“If this world of ours was a kind place where every man and woman had good in their hearts, then good deeds would have been done without any need for repayment or rewards. Sadly, this is not the case, and all too often we stayed our hands when we should not have, for to move it to perform a good deed would have carried no rewards, or even come with consequences we could not afford.

What have we become, how low have we degraded, as a people? That acts of kindness and mercy were only done when they were beneficial to our selves? How could we call ourselves civilized people when we paid no heed to the suffering of our fellow man just because it was unprofitable to come to their aid?” - Aristides Guialios, Ancient Philosopher from the region that later became the Clangeddin Empire.

“I thank thee with all my heart and soul for thy grace and kindness, o noble one. May the deities watch over your steps,” intoned an old commoner living in the slums in a solemn tone, on his knees with his hands clasped in the posture of someone worshipful.

Aideen had tried to tell the man that there was no need to go so far, but the elderly man insisted, his eyes shining almost like a child who saw his idol before him. Rodolfo shook his head by her side and gestured with his hand that there’s likely nothing she could do about it.

“The old man used to run a temple in his home village, until the village was burnt to the ground by knights playing raiders from a neighboring duchy,” Rodolfo told her after they left the worshipful man’s place. “He had since made a bare living in the slums here, and even then still tried to support all those orphans he found in the streets.”

“He is too good a man for such a fate,” replied Aideen with a sigh. She had been wandering the slums all day that day, and some of the inhabitants had pointed her to the old man’s place, where they found the old man gravely ill, being cared for by a few dirty orphan children.

Aideen had healed the old man - who was mostly suffering complications from his advanced age more than anything else, something she was skilled at dealing with - as well as the children present, which was why they had thanked her so fervently. They had also left the old man a sum of silver coins and some long-lasting foodstuffs as well, as she had brought plenty with her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“We had offered him an option to migrate to our territory on a prior visit,” explained Rodolfo with a sigh. Aideen was not surprised to hear that, as the yearly visit usually saw some members of the Duke’s family out and about to help the poor as a show of generosity. Solenia was doing just that, openly helping provide a field kitchen by the slums along with some knights, the overt help to Aideen’s covert one. “He had refused. In his own words, if he were to leave with us, then who would help the orphans here?”

“A dilemma indeed,” she muttered as she walked alongside him. It was nearly evening already, and they were on their way out of that part of the slums of the capital city, with Aideen casually healing those she passed by as if it was nothing, often leaving a surprised - and healthy - person behind her. “I take it whoever the royals put in charge of the city doesn’t give a fuck about the slums huh?”

“Those rat-faced bloodsuckers only cared for lining their own pockets while they had the position,” said the old knight as he spat in disgust into an open gutter. The sewers of the city were often open to the air in the poorer regions of the slums, which naturally had not bode well for the health of the locals in those areas. “Anytime they get an actual half-decent one up there, they get removed within a year or two, because the rich assholes favor someone more pliable to their wants instead. As treasonous as it sounded, this place might be well overdue for a revolution or at least a change in leadership.”

“I don’t disagree with you, on principle,” replied Aideen with a nod. Despite the stench of the open sewers and rotting trash all over the place, she walked unbothered through the slums as she carried on her work, only pausing for the day when they left the region, after the worst cases were taken care of.

She was somewhat surprised to find themselves accosted once again, not in the slums itself, but well outside the slums, in the region between where the lower class and where the middle class lived. She had noticed the sudden absence of guards that were usually plentiful in those regions, so she was prepared when a group of twenty people encircled them from all sides at an empty crossroads.

A man dressed in finer clothes, wearing the cloak that proclaimed his identity as one of the Unburdened healers walked out and cleared his throat, and looked like he was about to give a pompous speech to them. He never got the chance to, as a black metal rod suddenly struck his mouth and shattered more than half of his teeth at the same time.

“Not even gonna listen to him prattle, eh?” asked Rodolfo with a chuckle as he unsheathed his greatsword. The group of thugs and hired muscle that came with the man looked flabbergasted and offended for a moment, before a mumbled command from the screaming man roused them from their surprise. “Not like those sort ever had anything worth listening to anyway, to be fair.”

“No point wasting time when their intent is clear anyway,” replied Aideen, her staff in its three-sectioned form with the blades out this time, as the crossroads had enough room for her to fight comfortably in. “Nobody comes with good intentions accompanied by a couple dozen thugs.”

“Agreed, Miss Aideen. I guess these old muscles could use the workout anyway.”

“Just think of it as a bit of violent foreplay.”