The Shield Bearer

Chapter 15

Rene let out a low groan of frustration as she reflexively reached to her back, for the backpack packed with basic survival gear and food, that she had always had, during her military service. Of course, it wasn't there. The only things she had, were the clothes she had gathered from the barracks, the shield and the cloak that she had found.

She checked the pockets of the cloak, hoping to find something, left behind by it's previous owner. This wasn't likely, but she had to try. To her surprise, her hand came into contact with something metal and cup shaped in a hidden pocket, on the inside of her cloak. Carefully, she pulled it out.

In her hand was a small tin cup, the kind that many soldiers were issued. At first glance, it looked nondescript, until she turned it over and looked at the bottom. On the bottom, the symbol of Astra was artfully etched into the metal. Without knowing why, Rene put her finger on the symbol and traced the lines from beginning to end. When she reached the end, it flashed with a bit of golden light. Rene turned it back upright and looked at the inside. On the bottom, was another etching. This one was of the ancient language, which she had been required to learn, during her time in the temple. It simply said, "Drink".

"Hmph.." Rene couldn't help verbalizing her thought. "Could it really be that simple?" She took the handle of the cup and scooped up enough snow, to fill it and to her amazement, the snow immediately melted and turned to a golden liquid that looked and smelled a lot like ale. "Well, I won't go thirsty anyway." She took a sip of the liquid. It tasted like the finest ale that she had ever had.

Realizing that she was also thirsty, Rene drank it down. It quenched her thirst, completely and...her hunger. Somehow, the golden ale had sated her appetite fully. She had heard mention of divine artifacts, that could feed the starving and quench the thirsty. But she had always thought that they were just stories, as she had learned so many wondrous tales had been. Even if she did accept the existence of such powerful artifacts, she had always expected them to be grand in appearance, unmistakable to even the uneducated that saw them.

"I guess I was wrong." She wasn't really talking to anybody. It was just nice to be able to hear her own voice, with her ears now. "Thank you, Astra." Rene put the tin cup back into that inner pocket. Even if Astra had no hand, in bringing this wondrous thing into Rene's hands, the religious symbol on the bottom, meant that the creator of this item, was inspired by Her.

"We gods do not directly affect your world in the way that you think. But we can offer guidance to those who call upon us, with true faith in their hearts." Rene felt that she was actually beginning to understand what Astra had told her. While the gods do not change and shape the world, through direct action, they can and will nudge, those who listen for them, to affect the world on their behalf.

"Well then, what's next?" Rene looked out across the frozen plains and toward the mountain range in the distance. "Yeah, I bet the frost elves are there. It's going to be a long cold walk." Rene smiled grimly as she decided on her next goal.

Cold...Rene realized that she wasn't cold. While the cloak she found, was nice and fur lined, along with her boots, she still should have been at least moderately cold. Especially since she had no gloves and the hood of her cloak had fallen back during her wild ride, here. She could clearly see her breath in the air turning to tiny flakes of snow as the moisture in it, froze. Yet she felt perfectly comfortable. Not too cold or warm.

She suspected that it might be the cloak. But she had to test it. In a moment, she removed the cloak, expecting to immediately experience the bitter cold, that she knew was around her. But nothing changed. For some reason, Rene realized that the cold had no affect on her. With some reflection, she realized that the last time she had felt cold, was when she was on the brink of death.