A Hand-Woven Universe

Sally and Rae got looks from many of the senior members residing in the temple. It seemed many of them recognized a few of the symbols and ephemera on their clothing. Some stopped them to exchange greetings and ask about situations at head-quarters which the acolytes didn"t know about. Some even inquired about people who they held in common.

Feylin and Sarah stayed silent through most of it, asking a few questions about Burian and the grand-temple but otherwise having nothing to share.

When the seniors saw the two acolytes with their weapons walking alongside the Burian students, they had a general sense of what was going on, extending their congratulations and wishing them safe travels.

Sarah walked with the pole-mace strapped to her back. It was a weird feeling leaving her off-balance and slightly disorientated. However, Rae showed her numerous ways to strap it to her body to decrease the awkwardness. When Sarah watched Rae walk with her spear, it left her in awe. The way Raelith walked made it seem as though she wasn"t even enc.u.mbered by it. Sally also wore her weapons with a similar finesse. They were both very practiced with their movements.

Sarah, on the other hand, was extremely conscious of her weapon. Although it felt comfortable enough, it was so large that she constantly felt she was going to trip over it.

Feylin had it a bit easier. Sword and shield were worn not too differently from a mace and shield set, which all acolytes receive the most basic training in. His hand rested at the hilt of his sword constantly to keep it from swinging too much at his waist. He still needed time to become adept at walking with it.

Sally knocked on the door to Jakobson"s office, entering when Tobias called out. All four piled inside. Although the room was large enough to fit ten people easily, Tobias"s ma.s.sive size, along with Rae"s and Sarah"s heights, made the room feel more crowded.

"How did it go you two?" Jakobson said, gesturing at their weapons.

"It went okay. Rae helped us choose our tools." Sarah responded coolly, trying to pick out any clues to Jakobson"s and Tobias"s conversation. Tobias looked both of the acolytes up and down. He knew Rae was a weapons expert, given her experience and capability he was sure their weapons would be well suited to them.

"Alright. Everyone take a seat, we will explain what we can about the mission as well as giving you a brief overview of what can be expected." Tobias took the lead. He talked with Jakobson for the time that the other four were gone, telling him about some of the background to the mission that he wouldn"t be telling the acolytes. Out of respect.

Jakobson was a little troubled by the a.s.signment, however after talking with Tobias he had faith that the paladin would be able to keep them safe until they return. There seemed to be larger forces at play here… but he knew nothing could be done. Sarah and Feylin were young, but they were not children anymore. He could not protect them forever.

Everyone sat down, including the large paladin. Sarah and Feylin both felt anxious. Sarah focused on her breathing while waiting for the conversation to begin. She always believed she would be able to live her life quietly at the temple. However, it would be a lie if there wasn"t something inside of her waking up at the thought of a change of pace. Ultimately it depended on what the change is.

Jakobson cleared his throat and all eyes fell on him. Next to him sat Sally and Raelith.

"A year and a half ago, five of us left from the grand-temple next to the capital in the common lands." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he remembered back. "Myself, a grand-cleric, a student paladin, Rae and Sally."

"During the travel, while crossing into the southern lands we encountered a cave system which we thought to use as a bypa.s.s for the barren mountains. It was an old-traveled route that I was vaguely familiar with from my time as an adventurer.

We weren"t aware that the caves underneath the mountain were recently occupied by a collection of drow… due to our unpreparedness we had to fight our way through." A heavy sighed crossed the s.p.a.ce. "In the process we lost both Jarenn, and Rile." The paladin grit his teeth, thinking of the injustice of his companions" deaths.

"Anyways… from there we continued on relatively easy to here. The last temple before entering the desolate land of the cliffs at the south-western edge."

Feylin and Sarah listened carefully, attempting to place the locations into their minds. Neither were very knowledgeable about the geography of the world. The known world spanned an immense distance. It was presumed that if you started at any one edge, and attempted to trek to the other without making use of magic or flight or other tools, years would pa.s.s before you saw ocean again.

The paladin reached into his shirt under his armor and pulled out a necklace in the shape of a sun. In the center of the necklace there was a blue stone the likes of which Feylin and Sarah had never seen. When Jakobson saw it his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Well. That"s certainly expensive." Jakobson choked. His voice cracked with disbelief. Sarah couldn"t even imagine how expensive it must be for Jakobson to find it weird that a grand-paladin had it. As far as she was concerned, he was probably in ownership of more wealth than she had seen her entire life.

"Mm." Tobias twisted the chain and when the sun spun around, suddenly it didn"t look like a sun anymore, but like a crescent moon. The blue stone floated in the center cupped by the moon. As it continued to spin the moon disappeared and the sun reformed. There was no shimmer of magic involved. It must have been an extremely high-level item. Feylin and Sarah were both enraptured by it.

"This is why we are here. I probably shouldn"t tell you this, but oh well. A woman who I will not name with ties to the grand-priest requested an exchange of services. She would owe him a favor, if he would obtain what was at the other end of this necklace." His voice was gruff. This whole a.s.signment had been one annoyance after the next, and he did not appreciate the fact that services of the Order were sold out. However, when he thought of the ident.i.ty of the woman, it wasn"t like he couldn"t understand. There were very few individuals in the whole world who could receive her favor.

"The stone at the center of the necklace is an extremely rare stone of pure elemental energy. This one particularly is an Infinite Water Stone. Using certain methods, it creates an endless supply of water using very little energy. No one knows how they are made or where they come from. Sometimes they are merely found. It is said that they occur naturally under circ.u.mstances so specific that even an epoch of research is unable to duplicate it."

"What about the sun and the moon?" Feylin asked, enraptured by the constant change. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn"t see the moment it switched from being a sun to a moon.

"The necklace the stone is set in is an incomparably fine piece of craftsmanship to be sure. Most like a Master Dwarven Smith or maybe even a Gnome of some sort. However, with enough money you could afford to buy one. The same can"t be said for the stone itself." Tobias gladly responded to Feylins" question. It was important he start teaching them a bit about the world, especially if they decided to join them on the return to headquarters.

"Wait, did you say the grand-priest?" Sarah"s brain whiplashed as she realized what Tobias had said. The grand-priest was the supreme existence within the order of life. They were on a mission from the grand-priest…

"Yes. In exchange for a favor, grand-priest Elias a.s.signed me to the task along with 4 men of my choosing from the Burian chapter…" His voice trailed off for a moment, in the back of his mind he severely regretted the loss of Jarenn and Rile. He wondered if he had chosen differently, if the outcome would have been different.
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After a silent moment he shook his head, putting those thoughts out of mind with a short prayer.