“A fucking holy man!” Jeanne cried out. “He becomes a fucking holy man!”

“Well,” said Silvius, “he’s not exactly a man of the cloth. So technically, he isn’t protected by your church.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Sil, but that is really not helping.”

“Why would anyone see that man as anything worthy of religious teaching?” Maeryn asked.

“It’s not completely unheard of to find a person of the criminal persuasion to become a man of the cloth,” said Silvius. “For some it’s a way to show true sincerity in trying to turn over a new leaf.”

“Do you think this Stefan is trying to do that?” Hypatia asked.

“I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in any sincerity in the man’s claim,” said Leonidas. “he’s not to first to use religion to try and cover his tracks and divert any rumors away from him.”

“A theological shield,” Silvius, “how wonderful.”

“But the people weren’t too kind to the flagellants,” said Hypatia. “That has to count for something, right?”

“Sadly, that’s more of an exception than the rule,” Jeanne said to Hypatia. “This isn’t our first time with these people, and they quick wore out their welcome with the religious rhetoric and other aggressive tactics.”

“Aggressive tactics?” Leonidas asked.

“You saw what they were doing in the inn. They push their way into places where they’re not invited. They’ll perform impromptu inquisitions on anyone they don’t like, and it’s not unheard of for them to perform executions for heretics simply because they wanted to.”

“Well isn’t that just wonderful,” Maeryn replied, cracking her neck.

“And slashing one up and pummeling two others isn’t going to win us any favors with them,” Jeanne followed.

“I wasn’t the one pushing the issue,” Cid replied.

“I didn’t say the asshole didn’t deserve it, but his friends are—” Jeanne said before began pounding the door on the other side.

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“Who is it?” Jeanne asked whimsically.

“Are you kidding me?” Leonidas asked her with great concern.

There was another pounding at the door. “Heathen! Defile not the holy presence of this town, for in the name of the Shepard, I cast you out!” the voice called out.

“Fucking great,” Jeanne said, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a book leafing through the pages. “A damn book quoter.”

“We shall cast out the daemons and judge you to eternal damnation!” the person said on the other side.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeanne said reading a page intently, holding one hand up as it began to vibrate aggressively.

“Jeanne?” Leonidas said concerningly.

“Eye on the prize, questions later, darling,” she said to Leonidas.

Leonidas took a step back. “I’m going to give you some room, then.”

Cid unsheathed his sword, gesturing the rest to do the same. “Jeanne, what do you plan on doing?”

“Something loud, something big, and probably a little stupid,” Jeanne said, closing the book and heading to the door. Cid put a hand on her shoulder.

“Jeanne, is this going to be like the last time you debut a new spell?”

“Are you talking about the—” Jeanne said before another round of loud knocking interrupted her. “Fuck the shut up! We’re trying to talk!” she barked to the person bashing the door. She shook her head, letting out a disgruntled sigh before turning back to Cid. “As I was saying, we’re you talking that Bukervac thing a while back?”

“Bukavac” Leonidas, Silvius, Hypatia and Maeryn said in unison.

“Yeah yeah,” Jeanne replied.

“Yes,” Cid replied.

“I got us out of that one, and no one was hurt.”

“Not saying you’re wrong, but that was a massive burst of energy in an open area. We’re in a very enclosed space.”

“Do expect me to blow up half the building?”

“I’ve not to rule anything out with you Jeanne.”

“I will—”

Another loud banging on the door. Jeanne, now shaking and with a twitching eye marched towards the door. As she swung the door opened, she grabbed the man in front of the door by the throat and slammed his head on the slab three times. She then put the man’s head between the door and the frame and slammed the door shut and then punched him in the face three more times each.

As the flagellant collapsed onto the floor Jeanne screamed, “Are you done, asshole!”

The other flagellants stared at Jeanne with terror in their eyes. She looked at them, pointing to one and said as she curled her finger towards her, “You, come here.”

The two men turned and fled, dropping their flails to the floor and scrambling down the stairs. Jeanne watched the two scurried away and shrugged. “Well that was underwhelming,” she said turning back to the room.

Seeing the battered flagellant on the floor, she scratched her head and began pulling him away from the doorway. “What exactly are you doing?” Silvius asked.

“The man’s in the way, and I don’t feel like stepping over an idiot to leave the room.”

“Well,” said Cid, “I’m just glad we don’t have to pay to rebuild a whole inn.”

“We may want to wipe that door down,” Maeryn replied.

“I’ll grab a piece of the flagellant’s tunic. I doubt he’d notice a piece missing,” Leonidas said as he went out of the room to clean the door down.

“I think we bought ourselves a reprieve from these … individuals, let’s not push our luck anymore than needed. Get everything ready to move and I want us on the road before nightfall.”