faithbound. [marquis & Earinor]

"What? You alone? Besides, I thought you wanted a demon hunter around.", Azrael simply answered. He clearly didn't believe this priest could do anything to stop him. "I wasn't going to enter your monastery anyway and if you come back out with some soldiers ready to hunt me down, I'll be long gone. Wouldn't be the first time a priest has it out for a demon hunter." And it wasn't the first time a priest having it out for him either. Not because he made a lot of enemies, or conversations in the first place, but there was always someone searching for a reason for all the carnage the demons brought. "See? You're odd, but that might not be a bad thing." Letting them believe and live whatever they wanted? How very strange. If the priest thought Azrael would lower his guard because of words like these, he was wrong though. Even if Ignatius wanted to stay the night in that monastery, Azrael would set up his own camp out of sight, taking care of himself. Demons were the least of his problems then, but he was proficient in taking care of himself.

Azrael continues through the wood in a decent pace with some room between the two of them, he really didn't want him all too close. He did notice that the priest grew tired, he stumbled over lose branches and stones more often and sometimes the demon hunter had to wait up for him a bit. He just took the bag Azrael tossed him, which was surprising, but if he had settled on taking Azraels head, maybe he just played along for the rest of the journey. "For now.", he answered. As long as he kept it on him. Continuing on Azrael decided to lead them back to a road, it would be easier for the priest to follow and maybe he knew where to go from there. Once he emerged from the bushes he waited for Ignatius to follow him out on the dirt road snaking through the forest. "It's hard to guide you somewhere if I don't know where we are going exactly. Do you know which way? Or you could show me on a map?", he asked. Without knowing how far it was from here, Azrael couldn't tell if they'd make it before sundown either.

"Me alone, is that astounding? Sure, maybe it's not right for me to assume that you have no one to back you up, but it's astounding to see how easy it is for you to trust someone, if I may be so frank.", Ignatius almost complained, with a voice as sweet as honey and yet, an attitude as rotten as that of an old king that had lived in nothing but luxury and pure arrogance for his entire life. "You're awfully confident, but you have the skills to be. Not much of a fan of monasteries or gods men, I take it?", he questioned, sounding quite amused as he doubled down on his opinion. None of this was an explanation for Azraels behavior, but Ignatius held firm that he didn't even need one - his savior ratted himself out with just a few prods and probes, something he appreciated and yet, at the same time, cared little for - why give a damn about something that didn't matter in the slightest? None of this was going to leave their path; it wouldnt befall some damned souls ears, would not travel beyond what he knew and would most definitely not find its place within someones clutches, especially not if he could hardly stand them. What a laughable idea; some priests listening to him, simply because he had the power to make them and he'd use it to shill secrets about the poor? That, if anything, was pathetic. "If you think that's fine, then I won't argue. I wouldn't describe myself as odd, though."

There was no other road they could take, even as he stumbled through half the area, he felt as if he was merely making a fool of himself, perhaps even making it worse for both him and his guide, but all that said, wasn't he having a better time than all holed up at home? Studying, day in and day out, as well as proving himself to a bunch of hardheads that knew nothing except their own teachings - it had, perhaps, gotten quite boring. This, however, had some oddly welcoming feeling about it, despite the freakish nature of their encounter. None of these things should have happened in the first place, but they did, no, they already had, and there wasn't much else to be done about that. "That doesn't sound promising." But what ever did? None of these things happened because they needed to, but simply because they hadn't planned ahead enough. Really, it was as simple as that, but even the dumbest of them could follow a guide so simple and quaint, and thus, they had died, protecting what they believed in, which turned out to be him, who couldn't even admit to his own existence. In a way, it was sad, then again, what did he have to be sad about? There was no disease that plagued him and no imminent death that lay ahead of him - evenn if he begged to differ at this point. As they resurfaced, he looked around - it was a nice stretch of land in its own right, perhaps a bit boring, but still something he could easily deal with if he needed to - given, he had never been outside the monastery, but frankly, he had not missed it in the slightest. "Yes, I can se that. Let me give you an idea.", he suggested and looked around - they had no map on them, and thus, Ignatius grabbed a stick, the best one he could spot, long enough to draw, as he started making shapes in the loose ground beneath their feet. What started as shapes turned into a map of their home country soon enough, with Ignatius drawing a circle for their starting point, a small x for yesterday nights massacre and a bigger one for their new goal; another monastery, far out from here. "Does that help?" Hopefully, his companion could appreciate the craftmanship that went into this - none of those lessons had been wasted on Ignatius, even if they were stricter than they should be.

"I don't trust you.", Azrael made clear very quickly. This guy was a priest, that alone warranted his mistrust. Azrael didn't trust anyone if he was honest and maybe he ran his mouth a lot today, but either way, why would he be scared of one priest? If his brethren started to see Azrael as their new big target, he'd go to another area, where they didn't have an influence and eventually they'd forget about him again. The demon hunter didn't try to make enemies, but he certainly wouldn't act outside of his nature, just to please some clerics. "I think I made clear why I don't trust any of you.", he replied. He didn't need to give further reason, he'd seen what churches did all over the land, what they sold as being faithful and pure, when they were the complete opposite. He liked demons better, they were simple creatures and didn't attempt to hide their brutal nature. They were aware of what they were and embraced it, while all those priest, those executioners showered themselves with praise and believed to be in the right when they clearly weren't.

Azraels methods were different and often times regarded as unholy, or something along those lines. What he did had nothing to do with god or magic, which in the churches eyes often times fell into the category of unholy. They were scared by the prospect of normal people helping themselves and not having to rely and support the churches and their work. They were afraid of losing control and power over lands, cities and settlements, but there was nothing bad about Azraels methods. He wouldn't make Ignatius kill people, eat childrens hearts or anything of that nature, but depending on how deeply rooted the churches narrow believes were in him, he might complain down the line. Azrael didn't comment any further and instead looked to their feet at the crude map Ignatius drew in the dirt. They had a long way to go and the sun almost reached the highest point for the day. "We'll need to keep up the pace if we want to arrive there before sundown. We'll take the road for a while, that should be easier for you. Since your church is known here, meeting anybody shouldn't be a problem. As long as it's no bandits. Or anyone you people offended." Azrael wiped the map away with his boot again. No need to give anyone an idea as to where they came from or where they were going.

“I’m aware.”, he was quick to comment. If he did, wouldn’t the two of them be celebrating right now? They’d probably not talk like this to one another, or at least they would be able to let down their guard. Instead, nothing of the sort happened - instead, they were exchanging quick glances that didn’t mean anything neat, proper or loving. No, none of these things were common between someone one would be willing to trust and Ignatius didn’t blame this guy for it - not here, not now, that was all that mattered, really. “I got you the first time, no need to double down.” Priests seemed to be lesser or perhaps just annoying creatures in this mans mind, an observation he couldn’t and wouldn’t rid himself of, not in a lifetime, but he accepted that. Suspicions were present even within the heart of the church, about the most absurd of people - mistrust was something forged out of misinformation and prejudice was normal, he’d been told. All of this eventually led to so much more than just the collapse of ones sanity; no relationship would prosper like this, but what did he care? Ignatius didn’t need to like this demonhunter, or trust him - he was just his best choice, something that had become quite apparent during the night.

As the map was wiped from existence, he could not complain - if anyone figured out where they were going, all precautions were essentially useless, and in just te slightest of ways, they were also doing nothing but making a mess out of their plans. Turthfully, Ignatius didn't enjoy this hush-hush operation, as it was not being true to himself or others expectations of what would happen, but alas, it was the best they could do, and perhaps even the best option he had in the first place. Was this where madness led? He could only figure it to be so. "Sounds like a lot of walking. A lot more than I enjoy, but ... lets get this over with. Spending another night out here might be even worse.", he was quick to complain as he started walking in their presumed right direction. Ah, how he longed to get out of here, and hell, how he wanted to be seen as something more than just another priest, given that perhaps someone would grant him the due respect he figured to have earned; however, in front of Azrael, being but a priest was perhaps the right choice, if not the smartest. Did this guy like anyone? Hardly, probably. "How long do you reckon this will take?"

Despite Azraels mistrust, sadly the churches members made up many of his customers. Sometimes villages managed to scrape money together to pay a demonhunter to get rid of demons around their village, sometimes Azrael would work fpr cheap for a little family that needed protection on the road. He had a softspot for children and if he saw someone in need for help on the road, he would help too. Even priests, priests like Ignatius. He probably would have died on his own, if only because he'd eventually starve, lost in the woods. Perhaps Azrael didn't want to become a monster like the people he hated so much. Perhaps Azrael was reminded of the days he would have needed help but no one would stop for a dirty orphan. He knew very well that most people were as vile as the demons, but he didn't want to be one of them. He kept everyone at arms length, he was vigilant and prepared to fight or run if he needed to, but he was willing to risk his life anyway.

Azrael was tired of talking and the priest probably needed his breath for walking. "They told us this journey of yours would take two to three months, are you sure you're up for this?", Azrael asked as reaction to Ignatius complaining. "How long until we're at the monastery? This pace, no breaks, hopefully by sundown. If you think you won't be able to, we can go slower and spend the night in the woods.", he suggested. This priest didn't seem like he was used to walking a lot and if he was already complaining halfway through the day, maybe pushing him made no sense." There'll be many nights outside until you reach your end goal anyway, you can't avoid sleeping outside forever and I think we'll get far enough from last nights camp to be save for the night and if not you have me to protect you."

Their journey wasn't an easy one, he'd been made aware of that from the start, and yet, he toiled around the area with someone this close and yet that far from him that he had to wonder if this was the right choice. If anything, this was stupid, and if something, Ignatius was just making a fool of himself by clinging by the sole remnant of an expedition that should have never happened in the first place. As it stood, though, it was already too late and there was nothing he could do about any of this, not when they made their way through all the uneven terrain they had agreed to mostly avoid - there were some things they couldn't get around, no? "We'll figure it out. Somehow. I mean, I'm supposed to undertake this journey for a few reasons, I won't make do with some lame excuses ... but I admit, I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be.", the redhead complained, sighed about even and wondered where else they would make their way before they found the monastery. Was he doubting his own thoughts, his own knowledge or the flashes of visions that simply couldn't escape him? Whatever the case, he came to realize, it would take forever to truly make sense of, and as it stood, perhaps that was simply right. Wasn't it?

The sun eventually sank between the hills in the distance, its bright hue turning into that of fresh, orange yolk as it found itself trapped at the edge of the world and Ignatius had to admit that, well, god be damned, they were not going anywhere tonight. Well, not to the monastery at least, that comfortably sat in the distance, illuminated by the sinking sun that would encroach upon them once more, come tomorrow. They could stop here and now, that much was clear, but instead, they should push on, and they did - at least until they reached the small village at the foot of the hill, and Ignatius was happy to not have to spend another night out there, camping and idling about - surely, they could ascend upward, to his brethren, but it was dark already and the priests had long since gone to bed, he assumed, or at least closed the monastery for the night. "Well. I guess we need to find an inn now? I can pay. For both of us.", he quickly decided and dragged himself further in. His legs hurt like hell, he wasn't used to this, and it would only get worse as every single day passed, wouldn't it? Some walking was fine, but this had been too fast and too excessive. "Do you think we can borrow a horse?", he suddenly suggested to Azrael.

Ignatius didn't have to tell Azrael that he wasn't prepared for a journey like this, it was clear as day. He didn't ask why he was the one having to go on this journey to begin with, probably some weird church reason, Azrael didn't really care. He kept the pace and every now and then had them cut trough bushes and trees to make up time. When the sun slowly started to sink and vanish behind the treetops Azrael picked up the pace. He didn't mind sleeping outside, but they were close and even if they ended up walking at night for one more hour, it would have been fine. They could see the monastery in the distance for quite some while and finally reached the foot of the hill it resided on, right before the village closed its doors for the night. Once they slipped in and Azrael led them further in, away from too many prying eyes that wanted to get a look at any visitors, he finally stopped. He was told by Ignatius that the monastery would be closed at this hour and that they needed to stay until tomorrow.

"Mhm. Let's find one then." The village wasn't very big, but still one of the bigger settlements Azrael had seen in his lifetime. They had a wooden wall erected around it. Settlements linked to churches always did better, they were always protected a bit better by the priests, which was somewhat of a good thing, but Azrael was sure, to keep being protected they had to pay a huge toll to the clergy. "Borrow a horse?", Azrael asked with a little scuff. "No one will borrow you a horse for three months, but you can try buying one, if anyone has one to spare, two would be even better if I were to accompany you." Horses were scarce, they got killed off way too easily. They'd be faster though, although they'd need to keep to the roads like this. Azrael didn't necessarily like traveling on road, but otherwise that priest would just collapse on him anyway. After finding the inn, Azrael opened the door and held it open for Ignatius to enter first. He was the one with the money so Azrael decided to let him do the talking.

That guy was a force to be reckoned with for sure - Ignatius did manage to keep up with him somehow, but it did take a lot out of him. Reaching the village was something he was happy about; it felt like it had to be godsend, or perhaps he‘d just finally done something that instantly paid off. Regardless of what it was, or would turn out to be, they had reached someplace full of people, and even if the monastery seemed more than a stone-throw away, they could get in first thing tomorrow morning, which was nice. “The priests will, if they have any to spare.”, Ignatius replied like he’d been asked instead, but even in dire times, he was convinced that his brothers in arms would be able to spare only the best for him. The redhead wasn’t wrong perhaps, but he knew of the little things that turned it all over - if they were convinced that this mission was still of importance, yet, that the two of them were unworthy, they wouldn’t need those horses and had to prove themselves. That would definitely have its downsides, which were justified, if only in his own mind. Was it a mistake he was prone to making, or had he simply lost it before? Good question.

“Buying a horse would cut into our funds, I’d rather walk than sleep outside where I don’t have to.”, he proudly announced, with his whole chest, as if it wasn’t already embarrassing enough that someone like him couldn’t walk a good mile in his clothes without feeling like he’d be dry-heaving any minute now. Ignatius was an idiot for sure, maybe a well-mannered one, but his booksmarts were useless out here were street-smarts were everything that really mattered. “What about … borrowing a horse? Is that something you can do? You, know … without asking?”, Ignatius suggested again, this time a bit more forcefully, but he let Azrael lead him anyway. An inn would be nice, especially for the night, and he’d not feel like he’d been ran over by a thousand horses like back there, in that abysmal cave that he’d been sleeping in before. Ugh. He was looking at his savior almost expectantly, but in turn, there was nothing, so he was diverging his attention to the clerk that they approached - clearly already ready to turn in for the night himself. “Good evening, I need two r-“ “We only got one left, lassie.”, the clerk responded. God, the attitude of commoners was always rather interesting to observe. “One, then. Two beds.”, he tried to compromise. “45 silver.” Were these people lost? “I’m of the ch-“ “Aye, why don’t ye sleep and yer friend there sleep in the monastery, then? Oh, me reckons lil miss was toiling around so much, she missed the curfew!” Ignatius grumbled and furrowed his brows in annoyance. What in gods embrace was this guys behavior? What an awful person. “25 silver.”, he eventually suggested. “Ney, 45 silver.” “30.” “45, I’m telling ye.” What a though nut to crack. “I’ll give you 35, not a silver more.” “Then ye best sleep on the street.” Almost defeated, he passed over the 45 coins he’d been asked for - the clerk gave him a key and Ignatius, if not blessed by god, would never have had the patience to deal with this. “There.” He tossed Azrael the key and walked ahead, in hopes of actually ending this day early.

"If we're walking you won't even get to the next inn.", Azrael pointed out with a smirk. This journey had been hard enough on the priest and he'd not be able to keep up the pace, even if he rested for a night. He followed him inside the inn and let him talk, staying away from the two but listening. This was rather funny and it seemed like Ignatius never had to deal with anything like it. He had to give up and once he was tossed the key to their shared room, Azrael caught it and together they climbed up the stairs. This wasn't the best establishment, but good enough for all intents and purposes. They passed a few doors, only to be met with another set of stairs that led to the attic. In the middle of the stairs was a door the key opened. A few steps more and they had their room for the night. They ceiling hung low and there were two beds crammed into the corners under the roof. They had two windows on each end of the room and a little bowl with water. That was all.

Azrael closed the door behind them and then tossed his belongings on one of the beds before turning around to address the favor he'd been asked before. "I won't steal a horse for you. Do you know what it means for a farmer or merchant to lose their horse? If the monastery has any, but doesn't want to give us one or two, I might be persuaded, but if not, forget it. We could however see if we can hitch a ride to the next town. Travelers or merchants might even be happy with company that can fight and a cleric for them to pray with. It might be free of charge or at least quit pro quo." Azrael got something from his pocket and walked over to the window, pouring a powder along the window sill, then did the same on the other side. He wasn't too weary about demons attacking here at the moment, but at least this would deter them from finding them, if they still searched for them. They'd send scouts and Azrael didn't want to take any chances, if only to keep the people here save. Monastery or not, he didn't really believe in the clerics keeping towns like these save. They were probably just lucky. Once he was done he finally took off his hat, mask, coat and shoes. With a small sigh he sat down on his creaky bed.

"Seriously?", he asked the demonhunter with a raised eyebrow. This guy was though, Ignatius had to admit, and worse than that, he even knew his way around the place. His perimeter or not, he deflated - there was no reason to question someone else that clearly knew what he was doing and besides, he wasn't someone that ought to argue in the first place. If anything, it was a bad idea to cross Azrael this early, so he decided that why, this actually wasn't worth any anger. "Why do these journeys have to be this extensive?", the clergyman asked. If for his own sake, he would have already used some sort of magic to get him out of here, but the fact that spells would only attract demons didn't sit well with him, and it wouldn't sit well with anyone that cared about their own life, either. This was horrid - much like the crummy room that they ended up in. To him, money had little value, afte rall, he wasn't raised in a worldly sense, but it went to show that he had to make ends meet somehow, and right now, he felt scammed out of silver coins by someone that he actually wanted even more if he would have let him, he was sure of that. Why were all of these people like that?

"You are used to all this travelling, right? Why on earth does anyone think a room like this is worth that much silver?" To him, economics worked differently and Ignatius never had to deal with things like supply and demand, and yet, humans seemed quite greedy to him, willing to hog everything, instead of following the lord that was going to liberate them. Why, he himself had everything and nothing at once, and something like this, it was sure to annoy the stuffing out of him. "Steal? Nobody ever claimed that." And now, Azrael did not understand it either. "They will get their horse back, and ample payment for it as well. Insinuating I'd take from them, never to return it, or ask you to do it, that is quite harsh." Not only that, that went against his principles as well. Was Azrael mad? Well, he was the one already spreading his weird little salt concoction around, while Ignatius took off some of his clothing layers and settled in his bed for the night. "I would not be opposed to it, but we would endanger them for the time they spend travelling with us, no?", he dared to question. First of, that wasn't his intention, and secondly, regular humans were a fragile pack.

"Well as far as I know there aren't any other towns close enough to reach in a days travel by foot, not in your condition anyway. There is no point in exhausting you either, if we'd have to run, you'd not be able to and we don't want that, right? That means we have to travel at your pace, which isn't that fast. You could invest in a sleeping bag, I'm fine without and on some paths there are resting huts for the public to use, but they are somewhat of a doubled edged sword. Humans seek shelter and demons seek humans. Makes sense where they'd look, right?" They didn't have many options, even with a horse they wouldn't be able to reach a town every single night and right now Azrael still knew his way around but if they actually traveled for a while, they'd enter territory he didn't know either. He had to chuckle though. "You tell me, I don't even know what you're carrying or where to." Through half of the world apparently. Traveling in a smaller group was probably the best thing to do, this huge army was a stupid idea.

Again Azrael chuckled. "It isn't. The guy noticed you needed a room and he had one. Maybe other rooms are vacant anyways. Everyone can see you're a priest and this is a monastery town. They collect money from the citizens here, do they not? He was probably sure you had that much and if not could still have brought him the rest tomorrow. He also didn't seem very fond of your kind..." Azrael lay down on his bed and looked at the ceiling, crossing his arms behind his head. "He's greedy, he looks like he has enough money, but greed is senseless in times like these. It attracts demons just as much as magic does. People here just start feeling too save..." Azrael didn't like this town. Now he looked over to the other bed. "Oh yeah? And how can you promise to pay them back? You're not even guaranteed to ever make it back here. Worrying about the group they'd travel with though, Azrael didn't expect that. He looked back at the ceiling. "You're probably right, at least until we can be sure no one followed us." He turned over to the side, his back facing Ignatius now. "We should probably rest. Sleep well."

"My condition? Excuse you very much." His condition was, that he was an obedient little church boy that had never known anything else and right now, he was nothing more than that, again, but he was complicit and obedient about something else. Wasn't all of this just a stupid idea? Why send someone like him out here? "Fine, alright. We'll borrow a horse and if we can't borrow or steal a horse, we'll buy a horse. I hope the monastery has something for us, though." Spending money on stuff like this would mean that they'd eventually have to take on side jobs to get them through this and Ignatius had not worked a day in his life; not seriously anyway. He doubted to be of any use for anyone and he also knew that having to work would just put a dent in everything else. Could this get any worse? Absolutely not. "Absolutely. Nobody likes demons and yet they still show up all the time to prey on those who are weak enough to fall for their tricks." Humans were fragile and prone to injury, he was the same and Azrael, while human, was probably too used to all of this. "Too much too far. Does that help? Either way, it's just almost not worth it. But only almost." Perhaps he'd let the old man in on his secret at some point, but right now, it was still too early.

"Which means he's going to extort me because he thinks he knows who I am by just looking at me? Why do people hate priests that much?", he wanted to know. "We protect the people, that's what we are taught and I don't want to be paid for that, I just want to be respected, much like everyone else I'd assume." Everyone wanted to be respected, at least a little bit, and all of them were just human - it only went to show that they all were thirsting for the same thing, and everyone wanted to be as greedy as the next person, no? "Fond of my kind makes it sound like I'm the actual demon." Ignatius slid into bed, between the comforter and the sheets, and put his head on the pillow. It wasn't quite as comfortable as home, but it definitely was better than outside, where they'd slept on dirty ground. Everything was better than that. "And then they get killed, or worse, possessed. It doesn't help that everyone thinks that it's easy to be above that." It wasn't, not in a million years. That hurt, and Ignatius wanted to help, yet he knew he hardly could. "I will make a note with the next monastery, of course. If I find myself incapable, they will handle it." Or perhaps he was simply dreaming about it being that way. What else could be do, if not that? Hope was a last resort. "Good night, and don't let any bed bugs bite."

Azrael hated the fact that he almost started to believe that this man meant what he preached, but it was not of much concern to him. "Not every member of the church has good intentions...", he simply commented. He knew, he knew very well and he wasn't fool enough to just trust them, only because they wore white clothes and humble faces. That was all he wanted to add. They both had much to say, but they needed to rest and they had a long journey ahead, they would have plenty of time to discuss any topic that came to mind. Azrael didn't like being in cities much and he didn't trust the calm. The longer there wasn't any attack the less the guards paid attention. Either way, he tried to sleep and he knew he would wake up if there was any problem. Turned out Ignatius was so tired, he didn't even ask for dinner too. Azrael fell asleep at some point, dreaming about nothing much and he awoke when the first rooster announced the morning sun was rising.

Azrael slowly blinked. It was still slightly dark, but he sat up and stretched a bit. He didn't intend on waking Ignatius right away, he should rest, but Azrael wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. Nothing hat happened, but that didn't mean demons weren't on their trail or just waiting for them to be at a more vulnerable place. At the bowl he washed himself a little, then he put his clothes back on and removed the powder from the window sills. The town was slowly awakening and he spotted some priests walking around which meant the monastery must have opened up again. Azrael walked over t his own priest and put a hand on his shoulder to shake him a little bit. "Hey, wake up. We should get going.", he mumbled. He didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. While Ignatius went to talk to his brethren, maybe Azrael could shop for some rations for them.

The night was long and forlorn; Ignatius dreamt a sleepless world, a dream without answers, a life without distinctions. His trail was a winding path, endlessly long, and his mind a confused mimicry of whatever he had already learned - it was odd, and yet, when the rooster crowed, he escaped himself, in a mirror made of smoke. Were his dreams telling him something? Whatever it was, he didn’t get it - something moved, his fingers twitched and his duty called. Was he to rise? No, it was far too early for someone like him - someone had sprinkled salt on the tip of his tongue and pepper at the crown of his head. The moment he was called into the world of the living, he sneezed. “Good morning to you as well, Azrael.”, he told the hunter as he sat up. Ignatius stretched himself with but a sound and looked around - the room hadn’t moved, hadn’t changed and while the powder was gone, fickle remnants of it stayed behind on the wooden surface. Without further ado, he hoisted himself up and looked at the bucket of water - he sat down on his knees and washed his face after a quick prayer.

Afterward, he dressed himself again and looked at Azrael, seemingly roaring to go, and quite studious of their surroundings, too. Was something the matter? A bell resounded from outside - Ignatius peered out the window and found the priests walking the streets, one of them holding a bell and another seemingly reciting his morning prayer. Oh, joyous day! “We should hurry to the monastery.”, he announced, and truthfully, there was no time to lose - the moment he put his boots back on, he was already settled and at the door. For now, he waited up; would someone like Azrael even be allowed in their holy halls? Ignatius wasn’t sure of it, given his propensity and seeming dislike for the church, but it was worth a try, no? “Would you like anything specific when I ask the church for it?”, Ignatius wanted to know. There were many things that he could have, if only he asked, but few he’d think of himself, unless there was an incentive for it.

Ignatius was quick on his feet an Azrael waited for him to wash up and finish his prayers. All the while he looked out the window, scanning all the people that walked along the dirt roads. The priests in particular he looked at and he felt a shiver run down his spine which he attributed to stupid memories from his childhood rather than an actual threat. He was so focused he only looked up when Ignatius asked him something, already standing by the door. "Given that a lot of money all at once won't help me much, money for the churching including expenses for me if they so take my deal, a horse, better two, new boots and a contract, so I may collect my reward if we succeed." He wasn't so bold to ask for compensation if Ignatius died on him or they didn't get wherever in time. That was all he wanted for now, getting a lot of money would only slow him down and worst case, he would never be able to spend it. He walked towards the door still thinking if there was anything else he could need for this job, but his weapon was in good shape and he had a backpack with everything he needed to travel.

He looked at Ignatius and hesitated before he stepped forward the last step to leave. "How about you go there alone, talk to your people and I find the market place and buy supplies and anything else we might need. We can meet at the towns entrance and you tell me if I'm hired or not then." He'd even pay on his own for now, he simply didn't want to enter the monastery, not even their front yard. Usually he stayed away from towns too, but with Ignatius that wouldn't fly and he was overall not a bad person. He was willing to take the job, probably because he knew no one else would if they heard about he massacre. As much as he wanted the churches to fall, it felt wrong to let this guy go on his own or with a bunch of other soldiers and hunters that would fail to protect him. He sighed deeply. He was too nice, wasn't he?

It was quick and harmless to actually get through with any of this - there was no way in hell that he’d make the same mistake twice and there was even less of a chance that he’d not get out of the monastery with some thing to use. “That’s still a lot but I’ll see what I can do, really.” They left their lodging anyway and soon enough, Ignatius was smelling the moist morning air - he’d missed it, and he was enjoying it, too. How long had it been since he’d actually wanted to be out here? The last time he’d had to have been a kid, but even then, it hadn’t been all about being out here or in there and more about who could get up first and cause the most problems. Wasn’t it silly? Sure. And it had been a long time coming, too. “You look a bit pale, my friend. Everything alright?” Was there a demon on their heels? It could be, but he feared that, perhaps, he just saw too much in the pale face of this jaded man. Who was he, if not someone that had seen all the horrors mankind could come up with? Actually, not just mankind, beyond as well - demons were their own problem after all.

“Alright. If that’s what you wish, I’ll leave you to your devices … and if you do need me, do call for me.”, he implored Azrael. Not, that he had the ability to manifest from particles of light, but if he was in earshot, he could perhaps use it - otherwise, he’d just have to figure it out by himself, but that was that and here was now. Fortunately for him, now was a good time to saunter off. “Take care, hunter.”, Ignatius told him with a wave of his hand - then, he went his separate way, in the direction of the monastery he’d never called home. Another priest noticed this, it seemed, or rather took note of his clothing - to the common eye, none of this meant anything, but to his fellow brethren, why, they already knew from the way that he was clad that Ignatius wasn’t just some guy; hell, he belonged to their church for a reason, but he also was marked a certain way. The man chatted him up and let him to the monastery - this was easy, no?

Azrael nodded. He didn't expect to get everything, but he rather asked about all the things he could think of and got a selection instead of being modest. It wasn't a demand, he asked for it as upfront payment or maybe payment fro bringing Ignatius at least here. They went out together still, there was no need not to. The inns dining room was totally empty and still dirty from the day before. This was definitely more of a night establishment than anything else. Outside the air was a tad bit cold and everything was sparkling from the morning dew. The dirt road wasn't any less muddy because of it and Azrael looked at Ignatius somewhat perplex for the question and phrasing he got. He'd been kind of detached from reality and still seemed so, but maybe he had a bad day yesterday, because this morning he was almost awfully nice. "Everything's fine, I just don't like being around too many people...", he mumbled. That was only half of the truth, but it didn't matter, for now there was nothing, or at least nothing new to be concerned with.

Again Azrael nodded and watched Ignatius leave in the direction of the monastery. As soon as he was out of sight, he pulled his coat closer, then started to walk in the direction of some noise where he expected the market to be. It was still early, not many people were up and about. Azrael didn't know the churches customs, not of every single branch at least, maybe some of them went to pray, but some were also setting up their stalls for the day. He walked around a bit, checking what was available and he bought a few things for them. A backpack for Ignatius he planned to load lightly, some food that would last them a few days, a sleeping bag for the priest and some herbs. This market wasn't big enough to sell animals, much less horses, not that he had the money right now. Instead he found a weapons smith who he sold some daggers to he found on the corpses of the rest of the party supposed to protect whatever Ignatius protected and he asked him to sharpen his weapon while he was here. He bought new boots for himself too, hoping the expenses were covered by the church and in the same store he also bought a cape. He doubted Ignatius wanted to wear any other attire than the one of the church, but he could at least cover up in case it was necessary. With everything done he went to the town entrance, walking outside and waiting there while two watchmen had an eye on him the whole time.

The way up was not even as ardurous as he imagined it; it was a nice morning walk with a man that was wise beyond his years and had many things to say. For a bit, Ignatius was actually interested in everything that he had to say, but other than that, he was only half listening, trying to find out what the issue was - well, if there was any, that was. Otherwise, though? He was clearly enjoying this bit of banter as he was being watched closely by the eyes of a fellow priest. They had enough ideas they shared with one another, and then, when they arrived at the top of the mountain, they had talked so much, he actually wondered if he was too late to get some food - his way in was easy enough, but anything beyond that proved to be but a challenge. At first, the guards at the doors were the ones that were getting to him; they demanded, more and more and more, every so often, asking for so many things that he had no idea how to answer all of those questions - it hurt to admit, but this was happening, wasn't it? They wanted to know where the rest was, what was happening and what it was that drove him so far off the edge of this very world. Why was he here, alone, and by himself, and why was he making demands?

Explaining his issues away was easier said than done, and getting them to listen was horrible; they all were acting like he was making demands without reason, when the actual reason was the only man that had survived and refused to show up with him. They were quite annoying, and persistent, too. "Brother, I unfortunately can't just approve something like this.", one of the priests in charge told him. Ignatius was kneeling in front of them and raising an eyebrow. "It is simple, if it's just the two of us, we have a higher chance to succeed." "And a higher chance to fail. It takes the death of an entire army to keep you safe, that is not something that we can-" "No, it will not.", he answered the older man. It seemed as if they'd reached a crossroads and they wouldn't come to an agreement, not at all, not here and not now. This was quite ... annoying. Problematic, even. "Look, I can prove my worth here and now." "For all we know you shouldn't be out here in the first place, not on your own." "I am no longer a child, you needn't shield me, I have surpassed my peers." There was a bit of discussion among the people in front of him - some of them scurried to leave the room, and others looked at Ingatius quite weird. It took forever. "Fine. You are to show up at the next monastery in five days time, you hear? This here shall be a token of your loyalty." They handed him ... something. It was a brown bag, Ignatius didn't want to ask and then put a rosary around his wrist. Why? Oh, he knew. Token of his loyalty, alright. With that, he bowed, took his belongings and was escorted out to the stables - they gave them one horse, better than nothing, and then made sure he got off their mountain and out their monastery. With the beast, he rode back down to town and wondered where he'd find Azrael as he got off - they never agreed on a meeting point, but he had an idea, so he went to the gate, at the other end of town. By that time, he'd already eaten some of the things in the bag - of course it was food. "There you are. Want to get on and take off? They'll pay you."

Azrael waited for quite some time and the guards did not grow tired of staring at him. He paid them no mind and looked in the direction of the forest they had come from. He still wondered if they'd been followed by any demons, if they picked up their scent and where they'd even go. He also questioned himself. There was no reason to help this priest, no reason to take on this dangerous task he knew neither the goal nor the purpose of and yet he was here waiting for him, seeing if he even still wanted his help. He only turned around when he heard hooves of a horse coming his way and to his surprise he saw the long red hair of the priest who sat atop of it. Azrael walked over and took the reins, looking at the horse and patting it's head a bit. "Only one?", he asked though it was quite obvious. It wouldn't be able to carry two grown men for the whole day, but it was enough if it carried their luaggage and Ignatius, who would need less rests. The forest wasn't much bigger, so even if they needed to stay on a road with the horse now, they would be able to get off the roads in due time.

Azrael had questions, but he remained silent so close to those guards and the town. For now he started to pack some of the things he carried into the saddle bags, then he took the reins again and started walking ahead, leading the horse with them. He was used to walking all day and he could walk faster now, with the horses help, they'd make more distance than the day before, so this was already better. He only started talking once they were a bit away from the town. For now there was only one road to follow, but the direction thy travelled before would probably be roughly where Ignatius wanted to go. "Pay me when?", he asked eventually, still willing to join him right now. "Also, where are we going? We should plan a route..." The horse needed to be accommodated as well and if this journey truly was as long as they advertised it to be, maybe Ignatius should walk a good amount every day too, to make him fitter for this whole ordeal.

One horse was better than no horse and they should be happy about it - he could understand why Azrael would question him or the churches motives, at least a little bit, and he also understood why it was sort of important to him to get that, why, they could have had much more if the church wasn't tight on their own ressources. For now, they should ride. "Only one. We'll get another.", he told Azrael, almost cryptically, until they were out of earshot of the guards that had a hankering for listening to them and staring at newcomers, it seemed. Those didn't take kindly to either of their kind, it seemed - well, whatever, it could be worse. "Pay you eventually, but they gave me a decree that confirms it, if you want it." It was the best thing they had and he doubted that his partner in whatever crime this was was keen on wearing a rosary around his wrist. Was that even supposed to be part of that? Ignatius wasn't so sure anymore - he just knew they had five days to get somewhere and they couldn't be tardy with it.

"I know where we are going. They want me to show up at the next monastery in five days, which means they'll probably send a dove, and they probably mean the one in this direction." The redhead pointed some place with no significant landmark in sight, almost as if he was relying on his intuition alone. Who wouldn't? God would guide him, if only he asked, but then again, no magic for the two of them. Eventually, he got off of the horse though, not exactly gracefully and handed Azrael their breakfast - he ought to eat some. "Alright, they were pretty unfriendly. They wanted me to wait until they had another army ready and now I'm playing the errand boy. They told me if I can show up there in time, they'd feed and clothe us, and they'd pay you whatever sum you'd want ... this rosary is proof of that." He held his wrist up to show Azrael. Now, they needed a map, that would be easy to procure, but Ignatius had a better idea; it involved magic, still, but it wouldn't be so bad if it was during daytime, relatively close to a settlement, right? "How about a magic trick?"