Where the hell did that come from?! “Someone might believe you.” What kind of person says something like that? My cheeks were warm, but I was trying to outwardly project a sense of calm.
It wasn’t working. My fingers tapped on my knee as I was tapping my foot in impatience to be out of this atmosphere I’d made. Note to self: Don’t say things like that in a carriage when you have a long ride.
I decided to check my status page again, maybe look at the new skill, which I knew was probably lie based.
Skill Gained: Deception Tier 0, Rank 1
Deception:
Tier 0: Assists with the body language of the user to help make their actions and statements more believable. Users are capable of ignoring suggestions.
The description confused me a little, but not as much as the experience I’d gotten. What do you mean I got 150 experience?! I tried to think about what I’d done since last checking and… realized it made sense with my class. I’d avoided saying anything incriminating and directed the conversation elsewhere. While I may have stepped in it with my last comment, it also had the desired effect of ending the conversation. But why so much?
Maybe it actually wasn’t a large amount of experience gain? I should ask… after we get done at the church…
My experience went up another 10 and I suppressed a groan.
When we finally arrived, after fifteen minutes in oppressive silence, Porter helped me down from the carriage so I wouldn’t lose my dress. He then did the same to Calmar before closing the door. “Right, here we are at the Sanctuary of Quintius.”
I looked up at the building in question and was unimpressed. It was three stories, and large, but besides the pale blue and bright yellow flowers in planters on the first floor windows, had little decoration. Above the front doors was a man standing over another, hand on his head with a starburst behind him.
“It looks very…” I tried to find a polite way to say nice without outright lying.
“Brutalist?” Calmar suggested, “That’s because it is. Unlike the other churches, Quintius’ priests, the Caretakers, use them as shelters for those in need. No questions asked, just a requirement that you try to get your life together while you stay.”
Porter started towards the front, “I was actually born in one of these before my mom married a soldier. I don’t remember much, but I add alms whenever I can.”
I followed Porter, with Calmar beside me. We went inside, and it was like night and day. Despite the exterior, the inside was a riot of colors, still in the pale blues and yellows, but with different wood textures and colors to compliment them. Different stripes of colors ran off along the mostly grey floor, probably to guide those who needed it.
An elderly man sat behind a reception desk, and I actually smiled. He was a grandfatherly figure who had a smile on his face as soon as we approached. “Well, you’re too finely dressed to be here for shelter. Benefactor, or seeking something else?”
Calmar smiled at him, “Benefactor and need some assistance. Do you have a crystal at this facility?”
The old man nodded, “Yes, yes. We have one. Unfortunately, there's a charge for those who are not staying or part of the clergy, but it isn’t too much.”
“We also need a paper copy of the results.” Calmar said. “If possible.”
The old man’s gaze sharpened, but the smile never left. “You realize I can’t do that without the consent of the party involved.” He looked between the three of us and focused on me. “And the reading will need to be in private.”
Calmar nodded, “Not an issue.” He turned towards me, “Right, Danielle?”
I shrugged, “I’m okay with it.”
The priest still looked at Calmar with suspicion, but nodded as though he’d come to a decision. “Then follow me, Danielle, right?”
He led me through a door to the right, following the various lines. “That’s me.”
“I’m Priest Toren. You may call me Toren, Priest Toren, or Grandpa Toren.” He laughed, “Though only the little children call me that last one.”
I decided I liked Grandpa Toren. “Well, Grandpa Toren. I assume you have some concerns.”
He laughed, “A few, but they can wait.” We followed a white line that split off from three others and soon found ourselves in a small room that held a table, two chairs, and a glowing crystal set on a pedestal on the table.
“It's a pretty simple procedure. You touch the crystal, then I touch it. You'll be asked for permission so I can view or modify your stats. You only need to allow me to view this time.” He explained. “Any questions?”
“Is it possible to share the screens I see without a crystal?” I asked.
He considered for a moment, “Yes, But usually only priests and higher ranking officials can do it. Often as part of a class feature.”
I wonder if it's in the shop somewhere. I kept that thought to myself and reached out to touch the crystal.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
It went on like that for a while. After about a minute, the priest was giving me a funny look. “Do I have your permission to access your character sheet?”
Uh oh. I did not have any idea what would happen if he did. Standing here with my hand on the crystal, though, it'd be suspicious. “Is there something more… permanent that you can do to not reveal any information?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Girl, I have seen more than you could imagine. Whatever embarrassing thing on your sheet isn't going to surprise me. If you have some sexual skill on there that you don't want them to find out about, I can omit it.”
Wait, there were skills for- not important. “Uh…” My brilliantly verbose self responded with.
The man rolled his eyes, “If it will make you feel better, I swear on the god of secrecy, Zeratus that should I reveal anything shown here to anyone, barring potential dangers to society, may he strike me down and take my soul from Quintius’ grace.”
There was actually a flash of light from the man, and ethereal chains that seemed to stretch from him to me. An alert popped up.
I broke out in a cold sweat at the second alert. Apparently, the priest also got an alert, because his eyes practically bulged out of his face. “Wh- Why did he respond? He's never taken notice before.”
“I have no idea…” I said, honestly.
Toren gulped, “Very well. I had every intention of keeping my word.” Despite an attempt to appear calm, it was obvious he'd been shaken.
I was suddenly hit with a blinding headache as notifications began to fill my vision. Before I had time to read one, more were there. I stumbled and leaned against the table. I tried to move away, but my hand was stuck.
“What's wrong?” Toren asked, rushing to my side. His own crisis was put on hold to care for me.
He's a nice guy. I thought as I tried to minimize all of the alerts as they popped up. It took several minutes and what I assumed was a healing spell before my head stopped trying to implode.
Breathing hard, I looked at priest Toren. With a hesitant smile I said, “Your turn.”
He gulped, but nodded.
His reaction was, to my annoyance and relief, much less violent. Maybe he'd braced himself, or maybe he just didn't get bombarded with screens.
He did look confused, though. “Huh.”
“Huh?” I responded in confusion.
A sheepish smile appeared on his face, “Sorry, I've just never seen a sheet with so much detail.” His eyes started moving, looking through the information. “You've far more stats than anyone I've seen.”
“What?” I looked at him.
“Yea.” He focused on the crystal and I saw his stats.
Statistics
Physical: 158
Mental: 628
Mana: 154
“What?” I said again, reading through them.
He laughed, “For a Noble, you’re rather lacking in eloquence.”
I rolled my eyes, “Give me a break, I woke up in an alley yesterday with no memory.”
Toren stared at me in surprise, “And you’re this functional? That’s… not healthy.”
With a sigh, I looked down at the table, “I’m aware, but I don’t have a choice. Now, did you get what you needed?”
Toren nodded and removed his hand. Thankfully, when I tried a moment later, the crystal released me. I sighed again, this time in relief. “I’d really like to not sigh anymore today. I’m getting tired of it.”
“Try smiling. It usually throws people off.” He pulled a sheet of paper and a pen out of the pocket of his robes, “Now, I can make a couple of assumptions on what you want hidden, but just to be sure.”
“You bounced back surprisingly fast.” I remarked.
He looked at me with the kind of sarcasm that actors wish they could emulate. “Girl. I’m three times your age and used to help keep adventurers alive in dungeons halfway across the world. This is weird, but far from the worst surprise I’ve ever had.”
Blinking at him, I shrugged, “I guess.” I then pulled my sheet back up to have a visual aid. “Second Chance is the only one I’m really concerned about. I have no idea how to adjust the stats.”
Toren shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. They likely won’t care, and even if they do, it’s rude.” He wrote down a parred down version of my sheet and had stopped after Noble Birth. “Honestly, I’d just omit the rest of your traits. Being level 3 could be explained away since the first 10 levels are fairly easy to get through with assistance. I wouldn’t be surprised if your brother out there gives you enough PEC to break through it.”
“Wait, really?” I asked, confused, “And I had considered those. You don’t see another on there, do you?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Is there one?”
I nodded slowly. “You couldn’t see it?”
He shook his head, “No, and before you say anything.” He held up his hand as I opened my mouth, “If I can’t see it with your hand on a crystal, then it is not something I need or want to know about.”
“Right…” I trailed off, thinking. “Think I should hide my spells?”
Toren wobbled his head from side to side, thinking. “No.”
I paused, waiting for him to continue. He waited. I waited. I caved, “Why?”
The old man got a mischievous glint in his eye, “Because a Noble with magic is rare enough that you’ll get a step up. And while Quintius usually deals with the downtrodden, there’s nothing against exploiting the system where you can.”
My head leaned back as I took a closer look at the old man. “Seems a little deceitful for a…” I looked around, “Wait, what is it you do here?”
“Hm?” He set his pen down and looked at me. “They didn’t tell you where they were taking you?”
I tried to remember for a few moments before giving up, “I remember Quintius and then explanations got lost in various ways.”
Toren nodded with the expertise of a sage, “Yes, that can be a problem if the conversation is moving fast enough. Reason I cheat.”
“Cheat?” I asked in surprise.
“Mhm.” He got a shit eating grin. “I learned a spell to record conversations into text in my menus. It’s called ‘Speech to Text’. Doesn’t even cost mana.”
That’s… probably not a spell then. I had another thing to look through the shop for, apparently. “And? What do you do at the church of Quintius?” I looked around, “At least, I think this is a church, right?”
“Nah. We’ve got one actual church in the Cotton Square, but most of Quintius’ priests work in places like these. This one is actually a men’s shelter. There's a women's shelter down the block.”
I looked confused, so he continued, though his voice had less joviality to it. “They’re for people who need to escape terrible situations. We take them in, and try to help them the best we can. Class changes if we're able, a place to sleep at night till they can get something of their own, or help getting away from an abusive partner.”
“Oh. Wow, that’s…” I tried to think of a word with enough significance to express how I felt about it. “Good.” I failed.
He laughed.