Reegar eats voraciously while Vorgahn and Aveline watch, amazed and disgusted, as he devours the bread and meat. Vorgahn pushed another mug, afraid the paladin might choke up. And Aveline raised her hand, trying to object or asked him to slow down. However, her disgust overwhelmed her, and she turned away.

  With a swift gulp, Reegar finished his drink, and a gratifying burp followed. “Now that’s what I call food. If I can sleep on a bed with a roof, this would be a perfect day.”

  “I thought a monster hunter would always travel, seeking refuge beneath the open sky or deep in caves. The great outdoors, those Kuzunohans, called it.”

  “Lemme tell you something about the great outdoors. They get real old, real fast.”

  Reegar stood up and subtly nodded at both Aveline and Vorghann before grabbing his room key. His room’s the farthest from the stairs, on the third floor. He shut the door; his gaze swept the room. A bed with frames, a wooden drawer, a few candle holders and a window.

  A room. His own room. He slowly took off his armor and lay on the bed with just his clothes. He forgot how nice it is to sleep without armor. It feels wrong somehow. He ignored the feeling and slumped on the bed, taking in the comfort.

  His mind drifted, his eyes closed, and he found himself in an open field. Sound of chirping birds greeted him, and he looked around. The place is peaceful, serene. Small trees stand amidst neatly trimmed grass. The trees sported red flowers, camellias. He knows this place, the camellia garden back in the Mount Camellia Monastery.

  A figure walked past him. She turns to him, red hair and wearing an Erisian robe with camellia patterns sewn along the edges. But she is faceless and Reegar didn’t feel any hostility from her. Her body language suggests that she is familiar with him.

  “I’m worried and eager. To explore a dungeon. The tales and treasure we will bring back. What about you? How do you feel?”

  Reegar opened his eyes and saw the wooden planks above him. He is in a room. His room. He pinched his temple and looked outside. The sky is red.

  Who was she? He can’t recall or remember. Someone from his past, he assumes. She wore an Erisian uniform. Classmates perhaps.

  I need some air.

  The paladin looked outside again. He put his armor back on and secured his weapon at his back. He went downstairs and saw Vorgahn was still behind the bar table. But Aveline is nowhere to be seen.

  He left the tavern, and he started strolling around. The bustling streets are full of life. The townsfolk engage in their daily lives, while adventurers wander around, checking the nearby board for jobs. A typical scene in a frontier town.

  His eyes caught the sight of a temple near the town square. With timber beams and posts, the small temple takes on the appearance of a circular garden.

  Flowers encircle the temple, with different types and colors acting as layers with wooden benches and small pavement placed between them. A wooden statue stood in the temple’s center. Petite female statue holding a basket filled with vegetables and fruit in her left hand and chicken in the right.

  Dhavani, The Goddess of Agriculture. Goddess of Bountiful Harvest. The Green Mother.

  It’s obvious why her temple is here. Farmers, hunters, ranchers and those who worked the lands prayed to her. Several townsfolk are here at the temple, sitting at the benches, offering prayers for their crops and animals.

  Behind the temple sits a round, wood structure, its roof adorned with flowers and grasses. Probably where the quarters and office are located.

  He noticed a few people, probably acolytes, tending the temple. Their simple clothes are of the earthly colors. One of them approached and greeted him. She has the build of a farmer, leaned and toned. Her skin bears a tan, as if she has been working in a field. “Welcome traveler. My name is Claire Benoit, priestess of this humble temple.”

  She noticed the amulet on Reegar’s neck. “A follower of Eris. Are you here to find respite?”

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  “Nah, I’m just looking around.”

  “Looking around?”

  “You know, taking in the scene. I just arrived and want to look around.”

  Reegar noticed an acolyte nearby trimming the flowers. She has a blank expression, neither happy nor sad. She carefully trimmed the flower and moved to the next, showing no emotion. Reegar pointed his finger at the acolyte and Claire looked at her.

  “That is Sara. An adventuring party found her in the forest. Injured and caked by what’s left of her party. They took her here to heal. And we did what we could.” Claire said, stroking Sara’s hair.

  There is no trace of her injury. Her movement, lacking urgency or character, does not impair her. “She has physically healed. But her mind…” Claire’s voice ended in a whisper. It troubled her.

  “Is it magical?”

  She shook her head in response. Reegar let out a sigh. Adventuring comes with both glamor and danger. Some listened to songs or stories, then set off on an unprepared quest for riches and glory. Usually it ends with them as a meal for the monsters, or worse.

  “Are you here to enter the forest?”

  Before Reegar could answer, an explosion rocked the town. Claire and Reegar witnessed a building engulfed in flames.

  “They’re here.”

  Reegar looked at Sara, still with her blank expression. From the direction of the forest, a growling sound emerged as a flaming rock streaked across the sky towards the town, directly towards the temple. Screams echoed through the temple. The patrons ran all around, trampling around the flowers as they made their escape.

  Claire began chanting. Her eyes and palms glowed in green. She pushed her arms down, slamming them on the ground. Six green energies spread from her palms, each racing to a corner of the temple, and a green dome formed, encapsulating the temple.

  The flaming rock explodes into the dome, shaking the temple. Its small pebbles rained down along the dome, sizzling and burning the grounds around the dome.

  Reegar looked at the dome. The impact created cracks, however, these fissures were knitting together. Powerful magic indeed. If he has to guess, this priestess called upon the magic of the hallow ground to protect this place.

  Claire called a nearby acolyte, instructed him to bring everyone to the basement and tend them if needed.

  A second flaming rock impacts another building during the basement relocation. The rock smashed and the upper floor collapsed, turning a two story building into a flaming rubble. They watched as debris and dirt flew up, barraging the nearby building, spreading the flame even further. Instinctively, Reegar ran towards the building next to it, as the town’s bell rang.

  Flames quickly engulfed the wooden building and Reegar saw how fast the flame spread. Black spheres swirled around Reegar and, with a swing of his blade, sent them towards the door, ramming through it.

  He could hear the screams and saw a man near a dining table. He grabbed the man and as he turns around he caught a noise amidst the roaring. A cough coming from the second floor. The man pleaded to Reegar, his daughter was upstairs. With a nod, the paladin sent the man flying through the shattered door.

  He’ll survive.

  He moved in deeper, but the heavy smoke caught him by surprise, blowing into his face and causing him to stumble and cough. His sight is so limited that he can only perceive the color red. His sword glows in red and it hums with crackles of red energy surrounding it. He swung and a blast of energy surged from his weapon, parted the smoke and created a hole in the wall.

  Reegar leaped to the second floor, his ears perked up, and he could hear the cough and a voice. A small voice calling for her father. He moved to the left, clearing the hot debris, pushing and throwing them aside until he found a girl curling on the floor, holding a stuffed bear. Carefully, Reegar picked up the girl and held her close to his chest. He jumped from the bedroom window, landing on the ground. He brought the girl back to the father, his right hand pressed against her chest. His hand glows in a warm red light as black spheres spin around it.

  “Purus.”

  The girl opened her eyes and expelled the smoke from her lung. She began to cough and cry as her father hugged her. He repeatedly thanks the paladin as the sound of the town bell continues to toil in the background. They watched as the house collapsed and the flame burned through.

  Reegar looked at the sky, reddened by flame, as a chilly breeze flew past him. He felt a powerful anger simmering within. Winter is approaching, and it isn’t the time to hunt monsters. It is the time to sit near a hearth, telling and reciting your adventures in the other seasons. The time of respite and rest.

  “Mr. Greywalker.” The sound of Aveline’s caught Reegar’s attention as she ran towards him. Claire also appeared from the temple, brandishing a pitchfork with glowing vines wrapped around it.

  Aveline pulled out a book from her bag and began writing. Her pen moves as she describes the surrounding scenery. She stood next to Reegar and Claire. She saw this priestess before. The head cleric of the local Dhavani temple.

  “Mr. Greywalker. The Head Captain is calling for all able-bodied people to report at the North Gate.”

  The trio rushed towards the gate. Several other adventurers and guards were already at the gate, where they could hear shouting. And one word kept repeating.

  Goblins.