182 The Church and Lydia.
The next morning came before everyone could know it. Arad stood and walked out first, heading to the city to check on Jack and Lydia. Aella remained in the house with Mira and Lydia.
***
A man yawned beside the inn. He could hear the low rumbling of hoves in the distance. He looked at the street and saw a moose rushing forward. “Heh?” He gasped, noticing Arad on top of it.
“Isn’t that Arad?” He gasped, moving out of the way.
Arad stooped beside the inn and guided Mc to the horse stable. CLACK! He couldn’t enter as his antlers hit the sides of the shed. He tried tilting his head but it will be uncomfortable to stay like that. “Can you wait outside?” Arad patted Mc.
“Brrrrrrrrr!”
“Good, I will be back soon.” Arad walked inside the in, pushing the door open. “William, how are Jack and Lydia?”
“Look who it is. Arad,” William smiled. AHH! The man sitting at the desk sighed, “It’s you, young man.”
Arad immediately noticed the frail old man. He was the owner of the plant shop. “Old man Cain, don’t tell me you’re here drinking in the morning.”
“Master Cain like to come here from time to time.” Arad flinched feeling a cold sweat drip on his back as he heard the words from the back. He looked at it as the maid serving Cain.
^Did I miss her?^
[Yeah. She was standing in the dark, silently breathing.]
“Jack and Lydia are doing fine. A priestess from the church came yesterday and tended to Lydia’s wounds. She will be fine.” William replied with a smile.
“Come, take a seat.” Cain waved the beer bottle as he called Arad in. “I doubt they will wake this early.”
Arad walked toward the counter and sat beside Cain. “Drinking in the morning is bad for your health.”
“Haha…” Cain laughed his guts out. “You said it before. Don’t worry about me. What about you kids almost getting yourselves killed?”
“Give me something to drink.” Arad looked at the bartender. “Milk if possible.”
“Kids drink milk. Men drink beer,” Cain glared at Arad.
“If I was to choose between my bones and what people think, I would choose my bones.” Arad smiled as he took the milk mug from William.
Cain smiled. “A smart young man. Kids need to take care of their bodies. Don’t get into bad habits like me.” Thud! He patted Arad’s back.
“What did you come here? Memories?” Arad looked at the stairs as he heard movement in Jack’s room. He opened the door.
Cain emptied his bottle in his throat like it was a sink. “Mosquitoes have been buzzing around my head. I find it hard to get a good night’s sleep.”𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝘦𝘵
Thud! A large man wearing church clothes stood behind Arad and Cain. “You there. Young man.” The man spoke in a deep voice.
Arad and Cain turned to glare at the man.
“Are you Arad the leader of Jack’s party?” The man glared at Arad.
“And who’s asking?”
“Arnold, a high priest from the church.” The man smiled. And then pulled a crystal ball from his pocket. “The church has been a bit restless about Jack and Lydia. They fear losing such a powerful paladin due to him.”
“I see. Why are you speaking to me and not him?” Arad glared at the man.
“The young man here is right. You should be speaking to Jack, right?” Cain glared at the man with one eye.
“The man has a criminal track record. The church can ignore the whole ordeal if someone trustworthy and vouched for him from the party.” The man showed the crystal ball. “I’m sure you have a clean record. As the party leader, I want you to promise that Lydia will remain safe.”
Arad nodded. “Yeah, she technically joined the party. But as an adventurer, I can’t promise her safety.”
“The church is fearful that she almost died in her first quest with you. And she was the only one with major injuries. The higher-ups are restless. They think you’re party is trying to kill her and weaken the church.”
Arad scratched his head. “Only touching the ball will do?”
[Don’t touch the ball. It will signal your wyrmwolf and vampire bloodlines.]
Arad stopped his hand mid-motion. He glared at the man. A vampire isn’t something the church would want to speak with. ^This is bad. I need to get out of this.^
[Stall him for a minute. I will think of a way out.]
“Hoho!” Cain laughed, touching the ball. “Does it tell how good you were?”
The crystal ball flashed green. “What does it mean?” Cain looked at Arnold with sparkling eyes.
Arnold cleared his throat. “You are clear. But, green means you had a lot of women in your past. A womanizer.” He sighed.
Cain laughed. “Now that you reminded me, I do have a lot of power in me.”
As Cain laughed, he grabbed Arad’s hand and put it on the ball. ^Old man! Arad growled inside, surprised at how the frail Cain yanked his arm.^
[Damn it!]
The ball flashed white with a faint blue and red light. Arnold smiled. “Innocent, valor and burning courage. You have a sly part but’s necessary for adventurers to survive. The church will be satisfied with this.”
Arad blinked twice, neither he nor Mom could believe what they saw.
Arnold marked the result and hid the ball. “I will be going now to hand the result to the church. Please take care of Lydia from now on.” He smiled, “With your result, could you consider becoming a paladin?”
“I’m already a sorcerer.” Arad sighed.
“That’s a shame,” Arnold smiled. “If you wanted anything done in the church, please ask for me.” He then left.
***
Arad took a deep breath and glared at Cain. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. A small trick.” Cain lifted his shaking finger with a spark of magic on it.
William stared at them. “That’s called a personality orb. It’s used to identify criminals. How could you overwrite a holy object with magic? The underworld would hunt you down for that knowledge.”
Cain waved his hand, “It’s nothing I can teach.” He looked at Arad with a smile.
“Gods mess with you, tell me and I will smack them with my cane.” Cain giggled, swinging his cane and almost hitting the bottles on the desk.
“Please stop!” William took Cain’s cane before he could smash some bottles.
Thud! Jack walked downstairs with Lydia leaning on his shoulder. Her whole body is covered in bandages beneath her plain white dress.