Explorer of Edregon

Janson sighed as he looked out across the grassy plains surrounding the great wall, leaning forward on his halberd and squinting up at the sun in an attempt to check how much of his shift he still had left. There hadn't been any threats detected yesterday, and there hadn't been any threats detected the day before that as well. In fact, it had been almost a solid month now since some powerful demon had stripped their levels from them, and he could count on one hand how many times anything even loosely considered a threat had approached the wall since then.

All that to say, he was fairly confident that there weren't going to be any threats today either.

"How's that grass looking? Any taller than it was an hour ago?"

Janson rolled his eyes, glancing over at his neighboring guard as she approached him along the top of the wall. Despite the fact that Marg was stationed over at the adjacent watchtower, his fellow guard had a bad habit of growing bored and coming to bother him at least once every shift.

"Marg… How many times do I have to tell you this is gate duty," he grumbled, stamping his halberd against the floor. "Gate duty. Not watchtower number one duty. You know I'm supposed to report you for leaving your post."

"Ah, but if you did that, who else would come keep your sorry ass company," Marg grinned, pulling a deck of playing cards out of her pocket. "Besides, it's been awhile since we last played. I've got my eyes on a new bracelet over in the worker's market, and you're getting old enough that I bet that heavy coin purse of yours is starting to hurt your back. I'd be doing you a favor by emptying it really."

"Old?" Janson snorted, shaking his head. "I'm not even forty! Why, if we weren't on duty I'd…"

Janson paused, realizing he was somehow sitting at the small, temporary table they kept up here for breaks; a recent addition that they hadn't needed back when they'd had their endurance scores up in the high sixties. They used to be able to keep watch for days on end if needed, but now they could barely stand for a few hours without needing a break here and there.

Janson looked up in shock at Marg as she shuffled the cards across from him, trying to figure out what just happened. "When did you-"

"You hear about the latest conspiracy going around the craftsman district?" She asked, dealing out six cards to each of them before placing the deck in the center of the table and placing four cards face down in what was known as the battlefield. Based on the set up, it looked like they'd be playing a few rounds of Paladin's Blade. "Apparently rumor has it that the curse that stole our levels is actually some sort of sickness, and that's why the divine classes are staying hidden away in their holy district. To make sure it doesn't spread to them while they try and figure out a way to cure us."

"That's ridiculous," Janson snorted, glancing at his cards and silently cursing as he realized he didn't have anything better than a pair of bracers. Tossing a copper in to ante anyway, he fixed Marg with an exasperated look. "If this was some kind of illness, even the weakest of divine healers would be able to cure it in an instant."

"Alright, why do you think they've been gone for so long then?" Marg challenged, anteing herself and flipping over the first of the four facedown cards. Janson tried not to let the surprise show on his face as the exact card he needed was revealed, turning his pair of bracers into a full chest plate. Despite how these games normally went, it was starting to look like he might actually win back some of the money he'd lost over the past few weeks.

"I think they've taken the fight straight to the demon responsible for all this mess," he said, trying to pretend to think carefully before casually tossing a full silver into the middle. Seeing Marg raise her eyebrow, he hurriedly continued, trying to distract her. "Think about it! Why open a portal to the demon's home realm out here where anyone could wander over and fall in? It makes far more sense to open it in the holy district where they don't have to worry about guarding the perimeter. The reason it's taking so long is because they have to map out the realm and fight their way over to the demon. No doubt a demon powerful enough to strip everyone of their levels has a good number of underlings. Maybe even an entire army under him or something!"

"Hmm…" Marg hummed noncommittally, pausing only for a moment before matching his silver. "Still, you really think it would take them an entire month with all the power at their disposal? I once saw Arch Cleric Jobiah wipe out an entire field of monsters with a single wave of his hand. His divine fire melted them down like they were made of parchment!"

"Demons are so feared for a reason," Janson said, flipping over the next card and dismissing it when he realized it didn't do anything for him. "Maybe the demon realm has some sort of anti-divine properties? Or makes their miracles weaker?"

"That's a scary thought," Marg shuddered, tossing three more coppers into the pot. "A realm where even the Gods are weakened… I really hope that's not the case."

"Even a weakened God would be more than enough to take down a demon," Janson said, tossing in three coppers of his own and another silver coin, ignoring the pointed look from his fellow guard.

"If that were true, then why is it taking them so long?" Marg countered, matching his additional silver.

"Well it's not the Gods fighting, now is it," Janson drawled, rolling his eyes. "Obviously despite how strong our divine warriors are, a massive amount of power is lost as it travels from God to man. You've seen the casualties just as I have."

The two of them paused for a moment, each solemnly thinking about the last couple of years. The swarms of monsters had continued to grow larger and larger with every passing month, and although they had no shortage of divine warriors to combat the seemingly endless monsters, not even divine class holders were immortal.

Janson had personally witnessed hundreds of divine class holders perish over the years from his perch up here on the wall, despite doing his best to back them up using the wall's built in enchantments and his own crossbow. Most of the losses were from fresh divine classes straight from the holy district. Give anyone sudden Godlike power, and it took a will like iron to keep themselves from wading deeper into the sea of monsters than they could handle.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

There were always more divine class holders of course, as all the Gods needed to do was pick a replacement and send them in next, but Janson swore for every new divine warrior sent their way it felt like a hundred new monsters spawned in retaliation. They'd been fighting a never-ending war for years right up until the demon had snatched their levels and the monsters had vanished for some unknown reason.

"Do you think you would do it?" Marg suddenly asked, breaking the silence as she flipped over the third card. Janson had to physically restrain his eyes from bulging out of his head as his hand went from a full chest plate to a full suit of armor.

"What was that?" He gulped, hoping Marg couldn't see how badly he was sweating right now. Never in his life had he been dealt a full suit of armor, and he had to double check and make sure his hands weren't shaking as they held his cards.

"Would you do it?" She repeated, looking thoughtfully at her cards as she waved away her chance to bet. "Take on a divine class I mean. If today, right now, a God appeared in front of you and offered you a sliver of their divine power. Would you take it?"

"I don't think that's how it works," Janson said absentmindedly, doing his best to calmly toss three entire silver into the pot, all while hoping Marg would think he was just bluffing. "They don't just appear in front of people. I've actually asked, and it sounds like they mainly speak to their chosen warriors in visions. Or the occasional dream. I think it changes based on the God."

"Okay, I wasn't quizzing you on your divine knowledge," Marg said, shaking her head and tossing her own three silver into the pot. To Janson's utter shock, she then reached back into her coin purse and tossed three more silver into the pot, grinning wickedly at him. "I said would you do it?"

"I… I don't know," he admitted, hesitating as he stared at the mound of gleaming coins sitting between them. They were quickly approaching an entire week's worth of wages, which was far more money than Janson had ever bet on any one thing in his entire life. Glancing back down at his cards, he confirmed he was sitting on a full suit of armor, literally the second-best hand in the entire game. There was only a single hand better, and that required the divine might card to be found on either the start or the end of the battlefield. With only a single card left to reveal, even if she had the set she needed in her hand, there was no way she'd get that lucky.

Grabbing three more coins from his rapidly shrinking coin pouch, he tossed them into the pot, swallowing hard. "Obviously the thought of throwing around divine power like some sort of Hero is enticing… But you wouldn't just be living your own life anymore, you know? You'd be serving a greater purpose."

"A more righteous purpose if you ask most people," she countered, nodding for him to flip over the final card. Holding his breath, Janson slowly revealed the last card, his blood chilling as he spotted the familiar golden aura painted upon the card.

Divine might.

"Huh," Marg said, looking just as surprised as he was. "Didn't see that coming."

"Me neither," he chuckled weakly, hoping his face wasn't paling too much. "I don't suppose you'd happen to have a Paladin's Blade in hand, would you?"

"Now Janson, where's the fun in me telling you what I have before we finish scavenging?" Marg grinned, motioning for him to make his bet. "Come on now, we should really get back to manning the wall. Wouldn't want any of that grass to grow too tall under our watches, now would we?"

Janson shot his fellow guard a glare, staring down at his hand. He knew he had the second-best hand in the game, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. After a few seconds he sighed, waving his chance to bet.

Grinning, Marg reached into her coin purse and pulled out an oddly specific number of coins. Janson raised his eyebrow as the guard placed seven more copper pieces in the gigantic pot, smiling at him all the while. Sighing again, he matched the final bet after only a brief moment of hesitation. He was in this deep after all, no sense backing out now.

Offering the Gods a quick prayer, he revealed his hand, laying it down on the table between them. "A full suit of armor!" He announced, with far more confidence than he felt.

Marg whistled, looking impressed. "Damn, that's pretty good. Although…"

"It's not the best."

Janson flinched back as Marg slammed her hand onto the table, grinning all the while. "Take a look at this!"

Cursing himself for betting so much money on a single hand when Marg had been taking him for all he was worth these past few weeks, Janson peeked through his fingers at the guard's revealed hand, prepared to see the Paladin's Blade itself.

Instead, she had nothing stronger than a pair of boots. The literal worst hand in the game.

Blinking, Janson stared at the yawning guard already getting to her feet and stretching. She didn't seem upset in the slightest to have lost so much money.

"You… you bet nearly an entire week's worth of wages… on a bluff?" He asked incredulously.

"Hm? Oh no, the Commander caught wind of just how much money I'd collected from you these past few weeks and ordered me to give it all back. I just thought this would be more entertaining," Marg grinned, grabbing all the cards and putting them away. "I stacked the deck before even coming over here. I have to admit, it's hilarious how easy you are to read. I thought you were going to pass out when you realized you had a full suit of armor!"

Janson could only frown at the laughing guard, grumbling to himself and scooping all his 'winnings' into his coin purse. While he certainly appreciated getting his money back, Marg could have just handed it to him like a normal person.

Sighing, Marg shook her head, still smiling as she gazed out over the wall at the monster free meadows they were guarding. "I'd do it, for the record."

"Do what?" Janson asked, grabbing his halberd and standing, quickly taking a look of the surrounding area and confirming everything was just as empty as when they'd sat down.

"Take the divine class. If it was offered to me," Marg shrugged, glancing at him. "I know it's a big responsibility, but think about all the good you could do with that kind of power, you know?"

"Yeah…"

The two of them stood there for a moment, staring out at the calm meadow that had once been the grounds for the bloodiest war in the citadel's history. Even now, Janson swore he could still hear the snarls of monsters and the cries of divine warriors calling out to their Gods, begging for them to save them.

Before he could come to a decision as to if he would or not, Marg clapped him on the shoulder, giving him one last grin.

"When you finally decide if you'd take the offer or not, come swing by watchtower one and let me know. Sounds like a fun way to kill some time."

"Marg…" he warned, getting nothing but a chuckle back as the guard turned and finally headed back to her post.

Sighing, Janson shook his head, turning his focus back to the calm, peaceful meadow before him. While he'd take this any day of the week over the horrific war he'd grown used to, he wished their divine warriors would finish up whatever it was they were doing and come out soon.

He wasn't sure how many more surprise visits from Marg his coin purse could take after all.