The village of Kelt was a tiny place of barely a hundred folks. It existed on the edge of the Swallow Wood, near the Reech River. The closest town was a solid week of travel on horseback away. To say that Kelt was isolated was perhaps an understatement. Today though, there was a commotion throughout the village as everyone caught wind of the news. There was a visitor.

Tess was still unsure of what to make of the small village. Just about every structure reminded her of the cottage back in the Tutorial. The chapel and hall stood out, as both were slightly larger than the others, but the materials were still the same.

She glanced over the fields and pastures that surrounded the village as she continued her walk around it. They were much larger than the ones she had cared for at the cottage, but the population and skills of the people here were not the same. The folks here tended sheep and goats, which she had not expected this far out from the next town, but in hindsight made sense as they tried to be wholly self-sufficient.

Tess paused at the top of a slight hill, giving her just enough of a height boost to view the distant mountains over the horizon. A series of giggles from behind made her turn to acknowledge her entourage who had been following her since she started walking.

“Can I help you, little ones?” Tess called out.

The children, all likely less than seven years old by her estimation, had attempted to hide amongst the grasses and crops nearby to little avail. It seemed they were trying to be sneaky, though their technique left much to be desired. Perhaps sensing they were caught, the older ones led the way in emerging from their hiding spots.

“You’re the lady that Mr. Jurra found in the forest right?” asked a bold little boy.

Tess nodded.

“I am.”

“Momma said that you had no clothes on!” shouted a little girl.

Tess squirmed uncomfortably.

“Really?” asked another girl, “My momma said a lady should never take her clothes off in front of a man.”

“Okay,” Tess interrupted, “Maybe you should have this conversation with your parents.”

“Why?” asked several kids at once.

“Because there are some topics that they should talk with you about.”

“Why?”

“Because they know you better than I do.”

“Why?”

Tess was not sure how to continue the conversation down this path.

“New topic!”

“Does this mean you’re Mr. Jurra’s wife now?”

“Noooo. Mr. Jurra already has a wife, dummy!”

While the children bickered, caught up on Tess’s status in the village, Tess managed to slip away and activate Stealth skill. She certainly did not expect her grand adventure to start in a backwater village with children interrogating her on her preferred dress and marital status. Uncomfortable only began to describe the situation. Not wanting to attract more attention at the moment, she stalked silently through the village back to her temporary lodgings with Jurra and his wife. Opening the door to the home, Tess welcomed the scent of the meal being prepared.

“I’m back,” Tess said, dropping the skill as she did so.

“Welcome back Ms. Tess,” said Jurra’s wife, “That was a rather short walk.”

“Yes. I ran into a bunch of kids and they followed me around, then started asking questions.”

“Well, you are new and unusual.”

“I get that Nat, but they were asking the wrong sorts of questions.”

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Jurra’s wife, Nat, looked at her curiously.

“What kinds of questions?”

Tess did not answer that question either.

“Smells good,” Tess commented.

“Thanks,” Nat replied, picking up that Tess was done with the original conversation.

Fortunately, the lack of conversation mattered little as Jurra returned just after.

“I’m home,” he called out, “Hello, Ms. Tess.”

He unstrung his bow and hung it up. Jurra was one of a handful of hunters in the village, so he spent most of his days in the forest. It also kept the local wild beasts and monsters in check, so it was more apt to call him something like a village guard.

After stowing his gear, Jurra went over and hugged his wife. Tess admired the differences between the pair. Nat was a slight human woman with black hair that she kept short. She was diligent and skilled at keeping a home. Jurra, on the other hand, was a lithe catfolk that had zero skills for homemaking. He was built for the hunt and surviving. Nat often chastised him for knocking things over with his expressive tail. Tess counted herself lucky that Nat had no concerns about the mystery woman found in the forest by her husband.

Dinner passed by with little conversation. Tess had learned that Jurra and Nat preferred to save tough talk until after the meal.

“What’s your plan?” Jurra asked, stretching in a very feline way as he did so.

“As lovely as Kelt is, I think I’ll move onto a larger town. I have a calling that can’t be met here.”

“What sort of calling is that?” Nat asked.

“Do you know what’s going on beyond Kelt?”

“Eh, not really. If it doesn’t affect us, Kelt doesn’t really care,” Jurra commented.

“The demon lord has arisen,” Tess said somberly, recalling the numerous stories that she had heard about what such entities did to the people of the world.

“The what now?” Jurra asked.

Tess could not help but smile.

“Truly Kelt is so far away as not to care.”

Tess spent the next while explaining how the demon lord was a unifying force for monsters. They were a being that was intelligent and powerful, laying waste to lands and people that stood against them. They were a calamity.

“So yeah, I’m going to go beat up the demon lord,” Tess concluded nonchalantly.

Jurra and Nat looked absolutely horrified as they stared at Tess.

“That’s something for the goddess to deal with! You should leave it to her!” Nat protested.

“Well, here’s the thing. A hero shows up to beat the demon lord.”

“Then you should let them do it,” Jurra said.

“The thing is, I think that the hero recognized by the goddess isn’t going to do what they’re supposed to.”

“Why do you say that?” Jurra asked, “You met the hero?”

“Oh boy, where to start. So I think I was brought here to be the hero. The problem is, my latest appren… acquaintance where I trained somehow followed me here. They then lied to Oena when we met, and I kind of screwed up.”

“The hero lied to the goddess? How is that possible?” Nat asked.

“It’s simple?” Tess said, “My acquaintance lied.”

“But the goddess can read thoughts,” Nat argued.

“She can? Well, she didn’t try to then. But I believe she can’t. Does it say in some sort of holy text she can?” Tess asked.

“I’m… not sure,” Nat admitted.

“Wait a minute. You met the goddess?” Jurra asked.

“Oh, yeah. She’s kind of nice. Gullible though, since the whole lying thing happened.”

“So let me get this straight. Your friend lied to the goddess, thus becoming the hero, but you don’t think they either can or will beat the demon lord?” Jurra laid out.

“Acquaintance. And yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” Tess corrected.

“Why you though? How can you?”

“Oh, I trained my acquaintance. I had a lot of training time. She couldn’t even hurt me if she wanted to, which she does.”

Jurra and Nat were silent, contemplating the information Tess had just dumped on them.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Jurra asked.

“Well, I have quite a journey ahead of me. But I can’t ask you to leave Nat. I’ll be happy knowing the two of you are here, safe from the front lines of a war against the demon king’s forces.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry too much. Once I figure out the right direction to go, I’ll take care of that demon lord in no time,” Tess said with a flex of her arm.

That motion brought a bit of laughter to the gloomy atmosphere. Tess decided to continue the conversation away from her own future, instead telling stories from her former apprentices.

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Elsewhere on Iriea

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A flash of light in the main temple of the royal capital signified something grand had occurred there. Clergy spilled into the main worship hall, only to stop at the sight of a blond haired woman.

“The goddess has descended!” shouted one member.

The woman turned towards the clergy before her. A wide smile came to her face.

“I am not the goddess Oena, but rather her champion, Olivia!” Olivia declared.

Gasps of excitement spread through the assembled members.

“Now, if you would please, I would like to speak to the royal family.”

Olivia’s scheme was now in full swing. She was incredibly pleased with herself.