Doc was out of the carriage first, so he helped his wives out as quickly as he could. He’d asked them to wait on explaining things until they got home. They’d agreed, and even Harrid agreed, as he’d woken up right before the train reached the station. It took them renting two cabs to get out to the property, because Doc didn’t want to let Fiala know before arriving.
Radley, the ram bestial gardener, stared at the group in blank surprise. His helper, the gopher bestial Aran, wasn’t any less shocked. As the cabs had pulled up, the front door opened. Bernard, the black bear bestial butler, had started to welcome them before he trailed off, then quickly caught himself to welcome the family home.
“Bernard, who’s here?” Ginger asked, coming down the stairs. It was barely morning, so it took her a moment; she saw the group, but her eyes focused on one person. “Harrid!”
Doc stepped aside, letting Harrid rush in to meet his pregnant wife. He carefully caught Ginger, making sure not to press her belly too hard when he kissed her. Ginger’s rabbit ears quivered atop her head as she hugged him tightly.
“Ginger? Did you call out for Harrid? Is everything—?” Fiala’s voice got closer, then cut off when she saw the scene. Her shock was quickly replaced by joy, and then tears as her happiness caused her to weep.
The family surged into the home, surrounding the sobbing cat bestial. Doc held her gently, her bulging belly holding their precious child. She was kissed, passed around to her wives, and eventually returned back to Doc’s arms.
Bernard stepped out to make sure the cabbies were paid, then hurried to the kitchen to tell Charles that breakfast just got much larger. The hound bestial took the information in stride and he started to get more food ready. Olka, his helper, wore a bright smile as she scurried around Charles to assist him. She’d never known the happiness she had in her life until Doc had rescued her from the alleys of Furden months before. It didn’t matter if he came home unannounced— she would make sure breakfast wasn’t lacking.
Bernard returned, giving his cousin, Mizzi, a grin. The black bear bestial maid sniffled as she looked on in happiness; Fiala was a good woman, and having her child without Doc beside her had been weighing on her. Mizzi didn’t stay long to watch. Instead, she hurried to get the staff to make sure everything in the house was ready, as everything would be far busier, for a little while at least.
When the moment was ebbing, Bernard cleared his throat. “Sir, madams, I informed Charles about your arrival. He is working on cooking now, but it might take some time before everything is ready.”
“That’s fine,” Fiala said, her voice still thick with emotion. “We’ll be in the parlor. Let us know when breakfast is ready.”
“Yes, madam.”
Doc led Fiala into the parlor. She sat directly beside him, cuddling against his side as if afraid he would vanish. Doc held her close— he was beyond thrilled to have come home, and seeing Fiala soothed his soul.
“I’ve missed you…” Doc murmured before claiming a small kiss.
“We’ve all missed you,” Lia said softly from her spot nearby.
“And I missed all of you. If not for Ginger…” Fiala sniffled again.
Ginger was wiping at her own eyes. “It’s been difficult, but we’ve been helping each other. How long are you staying for?” There was hope and fear in her eyes when she asked Doc.
“For the birth, then maybe a day or two after that. It’s dangerous for us to be here. We’ve been making plans and setting the board for later. The inquisitor has been chasing after us; we missed him by a week in Hoda.”
Ginger’s face fell, but she tried to put on a brave front. “That’s understandable.”
“Doc, maybe—” Fiala started feeling bad that Harrid would miss his child being born, but Doc was here for hers.
Doc kissed her lightly to stop her. “Harrid’s staying.”
Fiala’s eyes widened. She looked at Ginger, who blinked, then began to sob. She grabbed Harrid, hugging him as she peppered him with kisses. Fiala started crying in joy for her friend, but also in sorrow for herself, as Doc would still be leaving.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Doc said softly. “I know we’ve been passing messages, but some things will be easier to explain now that we’re here. That, and Harrid has a big task ahead of him, which is one of the reasons he is staying.”
Rosa was kneeling in front of Doc, exchanging a smile with her sister, Petal. Petal, the dogwood dryad, was all smiles as she glanced from person to person. She could see what had happened and what they were planning. It would pain Fiala, but she knew her mistress would agree with the plans once she heard everything.
It took some time for emotions to settle enough to talk. By then, Bernard came and informed them that breakfast was ready. Everyone was hungry, so they all went to eat. They could talk after the meal, which Doc thought would still take most of the day.
As they took their seats, Charles and Olka brought carts into the room. “Welcome home, sir,” Charles said. “It’s a simple meal because we were caught unprepared. Tonight’s dinner will be a feast to welcome you back.”
“Even your simple meal will be the best food we’ve had since leaving,” Doc said, his wives nodding along with his words. “Though, I will look forward to tonight’s dinner even more now.”
“Wel-come home, sir,” Olka said. The slight pause hinted at the old stutter she’d had, but she didn’t actually stutter.
“I’m glad to see your smile, Olka,” Doc said. “Found your happiness?”
“Yes, sir. The kit-chen is amazing. Charles has been ver-y kind. I’m getting better.”
Charles gave her a kindly smile as they set the table. “She is an apt pupil. Hardly ever makes the same mistake twice, and she’s been keen to learn as much as I can share with her. Honestly, she could work in most business kitchens without trouble at this point.”
“No, s-ir,” Olka said firmly. “My work is for the Holydays.”
“For as long as you wish,” Fiala said. “We won’t force any of our staff to leave. If they decide to separate from our staff, we’ll be sad, but will wish them the best.”
“We’re all aware, madam,” Charles said. “That’s one of the reasons you’ll never lose a member of the staff. Please, enjoy.” He motioned to the table before he left with Olka.
~*~*~
Doc had been right: the food at home was so much better than anything they’d had while traveling. When they finished, they retired back to the parlor, dismissing Bitum, the parlor maid. The mouse bestial bowed before leaving the room, though she didn’t go far, just in case they needed her service later.
Ginger was almost in Harrid’s lap with as much as she snuggled into him, though Fiala wasn’t far from doing the same with Doc. If she hadn’t been so close to her delivery date, she might’ve gotten into his lap, but she felt too awkward to try.
“Harrid, you’ve been waiting to tell everyone, go ahead,” Doc grinned. “I don’t know exactly what I’ve done, besides make you the Grand Master Templar of Luck’s Voice.”
Ginger’s eyes went wide. She didn’t fully understand it, but she knew that templars were Apoc’s religious warriors. Fiala was just as shocked. While the others had been told the title, they didn’t know what it really meant.
“I have a screen I can summon now,” Harrid said slowly. “It’s like the gift screen you’ve talked about, Doc. Mine is based on the number of templars in service. The more of them there are, the more Holy Deeds I can unlock for all templars to use, but a few are specific to the High Templars and the Grand Master Templar. Below those ranks are the templars and squires. I can’t name a High Templar until I have over fifty in service. Squires are like the novices the shamans were making. They’ll get almost none of the bonuses until they are raised to templar proper. It hints that only children— not adults— should be this rank.”
“That tracks with what I thought,” Doc said.
“The Holy Deeds are for battle, but are mostly focused on defense and healing. There’s a whole section that’s faded out. I can’t interact with it.”
“Shit… that’s likely based on the fact that I’ve mostly eschewed offensive gifts.”
“Do we want offense?” Sophia asked. “If we structure things right, then we can promote them as a holy order devoted to defending the weak and helping them.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Ayla jumped in. “Doc has never promoted violence. Reinforcing that might be for the best.”
“Except we will eventually see battle,” Lia reminded them. “Having the holy warriors be able to enter with aggression might be called for.”
“The clans would support it, either way,” Sonya added.
“I’d like him to stay as well-defended as possible,” Ginger whispered, feeling a little out of place in the discussion.
“Like we do with Doc,” Fiala nodded. “I could support either side, but I side with Ginger.”
“They’ll be a bulwark, then, but that means they’ll have to withstand the storm to come,” Lia said, letting the others carry the issue. “They can still fight, but I would think that Holy Deeds devoted to offense would be… devastating.”
“Yeah, probably…” Doc said softly. “Harrid?”
“I will work on defense and healing just like you, Doc. My wife wants it that way.”
“Okay. You’re in charge of recruiting and choosing those Holy Deeds. I’d suggest Ginger and Fiala help you pick.”
“The templars must fully believe,” Harrid said. “If they lose faith, they’re removed from service. As Grand Master, I’ll be able to tell when looking at them. It’s the default Deed open to me. It’s how I’ll know who I can bring into the order or not.”
“Everyone who wants to join should be allowed. The problem will be hiding you enough that the church— especially an inquisitor— won’t become a problem until you have support around you.”
“The Ironbeards’ brewery should work,” Fiala said. “They own a big swath of land for it. If they agree, Harrid could raise a training ground there. It’d only take an hour or two a day to get there. He could live here and commute there to train the men.”
“Yes,” Ginger nodded. “Please?”
“I’d prefer that, too,” Harrid coughed, a little red in the face.
“This happened because Harrid asked to come home to you, Ginger. To spare him the feeling of breaking his honor, I was able to give him this. It cost me a half-million faith to take this gift.”
That made Fiala and Ginger gasp at the sheer number.
“Which is what I’ve spent on numerous other gifts. As of right now,” he checked his faith tab, “I’m sitting at nearly a million faith, still. Things spiraled quickly, far quicker than I thought they would. Svetlana and Zu have been spreading Luck all over the eastern part of the globe. I’ve nearly reached thirty-nine million faith.”
Now, everyone boggled, as Doc had never explained how much he’d received, just what gifts he’d selected along the way.
“In our time away, I’ve picked a lot of different gifts. The costs kept going up, but I have ones that you’d want me to have, Fiala,” Doc said softly. “Instead of me trying to explain it all myself, Rosa, if you and Petal will just look at my mind while I hold the tab up, you can explain it to them.”
“Yes, Voice,” Rosa smiled.
Character Information
Doc Holyday- 43
Half-Breed Elf/Dwarf
Voice of Luck
Energy: 40/40 (75/75 Batteries) (350/350 Rosa)
Vitality: 80/80
Health: 56/56
Faith: 947,013 (38,418,685)
Racial Bonuses:
Natural affinity to nature magic, improved reflexes, keen hearing and sight, resistance to poisons, improved vitality, night vision, natural affinity for metal crafts
Goddess Gifts:
All In, Stand Down, Missed Me, Healing Hands, Cleansing, Energy Reserves, Medic, Unblemished, Lasting Help, Remove Curse (Minor), Immunity Bubble, Cleric (Minor), Soul Cleanse, Cleric (Major), Arch-cleric, Unbending Bones, Mistborn, Vitality Reserves, Health Reserves, Knockdown, Knockout, Shared Faith, Create Elemental, Perfectly Presented, Chosen Successor, Spread The Faith, Elemental Growth, Elemental Boon, Deep Reserves, Improved Immunity Bubble, Greater Immunity Bubble, Get Back Up, Headshot Shrug Off, Superior Immunity Bubble, Godly Immunity Bubble, Combined Immunity Bubble, Remove Curse (Major), Family Gifts, Holy Ground, Banishment, Lasting Holy Ground, Mother’s Magic, Dryad Boon, Raising The Order
All In: When the game is on the line, your luck knows no bounds. The Lady herself will influence things in your favor. Calling on her in this way draws the attention of the Darkness as well. Use this sparingly, or bad luck will swiftly follow.
Stand Down: When you decide the point needs to be made, you can force even a wolverine bestial to step back and calm down. Usable once per day without cost. Using this again on the same day will tax you heavily; within an hour, you will collapse into a short coma.
Missed Me: Who needs to be fast on the draw if they cannot hit you? Able to bend time and space so any single attack misses you. Only able to use this once per hour.
Healing Hands: Use your energy to fuel healing for whoever you touch. If no energy is available, you will use your vitality. If no vitality is available, you will use health. Using health in this way can lead to death.
Cleansing: This gift augments the spell “Healing Hands.” Lets the spell cleanse toxins, diseases, the Darkness, and other lingering effects. Energy cost is based on the severity of the condition being cleansed. If no energy is available, you will use your vitality. If no vitality is available, you will use health. Using health in this way can lead to death. You will be asked to verify if you wish to use this ability before it triggers.
Energy Reserves: Doubles your available energy.
Medic: Healing costs ¼ less energy.
Unblemished: Healing no longer leaves scars, and can remove old scars.
Lasting Help: Makes the person healed immune to the toxin purged from their system. This gift uses twenty energy.
Remove Curse (Minor): Remove a single condition from a curse. Energy consumption varies depending on curse and condition.
Immunity Bubble: Grants you ten seconds of immunity from all harm. This gift can only be used once every twenty-four hours.
Cleric (Minor): Grants a chosen person three of your gifts. This person can generate faith on your behalf.
Soul Cleanse: Return the soul from a soul stone to the person it belongs to. If the body of that person is dead, the soul goes to Mother.
Cleric (Major): Grants three people three of your gifts. Your original cleric becomes a high cleric, gaining two more of your gifts. Clerics can generate faith on your behalf.
Arch-cleric: Your high cleric becomes an arch-cleric, and your previous clerics become high clerics. All of your clerics gain more gifts. You may now name three new clerics. All clerics may now make initiates, clerics in training, who will be granted a single gift from the blessing cleric’s pool. All clerics can generate faith for you. All clerics will be informed they can make initiates when they next sleep.
Unbending Bones: Your bones can never be broken.
Mistborn: For ten seconds, you will become insubstantial. Nothing can restrain you. You can even pass through walls, but be warned: if the effect fades while inside a solid object, you will take damage and be pushed out of it. This gift can only be used once every twenty-four hours.
Vitality Reserves: Doubles your base vitality.
Health Reserves: Doubles your base health.
Knockdown: When using your fists, you can knock anyone down. This gift can be used three times a day.
Knockout: Your fists are now equalizers. Once a day, any hit you land with your fist can knock a man out for thirty seconds.
Shared Faith: The Voices of the gods must stick together to defeat the Darkness. You may share your faith with another Voice, as long as you have the faith to spare.
Create Elemental: Once a year, you can create a young elemental. The elemental can control their own element. Each elemental is tied to a tribe or clan— when created, you must choose the guardians it is tied to.
Perfectly Presented: “The clothes maketh the man” is an old saying, but it’s still true. Any outfit you wear will become clean and presentable.
Chosen Successor: Your arch-cleric becomes your successor if you die. They will gain access to every gift you have unlocked when becoming the next Voice.
Spread The Faith: You may raise anyone to cleric if they believe in Luck. The clerics are able to choose any gifts you have open, besides those related to making more clerics or elementals. As your clerics bring in more faith, they will unlock the ability to choose more gifts. If the chosen lose their belief in Luck, their gifts will be revoked.
Elemental Growth: Your ability to make elementals is raised to three, on a rotating calendar.
Elemental Boon: Your ability to make elementals is now capped at nine, on a rotating calendar.
Deep Reserves: Hidden depths are a blessing. Your previous doubling of your base stats is again doubled.
Improved Immunity Bubble: Your “Immunity Bubble” cooldown period is reduced from twenty-four hours to six hours.
Greater Immunity Bubble: Stay safe out there, Voice. Your “Immunity Bubble” cooldown period is reduced from six hours to every hour.
Get Back Up: When you die, Luck will bring you back. Any time you die, your body will be fully restored. Significant brain trauma stops this from happening. Can only activate once per year.
Headshot Shrug Off: Boom, headshot! Meh, that’s not going to keep me down. Even significant brain trauma will no longer stop “Get Back Up” from working.
Superior Immunity Bubble: Your “Immunity Bubble” cooldown period is reduced from every hour to every ten minutes.
Godly Immunity Bubble: Your “Immunity Bubble” cooldown period is reduced from every ten minutes to every minute.
Combined Immunity Bubble: All your gifts for “Immunity Bubble” condense down to just this one. Any cleric that has “Immunity Bubble” can now use it at your highest level of gift.
Remove Curse (Major): Removes all conditions from a curse. Energy consumption varies depending on curse and conditions.
Family Gifts: Your family gets copies of all personal gifts you have. This doesn’t extend to creating clerics, elementals, or other gifts that extend faith.
Holy Ground: This gift anoints a space no larger than a single mile square as holy ground. Those touched by the Darkness will shy away from it. Any who aid the Darkness will find themselves weakened if standing upon this blessed space.
Banishment: Drive the Darkness from a person, place, or thing. Those unwilling to let go of the Darkness will make you contest wills to force the point. If you fail to contest your will, the Darkness may seep into you. The cost of this gift depends on many factors.
Lasting Holy Ground: Your “Holy Ground” will withstand the test of all but the most potent believers of the Darkness. A Voice of Darkness is the only one who can resist your “Holy Ground,” and may even be able to break it. This gift can also let you break Darkness-touched spaces, returning them to natural spaces.
Mother’s Magic: Able to manipulate natural elements like a dryad. Energy cost is dependent on what you are doing.
Dryad Boon: Your personal dryad companion is empowered to be twice as strong in energy, and can connect to Mother even easier than before.
Raising The Order: You have established an Order of Templars devoted to Luck. Select your Grand Master Templar. This person will be the one to guide, grow, and protect the Order.