The Butcher of Gadobhra

Once before, Ben had asked for the power to heal someone, and accepted that he would pay a price. When Goodboy died, he asked again, knowing there would be a price that might again change the trajectory of his life. And now, he was already paying that price, and not happy at all about what was happening.

"No! They were perfect! The dyes were subtle, the shading exquisite. I worked for weeks perfecting the stitching, and every piece was made from the rare leather harvested from King Grawk in the menagerie. The metal reinforcements could barely be noticed and I managed to make the rivets the same color as the surrounding leather. This was the finest Courier armor I've seen on any Franklin, and the envy of the household!"

He glared at Goodboy, "And now, it's ruined, because someone thought we should have matching outfits."

His mount looked at him with laughing eyes, then rolled in the thick grass that now covered the landscape, replacing the snowy fields. Goodboy's fur had been a dirty white before, and had never been perfectly clean, no matter how much Ben had groomed him. The undead were notorious about avoiding baths and Snarlfangs saw no need for them. Now, his fur was a milky white after Ben had given him a thorough cleaning and removed all the thick, winter coat.

To his dismay, all of Ben's armor and clothing had begun to fade and then whiten until it matched Goodboy's pale coat. Gloves, leather coat, pants and boots: all of it was a perfect white with a slight shimmer. Only his hat had retained its color, the phoenix feather blazing and glowing. It was still the same gear, comfortable as his own skin, but many small cuts and scrapes had been repaired. He was not looking forward to riding into Sedgewick looking like this, but at least the armor had gotten an upgrade, and so had he, apparently.

The Clothes Maketh the Man...

...and your Courier Armor now proclaims you to be a Blessed Paladin of the Light , with a Blessed Aura. They mark you as adutiful servant of a benevolent God. (At least during working hours.)

In addition to the substantial boost to your reputation and presentation (Which you didn't need much help with, really, but every bit helps when you're a Franklin.) you now enjoy the perk: Blessed Mitigation. +100 points of Universal Mitigation when assaulted by the Forces of Darkness, Black Witches, Demons, Invading Elementals, Rogue Sorcerers, Cabalists, Hedge Witches, Necromancers, Evil Godlike Entities, Demonic Summoners, God-Slayers, and Undead. (And trust me, you'll need as much help as you can get. No Spoilers!, just saying...) The definitions are generous: Fight the Good Fight, and know that someone is watching out over you. Start a bar brawl and you're on your own. (But she'll be watching that too, so make sure you pay for the damages.)

These bonuses apply to your current mount, with the same restrictions.

Your acceptance of the role of Blessed Paladin of the Light comes with additional options.

Blessed Mitigation Level 2: Spend 10 Enhancement points to increase Blessed Mitigation to a bases of 110 points.

Blessed Mitigation Level 3: Spend 20 Enhancement points to increase Blessed Mitigation to a bases of 130 points.

Blessed Mitigation Level 4: Spend 30 Enhancement points to increase Blessed Mitigation to a bases of 160 points.

Blessed Mitigation Level 5: Spend 40 Enhancement points to increase Blessed Mitigation to a bases of 200 points.

Blessed Mitigation Level 6: Spend 50 Enhancement points to increase Blessed Mitigation to a bases of 250 points.

Aura of Retribution: Spend 50 Enhancement points to increase the power of your Holy Aura. When a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation attempts to damage you, they will take an amount of damage equal to your mitigation.

Holy Warrior1: Spend 10 Enhancement Points to add +10 damage to any attack you make. This bonus is doubled against creatures affected by Blessed Mitigation.

Holy Warrior2: Spend 20 Enhancement Points to add +20 additional damage to any attack you make. This bonus is doubled against creatures affected by Blessed Mitigation.

Holy Warrior3: Spend 30 Enhancement Points to add +30 additional damage to any attack you make. This bonus is doubled against creatures affected by Blessed Mitigation.

Holy Warrior4: Spend 40 Enhancement Points to add +40 additional damage to any attack you make. This bonus is doubled against creatures affected by Blessed Mitigation.

Holy Warrior5: Spend 50 Enhancement Points to add +50 additional damage to any attack you make. This bonus is doubled against creatures affected by Blessed Mitigation.

Aura of Judgement: Spend 50 Enhancement Points to pronounce Judgement upon your enemies. Choose one Creature and condemn it for its crimes. Any ally attacking it and within thirty feet of you will add your bonus damage from Holy Warrior to their attacks. Until this creature dies, or one day has passed, you may not condemn another enemy.

Blessed Healer1: Spend 10 Enhancement Points to add an additional +10 healing to any spell you use. If the damage was caused by a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation, the amount healed by this enhancement is tripled.

Blessed Healer2: Spend 20 Enhancement Points to add an additional +20 healing to any spell you use. If the damage was caused by a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation, the amount healed by this enhancement is tripled.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Blessed Healer1: Spend 30 Enhancement Points to add an additional +30 healing to any spell you use. If the damage was caused by a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation, the amount healed by this enhancement is tripled.

Blessed Healer1: Spend 40 Enhancement Points to add an additional +40 healing to any spell you use. If the damage was caused by a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation, the amount healed by this enhancement is tripled.

Blessed Healer1: Spend 50 Enhancement Points to add an additional +50 healing to any spell you use. If the damage was caused by a creature affected by Blessed Mitigation, the amount healed by this enhancement is tripled.

Blessed Healing Aura: Spend 50 Enhancement Points to increase the power of your Blessed Aura. Any ally healing another ally, both within fifty feet of you, will benefit from the additional healing of Blessed Healer.

Off for the Day: Spending 10 points on this ability allows you to suppress your Blessed Aura. After all, it's not always convenient to be the candle lighting the darkness. Using this ability will take practice to use, and will be much harder to use in certain situations where brave actions are needed.

He understood better the stories of Paladins bravely rushing headlong at demons and wizards, and shrugging off their spells. That is, assuming all Paladins got these abilities at some point. Sir Timothy certainly hadn't had an aura like his. Personally, he'd always hoped to stay out of such fights and not have to charge into battle against evil creatures outnumbered and outgunned. He preferred alternative ways of taking down his opponents. But things like that tended to happen far to often to him. And would probably happen a lot more, now. He'd been saving up his Enhancement Points, but now seemed like a good time to spend a big chunk of them.

He had choices between staying alive, doing more damage, and healing more. After some thought, he went with staying alive and picked up all the levels of Blessed Mitigation Nothing cut down the damage you could do to a foe like dying. He was sorely tempted by the healing, and would come back to it later. He had enough left over to buy the first two levels of Blessed Healing and Off for the Day. He considered the latter to be a no brainer.

Goodboy seemed to approve of his choices, letting out a long howl and then strutting back and forth until Ben laughed. After a few more ear scritches, he mounted up, and they ran off toward the ruins of Northguard, making the trip quickly, Goodboy loving the speed enhancements granted by Ben's class. The land they traveled over was already changing, with grass and wildflowers sprouting and growing fast. What had been the frozen, bare lands of winter were quickly becoming the lush meadows of early summer. This ended abruptly as they came to where Northguard had been. A perfect circle of ground a quarter mile across was bare of vegetation and dirt. The land dropped off several feet, the interior of the circle made of flat, bare stone. In the center was a pile of large rocks, once part of the castles foundations. A few other stones had been thrown around the circle. Ben thought that if all of them were used, he might be able to make a small house from them. The rest of the castle and fortress were gone, either thrown far, or obliterated.

They didn't stay long, there was nothing here worth investigating. Ben pointed Goodboy to the south, and once again, they took off at blinding speed, traveling over the green landscape. Twice, they passed abandoned villages. Only a few huts or barns were left standing, as if a tornado had cut through the center of each town, which is what Ben assumed had happened. The remaining Ice Devil had roamed about the northern part of the Empire destroying what it could. To Ben it sounded like an adolescent bully kicking over sandcastles on the beach, and no one daring to tell them 'No'. The fight with the first had been terrifying. Thrilling as well. Flying into the Storm and spearing the thing's core with his sword had felt amazing at the time, and given him nightmares later. Those memories, more than anything else, had been what spurred him to spend points on Blessed Mitigation.

His musing over the past was ended by a low growl from Goodboy's stomach, and his mount barking loudly and turning to the side. Ben saw two scrawny sheep and an old bull grazing on the new grass. He hadn't thought much until now about how he was going to feed a Snarlfang, or how much they ate. He hopped off the huge carnivore. "Sure, go grab a bite to eat, and if you don't mind, bring me back some left overs." He said the last jokingly, but Goodboy nodded once, then took off like a shot. Ben watched him run across the grass, not howling or making any announcement of his coming. The wind was coming his way, and he was on the animals quickly with little warning. Goodboy grabbed one sheep, breaking its neck and flicking it to the side. The other ran bleating. The old bull started to charge, then thought better and ran. Goodboy caught up to him withing seconds, leaping onto his prey, and ending the bull's life with a snap of his jaws.

He eyed the running sheep, then let it go. The other he picked up and trotted back to Ben, dropping it in front of him like a hunting dog dropping a duck or rabbit. Then he sat, looking at Ben, who got the hint. Five minutes of ear scritches and quite a few "Who's a good boy? You are!" satisfied Goodboy, and when his stomach growled again, he left to devour the entire carcass of the bull. Ben expertly butchered the sheep, taking the best parts to roast over a fire. The rest he set to the side. Goodboy happily devoured everything, including hide, bones, and entrails. Of the bull, there was only a red spot on the grass.

Ben enjoyed his roasted mutton, hungry himself. He had planned to save the rest of the roast for later, but as he turned his back, Goodboy grabbed it from the fire and devoured it in one bite, wooden spit included. Ben turned to find no left overs, and a happy Snarlfang. "Well, I guess that leaves less to clean up. Let's get moving and see if we can find the Duchess and her army."