When he had set off deeper into Kaien territory, Chatsu had expected to finish his business at one of the major cities within the nation. What he hadn’t expected was to be redirected all the way to the Grand Church of Glan smack dab in the middle of the capital. At the very least, even at a distance from the city, the Grand Church was easily visible as it rose above all the buildings around it. He wished he wouldn’t run into any trouble on his way to his destination, but the massive populations of these places usually meant there was someone who wanted to cause him some grief, for one reason or another. At the very least the bound scroll in his pack would let him deal with any officials without trouble.
“A mercenary? And what makes you qualified?”
“Allow me to demonstrate.”
“Very well. There should be a duo available.”
Unsurprisingly, there were no words exchanged between the two sides as the battle raged on, only the roar of magic and the rings of weapons clashing.. The match was fierce enough that wasting breath would have been foolish; anything that needed to be said could come afterwards. For Chatsu, the pair he faced were impressive opponents. Individually he would have overwhelmed either of them in moments, but their teamwork was almost flawless. Still… it was a downhill battle for them all things considered. Forced onto the defensive, the paladin was reduced to keeping Chatsu from his partner while the sorcerer didn’t have the time to prepare a large spell; without his assistance the paladin wouldn’t last. Yet even the man’s quick incantations carried enormous power; blasts of electricity, spikes of earth as large as a man, creeping ice that would have entombed a horse whole. Yet they only served to delay and distract their opponent.
“That is enough!” The priest called out from atop the church’s stairs, having seen enough of the match. It wasn’t easy to stop a sword already in motion, but with a grimace Chatsu forced the blade to halt mid-swing. Pulling the weapon to his side, he sighed quietly before relaxing his posture and turning to the priest. “Laries. Antoine. Thank you.” Chatsu turned to catch the two men nod towards the priest, and he extended a hand towards the pair before they left.
“A nice spar.”
The sorcerer didn’t care much for the gesture, but the paladin grabbed the gauntlet-clad hand with his own and shook it. “Truly. It’s good to see someone like you joining the cause.” With that, the man gave him a nod before he joined his partner and they turned to go about their own business.
“That aside, I shall have a document for you soon. Please, come to the church tomorrow.”
It was a pleasant surprise that no one bothered him as he walked through the city streets. Oh, he got many looks, but it was inevitable with an appearance such as his and he had grown used to it. As long as the attention did not go much further than that he cared little about it. He could feel the guards’ stares as he approached the front of the church, but they did nothing to prevent him from entering the place of worship. Given what he saw inside, namely dozens of people milling about and attending to business, he guessed he wasn’t the first unusual individual to walk into the church.
He approached a man that appeared to be in charge of all this and before anything was spoken between the two he simply held the sealed scroll forwards. “A head priest’s seal? Let’s see how you managed to get that,” the man muttered as he broke the wax and quickly unrolled the parchment to scan it over. After a few moments, the man finally rolled the piece of paper back up and set it aside. “Well, good enough for me. You can wait around until the others arrive.”
Nodding, he stepped aside to clear away before looking around the building for a quiet spot in the midst of the activity. Given his taller stature it wasn’t too hard to see over the heads of everyone else and he quickly picked out an empty corner near the church’s entrance. It was a small comfort to finally put aside the weight of his sword and shield if only for a brief moment as he laid them against walls. With a deep breath, he pulled his helmet off and shook his head, tossing his hair about. The number of suspicious looks rose sharply at his Thao visage, but he ignored them as usual.
