The meeting with the bishop, and the underlying reason for that meeting, had to be postponed.

  Leaving the temple, Gaius wasn't exactly happy, but nor was he especially distraught. He still had a couple of days left until the moon was full. Now that he knew exactly where the underdressed knight was going to be tomorrow, he only had to drink her under the table to have a clear shot at getting out of his current predicament.

  As good as she was with her sword, Isabella's knightly duties were unlikely to leave her with enough recreational time to build up the alcohol tolerance of a no-good thief like Gaius.

  The following day was the usual fare of selling, enchanting, and trying not to lose his mind while dealing with countless nobodies of the adventuring world and their colossal egos.

  Once all of that was behind him, Gaius augmented his leftover dwarven ale supplies with an infusion of the heavier stuff he bought in a nearby tavern.

  Afterwards, he instructed the imp to not show his hooves around the store that evening so as to avoid any unnecessary exorcisms and asked Victor and Alessia for a bit of privacy.

  The stage was set. The lights in the kitchen were sufficiently dimmed. An excessive supply of booze was waiting under the table.

  Surrounded by all that booze and a spread of light snacks, Gaius was starting to feel foolish. He somehow forgot to prepare for the possibility that Isabella would decide to be a no-show.

  As he chewed a slice of cheese, he was already working on contingency plans when he heard the front door open.

  Gaius grabbed a bowl off the table and went to greet his guest. Lucky for him, it was indeed Isabella and not some laborer looking for a quick wife-proof pick-me-up.

  The knight was dressed in her signature toga, making Gaius wonder if she was wearing the same thing every day, maybe using her magic to keep it clean, or if she had a trunk full of identical white sheets stashed somewhere.

  Either way, he wasn't complaining. He did notice that she had her saber on her. That made him painfully aware of the fact that the very same tablets Isabella was sent to recover were now sitting in a room just above them.

  Plastering an idle smile on his face, Gaius drifted around Isabella to close the store, making sure to brush up against her on the way to the door.

  He then properly greeted the knight with a nod and offered her the bowl he had with him.

  "If your people were growing anything other than olives around here, I would have presented you with a bouquet of willow branches. You know, because of yesterday. But instead, here, have some olives."

  Isabella tried one, which left her holding onto an olive pit and no idea what to do with it.

  "I'm an idiot, sorry," Gaius said upon assessing the situation. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

  "No, it's sweet," Isabella at least tried to encourage Gaius.

  "They're supposed to pair well with the Trogsmasher ale," Gaius said.

  He snatched the pit out of her hand. A few simple spells and a bright flash later, it was but a cinder on the palm of his hand. He ground what was left of it into ash and threw that over his shoulder.

  "Someone will get it later," he said, already hearing the imp complain about having to do extra work. "Now come, let's sit down like civilized people."

  During their brief journey to the kitchen, Isabella said, "Now be honest with me here, Guy, do you perform this song and dance for all the women who come over for drinks? Because if you do, I'm impressed."

  "Honestly? No. I mostly improvised here." Gaius helped Isabella into a chair, then sat down across the table from her. "But if you're vouching for it, I'll make sure to add it to my repertoire."

  Isabella laughed, then looked straight at Gaius. "You know how they say not to discuss your past amorous adventures during a date? Well here's another one for you. Hearing about your future conquests is even less arousing."

  Echoing their very first interaction, Gaius said, "Lady, as far as I'm concerned, you're the one conquering me here. But noted."

  He poured ale for both of them. He had no doubts in his ability to outdrink Isabella, so he wasn't messing around with different-sized mugs, dummy pitchers, or anything of the sort. It was a good old-fashioned drinking contest, albeit one Isabella didn't know about.

  Gaius controlled the flow of booze as he strived to control the flow of conversation, using pauses for refills.

  Drink after drink, he opened up about his travels, all the places he's been to, and some of the unlikely-to-unbelievable situations he narrowly escaped from. Only in those stories, instead of a thief and treasure hunter, he was a traveling merchant.

  By the end of it all, Gaius was getting pretty tipsy. But while Isabella's cheeks were showing a hint of red, she was far from passing out or even starting to slur her words.

  "You've been around, Guy, I'll give you that," she said after biting into a chunk of bacon. "But how come you seem so clueless about my kingdom? You should have visited Caladonia much sooner."

  The ale was running out. Or at least that was what Gaius said as he switched over to wine.

  "You lot have a reputation."

  Isabella emptied her mug, then slammed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Yeah? What kind of reputation?"

  "You've been cooped up on this here peninsula of yours far too long. Among all the continental nations, you're the only ones who weren't a part of the Old Empire at some point. All our stories describe you as dangerous. And can you really blame them? These artifacts as you call them. You know what we call them? Weapons. Weapons with more firepower than the combined might of all the Mystlund mages. And then there's your infatuation with your goddesses. Nova this, Mallia that. No one knows what to expect from you."

  Isabella raised her finger at Gaius. "Watch it. And they're not our goddesses. Nova and Mallia preside over the whole of creation. You guys are just heathens."

  "I'll drink to that," Gaius said. Isabella accepted the invitation. Once they were done, Gaius picked up where they left off, "If we're such heathens, how come you don't mount a crusade against us? In my experience, there's nothing the devout love more than a good crusade."

  "Why bother?" Isabella asked. "You may reject the light of Nova after she brings you into this world, but in the end, Mallia will get hers anyway. What you do in-between is up to you."

  "See what I mean? You're weird."

  Gaius wanted to accompany his words with an exasperated gesture, but a careless jerk of his arm overturned his mug, spilling wine on a plate of pretzels.

  He jumped up from his chair, wiped the table with his sleeve, and upon pouring the spilled wine from the plate into his mouth, conjured a fire orb between his palms to at least try to dry out the pretzels.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "And he's saying I'm weird," Isabella snorted.

  Standing over the plate with a blob of heat in front of him, Gaius said, "Look, this present situation notwithstanding, you're the knight who instead of wearing a suit of nice armor walks around wrapped in a table cloth. At any moment, you're a strong gust of wind away from presenting the entire street with your sister moon. How are you going to command respect looking like that? Not that I'm complaining. But more importantly, what do you do if someone tries to stab you?"

  "My faith protects me," Isabella said, more tight-lipped than usual.

  "That's not an answer."

  "The answer requires something stronger than wine."

  Before Isabella finished that sentence, Gaius was already under the table, producing a bottle of brandy. He was beginning to taste the awful headache he'd have to deal with in the morning. But with the knight not showing any signs of blacking out, he didn't have much choice.

  Lacking in any appropriate vessels for brandy, the thief and the knight drank straight out of the bottle. They had to pack the stuff down with olives, as by then pretty much everything else, except for the soggy pretzels, was gone.

  At some point their conversation moved from the table to the counter by the stove, where the two sat side by side with only the bottle separating them.

  During a long pause, Gaius turned to Isabella to see her staring right at him. With all the booze making it very hard to think straight, he was willing to see where this would go.

  Instead of making any sort of move, Isabella said, "I grew up in a temple. Much larger than the one here, but you get the idea. I was but one of many young acolytes there, but even then, I knew I was special. The priests made sure of that. They never missed a chance to tell me I had a close connection to the goddesses. A divine purpose. A kid who didn't know any better? Of course, I believed them."

  "The other acolytes? Now that's a different story. They didn't like me much. Looking back at it, I can't blame them. But back then, I didn't have the benefit of perspective. There was a lot of resentment going each and every way. Eventually, it led to some truth surfacing. I wasn't special, at least not in the way the priests put it. I was simply an unwanted child of some duke who arranged for me to have a reasonable position in the order. Mostly to keep me far far away from his actual family."

  "So far it doesn't sound like you'd be too inclined to stick with this order of yours," Gaius said.

  The idea that some of the knights he'd ran into during his travels didn't actually possess any divine powers and were simply put into their position by their heritage had never occurred to him. Perhaps it was because most knights never shied away from flashing those powers. But then again, maybe just those who could back up their fancy titles with actual divinity were the only ones who survived their first field assignment.

  "That's because you're a reasonable guy, Guy," Isabella said with a chuckle. "It's much more difficult to be reasonable when you're a teenager who grew up on hearing how absolutely amazing she was. The revelation only made me try harder to prove I was worthy of being a part of the order. And let me tell you, you can't imagine how surprised I was when I managed to call forth my first lightning bolt. Not to mention the priests. The thing started a fire that burned down a temple warehouse. I was sure I would get in so much trouble, I wouldn't leave my cell for years. But apparently, it's quite rare to both be a political favor and actually gifted."

  "My training intensified. Within a few years, I got my pendant," Isabella touched the jewel on her chest, "and became a proper knight."

  "And how does that work?" Gaius asked. "Do you actually have chats with your goddesses? Or is it just one of them? You say you're from the moon order. How does that fit into your pantheon?" Learning a few usually well-guarded divine secrets seemed like a great way to kill some time and let the booze do its thing.

  Isabella was happy to oblige. "My order is unique. Mallia and Nova. Death and rebirth. They're both parts of the same cycle. Sister Moon, with her own cycle, represents their duality. There can't be one without the other. My order reflects that by drawing power from both divine sources. And no, I don't actually speak to the goddesses. But they never shy away from blessing me with their favor, there's no denying that."

  "Favor like what?"

  "My skin doesn't get burned by the sun. I don't get cold in the winter. I'm stronger and faster than my physique would suggest. And my faith acts as my shield."

  Gaius hopped down from the counter and faced Isabella. He looked her up and down.

  "It's nice you don't get cold, what with your attire and all. And I do know already that you're strong. But relying on faith to protect you just seems daft to me. There's no substitute for a good shield."

  Isabella stood up as well, then immediately pushed Gaius away to clear some space between the two of them.

  "Hit me," she said.

  "What?" Gaius needed a moment to process Isabella's request.

  "I want you to hit me," Isabella repeated herself, slower.

  "We've already established that you're good at fighting," Gaius said. "I'm not disputing that. But what happens when you don't anticipate an attack?"

  "That's exactly what I'm trying to show you," Isabella said. "Just give me your best shot, will you?"

  "I'm not doing it," Gaius refused.

  "Well in that case," Isabella said, and before even finishing her sentence, lunged forward and slapped Gaius once on each cheek.

  The combination of booze, sudden movement, and instinct all but forced Gaius to hit back. He threw a quick jab at Isabella's chin.

  She didn't even try to dodge. In fact, it looked like she actually leaned into the strike. The punch connected, but instead of sending the knight to the floor, it bounced off of what looked like a shimmering translucent screen of energy that materialized for a split second.

  When it dissipated, Gaius was left with a sore hand, while Isabella stood in front of him, completely unharmed.

  "As I said, my faith protects me."

  Isabella then took Gaius' hand and almost immediately, the pain disappeared. And while witnessing a knight wield healing magic was nothing new to Gaius, he couldn't help but note that when Isabella initiated the contact, he felt her soft skin and not the invisible shield surrounding her.

  Everything he knew about magic screens suggested they couldn't distinguish between friend and foe. And even if hers somehow could, Gaius wasn't able to sense any magic around Isabella except for that simple healing spell.

  But he wasn't a mage or a scholar to obsess over figuring out the exact workings of this new type of magic. He was more concerned with the idea that he might have underestimated Isabella in more ways than one. He was beginning to doubt his ability to outdrink her.

  All that was happening inside his head. On the surface, he was a half-drunk shopkeeper who had just been amazed to his very core.

  "Your faith protects you. Alright, sure. But still, what's with that get-up? At least put some pants on. I can't be the first to be utterly mystified and distracted by what you're wearing."

  With a sigh, Isabella moved back to her chair by the table, dragging along the brandy bottle.

  "No, you're not the first," she said. "But it's not like I just decided to dress like this one day. My covenant with the goddesses calls for a show of trust. They protect me, and so I must avoid any and all physical armors. It is only fair. And it does have its benefits. I travel light, I can feel the sun and moon on my skin, I don't have to worry about having an outfit for every occasion. And as for the looks and whispers that follow me around? When you can do this," Isabella's eyes sparkled as she slammed the bottle into the table. Outside, thunder rolled down from the mountains. "Well, it helps to not let that stuff get to you."

  "I see," Gaius said.

  He joined Isabella at the table and reached for the bottle, only to discover it empty.

  "You sure can drink," he said, trying hard not to betray the full depth of his disappointment.

  "My order encourages its knights to enjoy life. At some point, you simply have to join me on a night out in the royal capital. There, where the people aren't quite as sour as in this backwater, you'll see how a knight of the Moon really relaxes."

  "I'll keep it in mind," Gaius said, internally wondering how he would get to the divining pool.

  When the resulting pause stretched for a touch too long, Isabella said, "And what about you, Guy? Based on your stories and your magic powers, you seem a little overqualified to be running a shop in a place like this. What brings you here?"

  "Do you really not have any proper mages in this place?" Gaius countered.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I keep being praised for my magic. You, the town's captain, it's like you've never met a real wizard."

  "I'd be lying if I said they're too common in these parts," Isabella said. "Still, you could almost hold your ground against me. That has to count for something."

  "It doesn't. I'm just a guy who knows a few simple cantrips. Back in Mystlund, this wouldn't even be seen as rare, not to mention impressive. And this leads us to why I'm here. What do you know about me?" Gaius raised his hand to stop Isabella from talking. "Don't answer that. You know my last name, is what I'm getting at here. Chanter. Short for enchanter. Now tell me, how many guys named Smith do you know who make their coin at a forge?"

  "Do I answer this one?"

  "Will it help in any way?"

  "I guess not."

  "Exactly. Had I stayed back home, I would be sitting at a workbench right now, enchanting. Like my father, and his father before him. That wasn't a life for me. Instead of living up to expectations, I went on the road. One thing led to another and now I'm here, working for a guy who can sponsor my early retirement."

  Gaius had no idea why he was opening up like this, telling Isabella something so close to the actual truth. But at least not having to invent another lie allowed him to concoct a plan that was as dangerous as it was insane. And with all that booze swirling in his system, he was certain it was his best shot.

  "Wait, did you hear that?" he asked.

  "Hear what?" Isabella looked around, touching the hilt of her sword.

  "I think I heard a commotion upstairs. The guests probably need something," Gaius said.

  "You have guests here?"

  "Well, this is a shop, but also a sort-of inn. I have a couple of adventurers living on the second floor," Gaius said. "Wait here, I'll go see what they want."

  He got up, struggled with keeping his balance for a moment, then looked at Isabella.

  "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

  Story Facts - Chapter 14