Great restraint was needed to not instantly knock him out. I had better things to do. Father Clinas told them the situation. They all readily agreed to join the mission and a general consensus formed among them. They were going to follow us up to Wreta. I took point on the roads as we travelled together. It took multiple days to get there and they needed to take multiple breaks. I just made sure that bandits kept away from us. My family was there to keep things fun. I also was able to get more rapport as I had citizenship in Ablinas City. I was one of them and we shared the same religion. Even the most racist ones among them were much more likely to just ignore me than actively try to attack or insult me. I took that to heart. There were certain mini missions that generated. If a dispute broke out, I had to help. If a wheel on a wagon broke, I had to help them fix it or keep watch against monsters on the road. We were more than enough to repel anything trying to attack. When we finally got across the border, there was still a couple of cities to pass by before reaching Rila City, the Church's meeting point.
Finally inside the city, we made our way to the cathedral. Archbishop Holger was happy to see us. "I am glad that you have answered the call to adventure for the faith. A humble cleric such as I can only marvel at your bravery and decisiveness. And so soon!" he praised. He looked at us closely and his eyes widened. He approached my group as if to ask something. "Oh! Even demihumans are coming along! That just goes to show the obvious rightness of this quest." he cheered. He mush have noticed our holy symbols. Unfortunately, he was not immediately ready. "While your bravery and punctuality is admirable, we have not gathered the numbers needed to make the trip as yet. As a steward of the poor, I have recruited about a dozen of people who want to go as pilgrims. We will need quite a bit more. In the meantime, I would invite you all to stay within the various monasteries and church barracks within the city and surrounding area." he explained. It took some more time for more people to come from the other countries. By the time it was all finished, 19 Players and 300 NPCs had arrived.
Humans made the majority of the Players, but there were some elves and half orcs in the mix as well. They must have rushed to do the initiation quest in order to join in the pilgrimage. The Church of the Sky was not known for its paladins. They excelled in raising monks that strived to combine spirituality with martial arts. That did not stop certain local communities zealously forming militias. The Nimbus Milita came from Estlor. Arkton sent a small group of fighters calling themselves the Cirrus Milita. I counted them. They numbered 15. With the 11 from the Cumulus Militia and the 16 members of the Nimbus Militia, that was 42 peasant and commoner fighters. 150 monks from around the continent arrived as representatives from their temples. 50 paladins came as well. They had shiny armor and magic that made the militiamen burn with envy. The rest were pilgrims that were coming for one reason or another. Whether as slaves, pilgrims, or eager explorers they were going. I saw Sir Michel and the centaurs were coming along. That was good. I knew I would have good company on the trip.
