Paladin's Grace

This is yet another of Ursula Vernon's stories borne out of her frustration with the broken paladin tropes in RPGs and fantasies, whereby absolution is available for anyone who commits a sin... except paladins, who fall into moody throes of despair and turn to the Dark Side.

This story features a handful of very broken paladins who have been left bereft and purposeless when their god died. Taken in by the god of lawyering and bureaucracy, they have managed a somewhat redeemed existence providing protection in exchange for room, board, kindness, and understanding.

In a chance encounter, one of these paladins rescues a talented perfumer who is being chased by the witch-burning priests of a particularly-nasty religion. The paladin encounters the perfumer again when she is framed for the attempted poisoning murder of a visiting ruler and sentenced to execution. His mission to clear her of the crime is complicated by a tragi-comedy of errors and the interference of two different villains who wish to destroy the perfumer for their own reasons.

As with all of the author's stories, there is some brutality and ugliness -- but leavened with a healthy dose of kindness and hope and good people just trying to do the best that they can.

Recommended for those in need of a feel-good story.