Not long after dawn, they struck camp. Parry noticed the fallen tree upon which the god had sat once again bloomed with leaf buds and even flowers. It felt at once profoundly natural and wholly impossible.

  The morning was dry but overcast, the well-maintained turnpike nearly empty but for the chattering of squirrels and the songs of birds. The walk gave them time to think. Styak was in the memory-scape digging through cells, mining for anything lost or forgotten. The chaos and panic of the saloon fight made it clear finding resources was best done ahead of time.

  Parry checked what had changed since his ordainment. First, basic stats:

  Nearly full recovery, but that was to be expected. He didn't anticipate changes here anyways. More important was his top-level class page:

  First level? Making me go the full distance, I see, Parry thought, begrudgingly. Fine, I'll start at the beginning.

  He brought up his class skills, noting a new top-level menu had organized:

  Stalling--though he wasn't sure why--Parry expanded the skills tree in order:

  Some improvements, but nothing spectacular. I suppose the last couple of weeks have been more about preparing than training or building abilities.

  The Tamer skills menu had a surprise:

  Bonding is new and already up nine levels? A reflection of how close we've become? Parry frowned, remembering Styak's words just last night--is he "bonding with his familiar" or simply acting like a demon? Either way, it was a disheartening thought.

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  Parry set his teeth and opened the Priestly skill set:

  Absolute bare minimum, he nodded. He'd been priests of dozens of gods over his many lifetimes, these were all familiar. "Shepherding" at the first level was barely more than listening to a congregant's troubles and offering advice. He couldn't give real religious direction, which suited him fine: he didn't plan on conducting services, building a church or frankly advising anyone in sacred matters. After that conversation with the Lord of Wings, the idea was absurd.

  He knew what to expect from his top-level spell list before he even opened it:

  Of course he had an entire new spell category. Opening it revealed no subcategories at all. In fact, it only had two spells:

  Parry's laugh sounded strange and perverse, alone on the road. He felt the demon pause somewhere in his memories, then return to its archaeology.

  Less than the minimum! I must be the most reluctant priest in the world. Even a simple blessing is limited to others and costs me ten times what it ought.

  One more to check for now. He opened the Blessings menu:

  Parry stopped in his tracks.

  How the hell is that a "blessing"? Sounds much more like a curse.

  Another backhanded "blessing" to weigh him down. Every time Parry thought this life was off to a fast start--he'd opened up three classes in his first month, for crying out loud!--something makes it feel like he's slipping back.

  He started back up the road towards Baronston, his pace determined.