"It's still behind me, isn’t it?" Leo whispered. He wasn't too sure who he was talking to anymore. There were always people to talk to, but no one listening.

  When no one answered, he assumed it was just him and the mass of laundry he hadn't bothered folding earlier in the day.

  Leo'd been in the quasi-capital of the kingdom of Cersapil. Of course, the city was also called Cersapil because the so-called kingdom was a city-state like most of the midwestern Akyrima. They hailed him as a hero for all of five minutes, crowned him a knight, and then relegated him to a spot in the Cersapillian Legion.

  He turned around, staring at the pile of laundry. In his image of being an [Adventurer], a [Hero] of the Realm, the dream had never included folding laundry.

  With a sigh, Leo turned around and began folding his underwear. It took him thirty minutes to get to the sweater at the bottom of the pile. It wasn't Tandy's pink one, that one he'd left with his old team, but it was a Woodsten sweater. Loose green knit in a large woolen weave. Should wool be hung or folded? He'd always just had a pile in his room, but as a '[Hero] of the Realm' his assigned apartment just seemed too fancy to have a pile of clothes in the corner.

  Leo slowly folded the green wool. He bent down to sniff it, as though the wool remembered the mossy highlands of his home. His ring snagged on a strand, pulling another bit of yarn loose. Sighing, he looked down at the damage done to his favorite weave and sat down.

  Leo had more wealth than he could have imagined. The Prince of Cersapil had gained two skills during the Hunt and subsequent death of the Rock Mistress, and the prince had been especially grateful.

  He could have replaced the odd ring. The light blue of the off-colored emerald sat in the silver ring that Meredeath had bequeathed him during the [Trial Dungeon]. The [Plus 10] boost to his mana had been a lifesaver in the moment, now, however, he'd moved well beyond the need.

  There was a knock on the door of his quarters. Without waiting for his permission, the doors splayed open. He didn’t mind, as the one person who made him feel like he belonged in Cersapil walked in.

  She was also the only person in the kingdom who would waltz into his personal quarters without knocking twice.

  "Sihd Twy, it's good—"

  "—Leo we have to talk." Her words were tired, and Leo experienced a moment of panic remembering all the 'it's not you, it's me' moments of his life. He sat down heavily, holding his snagged sweater in his lap.

  "About what?" His tone matched hers. He'd never been so confounded by a woman as he was by Twy, the Sihd priestess of the Hunt. She wore the green robes of her order, but underneath was a nonconforming black armor.

  This was her to the letter. If he’d been subjected to all the rules of the Sihd, he’d have given up being a paladin weeks ago. But Twy showed him a mix of devotion and rule bending none of the other priestesses did. She’d convinced him to stay, that there was room for him in the Order.

  Leo put the sweater down, forgetting his regrets as he walked up to his handler.

  Sihd Twy looked at him, her green eyes flashing. Leo saw the warning, the wave off, but he didn't care. He stepped closer, leaning past her body to close the door behind her. He held his breath at the intimacy, at his daring.

  "This isn't proper," she whispered, her breath hot against his chest.

  "Since when have you been concerned with propriety?" he answered, taking a step back, even though... even though he wanted to continue where they'd left off during the celebration of the spring equinox, during the Long Starvation festival.

  Twy coughed, a blush creeping across her face.

  "Look, I'm here on business." Twy announced, pointing to her crest. The pin depicted the Huntress with a spear, hawk-nosed with beading braids running down her hair. Leo looked up at the priestess of the Hunt, whose appearance mirrored her goddess.

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  "Twy, we haven't talked."

  "Business, Paladin Leo." Leo sighed at the rebuke.

  "Business, but never business time." Leo gave her a sly smile before adding her honorific. "Sihd Twy. What do we need to talk about?" He took a further step back, allowing the woman a moment to breathe.

  "You haven't been practicing enough. Your points are eroding, and..." She stepped forward, her chest puffed up as though she'd practiced this speech. "Most importantly, the Huntress is displeased."

  "Well, we can't have that." Leo stepped forward, grinning again. "What can I do to please my huntress?"

  Twy looked at him, the blush forgotten, her eyes cold.

  "I'm serious. What was the last thing you killed?" The temperature in the room had noticeably dropped.

  Leo wished he'd read the fine print associated with becoming a Paladin of the Hunt. Kill quotas were as distant in his dream of being a [Hero] as laundry. He fingered the silver ring on his hand, shifting uncomfortably.

  "It was probably the magpie hunt."

  "Right, and how long ago was that?" She'd pinned him down with her eyes, and not in the way he'd dreamed since kissing her.

  "Two weeks ago, but I killed a dozen of them."

  "Right, a dozen ordinary birds."

  "They were pretty big by Woodsten standards."

  Twy looked Leo up and down, hesitating as though sizing him up, and murmured, "That's disappointing."

  It was Leo's turn to blush.

  "Do you have a mission for me that would satisfy the goddess?" The innuendo suddenly wasn't fun anymore.

  "I do."

  [Quest Granted: [In the Name of the Huntress]

  Journey to the outlying village of Saline to kill the marauding grizzly bear. Collect its head to turn in as proof. Reward: 1 gold coin, Huntress reputation.]

  "Does it have to be a bear? Do you have any other quests?" The quest disturbed Leo. Hunting bears was anathema in Woodsten for obvious reasons. They were the Guardians of the Ursine Wall. A holy symbol of the Everbear.

  Even his slow brain figured it out as Sihd Twy crossed her arms, the leather armor creaking as she did so. Leo'd felt like he'd been sinking since he'd left the Hunt, and each step he took along this new path just mired him deeper in the quicksand.

  With a nod, he turned the mannequin holding the shiny armor the Prince of Cersapil had bequeathed him upon taking up residency in the capital. The irony of Leo being a Paladin of the Hunt and hunting in full plate armor was not lost on him. He reached for his padded garments, glancing over his shoulder at his handler.

  "I'm going to get dressed to leave." He slowly raised his eyebrow. "Unless you want to join me, you might want to turn around."

  Surprisingly, she didn't budge.

  Shrugging, he began stripping down to his undergarments, thinking of the fresh ones he'd just put in the dresser. Eyeing the priestess staring at him, he decided he wasn't brave enough to strip down completely naked. The room was rather cold.

  He didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.

  Slipping on his padded pants first, he felt a bit more confident in the drape, as he reached for his undershirt.

  "How far away is this village?" Came his muffled question as he slipped the padded shirt over his head. He hated undoing the laces, but regretted his laziness as it stuck on his nose.

  Cool hands against his face helped unlace the front of the shirt as Twy spoke.

  "It's a day's walk in plate." Leo opened his mouth to complain that he had to walk, but she cut him off. "I told you the Goddess is displeased with you, remember?" The shirt slid down over his chest. "Her penance is just."

  [You have earned the Retribution of [Grounded]. You have lost stable rights to the Goddess of the Hunt and the Kingdom of Cersapil. Increase reputation to regain this privilege.]

  Seems like his spiritual currency had run out.

  He grabbed the right cuisee holding against his thigh, using one of his [Paladin] skills, "[Arm]" The leather straps glowed as they wriggled around his leg and clasped into place. He grabbed the left cuisee and coated himself in shiny metal.

  His only solace as he prepared to go kill one of the sacred symbols of the frontier was that plate armor was terrible to hunt in. He still hadn't earned a stealth or a dexterity skill, so there was a chance he’d never find the bear. Or it would hear him coming and dispatch of him.

  Leo wasn’t sure which would be better.

  Leo grabbed his pack as he finished dressing. The [Enchanted Axe of Singing] slung neatly across his back. His old Woodsten sweater sat unfolded on his bed.

  He was off to be a [Hero].

  What'd you think? Love him, hate him, miss him?

  We haven't seen the last of Leo in book 2!

  If we get a few more votes, we'll have some more bonus chapters to contend with - so if you haven't already voted go back to chapter 90!