After the bell hit 7 o'clock Matthias arrived and knocked on the door. They have left the house with him and went out to Bertha's house.
She was living in the lower layer not far away from the inner gate but closer to the mines than the gate itself. The mine was on the outskirts of the city and reached deep into the mountain it was on. It was surrounded with a larger open area where stone was cut out when the city was built, now it is filled with a few buildings that house most of the equipment and offices for the mine's management and workers.
Their house was about a block away from it. The street was surprisingly clean for a poorer part of the town because the people living here were rarely present. Even then they were like a big family because all of them were miners who worked together all day every day.
The buildings were practically rowhouses built with barely any gaps in-between them from time to time. Their house was only one of many, mostly made of stone with only it's door and shutters being wood.
When they arrived Bertha knocked on the door and opened it.
- I'm home! Father! Are you awake?
The inside was even simpler than the outside. It was a Livingroom that had a sofa and a table with chairs around it. On the side there was a fireplace for heating up the house in cold winter day, while it was also used for cooking food. In the back there was another room divided by a curtain from the main room. It contained a few beds for all the people living in it and a few shelves for clothes. The place had a particular smell of sweat, food and fresh dirt which made them taken aback a bit, but still followed the girl inside.
She walked to the back where the beds where and when Mamon entered he saw the man that was Bertha's father. He was a man in his thirties with unkept long hair and beard. His body looked like a husk of his former self with sunken eyes and his skin lost all of it's color while he was sweating profusely.
Bertha kneeled down next to the bed and grabbed her father's hand.
- Father! Why are you looking like this? Did you strain yourself? I told you to just rest!
He looked at her with dilated pupils. He coughed and then muttered a few words.
- Daughter? Is that you?
- Yes father it is me! I brought help!
But instead of answering the guy passed out.
Bertha turned around with teary eyes.
- Mr. Matthias you have to help him please!
The priest nodded and walked up to the man. He checked out the man and shook his head.
- Could you two please leave the room?
They left them in there and walked out into the main room. Bertha sit down at one of the chairs and quietly cried. Mamon walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
- Everything is going to be alright! A priest can even bring back someone from the brink of death. Your father is in good hands.
She nodded.
Mamon sat down next to her and they both waited while looking at the curtain from where a quiet prayer was heard and warm yellow light emanated through.
They waited for what felt like eternity until the priest came out sweating profusely.
- I have done all I can. He will be fine, but will need to keep resting and eating well until he can stand again.
Bertha jumped up knocking over the chair she was sitting in, which Mamon caught before it could make any loud noise.
- Thank you! Thank you so much!
She bowed while tears dropped onto the ground and then rushed inside the room to see her father.
Matthias walked up to Mamon and whispered to him.
- Could we talk outside?
He was surprised for a moment, but nodded and follow the priest outside.
- We have an issue.
The priest adjusted his glasses and continued.
- It seems like he was bitten by a plague rat. We will have to find out where he got the bite because if it was in the city, that would endanger everyone around the area.
Mamon nodded.
- I guess however they got into the villages, they also got into the city as well. Matthias! I will need some help with the maintenance of my equipment as I don't have money on me and then I will head straight to the crypt. It seems like there are too many urgent issues to waste any time on anything else. Could you provide me with a few flasks of holy water when we get back to the upper district?
- Yes of course! Anything else you need?
- While I'm inside I need you to get any help on figuring out where these creatures are coming from. It seems they just showed up out of nowhere, but I suspect someone must have done this. You should have someone check with the guards if anyone suspicious or unknown have visited the city in the last month or so.
- I see. That is a good idea. I will see to it, while also sending some people to check out where the monsters are in the city. I just hope it is contained in a small region!
Just when they finished their conversation Bertha opened the door and spoke to them smiling.
- My father felt better, but was still tired so he fell asleep. We should let him rest.
They nodded. Then she continued speaking.
- Where should we head next?
Mamon shook his head at her question.
- I'm heading into the crypt. You should stay home and look after your father. I will visit you when I'm done with everything.
She curtsied to them and they said their goodbyes to each other.
The two of them left the house and headed back into the upper area where the smithy of the priests was.
'I guess I get many privileges while working for the temple. Though it is strange how everything works in the tower now, because originally you could pay with souls for almost everything, but when I asked Matthias he told me that only money is accepted. Why are there so many discrepancies?'
His thought was cut short by the priest.
- I just remembered that I forgot to give this to you earlier.
He pulled out a parchment that had the temple's official seal on it. It was a proof that Mamon is a guest of the temple and he is allowed to move freely in most of the city.
- Thank you very much! This will help a lot.
The smithy was a small outdoor forge only used for smaller items to be made or fixed on the go with a shed on the side for the tools and equipment held there. An old bald man with a huge build was grinding a shovel when they arrived. They patiently waited until he finished and then Matthias introduced him.
- This is our blacksmith George. George this is Mamon a benefactor of the temple!
- Welcome to my grounds young lad!
- Nice to meet you sir!
They shook hands and then moved onto the matter at hand.
- I would need you to sharpen my sword and fix the half plate that got damaged in a fight I had.
- I'll see what can be done.
Mamon took out the item at which both of the others looked surprised as they did not expect him to just pull them out of the air, but they didn't say anything.
- Here they are.
The blacksmith took both and looked at them.
- What have you done to these? The sword is almost fully dull and the plate on the armor has bended. I'm surprised you are alive after getting hit by a force like this.
Mamon scratched his head.
- Let's just say I was lucky with the hit. And I have no idea about the sword. I used it as I always use my swords and only used it on the 1st floor boss.
The old man shook his head.
- This sword was dull to begin with, you should have sharpened it before using it for something tough like that.
'Is that also a NG+ feature? You start with a dull blade? Really?'
- Can you still fix it please?
- Yes! It is not that much of an issue, however it has a chipped edge so if you would cut into something soft it might get stuck.
- That is alright. I need it for undead mostly.
The blacksmith nodded.
- For that it is fine, though I would advise that you grab something you can smash them with because it's more effective. One moment.
He put down the sword and walked inside the shed. A minute later he walked out with a simple mace. It was a wooden stick with metal on it's end strengthening it.
- Here use this.
He tossed it to Mamon.
- Thank you sir!
- You are welcome. You can leave for now. I will fix your stuff up by afternoon.
They said their goodbyes and left the smithy.
'I guess I will have to come back for the stuff later than I have expected. It seems the more damage it has the longer it takes...'
- So you will enter the crypts in the afternoon?
- Huh?
Mamon was surprised by Matthias's question so he repeated it.
- Will you enter the Royal Crypt in the afternoon?
- Oh no! I will enter it, I just need the holy water I was mentioning earlier.
The priest was surprised.
- Don't you need your armor?
Mamon shook his head.
- No, not really. I didn't plan on using it here. I will need it later on.
- I see.
They have headed towards Cathedral's main entrance to get the holy water he needed.