I've been thinking about this for a few years now, and I suspect that nobody can really predict the future before it happens. People can only predict important events that absolutely have to happen for the Universe to carry on existing. That kind of event doesn't really happen in the future in the strict sense of the word, because it's already assumed that it will happen. It either will happen and the Universe will still be there, or it won't happen, and it won't be there. If the Universe isn't going to be there, what's the point in hanging around making prophecies about it? Real prophets are the same as physicists, really- they're telling you some basic laws of the Universe.

Arcus chased after Lola, leaving me and the Monk at the bar. Rundorig was there but he was so drunk he didn't really count.

"Can you think of anything that might spell trouble in St. Heim?" I asked the Monk.

"Well..." he stared at his empty tankard, "I'd keep me nose out o' the Cathedral fer a while. The Pope's just died."

"We won't be going in the Cathedral, Ragnald, we're going to dangle a shopkeeper upside down and see what falls out of his pockets."

"Ye don't understand. St. Heim's a theocracy. The Cathedral of Granas control everything." he shook his head, "But they won't bother us folks if we stay out 'o their way. They've got the funeral to worry about. An' who the next Pope's gonna be. Just keep yer mouth shut an' don't, whatever ye do, accept a quest off the bastards."

"I get the picture. You're sure there's nothing else dangerous in St. Heim?"

"Only monsters, an' I gather ye're no more afraid o' them than I am."

I didn't understand what could possibly have provoked such a violent reaction from Lola. There wasn't anything overtly dangerous about the quest- we were just punishing a greedy merchant. Still, I didn't want to just rush blindly into it. I spent the night thinking about it. First thing in the morning, I called a party meeting in our room at the inn.

"I'm not going to meet my doom." said Arcus, "There are easier ways to get healers. We could get a trainee..."

"We're a high-level party, Arcus, we don't want to have to train up rookies. They'll keep dying, and resurrection is very expensive."

"I'll look for healing herbs in the forest." said Rundorig.

"With all those dire hounds? You'll end up using more than you find."

"I'll grow them then."

"No gardening! You're not an NPC."

We argued for several hours on this point alone. Finally, when the sun began to set again, I came up with a solution to our problem.

"I could just take the healer myself." I volunteered, "A high-level fighter and healer are a fairly good team, if we stay out of trouble."

"No, Zera!" gasped Lola, "You're the one who I'm trying to save here! Your soul is forfeit as soon as you step through those gates."

"Okay then, I won't step through the gates. I'll sneak in through a gap in the wall."

"Hang on, are you saying that only Zera's in danger?" asked Rundorig, "Why doesn't everyone go except him?"

That suggestion made perfect sense, but in the end it was a good job it never happened. After all, trying to leg it out of St. Heim with that particular staff wouldn't be a good idea unless you were in my situation. They would have been hunted down by the Cathedral Knights and annihilated.

It was Ragnald who saved us all in the end. He ran in without knocking first and threw a map out onto the table.

"Here." he pointed to a small dot near a large town on the map, "Zera, Arcus and Lola can camp outside St. Heim while Rundorig and I get my staff back."

"Where is that?" I asked him.

"A small settlement just outside St. Heim for pilgrims during the summer season. It gets so crowded, they have to wait for several days just to get inside the city." explained Ragnald.

"Will it still be open to the public outside peak time?"

"It will be now. The Pope's funeral is going to be a massive event in people's lives. They'll flock from all over the place to see the bastard off."

"Lola, is that a safe enough distance?" I asked her.

"I guess so." she sighed reluctantly, "But I'll be watching you! Don't get any ideas about sneaking into the city just to see what happens!"

At first light the next day, we set off towards the Heim Mountains. Our new healer taught me a few tricks, including a protection spell and a few of the finer points of mercenary book-keeping. He also regaled us with many tales of foreign lands we had never been to, lands where quests were epic, full of vast journeys and Machiavellian politics, where people went around in parties of twelve and took reserves with them, and lands where solo adventurers hunted for treasure among the most fiendishly complicated traps I had ever heard of. He told us of a prison island that had its own laws of physics and a gambling game that involved releasing chickens from pens and seeing how many you can throw back in. He was just telling us what it was like travelling on the Skyway when Rundorig spotted a small cave in the side of a hill. I hadn't levelled up properly in weeks and the monsters were getting a little strong for me, so I went to explore it.

Hey, it wasn't a detour. I was levelling up. It was vital to my survival.

The cave wasn't too damp, and was lit by torches on the walls. I walked for quite a while but there weren't any monsters. I was curious about this- a cave in a hill is the perfect habitat for monsters- so I wandered further inside to try and find out why. Was some enormous behemoth scaring the other monsters away? A big monster or lots of small ones- it didn't make much difference to me. I made myself a map and trailed a piece of string behind me so I wouldn't get lost, then plunged into the depths of the subterranean maze. I eventually ended up in a roundish chamber with the roots of an ancient oak for a ceiling. Smooth rocks littered the floor and a small river trickled through the middle.

I found something else in that room.

Her beauty took my breath away. She looked strong and fragile at the same time. She had hair as black as a raven's feathers and eyes as deep as a sacred lake in the forest. Her tall, elegant form was wrapped in a pure white dress with what looked like a golden bird spreading its wings out embroidered on the front. She was kneeling on a rock when I saw her, staring at the water, and crying tears of sorrow. I sat down beside her and put my arm around her. She felt warm and my heart was beating fast.

"What's wrong, lass?" I asked gently.

She didn't look at me, but replied in that faraway voice of hers, "I had a terrible nightmare. I saw... I saw the Cathedral in ruins, and I was dead, and then the Pope turned into Valmar, and..."

"Pardon me, lass, but... who is this Valmar? Is it something I can protect you from? " I gave her a cloth to wipe her eyes on. She accepted it.

She turned around and looked at me curiously.

"You... don't know who I am, do you?"

"No. Is that wrong? I hope I haven't offended you, lass, but I've never been around these parts before and..."

Suddenly, she flung her arms around my neck and broke down into tears again. Then she whispered something in my ear, almost like a frightened child.

"I... I come here when I want to hide and... and think about things without being interrupted. Nobody's supposed to know where it is."

"I won't tell anyone. I promise. Can I ask your name?"

"Your name first." she demanded.

"Zera Innocentius."

"Zera!" she repeated. Then she whispered. "My name is... Selene."

"That's a beautiful name."

"I love you, Zera." she said, kissing me fiercely. "But I cannot go further than this. It would involve breaking my vows. Let us keep our relationship as pure as I know our souls are. "

Which sounded a lot more like Selene. I was quite impressed by it, especially with the depth of the passion in her voice.

"I would not dream of defiling your perfection, lady." I told her, "But could I have something to remember you by?"

"Here." she reached into her pockets and threw me a leaflet about Granas. Then she took out a ballpoint pen, signed it and drew a heart on it. I thanked her and walked out again. I didn't want the rest of the party to come in here looking for me.

It was a very informative and well-presented little leaflet, an excellent summary of the whole Granas/Valmar thing. I vowed- actually swore upon that leaflet- that I would meet her again, even if it was so she could explain it to me in further detail.