Standing at the edge of the forest, looking out over the open, overgrown grassy planes that stretched out before them, the adventurers breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air that swept across the land. The sun was fast approaching its highest point when they finally crested the final hill that would bring the farming village into view. Before them, to their great dismay were several towers of smoke, rising over the village they had just fought goblins in order to protect.
"But I don't understand, we were so careful to ensure that all of the goblins were in that cave before we entered. We spent days tracking their movements and staking out that cave. How could this possibly have happened?" asked Calvin, upon seeing the devastated village.
"Let's not jump to conclusions Calvin, we don't yet know what the cause of this was. Let us first go down there and speak with the village people before we start casting blame." Said Riegert, resting a reassuring hand on his comrade's shoulder. Covering the distance to the village over the few rolling hills was short, taking no more than a few minutes, but to the adventurers who wanted to know the cause of the devastation, it felt like hours, as they agonised over every minute of the past few days, wondering if they had somehow missed a handful of goblins in their haste to clear the cave.
Having reached the border of the village, which was marked by a small stone wall, the adventurers could hear the sounds of desperate voices calling for aid. Some yelled out in pain, while others called in vain for their Gods to bring back those who had lost their lives. The group walked through the village, trying to assess the situation and see where their help would be needed most. Before they were able to make it more than a few paces beyond the village border, a short busty woman with intense red hair and vibrant green eyes seemed to fall from the sky, landing in the middle of the street, preventing the adventurers from going any further. Brandishing a large, curved sword she boldly declared, "Not a step further you despicable fiends! Was it not enough for you to almost destroy our entire village? Are you not happy with the lives that you took last night? Ready yourselves to meet your Gods, for today you die!" she proclaimed fearlessly, before launching an attack that almost shattered Jackson's dual axes as he attempted to block.
"Please young lady, we are not your enemies! We have come here only to help your people!" said Riegert, attempting to defuse the situation.
"You arrived in our village mere hours after we were raided and are coming from the same direction that our attackers fled last night, how do you expect me to react?" said the woman, still brandishing her weapon.
"I don't know anything about your attackers or what happened here last night, but I assure you, we are here to help. My friend Fell here is capable of casting healing magic. Take him to your injured and he will do all that he can to help them!" said Riegert, looking over to Fellaroth as though pleading for him to go along with this.
"Is this true?" asked the young woman, looking over at Fellaroth, who did nothing more than nod confidently. "Very well, please follow me, we have gathered the injured in the church at the end of this street!" she added before turning and running in the direction of the church.
The group followed the young woman through the village toward the small church, noticing the number of fires that were still burning throughout the village. People had formed lines from the well at the centre of the town and were passing buckets back and forth as they tried to get water to the fires in an attempt to extinguish them before they were able to spread any farther. "Fell, you go with her, the rest of us are going to try to help the villagers put out these fires and look for anyone else that might need some help." Yelled Riegert, leaving Fellaroth to follow this strangely assertive woman alone.
"Quickly, please do all that you can for them!" said the woman as she flung open the doors to the church, revealing rows of injured people who had been laid on straw mattresses throughout the church.
"What's the meaning of this Kattalina? Yelled the preacher upon seeing the doors so violently flung open.
"This man can perform healing magic, Father, please let him help!"
"The great and powerful Mythus informed me that help would soon arrive, though I did not know that it would be so soon!" said the Father as Fellaroth noticed the sizeable statue that was a surprisingly good likeness of the God he knew only too well. Fellaroth smiled a faint smile before approaching the first in the line of injured people.
"Some burns to the face and arms, and a few minor lacerations… don't worry madam, I will have you back on your feet in no time." He said as he held his right hand over her body and closed his eyes. Moments later a green magic circle appeared in the air above her body, followed by a glow of magical power which caught the attention of the priest, causing him to rush to the woman's side. Kneeling beside the injured woman, the priest watched on in amazement as the woman's wounds began to fade until they were no more. "She is fine now, but it will be some time before she wakes, her body is still exhausted and will need time to rest." Said Fellaroth before moving on to the next in the line.
Fellaroth repeated the same process over and over again with each patient. First, he would identify their wounds, then he would hold out his hand, create a magic circle, and then close his eyes before casting his magic, which glowed with a brilliant green light each time. More and more people from the village began to gather in the church as word of this incredible healer had begun to spread. The people watched on in awe as time and time again this mere human was able to move from one person to another and heal all of their injuries without issue and without taking a break. It was not long before Fellaroth started hearing the voices of the villagers as they started to doubt the existence of their patron God, who to their eyes had done nothing to help their people, while this single man was able to save so many lives.
Approaching the last in the line, Fellaroth noticed that a small gathering had formed around a small body, and the sound of weeping quickly came to his ears. Approaching the crowd Fellaroth saw the body of a young child who had been very badly injured. "Please kind sir, we can see that you have the power to heal any injury, please can you heal my baby? He fought fearlessly against those vile people, doing everything that he could to give someone else enough time to escape!" cried the mother as she held the body of her child in her hands.
"It's true kind sir, if this young boy had not done what he had, then my daughter might have been killed or worse!" said another woman with tears in her eyes.
Fellaroth kneeled before the child and was immediately aware that the boy of no more than eight had already lost his life to his injuries. Closing his eyes Fellaroth spoke within his own mind. "Are you there Mythus?"
"I am, Fellaroth."
"And are you aware of what lies before me?"
"I am."
"This boy has passed no more than mere moments ago; can you not restore his life?"
"I'm afraid I cannot."
"And why not?"
"Because these people's faith in me has faltered. Seeing your power to heal their wounds, has planted seeds of doubt in their hearts about my existence."
"If I can restore their faith in you, then will you be able to help this child?"
"Yes, but only if you lend me your power as well."
"Very well Mythus, I will make it so!" Fellaroth then took a deep breath and looked up at the statue of Mythus that stood behind the gathered crowd and said loudly. "Dear Mythus, God of Wisdom, it was through your guidance that I found this village that was in need of my aid, and for that I thank you. However, dear Heavenly Father, this young hero, who saved the life of another, is now in need of healing. His injuries are beyond my power alone to heal. I would ask that you please grant me a portion of your power so that I might heal the injuries of this young hero so that he might live to save another life one day!" as the gathered people saw Fellaroth address the statue of their chosen God and heard his words, they closed their eyes and began to pray with all their might that the words of this miraculous healer might be heard by their God.
Feeling the prayers of the people around him, Fellaroth raised his hand over the body of the child and created a magical circle that was so large that it engulfed the entire church, catching the attention of the villagers outside who were still fighting fires. He then closed his eyes and felt the presence of Mythus appear behind him and rested both hands on his shoulders. Feeling an immense power enter the room, the gathered people opened their eyes and saw the ghostly image of Mythus standing behind Fellaroth. Upon seeing their God in person, the people in the church began to weep with joy as a flash of brilliant green light filled the church, healing the boy's injuries and returning his soul to his body. The flash of light vanished, and the gathered people gasped and proclaimed how they had seen the image of their God standing behind this young healer. A miracle was declared as the people ran from the church and informed the others that Mythus had brought them a powerful healer and even lent him the power he needed to heal the injuries of a young child who was on the verge of death.
With all the injured people in the village having been seen to, Fellaroth left the church and walked out into the middle of the street, where he saw that five columns of smoke still rose from burning buildings. "Don't just stand there! I'm grateful that you healed those people, Fell, but now you need to grab a bucket and help us put out these fires!" yelled the rambunctious redheaded woman. Doing his best to ignore the woman, Fellaroth raised his right hand into the air, causing the skies over the village to suddenly grow dark. Seeing the sudden darkening of the skies caused every person in the village to stop what they were doing and look up and wonder what was to happen next. Suddenly five enormous twirling funnels of wind descended from the sky directly onto each of the burning buildings. These immensely powerful funnels of swirling wind seemed to have no effect on the rest of the village though as they touched down on each fire, it was immediately extinguished, and the funnel of wind quickly vanished without a trace. Once all five fires had been extinguished and the funnels of wind had vanished, the skies cleared up once more and the villagers were able to rest at ease at last. Dropping to their knees from exhaustion, the people of the village were overjoyed that after so many hours, their fight could finally come to an end.
"Thank you, for everything you've done for us, Fell, but could I ask one more favour of you?"
"What is it Kattalina?"
"Please don't leave this village tonight, I am certain that those bandits will return tonight to finish what they started, and if they come back with more men than they had last night, then this village won't stand a chance!" said the young woman, now on the verge of tears. "I can't fight them alone again!"
"What do you say Riegert?" asked Fellaroth seeing his party leader approach.
"We cannot walk away from this village knowing that they might still be in danger. Get some rest men, for tonight we will be on guard!"