A look of shock must have been on mine, because he looked nervous again. "Miss Brianne! I was just speaking with Father Clinas. He has been growing a garden. I was asked to share my advice... since I... tend to the garden in our yard." he struggled to get out. "It was very illuminating, Shalo. Thank you for sharing your expertise." the jovial priest said. Shalo was glowing pink from the intensity and force of his blush. I gave him the response and that was the end of the fetch quest. "Excellent. Thank you so much." he then opened it up and began to read. His face fell as he continued. "Well, this is disappointing." he said with a sigh. I asked what the problem was. He gave me a nervous smile. "I was thinking that it would be good if we had a standing force for our defense. A sort of religious militia. However, our blacksmith says it would be a waste of time." he explained. "Maybe I could change his mind if I were to talk to him about it." He looked at me with a look of surprise. "You would do that!? That's kind of you. I don't know if you can. He's a good man, but he's a stubborn bastard sometimes." he said.
Convincing him to make enough weapons for a religious militia might be hard, but I could at least try. It would tick off another quest for the church. I took the quest and he smiled warmly at me. "You're truly an intrepid soul, and I greatly appreciate it, Miss Brianne. I hope you are successful." he told me as I left the church grounds. I made a quick trip of my way back to the blacksmith and they were still generally where I had left them. "Why are you back here 'taur? I thought that all you needed was my response for the priest." the blacksmith said with a groan. "I was wondering if I could convince you to reconsider. I think having a militia would be great. What if you were attacked by bandits or a mob of monsters?" I reasoned. He shook his head. "There are only ten people that know how to wield a blade. You're looking at four of them right now. The other six are veterans of a war a decade ago. I don't know what he expects of us. Us old-timers deserve our rest. As for my boys, I'll be damned if I have to watch them march around like idiots when they could be learning an actual trade." he told me.
Questioning his assumptions was not going to work. He was right. I crossed my arms and said "Is there anything I could do to convince you to change your mind? There are things I can't give up on." He just looked at me. "You 'taurs really don't know when to quit. Or is it because you're not from here?" he asked. I just held my ground. As far as I was concerned, it was a losing fight. "Fine. If you can beat my sons and me in a fight, I'll take it as a sign we're way too rusty." he said. That was good. I looked at him and said "What's the catch? You were so against it awhile ago." He smirked and said "If we win, we get the bragging rights that we took down a Yieldless 'taur. That's something you just can't buy. As a prize, my boys get to fuck you if they beat you. They need to become men sooner or later." That stunned me. It also made all of his sons look at their father and then at me. "Are you serious? I am not some whore you can just climb onto for a ride. I'm a mercenary!" I snapped. "Well, then you can take that huge mercenary ass of yours and get lost!" he replied. I had to do it. It couldn't be that hard.
