No Good Deed (18 page)

“Take a long hot bath,” Obidaan said with a satisfying smile

“Can I scrub your back?” she asked eagerly.

“Sure,” he said with a resigned sigh.

She reached out and kissed him, “Follow me and I’ll take you to your room,” she grabbed his hand and led him out.

Cecilia led him to his room. Pulling his key, she opened the door and motioned him in, “All of this has been waiting for you.”

It was a magnificent room, bigger than his house, more like an apartment. It had 2 levels. The second level was split and that’s where his bed and bathroom facilities were. Below, a huge living room, dining room, kitchen, and den. In the middle of the room was a fireplace, with a fire already burning. It was a suite fit for a king but more. On a table as he walked in was an excellent beer, some peanuts, a fruit basket and appetizers laid out. He went to the kitchen and the cupboards were filled with his favorite foods. There was also an icebox that held beer, cheeses, and other items requiring refrigeration. Obidaan was quite impressed.

“And everyone gets a room like this?” he was pointing at it.

“Yes. It is one of the many perks for being a paladin. Here’s another one. Take off your clothes.”

By this time, Obidaan began to understand some things so rather than mention anything about modesty, he disrobed, but kept his back to Cecilia. She laughed at the gesture.

“Now, hold out your hand and say ‘robe’” she commanded.

“Robe.” He blurted out, and on his arm a robe appeared. He put in on.

“Look down,” she said.

He looked down and noticed his clothes were missing. “Where did they go?”

“Go to your bedroom closet.”

He walked up the steps and opened the door. There, along with suits and other clothes, was his armor and clothes he came in with, cleaned. He turned to look at his bed, it was a huge king sized bed, already turned down. He thought about the beer sitting downstairs, “Wish I had that beer now,” he said to himself out loud. The container holding the beer then reappeared right next to him. His eyes went wide for a moment. He picked up the beer and took a swig. It had to be the best he ever had. He let himself go for a moment and chugged it down. “Wow, that was great.” He was looking in the air at no one in particular, “Can I get another one of those?” His mug refilled. He drank as he went into the bathroom.

It too was large and immaculate. In the center, was a large bathtub that you walked down to. He dropped the robe and stuck his toe in the water; it was perfect. He walked in and relaxed. The water swirled around him like a Jacuzzi. He sat in the water for 20 minutes before grabbing some soap and bathing. When he did that, he felt someone scrubbing his back.

“Cecilia?”

“You said I could, remember.”

“Yes, yes I did,” he smiled a bit, drank his beer, which was still just as cold as when he got it, and began another barrage of questions.

“So, anything I ask for, I can get?”

“Only in your room. But, you will notice that the supplies do come from the panty and cupboards, which replenish as needed. She was slowly rubbing his back. Seemed she got more out of it that he did.

Obidaan could feel her rubbing up against him more than before, he wasn’t as uncomfortable with it as he was before, but he was still concerned. “What is the deal with the touching?” he asked while scrubbing the bottom of his feet.

“Ah, human flesh, the spirit’s home,” she began. “You are a spiritual being, similar to me, trapped inside a shell, your body.”

“You’re talking about my soul.”

“Yes. Your soul, spirit, whatever you want to call it, that which makes you, you. Well, your soul is essentially just a ball of light. But
flesh
,
” she rubbed up against his back, “it’s real. It’s the manifestation of the soul on the material plane. Flesh is sentient, alive, vibrant, intelligent, and it house the most beautiful thing in the universe, a soul. All souls are beautiful don’t you know, regardless of the person. That fusion of material and spirit draw us to it like a moth to a flame. We are warmed, and renewed, and become secure in our purpose.”

“So basically, you’re saying you’d be attracted to any old bag of flesh,” he laughed at his comment.

Cecelia splashed him with water. “Silly. It’s similar to attraction between people. You have a naïveté about you that makes you quite attractive, like a baby.”

“Gee, thanks, I think.”

“Also, your soul weapons acts like an enhancer making you powerful, so you burn like a beautiful bonfire, warming all around you. Better?”

“Much. So, my soul weapon enhances my soul?”

“Most definitely,” she wrapped her arms around him and continued to hug him.

“How can you know if you’ve never met me before now?”

“I’ve stood next to lots of paladins; you all burn at about the same level, give or take. Even the evil ones shine brightly. Only their light repels me while being highly infectious to their avatars. There’s only one exception to that rule.”

“Let me guess, Lucinda. She seems to be an exception to every rule.”

“Yes. Her flame burns evil but attracts everyone. She has a zest for life like no one we’ve ever met. Anyway, that group tends to enslave themselves to their paladins, and like it. Us, we’re more companions. Still, it’s impossible to resist any order you gave me.”

“But I’d never ask you to do something you weren’t comfortable with,” he began rinsing his body.

“And
that’s
what makes you so attractive! See, you shouldn’t burn as bright as the others since…well, Gheriballi will explain it to you tomorrow, but you do. There’s just something about you, such purity, such optimism such…” she ran out of words and grabbed his back and kissed him on his shoulders, “Oh, I could just eat you up!”

“Now I feel like a 6 year old.” He leaned back, “Ham and cheese sandwich.” he said, and one appeared right next to him. He took a bite of it, then realized how hungry he was. He had it finished in about a minute. Cheeks still full of food, “Chood I haf anoder, ana boor.” Another sandwich and a appeared his mug again refilled. He ate and drank deeply, while Cecelia gave him a shoulder massage, “I could get used to this.”

“Many do. Most paladins call this place home.”

Obidaan sat back and relaxed, soon he was asleep.

“My poor, pally,” Cecilia said, “looks like its bed time.”

Obidaan awoke
, naked and with Cecilia next to him, outside the covers, holding his hand. He looked under the covers to confirm his fear, then looked at her, smiling at him. “Did we..?”

“Of course not,” she smiled at him, “you fell asleep in the bath, so I put you to bed. I’ve just been sitting here, watching you, waiting for you to wake up.”

“All night?”

“I don’t sleep and didn’t have anything better to do.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost time for you to go. I can show you the way.”

“That would be great,” he began to get out of bed. “Um, do you mind?”

“So modest, I love that about you,” she bent over and kissed him, hoped out of bed then floated down to the ground level. “You’re still not getting the whole celestial being thing, but that’s ok.”

“What don’t I get?”

“This modesty thing, to us, there is no shame in being naked, or how you look. We have no true corporal form, this one you see here I use for convenience.”

“So does that mean you’re sexless too and you just chose the form of a female?” he felt somewhat eerie when he said that.

“No, I have a definite sex. It’s kind of like a vibration. Once you’ve hung around us enough, you could tell a female from a male and soon enough you could tell one ball of light from another.”

“Then why did you choose that form over another?” he was dressed and coming down the steps.

“It’s complicated, but to simplify it, this is how I would look if I were mortal,” she handed him a cup of coffee.

“How would you know?” he took it and took a sip, it was perfect.

“Like I said, it’s complicated. Come on, it’s time to go,” grabbing his hand, she led him out the door.

“What about the door?” Obidaan asked as she led him away. Cecilia produced a pamphlet and bopped him in the forehead with it.

“Read,” she insisted.

He read as they walked. It explained everything he learned and more: Paladins are allowed to sense the well being of their loved ones, all other forms of scrying and detection are blocked. Use menus in restaurants, all rooms are sound proof, keys are a formality and only used the first time you enter the room; after that, you can enter and leave at will. It also served as a map. Tell it where you want to go and it will direct you.

She guided him through the outside of the keep. It was a mini marketplace with vendor shops for everything, several bars and restaurants and even entertainers. The place was pretty quiet. There were maybe 10 other paladins walking around. All of them had someone on their arm. They made their way to the Gored Bore. There was Gheriballi, with a woman, waiting for them. They were the only ones in the restaurant. Gheriballi motioned for them to come on over.

“Hi, Shelly,” Cecilia said.

“Hi, Cecilia” Shelly said. “This must be Obidaan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Everyone was standing up.

“Thank you,” He put out his hand as if to shake, but Shelly ignored it, hugging and kissing him instead. Cecilia did the same to Gheriballi.

“Does everyone do that here?” Still feeling like the butt of the joke.

“Pretty much,” Gheriballi replied, still holding Cecilia.

As they all sat, a waiter came with menus. “Would anyone like to start with an appetizer?”

“Champaign all around,” said Gheriballi.

“Very good sir.” A moment later, he returned with glasses and Champaign.

They all ordered and the food arrived swiftly, then the wait staff left them alone to talk.

“Enjoying yourself, Obidaan?” Gheriballi said.

“Yes, it is a beautiful room, can’t wait to show this place to my wife, she’d love it here. By the way, is this your scribe?”

“Yes,” Gheriballi said. Obidaan noticed Shelly hung fairly close to Gheriballi, similarly to Cecilia but tighter. “Obidaan, we have quite a bit to talk about. One of the first things is about our scribes. I can tell Cecelia didn’t tell you the other part. Did you?” He cast a glance over at her.

“He’s so cute. I just didn’t have the heart,” She smooched his cheeks as she said it.

“Well he needs to know,” Gheriballi took a large bite of his steak. Once clear, he continued, “I’m sure she mentioned you were not to be anointed as soon as you did.”

“Yes, she mentioned that, and how the gods forgot about me,” he added.

“Yes, a crucial miss, I might add. Well, here’s the one little fact you don’t know. The one that help all of this make sense: You’re the only married paladin in the corps.”

“Huh?”

“That’s why this place exists, in all of its splendor, and excesses. The paladin life is very difficult, often thankless, and for the most part, lonely. We don’t make normal attachments. Many try though. Some get married, but all end up divorced. Some even have kids, but they live with the other parent. That’s why we have this place; the scribes act as our escorts, or surrogate spouses, and the other amenities. The gods have given us this place to go wild. That’s why all the beings are celestials and everything is free. We have the deadliest job on the planet and without some sort of release it would be a matter of time before someone flipped out. This keeps us sane.”

“How does my marriage pose a problem?”

“It doesn’t allow you to take full advantage of the … perks and amenities,” he looked at the ladies as said it.

“I’ll be ok,” he felt almost insulted by the comment. “I have my own form of ‘release’ and I like it very much.”

“I hope so,” he was not reassured by Obidaan’s comment. “Like I said, the scribes act like our spouses while we are here. They are to tend to our every need, to spoil us.”

“I mentioned that to him,” Cecilia piped in, in between bites of eggs and fish. “However, he is devoted to his wife and family; hopes to have children someday.”

Gheriballi got a concerned look on his face, “Is this true?”

“Yes,” Obidaan was unapologetic, “I hope to raise a family.”

“Damn,” Gheriballi dropped his utensils and looked fiercely but concerned at Obidaan, “you still don’t get it do you?”

The ladies looked at each other and held their men tight. Anger was about to be displayed and though a negative emotion, its energy was intoxicating to them.

“You. Are. A. PALADIN! You are not a common man! We don’t use arcane mana like everyone else. Only priests and paladins have access to the divine! Direct communication with our gods! You are better…”

“I’m not better than everyone one else. We’re all the same,” Obidaan blurted out, interrupting Gheriballi. “I may have better abilities, even better access to the magic of this world, but I’m still just a man.”

“Hmmm,” a collective sigh came from the ladies.

Both men said simultaneously, “Cut that out!”

“Sorry,” they both replied at once, and moved back slightly.

“Now look, kid…”

“I’m not a kid.”

“With thinking like that you are. You don’t get it, and I don’t know how to explain it to you. You have to think differently now. Some rulers spew shit like ‘divine right’ to rule. Well guess what,
we
really were appointed by gods. Pull out your paladin symbol,” he did, “see that, it looks like this planet, with your gods’ symbol etched in it. And it’s on both sides. Unlike a priest holy symbol, which is just your gods’ mark. No one else has that right, that power, that ability to claim they were touched by the gods and given a mission. Even the holiest of priests, who commune with their gods on a daily basis, only have domain over their church. We have domain over the entire planet! Churches go to war over their philosophies, lands fight for resources and conquer each other for petty reasons: power, expansion, domination, the list goes on. No one can refuse us entry.”

“I know.”

“Then you do understand something, that we are the force to be reckoned with. We are a force to be feared, respected, trusted, loved, hated, embraced, and rejected. We can’t bend to the will of men; they bend to ours. We are the lawgivers, the judge, jury, and executioner. It’s a heavy burden we carry. Things like attachments only cloud our judgment. We are unique in this world. That is our place in this world.”

“I understand what you’re trying to tell me, but I believe I can make it.”

“If you do, you’ll be the first. In the early days, they did like you, married, had kids, and friends. Then people realized if they befriended them, they would cut them some slack, or worse, kidnap their family, they could get away with things. Many a paladin fell when they chose family over duty. Others fell when they chose duty, lost their family, then lost their faith. Originally, this place was only for record keeping and a place to sleep. Then the gods realized what was going on, and quickly changed this to the sanctuary it is now. While there is no official mandate against marriage and family, it was hoped this place would be a fair substitute.”

“Why don’t paladins just keep their families here then, it’s safe?”

“Originally they tried that but there weren’t enough families and they would get restless and go stir crazy. They needed outside contact.”

“So, what do you do if you want a family?”

“Silly question. Firstly, you don’t get that option. Second, you can have kids, but they’ll be bastards. I have a couple myself, one who is heir to a thrown. It’s not a great system, but it’s all we have.”

“Well, maybe I’m here to show that it can work. That we’ve gone too far in one direction. Gotten away from family and I’m here to show we can balance paladinhood and parenthood.”

Gheriballi laughed, “I hope you do.” He raised his glass in a toast and they all toasted. As he drank, he thought to himself, “B
y the gods, Obidaan, I hope you succeed.
”

After brunch they went about the marketplace. Everything was of the finest quality and all free for the taking. There was plenty of entertainment. That night they danced and drank the night away.

Amazingly, the next morning Obidaan didn’t wake up with a hangover. He stopped questioning the place and just accepted it. Cecilia would sit at his side at night, just holding his hand.

Gheriballi trained and tutored Obidaan while they were there. Gheriballi exposed Obidaan to new skills, powers, and prayers he could use with his symbol; things he should have learned long ago. He also showed Obidaan some different fighting techniques and moves for very powerful effects. Effects, until now, Obidaan didn’t know he could do. Obidaan ended up staying three extra weeks. During that time, he felt his power increase. He could feel his paladin powers like never before. It was intoxicating.

Then one day, while meditating, he saw in his mind a beautiful lit lantern. He began to walk toward it. At first it stayed the same distance away, but he persisted. He thought he was making ground but it felt as though he was walking on sand. He took a step and began to move closer to the lantern. All at once, he woke up. He didn’t want to stop meditating but he couldn’t help it. He tried to go back into a meditative state but it was no use, he was done for the day.

He told Gheriballi about what happened. He was supportive and told Obidaan to keep trying, “Each paladin must face his own test. No one can tell you how to solve it. Keep going and do not give up. You are in a delicate state now. If you give up you will be stripped of your powers. Keep going, no matter how long it takes.”

For the next five days he meditated and continued to see the lantern. As he moved closer it would either stay the same distance or he would break meditation. In a few imaginative tries he tried flying to it, hooking a rope and pulling it, digging to it, and spinning to it, all with no effect. On the sixth day, frustrated and depressed, he entered his meditative state. This time the lantern was there and it burned brighter than ever before. He was drawn to it but like before, it stayed an equal distance away from him. Angry, he sat down and closed his eyes. He calmed down and cleared his mind, hoping to think of a way to get to the lantern. He began to squint, even with his eyes closed the lantern was burning brighter and brighter. Finally, unable to deal with it, he stood up and opened his eyes. To his amazement, the lantern was right in front of him. It was no longer hurting his eyes. He reached out his hands and grabbed it. As he did, the lantern disappeared, only to reappear in his torso. It blinked like his heartbeat, slowing fading with each beat. When the lantern finally faded, Obidaan awoke. He had never felt so much power in his life. Not just any power, it was as if the universe was open to him. His five senses were on overload, yet still normal. He knew more, felt more, believed more. His spirit was boosted to levels he could never dream of. He feltcomplete but a pang of anger entered in. He now understood why the others had laughed at him, why he didn’t have the respect he should have. Why didn’t someone tell him sooner? Why not his gods, his priest, other paladins? Why. Still, he also felt gratitude. Overwhelming gratitude to Gheriballi for helping him finally being able to realize his potential. Gratitude to his family who is always there for him, and even gratitude to his gods for giving him this magnificent gift.

He was beginning to understand; so much power. He understood now why seven paladins could take out a kingdom. However, he did have a question and found Gheriballi.