As the talks continued Michael and the party had a cheerful afternoon. The sky was clear and they enjoyed the sunlight shining upon them as they watched the lake. Michaels sadness clear every now and again as he tried to accept he wouldn't be able to use this spot his grandfather had cherished for its amazing bass. Though he wouldn't be able to tell this was really for trout.
"So Michael you don't mind that we would want to travel with you? Wouldn't you be bothered having such weaklings amongst you?" Fighter had said looking down a bit though her eyes showed a fire to grow stronger.
"I wouldn't mind. You really are overestimating my strength." He said casually as he pointed out the bucket of goblin guts "I might be really good at handling common pests, but I'm not like you guys. You took out that horde of them with ease."
"Looking at goblins as common pests means you really are way too powerful. Those things are a challenge for a new party like ours" Fighter went on to explain it all.
Michael however looked at her like she was an idiot. For all the skill he had he truly lacked any ability to identify anything. "Well if you say so. However I just want to catch the finest bass to show off to someone special."
"Ah my young man you have someone you fancy already? What a shame for the rest of the women in the world. Fortune does favor the lucky however." Cleric chuckled as he looked at Fighter with a bit of admiration.
"Regardless I must thank such a strong party for willingly bringing a simple fisherman like myself along." Finishing eating he packed away everything he had pulled out amazing the party as it all fit into his tacklebox.
The help offered did turn out to be a great help. He had caught quite a few trout including a few rarely seen rainbow trout in the morning in anticipation of losing time. He gave the lake a look over before sighing "it'll take at least a month for the water to filter out. I guess I'll be heading to a different spot to try and find a good enough bass to show her."
Fighter looked on confused as she watch Michael sort through the fish as if trying to find something that wasn't there. "Is something wrong? We really should be getting back to town soon before it gets too late. You did say you were a fisherman so selling your catch to dry for the night must be important."
Michael nodded as he picked out an amazingly colored rainbow trout. It had to be at least 30 inches long. Its size while extremely remarkable even an untrained eye could see it was a spectacular catch. "I didn't want to give the church a poor fish that isn't even worth a copper, but this seems to be the biggest. Must have caught one of those fish that live off the bottom resources."
Fighter looked confused as she spoke "it looks like a fine catch to me so why don't you enjoy that you get to feed so many."
Michael smiled as he took her words to heart and nodded "you're right. I shouldn't take for granted at least catching something big and fat. It'll make a delicious meal for the people the church helps."
As he finished packing up he got help from Fighter to carry everything. The walk back was peaceful as they returned to town. Michael stopped partway through and pointed out the "den" of the pests he killed.
"You killed all of those goblins? Are you sure you're not strong?" Fighter asked as she saw the decimation in her head of a mid sized colony of goblins.
"I'm a fisherman how could I be strong? I don't even have combat skills."
"You should ask the High Priestess for an evaluation. I don't think you're as weak as you think Michael" she said flatly as she led him away and began towards town.
"Yeah Mikey you really aren't weak. Though you did kill that thing by making a goblin fillet" Cleric laughed as they all walked towards town.
"I mean it was the only way I knew how. I don't have combat skills. Though if you want I'll make sure to gather plenty of fish and we can have a lunch like that every day" Michael said with a smile.
Fighters mouth let loose a river of joyous saliva as she couldn't hide how much she enjoyed the idea of eating like that every day. She turned around stopping Michael "but you can catch extra so I can have seconds, no eighth servings right?" If she was a beastfolk she would have had her tail wagging like a dogs.
"I mean if you pay for my catch you can always ask and I'll happily cook for you. Grandma always said the best ingredient was the love for your fellow man and I think I'm only about a millionth as good as she was."
"Doesn't matter your cooking is delicious! I'll happily pay whatever it takes!" Fighter shouted with glee.
The trip didn't honestly take all that long to return to town. They discussed which catch would be sold off and which would be kept. Approaching the temple the various members of the clergy smiled welcoming them all back.
"Welcome back Michael it is always a pleasure. Did you have another good day at the lake?" A priest said with a smile.
"I had much luck in the morning, but apparently the pests I use for bait had some weird change and they ruined the lake. It'll be at least a month before it is suitable for fishing again." He said with some dismay.
"Oh that is unfortunate. Perhaps if you speak with High Priestess you'll be able to get a blessing cast to purify the lake."
"I could never impose upon her like that. She already is so busy trying to take care of so many people I can't go and take away her precious time. Especially when I never catch anything worth while to try and help her." He looked down as he clenched his fist as if he wasn't catching a single fish of good value.
The priest smiled and nodded "well she is inside. At least if it isn't trouble go greet our priestess and inform her of the situation. I know she'll be happy to see you at the very least."
He nodded looking at the party as he went and grabbed a couple of fish and went inside. He found her helping a child with a scrape on his knee. She smiled her soft voice filling the air as she spoke. "May your strength return before the sun has set, may your will return with the moons rising, may this healing lift you back to form." Her hands glowed in a pale light as she cast a healing spell.
The light wrapped around the boys knee with a calming glow as the scrape healed completely. The boy that was once cringing in pain looked at her with eyes filled with joy. He jumped up and hugged her tight as he happily said "thank you priestess!"
Michael stood there watching with delight as he admired her kindness. A task she could have easily delegated to anyone was not considered beneath her station. Her smile as she hugged the boy and let him go with a soft reminder "remember next time that if you wish to grow big and strong you have to eat your veggies and play a little more carefully."
The boy nodded as he let go of her and turned to run out of the room. Seeing Michael he smiled even brighter as he exclaimed "the great fisherman is back!!!! Does that mean we get another good meal tonight!!!!"
Michael happily approached as he knelt down patting the boys head. "Bring your mother and father and I'll do my best to make it even better tonight." He smiled with a warmth most would find of a parent.
The boy nodded as he ran off "I'll make sure to eat my veggies and grow big and strong so I can help you one day!"
With him gone just Michael and High Priestess remained in the room. Her perfect figure adorned with a simple yet elegant robe. Her long raven black hair tied into a ponytail as her bronze skin seemed to glow with the light of an angel. Her voice felt like a warm summer breeze was breaking the chill of winter left in the spring air. "Michael you made it back safe. I heard the guild sent a party to take out a goblin nest. You didn't get hurt did you?"
He blushed as he nodded. His own stature barely taller than her though his build would come off as slender. Still his arms showed the muscle he had built over years of dedicated training in the way of fishing. "Apparently the vermin I use for bait are those very goblins. I do like how attractive they are to the fish."
She giggled as she looked at him and the fish he was carrying "well I shouldn't have doubted you for not knowing what you were using. You've always undervalued your own ability."
He protested "I do not. Nothing I've brought you would be worth anything. It's unfair that you act like it is amazing every time."
She pointed at the fish "and how many do you think we would feed off of that?"
"A family maybe 2. It doesn't have much meat on it."
"Every fish you've ever given me has lasted to feed all that come here for help. You don't bring back anywhere nearly as poor catches as you claim." She said with a slight protest.
"You don't have to treat me like a kid. I know what I catch." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"And that is exactly why you need me to remind you of how great you are" she said with a smile. She happily took the fish as she asked "and are you really going to cook for us tonight?"
He nodded as he looked out of the room "I wanted to do something nice. With the lake ruined for the time being I will have to travel for a bit to be able to continue my work."