The warmth Stephan gained from healing the injured dropped from barely noticeable to beneath his notice, but he kept going anyway. He moved from wounded to wounded until there was no one left bleeding or bruised in the square.

  When it was done, he straightened, suppressing a groan. His arms felt heavy. The healing had drained him more than the fighting had.

  Lady Clara stood before him, hands on her hips, frowning like she was deciding whether to scold or praise him.

  “Well,” she said at last, “now that we have had the time to cool our heads, will you listen to my advice?”

  She didn’t wait for a response and kept going. “You should head for Cliffort. The Knights’ Academy is there. If you go, you can train to become a proper Paladin, and they can keep you safe. You should leave right away.”

  “Actually, Clara,” Tod said, scratching his beard, “I think he should head to Nightmare Hollow and get some levels. Nightmare Hollow is level five, and new guards have to clear it until they hit level nine and can’t get any more levels from it.”

  Clara rounded on him. “Theodore, the boy doesn’t have months to waste in a backwater nightmare dungeon.”

  “He doesn’t need months,” Tod countered. “He can clear it once. Stephan’s the Paladin now, and he just killed the Redcap, he’s what? Feels like level seven? Six at worst. He can do it this afternoon while we clean up everything around town and make sure no fae stayed behind. I can’t leave town before tomorrow morning anyway.”

  Clara sighed, and her eyes flashed gold.

  “He’s level six. Fine, he can go.”

  “Wait,” Stephan interrupted the discussion. “Don’t I get any say in this?”

  “Sure you do, kiddo,” Tod flashed an old man’s knowing smile. “You can stay here until fiends sniff you out and come slaughter us all. You can march straight to the academy, or you can grab a level or two in the dungeon and then march to the academy. For what it’s worth, one of the twelve Royal Knights and the Marshal of the East is the headmaster of the academy. Meaning, you’ll have someone to keep you alive once the fiends come knocking. And he can teach you how to wield a sword, though you’ve handled that cleaver like a veteran, I’ll give you that.”

  Stephan blushed, but didn’t know what to do with the compliment. As for his choices… they weren’t really choices at all. If the glowing letters he had glimpsed were true, he had been level four even before the fight, and he was level six now. The problem was he couldn’t read all that well, and the letters vanished before he could read them properly.

  “Are you really thinking about this?” Tod asked when Stephan said nothing.

  “Leave him be, Theodore,” Lady Clara’s tone was surprisingly defensive. “He’s the Paladin. Him carefully weighing his options before making a decision is a good sign.”

  Stephan really wished they’d stop talking about him like he wasn’t there. Still, they meant well. Probably.

  “I will go to the dungeon, then head for the academy, but only after I say my goodbyes and check what’s wrong with Lacy.”

  Like Tod had said, his choice wasn’t really a choice. If fiends were going to hound him, it would best happen somewhere far away from Brighthollow. There was no need to risk the safety of his family and friends. Especially after whatever strange thing had happened to Lacy.

  “What’s wrong with Lacy?” Lady Clara asked. “Is she injured?”

  “No,” Stephan hesitated. “She said she didn’t know who I am. And… I don’t think she was joking.”

  Lady Clara frowned.

  “Let’s check it out.”

  They moved towards Stephan’s and Lacy’s families, who stood together. Stephan’s mother grabbed her boy in a fierce hug. His father stepped over and clasped his shoulder, proud that his son had fought like a man, yet frowning with worry.

  “What’s this I’m hearing about you getting the Paladin as your class, Steve?” he said quietly. “Saw you healing old Doug over there.”

  “It’s true, Mister Cobblerson,” Lady Clara stepped in before Stephan could say anything, and for once, he was grateful for the old priestess butting her way into his conversations. His family was fine, but something was wrong with Lacy, and he needed to know what right away.

  Lacy‘s mother smiled at him; her father gave him a firm handshake, but Lacy stayed back from the stranger acting overly familiar with her parents.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Even when her mother and father confirmed it, confirmed everything, her fearful frown only deepened.

  Lady Clara’s eyes shone gold, then she shook her head.

  “There’s nothing wrong with her. No curses or ailments.” Then she focused on Lacy. “Girl, let me ask you something. Who lives in the Cobblersons’ house?”

  “Well, Mister and Missus Cobblerson,” Lacy said slowly, “and their children, Tom, Greg, and Azalea.”

  “Lacy, Stephan here is Azalea’s older brother, two years younger than Greg,” Lady Clara said forcefully. “Anyone in town can tell you that. Even if we ignore your close relationship, even if you didn’t get along, don’t you find it strange that you’ve forgotten about him? He lives two houses over from you, and you’re the same age.”

  Lacy stared at Stephan. Her lips trembled. He could tell she was trying. She was close to crying from frustration when she finally shook her head, her chin wobbling.

  “Never met him,” she whispered. “I know it’s impossible, but I’ve never met him.”

  The words cut like a dagger through Stephan’s heart. And he could tell Lacy was hurting too, the young women barely holding back from sobbing.

  “Let’s go, Lady Clara,” Stephan said hoarsely. “We have things to do.”

  He practically ran away. The old priestess lingered for a moment, her eyes moving from Stephan to Lacy and back to him before she followed.

  “You go to the nightmare dungeon,” she said ponderously and placed her bloodied mace into his hand. “I’ll ask around. Maybe Lacy’s not the only one whose memory was tampered with. But the strange thing is, there’s no sign of damage or any problem I can sense, which worries me. Perhaps it’s something more advanced, perhaps if we found a higher-level Priest?”

  Stephan nodded, the weight suffocating him eased a bit. “You’re right. If we find a higher-level Priest, they might be able to heal her. Thank you for giving me hope, Lady Clara.”

  Stephan then hurried to speak with Tod, not noticing Lady Clara’s worried frown. Her eyes lingered on his still-tense shoulders as she recalled what she knew about the prior paladins.

  “You ready, kiddo? Or should I call you Sir Paladin now?” Tod laughed, a sword in one hand, three unlit torches in the other, and Stephan tried a smile.

  “Steve’s fine, Sir.”

  “Well then, Steve, we’d best get going. It’s almost noon, and the dungeon is seven miles away. Try to keep up.”

  The old Sentry set off at a brisk pace, and once Stephan caught up, he sped up some more. Stephan was surprised at how fast the old man was going, and Tod was surprised that the youth could keep his pace. He almost forgot what he had planned to do while showing Stephan the difference between a level six youth and a level ten guardsman.

  Fortunately, he remembered after the initial shock had passed.

  “Now, Steve, regarding the dungeon, we don’t talk about it with regular classers, but you’re no longer a regular classer, are you? So, listen up. Nightmare Hollow is a nightmare-infested cave we have to clear regularly. Nightmares gather inside, and if left unattended for too long, they multiply until they spill out into the forest. After a while, they would reach the surrounding villages and the outlying farms. Our job as watchmen is to keep it clean. We do it once a month, and that’s the most important job us watchmen have other than protecting the town. Any questions?”

  Stephan had none, and Tod proceeded to explain the dungeon’s layout. It was a small system of five connected caves with only one long, narrow tunnel posing any real danger. If a nightmare capable of slithering into it appeared, it could threaten Stephan, despite its lower level.

  “We’ve never lost a man there yet. But don’t let that get any ideas into your head. We’re trained, and the first couple of times a new recruit does the dungeon, it’s under a senior Sentry’s supervision.”

  The man shook his finger at Stephan.

  “I’ll have to go back to the town once I drop you off, and you’ll have to find the way back on your own. But as you can see.” Tod pointed at the packed ground beneath their feet and the cut branches and bushes all around them. “It’s really hard to get lost.”

  Tod looked like he had expected a laugh, but Stephan just nodded seriously. He had a hundred problems swarming his mind. Laughing at an old man’s corny jokes was low on his list of priorities.

  As for the path itself, Stephan had never traveled so far out of town. In fact, the furthest he had ever been was to learn to swim and wade through the Greenshimmer River with his brothers and neighbors and… and Lacy…

  It’s all right. I’ll find a cure. One way or another, I’ll find a cure.

  Stephan was in a grim mood when he reached the yawning cave entrance.

  “Here, let me light this for you.” Tod sparked his flint and steel and lit a torch with a hiss.

  “Remember.” He handed it to Stephan, along with the unlit ones. “Don’t stay once your last torch starts burning low. Just leave the cave and come back home regardless of how far along you got; we’ll clean it up later. There should be five to ten nightmares inside, enough for a level or two, depending on how far along you are.”

  Stephan nodded.

  “Well, good luck, Sir Steve the Paladin,” he saluted with a grin and left.

  How far along am I?

  Stephan closed his eyes. His chest was warm, but far from the burning feeling right before he had leveled before.

  Not much.

  Then he focused on the cave. It looked thoroughly uninviting. Chill air streamed outside, forming a thin veil of mist at the entrance. Stephan sniffed, but sensed nothing amiss. Moist mustiness he had expected, and that’s what he got.

  Gripping his mace in one hand and torch in the other, he took the first step into the darkness.

  [Stephan Cobblerson, Paladin level 6

  Class skills: In Living Memory XVI, Blessing of Healing I, Blessing of Arms I, Smite I, Blessing of Protection I, Inspiring Aura I, Blessing of Conviction I

  Attributes: Agility: 15, Charisma: 15, Composure: 16, Dexterity: 15, Endurance: 16, Intelligence: 13, Luck: 15, Perception: 15, Presence: 14, Strength: 15, Toughness: 15, Vitality: 16, Willpower: 16, Wisdom: 15]