Goblinsbane Ch. 01: Pilgrimage

"Because I have a way for you to enjoy more pay days like today," Sabine replied, smoothly. Right away, she saw the light of interest in Eredwal's eyes, and she knew she got him. "I require your services, and as a representative of the Mirean Faith, I can guarantee you will receive generous compensation for your time."

Eredwal appeared to sober up, instantly. He stared at the priestess for several moments without saying anything. Then he shared a look with Marteena that Sabine could tell meant something important. She knew better than to pry, however.

Handing his mug to Marteena, Eredwal patted her on her firm, round behind to get her off his lap. "I'd better listen to the sister's offer."

Marteena stood. Before letting Eredwal go past, she placed her palm to his chest, leaned in close and whispered. "All right. But don't be too long, Waly. We have more celebrating to do."

Eredwal smiled and shared another meaningful look with her, only this time the meaning was clearly salacious in nature. Sabine began to walk towards the exit in case the two decided to make out again, which she definitely did not want to watch.

Outside, Kassus waited across the street in front of a closed store. Once Sister Sabine and Eredwal joined him, Sabine wasted no more time in explaining herself.

"I have received my instructions from Mirea. She has told me to travel with you. If you allow Kassus and I to be your companions, the temple of Mirea will pay you what you were paid today at the end of each full month we are together."

Sabine noticed that Kassus was staring at her with a curious expression on his face. She understood what it meant without having to ask: he was wondering why she described the miracle with Mirea in such a brief, simple manner. She had her reasons, but now was not the time to explain them.

Eredwal scrunched up his lips and stroked his stubbly chin, thoughtfully. "I'd be a fool not to accept such a generous offer. Why so much? Is it because Frowny McMeanFace over here is that unpleasant to be around?"

"Why do you insist on testing my patience, Goblinsbane?" When Kassus spat out Eredwal's title, he did so with more rancor than he intended. Thankfully, rather than being offended, the warrior just laughed.

"You've got to learn to relax, big man. Not only will you give those scowl muscles a rest, but a more laid back attitude will help you live longer."

Before the two of them could begin to really fight, Sabine cut in. "What do you say, Goblinsbane?" She said the word far more respectfully than Kassus had. "Do you accept our offer?"

"Like i said, I'd be a fool not to. And it's been a long time since I traveled with a pocket healer. In my line of work, you folks always come in handy.

"But before we make anything official, I've got some questions: Your goddess actually commanded you to travel with me? Was I really the subject of your vision."

"Something like that, yes."

"Huh. I'm flattered. I've never been part of someone's vision quest before, at least not as far as I know.

"The pay is so high - why? Because I'll have to babysit you two all the time? You can't carry your own weight?"

"I can carry my own weight and your weight, too, if I must!" Kassus replied.

Patiently, Sabine set her hand on Kassus' upper arm, telling him without words to calm down. "I'll admit, I am not familiar with a lifestyle such as yours. There will be much for me to learn. However, I am a quick study, a hard worker, and like you said, you could use a healer. And Kassus knows how to fight. Two warriors are better than one, yes?"

"Yeah, of course."

Nodding, Sabine continued. "And although I am no warrior, I am also no stranger to the sight of battle and death. I was a healer during the War of the Wilted Rose. I assure you, you will not need to babysit either of us. We will carry our own weight."

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that." Eredwal grinned at Kassus, obviously still messing with him. "I wanna make sure I've got this right: At the end of each month, I will get a pouch full of gold just like the one I got for saving both of your asses. There were 50 gold pieces there, by the way. And all I have to do is let you tag along with me?"

Sabine nodded.

"Will I need to take you someplace specific? Just so you know, although I occasionally do go on long journeys, for the most part I operate in or around Vesper. A lot of my time is spent clearing out goblinoids from the Falo Forest or other nearby regions whenever their numbers get to big."

"I understand. I will not rule out the possibility that we will need to go somewhere specific in the future. But for now, I've been instructed to follow you. So whatever plans you have now will go unchanged, except now you'll have some company."

"Fine. We have a deal." Eredwal answered a bit too eagerly, Sabine noticed. She suspected he had made up his mind before he even stepped out of the inn. Still, it was a relief to hear him agree and to shake his hand to seal the deal.

She couldn't help but smile at him. "Thank you, Eredwal. I promise that Kassus and I will not get in your way. We will be of great help to you."

"Again, we'll see about that."

Sister Sabine removed the apple from her robes. "Do either of you have a knife? To commemorate this new partnership, I would like to split this gift that Mother Mirea has given us."

"Sure. Here you go." Eredwal whipped out a curved knife from his belt and handed it to her with a flourish. Sabine recognized it as the same knife he had used to cut off goblin ears in Falo Forest, but she didn't say anything. She sliced the apple into three roughly equal pieces and handed a piece to each of the two men.

"Cheers," Eredwal said once he got his slice, and without waiting for the other two, he took a big bite out of it.

Sabine watched the Goblinsbane's reaction, carefully. Eredwal did not experience ecstasy like she did when she took a bite of the sacred apple. Instead, he appeared to enjoy it as though it were a normal fruit.

With his mouth full, he said, "You know, I normally don't like apples. But this is pretty good. Very juicy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a priestess of the field would access to fruit that's better-than-average."

Eredwal was not like her - that much had been clear since they first met. But now, she also knew that there was hope for him.

"I look forward to working with you, Eredwal. Cheers." Sister Sabine smiled and took a bite out of the gift given to them by Mirea.