Lisryn nodded in approval as the injured mages were aided by their fellows.  They had been lucky and managed zero fatalities in the assault on the city, but it was impossible to avoid everything.  They had a very good match against the beast, at least, being able to blunt its attacks and disrupt the defenses it had as well.

Great gouges covered the land around them, and were carved into the city walls as well, showing signs of their efforts to deflect the cutting beams of water away from the inside of the city, as well as protect themselves in the open.  While it would take considerable time and effort to deal with repairs, that was a job others would deal with.  The Church of Conflict was not in the business of landscaping or construction, after all.

She hoped that the warriors she had stationed on the streets had done a good job keeping the inside of the city safe.  The rain of hostile fish had been an unexpected and unwelcome surprise, especially when they began tearing chunks out of people.  She was confident the warriors would be safe, however, as they wore fairly good armor, and the fish seemed unable to bite very deeply.

Lisryn sighed as she realized she would have to speak to the public again when they made it back, slumping her shoulders in defeat.  She really wanted to just rest and ignore the world for a while.  On the heels of that thought, however, she remembered that she finally had the ability to do something she’d been wanting to do since she took over.

Feeling bad for taking a few days to realize it, she gestured to her guardian and began heading back to the cathedral, slogging through the water and mud as rapidly as she could.  If nothing else, she could insist on waiting to speak to the public for a while and get things dealt with inside the sanctuary first.

After an unpleasant but uneventful walk, they finally made it back to the gates a while later.  Making use of their talents, the group of water mages pulled sufficient liquid from their trail to be able to wash their shoes and leggings before entering the city.  It was always nice to be able to clean up and avoid wandering around covered in mud, especially since that affected their image and how others thought of them.

The scene inside the city was quite different than she had expected, however.  From outside, it appeared as though the creature had blown apart and most of the pieces landed outside.  Inside, however, there was shocking amounts of damage both from flooding and large chunks of flesh atop buildings and along the wall.

Shaking her head at the sight, Lisryn focused back on her own tasks, confident that others would take care of the damage.  Along the way, they ran across numerous warriors patrolling the streets, all of whom were unharmed, fortunately.  Several did report having to fight off fish that had either landed in the streets, or slid off the roofs.  Unfortunately, there were some reported casualties among the civilians, as some had foolishly remained outside, making them easy targets.

Thankfully, it appeared that most people had been wise enough to remain inside, so, for the most part, the bombardment of aggressive fish was far less harmful than it could have been.  It also helped that fish were not known for being terribly agile on land.  With a chuckle at that thought, Lisryn shook her head and continued heading towards the cathedral alongside her fellows.

Some time later, she made it back into her room and stripped off her armor before rushing to the bath to relax for a short time.  After finishing up, she dressed in her official robes and walked over to the servants side of the sanctuary, catching one of them and asking for everyone to be gathered in the commons room.  Seeing them hurry off to fulfill her request, she headed there herself and took a seat while she waited.

Shortly afterward, everyone had arrived, confused as to why she had called for them.  With a great smile, she stood and began speaking, “Today, I have wonderful news.  The gods had a bit of a scuffle over the rules they set themselves, and due to that, many were able to get compensation.  Conflict and I discussed matters, and I am no longer the only one able to hear them.”

Nodding at their confused gazes, she took a breath and resumed, “There is now a random Paladin each week who can replace me if needed.  This means I am no longer vital, which itself means the Paladins no longer need to remain as secretive in order to better protect the only voice of our god.  And no need for so much secrecy is why I called you here.”

Smiling at them, she nodded to the women the prior leader had forced to serve him, then exclaimed, “Due to this, you are no longer required to remain here.  I hope you consider remaining, but it is an option rather than a requirement now.  If you leave, I ask that you don’t share anything about the Paladins or myself, but I won’t make demands.  This also applies to those of you who came here willingly; just make sure that you speak with whoever is on guard duty if you wish to return.”

After a moment of silence, several of the women began crying as one of them stepped forward, inquiring, “This isn’t a cruel joke, right?  We really can leave?”

“Of course,” Lisryn replied, “I don’t know of the man prior to me, but I would never do something like that.  If you want, you can follow me back to the entry, and I will pass on the word, then you can immediately leave if you want to.  I admit I was a tiny bit hasty once I remembered to inform you, as I haven’t informed the Paladins yet, hence the need to wait just a tad.”

Shocked silence lasted for a moment before the woman threw herself forward and hugged Lisryn, surprising her greatly.  After patting her on the back for a moment as she sniffled, she coaxed the woman into letting her go.  A quick query of “Does anyone wish to leave immediately?” was met with one of the women who was here unwillingly stepping forward.  The remaining women instead rushed to their rooms.  Joining the group to leave were three of the servants.

One of them remarked, “It would be great to see the family I left behind.  I suspect they feel similar?”

Both of the others nodded as one stated, “I haven’t seen my sister in over a decade; I’d love to speak with her again instead of just sending letters.  I’ll absolutely be returning, however.”

“I will too, definitely,” the others replied at the same time before looking at each other in amusement.

With a nod towards the group, she beckoned for them to follow and began walking to the entryway.  A short trip later, she approached the Paladin on guard duty on the inside and filled her in on the news.  She received a momentary frown before the woman nodded and replied, “I don’t fully agree with this idea, but I can see why you’ve chosen it.  This is a rather significant opportunity, after all.”

Turning to the four who had followed Lisryn, she remarked, “I hope that you will keep our secrets from those outside.”

She then walked to the door, speaking to the guard outside for a moment before swapping places with him.  Lisryn repeated her instructions to the man, receiving a smile and nod in response before he exclaimed, “I was never a fan of them having to stay locked up here, so this is great news.  Be sure to tell the others so they don’t have to wait until we get off guard duty to hear.”

He then turned to the mixed group and waved them towards the door, stating, “I hope you enjoy being able to leave.  I know some have been desperately wanting to do so for years, and some of you I know often wrote letters for us to send out.  I hope you all choose to return, but completely understand if you don’t.”

Still somewhat stunned, the woman remained in place for a moment after the others began leaving the sanctuary before hurrying up to join them.

Shard

Forgot to schedule this one, oops.  If you are interested, I have a discord server where I am faster at responding to comments or questions.  Feel free to join.