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Kerr Mollin watched as Mayor Deverin left the stage, then quickly turned to Liseth.  “Did you . . .?”  He asked, breaking into a big smile as the blonde acolyte nodded and smiled just as broadly.  “Amazing!”  The two of them bid goodbye to Pisca as she left to make her way through the dispersing crowd and to Kellan, Cato, and Alergast as they left in the direction of The Rusty Dragon.

Finally it was just Father Zantus, Liseth, and Kerr.  The prelate gave them a questioning look.  “I felt something going on up here during the speech, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.  Desna told me that some things would be revealed to you two soon, but she didn’t tell me when, or how.”  The older man gestured to the younger pair.  “Come, walk with me back to the cathedral.”

The three of them made their way down the steps of the dais and headed over to the double doors of the cathedral that fronted Northchurch Square.  “So,” Father Zantus continued once they were relatively free of people who might overhear their conversation.  “Care to tell me what happened just then?”

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This message was lightly edited by the GM at 09:08, Tue 18 Feb 2014.

"It was..."  Liseth didn't know how to start.  How could she describe what had happened while they were up on the dais?  "They were...um...there was...was..."  She hadn't released Kerr's hand since they were together during the speech.  The young acolyte continued to stumble over her words until the three had made their way inside the Cathedral.  And she saw the depictions of the various deities represented within.

"Sarenrae was there!"  The exclamation sounded farfetched even to her, and she had just witnessed it!  Had just heard the goddess speak.  Had even been touched by her hand; kissed by her.  It was completely overwhelming.

"And Desna was there too!  And Iomedae!  Even Erastil!  They were all there!"  Kerr had seen them too, Liseth was certain.  If it was just her she wasn't sure that she would have believed that it had actually happened.

"She spoke to me.  Sarenrae herself.  She even touched me..."  Liseth's free hand went up to her cheek where it had been caressed by the goddess.  The girl's eyes brimmed with tears again, "And she said that she loves me; she called me her beloved.  And she kissed me...right here."  A hand went to her forehead.

Sarenrae had told her other things too...important things.  About dark gods working evil throughout Varisia, how they would send their minions against Liseth.  To try and stop her from following Sarenrae's will; to try and destroy her even.

"She also said...Sarenrae said that I will face horrible trials, that I will have to face the purest form of evil."  Her hand tightened around Kerr's, "That the dark gods will send their own minions against me.  That they want to destroy me..."  Liseth suddenly felt uncertain of her own abilities.  How could she face all of that?  But Sarenrae believed in her, and that was all that Liseth needed.

"But Sarenrae said that Cato, Kellan, and Pisca were also instrumental to the gods' plans, as important as Kerr and me..."  Had she just said that?  That she, Liseth, was instrumental to the gods' plans?  "She said that I needed to help them, help them fight, help them to 'do what they know is right.'"

"And..."  Liseth smiled up at Kerr next to her, "And she said that Kerr was going to be a shining holy warrior.  Just like I always thought he would be."

"Father Zantus...I never imagined anything like this ever happening before.  Sarenrae chose me...she wants me to do so much.  I'm...overwhelmed by it all.  What if I can't do it?"

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Kerr nodded along with Liseth as she recounted her experience, his face beaming.  “She’s right, Father Zantus.  Everything she said.  I saw them too!  Right up there on the dais!!”  The young man turned and pointed at the raised structure, as if the town’s chief prelate had not himself been standing on it just a few moments before.

“Desna, Iomedae, and Erastil all talked to me!  Desna said that I faced a difficult road ahead, but that they had chosen me along with Liseth, and Kellan, and Cato, and Pisca to fight against the dark gods’ plans for Varisia!”  The acolyte went on, wonder in his voice.  “Apparently they have been planning something here for a while, and the good gods are very concerned.  She said that they had been grooming me for this for a long time.  From my training with Dav, to working under you, Father Zantus, to . . . a lot of things!  All getting me ready for what I needed to do.”

Kerr looked awed.  “Erastil, Desna, and Iomedae all put their hands on me and blessed me!”  He was trying to communicate what the experience was like, but just couldn’t find the words.  “It was amazing,” he finally said.  “Erastil gave me his longbow before the blessing.  He said that he would guide my aim as long as my heart stayed true.”

“According to Iomedae, quite a few people were placed on this path, and could have ended up where we did, but we were the ones who followed where the gods led us."  He stopped, working out the logical conclusion of that line of thought.  "So I guess in a way we kind of chose ourselves.”

Kerr nodded seriously as Liseth talked about the trials she would face and the evil she would confront.  “Desna said I’d been chosen,” the young acolyte suddenly flushed, “to protect and support you, Liseth.  That the most-important thing I am tasked to do is to help you do what you know is right and fight against those that would hurt you.”  He took Liseth’s hand in both of his.  “’Destroy any evil that seeks to harm or corrupt young Liseth, for her pure heart is our hope in these troubled times,’ is how Iomedae put it.”

Kerr looked dumbstruck, as if he suddenly realized what he was saying.  “Isn’t that strange.  Me?  Destroying evil?  I’ve never even really been in a fight.”  A small shadow of doubt passed over his face, but then he recalled the three gods standing around him, blessing him.  If they were truly on his side, what COULDN’T he do?  “You CAN do it, Lise,” he said in response to the blonde acolyte’s expression of her own concerns.  “We BOTH can.  Together.”

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Father Zantus seemed to take his acolytes’ amazing revelations in stride.  “I had a feeling something like this might happen,” the older cleric responded, a twinkle in his eye.  “To tell you the truth, I feel privileged just being a part of this.  I’ve had Desna speak to me on several occasions.  Not corporeally, mind you, as you experienced, but I definitely heard her voice.”

He looked at Liseth.  “Her most-recent message was on the topic of you, Liseth.”  He smiled.  “I sent a letter to Father Garrick asking if he had anyone he thought might benefit from some time at the Sandpoint cathedral, since I was looking for a new acolyte.  And I was supposed to pair up whoever he sent with our Kerr here.”  The prelate patted the young man’s shoulder.  “And now look where we are.”

He nodded sympathetically as the two young people expressed their doubts.  “All I can tell you is that the gods’ ways can be inscrutable.  I know that I wouldn’t necessarily have picked people so young to burden with the fate of all Varisia.”  He gave his two charges a compassionate look.  “But it sounds like the gods need those who are still flexible enough to mold into the champions they require; champions who can fight against whatever dark plans are playing out across our land.”

He sighed.  “As you get older, you’ll find that it’s easy to fall into set ways, or doing things the way you’ve always done them.  Neither of you are yet encumbered with those sorts of behavioral patterns; that may be exactly why the gods chose you.”

“I therefore encourage you two to seek their will as often as you can.  The gods want to help and guide you, but can only do so as much and as often as you allow them to.”  He gave them a paternal smile.  “And I of course will be here to assist and support you in whatever way I can.”

The priest stopped, his hands on the double doors to the cathedral, as if he had just remembered something.  “But weren’t we supposed to visit the Rusty Dragon this evening?  Perhaps we can walk in that direction as we talk further.”

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With Kerr's hands on her own, and him saying how the gods themselves had chosen him to protect her, Liseth felt immeasurably better about the task that Sarenrae had planned for her.  She couldn't believe that she and Kerr were so important; but obviously the gods could see things that they couldn't.  And they knew about things that were happening which might evade mortal insight.  They had intended for Kerr to keep her safe from evil, knowing that he was the hero that she needed by her side.

Were their feelings for each other also part of the gods' plan?

"I know that I can do anything if you're with me."  Liseth smiled up at Kerr; her divinely appointed hero and protector.  "With you to keep me safe, I won't have to worry about any evil.  I won't let Sarenrae down."

"I will pray every day."  Liseth listened to Father Zantus.  "Every single day.  I'll do anything that Sarenrae asks of me.  If She thinks that I need more guidance I will be ready to listen."

The girl nodded, "Ms Kaijitsu wanted us to have dinner at the Rusty Dragon tonight.  We should go before she thinks that we aren't going to show up.  I wouldn't want to make her think that we didn't want to go."  Liseth curled her arm back around Kerr's and let him lead her to the Cathedral door.

As the three began their walk to the inn, Liseth kept wondering just what it could be that the gods knew to be happening in Varisia.  Something so big, so important that they would show up in person just to guide and encourage her.  And the others, Cato Kellan, and Pisca; they were important too.  This evil demon under the Glassworks must be involved somehow, as well as the goblins and Father Tobayn's daughter who was now working for the evil gods.

It was so much.  Maybe if Liseth talked of other things and let her mind mull it all over in silence, it would come up with an answer on its own?

"Father Zantus, how well do you know Father Garrick?"  The young blonde's curiosity got the better of her, "I've known him ever since I was just a little baby.  But I don't remember him ever going anywhere; not for more than a few weeks anyway.  I think that he did a lot of traveling when he was younger though."  Liseth suddenly had a startling realization, "Do you think that he always stayed so close to me because Sarenrae talked to him about me?  The same way that Desna spoke to you about Kerr?"

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Father Zantus shrugged as they walked through the pleasant evening down towards The Rusty Dragon.  “I really don’t know what Sarenrae said to Father Garrick, Liseth, if she even said anything.  It is certainly possible, but this isn’t normally the kind of event that one goes around sharing with everyone, and it would be laborious, and perhaps dangerous, to write it out in a letter.”

“The short answer is that Garrick has not said anything about it to me.”  He gave the young woman a fatherly smile.  “But if you want my opinion, you can rest assured that Sarenrae’s been watching out for you for quite a while.  So even if she didn’t directly talk to Father Garrick about you, I’m sure she’s been involved in your life.”

The cool sea breeze started to pick up, causing the older man to wrap his prelate’s shawl more closely about himself.  “As far as Garrick and I go, we arrived at a small keep almost concurrently, sent by our respective churches to investigate rumors of heresy and dark magic on the part of its priest.  It turned out that the priest had gone mad, styling himself the god of a nearby tribe of lizardmen and conducting a clandestine war with an equally-mad hedge wizard who had claimed a similar position over some local goblins.”

“Needless to say, it was messy.  We were finally able to defeat this rogue priest with the timely support of a paladin of Erastil and an itinerant mercenary."

"Events like that can create lifelong friendships.”  He gave his two acolytes a knowing look.  “As I’m sure you’re becoming aware.  Garrick and I have stayed in touch ever since.”

“Ah, here we are!”  The priest gestured, and the two acolytes looked up to see the familiar doors of The Rusty Dragon.  “Shall we go in?  I have to admit I’m anticipating our visit.”  He winked.  “Miss Kaijitsu is famous for the quality of her libations.”

And with that, Sandpoint’s chief priest turned, opened the double doors, and led his two acolytes into the cheery glow of the inn’s common room.

CONTINUED IN MESSAGE #14 OF CHAPTER #6l:  ENTER THE DRAGON.

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This message was last edited by the player at 01:34, Fri 21 Feb 2014.