The four walked up the road until they came to a church. It seemed odd now that they had missed it, considering the giant halo floating above it. They walked in, and were almost instantly greeted by a woman in the modest white robes of the clergy.
"Welcome to our humble church, travelers. How may we serve you?"
Sagus, the man, smiled. "Would you tell Aktheus he has visitors?"
The nun frowned slightly. "I am sorry, but father Aktheus is very busy looking over the paperwork to keep the church holy. He should be done in three weeks."
"THREE WEEKS!?! We don't have that long!" Sagus half-shrieked.
"Then i'm afraid there is nothing more we can do for you."
"Are you sure? Would you ask him?"
She sighed. "I will try, but I cannot promise he will see you."
Sagus smiled. "That's all I can ask of you." The nun walked toward the back of the building. Sagus got an idea, and shouted 'tell him three of the visitors are pretty young women!' Moments after the nun disappeared into the back room, a middle-aged man rushed out. 'That always works like magic,' Sagus thought.
"Welcome, welcome! I hope sister Monica was not too short with you," said the man in white robes. Sagus shook his head and smiled.
"No, not at all. Actually she was very nice." He looked over the father's shoulder at the nun. "You're very good at your job!" She smiled.
"Now," began the father. "What can my little church do for you all?"
The woman in gray stepped forward. From under her cloak, she pulled a single ornate arrow. The father looked at it nonchalantly at first, then with fascination. "This arrow was made by mages of light!"
"Twenty of them," the woman corrected. The father looked at her with surprise. No one spoke for a few seconds, until Sagus broke the silence.
"Excuse me, but, you ARE Aktheus, aren't you?"
"I am."
"That's good. We couldn't really go around showing this to just anyone. We need to know just how strong this arrow is, and we figured you'd be the best suited to answer. Or at least the first qualified person that we heard of."
"Hmm. Wouldn't one who makes arrows be better qualified to judge this arrow's quality?" The gray woman answered.
"Not it's physical strength. We need to know exactly how much power the mages put into it. Can you tell us?"
"Oh. I...suppose I can. However, this will take considerable effort on my part. I know this may sound selfish but I will need some sort of compensation."
"Such as?" Sagus asked. Two of the women behind him gulped. After the suggestion of 'pretty women' got him out so fast, they could only imagine what he wanted. |