Chapter 175 - Heated shrine visits
The carriage traveled through Bridgespell’s gates and continued its journey down the well-worn cobblestone roads, leaving the bustling city behind and venturing into the comparatively tranquil embrace of the surrounding countryside. Scarlett peered out of the window, tracing the extensive fields stretching towards the western horizon. Fences and meandering dirt lanes partitioned much of the land into distinct parcels, though it all essentially blended into one at this distance.
She imagined the fields teemed with life during the warmer seasons, when farmers and the like toiled away to work the harvest. But now, the landscape wore a different coat, with thin vegetation and an almost palpable stillness to the view.
“Thus, I bid adieu to Bridgespell on the very day I set foot on her captivating streets,” Raimond mused from his seat at the opposite end of the cabin, his eyes fixed on the metropolis, gradually growing further and further away. “Delightful city, really, but I’m grateful my travels don’t bring me here too often. One can’t help but feel suffocated amidst the teeming crowds and constant flurry of motion.”
Allyssa chuckled, glancing over at the priest. “That’s almost exactly what Rosa said when we first got here.”
Raimond cast a look between the girl and Rosa, wriggling his eyebrows. “Well, it appears that the adage ‘great minds think alike’ holds true.”
“Hear that?” Rosa nudged Scarlett playfully in the side, a spark of amusement dancing in her eyes. “A priest has declared my mind ‘great’. It’s official now, sanctified by the divine fellow up high. Bet you feel pretty lucky to have snagged me as your personal minstrel now, don’t you?”
Scarlett briefly looked at the woman before returning her attention to the passing scenery outside. “Indeed, is there anyone as fortunate as I?” she spoke dryly.
Following their meeting with Raimond at the Followers’ temple, their party had set out for the Sunfire Shrine after some brief introductions. Raimond didn’t have any carriage of his own, so, of course, he had joined them in theirs. A fact that Rosa probably enjoyed the most, judging from how well the two seemed to connect.
“There almost definitely is not,” the bard’s voice sounded out in response to Scarlett’s statement.
“Wasn’t that sarcasm?” Fynn asked.
“Almost definitely not,” Rosa said. Immediately following that, Scarlett heard shuffling, and glancing to her left, she saw that Rosa had used one hand to cover Fynn’s mouth. “Don’t you dare say that was a lie.”
Fynn wordlessly looked at the woman for a prolonged moment until Rosa finally released her grip. “I wasn’t going to,” he finally replied.