Gren decided to go with Jessica to the mayor"s office before they went to the Church. The one hundred gold coins were already placed in their own sack. Jessica decided that it would be best to have someone strong with them as an escort since they"d be carrying such a large amount of money. Gren agreed with Jessica and decided to take Jasmine and Ahk with them but in the end Jasmine couldn"t go with them.The group heading out this time was Gren, Jessica, Ahk, and an overly-excited centaur. Jasmine was left behind to watch the house and Estella went missing after getting her pet. Since this was the second time she was pulling the carriage, Gren decided to finally ask the small centaur her name before they set off.
"My name is Yasinia, Young Master. I"m happy that you have allowed me to pull the carriage yet again." It seems like she enjoyed pulling the carriage. Gren thought that was odd but back on Earth there were people that enjoyed watching trains so maybe it wasn"t that odd. Her bottom half looked like a donkey so she wouldn"t be able to pull anything larger than the carriage that Jessica owns but he"d have to make sure there was always something that she could pull around if she enjoyed it. He wanted the girls to be happy, after all.
Ahk accepted the request to escort the group without raising a fuss. An escort was still a role that a warrior would have so she wouldn"t turn it down. She seemed eager to try out her new axe as she swung it in the courtyard. Gren noticed that the poor dryad was staring in horror at Ahk"s direction. "Ahk, you"ll get a chance to swing your axe later. You"re scaring the dryad." He felt bad for the dryad since she had been terrified two days in a row now. He would have to remember to keep a close eye on her to make sure nothing hurt her.
After Ahk was done with her practice swings they were ready to go. Jessica and Gren rode on the carriage pulled by Yasinia while Ahk followed by their side; shouldering her new axe with one hand.
The trip to the mayor"s office was uneventful. Jessica went in with the letter from the Regent and paid the fine. Gren didn"t go in with her but she came out with a signed and stamped letter stating that she no longer owed the kingdom. The original letter was signed as well. Gren was surprised at how quick it was but with that out of the way they could finally get him to a healer.
The Church of Healing Light based in Adierton had a large cathedral. The front of the cathedral had three pointy spires. Just in front of the cathedral"s large door was a familiar-looking statue; it looked identical to the ma.s.sive statue that he found under Newton if you ignored that this one was much smaller.
There was nowhere designated to park the carriage but there were no buildings in the immediate vacinity of the cathedral. Jessica told Yasinia to park anywhere she liked and the carriage quickly came to a stop. The carriage couldn"t be left alone so Gren had Yasinia and Ahk stay with it.
Jessica helped Gren get down from the carriage and brought him to the front of the cathedral. There was a woman dressed the same way as the statue; standing in front of the door to greet the visitors to the cathedral. Gren couldn"t tell what she looked like thanks to the veil.
"May the Mother"s light guide you to the path of salvation." The woman, likely a nun, greeted Gren and Jessica when they got close. Gren wasn"t good with religion back when he was still Tommy. The orphanage he grew up in was religious but it seemed like the G.o.d they worshipped was hypocritical.
Each of the kids there had been abandoned, lost the people that they loved, or experienced something traumatic in order to end up as an orphan. If their G.o.d was really merciful then Gren would hate to meet one full of wrath. This thought and the lack of evidence caused him to stop believing in G.o.ds as he grew up. However, things changed after he died.
He now knew that G.o.ds or G.o.dlike beings existed. The system, magic, and even his own existence couldn"t be explained through science. A statue of this G.o.ddess appeared in the place where he was reborn so he decided to be respectful to her, thinking that she might have something to do with his resurrection. "Thank you for your words, Sister. Can you guide me to a healer?"
"The priestesses inside can guide you. I am but a humble acolyte here to spread the Mother"s word to those that seek her Light." Jessica helped Gren into the cathedral to go find someone that could help him.
The inside was a pure white stone with gold trim and decorations. On the ceiling was a large painting of a woman--presumably their G.o.ddess--spreading some kind of green aura over the ma.s.ses below her. Gren wondered if healing magic actually gave off a green light while staring at it.
A priestess was quick to reach Gren and Jessica. "Greetings. Are you here to be healed?" The priestess could tell that Gren was injured but she asked anyways to be polite.
"Yes, can you guide me to a healer?" Gren couldn"t wait to get rid of the pain in his foot. The injury was getting in the way.
"Certainly. Follow me." This priestess was quick at getting to the point which is something that Gren appreciated. She even traveled at a pace that was just slow enough to allow Gren and Jessica to keep up.
The priestess brought them through a hallway and into one of the rooms. Each of the rooms had an arch covered with an opaque cloth to give them privacy. Inside of the room was a chair, a washbasin, and some towels. "The healer will only see you after you"ve been cleaned and have paid the fifteen gold coins."
Gren pulled out the coins and handed them to the priestess. "For an extra gold you can have someone prepare the water for you and for another ten gold coins you can be washed personally by the acolytes." Gren pulled out another eleven gold coins and gave them to the priestess. "Thank you for your generous donations. I will go inform the girls that are going to a.s.sist you today."
Gren and Jessica were left alone with each other in the room. "Do you know what you"ve just done?" Gren didn"t respond and waited for Jessica to continue. "The acolytes can only become priestesses by getting pregnant with a child but they"re forbidden to marry. The only men they can meet in private are the ones that pay to be washed by them. They get to choose whether or not to have s.e.x with a man but I already know that they"ll decide to have your child."
"Oh, you think I"m that irresistible to women?" Gren was joking around with Jessica and had his hand on his chin while smirking.
"There are many women that won"t find you irresistible due to your age but I can guarantee that any woman that worships the Mother will want to have your child." Jessica brushed Gren"s hair from his face to get a better look at him. "I haven"t seen the painting of the Mother that shows her face but everyone knows about her eyes. It"s said that she has beautiful emerald green eyes just like yours. When I first saw them I even wondered if you were her child."
Gren noticed that Jessica was talking about this Mother as if she really existed. "Have people seen the Mother before?" Gren wasn"t going to just ask if the G.o.ddess everyone seemed to worship was real; especially in her place of worship.
Jessica thought about something. "Not for a while. n.o.body has seen her these past fifty or so years. Before then she could be seen going around from city to city healing people. I don"t mean to brag but my grandma was personally healed by her back then." Gren couldn"t confirm whether or not she really existed but someone that was at least sixty might have met her in person.
"If that was fifty years ago then she must look old by now." Gren wasn"t expecting a head chop from Jessica; it seemed that he was getting those more often.
Jessica laughed before explaining why he deserved that head chop. "I don"t think that she would have aged much during that time. After all, it has been over one thousand years since she first appeared. Her pregnancy has lasted for hundreds of years--possibly longer. A G.o.ddess isn"t going to age after a mere fifty years."
A short while after Gren and Jessica"s conversation, a group of five women wearing the Church of Healing Light"s signature outfit entered the room. Most of them wore the regular white robes and veils while the shortest one wore a blue robe and veil. "Please take off your clothes so that we can get started."