Sarah was in fact able to arrange a meeting with Saint Aiden, though it took a few days. I spent that time working on wishes at the crafting hall, managing a full twenty four points, having to spare two from each wishing session to erase the memories and set up my geas. Still, twenty four was pretty damn good for only three days, even if I wished they had been a bit more concentrated. Six Vitality, eight Creation, seven Fantasy, and three Focus gave me a solid all around boost but aside from putting Creation firmly on top of my stats it was nothing special.

Wishmaster candidate status. G-rank. Ability: Beginner Wish- Five times a day grant a Beginner wish in return for proper compensation. Wish must be feasibly achievable by the candidate's own efforts within a three day period with current statistics. Might 22 Impact 12 Fantasy 21 Vitality 18 Focus 20 Perception 25 Creation 29 Skills: Beginner Doom Sovereign Mastery,Lesser Enchanting Mastery, Lesser Cooking Mastery, Lesser Inventing Mastery, Minor Piano Mastery, , Minor Gymnastics Mastery, Minor Swimming Mastery, Minor Guitar Mastery, Minor Singing Mastery, , Minor Poker Mastery, Minor Archery Mastery, Minor Boxing Mastery

I couldn't complain about my stats with those kinds of numbers, not when I had been so weak only a few weeks before. It felt good to see myself improving. I was still under one fifty total, so I wasn't anywhere close to the point where I would need to slow down, though once I hit five hundred I planned to fill out and upgrade some of my skills. I didn't plan to do anything too crazy, but if I could get a few to Lesser or Beginner I would be able to synergize them into some unique skills that might give me some flexibility other than relying on DS mastery all the time.

One big change was that we had managed to find and purchase a skyride. A very nice mid range G rank model that we were able to purchase after converting our chits at an eleven to one ratio at the local bank. It was faster than the models we'd been using from the tower and gave us some much needed mobility independent of any outside forces. We took it today to the station, leaving it in the long term parking area and taking a canister back down to G district to meet up with Saint Aiden for our inquiry about the Heartripper symbols around the district.

Finding the place wasn't much of an issue, Sarah had given us excellent directions, but we stuck together just in case the Flame Riot Militia were lurking around waiting to jump some unwary travelers. Despite the similarity of the streets, the well lit roadways were easy enough to keep track of as long as you had a few landmarks to navigate by. Though Benny was definitely easily distracted. "Can we stop by that sausage cart on the way out? The food there was delicious and I bet that guy has some more information about the symbols."

Callie looked dubious at the idea, yet open to being convinced. "Maybe, depends what we hear from Saint Aiden. We're stronger than before but I don't know if it'll be enough. Despite the improvement we should stay vigilant and try not to jump headfirst into trouble we might not be able to get out of. This should be a recon mission only. Right?" Her eyes pinned me with the question and she looked relieved when I agreed. "Well, in that case a bit of food isn't the worst idea, provided we get done early enough."

I wasn't sure the guy even closed but I was open to the idea either way, and Jessie seconded the sentiment, so we decided to try the place again when we were done looking around. "So Benny, did you end up making any more plans with Celine?" I didn't bother to hide the teasing tone, and he didn't seem to care either way, because his face took on a pleased expression at my comment.

He suppressed a smirk and just shook his head. "A gentleman never tells." Which basically meant yes. Seeing my eye roll he chuffed out a laugh. "Fine, yes, I offered to meet her for dinner to exchange our views on the city as outsiders. As someone from off world she knows what its like to be new here just like we do, and she's willing to share her insights. Beauty aside that seemed like a pretty solid idea considering all the shit we've been dealing with since we got here. Plus new friends are always welcome."

That was a decent enough reason that I decided not to harass him about it. He would have bugged me, but I could just keep this in my back pocket to use as leverage when I finally got another date with Callie. That pleasant thought was cut short however, when we finally came around a corner to find the Church we had been looking for. It was exactly where Sarah had said it would be, and it was impossible to mistake for anything else.

The place was so stereotypically a church, that it might as well have had the word painted across the front. A tiny stone building with a small bell tower and tall stained glass windows depicting a cloaked knight in red plate armor, with a smiling red mask set in a crimson hood. Beneath the windows depicting the Red Revenant himself were several neat rows of gravestones, cast in eerie read light that flickered from what must have been candles through the stained glass. It was...ominous, but kind of pretty, in a strange way.

Finding the door was simple, at was down a short cobblestone path that wound between the graves from the street, and the pair of wooden barriers were open a few inches, letting out that same flickering firelight from inside and welcoming in any travelers who may have happened upon them. Despite the semi creepy vibe, the place was clearly meant to be open to all, with the doors only being mostly closed to keep the chill out of the warm building.

We didn't bother to knock, since the things were open, just pushing inside and taking a look around, enjoying the warmth. It was a bit chilly outside, probably a factor of being so deep underground, and stepping into the cozy little church was a welcome relief to the bite of the air. I half expected to be greeted at the door or something, but the place was just full of hunched figures in red robes praying.

At the end of the long red carpet knelt a young man with bone white hair, bent over an altar depicting the image of that same red armored knight in the crimson cloak. The Red Revenant was obviously the patron deity of the Church. He was considered a warrior god with a code of honor and a particular fondness for monster killing. He traveled around, helping others and hunting down the wicked, creatures and criminals alike, though that was basically all I knew about him. Very into punishing the guilty.

I hadn't met many of his clergy members, pretty much just Sarah and now this Aiden guy, but they mostly came across as sympathetic people, if a bit judgemental from what I'd been told. Compared to the cultists already trying to murder me they were definitely a step up, and I saw nothing but benefits in getting to know them, given our shared enemy. So I waited patiently with the other while Saint Aiden completed his prayers, standing there for easily twenty minutes before the man slowly stood, brushing off his knees.

He had a warm smile on his fine featured face when he turned around, his pale blue eyes kind and welcoming as he took us in. "My apologies for the wait. I sensed your entry, but I'm afraid my devotions take precedence over my need to be a proper host." He gestured for us to approach. "Please, come have a seat, I'm happy to try to aid you in whatever you seek." He gave us a once over with a rueful chuckle. "You don't strike me as supplicants coming to pay your respects to the Red Lord." He didn't sound upset about that at all, just matter of fact.

I was a bit embarrassed, but I didn't bother pretending. "Yeah, we're the group Sarah set up a meeting for." His eyes flashed with recognition. "We're here to ask you some questions about the local environment and just generally make some connections. We've heard good things about you from the locals. We have a bit of a...project, we've been working on and we were hoping you could be of some help with it." I wasn't entirely sure how this would go. The Heartrippers weren't exactly common knowledge obviously, but they were a counter force against the Church.

It was a toss up whether someone at Aiden's level would even have access to the information that there was a secret cabal of hypnotized sleepers. I didn't want to tip my hand this early that I was dealing with the Cult. Tipping off the Church would most likely result in a ton of support, but it would also result in a ton of attention. If they moved out resources to a middle of nowhere planet like this it could easily provoke a response from the Cult, who were keeping things measured so far, and any escalation could draw attention from the other candidates way too early.

No, I wanted backing from the Church if possible, but not right away. I needed to feel out the situation and find what the Heartrippers wanted before I brought them in, as long as we knew what we were facing the Church would respond with appropriate levels of force hopefully and not escalate things beyond my control. I reached into my pocket and passed the card to him. "We're trying to find somewhere around G district where this symbol might be hidden. It belongs to a group we're doing some research on."

We had that map from the old man, but given his resources Aiden was more likely to have up to date information, and this was a good excuse to feel out what the Church knew anyway, as well as giving us an in with an influential local figure. I watched his face for signs of recognition, but thankfully got none. His only expression was one of confusion. He handed it back. "I don't recognize the image, but I can ask my faithful if they've seen it around. I'm sure we can help you locate some of the symbols."

I relaxed. Hopefully he could find us some more aside from the ones on the map. Having a larger variety of locations to check wouldn't be a bad thing by any means, even if it was just a bonus. Now that I confirmed that he knew nothing it was onto my second reason. I gave him a grateful smile, offering my hand. "We appreciate that, I'm Solomon by the way, and this is Clockwork, Nightstrike, and Agria. We appreciate the assistance. Maybe we could sit down and talk while your people ask around, we've heard great things and we'd love to learn more about your role around here."

His face lit up. "Of course! Please, right this way, we can have some tea and I can tell you all about how I spread the word of the Red Lord in this place." He turned and waved us after him as he strode toward a side room, gesturing to one of his faithful to follow, presumably to prepare the tea. As we walked he chattered on about his charitable interests and projects helping the needy, and I had to admit they sounded impressive. This would be a good start to friendly relations, and after our little talk we could check out one of the locations from either his people or the map before heading to the sausage cart. Just a nice relaxing day.