Disclaimer : I do not own anything.
-oOoOoOo-
In a Dungeons and Dragons-based world, there was a group that went by the name, 'Whirlwind'. It was formed by Chihiro. The main rule was that anyone who wanted to join had to have some skill in the Blacksmith class. A hidden rule was either be good at pranks or to help provide alibis.
There was plenty of fun and profit. Anyone who knew the group was either pleased because Whirlwind was the best when anything needed repair work, or was furious because there were plenty of pranks around Whirlwind that never could be fully pinned on them.
Then came the time where Chihiro felt that her adventurer's group could go on without her. So she did and became a Merchant. She promised a discount to her group.
Tamiya and Otaki did their best to keep the group running, but neither of them could keep it stable for long. Chihiro knew when to take risks and when to play it safe. The duo were drawn to taking risks. They took dangerous missions, claiming they were manly men who feared nothing… and took injuries that ate up a lot of the rewards. Whatever money they could get was either spent on parties or expensive items, like equipment or forging tools.
Eventually, they came to a conclusion.
They had to start kicking people from the party. There wasn't enough profit to keep everyone. With a heavy heart, Tamiya and Otaki brought the group to Fairmead, the closest town for beginners.
"Keiichi, you're the best scout and porter that a man could have, but we need to face facts. Whirlwind is starting to look like a leaky boat and we need to lighten our load," Tamiya said.
Otaki tossed a small bag of coins at Keiichi, who caught it. "This'll get you a room for a few days in one of the cheaper places. We're sorry, really sorry.'
Outwardly, Keiichi accepted it. Inwardly, he was angry at his friends… and hated himself for it.
So he spent the first day trying to let go of his negative emotions from the firing. Not many people wanted an angry party member… unless they were a berserker, who needed anger and rage.
The second day, he went to pray at a Church of the Wind. Keiichi often prayed to various beings of the Wind element for bonuses in Scouting. He spent hours there, as he feared his horrible luck would keep him a solo adventurer.
The various elemental churches had pews, a pulpit… and a magic rock on a podium behind the pulpit. Each church had a magic rock. They tended to be of various sizes and had a glowing symbol. No one could read the symbols, but there were some who thought that the symbols were names.
Back when he was with Whirlwind, they prayed to Stones of the Water element and Fire Elements with certain Symbols that gave big bonuses to Blacksmith Water one allowed better metalwork and repairing, while the Fire one allowed hotter fires and better brewing.
The rocks were rumored to grant wishes, though most variants of the rumor said only to Clerics, Paladins, or a few archmages. To prevent the stones from being abused, few were allowed to touch them barehanded.
{We can use him. Such horrible luck in a kind soul can free our people.}
[Are you sure? Such luck can be useful to our purpose, but can backfire. Can he free them or will he condemn them to a worse fate?]
{There is only one way to find out.}
Keiichi prayed for so long that even the priests left before him. Luckily for Keiichi, they trusted him enough to leave him alone with their Wind Stone.
Once alone for some time, Keiichi had an urge to touch the Wind Stone. He slowly stood up and walked towards it.
-o-
Belldandy waited in a void sealed within a rock. She had no idea where her friends or family were, if they were alright… or even if they still existed. Not only that, but she had been split into many different selves by her captors to weaken her, each sealed within their own prison.
Her main joy came from granting boons, boosts, and wishes. Her prison prevented her from calling out, but allowed anyone who touched the stone to send a prayer to her. As long as they were touching her prison, she could use her magic on them.
Still, she refused to give up hope. She prayed that not only would she be freed, but so would all the gods and demons who had been defeated and sealed.
-o-
As Keiichi walked towards the stone with an outstretched hand, the carpet under his feet began to shift.
And just as he was about to touch the rock, he tripped and knocked over the rock.
"Shit-shit-shit!" Keiichi cried out as the rock fell from its podium. It smashed on the ground into many pieces, making Keiichi have visions of being exiled from civilization itself.
His fears vanished when a light shone out of the remains of the rock and formed a beautiful woman with blue eyes and brown hair, wearing a cloak of blue and white that brought the image of blue skies and gentle winds.
She looked towards him. First with surprise, then with reverence. She clasped her hands together and said, "You freed me. You freed me from my prison. I am Belldandy, Goddess First Class Type 2 Unlimited. Who are you?"
"I…I am Keiichi Morisato. My primary class is a scout, with some levels in Porter and Blacksmith. I…I tripped and broke the church's sacred stone, that people prayed to, and…and freed you? I don't understand."
Now her voice sounded grim, and hollow. "I have been sealed inside that stone for centuries, praying for someone to set me free, passing the time by granting minor wishes whenever I got the chance. You freed me by breaking it." She tilted her head and gave him a speculative look. "I don't remember granting any wishes for you, though. You've never touched my prison before, have you?"
"No, I…I never dared. I mean, it's sacred." He looked on the shattered pieces with a guilty expression. "Or it was, anyway."
Belldandy looked down. "I see. That would explain who often contacted me."
She waved a hand. The stone flew up and reconstructed itself back on its podium. "Normally, I would want to find the caretakers of this place, but I desire some unawareness of my situation."
"So the stone is useless?" Keiichi asked.
Belldandy shook her head. "I've enchanted the stone, so I can still hear and grant boons."
"So what now?" Keiichi asked.
"For freeing me and granting me hope, I offer a wish." Belldandy replied.
"A wish? As in an Unlimited Wish, where you'll be able to alter the very foundations of reality in accord with my desires?" Keiichi asked. There was surprise, hope, and fear in his tone.
"Yes? That does sound like the type of wishes I granted in the Goddess Relief Office," Belldandy answered with some surprise.
Keiichi looked around, as if hoping for some inspiration. His hands touched on the blade that he crafted with Tamiya and Otaki. He recalled how he was kicked out. "I wish I had a party companion who was like you."
Her eyes glowed before she looked up. A beam of light shot out of the goddess mark on her forehead, somehow passing through the ceiling without breaking it.
{See? He freed her and she granted a wish that will allow our people to be freed.}
[Feh. You're just happy because it was one of yours that was freed first, Yggy.]
"What… What was that?" Keiichi asked before the front doors slammed open.
"What is going on here? What was that beam of light?" Priestess Sora asked.
Keiichi looked towards Belldandy and then Sora. Quickly thinking something up, perhaps too fast on later reflection, he said, "It was a sign that she and I should go on a pilgrimage to other churches and pray for similar events to happen. After all, wasn't that light both awe-inspiring and peaceful?"
Sora looked about. There was no mess and the lady did have something about her that seemed like a magnification of the Holy Wind Stone. "I guess, but who are you and is he telling the truth?"
Belldandy did not like lying and being a Goddess first class even prevented it. So imagine her surprise when she said, "I am Belldandy and yes. Yes, we're to go on a journey to the other Holy Stones."
Sora bowed and said, "I'll write a note… in the morning. It's too late at night. Do you require a place to sleep?"
"I can pay for a room in a nearby inn," Keiichi replied.
"Very well. Please come by in the morning…" Sora replied before her stomach growled. "And if you could, bring some food?"
Belldandy put a hand on Keiichi's shoulder. "Keiichi, can you use your money to get some food and can we stay here for the night?"
"I guess?" Keiichi muttered.
Looking back at Sora, Belldandy said, "We'll be back shortly and I'll make us something delicious."
Sora smiled.
-oOo-
As they walked back to the church with full bags of food from a seller who normally sold to the night guard shift, Belldandy said, "Keiichi. I have something I need to tell you."
"What is it?" He asked.
"I can not lie. Not even to save any life. I mean that literally," Belldandy replied.
"So that means…" Keiichi uttered.
"It seems that we really are meant to travel to the other churches in the land," Belldandy finished.
"So we have to free the Gods and Demons sealed within the stones?" Keiichi asked, mostly to himself.
"Yes," Belldandy quietly said. Only a faint tremble in her tone revealed the hope she had for seeing her friends and family again. "When you said, 'Gods and demons', you mean you also worship demons?"
"It's more of a 'gods are more likely to grant the spirit of the prayer and demons are more likely to grant the wording' thing, but yes," Keiichi said.
"Interesting," Belldandy said as she looked towards him and noticed his sword in its scabbard. On the hilt was a small image of three symbols. She gasped, "Those symbols on your blade… Do you know what they mean?"
"Well, one was on the Wind stone you were sealed in. I don't know what the others mean, but they are from a Water Stone and a Fire Stone," Keiichi said, looking down at his sword. "Back when I was in another party, we pretty much worshiped any stones that had these symbols."
"Keiichi, the symbol from the Wind Stone is my name. The other two are my sisters' names. Skuld and Urd," Belldandy replied.
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Notes from HotelKatz : This was brought about from reading so many mangas that were based in a Dungeons and Dragons setting and had a plot of 'kicked out of the party' idea.
The folks at the discord gave some good ideas, especially Worldbringer of Joseun.
They also helped betaread this chapter.
Imaginos1892 made a suggestion about when Keiichi first spoke to Belldandy. Honestly, the idea that Keiichi could free Belldandy because Belldandy never granted him a wish sounded like a good idea.