[quote=@Smystar99]"You were the only person that had ever shown me compassion and care. I guess there was a part of me that wouldn't have been able to handle your rejection. The order was your calling, your world. You separated yourself from your own family to go into service. I knew it would be hard to understand why I couldn't. I'm sorry I wasn't better to you even so Osric. I should have told you I was alive at least. The risk of getting caught kept me silent." [/quote]

Lord Omida said: The man of knowledge speaks, while the man of wisdom listens.

So Osric sat quietly as his old friend told her tale, fiddling idly with the strand of prayer beads that hung from his belt. Hearing it did bring much to clear the matter in his mind; but he found his heart was still confused. Though he could now understand why he had been left uninformed of her flight, the memory of it was still bitter. And the matter of abandoning the Order, that was harder still. But she was here now, and intended to help in accomplishing a holy quest. Was that not a worthy thing?

Osric remained silent for a long space after Sage had finished, considering his words carefully.

“You should know that I came to hate you, after you left,” he said at last, “but there is no fire like hatred – Lord Omida said that, though I expect you remember your catechism – and I did not wish to be consumed by it. Just as well, I never could stay angry at you for very long.”

He sighed, softly, and reached out to lay a hand on Sage's shoulder.

“For all it is worth, I forgive you, and I pray you forgive my own bitterness toward you.”

He wondered how she might take a lecture on repentance and forgiveness at that moment. Though she had abandoned the Order, nothing she had said seemed to indicate a total break from the Faith. In such a case the Seven Virtues and the Three Jewels would be worth mentioning, certainly; or perhaps the Parable of the Roofless Castle? He would have to pick something, and couldn't drone on forever. That never won anyone over.

Before he could decide on a topic his train of thought was interrupted.

[quote=@Blizz]"What in Heaven's damned name is there a kid on this pilgrimage of yours for?" She asked, as she made her presence properly known. "Heard about your plan to take that cup to the priory. I've been that way before, and you damn sure aren't surviving between the two of you. Name's Katrina. Came to keep you from getting yourself killed past the barrier." Her arms were crossed, and she had something of a resting bitch face going on. Not a particularly soft atmosphere to give off for first impressions.[/quote]

Osric grit his teeth at the flagrant blasphemy, but rose to his feet with the aid of his walking stick for a better look at the woman. Her red eyes struck him at once. They were surprising, though unfortunately not unknown to him. He had seen many children with them in his early days as a monk, as those that had them were often in and out of the infirmary. Such strange malformations often occurred alongside others that were more dangerous.

Despite her small frame, she also had something of a dangerous air about her. This effect was heightened, perhaps, by her low speech and her dismissive attitude. People in the Seven Villages simply did not address monks with such blatant contempt. For his part, Osric was too curious to mind the disrespect.

“You have really been as far as Aldren Priory?” he asked, taking a few steps toward his pack horse, “I praise Heaven that we have so well-traveled a volunteer. But I do not think we are so helpless as you believe.”

Opening one of the bags on the horse's back he pulled out a long dagger, nearly a foot long, with both handle and sheath inlaid with shining jewels. Smiling thinly, he drew the blade forth. Anyone sensitive to magic would be able to feel its power as it flashed out into the sunlight.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked, turning toward Katrina before answering his own question, “It is a tool for demon-slaying, forged long ago before Lord Omida first closed the gates of Hell. If you can get close enough to a demon, you can kill it with this as easily as you might dispatch a rabbit. In elder days it would have been worth a small fortune in gold, but now it is beyond price; we have several of them, more than enough for everyone.”

Osric laughed softly. “I have heard that demon-lords actually seek these out to dispose of rivals. The blades would burn them just as holy water does, or perhaps worse. I suppose the handles must not be dangerous to them.” He paused, dipping his head in a shallow bow.

“I am sorry, but I seem to have forgotten my manners. This [i]kid[/i], as you call her, is Sage Magus; I assume you already know that I am Brother Osric Saint-Remigius.”