The melody of quest completion sounded in his ears and checking the weblet confirmed that he had fulfilled the requirements. The next quest had been unlocked but for now the instructions were only to follow Brandial.
Poltas observed Brandial, who was absentmindedly walking one step ahead of him.
They walked all the way from the clinic to the edge of the town when a small cottage came into view.
Unlike other buildings, this cottage was a single storey building and lacked decorative elements. Its basic appearance made it stand out, but not in an interesting way.
"This is my house, for now you can stay here with me until I find a suitable place for you."
Poltas wondered whether it was a privilege of being the keeper to live in this house, or a sign of poverty.
The interior of the house, much like its exterior, was quite bland. The wallpaper was chipped off in some places, revealing the wooden walls. There were a few stains on the carpet which seemed to have a long history. And the furniture was mismatched.
But Poltas cared little for all these things when he realised that the couch was extremely comfortable to sit on.
Brandial soon returned from the kitchen with two cups and a plate full of unusual snacks.
"This is our local fruit tea, it is made with a family recipe, so they do not reveal the fruits used. And these are spiced crackers. I don't have much else available right now, so I hope you will not mind this."
The fruit tea sounded like a fancy way of saying juice, and looking at the puffy shape of the crackers, Poltas was unsure if they were chips or biscuits. Upon tasting them he felt even more confused about their true nature.
"We have only met today, but I think you are quite a good person, Poltas. Since the Guardian sent you here, she must have a mission for you. In the meanwhile, I will try to find work for you here."
'Is this our bonding episode already. We have barely known each other for a few hours and I wasn't even conscious for 2 of those hours.'
Poltas was not ready to have a heart-to-heart conversation, but it was not possible for him to skip dialogue or restart the game from the last auto-save.
"If you have any questions about our village please ask me. I'm sure you've noticed that most people in this village have a few peculiarities, the truth is our Guardian has not always been faithful to her Faction."
This caught his interest, the plot was suddenly changing. Wasn't it too early for it to change?
But he didn't have the power to stop it, so he could only listen attentively.
"Other than Heroes for the Light Faction, our Guardian has also raised Heroes who fought for the Dark Faction. There is no rule saying that Guardians can only side with one faction, but many of the followers were upset and abandoned her. Raising Heroes while the followers left became difficult, and that's how the decline of her power began."
Poltas knew the guardian gave him vague information, but it didn't seem like she wanted to lie to him. Otherwise, she could have come up with an alternative story, in order to prevent him from trusting the people here.
"The history books have distorted most of the truth by now. The only reason I know all this is because one of my great ancestors became a follower, and since then we have lived here."
That was reasonable, it also explained why she was a keeper.
"I only have one request for you."
"A request?"
"I hope that if you follow the path to become a Hero in the future, you will not abandon us in favour of your new followers."
Him? A hero? What a joke.
He was brought here as a fancy manager. And the job wasn't even handed to him, he had to work his way up to the position.
"I cannot make any promises on me becoming a Hero, but I will do my best to ensure the survival of Pamsteria."
Brandial was visibly happy at his response and sipped her tea.