A handful of infamous thieves lay dead in the stronghold. Enkidu scored the most kills, though Calaf had at least two alongside countless assists. No experience came from Honest John, still ranting down in his cell, but he was hardly worth the extra XP. The opportunity to loot those rare rings remained tempting, but Calaf made his choice and was at peace with it.

  They propped the broken door to this ‘cell block’ back into its slot. The door had been kicked off its hinges in a pitched battle the previous year. It jammed into place and would not easily be dislodged. Honest John continued to grumble from the oubliette. He had enough food items to last him ten months, more with rationing. The party would surely be back through Firefield by that time. The conman would have time to stew, and the party could figure out what to do with him later.

  Most thieves’ parties bailed once the gambit to paralyze Enkidu and subdue Jelena and company went awry. The lady thief escaped alongside at least one of her bodyguards. That Fallen Cleric and a regular cleric fled out of separate exits. Mikail was gone, the blood trail from his gunshot tapering off towards the city. Various unbranded thieves snuck out of their own accord. Jelena estimated well over half of the crews ran off – and were now no doubt going to try to co-opt Honest John’s church-coffer pilfering scheme.

  “Guess we have a lot more competition, now.” Zilara knelt to pilfer a poison-infused weapon. “I can break this down into its constituent parts at camp tonight. Might find out what it was meant to paralyze. Sure didn’t hurt Calaf.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Enkidu said.

  The quartet (and Yonah, who wouldn't leave Enkidu's side) left the old thieves’ guild hideout behind and made what preparations they could in Firefield. Then, they took a quick detour south and east…

  With a steady pace and a knowledgeable guide, Japella was easily reachable in an afternoon. The crew would spend the night here, then head north through Autumn’s Redoubt to the highland plateau and the Olde Capital.

  They stayed in the burnt-out church mission. Few would disturb them here, and they could all have a dedicated room, even Yonah.

  Calaf waited about in the chapel late in the evening. The statuary hall in this small outpost of the church was small, just four small busts in the back of the sanctuary. These small statues were barely recognizable as counterparts to the grander statues at the main pilgrimage stations. Still, with just a few more levels, Calaf could kneel before the leftmost statue and arise a Paladin.

  Footsteps at the front door shook the Squire out of his reverie.

  “Sorry, I’m late.” Jelena sauntered in through the church door. “Had to check on some old folks.”

  Right. She would know most of the remaining citizens of this town. Calaf only realized it now. It was a small, tight-knit community, not like cosmopolitan Riverglen.

  “Do you have any family around here, still?” he asked.

  Jelena winked. “Eh, sort of. They’re alright. Thanks for asking.”

  A sliver of a moon shone in through the open ceiling. It reminded Calaf of the time in the Twelfthnight hot springs when the pair had been formally introduced. And again, in the same spring months later, when the pair had come to know each other more formally.

  “What level are you at?” Jelena asked.

  Calaf had been leveling up so much that he hadn’t had time to dwell on recent stat increases. He checked the Interface and gasped:

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Sixty-three,” Calaf said. “Two of those were back during the brawl. Fighting at-level peers rewards a great deal of experience.”

  Jelena failed to hide a grin. “Just two off from ranking up. Are you more than halfway to sixty-four?”

  Calaf nodded.

  The relic thief checked the sky. “Hmm. Still have several hours before it’s time to turn in. I know a watering hole around here that should be able to get you over the edge. Or at least close. Will save some time on the road, yeah?”

  Jelena’s local knowledge of the Firefield deserts provided dividends once more.

  “I’m curious,” said Calaf.

  “Just follow me, dear.”

  The pair slunk off to a sunken-in grotto not far from Japella.

  “We come here for dire-gecko meat sometimes,” Jelena explained.

  A bountiful supply of dire-geckos slapped about in a wide, half-subterranean sinkhole pool. It was a pristine, untampered hunting ground. Calaf and Jelena were about to cull it for all the dire-gecko hides and meat the tiny village would need for a year.

  “Okay.” Jelena pulled a rock off the ground. “If we walk in there, they’ll all attack at once. A high lift, even for a thirty-plus level delta. So…”

  The relic thief tossed a pebble over a boulder. Judging by the screech, it had hit one of the geckos. A pitter-patter of feet against sand grew closer as the dire-beast approached. Calaf readied his weapons. The dire-gecko rammed against his shield and was swiftly dispatched by a single spear thrust.

  Minimal experience was gained. But Jelena already threw another pebble into the pool. This time, three geckos approached…

  Some hours later, just past midnight, Calaf slew the last dire-gecko in this portion of the grotto. A mere five experience points were gained. But it was enough for…

  Level up!

  “Whew.” Calaf caught his breath. “Just barely went over the edge, there.”

  “Now we just have to get back home with all these hides,” said Jelena. “Hope you gained enough Endurance in those level-ups, dear.”

  Calaf had barely enough capacity to haul the trove of dire-gecko hides and meat back to Japella. They dropped the haul into a dry and cool storage facility. The items all sat in a container that long predated the advent of the Interface.

  Back in the ruined church, Calaf walked up to the diminutive statue of Paladin. Roland’s features were obscured by a helmet, as in the larger statues. In this depiction, he was less of a person and more of a vague totem representing the entire Paladin-class, more than an actual historical individual.

  Many rituals and ceremonies were associated with this final rank-up. But Calaf had left much of this behind long ago. Calaf simply knelt, selected the statue, and chose [Use].

  Rank up.

  He didn’t feel any different. His stats did receive the requisite bump:

  A pelntiful increase across the board. It would be the last major multi-stat increase between here and level 92. Even as each stat point would bring exponential growth.

  “Feel any different?” Jelena asked.

  Calaf shook his head. “Not particularly.”

  “I did my last rank up here,” she added. “To Cleric, of course. Kind of interested in how those gospels turn out.”

  “Well, we have our destination,” Calaf said.

  “And with the conclave and pilgrimage underway, we have a perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Demon Lord’s Fall.”

  Jelena hugged Calaf from behind.

  “Y’know that Endurance bonus ought to come in handy,” she said coyly. “And without those pesky vows of temperance and chastity you’d still have in the church, yes? All the benefits, none of the setbacks.”

  Calaf caught her meaning. There were still a few hours before they had to turn in.

  The pair did it, right on the pulpit. In full view of the rank-up statues. They even borrowed the few remaining pews as they broke in Calaf’s new rank in a much church-unapproved fashion.