Zay stood outside, speaking to the large guard he had told yesterday to swap his shovel for a great steel axe.
"So, that's the plan for later?"
Zay nodded slowly. "That's what the priestess wants. We're heading to Harland in two hours, going to some sort of clothing shop for a shirt, then we're heading to the blacksmith. I'll let you know a few minutes before we leave. Also, what's your name?"
"Kade Banners. The blacksmith is also called Larry. He's an older gentleman who used to work in the mines a few years ago. He had an incident with his back and stopped mining. The old bastard loved being around metals though, so he opened up his own blacksmith shop with the help of the mining company, surprisingly."
Zay stretched his arms upward, resting them behind his head on his shoulders, and yawned. "I appreciate the information, Kade."
"No problem! I was born in Harland, so it's only right of me to share information about my city with others!"
Zay nodded, turned around, and began thinking of what book to read to pass the next two hours, as he had nothing planned. He considered reading either The Discovery of Lemons or Island Creatures. He settled on those two since he didn't feel like reading anything informative—at least not yet. He still wanted to enjoy some time to himself.
'I don't feel bad, per se, about not saying anything to Rei... but there's something about today. Something in my gut is telling me something's off.'
He sighed, unsure of what the gut feeling was about, then walked into the mansion and headed into the library. The two books were already laid out in front of him, their titles printed plainly on the covers. He pulled Island Creatures toward him and opened it.
An hour passed, and Zay placed the book down onto the desk and closed it. He stood up and walked through the house, glancing into the kitchen where he saw Roland eating a small bowl of sliced bananas. Zay walked outside and stopped in front of Kade.
"Should be a few more minutes before we head into the city. Is there any sort of transportation, or will we need to walk there?"
Kade took off his helmet and smiled. "There's a carriage on the property. I'm also a certified coachman, according to Mr. Richfield."
Zay gave a slight smile in return before turning around and heading back inside the mansion. He sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, sinking into how comfortable it was.
Roland walked over and sat down beside him, still eating his banana slices.
"Are you comfortable with watching the children... on both the fifth and sixth?"
"Wednesday and Thursday of this week? Or do you mean next month?"
Roland nodded. "This month. I have some things I need to take care of to prepare for the rest of it. I usually get ingredients on the fifth and sixth—food, dyes, or anything else I find in Harland that I think the kids might enjoy."
Zay sighed, staring up at the ceiling before lowering his gaze and locking eyes with Roland. "I can just buy the ingredients today. The priestess wants to go to Harland anyway. I can buy some clothes, get the ingredients, and look around for anything else we need. Kade is coming too."
Roland's eyes widened at the suggestion, and he chuckled. He stood up, took another bite of his sliced banana, and swallowed it. "I'll give you the silver I was going to spend over the next two days, then."
He ascended the staircase and disappeared from sight. Five minutes later, he returned and handed thirty pieces of silver to Zay. "We need three bags of apple bread, three pounds of boar meat, two gallons each of orange juice and mango juice, six pieces of northern bacon, four potatoes... and if there's enough left, three pieces of southern carrots, bananas, and some garlic."
Zay nodded, committing the list to memory. "That sounds pretty simple. I'll make sure to get it all done by tonight."
Roland smiled slightly before turning around and looking out the window, watching the children run and play outside. They appeared to be playing a sort of tag—one would touch another, turning them into the new tagger, who then chased the rest.
"Thank you for this, Zay."
"It's no problem at all," Zay said slowly, even though he felt annoyed. He didn't care about the children—at all. He mainly just wanted the extra money, but he knew that if he didn't bring all the items back, or at least most of it, there would be less trust in him. Still, he had one thing he hadn't really used, and now might be the best time to try it out.
"Roland! I forgot to ask—where's the clothing store you use in Harland? Your trench coat is nice."
As Roland turned around with a smile on his face, Zay activated [Persuade] and asked another question. "Can you give me some more silver? I'm not sure if this will be enough."
With the activation of [Persuade], Roland's mind began to feel slightly cluttered with overlapping thoughts. Due to his age, his mental defenses were weaker than most, and he ended up agreeing to give Zay more silver.
Roland walked up the stairs, returning only a minute later with his hand clenched around a bag and handed it off to Zay. Zay opened the bag, looked in and closed the bag, throwing it into his Arbiter: Vualt and sat back down. The effects of [Persuade] ended and Roland looked at him. Due to how weak his mental defenses were, he couldn't even remember handing Zay the bag due to the cluttering of thoughts overlapping.
"Thanks for the compliment. It's a small store called "Ole Beer" it's hard to miss it." Roland smiled and walked away.
...
Almost ten minutes passed before the priestess descended the stairs. She was cloaked in a flowing robe of pure white, its silk and velvet layers catching the light with a soft shimmer. Draped gracefully over her form, the robe clung lightly to her curves, tailored precisely to her measurements. Her chest was accentuated by an embroidered golden cross, glinting at its center, a sacred emblem impossible to ignore.
A deep hood shadowed her features, its edges trimmed with fine silver thread, while a thin, translucent white veil fell from within, obscuring her face. Though her expression remained hidden, the soft outline of her lips and the faint glimmer of her golden-amber eyes behind the veil lent her an otherworldly grace.
She made her way to Zay and looked up at him. "It took much longer than I thought to get ready today. Are you ready?" Her tone was more professional than it had been every other time she'd spoken to him.
"Yes, Priestess," Zay replied, opening the door for her. Kade turned back after hearing the door opening and saw the priestess and Zay before opening the gates.
He then opened the door to the carriage that was already waiting, standing aside for them.
"I'm going to sit next to Kade in the coach box," Zay said as he walked beside the priestess.
"Why? Is there something you don't like about me? Are you afraid of being seen with me?" Ira asked, casting a glance through her veil.
"It's nothing of the sort. I just don't think it would look good for a priestess to be seen in public... with a man who's not wearing a tunic, trench coat, or anything like that. Can you not picture what people might start saying?"
Ira closed her eyes, pressed her lips together, rubbing the light red lipstick across them again before sighing. "Whatever," she quietly whispered, just as they arrived at the carriage.
Zay extended his arm. Ira took it and stepped into the carriage before he gently closed the door behind her. He walked around to the other side and climbed into the coach box, sitting beside Kade.
"Ready?"
Zay nodded, and Kade snapped the reins. The horses began to move, slow and steady.
Inside the carriage, Ira Winters rested her arm on the side, where a small cut-out allowed her to sit comfortably by the window. She leaned her head on her hand and closed her eyes.
'Starting on the fifteenth, I'll be sent to the main building for the Order of Restraint. There's not much time left for me here. Will there even be a difference between here and there? I guess just less room to do what I want... more focus on healing, and granting small divinities. I suppose it isn't much of a change.'
She sighed deeply, thinking about all the tasks waiting for her, many she had no desire to complete. At least here, at the outpost, she had freedom. She could leave whenever she wanted as long as she returned on time. She wasn't constantly required to use divinities, and she had the time to play with the children when they asked.