The priestess tilts her head slightly at my inquiry. And her answer to my question is, as is to be expected in all honesty. Meaning, it's not very final.

"That depends. Usually it would be best to inquire with a priest or priestess of your patron god or goddess. You aren't a follower of Simja, or are you?"

I shake my head, as I answer.

"No, I'm not. I have benefited from prayers to your goddess before, but I have another divine patron. In fact I have been granted a special class to represent my patron's favor some time ago, but I'm still rather new to this and they seem to prefer that I discover my own way without getting too heavily involved."

I can almost see her mind racing at my admission. At the same time a little smirk tugs at the edge of her lips.

"Oh? Raccoon? Or Fox? Can I use an identification skill on you?"

I decide to play coy with her while I do my best to keep a smirk of my own off my face.

"I don't know, can you?"

Now she laughs out loud. For a certain value of loud anyway. She still tries to keep her voice down after all.

"Fox then. Definitely Fox. Alright, I'll use my skill, I hope you don't mind."

Even as she speaks I can feel the effects wash over me. It doesn't feel quite as unpleasant as most skills of that nature, but just the use of the skill still draws my attention firmly to her. For a brief moment it's like the skill struggles to find purchase, but finally it takes hold. There is a look of surprise on the woman's face.

"Can you indeed. That was a most peculiar feeling. I guess that second class of yours has a skill that causes it?"

I nod. Thanks to her use of her identification skill my [Shrouded Soul] has gotten closer to the next level up again. In fact it's oh so very close now. My spoken answer is just as brief as the nod. I don't want to give too much away after all.

"Yes."

She doesn't pressure me for a more in depth explanation either. Apparently she can tell well enough that it's not something I want to elaborate.

"Very well. If you have been ordained as a priestess of your patron, you must have drawn their attention already it's probably for the best to teach you how to learn new prayers and drawing your patron's attention is essential for that. Let me guess, you almost certainly have a sacrifice and a prayer skill, right?"

I nod again.

"Yes, getting those is the essential first step to unlocking a priestess class, isn't it. At least that is what I have been told by others. And I consecrated a little shrine out in the woods after we took care of that mushroom menace to draw the attention of Fox."

She nods along and perks up as I explain.

"Consecrating a shrine on your first try? That's pretty impressive. Not many would even think about it. And anyway, in that case you probably are already halfway there to learning how to bless an object, or a person for that matter. Do you have a miracle skill? Other than the general prayer skill?"

Once again I nod.

"Yes. Healing touch."

She seems pleased.

"Good. Very good. Learning another shouldn't be too hard for you then. I'll do my best to help you, but I can't teach you the exact words. You'll have to find those on your own if you don't have another cleric of Fox at hand who can teach you. The words I speak to call Simja's attention upon the object I want to bless might not serve to capture Fox's attention in the same way after all. The divine can be a little fickle like that."

I nod once more.

"It's what I did for my healing touch miracle. I based the words I speak on the prayer Aila spoke when she healed me when we first met."

The woman perks up a little more at the mention of the name only for her mood to drop almost right after.

"Ah, you met the girl? She's a real joy. It's too bad she had to leave so suddenly."

It's my turn to offer her a reassuring grin.

"I'm sure she'll be back before long."

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She claps her hands, cheered back up.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Anyway, let me show how I would do it. Come, follow me to Simja's shrine. You'll need to visit a shrine of your own patron to bless a weapon."

Even as she speaks she gets up and half pulls me along to the shrine of her patron goddess.

The shrine in question may not actually be bigger than the one of Fox in the tower above, but it certainly is more fancy. Bright stone and wood of various colors come together to form something that almost looks like a pleasant little glade out in the woods. Some of the carved wood leans out over the stone of the altar, like actual trees. And the altar itself sits in what could pass for an actual little pond, it it weren't for the lack of living greenery. It doesn't stop there either. The benches even have actual cushions! Soft and comfortable cushions! I guess something like this is to be expected of a dryad that has ascended to divinity.

Daria steps towards the altar, pulling her own utility knife from its sheath. Curious how even the very official and well respected clergy of an equally well respected local goddess has to abide by that city law. She places it on the altar. Before she gets started though she turns to me.

"Want to check it out before I bless it? In my opinion it helps to get a better feel for the difference you are trying to achieve."

I nod and focus my attention on the blade in question to activate my [Identify] skill. The tiniest sliver of Mana drains away, the skill improves a little and a moment the result is whispered into the back of my mind.

[Utility Knife (Steel, Common) – A simple, straight mass produced steel knife. This weapon with its single edge wide use just about everywhere in the frontier lands. Just about anyone might possess one of these. Category: Melee Weapon/Blade/Light Blade, Attack-Power: 5]

I lick my lips and signal that she can continue with another nod.

She doesn't waste any time either. She raises her arms high and calls upon her goddess.

"Simja, favored daughter of the woods! I beg you, imbue some of your power into this blade, let it cut not just flesh and bone but spirit and soul as well!"

As she finishes she lowers her arms, reaching out to touch the actual blade.

I can watch the blessing take hold with my very own eyes. My breath actually hitches for a moment. One second it's a rather mundane utility knife. The next it's something else. Something more for sure judging by the new gleam the edge of the knife has taken on.

The look on my face is not lost on the priestess. She seems genuinely pleased. And to be honest, why wouldn't she be?

I lick my dry lips.

"Can I? I mean, can I take another look?"

"Sure, go right ahead."

I focus my attention on the blessed blade and trigger my [Identify] skill once more. Like before a little of my Mana drains away and a moment later the results are whispered into my mind.

[Blessed Utility Knife (Steel, Common) – A simple, straight mass produced steel knife. This weapon with its single edge wide use just about everywhere in the frontier lands. Just about anyone might posses one of these. This particular blade has been blessed by a priestess of Simja and now temporarily (4 hours) contains a little of the divine power of the goddess. As a result the blade can wound even creatures usually not bothered by plain steel. Category: Melee Weapon/Blade/Light Blade, Attack-Power: 9]

I blink in surprise. That's a substantial difference! Not only can the blade now wound creatures usually not susceptible to plain steel, the attack power of the weapon was increased as well.

The information provided even allows me a good guess at the level of Daria's skill level. The attack power increased by four and the blessing lasts for four hours as well. I'd be actually be quite surprised if her skill level weren't four too. At least before she blessed that knife. She might have leveled up the skill after the fact after all. I can't rule that possibility out. Not that it really matters anyway.

What matters is the effect the blessing has, at least potentially, on my combat prowess. Level it up enough and it might just double the effectiveness of any weapon I use, especially simple ones like a utility or throwing knife. It would take a little more to thoroughly improve a weapon like my long sword. It's not impossible either though. It's enough to make my mind reel.

"Oh my."

Yes, that just about sums it up. Yet my mind is already racing again. There is one other important question prominent on its fore right now.

"Can a weapon be both blessed and enchanted? Or enchanted and blessed?"

The priestess laughs out loud but nods too in response.

"Yes. And usually the second approach is the better one. It's what is usually done for weapons that are family heirlooms or the weapons of great heroes. Usually it can be said the better the weapon is to begin with, the more potent an enchantment put on it, the greater is the chance that a god or goddess will grant you a permanent blessing too."

She pauses briefly and sighs once before she adds an amendment.

"Although, to perfectly honest, those are incredibly rare. My faith only knows one such weapon and that is Simja's very own lance. It's being kept and guarded by her sisters and daughters in her old grove, from before she ascended."

That of course is another interesting bit of information, which earns me another partial increase for my [Gather Information] skill. Well either its that or what I learned about blessings and enchantments in general.

The real question now is, what am I going to do with that knowledge? This deserves some more contemplation. I get up again, take a deep breath and bow to the priestess.

"Thank you for your guidance, Daria. You gave me a lot to think on."

She flashes me a pleasant smile and pulls me into a brief hug.

"I'm glad I could help you along. So, what are you going to do now? About the ghost problem? Your gear? Or even just learning a new prayer?"

I scratch the back of my head, while we walk back to the temple's entrance.

"Well, I'm not quite sure yet. Like I said, I need to do some more thinking. The ghost problem already is pretty bad. At least I think it is. Dealing with it shouldn't be put off for too long. Yet I feel, that I shouldn't tackle it head over heels either."

I sigh and take another deep breath as we stop at the portal leading back out onto the by now pretty busy market square.

"I'll probably see someone else to have a little chat about enchantments. And afterwards I might spend some time in contemplation to find the right words to catch my patron's attention for matters like these."

I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't have too hard a time to catch the attention of Fox, but that is a little something I'd rather keep to myself. And besides, coming up with a nice prayer sounds like fun. Why not spend a little time on it? There is something else I should address though.

"I'm sorry to bring it up only now, but what do I owe you for helping me out on such short notice?"

The priestess shakes her head.

"Never mind that. My patron and I, we are doing well enough, we don't need to charge for every bit of advice. And besides, if you do take care of that problem out at Hangman's Hill its me who is deeply indebted to you. Me and pretty much everyone else in town. So, this really is the least I can do. But, please, like you said, don't rush this. Think about it, make a plan and do take care."

I bow to her one last time after stepping outside, then I'm off in the direction of the gate. There is a witch living in the district outside the wall after all. One I happen to know. Even better, she should be on good terms with me too since I helped out her daughter not too long ago. That has to count for something, right? I have no clue if she can actually help me out regarding enchantments, but I reckon that I might at least ask. At the very least it shouldn't hurt.

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