The next day found us outside with Captain Pagailis and ten other guards, everyone kind of eyed me, but I nodded toward Susan, who grinned and said to the Captain "What can you tell us about eternals?"

Pagailis hesitated, then shrugged and said "The three eternals you dispatched yesterday are part of a loosely allied group of twelve. There are 213 eternals whose rebirth point lies within the city, and as a group they employ 510 various personal guards. There are two groups the governor has classed as cursed, and he asks that you deal with them as such. The first group I mentioned earlier, and they compete with the second, 9 high level eternals, over the ownership of the 37 female eternals who rebirth in the city. 23 of the females are presently captives of the two groups, though scattered through out the city" he paused at the various gasps of surprise and outrage, but it was pretty much what I had expected. When no one said anything, the Captain continued with "The other females have fled the city and a few have banded together in one of the outlying villages"

"21 of the cursed ones then" Susan said grimly "Are you familiar with the method used to contain their rebirth points?" The Captain said "Yes. When one of the Goddess's champions passes sentence on them, I will coordinate the necessary changes"

I stepped in here to set the precedent and said "The eternals known as Elrond Everflame, Danny DeathDealer, and Warren have been deemed anathema, and as such they are considered cursed of Telina until such time as the goddess decides they shall be offered redemption"

"Very well" The Captain said with a small smile, saying something to get one of his men to trot away.

The first eternal we visited was a warrior named Fane Fireblade who had a home just around the corner from our Inn. He was nice enough to answer the knock on his door, and went down exactly the way Jess did, with Susan pounding him to death, while Mirabeth put the guys guards to sleep. As arranged, I didn't help, and Susan used a potion, though I thought it was more preventative than anything since she still had 90 health when she used it. Ole Fane actually tried to ask where she bought it, right in the middle of the fight.

Four women were chained in the back, and Susan and Mirabeth took charge of them, deciding to use the Inn as a safe house for now. Ariel led us onwards after Susan spoke the official cursing of Fane so his rebirth point could be trapped, and Ariel did the deed at another warriors house. The guy, Vince, was standing in front of his building, holding a chain that went to a metal collar around an elf girls neck. He was talking with another eternal named Jake Moran (embarrassing), and Jake made the mistake of pulling out an axe when Ariel began pounding Vince into hamburger. Dalmar and Maria dealt with Jake, while Ariel and Sienna took their time about killing Vince. The two women worked perfectly together and I had little worry that they would ever find themselves outmatched. Sienna's vine thing allowed Ariel to be choosy about her swings, so Vince got to enjoy some really vicious hammer blows to the nads.

There were no other women being held there, so Maria took charge of a hysterical elf girl, talking in soothing tones as she and a couple guards led her away. Ariel passed sentence on the two men, adding Jake (the dead one) when the Captain said he was one of the gang of twelve.

"Jesus" Dalmar said softly "I had no idea it was this bad" when I didn't reply he gave me a sideways look and said "You expected this"

I shrugged as we followed Ariel to the next eternal, and said "Bunch of thugs get turned into gods, of course it ended up like this. Everyone here seemed to think this was like some kind of reward for being convicted of a crime, but the government knew what it was doing. This is no different than dropping everyone on an island and letting the strong survive. In another six months this stuff would have become seriously organized as the different groups began merging and claiming territory to stop just what we're doing now"

"Why has this been allowed to continue as long as it has?" The Captain asked us "The actions of the cursed ones obviously threaten all eternals, and to allow the treatment of women in this way is..." He paused, uncertain if we would be insulted by his conclusion.

"The eternals who are sent here have learned to fear those in authority, so it did not occur to them that they should be enforcing the rule of law upon their peers" I said. He considered that, then asked "You were a member of the authority in the overworld?"

The question drew a chuckle from me as I said "No. I'm just a guy who wanted to be left alone in the perfect town, but realized what these morons were doing to the people of Tarinath. Telina asked me to help stop that, and the regular eternals are sort of benefiting from that"

The captain chewed on that as we got to the next house and watched Ariel kill a level 15 Mage , with a single shield bash to the face, followed by one hit to the head with the Dragon's Claw as he opened the door. His guards didn't even have a chance to get involved. Guy probably had the minimum stamina he could get by with. The idiot. Ariel pronounced the sentence on the guy so the Captain could get people started on the respawn point, then her and Sienna headed into the guys place.

"You don't care about your fellow eternals?" The captain finally asked

I sighed, but subtly to keep from offending him, and said "I care about some of them. I am not here to govern them or anyone else, so what is happening to these women is at the unspoken approval of all the other eternals. I and Telina want to ensure the eternals know they are not gods, and Maria wants to help those who have been through what she has. I want Telina and Maria to be happy, so this is the quickest way to get that done and be free to have fun"

"You will change the power structure of a world to make your friend happy?" The captain said doubtfully. I laughed at that and said "There is no power structure, there's a power imbalance. Susan, Ariel, and the freed women will provide the missing side of this. I'm actually doing very little in this whole thing"

"The empress does very little but yet she leads the empire" the captain said with a grin, then got serious as Ariel began leading a large group of women out of the house. Dalmar actually let out a growling noise as nine women jittered and flinched as they followed Ariel with Sienna bringing up the rear. Shaking my head in disgust I said "It really makes you wonder if the rest of the eternals in this town need a ride on the pit yo-yo" I waved the thought away and said "We'll meet you back at the inn Captain and evaluate where we stand and see if any of the Paladin's will be able to break free today" he gave a head bow and led his men away as Dalmar and I went to my new home to cast the second portal spell. I enjoyed Dalmar's company almost as much as Maria's, though for opposite reasons. She filled the silence with laughter and fun, and Dalmar was a stolid, quiet presence. Two level 15 sword and shield locals were in the house, the new guards. They introduced themselves as Rabin and Narn, and in response to my question about their living arrangements Rabin said "A local inn my lord"

I nodded at that and said "Well, I would have no objections if you lived here. I will be arranging for someone to clean and cook for anyone who stays here, and it would save you trouble and cost if you each take one of the top floor rooms. If you have someone significant, they are welcome to live here, but please keep in mind the risks"

"My...my lord?" Narn stuttered out "Live here?" He looked around like he had never seen the place, then added "But...eternals don't..." He faded out as if lost for words. Rabin chuckled, surprising me, then he patted Narns shoulder and said to me "My partner means to say you are most gracious and we accept your kind offer my lord"

"Good" I replied as I headed to my doorway and cast the second spell. After it finished I turned to the interested guards and said "This will be a portal leading to my home village and will be used by those blessed of Telina. Any who use it are to be trusted and aided if possible. Please do not reveal its existence unless asked by an imperial official. This is an imperial city, so I expect everyone to honor their laws while here, though I don't expect you to enforce that. I'll be getting you some enchanted equipment to help keep you safe, but it might take some time" I snapped a finger as a thought occurred, and pulled up four healing potions and one cure disease potion. I handed them to Rabin saying "Use these freely, I can supply more"

Dalmar was chuckling after we left a pair of stunned but happy guards and walked out to find it was starting to get cloudy, making me hope we didn't end up dealing with one of the rare occurrences of rain during the day. He shook his head still chuckling and said "You definitely keep things interesting"

I shrugged, dismissing the inference and said "You up to visiting the local libraries? I want to look into the holy relics and I'm interested in whether they might have anything on the smithing skill"

"Good idea" he said, looking around to get his bearings, then pointing toward where the castle towered above the city, saying "that way I think. Supposed to be near the castle hill" a helpful squad leader got us to a long, two story building that looked more like a warehouse than a library. Once inside though, there was little doubt as the inside was one large room filled front to back with rows of shelves. Thousands of books and scrolls filled every inch of every shelf. Both Dalmar and I sighed as we looked around and realized it would be a hopeless task to wander around looking. So of course we started wandering the aisles, and finally saw someone pull a book and head to a set of stairs on the north wall. Following him up, we found the second floor was filled with desks and chairs, about ten of them with someone sitting at them. A young woman got up and walked over to an older human sitting at a desk, asked him a question, then returned to her own seat. I nudged Dalmar, then walked over to where the old man was sitting, getting a series of whispered "Dragonsbane" behind us.

The guy at the table showed as "Wendal, Librarian"' so I gave him a polite nod and said softly "Pardon me sir, but this is our first visit and wondered if you could help us"

He had sharp eyes, and his quick evaluation of us would have done any gang banger I ever met proud. It only took him a second or two, then he turned to me with a smile and twinkle of humor in his eyes before saying "I certainly wish to, as one of the librarians tasks is to record significant events that occur on Tarinath and two of the four dragonsbanes would be an excellent place to start"

I grinned back, then took a seat across from him, with Dalmar doing the same after setting his hammer down with a heavy thunk. Wendal looked at where the hammer's handle stood upright and asked "How may I assist you?" His eyes tracking back to me as he spoke. His fingers were twitching like he wanted to write something, so I chuckled and said "Two things really, and regardless of how much information you can provide, we'll be happy to answer a couple questions" he relaxed at that and focused a little, so I said "I am looking for information on what many call holy relics. As an eternal I know little or nothing about the history of Tarinath and the methods by which items were enchanted. After my friends and I defeated a bone dragon we found a rough hewn cup, that after receiving Telina's blessing, transformed into what is now known as the Cup of Charity. I also found this armor" I pointed at my leather armor "which took on Telina's name after I claimed it. As a priest I am finding a dearth of items usable by one of my class and am looking for information on how I can find other items like these"

I tried not to be to pointed about what I really wanted, but there was no way to really be subtle about this. Wendal nodded slowly his eyes unfocusing as he considered my words, then looked at me to say "What you are asking about were elven crafted prior to the sundering. The art was lost when the blight claimed whole families, so the creation of these...relics is no longer possible. There were two main types of relics, one being weapons and armor, known as goddess blessed, and the other being like your cup or the bowl in Telarin. This class of items were known as goddess claimed. Goddess blessed items allow the wearer to channel some small amount of the goddesses power and while powerful, do not enhance the goddesses presence on Tarinath" he paused to study me for a moment, then said "Goddess claimed items are things of legend. The one in Telarin was found a few decades ago when a Lich Lord invaded and was destroyed. The bowl was in the keep that he claimed, though it was already dedicated to Telina"

I considered his words, taking my time since he was obviously willing to wait. The most obvious thing was the tie point with them being held by one of the undead, but it was a pretty small sample to be drawing conclusions from. I looked up and asked "Why were they never claimed before?"

"Most were" he said "but the sundering was more than a description of what happened to the elven kingdom, it described the elves losing their ties to the goddesses when they allowed necromancy to flourish. The relics became unclaimed and reverted to what you found. It is thought that Telina's priest may have found and blessed the one in Telarin before his sacrifice" he didn't wait for the next question, just saying "it's not known how many such items existed, or where they now reside, but it seems likely they would be scattered and guarded by the undead to prevent their use"

"Yeah" I muttered "that makes sense"

When it was clear I wasn't going to ask anything right away, Weldan asked Dalmar "What information do you seek lord?"

Dalmar chuckled and said "Hardly a lord, but I'm trying to find out how to become a smith"

The words seemed to confuse Weldan for a time, then he began talking slowly "Normally, one becomes an apprentice, but that is not something an eternal can do. Were you a priest of Tarra, the goddess of smiths, I would recommend claiming a relic and dedicating it to granting such skills, but there is only one full priest known and he serves Telina" he made it sound like he was talking about someone else, but nodded at me to be sure we understood. He made a series of thoughtful expressions, a couple frustrated ones, then said "A question with no definitive answer. I suspect the only possible means would be to acquire one of the items enchanted to enhance the smith's skills. One, The Anvil of the Master Smith, was reputed to make even those untrained in the smithing arts as skilled as a full master smith. It was held by a dwarven priest of Tarra centuries ago, but was lost when the dragons destroyed Lor Frell. If you were to go to Lor Frell, I would be very interested in any books or scrolls you were to find"

New Quest

Explore Lor Frell and acquire books for Librarian Weldan

Dalmar must have accepted it because it disappeared a second later. Huh, I realized it was the first quest request in a while and I had kind of missed the simplicity of it. Of course the map Weldan had, showed Lor Frell deep in dragon territory. Dalmar's scowl matched my frown as we considered the likelihood of surviving an expedition in that area.

"We either have to be covert and fast, or overt and strong" I said, getting a nod from Dalmar.

Weldan got his chance to ask questions after that, and I was surprised to find I could draw. Hell, I could create...art. I was trying to give Weldan a sense of scale on Zac, and found myself drawing a photo realistic view of Kalishzactzin. I damn near broke into tears I was so excited, something I'm sure a minstrel would have turned into a thrilling tale. Weldan broke into quiet laughter when he realized it was new to me, and graciously gifted me with a large drafting book and a handful of pencils. I think he did it to get me focused again because I kept doodling pictures of things while we were talking. Dalmar couldn't draw for shit, so it wasn't an eternal thing. Man, what a great skill!

We spent another hour with Weldan, answering questions about our adventures and a little about eternals. He walked us out when we finally left and made us promise to return and talk with him again when we could.

Dalmar huffed a short laugh as we walked down the street toward the inn and said "Wouldn't you know it, slap dab in the middle of dragon territory"

"Good thing we know the queen of the forbidden lands" I said with a grin, getting one in return.

There was a line of guards blocking the street in front of the inn when we got there, and the sounds of serious combat going on. The guards moved aside for us to see the melee happening in front of the tavern. Susan and Ariel were in full Telina mode, with Ariel grown to that seven foot height thing, while Susan was outlined in white flame that also covered her weapons and shield. Sienna and Mirabeth were behind them, exchanging spells with the other side. Our group was fighting seven eternals, four warriors and three Mages. Susan and Ariel were putting a serious hurting on the Warriors, but the Mage duel meant our Paladin's were taking periodic shots of ice and flame. I flicked heals around, but stayed back out of the way. The guards had the street blocked at both ends, but were otherwise not involved. My healing got Sienna to grin as she pulled a gem and sent two holy flame spells at the ice Mage peppering Ariel with ice spikes. Mirabeth intercepted an incoming fireball with a flame bolt, which instead of exploding as I expected, caused the thing to get sucked into a small spot and disappear. Neat special effects.

The ice Mage disappeared with a scream, and the loss seemed to ease some aspect of the fight because the other two Mages turned to run. Sienna began launching missiles as Mirabeth used flame bolts, each targeting one of the fleeing Mages. The running Mages were guzzling potions like mad, and might have escaped if the guards hadn't pushed them back, allowing a second round of missiles to sweep in and kill both of them.

Susan's flame aura seemed to cause a lot of damage to whoever she was fighting, doing something like mine in that some damage was done to an attacker when they hit her. The battle must have started a few seconds before we got there, because three of the four warriors went down as they were battered with shields, sword, and hammer.

I'm not sure why the rogue that appeared did it, but he stabbed Mirabeth in the back, drawing a scream of pain from her just before she disappeared. Susan's scream was even louder, and everyone took a step back when an explosion of white fire swept out from her body and knocked the rogue and last warrior off their feet. Ariel did for the warrior, regaining her normal height when he died, but Susan strode over and picked the rogue up by his neck. I flinched when I heard Telina's voice come from Susan and say "Carlos the Shadow, you are Damned as of this day" Susan/Telina raised a hand and pressed her forefinger into Carlos's forehead, causing a blinding flare of light and drawing a high pitched scream of pain from the man. The finger was withdrawn as the light disappeared and Susan dropped him as Telina said "You are, and will remain, at the first level until you have traveled to where my priest lives and touched the Cup of Charity"

Susan staggered and collapsed, weeping as the rest of the women rushed over to huddle with her. Telina's whisper of "The Mage, Mirabeth, resides within the courtyard of renewal, but I do not know if she will be able to reenter Tarinath. My paladin must have patience"

Ariel and Susan both looked over at me in shock, with Susan staggering up to wipe tears from her eyes and say "Jake, what...?"

I held up a hand, waiting until they calmed down before stepping over to pull Susan into a close hug and whisper "I tried the resurrection spell on her. It seemed to work, but we won't know for one day. Wait and hope" she started crying as she nearly crushed me, but I waited patiently until she got herself together, then let her go so I could walk over and look at a new thing in the world.

Carlos the Damned. It actually said that was his name now, and he was kneeling on the ground, dropping things from his inventory he was no longer strong enough to carry. Dalmar walked over to join me, then chuckled as he watched Carlos begin dropping silver coins.

"I'm thinking Carlos started with everything in dexterity, and the bare minimum in strength"

I nodded agreement as Carlos staggered to his feet and looked around wildly before yelling "What the fuck? They can't do that!"

Carlos was human, smaller than the warrior types, with brown hair and eyes, but he now had a silver spot in the middle of his forehead that he probably wasn't aware of, though I didn't mention it as I said "You've done a really, really stupid thing Carlos, and you should know it's a good three or four weeks of hard riding to your redemption. You have been Damned by the goddess Telina, and anyone aiding you in that journey will be anathema to the goddess"

I don't know how I knew, but I was aware that what Telina had done took a huge amount of her power, and we shouldn't expect to see it happen again. I sent a mental thank you since word of it would help Susan and Ariel immensely.

Maria had stepped out of the inn, a large group of women looking past her, as she said "Dumb ass" before slapping Carlos hard enough to knock him on his ass. She looked over the rest of the group, giving Susan a sympathetic nod before saying to me "They came here maybe ten minutes ago for the women and to stop your paladins. I stayed with the prisoners to keep them calm while Susan's team came out to kick their asses"

"No one used a rune other than Sienna?" I asked, getting her to shrug and say "No need. Save em until they really need them. It never really occurred to us a rogue would target Mirabeth of all people" she didn't seem worried about that, so I had to wonder if Telina's favorite ranger knew something I didn't. Not jealous or anything like that.

The battle put us ahead of schedule, so I invited Captain Pagailis to join us for the evening meal and drinks while everyone plotted out what they wanted to do. Probably not my best idea, I thought after walking into a very crowded tavern that had a horde of angry women in it. Thankfully Maria took control before Dalmar, Pagailis and I got more than evil looks.

"Alright, everyone who is not me shut the hell up" Maria yelled from the table she was standing on. She paused, her hands on her hips as she surveyed the group, and I was surprised when everyone did shut up. With a nod, Maria said "We'll be splitting into two groups for the evening, and Ariel, Susan, and Sienna will take some of you over later" she waited for a restless murmur to quiet down, then said "Telina's champions rescued you, and for any of you dumb enough to have missed it, the goddesses do exist, and you really don't want to piss them off" she pointed a finger at me, causing everyone in the room to look at us three guys again and said "Loser is Jake and Jake is Loser. He's the reason you're getting this chance, so don't piss me off by dissing him or the dwarf or the captain. The most important thing for you to be doing is teaming up. You should form teams of four and try to balance warriors and Mage's" she looked the group over, then nodded to herself before saying "I was in the same position you were, and that handsome, upstanding dwarf over there set me free and kept me alive to survive on my own. If you get your head stuck up your ass and start believing all men are evil, I'm not going to bother pulling it back out. The goddesses and I could use you over the coming years, so you want to be sure you live by the one and only law that eternals need follow" she paused dramatically, then said "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. Short and sweet, but remember it or Susan and Ariel will be putting the holy bitch slap on you" I chuckled at the same time Telina did, giving me a weird reverb kind of sensation. "And..." Maria raised a finger and paused until she was sure everyone was focused on her, then said firmly "The locals are as real as I am, and Telina's law applies to your treatment of them. Not to mention Jake will kill you really dead if he finds out you're mistreating them"

After they quit staring at me, one of the women, a tall blonde with the build of a warrior said "How does any of this keep them from grabbing us at our spawn points?"

Maria frowned and looked at Susan, who said "Haven't had a chance to explain to the last group" Maria sighed, but followed it with "Ok, Telina's priest, Jake, is enforcing Telina's will through her Paladin's. They come and kill the ones we call the cursed, after which the imperial guards build a trap on the cursed ones spawn points. Jake calls it the pit yo-yo, but he's kind of slow in the head" she threw me a grin before resuming "The locals dig a hundred foot deep pit, line it with spears, then enclose the whole thing under a bridge walkway. Dickhead respawns, falls screaming to his death, then repeats that once a day until we decide to let him out. The empire is supporting us, or maybe we're supporting them, but either way, we're working together on this. Doesn't mean some other butt munch won't go bad, but I'm thinking this slavery bullshit is going to be coming to a screaming halt real soon"

When a general surge of hands were raised to ask a question, Maria yelled "Later! You new people need to take a break and drink some of Trin's excellent ale while Maria's Marauders meet in the back"

"Well thank the goddess Maria's Marauders are coming" I said as our group gathered in the back "because we could use the help" Maria gave me a regal sniff and said "Don't be whiny, I saved you from having to say all that, so I decided I could claim naming rights"

Susan was looking pretty stressed, but she managed a small smile as she said "We've accounted for fourteen of the cursed ones, but the fact no others were with that last group makes me think the rest might be out of the city" she gave Pagailis a questioning look, getting him to say "two have not departed by the gates, but the other five are known to be outside the city. If they interact with the guards, such as at a gate, we are aware of their movements, but otherwise they could hide within the city"

Susan shrugged at the summation and said "We are here until we cleanse the city of the 21 cursed ones, and to keep an eye on our freed prisoners, so we hunt down the two still here, then see about tracking the last five down" she looked at me and said "You're leaving in a couple of days, and if everything goes well, could be back in three or four weeks. If..." She choked up for a second, then got out "When you come back, you can bring Mirabeth with you, we should be finished by then"

"What of the other eternals?" Pagailis asked. Everyone sort of exchanged looks and shrugs before Susan asked "What do you mean?"

"Will they resent finding themselves subject to the goddesses will?"

I fielded that one. "Possibly, but they stood by and let others of their kind be held as slaves, so they can kiss my ass If they don't like it. They had their chance and failed"

"He's excitable" Maria whispered loudly to Pagailis, getting a grin from him as she added "he gets tense when he's been away from his girl to long"

I laughed and said "Damn right, and people keep taking me away from her" giving Maria the eye to be sure she knew what people I was talking about.

"Two days from now Jake and I should ride out" Dalmar said in his deep, calm tone "Maria, you should stay and help out here, maybe run some simple dungeon crawls for these women, then join us when Jake gets the portal working" I almost sighed as I saw the interest in Pagailis's eyes, but didn't say anything as Dalmar continued with "then we decide what to do from there"

"Maria's castle will take a good team" I said "but once set up, we can use it as a staging area for your quest"

"Quest?" Maria asked, her interest so strong her nose was almost twitching. Dalmar gave her a slow grin and said "Maybe, just maybe, there might be a way to get what I've been looking for"

"Wheeee!" Maria squealed, jumping up to hug the hell out of Dalmar, dancing him around as everyone stared and he laughed. Then she must have decided I needed to be included and gave me a big, tight, hug. I found her hug to be...enjoyable. Maybe a little to enjoyable. I beat that thought with a stick and turned back to the conversation, catching Ariels sly grin as I did so. Stupid women and their stupid sensitivity.

"Wow, I was beginning to worry" Maria said, still excited as she sat down "I have all kinds of things you can make me" Dalmar and I both laughed at her self-centered outlook, but Dalmar was no more immune than I was, and just said "You'll be the first"

"Will you be offering to move...you know" Sienna asked me, nodding toward the large pack of women drinking ale and talking very loudly.

"If Susan or Ariel think it needs to be done I will" I said "but in a few months or a year I might be offering to do it for a fee for those who just want to change locations"

"Great idea" Maria said "Telina on board with that?" I nodded, and gave a little shrug before saying "Yeah, if it isn't really a need" She rolled her eyes and said "Well, duh. If my girl don't know you'd do it for free by now, she don't deserve you. I'll get her straightened out"

I laughed again at Pagailis's confused look, but left the poor man to his confusion as I waved for another round. Maria drew Pagailis out during the evening, and like everyone else, he was an intelligent, interesting person. I think it did him good to spend time with Maria, which is why I had invited him, but he also got to see how the former prisoners were just people, with some breaking into tears or having panic attacks at random moments. If there was something I could do for them I would, but even offering a sympathetic word seemed useless at this point.

"This too shall pass" Sienna said quietly, having taken the seat next to me at some point "They're our responsibility now and we'll help them through this" my confused look got her to say "You were obviously worrying about the women. You already did more than anyone else ever will for them, they just don't know it yet. Maria is...perfect for this. She saved Ariel and me from ourselves, and she'll do it for them" she gave me a teasing grin and said "Trust us"

I sighed and took a big swig of ale before saying "Not my nature to trust people. Hell, I killed people for a living, it's the height of lunacy to have me acting as some goddesses priest" I threw my hands up in aggravation before standing up and finishing my drink. I stopped to look the large group of women over, then shook my head and muttered "I'm a lazy, self-centered sociopath and I'd rather just be sitting at home plotting the whole lot of nothing I needed to be doing tomorrow" before heading up to my room.

The next morning came a little early, but I dragged myself out of bed and cleaned up a little before heading down to see who was up. The talk last night had me thinking about home and I was feeling irritable about having to deal with the dumbass eternals. Dungeon crawls with friends were fun, and the dragon one was a treasured memory, but there was no upside for me in dealing with these jerks. Dalmar's quest sounded fun, but it wasn't going to be simple. I had sort of decided to get Maria her castle, and maybe nudge things so I didn't have to keep doing this crap, then take a break until they had an expedition ready to go after the anvil.

"Whatcha thinkin about?" Maria asked, flopping bonelessly into a chair across from me "you've got your grumpy face on"

"Need my coffee" I said, raising the cup to take a sip. She sighed and waved for her own coffee, then said "You're kind of fixated on Mudtown and Mary, and I get that after what life was like in reality, but, and I can't believe I'm telling you this...you have to take the long view"

I shook my head in frustration and said "That's great for us, but what about the locals?"

She blinked in confusion, then comprehension sort of flowed across her face as she said "Mary. You're thinking about her dying on you" she nodded to herself before saying "Ok, I get that. But you pretty much made Mirabeth immortal, have you considered doing that for Mary" my expression got her to say hurriedly "of course you did. So?"

"The long view. I can't go around making everyone immortal because I care for them today. Mirabeth is...special, and goddess knows she'll probably end up hating me a hundred years from now"

"I get that" Maria said slowly, her expression showing me she was seriously considering things "have you tried just healing her every day?"

I blinked in surprise, the idea one I had honestly never considered. Maria must have realized it because she said "I've been thinking that the spells heal accumulated damage right? So wouldn't aging be damage? It obviously won't make you younger, but if you start doing it everyday you're there, she shouldn't age any"

"Damn, that might work" I mumbled

"Hey, there's a reason I'm on the goddesses speed dial and it's not my looks" she stopped at that and looked thoughtful as she said "unless maybe she swings that way. Susan and Mirabeth sound like they have a lot of fun, so maybe that's something I should look into" I'm not sure what my expression was, but she burst into uncontrollable giggles as I stared at her in shock. Damn, now I would be picturing that every time I talked with Telina. I groaned aloud and covered my eyes at the thought I might be dreaming about it during one of her visits. The groan got Maria to go into laugh seizures as people started coming down the stairs. I just waved them away, saying "Don't ask"

After a little while I actually pulled out the drafting book for the first time and sharpened a pencil as I considered what to draw. I shrugged, realizing I'd had the image floating in my head for a while, even having considered having someone do a painting for me at one time, so I settled back to draw it. The drafting book was like one you might see back in reality, but the edge was bound by some kind of springy wood clamp instead of sewn or glued. I was leaned back in my chair about an hour later, feet propped on another, head down over the page as my pencil scritched and scratched its way across the page, when I realized Dalmar and Maria were watching me with amused expressions. Looking around, I found the tavern full with Susan's team and a few of the freed women all watching me. I pulled my feet down and sat up as I frowned and said "What?"

"Whatcha drawin?" Maria asked with a wheedling tone and a little girl smile. I had to chuckle at the effect and slid the sheet I was working on to her. She grinned excitedly as she pulled it over, then lost the grin as she realized what it was. The whole place got to witness a true miracle, Maria speechless.

I had drawn the scene from the side as I had seen it, of Maria standing with drawn bow, facing me, arm pushed out, looking down the arrow at Kalishzactzin as the dragon stood with neck extended, wings flared, just prior to releasing his flaming breath. The drawing captured perfectly Maria's laughing, excited face and Kalishzactzin's own fierce anger and intelligence. The reason the picture had stayed with me was clear in the drawing. Maria was...breathtaking. Like everyone sent here, she was good looking, but in the picture her dark hair was pushed back to reveal her face, the lines of her neck, and her leathers pulled tight from drawing the bow gave a clear sense of her very seductive form. The thing that caught you though was her eyes. They practically glowed with that powerful happiness and enjoyment of her life here that made her laugh so priceless.

"I call it the Laughing Ranger" I said

"My god" Dalmar muttered as he pulled the drawing away from Maria and got a look at it "You caught her perfectly" that set off a surge of people having to admire it, and I winked at Maria when I realized she was embarrassed by the attention. She stuck her tongue out and laughed at me before saying "What are you going to do with it?"

"The Burning Mage" I answered "See if I can get Samuel to let me hang it somewhere in the tavern" she grinned then and said "people will come just to admire my beauty and stay to drink his beer. Of course he'll let you hang it"

Susan looked like she hadn't slept much, but no one commented on it as she gathered Ariel and Sienna to go meet Pagailis for the days hunting. I suddenly found myself with Maria and Dalmar, surrounded by a lot of women with questions. They pulled up chairs to surround us, or stood as the tall blonde from the night before asked questions

"How do you become a paladin?"

When both Dalmar and Maria looked at me I blinked in surprise and asked "Why is everyone looking at me, I'm a priest. Ask Susan or Ariel"

"She said it was for you to decide"

What? I considered the issue for a few moments, holding up a hand to get everyone to wait. I suppose there were risks inherent in having a bazillion Paladin's running around, but that assumed you only need meet some spreadsheet balance to gain it, and that wasn't true. Without the interest, and agreement with a goddess, you wouldn't get offered anything. Arranging for some more paladins was actually on my do list, but I hadn't worked out the details yet, so I finally shrugged and said "Ok, here's the deal. I'm no more knowledgeable than anyone else here, but I suspect you need a certain number of wisdom points to even apply...but" I raised a finger and looked around, making sure everyone was paying attention before adding "it's up to a goddess to offer. Telina and I want the same things, the most important of which is that the people who work hard every day to feed and cloth us are left in peace. You want a life of battle and carnage, find a different goddess"

"But you're the only priest, doesn't that affect things?" Someone in the crowd asked. I wasn't even sure what she was really asking, so just said "Maybe, but it doesn't mean some other goddess won't offer it. I know of one other paladin, and wouldn't be surprised if there are more"

"Who?"

I shook my head and said "Not for me to say" getting an agitated muttering from the crowd, but they moved on with "Why is that guy Bob a paladin if he did what they say?"

Jesus, did they spend all day gossiping? Maria gave me a shrug at my questioning look, leaving me to sigh and say "This might be tough to hear, but I'm not in the retribution business. Bob...got lost in the idea this was all not really...real, and made some stupid, evil choices. Unlike the ones I've seen here, I thought he was redeemable, but in the end the decision was Maria's. Telina trusts Maria's advice on this, and she was right to. Bob will some day be a very good man, but he's got decades of work ahead to get the redemption he wants"

"What makes it ok for you to boss us around?" An Elf girl in a cheap Mage's robe asked. I rubbed my face hard to scrub some frustration away and hope Dalmar or Maria would field the question. When those two traitors didn't say anything I shrugged and said "Nothing. I don't want to be anybodies boss. I'll be happy to nominate you for the position"

That got an angry response, and a few shouted comments about this being a serious issue. Dalmar must have had enough because he slammed his empty tankard on the table and growled "Shut up! Goddess, you people are enough to make a guy want to sit in the courtyard for a day, just for the peace and quiet" he let out another irritated noise and said "Let me save some time here. None of us want to rule anybody. If you want to do that, more power to you, just follow the golden rule and everything will be copastetic. Jake and I offered to help free you, not be your keepers, so standing here annoying him and me isn't going to gain you anything. He and I are volunteering to help Maria help you, nothing more than that. Don't like us, feel free to ignore us, I know I would appreciate the silence"

What he said. Maria was giggling into her hand by the end of that, but stood up and said "Ok, enough silliness. You've got valid reasons for being worried and suspicious, but what you're doing is attempting to shove your own heads up your asses, something I warned you not to do. These are the good guys, and no, they have no interest in making you their slaves, so move on. Give us some room here and I'll join you in a few" she shooed the group away, then gave me an exasperated look as she said "Real smooth. They've been through hell and are scared this is all going to disappear on them"

"And we freed them" I said in frustration, pointing around our group "and we're planning to keep them safe until they can protect themselves. We told them that. I told them that. What else am I supposed to do? Words are cheap, so talking isn't going to mean diddly"

Maria sighed and leaned back to prop her feet on the table before saying "Men"

I copied her pose and sighed in frustration before saying "Women!" Getting a giggle before she gave me a pretend scowl.

Dalmar and I went ahead and did the next portal spell, and I was very ready to get it done and leave. Rabin and Narn had settled in, and a young woman was handling the cooking and cleaning duties. To pass time, Dalmar and I wandered the city, though we wouldn't have time to see more than a tiny part.

We were in an arms shop looking at an enchanted sword when we both got messages from Susan

Mirabeth returned

It was succinct, I'll give her that. We both exchanged shrugs and moved on, with him saying "Maria mentioned your conversation and I don't envy you having the ability to do this"

"Dammit" I mumbled, then said a little louder "I really, really didn't want to try it, but her and Susan are risking everything, and I couldn't do any less"

That got a dismissive wave of the hand as Dalmar said "Nah, agree with doing it. Would have done the same, but we need to start a disinformation campaign about it to keep it from becoming a serious issue. I'll get with the girls and plan something out" And that's what friends are for.

He changed the subject by saying "We get Maria set up in the castle and that should give us a bit of a break from this useless shit. I'm planning on staying down there and helping her shepherd her flock through some leveling runs in the forbidden lands, and maybe start plotting a route to Lor Frell"

"Those werewolves pushed me within a battle or two of level 11" I said "so it'll be nice to fight something that actually gives experience" I added "but it'll have to wait since I can't dawdle on the way back" I considered, then said "I'll do the last one tomorrow, then I'm going to push hard for Riverbend. From there were talking a day to get back here. If you want to hang out here and wait, I'll give you the blessings for the portals when I get back. It's probably a shorter trip to the castle from Riverbend, so Maria will probably want to lead her band there over the next month or so"

He stopped and turned to give me a questioning look as he asked "You're not letting them use the portals?"

Confused, I stopped and considered the words "Well, I don't know them and the portals take them to my home, so I guess no, I wasn't going to let them use the portal" I stopped, then added an addendum "Unless, of course, you, Maria, or the Paladin's vouch for them"

He chuckled as we turned to walk again, then said "Oh sure, make us responsible"

I shrugged and said "It's my home"