For the rest of the day, our group of 4 people retrieved even more cats from the dirtiest corners of the city. In total, we were able to return 6 more pets to their owners, which was a higher number than Faust predicted. There were no longer any precedents like our very first catch, but I really would have preferred for those felines to be less annoying. It took a great deal of chasing and scratching to return them to the owners in one piece.
Luckily, we had Nila with her simple healing magic and also Riaz, who, apparently, was able to heal wounds in an instant. Instead of magic, priests were using blessings of the Goddess, their speciality was to end, be it healing of the wounds, recovery from illness, ticking of the clock or even the effect of the spell. I didn't quite understand its mechanics, as it was a power equivalent to natural magic, although more susceptible for humans. Blessings did not require years of mastery, you either could cast Goddess's magic or not. Basically, if magic was oriented around hard work and boosted by talent, then blessings were oriented around talent and boosted by hard work, since priests and thousands of scholars were still in process of discovering new blessings within Farhen's divine words.
Once the final pet of today was returned to the owner and retrieved the reward, we came over the bridge to the larger side of the city and moved towards the tall towers of the church, it was nearly time for service. We were walking by the pavement road where carriages passed us from time to time, they were either moving out of the city or returning to the guilds. Along with wagons, flocks of people were moving around the city as well. Some were returning home after a hard day's work, while some followed our path and were heading to the church. Our way was brimmed with chit-chats, with the main initiator being Faust. Nila and I were quite listening to him, after all, this man was way too extra, and I grew exhausted of him throughout the day. Even Riaz did not talk quite as much, only gave off dry answers and awkward laughs.
I was not sure what Nila was thinking, while burying her gaze under the own feet. I could not afford worrying too much either way, as I was busy collecting service fees from the pockets of passerbyers. Our catch was not quite as significant as I expected, thus earning some extra cash was a viable option, especially judging by the fact that no one ever caught me, even under the occasional glances Faust gave out at me.
Before entering the main gates of the church, I admired its majestic view, it truly showed how much people in the city cared about religion. I suppose, it would be a given in a world where goddess is a real entity. As Riaz explained, this church was called "House of the Holy Trischa" in the name of a nun who lived several centuries ago. Prior to becoming a city, this place used to be an orphanage and nursery home for those who were abandoned or unable to do work within their villages. Trischa Wohr was the holy mother who supported and guided people within this community. Some of the graduates later returned and funded her modest home until it evolved into the village, then a town, and finally, the city of Wohr, the largest settlement near the southern borders of the monster realm in the Dlayla region. I was not sure how true the story was, as people tend to base entire legends to make their settlement look more meaningful than it actually was, but it was an interesting story nonetheless.
The main hall was far more sizable than that I saw in the village, which was to be expected. The interior was chiselled from the pale stone that was painted orange from the light of candles. There were rows of thick pillars along with windows that gave access to the spot for those who collected on the 2nd floor. I didn't quite see any paintings on the wall, but there were only stained-glass present inside. They contained images of nuns and the Goddess who held an hourglass, just like the statue that was positioned at the further end of the room, where priests gave off their speeches. The view was truly grand, which was further enhanced by shadows on the ceiling, light from chandeliers was barely able to reach this height.
During the worship, I was mostly dozing off. I vaguely remembered some priests giving off their speeches, including Riaz who was silently cheered on by Faust. He was surprisingly mindful of the atmosphere, as I hardly could hear him, even though his seat was to my left. However, his modesty paled in comparison to that of Nila, who sat still and observed the whole thing motionlessly. Every time I turned to her, not her eyes nor position of the head shifted whats-so-ever, as if she was frozen in time. I could not decide whether I should be impressed or terrified by her focus, which loosened up only by the end, when the priest along with parishioners thanked Farhen for her generosity.
After the service, the four of us came outside, a little further away from the wave of people that rushed out of the church. It was a long day, but we were ready to give our farewells to the two, but Faust had different plans.
"Well, you two, let's go to the pub and celebrate our success today!"
Nila remained speechless, but I was certain that I repeated exactly her own thoughts.
"What?"
Riaz sighed, certainly in expectation of such a turn of event, however, he did not even attempt to somehow regulate his friend. Faust immediately moved to the direction away from our place of stay and exclaimed with a smile, "Come on! Come on! I bet you are hungry, I know one fantastic place where we could eat!"
Being overwhelmed by his pesky persuasion, we had no choice but to agree to his invitation. Soon enough, we reached some kind of pub that was ingested into the taller building, probably the entirety of the first floor was that of service. I could not possibly imagine the ruckus tenants on the upper floor were experiencing on a daily basis. Inside we were struck by an odour of cooked meat, smoke of cigarettes and yeasty smell of cheap booze. Even though the combination of scents was quite unlikely, my stomach grumbled either way. Nila's mouth was also watering a little.
Then, we witnessed something that quickly returned slight enthusiasm from Nila's face, giving place to judgmental nonchalance. I was not happy either as our entire table was brimming with steaks, meat pies and a large chunk of meat that reminded me of beef wellington. Each of us had a tall glass of beer, but there were more people around the table. To Faust's left and right sat two workers who were leaning against him and enjoying the meal and drinks alongside us. Moreover, Riaz ordered a collection of sweets that happened to be the most expensive item in the menu! Faust's energetic laughter and announcement, "Let us all drink and feast as if tomorrow will never come!" was complimented by Riaz's excitement over macarons and elaborate pastries, which he savoured before eating the main dish.
Upon seeing this unlikely image, Nila leaned to my ear and whispered through loud music and voices within the pub, "We spent more than half of what we earned today… more than half."