time, then faded. Nothing had changed, other than a number in front of Caster's HP Stat labeled '(250)'.

"There, now you'll always be able to at least have some way of protecting yourself, even when I'm not around." Griffin smiled.

Their carriage slowed, then came to a stop.

“Lord Griffin, Lady West," the voice of a Cairngowan knight spoke from outside the carriage door. "We have arrived in Casterville.”