Tipple caught me as I was passing back by the church. He hurried across the street with another lillit at his side. Despite his out of shape appearance, the pastor could move quickly when he wanted to, and the man beside him had to hustle to keep up.

“Leaving already?” Tipple said. “There’s someone I wanted to introduce you to.”

“Hey,” I said. “Yeah, I need to get back home before nightfall.”

“Of course,” Tipple glanced at the sun. “But this won’t take long. My friend here is Dongle Darfur. He heard me speaking about you during my last sermon, and he was eager to meet you.”

Dongle was four and half feet tall, stocky, and well dressed. His hand flashed with rings as he waved at me. A broad smile, full of pearly white teeth, gave me used car salesman vibes.

“Bongu, għandi pjaċir niltaqgħek.” He said.

“Uh, hello.”

Tipple laughed. “He doesn’t speak Kevinian, but I can translate for you. Dongle is pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, well, you too,” I said. “I like your rings.”

Tipple relayed my statement, and Dongle bobbed his head enthusiastically. He held up his hand so I could get a better look at his jewelry, and followed up with a flurry of words that were pure nonsense to me.

“He’s very pleased,” Tipple said. “Dongle is an accomplished jeweler, and he likes to show off his work. He says you are welcome to visit his shop anytime.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m not sure if I should though. I was just talking to the mayor about keeping my distance until he hears back from the local lord. Apparently, the nobility doesn’t like magical strangers.”

“Hm,” Tipple pursed his lips. “I didn’t realize he’d told anyone about you yet, but Boffin is a fastidious man, so I understand why he would. Did he send a message to Godwod? What did it say?”

“I think he sent two. The first said I was a Dargothian, and the second that I was just a hermit living alone, or something like that. He thinks we should keep who I really am quiet for now.”

“That complicates things,” Tipple patted his belly thoughtfully. “Drom has a different relationship with heroes than we do, but better a hero than a Dargothian, I would imagine. Still, you have nothing to fear from our people. Dongle is a good man, very active in the community. He wanted to see a miracle with his own eyes.”

“Like what?” I said.

“Why not the trick with the grass? Frankly, I would be overjoyed to witness it again myself.”

The church had plenty of space around it, but we were still in the middle of town. There were lillits watching our conversation not far off, talking amongst themselves. Boffin didn’t want me to make a stir and it made sense for him to be cautious, but if the choice was between the townsfolk thinking I was a vagabond or potential threat and believing I was a hero out of legend, I preferred the second option.

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A small demonstration couldn’t hurt. I dug a few grass coins out of my pack, held them up for Dongle to see, and tossed them on the ground between us. With a pop, a patch of wild grass as tall as either lillit appeared, and both men gawked.

Dongle greeted the sight with another flurry of words, and Tipple nodded along.

“He asks if he could have a coin as a keepsake,” Tipple said. “It would mean a lot to him.”

“Sure,” I handed one over, and Dongle accepted it like I was offering him a holy relic. He pressed it between both of his bejeweled hands, and bowed deeply in thanks.

Looking around, I saw other lillits gesturing excitedly, but they didn’t approach. “Hey,” I said. “I’m fine with you telling people about me, but make sure everyone knows that they shouldn’t try to find me or follow me. There might be monsters in the woods around where I’m staying, and at night, they’re everywhere.”

“Of course,” Tipple’s face became grave. “I’ll make sure they understand the danger. But I think the mayor has the wrong idea in trying to hide your presence. I want all of Erihseht to know what you are. If there is any trouble coming from Henterfell, I will support you. So will this town.”

I felt my shoulders relax. Boffin seemed like a good man, but his priority was keeping the peace. Tipple saw me as an emissary of his deity, so he was more likely to go to bat on my behalf.

“Thank you,” I said.

Tipple took my hand in both of his. “I’ll speak to the mayor.” He said. “We need you with us, and the lord will have to be convinced, but it can be done. I don’t know what your plans are, but if you could return here in a week, I want to hold a public forum in the church. There are many others who will see things the way I do.”

“I’ll be there,” I said. “Uh, how long is a week?”

The pastor blinked. “Seven days,” he said. “What else would it be?”

“Just making sure.”

After another exchange with Dongle, who was more ecstatic about my trick with the grass than the ‘miracle’ probably deserved, the lillits bid me goodbye, and I headed out of town. I waved at people as I went, trying to look as friendly as possible, and no one tried to stop me or ask me questions. There were a few hostile faces in the market, but not everyone would have heard I was a hero yet, and I didn’t let it bother me.

On the way back to base, I thought about my next steps. The extra charcoal was nice to have. As it had turned out, my torches did not last forever. They burned out in about an hour, which severely limited their utility. I needed more materials, and to improve my skills. Kevin was out there somewhere, and the way things were going, it looked like he was going to be my primary antagonist in this world. I held no illusions that the goddess would have dropped me here with his name in a quest box if the evil empire was not about to make some moves.

Dargoth had monsters a lot scarier than zombies and phantoms, and I needed to be properly equipped to face them when the time came. If this was a grace period, I needed to take every advantage of it while I could to progress as far as my System would allow. Kevin was probably walking around in Netherite armor, or whatever the equivalent was, and I hadn’t even teched up to iron yet.

There were no new phantoms hiding under the boulder. I harvested stone until my pick looked ready to shatter and took it home with me. Working with stone did wonders for both my skill progression and my overall level. Miner was already over sixteen, and I was hoping for another notification of some kind when it hit twenty. The way things were now, I probably couldn’t collect iron even if I found a vein sticking out of the ground. Level ten had unlocked stone and meat, an odd combo, but I would take it. The next rung up had to be metal.