A/N: Here we are with Chapter 6! In which Marcus finally has some agency and makes some choices for himself. Only to lull himself into a false sense of security ahead of the next punch to the gut~
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"Well yes, Marcus. You didn't think we were going to send you out alone, did you? I said the exact opposite before, if you'll recall."
He's reeling again. He's been doing that far too much of late. But then to be fair it had been one thing after another since his Awakening, hadn't it? And while the confusion over whether he was supposed to be the Destined Hero or the Dark Lord certainly ranked up at the top of Marcus' list for things to be baffled by… being orally pleasured by the Holy Pope herself was most definitely an incredibly close second.
Marcus had never… done anything like that before. To be fair, he still hadn't. Rather, he hadn't had to do anything at all. Her Holiness… err, Serafina as she insisted he call her, had done all of the work. From the moment he'd sat down upon her throne, she'd set about to pleasure him with her mouth and her breasts. Part of him was STILL wondering if he was dreaming even now.
But not even in his wildest dreams had the half-orc orphan ever imagined anything like today happening to him. In point of fact, the absurdity of the events that had taken place so far only confirmed that this was the real world. His imagination simply wasn't that good.
Still, Serafina was acting like nothing had happened at all. Breezing right on past it like her getting on her knees and fellating him was not just an everyday occurrence but to be expected or something! As the Holy Pope turns and begins slowly walking towards the exit of the chamber, she continues to explain herself.
"If I could, I would go with you myself. Unfortunately, if I did that I can easily imagine the entire Church falling apart without my guidance. An organization as large as this is only as strong as its head sometimes. Still, I've planned out the perfect party for you. Small and compact, capable of traveling light and moving fast… but with all the pieces you'll need to succeed."
She turns to him as they reach the large, closed double doors leading out of the chamber.
"A healer, a sneaker… and you on heavy duty. So, are you ready to go and meet them?"
Marcus opens his mouth, prepared to stammer out a yes and just be done with it… but then he stops in his tracks, a stray thought hitting him tied to an event that took place earlier. He has to admit… he's reached the end of his rope. Even someone like him can only be yanked around for so long before he can't take it anymore. Sure, it's much more enjoyable to have her Holiness doing so than some rotund Bishop with delusions of grandeur, but that doesn't change how he feels. And… Paladin Eric's words ring in his ears.
"… No."
Serafina blinks at him, looking slightly taken aback.
"No? Is there a problem, Marcus?"
She sounds curious more than chiding, so while Marcus feels heat gathering at the tips of his ears, he stands his ground… and dictates terms to the leader of the Church of the Most Holy Light.
"… I want to see a Blacksmith first. If… if I'm going to be fighting evil as the Destined Hero I'll need to be armed and armored, right? And… I heard that for good, proper armor, the one who's going to wear it should be present at the time it's commissioned."
He's still not entirely sure that Paladin Eric knew what he was talking about there. Hell, the Paladin might have just been trying to save Marcus from another dozen meetings that he wasn't going to actually remember. Still, it had sounded good at the time and right now he wanted it to sound good to Serafina as well. He wanted… he wanted to convince her, to be able to say he'd managed to make at least one decision of his own today.
For a moment, Serafina is certainly surprised, but then a smile spreads across her face and she gives him a simple nod.
"Quite right, Marcus. Quite right. Getting you geared up is just as important as introducing you to your new comrades. In fact, having you fitted for proper armor should take precedent, seeing as it might take a day or two to have it completed afterwards."
Marcus doesn't quite slump in relief, but it's definitely a near thing. As her Holiness turns and begins leading him out of the chamber once more, he follows after her, feeling quite good about himself. In fact, he's so proud of standing up for himself that for a moment, he actually forgets he was trying to get away from the Church so he could get this Job situation figured out.
When that realization hits a few moments later, the bottom of Marcus' stomach falls out for a second… but then he makes the decision to set it aside. At this point, he has no hope of getting away from the Church for the time being. The Holy Pope herself has taken a vested interest in him. More than a vested interest. He just needed to play along for now and worry about what the hell he was supposed to do about his Jobs later. And asking for proper equipment would definitely keep them from being overly suspicious about anything, Marcus supposed.
Soon enough, they've entered another part of the Cathedral, which Serafina makes sure to introduce to him.
"Welcome to the Cathedral Foundries, Marcus. All of the Church's equipment, gear, weapons, and tools are forged and enchanted here. Ah, do be respectful of the Chief Blacksmith. Karn can be a little abrasive, but he means well."
Before Marcus can respond to that, a gruff voice calls out to them.
"Your Holiness! Not often we see you here in the Foundries!"
The man that approaches definitely makes Marcus think 'Chief Blacksmith'. Not that he looks too much more special than any of the other people Marcus sees running around, but he has this air to him. Marcus can tell that he's very important, and not just in that self-important way someone like Bishop Archibald had thought himself very important.
Bearded and very burly, the Chief Blacksmith of the Cathedral Foundries looks from Serafina to Marcus and eyes him up and down. Tensing, Marcus expects to see judgment of some sort in the other man's eyes. Surely he's due for some racism of some sort at this point. But no, the man's gaze is assessing, but not overly judgmental or scornful as Marcus is used to.
"This him then?"
Ah, that would explain it. The Chief Blacksmith already knew who Marcus was from context clues.
"Indeed, this is the Destined Hero, Marcus. I've confirmed it myself. And as our Destined Hero, he'll be needing armor. The best you can offer, of course."
Karn snorts at that.
"O' course. Well, you came to the right place, Hero. Won't find anything better anywhere else than here, not in the entire Empire. No matter what that fool over at the Palace might try to claim. Alright, come over here, let's get you measured."
Marcus follows Karn over to a nearby table, and suddenly finds himself having to move his arms and body in a dozen different ways as the Blacksmith barks orders at him and uses tools to take his measurements… or so Marcus assumes. Truth be told, it's not like he knows anything about any of this. Eventually though, Karn seems satisfied with whatever it is he's doing. Once the Chief Blacksmith is finished, Serafina clears her throat.
"Keep in mind that Marcus has just come of age, Karn. He will likely grow some more in the coming months. Perhaps even as much as a foot taller."
Marcus jolts at that, eyes wide as he glances over at Serafina. Truly? He was already so tall! Surely he didn't have another foot in him… did he? When he looks back to Karn, the Chief Blacksmith doesn't look dismissive of the idea. Rather, he looks considering for a moment before nodding sharply.
"You, Hero. You ever worn armor before?"
Suddenly feeling a little inadequate, Marcus flushes.
"U-Uh… no, sir."
"Ain't no sir. Neither a Paladin nor a Knight. Chief Blacksmith or Karn will do just fine. And no, I imagine you wouldn't have. Hngh… no point in putting you in Full Plate if you'll just outgrow it before you can even get used to it. We'll go with something lighter. Something with room for growth."
That sounded… best. Marcus just blinks, accepting the Blacksmith's words at face value, but Serafina isn't so inclined.
"Will he be safe if we go that route, Karn? We can ill-afford to lose our Destined Hero so soon after finding him. The Dark Lord hasn't even been located yet."
Karn snorts again at that, stroking his beard.
"Ain't no such thing as safety for a Hero, not unless you're planning to lock him up in the catacombs until the Dark Lord can be found. But aye, lighter armor might not provide total coverage… however, with the right enchantments and holy blessings, it'll be just about as good. Maybe even better if you take some time to help me lay the blessings in yourself, your Holiness."
Marcus stiffens at the suggestion to lock him up, especially when he looks over and sees that the Holy Pope looks sorely tempted by it for all of a second before shaking her head.
"No… his place is out in the world, fighting evil. Besides, his mere presence will eventually draw the Dark Lord out of hiding. We just need to make sure Marcus has the tools to succeed before then. As such, I will of course be happy to lend you a hand in the blessing of his armor once its forged."
Having seen how powerful Serafina is, Marcus doesn't know whether to be happy or anxious about her promise. After all, he's really not sure how armor with holy blessings imbued into it will react to his Dark Lord Job… if he even is the fucking Dark Lord.
"Good. Let's move on to weapons then. What are you comfortable with, Hero?"
Here, Marcus perks up a bit. He's at least on somewhat familiar ground now. After all, it was one of the few things he'd practiced growing up, all for the sake of maybe getting a martial Job of some sort.
"I'm decent enough with a sword. That's my preferred weapon."
The look Karn gives Marcus is decidedly unimpressed.
"Is it now?"
Walking over to a nearby weapon rack, the Chief Blacksmith picks up a longsword… and chucks it bodily through the air at Marcus. Luckily, his reflexes are good enough for him to catch it. He only fumbles it a little bit before getting it properly in his grip. Doesn't even cut his fingers, though that's probably more because of his tougher half-orc skin than anything else.
Once he has it held, Karn raises a brow and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Give it a few swings. Tell me how it feels."
Swallowing thickly, Marcus nods and begins going through motions he's practiced thousands upon thousands of times. Albeit with sticks, rather than an actual sword. It feels… different, but not too different. He's got the strength for it at least. The sticks had felt like as a feather by present times, and while the longsword WAS heavier, Marcus felt like he could easily get the hang of it and-
"You're absolute shit, Hero."
Marcus jolts, eyes wide as he looks to the Chief Blacksmith in disbelief. Karn spits to the side and shakes his head.
"Who the fuck taught you how to swing a sword? They did you and the entire damn Empire a disservice."
Marcus feels burning hot embarrassment rushing up the back of his neck and to his cheeks. Just as he's opening his mouth to respond, Serafina steps in.
"No one taught him, Karn. Marcus was an orphan, and I don't think anyone spared the time of day to give him a lesson. He's self-taught, aren't you Marcus?"
The smile she gives him, and the touch on his arm… it goes a long way to making Marcus feel better. He's still embarrassed as he swallows thickly and nods, not quite able to meet either of their eyes.
"Yes Se-er, your Holiness. I… practiced with sticks."
There's a moment of silence, and then Karn grunts and holds out his hand for the sword. Only once Marcus has handed it over does the Chief Blacksmith give the half-orc a respectful nod.
"Fair enough. The sword will be your backup weapon. Not a longsword like this, but a shortsword you can have at your waist and pull out at a moment's notice. Easier to use, easier to learn. In the meantime, in a true battle, you'll need something that doesn't require years of experience to wield. Something with reach that leans on your natural strength."
It's the first mention that Karn has made that's even tangentially related to his heritage, and for a moment Marcus stiffens. But the moment passes when he realizes the Chief Blacksmith means nothing by it. Karn doesn't see Marcus' reaction anyways, as he's already spun around and began walking away, leading them to another part of the Foundries.
They follow the Chief Blacksmith into an armory filled with weapons, and the man begins throwing different things at Marcus for him to try out. Lots of long, pointed and bladed things. They go from spear, to glaive, to polearm, to javelin in what feels like moments but is more like minutes, with Marcus trying them all out and finding them… fine, but also a little too light for him. They're TOO easy to move around with, almost.
When he tells this to Karn, the Blacksmith scrunches up his face somewhat but ultimately just nods before moving on. Until finally…
"Oh. I like this."
"Heh. Thought you might. Axe bit at the end doing it for you, perhaps? Got more than enough weight to satisfy that freakish strength of yours."
"Karn."
Serafina might as well not have thrown out that word of warning, because Marcus isn't paying attention to either one of them at this moment. Instead, he's swinging his new weapon about. As long as a polearm or spear, with the point still at the end for thrusting motions… but also a rounded axe head on one side for swipes and swings.
"That, Hero… is a halberd. Truth be told, ain't any easier to wield properly than a longsword. But you'll either figure it out or you won't, I suppose. And if nothing else, it leans itself to your natural strengths more than a longsword would."
"Good. I assume that you can have both the armor and the weapons ready before Marcus sets out in the next few days?"
Karn holds out his hand and Marcus reluctantly passes over his new favorite weapon. But at least this time around, he's handing it over so Karn can enchant it with just as much magic as he's going to enchant Marcus' armor. At the end of the day, the half-orc supposes that he can wait a little while for that.
Seeing this, Serafina smiles and claps her hands together.
"Wonderful, with that out of the way, it's time for Marcus to meet his party. Come along, Marcus."
As Serafina leads Marcus out of the Foundries, Marcus gives Karn one last respectful nod. The Chief Blacksmith was alright. Abrasive like Serafina had said, sure, but not bad folk by any means.
In the end, he could put it off no longer. It was time to meet the party that the Holy Pope wanted to saddle him with.
-x-X-x-
A healer and a sneaker. That was what Serafina had so cleverly said before. Marcus hadn't fully caught on to what that meant at the time, because the Holy Pope specifically HADN'T mentioned the word 'thief'. Had she not done so on purpose? Had she specifically used the word 'sneaker' to keep it from clicking in Marcus' head?
Everyone knew that thieves were… well, 'taken in' by the Church, to put it kindly. They were kept under close watch for the purpose of rehabilitation and to make sure they could be useful to society and not become menaces. Marcus hadn't ever had a problem with that, or so he thought. Now though, now it was staring him right in the face.
Slavery, indentured servitude, captivity… whatever one wanted to call it… it was wrong. Marcus felt ashamed for actually being happy when he saw his fellow orphan get hauled off for being Awakened as a Thief earlier.
"You know Holy Priestess Angelina of course. And this… this one is called Eris."
Standing there, staring at Eris the Beastkin in her collar and magical shackles, Marcus finds himself at a complete loss for words. She's small, is his first thought. But then again, maybe he's just tall. Maybe it's the way her eyes are on the floor, rather than anywhere close to any of their eyes, that makes her seem downright tiny.
One thing is certain, staring at the 'gift' he was being given to fill out his party… Marcus suddenly found he liked the whole concept of certain 'Evil' Jobs being enslaved by the Church a whole heck of a lot less.
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A/N: You know, originally this chapter didn't exist in my outline. But then I realized that the outline I did have for Chapter 6 wasn't enough to justify a real chapter centered around it.
I also received some advice on what sort of weapon Marcus should use (you know who you are~) and also feedback on how Marcus felt like he had his head up his ass. I hope this kind of breaks the mold and gets us out of that feeling maybe a little, but you'll all have to let me know how it landed for you!
As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! Likes or Comments are greatly appreciated!
Next Monday is Chapter 7! Or if you want to read six chapters ahead right now, you can check out my P atreon!