Approaching the young pair by the tree, I noticed that the one I assumed was Jacob—based on the girl shouting his name—was stirring and seemed to be regaining his senses. When I reached them, I asked, "How are you guys doing? Need any more healing? I'm Blake, by the way, and that grumpy elf behind me is Stella," I said, still using the gnomish voice, though realizing that my name didn't exactly fit this form.
"Thank you so much for rescuing us! I'm Emma, and this is my brother Jacob. I think you completely healed all our wounds! You must be incredibly powerful. Wait, your name is Blake?" Emma seemed to be rambling from shock.
"Yeah, I had weird parents. Anyway, what were you two thinking, camping so close to the woods? There are tons of dangerous monsters here, and you guys don't seem particularly leveled or equipped to handle much of anything," I said, attempting to change the subject and gather some information from the two of them.
Jacob groaned as he struggled to his knees and leaned against the tree. He grunted out, "We're both over level 5, and we each already have our classes! These woods shouldn't have had anything we couldn't handle this close to the road, unless something much higher level scared them out of their normal zone. I'm a level 8 Warrior Monk, and Emma is a level 7 Shadow Rogue. We can upgrade in a few more levels." He sounded defensive yet clearly guilty for not performing well in the fight to protect his sister.
"Well, kid, that was a level 25 Shadowclaw, and to be honest, I'm surprised it didn't kill you both instantly. Were you guys sleeping when it found your camp?" I asked.
Emma and Jacob both went pale at the mention of the creature's level that had attacked them. "No, we tried to hide in the tent when we felt its strong presence, but we weren't fast enough. It tore the tent open and attacked us. Looking back, we probably should have just left our stuff and run," Emma said, looking embarrassed as she realized how ineffective their plan of hiding in a canvas tent was when facing a giant monster.
Realizing that the much higher level entity that had moved through the forest earlier in the day must have been me—since Stella and I hadn't encountered any monsters on our way out—I decided to skim past that and focus on finding out what the young pair was doing on the road.
"Where are you guys heading? If you're going the same way as us, we can probably travel with you to make sure you arrive safely," I suggested. Stella shot me a glare and shook her head discreetly, out of the kids' sight, but I wasn't willing to let these kids potentially face death just to protect my secrets.
"We're heading to Menzobar to join the Adventurers Guild. Our plan is to get strong enough to eventually join a high-level party and set out to find our parents. We don't expect them to be alive, but we want to know what happened to them. It's going to be a long journey, but they've been missing for 5 years already, and we've just come of age to join the guild," Jacob explained their situation in more detail than I had anticipated.
A plan started forming in my mind as I glanced at Stella, considering how she would react. Then, I looked back at the two teens. "So, you guys just need to get stronger and join a party to find your parents?" They nodded. "I need to discuss something with Stella in private for a moment. Do you guys mind waiting here?" They both shrugged and agreed to wait.
Stella and I walked some distance away to ensure they couldn't overhear us. Just as I was about to speak, Stella waved her hand, casting a bubble of Shadow Magic around us that cut off all outside ambient sounds. "Shadow Silence," she explained, "it allows anyone I designate to see and hear normally within the bubble, but enemies inside will be blind and deaf to everything. Additionally, no one outside the spell will be able to hear or see us unless I allow it. It's a pretty useful spell. Now, what foolish idea do you have to discuss with me?" Stella asked, her exasperation evident, her pride in her spell now replaced by impatience.
"Before you jump in and tell me it's stupid, hear me out completely. So these kids are brand new to adventuring, which means they haven't picked up bad habits yet. I'm suggesting that we train them," I began, but Stella raised her hand in protest.
"They're barely adults, just like you, and they're at such low levels that it'll take forever to train them to a decent standard," Stella moaned.
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"Didn't I say let me finish? First of all, I'm not barely an adult. I haven't had the chance to mention it, but I'm actually 45 years old. The goddess reverted me back to 16 to give me a fresh start. And that point works in our favor. We can use the pretense of you training us as adventurers as a cover, so we don't raise suspicion. In reality, we'll power level those two. When I'm in my normal form, I'm level 0. So, I assume I'll be treated as a low-level by the world, not scaring off high-level monsters like I did when we traveled to the town. I'm not sure how experience sharing works among parties, but I can't gain experience as my 16-year-old self. When I killed the level 95 Crocovile, it didn't give me any experience. So, my idea is this: if I let them get in a few hits each and then I finish off the monsters, they'll level up super fast. We'll eventually want a party no matter what we decide to do; that's just the nature of these things. There'll be instances where we have to clear dungeons, fight world-ending raid bosses, or face some other challenges, so we might as well start training them now."
I finished explaining my plans to train Emma and Jacob. "Oh, and we can figure out what happened to their parents as a side quest, making them extra loyal to us," I added with a wide gnomish smile.
Stella stood there, considering my words for a long moment. Finally, she said, "Fine, if they agree to a Shadow Binding to not reveal either of our secrets on pain of death, then I will allow it. If not, we leave them here and now, and they're on their own."
"I'll do the talking. Go ahead and drop your bubble, and I'll go give them the exciting news!" I said with mock cheer.
We approached the two once more, and Emma said, "We won't tell anyone you have resurrection magic. We both swear! You don't have to kill us. We promise we will die before revealing anything about you."
"Well, we're off to a good start," I glanced at Stella with a raised eyebrow. "We're not going to kill you. In fact, I want to help you. We discussed it, and we're going to need a party. Since you two are just starting out, it would be easier to train you into the perfect adventuring party members than to find some random person who isn't already in a party, likely because they're terrible."
"Wait, you want us to join you? But you guys are so much more powerful than us! We would only hold you back from moving forward. We couldn't possibly keep up, let alone ever repay you for helping us out," Jacob said, looking confused but also a little excited at the prospect.
"There is a catch, and it's something anyone who joins us would have to be bound by. Stella would need you to undergo a Shadow Binding, promising that you'll never betray our secrets on pain of death. When you learn why, you'll understand the importance of this oath," I said solemnly.
Emma looked nervous and asked, "Isn't that a bit much? A death oath just to protect your secrets? If they're worth dying for, they must be some pretty big secrets. And how do we know they aren't something illegal that would get us into just as much trouble as you if we're caught with you?"
Placing my hand on my chest, I cast Divine Truth and spoke with clarity, "I swear that neither Stella nor I have committed any crimes to my knowledge, and nothing we'll reveal to you will in any way cause you or anyone you know direct harm. Furthermore, I swear that neither of us means you any harm." Hoping that the spell worked in this world like it did on NPCs in Questcraft, I watched as light shot from my chest into the heads of all three of them. A divine voice echoed, "This one speaks truth," causing Stella, Emma, and Jacob to gasp and stumble backwards, almost losing their footing.
In shock, all three of them looked at me and asked in varying ways what had happened. "That is a spell called Divine Truth, and I can only cast it once a day. It forces me to tell the truth and is backed up by the Goddess Illyanna," I explained, recognizing her voice and making a mental note to try and have a conversation with the Goddess when I had a chance. After all, I was a priest and paladin, so I should have some kind of Divine Hotline…
"That's incredible," Emma said in amazement, glancing at Jacob who nodded. "We'll do it. What do we need to do for the Shadow Binding?"
Stella stepped forward, holding out a shackle made of shadow. "I need to place this on your wrist, and you must make your vows before I release it. Once you do this, it cannot be removed by anyone but me, and it is binding until death. This is your last chance to change your minds."
Jacob stepped forward alongside Emma, both determined to proceed. As Stella performed the binding rituals, I took the opportunity to look through my inventory and see what camping supplies I had. I stumbled upon one of the seasonal items I had received from a Christmas event and chuckled to myself. I moved it to the first slot of my inventory for easy access and then gathered different food items, bed rolls, and some ale I had stashed away.
When I noticed they had finished with the binding, I cleared my throat to get their attention. "Now that you guys are bound, it's time for the fun part of knowing my secrets," I said with a wide, goofy grin on my face. With that, I selected the first slot of my inventory, and a full-sized house made out of gingerbread landed on the ground in front of me. It was complete with gingerbread men guards and a chimney already smoking with a fire going inside.