Rachel watched the cleric with cold eyes for a long moment. She turned and made an announcement to the tavern. “We were attacked by other sinners on the road back from the training dungeon. One of our party was killed.” She looked back at Joe and her voice dropped from a shout to a speaking voice. “Whoever collects everything left behind will get ten percent of the profits after we sell the attackers goods.” She looked at the healer. “The rest should cover the charges.”

  A group of low ranking sinners approached and accepted the job. They’d be back just after nightfall with the goods and the bodies.

  The cleric nodded in approval and went to work on Joe.

  Nest watched as the worst of Joe’s wounds were healed. Punctures in his torso, chest and right thigh took priority. After that, the healer told Rachel to hold Joe down in case he came to. This part would hurt and, if he woke, the thrashing would do more damage.

  Rachel placed her hands on the gnome's shoulders and pushed as hard as she could manage.

  Some supplies were brought from the kitchen by the staff and placed on the table. Nest wasn’t certain they would be of any use, but he supposed having boiled water would at least help clean the blood.

  A few sinners went back to their drinks and food, but most of the people in the tavern were watching as things transpired. A circle of cultivators had formed and were looking on, hoping for the best.

  Nest could see the care in so many faces and it came as some relief after the displays of the attacking group and the cleric who only wanted profit. He thought he understanded greed. He thought the people of his home, despite their beliefs, were honest representatives of the sin, but this had opened his eyes.

  Sinners were supposed to be free of the influences of the zones. Or at least less impacted by them. As Nest understood it, the more tainted spirit energy you allowed into your body without purifying it properly, through cultivation, the more it started to impact you as a person. Somehow he didn’t suspect that was all that was at play here. He didn’t think unpurified spirit energy was the reason those bandits attacked them. No, some people were just evil. Truly evil, the way most people viewed dungeons and mobs.

  To know first hand that a dungeon could be good while sinners could be so evil made him question the world others lived in. The false veil they hid behind in order to believe the world was black and white. It made them feel safe to believe that there was a true evil in the world. It made them feel like they were on the side of true good. They could blame all the hardships of reality on something they didn’t understand, excusing their own actions as necessary.

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  His fear was calming and he felt so angry about it all.

  The faces of caring sinners pulled some of the pain from his heart. Knowing that not everything was different from what he’d believed was nice.

  “Pull the arrows out slowly,” the man in robes told Nest.

  His anger left as the words filled his mind and he was pushed right back into being the ignorant greenhorn, afraid and looking for the right thing to do. “What?” the dwarf stammered. “Why me?”

  “Because I’m healing and your friend is holding him down. Do it now.”

  The forcefulness of the cleric's voice spurred Nest into action. He moved back to Joe’s side and grabbed the first of the protruding shafts. This one was sticking from his ribs.

  “Line it up so the rib doesn’t catch on the arrow head.”

  Nest nodded slowly and breathed in. If he was good at anything, it was keeping his hands steady. He tugged slowly, feeling for resistance and slightly rotating the shaft until the arrow slipped out with ease.

  Immediately, the cleric went in to heal the man. He would lose out on precious tithes if the man were to die in his care.

  ***

  After the worst was handled, the cleric stepped away from Joe who remained unconscious. “He’ll live. There’s no more infection and the wounds are mostly healed. His muscle will take time to heal where it was cut, but I’m already half spent on spirit energy. My name’s Brother Eric. Let's call it an even gold for the healing. You can drop that off at the temple when you have it.” Eric wiped his hands clean with a wet rag that had been brought from the kitchen then went back to his group. He didn’t need to confirm any details. He knew the bill would be paid and that he’d get his cut from the church.

  Nest stepped back once more. His fear subsided with the confirmation Joe would live, but instead of his anger returning, he only felt tired.

  Every ounce of his physical and mental capability had been driven to the very edge today. He could feel his bones and connective tissue as if they were worked muscles. The excitement of the other sinners around them at the news went over his head and the world might as well have been silent for how loud it was.

  His adrenaline faded and he found a seat next to the table that held Joe.

  Rachel stood over Joe for a long moment and simply watched him breath steadily. “I’m sorry,” she spoke to Nest.

  “Why are you apologising to me?” Nest asked. “Your friends? Skav? You have nothing to be sorry about.” He couldn’t even imagine the pain she must have been feeling at that moment. She didn’t seem particularly fond of Skav, but they were bound together as a team. The way they all moved around each other told a story of their shared hardship. Fond or not, she had lost someone important and had nearly lost another.

  Rachel looked up and met his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to join this life.”