But for a Slime

<continued - 2/3>

* * *

Joe took off after the boy with a sense of satisfaction overwhelmed with eager expectation. They headed out of town out the west side this time, moving up the lakeside. After about five minutes, they escaped the village edge and ten minutes of walking had them following the road as it turned north following the western edge of the lake. About a half an hour later, they came upon what might have been a shrine, if a drunken cottage leaning next to a small stone pillar overrun with vines, weeds, and detritus could be considered one.

The boy led him to the nigh collapsing cottage to the side and Joe grinned with excitement. Definitely a priest, right? He walked up the small porch at the entrance of the cottage and knocked politely at the door, but Garnedell instead pounded on the cottage door and yelled out a loud phrase. Joe looked towards the boy in surprise and pulled him back, shaking his head no.

"Kid! You can't do that. It's very impolite! Be nice with how you knock."

The boy looked at him in some confusion, then shook his head and pointed towards the cabin before finally shaking his head in defeat as he was not able to pass on his idea. Joe looked at the boy, wondering, then realized that this might be a bit of a different situation, and went back to the door to rap on it much more firmly, his knock thundering hollowly through the dilapidated cabin. He waited for several moments, then looked back at the boy who ducked his head and pointed at the door once again. Really? Is the guy that deaf?

Joe pounded on the door once again before walking to the edge to glance around the side. The cabin was quite tiny, likely no more than a single room. His knock should have been easily heard, but the boy simply pointed at the door again. He pounded again, louder and longer, and finally heard a cry from inside, so he stepped back with some anticipation as he waited for the door to open. But even before a few seconds had passed, the boy tugged on a sleeve and pointed back at the door.

"Really? That wasn't an 'I am coming' call? What is he, a cranky old man?"

Joe stepped forward, and pounded some more, glancing back to Garnedell every once and a while when he stopped after hearing the call from inside. Each time, the teen would shake his head and point back to the door, so Joe would start once more. Finally, he heard an angry shout from inside and the boy looked up at him and nodded.

"Finally. What is this guy's problem."

Joe found out immediately when the door opened and the wash of alcohol was actually a visible wave the tumbled out and upwards into the air above the doorsill. The smell was so overwhelming that Joe almost got drunk just from the alcohol in the air.

"Great. A drunk priest! That's just awesome!"

The man came out, waving and shouting at them, stumbling across the porch before throwing a weak punch against Joe's chest. Joe didn't move and allowed the hit to land, a hollow thud echoing through his chest. Joe's eyebrows rose in a bit of surprise when he felt the punch land. The guy can hit pretty hard! Even for a drunken halfhearted throw. He's a priest? Felt more like a boxer! Discover more novels at NoveI[F]ire.net

Joe watched the man step back from him and glance up at him with some surprise, his eyes blinking in bleary confusion as he tried to clear the alcohol from his body. The man staggered for a bit before he began mumbling something under his breath, waving his arms around with some confusion. He didn't do much and turned to leave, heading back into the cabin. The boy stepped forward quickly and grabbed at his arm and turned him back around while speaking quickly. The priest ignored Garnedell, seeming mostly confused, but when he saw he was being stopped, started listening. The man attempted to listen but soon became belligerent, repeatedly interrupting and dismissing Garnedell.

* * *

"Enough of your nonsense! I care not for your master or his greatness, nor his questions which you obviously poorly understand!"

"Sire, he is seekin…"

"Look, boy. You say he is an adventurer? Adventurers only come to priests for three things, and he looks in hale health, no diseases and no curses."

Garnedell tried to interject again, explaining they did not need the priest, beyond his help in understanding his master, but the priest refused to listen and Garendell tried to continue quietly without exacerbating the priest further.

"His health be fine and I refuse to give any blessing. I have none to give! The only other service I provide is those seeking divine guidance to growth."

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Garnedell tried to interject but the priest only grew angrier and flung his arm away and Garnedell stumbled back slightly.

"He wishes to chance the divines? He may!" The priest shouted and turned to retreat into the house.

* * *

Joe growled slightly and stepped forward, grabbing the priest's arm before he would accidentally hit the boy. The man squinted at him angrily, shouting a bit before pushing away slightly.

"Look, man. I just want to change my job. Can you calm down and stop throwing abuse around?"

The man blinked several times, then huffed in unhappy belligerence before bringing up a strange status screen Joe had never seen before. Joe quickly smiled, glanced at the screen, trying to decipher what he was seeing. But even as he looked at it, the strange squirming arcane letters before his eyes did not change, maintaining their mystery as they continue to squirm. The priest looked up at him, then snorted before pressing various buttons and going through several screens. The priest seemed to get more belligerent and angry as he seemed unhappy with what he was finding going through his status. He blinked at the boy, and the priest shouted out an angry sounding sentence, but the boy spoke back while pointed back at Joe. Joe had no clue what was being said, but straightened and tried to smile with a bit of sincerity. The man squinted then flipped through his pages before pushing a button angrily and swiped it towards Joe. A pop up floated up on his screen and Joe blinked in surprise.