Breathe in.

Thick strands of white-hued energy filtered into his core as fast as Noone could manage. Noone knew how precious the energy was, and he couldn’t afford to waste any time. Once he left the temple, his cultivation would be forced to slow to a crawl. He only had a day or two. During this time, he wasn’t planning to sleep or stop for anything.

Breathe out.

Time was too precious.

The sound of a door closing shut entered his mind. Sarah walked out of the room and into the main hall of the temple before looking around. Various acolytes and clergyman were scattered about taking care of their own business.

She caught the eyes of a few people, however no one seemed to mind her presence. It was much different than the temple in Ardglass. The only people there were those of the Order. Here though, they were more than used to the servants of the other gods.

She quietly stepped into the hallway the older Priest had pointed out to her. It was gently lit with blue glowing stones hung from the ceiling by netting.

After a couple dozen feet, the hallway opened up into a long but narrow rectangular chamber which stretched out a hundred yards. Along the walls were the statues of various gods, some of which she recognized, others she didn’t. In front of each statue there was enough space for a couple people to kneel in prayer at a time.

Right now there were only five other people within the hall giving their dedications. They all wore cleric garb of different styles she didn’t recognize. Except for one other paladin which was kneeling down in prayer at the end of the hall.

She moved as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb anyone’s devotions.

She took a few seconds to look at each statue, attempting to memorize the gods they represented. Some of them gave off pressures which she could feel as the slightest twist in the back of her mind. Like the feeling of being watched. She even recognized the insignia of a few of the gods she had turned down for Hoar which made her uncomfortable. Gods could be gracious, or they could be extremely petty. She hoped she would never have to find out which one’s were which.

It wasn’t until she approached the end of the hall that she found a statue representing Hoar. A two-faced deity, one face sad and the other livid with rage.

When she laid eyes on it, the feeling of being watched which had been building in the back of her mind disappeared. Like an ocean after a storm, everything became calm.

She realized the only Paladin she had seen earlier was kneeling down in front of Hoar. Without a word, she knelt down as well, closing her eyes she began to recite the tenets within her mind.

“Fight the Greater Evil.

No Mercy for the Wicked.

By Any Means Necessary.

Restitution.”

She repeated the tenets in her mind. For the past month she hadn’t missed a single day of prayer, but there were no urgings from Hoar. She figured she was too far away from anyone or anything to be useful to him. Now that she was in a town like Pinepass, she had a feeling that this would be the time Hoar would reach out to her since her advancement.

Time passed. Over the next hour she had fallen into a quiet trance, waiting for anything.

Suddenly, two images flashed in her mind.

The first was of a location she didn’t recognize. A small conclave built into the side of a hill. Inside there were various men she didn’t recognize dressed in a mismatch of clothes and weapons. Maybe it was Hoar tapping into her subconscious, but she felt like she subtly understood what he was asking from her.

Bandits?

The second image was someone much more familiar. In fact, the moment the image appeared in her mind, she stopped chanting. Waking up from her prayers. She looked to her right, at the only other paladin praying to Hoar.

She noticed him looking at her, seeming to have awoken at the same time.

Sarah was about to speak, but the man held up a single finger to his lips, motioning for her to be silent. She nodded sheepishly and looked around, for a moment she had forgotten where they were.

The man stood smoothly, adjusting his weapons and armor before leaving the hall. Sarah followed along, watching the man.

A vengeance paladin… just like myself.

After exiting the hall, the man did not stop but instead continued out into the courtyard and then exited out the arch into the city. Sarah hesitated for a moment, but chose to follow behind.

Outside the temple the man finally stopped and stretched, letting out a sigh of relief.

“That’s better. It gets so stuffy in those temples.” He laughed. Reaching a hand to Sarah. “I am Clayton Hebert. Emissary and Paladin of Hoar. You must be Sarah?”

Sarah’s eye’s widened but she only hesitated a moment before shaking his hand. “Yes, I am. How did you know?”

“Hoar is never cheap when it comes to information. Once you advance further you will understand. You just advanced right? You can probably only see a few images. Maybe get a few inferences put in your mind.” Clayton laughed.

Sarah felt like he was the type of person who could talk endlessly unless stopped. “Once you get those. It will be up to you to figure out what he means. It usually requires research and asking around. Usually. Lucky for you, this time you have me.”

Sarah thought about what he said, folding her arms. “What are you doing in Pinepass? I thought we were pretty rare… not many want to be vengeance paladins.”

“That’s why I said you’re lucky. Hoar sent me this way to show you the ropes greenie.” He took a good look at Sarah. Inside he was shocked, this girl was no more than twenty or so years old. He failed to understand why Hoar was so interested in her. “Damn near sent me across the country to this middle-of-nowhere town too.” He mumbled partly to himself.

Sarah was unsure what to make of this Clayton. He wasn’t exactly what she pictured when she thought of Vengeance Paladins. He seemed so… normal. If a bit odd.

“Anyways. You follow me, and I’ll explain the details to you. Do you have armor by the way? Why are you in those simple clothes?” Sarah shook her head, offering no explanation.

“God… you really are green.” Clayton shook his head. “Well whatever. For Hoar to take you, you must have potential.”

As they talked, Sarah noticed a familiar figure approaching. Sally was walking to the temple followed by her horse and the cart. All of the wolves had disappeared, presumably replaced by coin.

Sally noticed Sarah immediately, and then she saw the man Sarah was talking to. When Clayton noticed Sarah’s attention being drawn elsewhere, he looked over as well. His eyes went wide, and eyebrows shot up.

“Well. If it isn’t Sally. Loong time no see.” Clayton said, making his voice as pleasant as possible. Sally’s eyes narrowed, and she scoffed.

“Clayton.” She said.

Sarah looked on in shock. They knew each other?

“It’s been a long time. How have you been…? Haven’t seen you in almost ten years.” The pleasantness in his voice disappeared, evaporated. Replaced by a cool and chilly tone.

“I’ve been fine. The last ten years had been going great actually. I guess I am just going to need to start that countdown over.” She reached into her bag, pulling out a sack of coins. “Sarah.” She tossed the pouch over. “Two and a half gold. In silvers and coppers. If you’re going to be hanging out with Clayton, I recommend you get some good armor.”

Sarah caught the pouch, tying it to her waist. She looked at Sally questioningly, but Sally simply ignored them and entered the temple.

“And just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.” Clayton sighed. “How’d you get dragged in with her? Most of the order are swell, but her…” He frowned. Sarah got the feeling they had a history, but she chose to say nothing.

“Well. Let’s go get you some armor.” Clayton said, skulking off into the city. Sarah nodded and began to follow.

She glanced back at the temple. Through the archway she saw Sally staring back at her.