Three Make an Army

P.S. Chapter comments won't be open for a few more days, but please keep talking! I can see your comments on the back end. It's miserable having no one to chat with.

A fierce summer wind swept through the Church of the Silver Mother. The oak trees by the entrance rustled loudly, the dazzling sunlight forced passersby to squint, and the scorching air numbed their senses of taste and smell. Everything seemed to melt into the heat rising from the ground and pouring down from the sky.

So hot!

Foot traffic in the Upper City had thinned considerably. The great nobles who lived there had all gone to the countryside to escape the heat.

The Church of the Silver Mother stood in a quieter part of the Upper City, in what had once been a noble clubhouse. Selûne's faithful had never been the most popular, the wealthiest, or the most influential. They could not build an enormous temple in Suzail to rival a palace, as Lady Luck Tymora's followers had, or carve their deity's statue from gold, platinum, and diamonds. Even so, Selûne's faithful held considerable influence.

The temple itself was a perfect example. After a great noble died, his wife had donated his former clubhouse—every bit of it—to the great Selûne.

Her son had sued her, claiming she had no right to give it away. Their appeals had reached the kingdom's highest court before Tyr, god of justice, personally ruled the donation valid.

The ruling stood. Mother and son severed ties, and she spent her remaining years alone in the temple.

Aaron thought the affair neatly illustrated how those chaotic-good fools operated: they did what they believed was right, with little regard for rules or order, following their hearts instead.

So what separated chaotic good from chaotic neutral?

The biggest difference was that chaotic-good people, though they did not believe in order, still had a basic sense of morality and of good and evil. They knew what was moral and what was not.

Chaotic-neutral people were different. They had no moral compass.

Admittedly, chaotic-good people often did harm while trying to help. They believed their actions were good, right, and moral, yet the outcome was not always so lovely—at least for some of those involved.

Say a city was struck by famine. A wealthy merchant had grain in his warehouse, so a few chaotic-good heroes led a crowd inside and handed it out to the starving for free. The famine eased, and the heroes slipped away without taking credit for their good deed. The merchant received no compensation and went bankrupt.

Their intentions were good, and the famine had been relieved, but the way they had gone about it was another matter. However one looked at it, the merchant's private property should have been protected by law. No one had the right to seize it by force.

Even when the Princess Regent requisitioned grain, she negotiated first and applied pressure and inducements. She also paid compensation afterward.

That was why the Harpers, though famous throughout the Realms as a force for good, were often unwelcome. Some countries had even passed laws barring them from entry.

Aaron recalled that most webnovel authors he had read in his previous life had shown considerable hostility toward chaotic good, magnifying precisely these drawbacks.

So why, knowing Selûne's Church was predominantly chaotic good, had Aaron decided to remain so close to it?

His family's faith was one reason, as was the enormous debt he owed the Lady of Silver. And, well... the young cleric was a second reason.

But the greatest reason was that chaotic-good people did not interfere with others' freedom. They would not patronize him with lectures about what he ought to do, or try to control him "for his own good."

As long as they believed he meant well and acted in keeping with basic moral values, they would leave his affairs alone.

That mattered to Aaron.

It mattered a great deal!

He had seen plenty of webnovel authors extol the power of lawful evil. That was because their protagonists made and controlled the rules. From the top of the pyramid, they faced few constraints. Lawful evil let them exploit and manipulate those rules, impose their will, and extract resources from those below.

Fair enough. They chose lawful evil to maximize their interests. Aaron had chosen to stay close to the chaotic-good goddess Selûne for exactly the same reason.

Neither side was any nobler than the other.

The guards at the temple entrance knew Aaron well. When he appeared, the two men, dressed in short-sleeved leather armor and snug shorts, wiped the sweat from their brows and smiled. "Lord Salian, you're a little late today. Something come up?"

"Time is never quite so predictable, just like the waxing and waning of the Lady of Silver," Aaron replied with a smile. "I had business at the palace today."

"I see." The guards looked a little disappointed, but their smiles remained broad. "Please, go in!"

Since returning to Suzail, Aaron had visited the temple of the Lady of Silver every worship day.

A cool breeze greeted him as he stepped through the doors. A barrier of divine power kept the height of summer outside. Within, the air was cool and humid. Fish darted happily through a shimmering pond, while people crowded into the temple to chat, laugh, and escape the heat.

Just like the older folks who used to hang around department stores for the air-conditioning, Aaron thought.

There was not a person in the temple who did not know him.

Besides being a familiar figure in Suzail, he was an exceptionally rare male Touched One of the Lady of Silver.

There were fewer than ten of Selûne's Touched Ones in all Cormyr, and Aaron was the only man among them.

"Is Eleanor here?" Aaron asked a cleric.

The female cleric was in her forties. At his question, she gave him a knowing look and nodded toward the back. "In Greenleaf Courtyard, playing with the children."

Children's laughter rang through Greenleaf Courtyard. Beneath several great, leafy trees, the young cleric was playing with a group of children. None was older than seven, and every one of them called her "Big Sister Eleanor."

She joined in their games with delight, letting them tug at her hands as she played and told stories.

Aaron did not interrupt. He stood quietly and watched.

The sight never made him happy. Instead, it left him a little sad.

Those children... not all of them were human, and not all of them were healthy. Some had congenital illnesses; others had been born missing something. Some had been abandoned by their parents at the temple gates and had never known who their parents were.

True, Divine Magic could cure disease and disability, but where could anyone find enough powerful clerics? Divine Magic was still magic, and magic was a limited resource. If every sick person had to be treated, any Church would go bankrupt.

Selûne's teachings had always called on her followers to offer what help they could.

Perhaps I could... An idea rose in Aaron's mind, and his gaze grew distant.

Nurgle's Power remained tightly sealed within him.

If he could unlock it one day, these children's illnesses and disabilities would be... He could even use Selûne's Church as the foundation for a force of his own, one absolutely loyal to him.

For these children, the Lady of Silver was their mother, and this temple was their home!

Eleanor stood before him. She wore no veil today, and her delicate features were strikingly beautiful. A long golden braid fell to her slender waist. Her figure was graceful and well-proportioned, her cheeks soft and rounded, her nose small and straight. Fine brows showed beneath her golden bangs, and her full pink lips looked soft and inviting. Her clear, sea-blue eyes shone with quiet joy as she accepted the children's affection.

She wore no makeup, only a pale pink short-sleeved blouse with a lovely bow at the collar. Below it was a plain white skirt. Her long, fair legs seemed almost luminous, and simple sandals completed the outfit.

"Ah, Big Brother Aaron's here!" a sharp-eyed child cried.

"Big Brother Aaron came to see Big Sister Eleanor!" called a little girl with a braid and a bow, though she had only one eye.

"Did Big Brother Aaron bring anything tasty?" A half-Orc child had spotted the gift box in his hand.

"Big Sister Eleanor, Big Brother Aaron's here!"

"Come play with us, Big Brother Aaron!" One child ran up and tugged at his sleeve.

"Not today, not today." Aaron shook his head at once. The young, handsome Viscount was a favorite with children, though he did not actually like them much. "I need to talk to your Big Sister Eleanor."

"Oh, I get it! Big Brother Aaron brought Big Sister Eleanor a present!"

"A date! He's taking her on a date!"

"Big Brother Aaron wants to make babies with Big Sister Eleanor!"

The children sounded remarkably well informed. They raised a chorus of teasing cries, then scattered.

"You little—!" The young cleric blushed scarlet. She tried to catch them, but they were already gone. She stamped her foot, then turned a mortified glare on Aaron.

You'd better explain yourself, or you're dead!

"Oh, this is an Eleanor I've never seen before!" But Aaron did not respond as she expected. Instead, he lowered his head in sudden sadness. "Didn't we promise we wouldn't wear masks around each other?"

"?" Eleanor had no idea what he meant.

"You're so kind and gentle with them, but you're always fierce with me. You threaten to hit me over the slightest thing!" Aaron looked deeply aggrieved.

"Aaron!" Eleanor's face went red. "Do you think you're a five-year-old child like them?"

"Haha, I'm joking, my dear Eleanor. Don't be angry." His sorrow vanished at once, and he stepped closer. "I came to see you about something."

"Who's your dear Eleanor?" She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. Then she noticed how many people were pointing at them from around the courtyard. Behind doors and pillars, the children peeked out, giggling and whispering. Her face, which had only just cooled, began to burn again. "Mm... anyway, come with me!"

Under everyone's gaze, one of them looked pleased with himself; the other was flustered and indignant.

In a quiet corner of the temple, Aaron offered her a shell. "This is for you."

"What is it...?" Eleanor opened it curiously.

Inside the white shell lay a deep-red paste.

"Ah! This—" She broke off with a soft cry.

She knew what it was. Lip color!

He had bought her lip color?

"I picked it out especially for you," Aaron said, his words seeming to cast a spell. "That's why I arrived later than usual."

"..." Eleanor held his gift in her small hands. Brightness flickered in her sea-blue eyes. She parted her lips several times, but could not find the words. All the while, she kept hold of the shell.

Aaron gave her no chance to speak. He immediately turned to the "real business."

He told Eleanor what he had encountered, stressing that he intended to deal with the Orcs and personally interrogate them about the Warlock's whereabouts.

"So... you came to me?" Eleanor sat with her legs together, looking straight at him. Aaron's gift rested in her hands, the pretty shell cupped between her palms, while light rippled in her eyes.

"You were the first person I thought of," Aaron said earnestly.

Eleanor lowered her head. Her fingers tightened just a little around the shell.

"...I could go with you," she said, frank about such matters. "But will the two of us be enough?"

"We need another teammate," Aaron said. "Someone reliable. One of our own, who won't betray us. I can't go looking at the adventurers' guild, and the new recruits aren't a good option either. Eleanor, can you think of anyone?"

"If we're bringing one more person..." She considered it. "I have a Bard friend named Xia Duo. She's an Elite Bard..."

"No." Aaron shook his head sharply. "You're a Cleric, and I'm a Sorcerer. We don't need a Bard as well."

"Teammate poisoned? Give him inspiration!

Teammate wrestling a minotaur? Inspire him to fight harder!

Teammate about to cast a spell? He needs inspiration to concentrate!

Teammate picking a lock, reading, giving a speech, or making threats? Inspiration will help him do it better!

Teammate has picked up a Succubus and is heading to an inn? He needs your inspiration to help him overcome her!

Inspire, inspire, and inspire some more—you're the greatest Bard of all!"

—A Bard joke from the Realms

As mentioned before, Bards could do a little of everything but mastered nothing. Early on, their various buffs were barely worth having. Aaron and Eleanor could both cast the Guidance cantrip, which did much the same thing as a Bard's inspiration. Bards were terrible at protecting themselves, weak in melee, and relied mostly on enchantment spells. Their shortcomings could hardly have been more obvious.

Only after reaching Master rank, exploring their chosen colleges in depth, and delving further into the mysteries of magic did Bards begin to grow stronger. Later, they became formidable all-rounders, proficient in singing, dancing, rapping, and basketball.

"We need a tank," Aaron said without thinking.

"A water tank?" Eleanor did not understand.

"No. I mean we need a teammate who can protect us, fight well up close, and has plenty of experience adventuring in the wild," Aaron explained. "We've already got Divine Magic and arcane magic covered."

"In that case... I know someone." Eleanor thought of a candidate at once.

"Who?"

"Asha, the Elite female Barbarian on the Path of the Ancestral Spirits. You've met her before!"

"Good! She's the one!"

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(End of chapter)