The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1421 Pilgrim Stories

The other pilgrims told short stories about each of the places that they had visited so far, and Karl learned that they had been on the road for three months already, touring holy sites as summer faded into autumn.

Most of the Dragon Isles didnʼt get a real winter, with snow and such. But it would soon get cold at night, at least enough that they would miss having shelter.

They hadnʼt set up much of a camp, Karl noticed. They didnʼt have the strength to carry it with them.

But they did set up a few tents, which they all huddled beneath, as the sky was threatening rain overnight. In their conditions, they couldnʼt afford to catch a cold, so they did their best to keep each other warm with the limited firewood that was available.

They were in an open grassland area, the only trees around were small and stunted, so finding dry wood had been an issue, even just to cook dinner.

But once everyone started falling asleep, Karl got to work, preparing them for the trip ahead.

They were going to need a few things. For one, a lightweight fire source that anyone could use. Assuming they had at least a little magic. Common Rank fire didnʼt take much, and it cooked beans just fine.

Then healing. He set up healing totems around the camp for the evening, and shushed the old Cleric when he was about to say something. It was better to let everyone sleep and wake up to a miracle than to make a fuss about how Karl could use healing magic.

Especially at this time of night when everyone was exhausted.

After Karlʼs warning, the old man just curled up under his blanket and called it a night, trusting Karl and Cara to watch out for them. That might prove to be a mistake nine times out of ten, but this was the last one, the time when everyone was so weak that even playing pranks on them wouldnʼt be satisfying. So, Cara watched the open grasslands for something that would be fun to play with.

Unfortunately, her presence was scaring away the monsters, and there wasnʼt anything out here brave enough to come within five kilometres of the Chaos Badger.

Foiled by her own brilliance. Magically speaking, that was.

Fortunately for her, there was entertainment to be found. She just had to wait for everyone to wake up and realize that there had been a Mythic Rank healing totem active all night long.

Karl had dismissed them before dawn so nobody would be able to prove for certain that he had done anything. Except the old Cleric, that was. But he shouldnʼt tell on them when they were at a perfectly good holy relic that could be blamed for their amazing transformation.

The first few to wake up didnʼt notice much except that they had the best night of sleep in ages. The ground was hard, but the grass made it relatively comfortable to sleep on, and the rain had never come.

But not long after, the pilgrims began to notice that things were definitely off.

The young mother who had been hollow cheeked and near death yesterday suddenly glowed with health. The sick baby wasnʼt coughing at all. And blistered feet showed no signs of injury when the bandages were changed.

Then, the one armed young man woke up and rubbed his face to wipe away the lingering sleep and dirt.

With a hand that he hadnʼt had last night.

The scream made everyone turn to look at him, but he was just waving his arms wildly and shouting. Then, it dawned on everyone else. He was waving his arms. Plural.

”His arm grew back? Gods be praised, the holy site really does have some divine magic left to it.” One of the young mothers gasped, then ran over and placed her baby gently on the stones of the old templeʼs steps.

”You shouldnʼt...” The old Cleric began.

”Itʼs fine. Those were the front steps to the temple. If there was ever an appropriate place to let a baby rest, that is it.” Karl countered.

”Well, when you put it that way, I must agree.”

Most temples had bassinets at or near the entrance, and the clergy would watch over infants while the parents went inside to pray. It was also the accepted way of delivering orphans to the church.

You placed them in the bassinet, went in to pray, and then didnʼt take them when you left.

Whether the prayer was sufficient for the reason you had left an infant for the church was between you and your chosen deity, but the church wouldnʼt turn

them away.

The old Priest was trying hard not to say something about the cause being Karl and not the holy relic. But as he had been here to check on it, perhaps they could say that it was divine providence? The holy relic bringing them someone who could cure their woes with a single nightʼs rest.

And Karl really had cured their woes. He had made them enough food to last for weeks, healed all their illnesses, old injuries, and even lost limbs. If he started handing out clothing and building them a house, the old man was going to start suspecting that the Gods were trolling him.

”Why donʼt I make a cart, and then everyone can put their burdens on it, and take turns pulling?” Karl suggested.

”Make a cart? With what?” One of the men asked, looking at the grass around

them.

”Magic, of course. I have that sort of power.”

Everyone turned to the cleric, their nominated leader, to see if that was

appropriate, given their mission. They had sworn off worldly luxuries during the pilgrimage, but a cart to carry the food and the ill didnʼt seem like it would break too many rules.

”Go ahead. As long as we are pulling it ourselves and not burdening others, or a beast, it is fine.”

Cara cheered, and a little girl, who had previously had a twisted leg, useless

from birth, giggled.

The thought of the Chaos Badger, who was the size of a small dog, trying to pull

a wagon was hilarious.