Perhaps he had been looking at this from the wrong angle. It would be too much for him to organise and fund everything with no foundations in the city. Daniel didn’t need to be the one that personally slayed the beast. As long as he absorbed the soul, his bounty would be completed. Besides, killing the creature would benefit both the Crowned Dragon and the church of Croelius.
“What about organising another hunting party? With me there, they could track the creature down,” Daniel asked.
“It’s possible, but I know how the upper ranks work. They won’t trust you unless you’re a part of the guild, and even then they’ll make you do several tests. The whole process could take months. Is that acceptable?”
Daniel shook his head. To them, it was a slightly tougher monster, and he doubted he could convince them of the urgency needed.
“I think I know what I have to do,” he said, steeling his resolve and already preparing arguments in his mind.
“At least one of us does,” Finnean chuckled, finishing his cup of tea. “I’ll see if I can find more information on it in the meanwhile.”
The two of them chatted for another ten minutes before Daniel excused himself. His first destination was a public bath, which gave him comfort like no other. It washed away his lingering exhaustion and made sure he was squeaky clean. It was here that he put on his set of noble clothes.
Adjusting his hair, Daniel peered into a small mirror. To his surprise, he actually looked good. Finnean had taken in his measurements perfectly. The doublet accentuated his broad shoulders and straight posture while also being perfectly comfortable. Instinctively, he raised his chin, pretending like he was looking down on commoners. If he wasn’t as well dressed as he was, he would’ve been chased outside for laughing too loud. Instead, all he got were very pointed looks.
Grabbing two skewers for dinner, Daniel placed the rest of his clothes in his wardrobe, and when he left, he hid the lumbering key in a nearby alleyway. There was nothing valuable in his house anyways.
His travels lead him through parts of the city yet unexplored, but his goal lay in a street filled with the clanging of hammers and urgent shouts. Symbols of the dawn sun were proudly displayed on each corner. Several small forges sweltered with such heat that it was difficult to breathe.
Though by far the most impressive display was at the end of the street. The building there, made from golden brick, was twice as tall as anything here. He looked up, and then immediately closed his eyes. What had greeted him was an open, rounded roof that encased a miniature sun, clasping it as if they feared it would escape. The light it produced illuminated at least the nearest four city blocks before taller buildings cut it off.
Barely withstanding the heat, he peered into something simply named Sun’s Forge, witnessing the equivalent of a modern-day assembly line. Dozens of priests hammered away at metals, purifying them with holy chants and assembling high-quality weapons at a breakneck pace. For a moment, the heat took away his breath. His head felt light, and he almost fell to the ground before a concerned apprentice pulled him aside.
“Sir, please be careful. Everyone here has some sort of Fire Resistance skill. Here, have some water.” The young woman gave him a flask of water, which he greedily gulped.
“Thank you. The forge is quite a sight. One of the most magical things I’ve seen,” he said, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Don’t worry, mister. The same happened when I was nine. I still think the moon palace is more majestic, but don’t say that to others,” she placed a finger on her lips in a shushing motion before someone from the inside furiously shouted at her.
“Oop, gotta go. Be careful, mister,” she said, running back into the forge.
“Huh.” Apparently, there were still things he didn’t know about "his religion".
Daniel made his way past the forge, resisting the urge to stare for hours on end. Very soon, he reached the northern gate. If the city were to fall one day, this place would stand until the last remaining member, because what greeted him was a massive citadel, its wall rising high above the city’s own.
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Gold-plated stone walls still bore scars from a long and bloody siege, but that did nothing to take away from the magnificent shimmer of reflected sunlight, blinding anyone who dared to look at it. At the forefront of the citadel, a grand entrance was thrown wide open for anyone to peer in. Looking at the gates, they bore the symbol of the sun that glowed molten hot.
Daniel took a deep breath and walked into the citadel with steady steps. It wouldn’t be good to show weakness here. As he passed the threshold, the temperature once more increased, now sweltering. An expansive courtyard paved with smooth cobblestone saw what must’ve been a hundred warriors hard at work. Some sparred with each other, others ran laps around the whole thing, and even more filtered back and forth from the inside of the citadel, performing mundane tasks.
What Daniel expected was for one of them to start harassing him immediately, but he had forgotten one very important thing - this time, he had nothing to even hint at him being an exorcist of Morvina. Thus, most only spared him a single glance, not even bothering to think about what he was doing here.
With his fears now gone, he confidently strode through the courtyard, observing how dawn warriors truly fought. Auras clashed with one another as they wreathed weapons in flame and conjured rays of sun to scorch the other. Oftentimes, the spar would end in grievous injuries, but a nearby priest apprentice would quickly mend their wounds, after which they threw themselves into battle once again.
He noticed Raph sparring with a girl his age, both of them wielding two weapons. Raph’s curved blades were like a mirage, twisting and winding, not where they appeared to be. His opponent, on the other hand, was a living torch. Flame spewed from her every time she moved, and at moments, she would vanish, only to appear where a previous fire had gone out. The fight ended up with Raph’s loss, though both of them sported horrific cuts and gashes.
“Well fought. It’s a fair loss for me. What was the skill you were using to teleport?” He shook her hand, wincing in pain.
“My Reflection In Every Flame. You’ll get a unique skill soon enough if you keep practising. It’s a surprise you did this well considering I’m eight levels above you. Also, it looks like you have a visitor,” she said, and they both turned to him.
Daniel was caught off guard. He was still caught up in replaying the fight in his head, so he simply awkwardly waved at them. Raph tilted his head, looking at him with no recognition.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“Oh! You’re the priest of Morvina I met earlier. Have you come to join us?”
Daniel winced at the comment, but thankfully, the noise from the nearby battles drowned Raph’s words, not drawing any undue attention. Unfortunately, the young woman standing next to him had heard it. He tried his best to ignore her intense gaze.
“Not... quite. I’m considering it, but I’ve come to you with a request. I need to talk to someone in charge here,” he said, grabbing Raph’s shoulders. “It’s very important.”
He didn’t shy away from Daniel’s glance, looking him in the eyes. Perhaps he recognized the sincerity or the urgency with which Daniel spoke the sentence, but his next words were just as serious.
“You won’t be getting to talk to the Grand Paladin, but I can fetch the leader of our squad. He’s a certified Paladin - someone high enough to help with whatever problem you have.”
Daniel nodded his head in gratitude, and Raph headed into the citadel proper, his steps hurried. Honestly, the matter wasn’t that urgent, but it was all about presentation. The way he approached the issue would spill over to others, or so he had concluded from three years of theatre class.
While he mulled over his words, he barely saw a steel sword flying at his head. His hand reached to grab it even before he could process it, and he jerked back a second later, looking at the source of the throw. The young woman that had beaten Raph stood at attention, looking Daniel over.
“You’ve got time, don’t you, priest? Won’t you spar with a lowly warrior of dawn?” she said, her face twisted unnaturally. He wondered what that emotion was he sensed in her voice.
“I’m an exorcist, and I’ve only seen battle once or twice. There’s no need to even consider the outcome,” he laughed, a wry smile on his face.
“I insist. Let it be a friendly spar to get to know each other better. Or did you expect to walk into our courtyard, witness our battles, and walk away unharmed?”
Ah, he got it now. It was a mix of bitterness and rage. She looked at him like he was no less than a roach crawling beneath her feet.
“Listen, miss,” he said, holding up his hands. “I don’t know what grudge you have against the priests of Morvina, but I assure you, I had nothing to do with it. I only joined the church two days ago,” he tried to make his voice as disarming as possible, but it only seemed to agitate her more.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with a mock smile. “Now, stop pretending and raise your sword.”
With that, all talk was over. An aura around her body engulfed Daniel, scorching his skin and blinding his eyes. A cloak of flame settled around her body and her weapon, and like a serpent, her weapon soared towards Daniel’s heart.