The Usurper Appears in the Dead of Night – Part 09

The central church of Ville Zentra was a grand and magnificent structure, but the city itself was vast, so several other churches stood throughout it. Paula served at one near the harbor.

She rose early each morning to clean the church and offer prayers to the gods, then moved on to her duties. There was no shortage of work—preparing meals for the poor, hearing confessions, accepting donations, handling church paperwork, and copying scripture.

Since it was already known that Paula could use healing magic, she helped out at the clinic.

A boisterous man barged in, blood dripping steadily from his left hand. “What’s a girl like you supposed to do about this? A cut like this’ll heal if I just spit on it.”

He’d apparently sliced it badly while gutting fish. The clinic was usually run by an elderly deacon alone, but since Paula was there today, they let him enjoy a rare