When I stepped through the archway and onto the Mudtown square I felt like I was home. A young boy took off down the street yelling "The Dragonsbane has returned!"

"Ah, it is good to see you back Lord Loser" Seth said as he walked over from his shop, his short muscular frame reminding me of Dalmar, though Seth was human. A lot of the buildings had become wood now, with quite a few gaining an extra level. The shops were pretty busy as I looked around my town fondly. I nodded to Seth and said "It is good to be home Seth. How goes things here? Are any in need?"

He laughed, nodding at the shrine, so I turned to see what he meant. The cup was full of silver, though I knew the magic of it would let it hold any amount. It also said 125 feet now, so the effects had expanded considerably. I could feel the boost from it now that I was thinking about it, and guessed Andulin liked that a lot. I chuckled and said "It appears our town is doing well then"

"The Lady Paladin allows none to go without, have no fear about that" Seth said with a proud tone "She put paid to them eternals what tried to rob us again. Her and the Captain gave them a right thrashing they did, sortter made it look easy"

"Now Seth" Susan's voice came from behind me "you know I blush when you say stuff like that" she grinned when I turned, her green eyes sparkling with humor, her red hair hanging free, as she reached around to give me a tight hug before stepping back. Her smile didn't fade as she said "I don't think Seth mentioned he happened to find some armor and a sword and was getting ready to send the boys back on his own"

I chuckled when Seth blushed and sputtered "Twasn't like that. Just ready to pitch in like, if they got rambunctious" he chuckled himself as he patted Susan on the shoulder and headed back to his shop, saying "Best be takin the priest to ta inn, or not even the goddess won't save you from our Mary's wrath"

Susan nodded and took my arm in hers, guiding me down the street. I nodded at people as they waved or called out greetings, though the Loser name was grating on my nerves after not hearing it for a while. The town had grown again, and the Burning Mage Inn was no longer the last building, the town now having what looked like six more past the inn.

"Grown" Susan said, seeing where I was looking "kind of weird. You get up and the town has gained two or three houses. Andulin just says they were built when needed, but it's all done sort of in the background"

I stopped outside the inn, studying the changes, but said to Susan "Yeah, I've seen this when I arrived. I decided to not think about it too much since it's probably coded into the system"

Mary was exuberantly happy to see me. Throwing herself into my arms and kissing me passionately in front of everyone. I gave as well as I got, only stopping when Susan cleared her throat pointedly. Mary threw Susan a big grin, still hugging me hard, and said "You don't fool me Lady Paladin. One need only see you and our Mage exchange a kiss to know you feel love and passion the same as I do" I laughed at the blush on Susan's face, but Susan seemed to take it good-naturedly, just throwing a mock scowl at Mary and saying "I'm only pointing out that some of us could use some of your fathers ale and it won't serve itself"

The Captain and Mirabeth were sitting at my table, waiting, so I gave Mary a parting kiss a walked over to join them. Susan sat down beside Mirabeth, though Mirabeth was as expressionless as she had been before I left.

"A successful adventure from all that we have heard" Andulin said "Dragonsbane. Never before has anyone challenged the dragons and lived, so your fame will spread quickly"

"You probably won't see another one for a long time" I said, smiling a thanks at Mary for our drinks "The dragon was incredibly powerful, and both Lady Maria and myself sacrificed ourselves to gain the victory. Five runes of flame and three holy flame spells and it was still fighting when I died. The next one will be wary, now that we have shown it can be done, so I would want a new strategy if I was to attack a dragon again"

"They're intelligent?" Susan asked. I nodded and said "Very. Spoke to us before attacking. Over confident with a huge ego, so I kind of taunted him into losing his temper"

"One of your skills" Susan said with a laugh "Irritating your opponent into madness" she paused, her eyes squinting at me for a second, then added "I wish I had been there, but I'm glad the system didn't give me the title even though I was in the party"

I hadn't even thought about that, but shrugged it off as another programming thing.

"How are things going here?" I asked, mostly looking at Andulin

"Well" he said "The flow of gold coin has allowed us to make considerable progress in such a short time. Our dwarven builders have placed a mine not far from our silver mine, and a road has been built to both from the town. The initial mapping of the wall placement has begun, and the ground is being prepared to hold the weight of the walls. Additional wells will be dug in strategic locations within the walls boundaries, though that will be some time in the future. Our Lady Paladin has transferred the enchanted items into my care, and I have distributed them amongst my guards. The eternals visit demonstrated the wisdom of doing this as they stood little chance of defeating even my day guards, not withstanding our Mage's and Paladin's contributions"

"What would you or Mirabeth suggest we do at this point? Am I missing something obvious?"

Andulin and Mirabeth exchanged looks, then both faced me as Andulin said "It is clear to us that our town follows a path that allows only two things; growth or destruction. As an eternal, your planning looks at what you hope our lands will be in the far future, but accept the strife and conflict now to achieve this" he paused to consider his words, so Mirabeth took up the discussion with "In exchange, you have taken the people of Mudtown into your care. The blessings of the fields, healing of the sick, and placement of Telina's Cup of Charity have given them more than any could ever ask of their leaders" I could hear the capital letters in the cups name and wondered if it read that now.

"We say all this to try to see things fairly" Andulin continued "Your presence here is a boon, but I wonder if you have ever asked yourself if the people of Mudtown wished to become embroiled in your holy quest?"

I was tempted to give a big cheer at the words, but held it in and kept a serious expression as I replied "Yes, to state things simply. Especially after I learned I could change my rebirth point, but my main goal isn't in stopping the eternals from preying on each other, it is in getting the people of Tarinath to stand against them when needed. The people must be free to do more than allow the guards to fight them in the towns when the eternals choose, they must be able to pursue them and stop their predations"

That got Andulin to lean back with a frown as he considered the words. "Is that possible?" Susan asked, her eyes on Mirabeth more than me. Mirabeth seemed as disturbed as Andulin, so I said "I don't know, but Telina has asked me to prepare weapons for you and Maria to use in your crusade to stop the worst of the eternals and free those they hold"

Susan seemed taken aback by the conversational shift, but she leaned forward and said excitedly "Maria agreed?" At my nod she asked "What do you mean prepare weapons? When does she want to go?" Susan didn't see the anguished look that crossed Mirabeth's face before being hidden again behind her normally stony expression.

"Flame runes, and another rune I'll explain to you and Mirabeth tomorrow after I get a chance to unwind" I said "healing potions, and anything else I can think of"

I left them to hold the discussion without me as a smiling Mary threw a towel at Daria, the other girl serving drinks, and joined me on my way to my room. It was an exciting and fun evening.

In the morning after an especially strenuous session, as we lay panting against each other, I said "I am an eternal, and I don't know what that will mean as time goes on, and since I've only known the land of Tarinath for some few weeks, I know little or nothing of your ways" she rolled so she could lay face down on me, propping her head on a hand that rested on my chest so she could look into my eyes. She was a gloriously beautiful woman, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair, and her eyes always sparkled with humor as she worked or spent time with me.

"Yes?" She agreed

"I...I care for you deeply, and see a time in the near future I will even say I love you" I said slowly "but I don't want to place an obligation on you that you would not want, and don't know what it would mean in Tarinath if I did say this"

Her smile widened and she said "You are such a caring man, one would wonder why you are feared so greatly by those who do evil. I love you my lord, but I would not have my love cause you pain. These nights are a pleasure and you should feel nothing but the same for them. In most of the lands I know, two who love each other may declare it so at a shrine to their goddess, asking for the union to be blessed. Of the thinking races, this is done by those who wish children, as it ensures a healthy child. If you fear the grief of a wife who dies in your own youth, then I can say none would blame you for this. "

Somehow, her being so understanding actually made my doubts worse. I leaned in for a kiss, then said "Thank you"

Not a very noble answer I know, but the thought of watching her age and die as I watched horrified me.

Susan and Mirabeth came down at the same time we did, and they joined me at my table while Mary went to help her father start breakfast for the guests.

I sipped my coffee (something I was so happy the programmers built in) and said "Ok. I can do a flame rune every three days, and I want to give Maria as many arrows as possible before you start out. But the other rune is what I wanted to discuss. It's called the rune of retention, and it allows me to store up to three spells in an item, but I can create only one every seven days" Mirabeth's startled exclamation made me stop, but when she didn't say anymore, I said "It allows the item to hold either priest spells or Mage spells, but not both. After a spell is used, it can be added again, but I need to add a blessing every time a spell is stored" I stopped to let them think about it as I started eating the food Mary dropped off.

"This is a very dangerous power to wield priest" Mirabeth said doubtfully

"That it is Mage Mirabeth" I said, matching her demeanor "which is why I only offer it to those who have Telina's trust" when she didn't reply, just leaning back to give Susan a worried look, I said "The question is what would be the best spells to add? Telina's flame is powerful, and very useful against the undead, but I don't know if that is what you really need for this"

"Such as?" Susan asked

"The sleep spell or something like it" I said "It seems like the eternals are big on hiring their own guards, but killing them to get to the eternal seems wrong. We don't want to hurt people like they are, just to do what we want. Most of the locals aren't aware they have a choice in this, and I don't want to punish them because they don't know any better"

"They'll gladly hold you prisoner Jake" Susan said angrily "and stand by and watch those assholes abuse people"

No" Mirabeth said softly, reaching out to lay a hand on Susan's arm "No my love, Loser speaks rightly on this. They do not know they could do something. Until Loser offered us a choice, none of us considered we might have one. You have suffered greatly, but please remember the guards are just reflections of the eternals intentions"

"Are you free to choose what you will do with your life?" I asked Mirabeth, looking into her eyes intently as she gave me a questioning look. I glanced at Susan, then back at Mirabeth, getting her to do the same. Susan looked confused, and seemed like she would say something until I heard Telina whisper a "Shhh", into my ear, something that Susan heard.

Mirabeth seemed lost for a time, her eyes flicking around the room, then back to me, then over to Susan. I was surprised and worried when a tear rolled down her right cheek, but didn't say anything as Mirabeth turned to take Susan's hand in hers, her gaze fully on Susan's as Mirabeth said "I am. I accept your challenge priest, and will accompany my love as she goes to fight the evil of the eternals"

I'll call that a win.

I went back to doing two healing potions a day, which with the ones I had stockpiled during my recent trip would mean the women could have ten each by the time they left. Maria showed up four days later, which meant I had two special arrows ready, and another holy flame gem, one that Susan could use. I tried saying both Susan and Mirabeth, but it only accepted the first name. We had the discussion again with Maria about the guards, and while she wasn't thrilled about it, she did agree that as long as they weren't attacking her, she wouldn't attack them.

The three decided they would wait three weeks, which would give me time to create more runes, and for Dalmar and Bob to arrive. They settled on two holy flame gems, and one with three sleep spells placed by Mirabeth. Mirabeth had her firebolt, fireball, and firewall spells, so felt it would be redundant to have something she specialized in. Susan and Maria had the flame gems, and Mirabeth the sleep one.

I also got Mirabeth to meet me at the Cup one morning before anyone was around and asked her to try a spell for me. It took some convincing, but she finally let me do the resurrection spell on her. I was thrilled when it gave her the same choices that eternals used, and when she changed her spawn point to a point close to the cup, she disappeared like we did. She came back just before Seth wandered out, and she was more than a little freaked out by the courtyard. She decided to not mention we had done this since there was no way of knowing if it actually did anything for sure. I shrugged and told her it was her secret to tell.

Dalmar and Bob rode in about a week before the girls departed, Bob looking tired and stressed, and Dalmar looking unchanged, his calm, powerful demeanor unflustered by anything we had met yet. I met them at the inn, one of the guards bringing word they had returned. Dalmar was smiling at something Mary had said when I came in. I got my own smile from Mary as she went to fetch me a drink and I slid into a chair across from Dalmar and next to Bob.

"Dalmar Dragonsbane" I said in a deep voice "I give you welcome" Dalmar chuckled and Bob grinned for a second before looking serious again. "Jake" Dalmar said while toasting me with his ale "Heck of a haul off the corpse. I would have loved to find his stash, but no way was I risking that down two people"

I laughed at the thought of the two of them wandering around the dragon lands by themselves, but just waved for him to continue. "700 gold and 1200 silver. Dragon scales, ten of them, which again makes the smithing thing a real pain. I plan to hold on to them in case we ever make it work if you guys are ok with that?" I sent a non-verbal 'Sound good?" To Telina, not sure if dragon scales were useful. I got a feeling of indifference back, so I said "Fine with me"

Dalmar nodded back and passed a bunch of magic items over, with the most interesting being a one handed hammer that had a cross-hatched pattern on the hammer face and a spike on the back of the hammer.

Dragon's Claw

21-29 damage

+12 Fire damage

+6 Armor

Dragon's breath

75 points fire damage upon successful hit once a day by bearers choice

Not usable by: Mage

Now, this didn't mean I was dropping Bruce, but this would give me two big hitters. In memory of the stupid lizard that gave it to me I named my hammer Zac.

The other three things (all drops, how crazy is that?) I told them to divide up with Maria and Susan, and anything left that no one claimed I would give to the guards.

"So, did you make 22?" I asked Dalmar. He laughed, leaning back with a grin and said "Finally. I've been working on it since before you got here. How screwed is it that I had to kill a dragon to finally make it?"

I waved my mug at Bob and asked "Did Telina give you any offers?"

Bob jumped up, turning his chair over, his face white with shock. Dalmar and I both reached for our weapons, but stopped before we made more than a token gesture. Bob was staring at me, his mouth working as if he was trying to say something, but not actually speaking. I nodded at his seat and said "Drink your ale. Samuel does a good job and you don't want to waste it" I leaned back, showing him I was relaxed as I said "I take that as a yes. I am also guessing you've delayed making a choice" he sat back down, picking up his mug, so I said "You'd be good at it, but don't go in to this half assed. If you aren't willing to walk the walk, don't put yourself in a bad position"

"Why?" Bob asked quietly

"Because you have potential. You came here and thought you were a god and did evil things. That was some fucked up shit, but if we condemn you for all eternity for six or eight weeks of your life, well, that would be some fucked up shit too. Maria didn't kill you, and i know Telina likes her a lot, so that's a pretty good recommendation. But if you're thinking the goddess will help keep you on the straight and narrow, don't do this, because she won't. The goddesses can't talk to you directly except in pretty specific situations. I'll let you know if you're screwing up, but I have zero tolerance if you abuse a woman, and I'll make sure you spend a hundred years drowning once a day if you do"

"She spoke to me" Bob said, his eyes on his mug "Said I could be her paladin. She said you would need me. Said I needed to redeem myself to the people of Tarinath"

"There you go" I said with a shrug "don't try explaining why you did what you did, because it doesn't matter. Do onto others, Bob, that's the rule for eternals, because the goddess and I plan to protect the people of Tarinath from any who don't follow that rule"

"How do you justify that?" Dalmar asked, his tone telling me it was interest rather than a challenge. I shrugged again and said "Using the eternals own reasoning. I can because I can. If no one stops me, than my actions are acceptable. The locals didn't have the free will to resist, but they feel the same emotions and pain that we do. That's changing, and I want the example we set here to be the one they decide to live by too"

"Will Maria accept him?" Dalmar asked, nodding at Bob. I didn't want to shrug again, so I just said "I think so. I don't think the goddess would have offered if Maria would be against it. She might, and that would be a problem since Maria is special to me, but I really don't think it will be"

"She will" Maria said, becoming visible in the corner where she was drinking an ale, hidden by her cloak for some reason. She picked her ale up and came over to drop in the chair next to me. She gave Bob a hard look and said "But I don't forgive you. Maybe in fifty or sixty years if you don't do anything stupid, but Jake's right, there's a better way to do this shit than an eternity in prison"

"There you go" I said with a grin "can't ask for a better recommendation than that"

Bob sighed not meeting our eyes as he seemed to be gazing into the distance. Maria ignored his doubtful attitude and grinned at me as she said "So I'm the goddesses favorite?"

"I wouldn't go that far" I said with a laugh, but Telina's sudden mental nudge got me to sigh and say "Maria, you make this world better by being part of it, and she enjoys your company as much as I do" I took a sip of ale while Maria blushed and gave me time to add "But I'm still her favorite Dragonsbane"

Her eyes lit up as she said excitedly "That's right, do you know I'm the first eternal to not only attack a dragon, but I'm also the first one to be killed by one" her words gave me an idea, but I would have to think about it a while.

"Well, unless Dalmar and Bob got chewed on, I'm the only one to get bitten by one...twice!" I replied with a laugh

Dalmar's deep voice said "Worthy goals I'm sure" Dalmar said, a chuckle breaking through "but if we're talking firsts, then I'm the first one to ever hit a dragon in the face...twice, and Bob and I have each given the final blow to one"

"How did it end?" Maria asked, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Well, let me tell our friends here of the demise of the mighty red dragon Kalishzactzin" Bob said, a slight smile breaking through, as he stood up and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear "The majestic and powerful dragon came upon us as we drew near the Dragon Mountains, landing before us as we drew apart, fearful of being engulfed in its deadly breath. Kalishzactzin called on us to surrender to its might or be devoured. I must admit that I was struck dumb with fear as it gazed upon us with its evil eyes, and spoke with its powerful voice. But our priest felt no such fear, saying to Kalishzactzin that he had been told that dragons tasted like chicken" a burst of laughter made me turn to see a lot more people had joined us.

"Mighty Kalishzactzin was at first struck silent by the only defiance to ever be cast upon him, but that quickly turned to unreasoning rage as it took to the air, intent upon devouring our priest for his disdainful words" the crowd seemed to holding its breath as I exchanged grins with Maria.

"But the dragons rage was his undoing as he had forgotten the priest was not alone. Maria, the Laughing Ranger, blessed of Telina, was waiting, bow drawn, and when Kalishzactzin flew into the center of the group of adventurers, she shot her first arrow. It impacted on the dragons wing, the force of the blow causing the dragon to fall from the sky. The Rangers next arrow struck while it was still falling. It crashed to the ground amongst our heroes, clawing its way upright, only to have another mighty arrow hit his snout, the powerful explosion driving the dragons head back, and bringing forth such a scream of rage it froze almost all of us with fear, but this time it was our ranger who was not affected. Her joyous laughter dashed our fear away as she faced the enraged dragon, her face lit with the joy of battle as she launched her last enchanted arrow. It hit Kalishzactzin on his long neck, silencing the dragons bellows of anger for a second, but the beast was the height of six tall men, and twice as long, and while powerful, the Rangers arrows could not end its thousand years so easily. As its wings rose with its rage, and it's long neck extended toward the ranger, it let loose its fearful dragons breath. The ranger, undaunted by this creature, laughed as she drew her bow again and was engulfed in the dragons demonic flames"

Bob was good at this I decided as I heard the sound of people drawing sharp breathes as Bob paused for effect. Bob put on a solemn look as he said "When the flame ended, the laughing ranger was no more" there was a groan of dismay despite the fact that Maria was sitting beside me, giggling into her hand to keep from disturbing the story.

"The heroes were shocked by her sudden demise, but the loss of his greatest friend enraged the priest, and he raised his mace and drew his goddesses holy fire down upon Kalishzactzin, driving the mighty beast to the ground to writhe in pain as the priest did this twice more. Maddened by the loss of the ranger, the priest raised his powerful mace known as Bruce, calling upon Telina, and rushed in to strike the dragon a blow so powerful that it threw this monstrous creature on its side. Kalishzactzin was mighty though..." Bob paused to survey the crowd with a stern look, then said "the dragons snakelike neck allowed it to bring its greatest weapon to bear, covering the priest in flames" another sharp gasp from the crowd "the priest, beloved of Telina, survived the flames, wounded and horrifically burned, and he raised the Mighty Bruce again, but it was to late, Kalishzactzin's teeth closed upon the priest and drew him high in the air. Powerful was the priest, but when the dragon cast him upon the ground, he was no more" deep groans of dismay followed the words, and I could see actual tears on Mary's face as I held back my own laugh

"The party of adventurers had lost two of their most powerful members, but the dragon was mortally wounded in the battle. The dwarven warrior Dalmar, Hammer of Tarra, commanded an attack upon the wounded beast, then, calling on the goddess Tarra, he rushed forward to strike a powerful blow with his dread hammer that caused Kalishzactzin to let loose a scream of agony and to turn away in fear. His fellow warrior, Bob, was not so great as his friends, but Telina's priest had defeated him and halted the wickedness of his previous life, calling on him to redeem himself in the eyes of Telina. Bob, The Unredeemed, raised his own great sword as Kalishzactzin turned his way, emboldened by the Mighty Dalmar's example and struck, calling upon Telina as the priest had done...and Telina answered. The might of the goddess flooded into the Unredeemed's weapon and the blow was so powerful it cleaved through the neck of the beast, beheading it and ending its wicked life"

The cheer that followed sent Maria into uncontrolled laughter, as I joined her. Mary plopped into my lap to kiss me breathless before dashing back to pass out more drinks. A lot of the locals stopped by to thank Bob for the tale, but like me, he had to suffer through the use of the name Tennant gave him.

"Hell of a story" Dalmar said when the crowd had thinned some "and weirdly, it was basically all true"

"No shit" Maria said with a laugh "but what's with the laughing ranger bit?"

Bob looked a little embarrassed as he said "The goddess. When she spoke to me, she said I would do well to learn the joy of life from the laughing ranger, and heed the wisdom of her beloved priest"

"Cool" Maria said, grinning as she considered the words "I can probably charge higher rates if people hear a goddess likes me" she didn't hear Telina laugh, but I did, and grinned and said "Well, as long as you give her her share"

Maria stuck her tongue out at me, but didn't say anything back as Dalmar asked "So what's next?"

"Depends on you and Bob" I said "I'd like to do some research, so I need to find a library or something like it, probably in one of the empire cities, and I need to see how the eternals are living in the places with a lot of spawn points"

"You wanting Bob and I to come along?" Dalmar asked. I shook my head no and looked at Bob to say "I was hoping Bob would stay here as Telina's paladin and guard my town while I was away"

"Me?" Bob asked in surprise "No one would trust me here!"

"Yes we will" Mary said, stopping to lean against me, but looking at Bob "Our priest has faith in you, so we would not be so small souled we would not do the same. You, having done evil, will be more wary and knowing of its ways, and the Cup of Charity would reveal you to be false if you did not support the goddesses ways"

"What she said" I said as Mary moved on "you need to be here to watch these people grow. They are going to be the first free people on Tarinath, and they need one of Telina's chosen to watch over them as the world becomes aware of the threat they hold"

"Alright" Maria said abruptly, sounding impatient "you're going to be Telina's paladin and you're going to stay here and kill anyone who messes with Jakes town. All this whining and self doubt is getting stupid. The big question here is where Jake is going, and who's going with him"

I chuckled at the chagrined look on Bob's face, but Bob didn't argue so I said "Great, glad that's out of the way. I need to look up information on the cup and things like it. This needs to stay totally secret or it'll get other people interested, but I think there might be more scattered around and I'd like to find them"

"The cup?" Dalmar muttered, the surprise clear in his tone. Maria giggled and said "The cup! You know, the magically powerful cup that helps protect the whole town? Yeah, that cup"

I rolled my eyes at her blabbing the whole thing, but didn't comment as Dalmar thought about it. We all sat quietly for a time, then Dalmar said "Well, you definitely don't plan small. I can see why being able to protect an area like that would be useful. As you said, the Empire would be the most likely source for information, but I would recommend starting with the Half-elves. They have a pretty big library, or at least I've seen the building. If we swing west from there you can see Averdeen and Riverbend on the way to Formil City. The dwarves probably have information you might get them to share. Then you head north through the empire and back east again to get home"

"Your talking a couple of months riding" Maria said

"Yeah, but it lets him see a good chunk of the continent, and allows us to meet up if you need our help, or vice versa"

It made sense, and I needed to get a sense of travel times, as well as taking a look at how trade and governance was done elsewhere. We were a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, with the human's empire on one side, and the orcs on another. For that matter, I hadn't really paid attention to how the half-elves ruled themselves.

"I like it" I said a little later. "I can prepare more potions and arrows along the way, and if Maria needs them we can meet up as Dalmar and I swing through that area. It might also let us do a dungeon or two for experience since taking out eternals gains nothing, and spending a couple months just riding seems wasteful"

Bob leaned forward and spoke for the first time since the tale telling "Maria's going to be digging into some nasty shit. I didn't travel that way, but heard enough to guess you'll find a few women eternals being held by the Cursed ones. Leaving them to fend for themselves at level 1 would just get them back where they are now"

"Crap" Maria said "Your right. I'll have to see about getting them here alive until Jake gets back to let them pick a new spawn point"

"I think we need to back up and reassess" I said slowly "we might be spreading ourselves too thin. Should we do this first cleansing of the cursed together, then I can take any one who wants to come, back here?"

"Cleansing of the Cursed" Maria said with a grin, making the capital letters clear as she spoke the words "I like that. I'm always happy to have you boys along, but we'll meet in Averdeen after you do your book thing in Ternil. Us girls need some alone time to get our tricks worked out, and having Jake with you makes you complacent"

I laughed, but she was probably right. We all kind of looked around at each other, and after series of shrugs, agreed that would be the plan, or what passed for one.

Bob fit in pretty well, his doubt about people accepting him was the biggest impediment, but that was his battle to fight. I did potions and runes depending on the day, doing one for Bob and Dalmar first before doing more arrows. The arrows were just so much more versatile that it seemed like a waste to put them on extra swords and stuff.

I did two more gems I scrounged from Maria's stash, adding holy fire to both, giving Maria's team four gems, hopefully enough with the arrows and things to make a difference. I'm never totally sure about my giggling friends ability to walk away from a fight she can't win. Planning and preparedness will pound passion into the pavement everyday.

We all rode out the same day, and I was surprised and pleased when the guard turned out to see Mirabeth off. I had talked to Andulin about possibly getting two to replace her, one elemental and one defensive. I told him there were enough funds, and the combination plus archers would be interesting. He agreed to look into it and I didn't ask again since it was his responsibility.

I talked to Bob about getting three stone archways made and what they needed to look like. I told him to see about erecting them close to the cup on three sides, or as close as possible, but not to interfere with the spawn points. I had put his by mine and Sues, but still. The guy didn't even ask me why. I was beginning to wonder if he would make a good paladin.

"I wouldn't worry about it" Dalmar said when I mentioned my concern "guy took a real hit to his ego, then had to face the truth that he was scum. I think he was a total dweeb in the old world and probably was lucky if he had one date. Not good that his default response was rape, and the punishment didn't last nearly long enough, but your right about prison losing its threat and until we can give true death to someone,they know they have time to get you back"

The ride to Telarin was becoming a common thing, enough so I was recognizing bends in the road, or odd trees and hills. We set up at our regular inn on the north side of town, stabling the horses before separating. Dalmar was trying to find anyone who knew anything about the smithing skill, so he was going to hit all the smiths in town.

I went to the temple to find a few people stopping in to touch the bowl as the priest watched. He came over when I entered and asked "Dragonsbane, what brings about this honor?" a sudden susurrus of 'Dragonsbane' and 'it's the Dragonsbane' made me stop and look around. The locals were all staring at me with what I hope was awe and not humor.

"Um...yeah" I mumbled "I wanted to ask about the cup and bowl things. Have you heard any rumors of other unclaimed holy items? And if not, can you recommend any libraries or sources of information where I could?"

He seemed confused, looking at the bowl, then back at me before saying "Legends mostly. Some of them say there was one for each goddess, it also said they could not be used by another, so an unreliable source. Others say there are more than ten, and that they were all created from sky iron, forged by dwarven master smiths" I gave the crude bowl a doubtful look, drawing a chuckle from the guy I realized I had never gotten a name from. "I too believe a dwarf would be unable to create something of such humble appearances"

"The one I believe most likely is that they were created by the elven folk before thy sundered into the three races. They have created weapons that can be claimed by those who represent the goddesses, much as you did with the Cup of Charity"

"Well crap" I mumbled, not planning a trip to that continent anytime soon. The priest raised a hand and said "Don't despair so quickly. The Romarian empire began during the sundering of the elves, and they accumulated many elven tales as the elves passed through the empire on their way to the sea. If any information exists outside the elven lands, it will be in Mairisian City"

"There wouldn't be anything here?"

He shook his head sadly before saying "No. There was considerable anger and hate involved in the sundering, and we were too proud to keep such reminders of the ones who fled to the west"

Fled huh? Guy might have a bit of a bias. But it made sense, in a 'I'm taking my ball and going home' sort of way.

I wasn't going to open every book in a library hoping for a mention of something, and it might not even matter who made them. I needed something that referenced one of them being seen.

The bone dragon had mine for some unknown reason, if there was even truly a reason. Maybe the computer rolled one of those dice with too many sides, and the number that came up meant a cup needed to go there. Whatever.

Dalmar was probably going to be scarce most of the day looking for his legendary smithing skill. I'd finally asked him why this particular thing bugged him so much.

"Couple reasons I guess. I'm a dwarf, and smithing is what we're known for. I picked this race because I thought I would learn to make weapons and armor" he said as we rode "none of us had clue about what life here would be like, but it wasn't about the fighting and dungeon crawls for me until I found out there wasn't really anything else to do. Did you know you can't even farm here? Tried it. If you till up the soil, by the next day it's back the way it was. You're not a farmer, so you can't farm. I'm already kind of bored, and I haven't even been here a year yet. Until you came along I didn't have..." He paused to consider, then finished with "a purpose"

As I wandered back to the inn, I watched the large variety of skills displayed by the different vendors, leather workers, seamstress, cooks, shopkeepers, and thought about ways to make an eternity pass that didn't involve fighting or conquest.

The next day as we were riding west, Dalmar said "The locals are suspicious of anyone not half-elven, so I probably should have had you come with me. Even if they were willing to talk, I don't think they would give me anything useful"

"What happens if you try making something?"

He sighed and said "Nothing. If you pick up a hammer, it just gives you a repair message. If you try to use the tools in the forge, say a file, you get a message that you lack the necessary smithing skill, and it doesn't do anything but rub along the sword"

"But you get a message?"

"Yep, which is why I think there must be an associated skill" he said "the farming thing didn't give me any messages, just acted like it does when you kick down a door, damage done, then fixed while you're not looking"

"Makes sense" I said, deciding Dalmar was right, the system, while clunky, generally had a background logic "I'll keep an eye open for anything about it and let you know" I had a thought that made me chuckle, drawing a questioning look, so I said "Wondered how the rules will work when we start having kids with the locals"

"Weirdly, I'm guessing" Dalmar said in a distracted tone as he frowned and considered what I said.