“Years of my research, lost because of you, brutes!” a greying man shouts from a dungeon cell.

“Arbiters, this is the man we reported,” a mayor ignores him. “Normally, the magistrate would have judged him, yet he used his right to appeal to the Overlord’s Court.”

“Finally! End this farce and release me, maybe they hadn’t destroyed everything yet!”

“Why hadn’t you escaped on your own?” my companion sneers. “What sad excuse for a wizard are you?”

“I’m a scholar, an alchemist. I never needed to cast without gestures,” he shakes his arms, encased up until elbows within metal shackles preventing any movement of his hands. “Moreover, they are drugging me to make the mana harder to control. So, how long until I will be released?”

“Soon, hopefully,” the mayor spats. “You only delayed inevitable. After what you’ve done, death is the only just sentence.”

“We received testimonies from the townsfolk that accused you of kidnapping their children, many of whom were found in your estate tortured or dead,” I say. “Honestly, I’m finding it hard to believe that they haven't killed you on the spot after learning this.”

“Tortured? Ignorants. I’ve told them many times that everything I've done was for science-“

“Here we go, the mad rumbling starts again,” the mayor sighs.

“I was so close to the breakthrough! For years I’ve been developing potions and spells to enhance humans, make them stronger, faster, tougher. Just imagine, if simply by swallowing a potion one could become a peerless warrior with lightning-fast reflexes. We could get rid of all the monsters living in the forests, the Overlord would get an invincible army, without having to spend years on the training-”

“The Overlord’s army is already invincible,” my companion cuts in.

“Assuming that your claim is true, why does your plan to make super soldiers required experimenting on the children?” I ask.

“I found out that adults’ bodies had suffered too much stress after ingesting the mixtures. Those who endured were usually overwhelmed by new stimuli leading to madness.”

“You said only children were missing?” the mayor nods at my question.

“I had a surplus of test subjects with all the beggars on the streets. But I found out quickly that it was a wrong route. Bodies of children recover from the shock far better. After extensive study, I found out the perfect age to administer the first dose of my potions would be five cycles. It results with the highest number of survivors whose nervous system adapted well! I’m sure that after they mature, they would be exceptional fighters; they already became stronger than most adults could ever hope to be! The Overlord would surely be pleased with the results!”

“How many successful results are we talking about?” my companion asks, mildly interested.

“Three out of ten currently, I believe that given time I might be able to increase it to the half.”

“It’s madness!”

“Fool. How many people die every cycle due to beasts attacking remote villages? How many were killed or enslaved whenever lizardfolk razes others? A small price to keep them safe, even lesser if the changes become hereditary.”

“Do you still have his notes or were they destroyed during the raid on his manor?” I ask.

“We’ve burned this godforsaken place and everything within after finding all the bodies.”

“Well, it looks like it is your happy day,” my companion says. “We have to take you with us so that you could recreate your research for the Alchemist’s Guild.”

With a short incantation, he cracks the shackles binding the prisoner’s hands.

“You must be kidding, you can’t release that bastard! Among the children he killed, many were barely infants!” the mayor shouts.

“From poor families, most of them would have died during the winter anyway,” the alchemist shrugs, massaging his forearms.

“Is this really the Overlord’s justice?” the mayor mutters unbelieving.

“It is,” I explain. “People aren’t equal, whether you compare their intelligence, strength, or ability to use magic. Therefore, the shackles of law that bind one, might be too restricting for another. Mayor, you’ve admitted earlier that the man is an exceptionally skilled alchemist. If the research he had conducted would be proven to be of use to the Overlord, the damage to the life he had done would be forgiven. If not, he shall be punished for wasting the lives of the Overlord’s subjects.”

“Yes, yes, they will be pleased,” the alchemist eagerly nods. “We should take two or three of my specimens with us, so I could present the successful results immediately!”

- Ion’s dream journal

It turned out that the soldiers took residence inside Crestfall’s only inn, occupying most of its rooms. Ion’s group was currently talking with Niklas, their leader.

“Your defence of the town already earned you reverence amongst villagers,” he said.

“Even if homes of some were burned down,” a woman sitting next to him cut in, staring at Reria.

“Don’t be petty, Petra. You are not the only one pissed off by this situation,” Niklas scolded her. “Those damn goblins fooled us all, we chased after them like an overeager farmboy glimpsing a nymph. I prefer not to think how it would have ended if they hadn’t been there.

“Oh, don’t look like this. While they might be small and weak, their species survived amongst much stronger creatures. Their numbers surely help, but when it’s not enough, they surely could make up any deficiencies with cunning. We should be glad that they are usually content to kill each other in their tribal infightings; if they were to unite, they would be an immense threat.”

“Not so different from humans,” Dorian sighed.

“Sad bad true,” Niklas nodded. “Anyway, with what happened today, you will have no problem to settle a handsome wage for your services here. Though, I must admit that I thought that only some rookie mercenaries would be interested in a job like this. From what I’ve seen, you could’ve easily found something better paid.”

“A job?” Reria asked.

“When the frequency of monster attacks increased, many villages sent their representatives to nearby towns, trying to hire some mercenaries to protect them. I’ve been told that they had a few working here for a while, that is before the priest came here with his flock. When he decided to stay around, the villagers decided that paying mercenaries anymore is a waste of gold. They would probably reconsider now.”

“Never said no to additional income. Worth asking around,” Sae eagerly agreed.

“If not because of the job, why are you even here?” Petra asked suspiciously.

“Likewise,” Thaleus said. “When we were leaving Leisha every noble was using their soldiers to sweep the town searching for necromancers there. You decided to take a break to earn something on the side?”

“Are you suggesting-“

Niklas calmed angered Petra and answered, “it’s not really a secret. This village belongs to House Faranger; due to the recent attacks we’ve been sent to protect the villagers. Or more exactly to teach them how to defend themselves. Now, you’ve been recently in Leisha’s Crossroads? We could use some news.”

“Hmm, where to start?” Sae quickly recounted events that happened in Leisha since the soldiers left the city.

“…and the last notable event was an attack on Silverfords’ Manor during the hallowing of the graveyard,” she concluded. “When we were leaving, the rumour mill was still running wild, with numerous theories who and why did this.”

“Those bastards have it coming long ago,” the news seemed to improve Petra’s mood.

“The villagers you’ve been training,” Dorian said, hide curiosity in his voice, “how are your sessions progressing?”

Niklas frowned.

“Not as I expected. Life on the fringe of civilisation isn’t an easy one, many of the villagers know how to take care of themselves. We thought it would be easy to train them. Yet when we arrived, we found out that most of the young and tough have already joined the Church of Sudomeas,” seeing their quizzical looks he explained, “some minor deity, of knowledge apparently. Surely, he knew where and when to send his priest. He was preaching about taking fate in one’s hands, gaining strength and power to stand against threats. In times like this, it wasn’t hard for him to find followers among those eager to fight the beasts to protect their village.“

“Which left us with only a handful of reliable villagers which we can hope to train in a reasonable span of time,” Petra added. “Most of the neophytes, even if decent fighters, are ready to abandon everything at the single order from the priest. They've left Crestfall three days ago and only some of them return daily, mainly to take resupply.”

“What for?” Ion asked.

“Apparently the cleric wishes to restore a nearby old fort and to turn it into a sanctuary. I wonder how the nobles react if he does it,” Niklas shrugged. “But, back to Petra’s question. She isn’t the only one curious. What are you looking for there?”

Ion wondered whether they should tell them or not, yet Ciros decided to take a straightforward approach.

“We heard rumours about some demonic cult spreading in the nearby villages. We decided to investigate them.”

Niklas furrowed his brows. “That’s unsettling. But surely something more than gossips made you travel here?”

Everyone shifted their gazes to Reria.

“I talked with one of the villagers who fled to Leisha. She was truly terrified. And the way by which she described the behaviour of one of her neighbours, who left with some priest and later returned, was enough to convince me that he was either possessed or influenced by a spell.”

“Have you informed the magistrate about your suspicions?”

“Why would we?” Ion asked. “Even if we’d convinced someone, with all the things happening in Leisha, there wouldn’t be any reaction anytime soon. Also, they would probably claim any spellbooks we could have found.”

“Or the best of the loot!” Sae gave thumbs up to his explanation.

“I see that even wizards’ apprentices are so greedy for knowledge that it dims their reason.”

“Apprentices!?” Ion and Reria shouted.

“You are surely too young to be full-fledged wizards. Even if mages tend to alter their looks with spells, they usually appear at least slightly older; not only such youthful appearance is much harder to maintain, it also lacks authority, unless they surround themselves with magical artifacts. No, I know your type, apprentices bored with their guild, deciding to run away and try the life of mercenaries.”

Ion was taken aback.

“Isn’t an apprentice better than a bard?” Thaleus joked. “You are almost there.”

Objectively, he had no reason to oppose the label of an apprentice. His repository of 3rd circle spells was still lacking, as was his general knowledge about the theory of magic; often containing many holes in basic subjects his visions hadn’t covered. On the other hand, he had a repository (full of holes but nonetheless) of advanced theories that he couldn’t apply because of his deficiencies in the principles. Or differences in the laws governing his Plane and Vision-he’s. The outcome unchanging.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed; today he was treated as an apprentice, yesterday as a bard, it was a huge difference to the treatment he had come to enjoy while posing as Master Evans.

“Don’t huff Ion, girls do love bards!” Sae patted him.

“Do you?”

“Of course. Aren’t wizards old, grizzled and generally no fun to be around?”

‘Weren’t those Sarah’s words? Is this a coincidence?’

There was a sort of an evil grin on Sae’s face Ion had no idea what to think about.

“But I can cast fireballs…” Reria pouted.

“It’s not enough to qualify; the wizard I know told me,” Niklas laughed seeing her expression. “He was like you, once. Left the guild to freely develop his talents. Ignatius was always proud of his illusions. Or is proud now; I can only imagine how full of himself he was back then. The turning point for him was meeting another traveller; he noticed that he carried numerous spellscrolls. Confident in his skills, instead of thinking better, he tried to peek or steal some of them. He really lucked out; the future high wizard from whom he tried to steal found his efforts entertaining enough to take him as the apprentice of his. But if this cult of yours is real, they might not give you such a chance, are you sure you could take them?”

“Why not?” Sae said. ”It’s not like we’re on our own anymore; you’re there to protect the villages? Surely eradicating the cult before it grows too strong counts into this.”

“Not the villages, just this one,” Petra said. “If you find your cultists outside the fief of House Faranger, the most we would do will be informing Leisha’s Crossroads.”

“And if they are here, in Crestfall?” Dorian asked.

“The Church of Sudomeas? You must be kidding. Ask any of the villagers, they’ve been nothing but helpful to them. They may be too devoted for my liking, but it is only to be expected from the new believers. Yes, followers of minor deites often tend to keep close to each other and behave strangely, but it’s hardly proof of anything. I’ve been to Cirran once; you wouldn’t believe how the people praying to some of the deities from overseas could behave.”

“During the fight against goblins, for a moment I could sense a speck of fiendish taint… It lasted only for a moment and I was unable to trace it to a specific villager, but it felt similar if weaker, to what I felt when we fought Yugoloths.”

“So that’s why you’ve been acting so strange afterwards,” Ciros said.

“A gut feeling, even if paladin’s, is not enough to convince me.”

“But don’t you find his followers to be simply too skilled?” Petra said. “It’s not only that those already knowing how to fight joined him. And I don’t give a damn to our scout’s assumptions that the deity somehow found out ridiculous numbers of gifted fighters here and exploited the situation; why others wouldn’t have done so before?”

“Ignatius theorised that a young deity, trying to lure more believers to itself, might be more willing to grant its blessings…”

“Blessings my ass! Uther doesn’t miraculously flickers his finger and makes those who he chooses for his paladins able to spot and counter every feint. They still need to develop their skills. It’s not like one day you are drilling bunch of clueless teenagers and suddenly on the next, they behave as if they trained for years!”

“If you can’t come to terms with having troubles against farmers, focus on your own training instead of complaining.”

Petra huffed and left the room, shutting a door.

“So moody today,” Niklas sighed. “If you’ve come all the way there to investigate the cult, surely you had some plan prepared. Give me a real proof if there is something malicious going on. Just to remind you; we’re there to protect those villagers. Also from you if necessary.”

The meeting concluded, they went downstairs to the inn’s main hall. It was almost deserted; it looked like the villagers were still too busy repairing damages done to their town to pass the time here.

“What now?” Reria asked.

“The plan stays the same,” Sae said. “But if the cultists are really numerous, the assistance of soldiers might be of use to us.”

“You heard Niklas,” Ion said, “we can’t do anything to villagers.”

“He will find out only after we’re sure we could convince him. So Reria, Thaleus, take care of our rooms, hopefully there is still some left, I’ve got enough barns after yesterday. Ion, Dorian, try to learn something about this church.”

“Can’t it be you? I’m exhausted and ‘d rather read some of the books we have… found.”

“No dilly-dallying, maybe you should have actually gone sleeping early yesterday, so you wouldn’t be tired now. If the cultists pose for followers of a deity of knowledge, it’s more natural for a wizard to be interested. Reria finally needs to learn the spell, so she’s out. Dorian would discreetly sense whether those you talk with are possessed. Thaleus could try and get guests, if any arrive, to spill something-“

“Count on me!”

“-Finally, Ciros and I, would inquire about the job Niklas told us about to give us a convenient reason to be there.”

“Being punished for learning spells too fast. At least let me grab something to eat first.”

****

Ion, his mood slightly improved after eating a quick dinner in the inn, strolled streets with Dorian.

Sae’s today behaviour was disturbing him.

“There,” Dorian pointed at the nearby group of the villagers, “some of them fought along with us.”

Ion also recognised a few faces, “sense anything?”

The paladin only shook his head as they approached.

“Join us, the Lord would warmly welcome you amongst his chosen.”

“We’re not the fighters-”

“I wasn’t too, you know me, Fred. But thanks to Him, I’ve found the strength in myself, the will to stand against monsters.”

“It isn’t about fighting,” a boy added. “Sudomeas offers us knowledge, helps in overcoming the obstacles-”

“Yeah, knowledge. And then suddenly everyone who follows him starts to search for a fight, be it goblins or other monsters. You're barely older than my son. Convincing him to even hunt an animal is hard; you, on the other hand, are eager to jump and hack any monster you find-”

“The beasts have killed my parents!”

“Listen,” the villager eased his voice. “It’s not like we’re not glad for what you are doing for our village. But I’m a baker, John and Steve are farmers. We are happy with our lives as they are. Shiela gives us bountiful harvests and I’m happy with how the things are. We don’t need more deities to meddle in our lives.”

The group began to disperse.

“Hello there,” Dorian greeted. “Weren’t you going to inform your priest about goblins?”

“Trevor went; he’s the fastest of us,” the man who preached earlier answered. “And it’s not like we would be able to travel fast with all the supplies. We’ll stay there till the morning, just in a case they try to attack again. It’s already evening so I doubt priest Friedrich would send anyone today.”

“Supplies?”

”Tools mostly; nails, some planks, things like this. And food that isn’t meat nor berries.”

“The deity you two serve, tell us more about him… you said something about him being the one of knowledge…”

“Ah, I recognise you too, now!” a boy shouted. “You were that guy who was setting the goblins on fire! Striking down that last gobbear was great! Surely someone who learns magic would be interested in our Lord. You know, he taught my sister, Jane, she’s gonna be a great sorceress soon!”

“Taught her? How?”

“She said that suddenly she just knew how to make magic. He’s great, isn’t he?”

“But how? Did she hear him speaking to her? Had some dreams? Strange memories? Visions that told her what to do?”

“I don’t know, ask her if you’re so interested. Or priest Friedrich. As for me, I simply feel what would be the right thing to do while fighting. It’s hard to explain to someone who hadn’t received his blessing!”

“A blessing?”

“A gift we received when-“

“-when we pledged allegiance to the Lord. Now, Josh, it’s something which shouldn’t be discussed with those not initiated.”

“But if they’d want to join us-“

“Then they should speak with priest Friedrich or one of his apprentices,” the man turned to Ion and Dorian. “If you’d like to, we’re leaving to the fort tomorrow morning. Priest Friedrich could surely answer to your questions, far better than we could.”

“I’m not sure if we manage tomorrow; it would look bad for us to leave the town day after we started working here.”

“So just ask anybody for directions; the fort we’re staying is only a few hours walk from the village.”

After the followers of Sudomeas left, Ion asked, “your impressions?”

“Honestly? If not for the feeling I had earlier, I wouldn’t have considered them suspicious.”

“Could the goblins have caused it?”

“Tracking fiends wasn’t something I’ve been ever focusing on. Yet I’m almost sure the taint I sensed wasn’t coming from the goblins.”

“What about Petra’s suspicions? A sudden boost in abilities is something Reria expected to happen to the possessed.”

“Those chosen by deities too. Depends on whether she was exaggerating or not.”

“And the matter of this blessing they refused to talk with us about?”

“Nothing special; clergies, as well as most wizards’ guilds often keep details of their rituals to themselves. People not knowing their backgrounds may often find them… disturbing,” the paladin kept walking in the silence for a while. “In the Lorastil Theocracy, initiates of the Order of the Maker have to drink blood before taking their final trials…”

Ion stumbled.

“Well… blood might be a great conduit for power, both in alchemy and magic, especially a ritual one…”

“Sae told me how you animated undead so I assumed you would understand. It is said to be the blood of the Maker himself. that it would grant strength and show the correct path to follow. Taken from the Order’s heroes and the Highest Paladin, refined and purified by wizards and alchemists…”

“Isn’t the Theocracy prejudiced against elves? Yet you managed to rank in the Order-“

“I didn’t. I’m a paladin of Adrestia, not the Maker. Most of what I’ve learned about the Order was from my brother…” a shadow of anger passed on his face. “It’s not something I want to talk about.”

They continued in silence.

It was already dark when Dorian finally gave up, unable to sense fiendish corruption from any of the villagers.

Back in the tavern Sae cheerfully informed them that their group has been hired. Reria proudly announced that she not only managed to successfully copy the spell to her spellbook but also had time to set basic wards around their rooms.

Thaleus hadn’t learned anything plane-breaking but was able to confirm exceptional growth in skills of those who joined the Church of Sudomeas; at least in rumours.

A villager who had barely grasped how to draw even the most basic runes became renowned by hunters when they found out that arrows engraved by him could easily pierce hides of forest beasts. Not to mention stories about people who were known to have never fought before wielding their weapons proficiently.

The stories have been spreading around for some time now; by the table next to Ion’s party sat a group of teenagers from a nearby village, encouraged by the rumours to join the Church of Sudomeas.

“Ion, do you still have those papers Silverfords’ gave us?” Sae asked.

“The ones you were looking to search for Dworcen civilisation?” she nodded. “Yes, what for? We’ve agreed to leave the mountains alone. Even monsters are fleeing from there because of the approaching winter.”

“Nah, I remember some of them mentioning old Riksian fortifications. Maybe I will be able to find any information about or even plan of the nearby ruined castle. No great hopes, though. Still, if we don’t find anything tomorrow, I’d like to check how feasible sneaking inside would be. Might use some scouting next night…”

When there were no pressing matters left to discuss, Ion left Sae with papers she wished for and headed towards the two rooms their group managed to get.

The wards Reria have drawn were nothing compared to how their room in Silverfords’ manor had been protected; only a basic alarm and a few anti-divination and silence runes he had shown her back then.

Ion added some symbols himself, until he deemed the wards could cause at least slight inconvenience to someone trying to scry on their room. Anything more would require more time and energy… and he felt exhausted already.

Lying in the bed, he came to a realisation that they screwed up.

They should have discussed everything in the area secured with silence and anti-divination wards. Beginning from their talk with Niklas, through his chat with Dorian and finishing on whispering at the table in the inn. Someone could have been spying them.

‘No, I’m overreacting,’ Ion shook his head.

If someone scryed on them, Reria or he would have at least felt that something was wrong. At least if the diviner wasn’t much more proficient, in which case even wards wouldn’t help them.

Slightly calmer, his thoughts wandered towards the talk with Josh. Even assuming that followers of Sudomeas were possessed, he still had no clue how their condition could be compared to his. At least Protection from Evil that he casted on himself wasn’t causing any adverse reactions, something the man selling them scrolls claimed would happen when used on a possessed.

He decided that Sae’s strange behaviour was her just being herself and not a concern to him.

Then there was a matter of Dorian. He was a half-elf. Lorastilians were known because of their prejudice towards elves. He ran away from the country, with a precious sword, apparently some family treasure. It was strange before, but now he has learned that apparently, Dorian’s brother had some ties with the country most renowned paladin order.

It just didn’t add up. Even if it wasn’t of immediate concern to Ion, he wondered what was he missing…

Maybe pondering this problem would be enough to keep his nightmares and visions from happening tonight?