Mobilization

Harold made a short bow and left the room. If I am not mistaken, Stephan was the guard I met at the village entrance.

"I apologize for my behavior. I was not expecting that you were a real cleric because I thought that you were some quack mimicking clerical powers."

Lady Mystral was sincere in her apology. However, I was still puzzled. "Why would I pretend to be a cleric? Actually, why anyone would?"

"Did you know about the temples?" she asked me.

For some reason, I felt that this was a loaded question. Her true question was something else, but I couldn't detect exactly what she was trying to uncover.

"No, I receive a mission from my patron deities to arrive at Wheatstone," I replied. When you don't know what to say, answer with the truth.

She sighed with relief. "Did you receive a mission from the gods directly?" She had an emphasis in her voice that I was not there until now. The maids were in unrest, and Jel asked me if everything was alright.

"Yes, I did." The truth might affect her negatively, as disclosing it would be unwise. After all, she thought that I was a quack. But if I told her that I am an apostle of those gods and that my actual mission is to develop this land and prevent some terrible oracle from happening, she might have a heart attack.

She put a hand in her head and said, "Sir Rufus, you seem to be unaware of some basic background about your mission and, what is particularly disturbing, about your clerical powers."

One may say that she was revealing that I was a fraud to the whole world. The worst nightmare of a person who suffers from impostor syndrome. However, her tone was quite the opposite of that because she was worried about my lack of self-understanding.

"I must confess that I didn't understand completely why I was designated for Wheatstone."

"I would not dare to say what the gods were thinking, but I can, at least, offer you a hint. The temples of Wheatstone are dedicated to Hermes and Asclepius." She made a pause to take a sip of her tea and then continued. "These temples are sealed, in the magical concept of the word. Some mages had tried to break this seal, obviously in vain."

"So, it is not possible to enter the temples?"

"No, the last priests who served those temples sealed the temple until the appointment of a new cleric. According to the Mystral House historical records, this happened two centuries ago, and since then, no priest has been assigned."

"Personally, I didn't even meet a cleric so far in my entire life. That's why I was skeptical when you announced that you were one."

My worldview crumbled before me, and there were no clerics in the past two centuries. What happened to Midgard?

"Why? No clerics? Has religion lost interest? Gods ceased their existence?"

My outburst reinforced her view that I was some kind of madman. "Sir Rufus, people still believe in gods, less than in the past, but without clerics."

I was aghast by this: after two hundred years, no cleric was appointed. And, from the form in which she was speaking, I am positive that something prevented clerical nominations. This was something that nobody told me in Olympus because they didn't disclose the current situation of their faith here, as they just said that they were not common.

Possibly, this is related to the issues that allowed them to transmigrate me to Midgard. I would need to investigate.

"Lady Mystral, if you would allow me a question,"

"Yes, go ahead."

"How did you know that I was a cleric because of my staff summoning?"

"Oh that. Yes, you used something that I never saw before; I don't know if my husband mentioned it. But I am a mage, and despite not being an academy professor, I can recognize arcane spell casting. And what you used—if it were from the arcane tree, I would be astonished."

Some pieces are fitting in now; if people do not know the rudiments of divine spell casting, the only way to perform extraordinary feats is through arcane means. And summoning is a highly complex topic that requires a lot of concentration. I can also cast arcane spells, but to summon something, I would need some time to prepare. Perhaps some hours? It was clear why she concluded that I was a true cleric.

Divine magic follows other rules, as they rely on power concessions from the gods to mortals. This was actually incorrect because while I was living in Olympus, I understood that only entry-level priests borrowed power from their gods. Divine power emerges based on how attuned the individual is to their divine goals. Even an exiled cleric, if he upholds his original creed, will have his divine powers. Naturally, there are some rules and constraints, but the general rule is that.

Moreover, if a cleric upholds his creed to a certain extent, he will develop divinity and access Authorities whose powers can be employed more freely than divine spell casting.

Digression made, returning to Lady Mystral surprise. I took the staff in my hand and delivered it to her while saying, "It is for you, Lady Mystral. Think of it as a token of gratitude for receiving us at your home."

Her face stiffened in surprise once again, but she accepted my gift. "I… Thank you, Sir Rufus."

Maybe, should I have summoned something more appropriate for the baron's spouse?

Someone started knocking on the door, and the maid went to see who it was. She opened the door, and we could see the butler, Harold, accompanied by the Guard Stephan.

They entered the room, and Stephan made a bow towards Lady Mystral. Then he said, "Have you called me, milady?"

"Yes, did Harold brief you on the way?" She asked Stephan, but it was Harold who nodded, answering her silently.

"Good, you can prepare the horses. We are leaving to rescue my husband's caravan."

Aren't they overreacting a bit? Again, the undead threat might be worse than I thought. If clerics are rare, it means that they only have arcane means to deal with them. Which severely constrains their attack options. Necromancy is an arcane school—a forbidden one—that is countered by dispel procedures.

Holy power, or divine good, turns the necromancy void, dispelling it and preventing new usages over the same body. On the other hand, devil powers, or divine evil, can negate arcane dispelling, which makes fighting the undead a very difficult task. Of course, for arcane spellcaster only, clerics still rebuke them normally.

I turned to Jel and Matila, "We arrived at our destination. However, due to the undead, they are going to bring that caravan back." I was shortening too much, but I will explain later.

"I would like that you and Matila remain here. I will ask for support from Lady Mystral and if I could follow them until the caravan." Jel listened to me and nodded. I think she was exhausted from hearing a foreign language all the time and being a silent escort.

"I gladly support them if you are going to help us, sir Rufus." Lady Mystral answered me using the forest goblin language.

We were surprised by Lady Mystral's words. She was not fluent, but her words were easily comprehended by us. The curious point was that, despite my automatic translator feature, I could perceive that she used the goblin language, not the human one.

"Impressive that you know their language, Lady Mystral. And I thank you if you do that, and, as a priest of Asclepius, a god that abhors the undead, I am honored to join your forces."

Lady Mystral showed, for the first time, a genuine smile. "I am truly sad to have misjudged you. If Stephan hadn't sent Rick with you, I would have dismissed you and demanded that you come back tomorrow for a regular audience."

"Two goblins and a priest. It is really an awkward vision; if Sir Rufus had not shown us the true light, we would be lost in the darkness." Jel started to preach to Lady Mystral before I noticed. Her first exchange with someone else is to say how magnificent god's guidance is.

"I would love to see that true light, Sir Rufus." Lady Mystral genuinely requested. I guess the energy that Jel spoke of can convince even devils to attune themselves.

"I will become a priestess under Sir Rufus's tutelage." Jel spoke proudly.

"Me too!" Matila said it with her cheeks puffed. The scene was a warm banter for the tense situation, as we four were laughing while the other people were exchanging glances and shrugging their shoulders.

---

After explaining to Matila and Jel that they should stay behind, especially because they are exhausted, as well as Lady Mystral who had the same worry. However, I was no longer a regular mortal soul, but I was starting to walk the higher beings' path. Therefore, I had some abnormal endurance levels. Nonetheless, I believe that currently I am being sustained by my Authority of Healing whose passion for undead cleansing surpassed any other thing I felt.

If I compared it with something else, the Authority gave me a sense of self-fulfillment similar to when one finds his passion. Lady Mystral explained that we were going to use some battle horses to reach the caravan, and she was truly irritated when she noticed that her husband did not give me horses.

I explained that their scouting capabilities would be limited. But my first issue arrived: horses. I knew that at some point I would have to ride one, I knew how to mount. Although I had done that when I was a child on Earth in riding classes for children.

At Olympus, I didn't have the opportunity to learn. I had many things to read, which, by the way, aren't barely enough. I guess nobody can substitute a good teacher and practical experience. Long live empirical learning!

Several guards were called during the night, and they were sluggish. I think they were all going to sleep or were already sleeping when the draft was made. Interesting enough, they did not seem mad or irritated; on the other hand, they revealed that they were honored.

We began to prepare ourselves for the rescue, although I still thought that they would be fine, unless there were more necromancers out there and other zombie mobs following them around. Again, I might be underestimating them because, so far, my encounters with the undead have been solved in very simplistic terms.

But let's not jinx it…