"I know it might be a little much but we would appreciate it if you could work the whole month."
"It doesn't sound too unreasonable to me." Ernesto looked to Gahoole and the others, mostly he got either mumbles of accent or shrugs. "We will be payed?"
"Oh of course." The head priest nodded "while the majority of the fund we raise during the festival will be pored back into the town and church we are making sure that a good amount will be put aside to pay you all for guarding the town."
"Well then I believe we're in agreement, we accep-"
The doors of the church slammed open surprised and horrified gasps coming from the other Clerics, as one the Part spun around hands on weapons (Or hands raised as weapons in Bruno's case) expecting to see an enemy only to see a...Rather pathetic sight if any of them had to be honest.
It was a lone dragonborn, she (As best as could be seen it was a woman) looking half starved, one eye glued shut with blood, horns cracked and one part of one just missing. Legs caked in dry blood and mud, one wing folded tightly to her back while the other was half dragged as it hung limply and a lead box clutched tightly in her hands.
Several clerics tried to rush to her hands glowing with healing magic, only for the Dragonborn to snarl and roar.
Well, at least Try to roar the sound coming out more like a strangled yowl her wings flared to appear bigger...revealing the sails of the wing that had been clutched to her back where ripped to shreds. The Clerics never the less where cowed by the display of aggression, the Dragonborn snorting and limping up to the priest before thrusting the box at him.
"Hit this with every blessing you can, then...I don't care, sell it, grind it to dust. Just...Get get the Bahamut forsaken thing away from me." With that she turned to limp out.
"W-wait! Your name." The Dragonborn paused looking back growling "For our records you see."
"...Saharah, not that it matters."
She turned to leave again and grunted her snout finding a wall of muscle, she blinked her one open eye in confusion before tilting her head back to look up at Dryft looking startled.
"Guess someone's not used to not being the tallest person in the room." Anton chuckled looking to the others as the Capricorn fussed around the irritated Dragonborn.
"Heavy lacerations, that blood is days old, unhealed stab on your thigh, that is definitely the start of an infect-"
"Can I help you?" She grunted, Dryft blinked before smiling.
"Yes, hold still." He gently grabbed her shoulder making Saharah flinch focusing his healing magic on her. The wounds began to close as he forced her body to accelerate the healing-
Only for her to growl and grab his wrist. She had expect resistance so was rather startled when she threw him over her shoulder, Dryft yelping as he flew into a wall, Saharah looked just as startled at how far she flung him, before huffing limping back out.
"...She gives strange thank you hugs," Dryft said as he slowly side to the floor.
Nocci facepalmed making a loud clanging noise while Mirabel was looking curiously at the box that had been thrust at the Priest.
"Can we see it?"
"Oh, oh!" The Priest looked down at the lead box "I, don't see why not." he opened the box, and all of them felt a chill down their spine the priest and several clerics praying and the Priest dropped the box startled by the aura.
Smoothly Gahoole grabbed it before it fell peering in, only Nocci seeming being as unaffected by the aura to join her.
"Well, that's some kind of bad vibes." Bruno shuddered, Gahoole reached a hand in and delicate pulled out a large fragment of sapphire, it seemed to have once been part of a larger cut gem and when tilted so the light hit it just right the black shape of a dragon wing, part of the body and tail could be seen.
"Definitely necrotic magic, this was either a focus for some kind of dark magic ritual or has otherwise been soaking in that kind of energy for a long time." Nocci summarized.
"A bit of both if I have it right." Gahoole dropped the fragment back in "I wasn't part of the Ghostslayers, but I had good friends in that Order and they taught me how to recognize the signs, this was a Phylactery, a soul jar."
"As in a Litch?!" The Priest looked horrified before Gahoole patted his back.
"Your fine, everything's fine, while the Litch probably thought they where smart using a hard to destroy gemstone this one has been pretty well destroyed, which would have killed the Litch."
"Ya I'm only picking up ambiant necrotic magic on this thing, nothing active in there anymore." Noccie agreed "Though-Saharah? Had it right you'd be best hitting it with every blessing you can to be sure." The Priest nodded muttering to his self sealing up the box and hurrying to the back.
"We gonna talk about how a half dead dragonborn somehow got ahold of a Litches Phylactery and managed to destory it?" Ernesto shook his head. "Have to admit she looked like a stiff breeze could knock her over."
"I'm more curious what a bard is doing alone." At everyone's confused look Anton sighed pointing at his neck "She was wearing a necklace, had a charm shaped like an open book in a white flame. That's Hlal's sacred symbol, Dragon god of song. If she isn't a bard I'll eat my staff."
"Please don't," Dryft said as he dusted himself off. "Your digestive track isn't built for that. Though thank you for looking into eating more fiber."
"...Oh that poor dear." Gahoole sighed shaking her head before heading to the door "Well, not much we can do for her other then keep an eye out if she hasn't already left. Come now back to the Tavern, maybe we'll run into her again."
"Maybe we'll run into her again." Ulika snorted seeing that same Dragonborn arguing with one of the taverns stablehands pointing at a very muddy and exhausted looking horse and cart, though noticeably the horse did look to be in better shape then the Dragonborn herself.
"We're not letting that filthy thing in the stables!" a stablehand said.
"You are going to take her and treat that damn horse like royalty if it's the last thing you do!"
"He won't be getting a thank you hug," Dryft said, Mirabel merely patting the capricorn on the back.