I respawned to the last half of the ride to Carleone, and I skipped the conversation about the town’s history with Elissa since I already knew all the information. When we approached the walls, I halted before the guards signaled for us to do so, and I immediately swung my legs over Goliath’s withers to slide off the saddle like a professional.
The two guards eyed me curiously, but they didn’t move to block the entrance to the town.
“Good morning, Sergeant Jack,” I said as I greeted the man on the left. Then I turned to nod at the other guard. “Finn, how are you today?”
“H-How do you know our names?” Jack’s mouth hung agape, and the two men shot each other questioning glances.
“I am the God of Time,” I explained in my most godly voice. “I know all things.”
“Careful, Jack,” Finn warned.
I held up my hand to halt his words, and his eyes widened in surprise. “I am not a wizard, Finn, so stop thinking that.”
“You can read my thoughts?” Finn gasped and rushed toward me. “What am I thinking right now?”
“You are confused and amazed by my power,” I guessed based on his facial expression.
“G-God of Time, you said?” Finn squeaked out, which I took for confirmation that my guess had been accurate.
“Wow…” Sergeant Jack shook his head in amazement. “I-It’s an honor to meet you, O Great One.”
“Should we escort you to the mayor?” Finn asked, and he shot his commanding officer a challenging expression. “I could vacate my post to show the Great One around Carleone?”
“That will not be necessary,” I quickly said. “I already know all about your town.”
“Oh.” The sergeant blinked as he processed my refusal. “Of course, Great One, you know best.”
“Carry on, men.” I saluted the two guardsmen, and then I led my horse into the town.
Jack and Finn snapped a salute back at me and stood at attention while I passed by them.
Carleone was bigger than Bastianville, and it was organized in one neat row along either side of the main road. The mountain sides walled off the left and right of the town, and walls covered the gap between them to form a narrow rectangle shape. People milled around the street. Some carried baskets balanced on their hips or heads, and others had bundles of furs or meat thrown onto their backs, but it seemed like everyone was hard at work.
The buildings of Carleone were in slightly better condition than the ones in Bastianville, but they looked to be made out of the same kind of timber as Elrin’s house and the inn. I also only noticed a couple that were boarded up, compared to the handfuls in Bastianville.
Then I saw a wooden sign advertising rooms and food hanging in front of a building a couple of blocks ahead, and I signaled to the women to stay close as I maneuvered Goliath down the busy street.
The townspeople seemed downtrodden and dirty, and I didn’t see a single smile anywhere. I knew their mine was drying up, so I was sure money had gotten tight.
Carleone needed the God of Time to help it thrive.
I grinned as the familiar excitement coursed through my veins. I loved a good challenge, and fixing this town’s problem in one day would certainly be one.
A stable hand rushed down from the porch of the inn and tipped his hat to me.
“Afternoon, sir!” the lad called up to me. “Are ya going to the inn? I’ll take your horses to the stable for a copper.”
“Alright.” I grinned down at the kid as I fished around inside my belt pouch for a copper coin and tossed it to him before sliding off Goliath’s back. Then I helped Elissa to dismount from Star, but Mahini leapt from Warrior’s back with a practiced ease.
The boy led our steeds away, and the three of us climbed the stairs up to the inn. The aroma of fresh baked bread wafted out from the entrance, and I followed my nose and growling stomach inside.
Then I made a new save point as I opened the door.
A woman looked up at us with a big friendly smile as soon as we entered. The dining room was sparsely populated with only a handful of people scattered about. They all wore the same dejected expression as the people I’d encountered outside, but the woman who was quickly approaching wore a happy face.
“Lovely to see some new faces,” she chirped. “My name is Nelly. I suppose you are travelers in need of some warm food? Perhaps a soft bed? I can soothe all your ails, just follow me.”
“Bless you,” I replied with a grin.
This woman was speaking my language.
We followed her over to an empty table, and she gestured for us to get comfortable.
“I’ll send Cook out with the special,” she informed us. “It’s a copper each for dinner, and two each for the night.”
“We will only need one room,” I explained. “Price seems a bit steep…”
“There’s nowhere else to rent a bed in all of Carleone,” the woman assured me as she cocked her hip to one side.
Apparently, she didn’t appreciate my attempt at haggling.
“Torya over in Bastianville would never treat me this way,” I said with furrowed eyebrows.
“Torya?” the woman scoffed. “She’s in Addington, not Bastianville.”
“They renamed the town in Sebastian’s honor,” Elissa interjected with a proud gleam in her emerald eyes. “He saved us from many dangers in a few short days.”
“Who’s Sebastian?” The woman wrinkled her nose as she glanced at each of our faces.
I lifted my hand up like a student who’d been called on by his teacher, and I cleared my throat. I was the God of Time, and I needed to get used to being the center of attention.
“That would be me,” I announced. “I am Sebastian, the God of Time, and I am in Carleone to help the town thrive like I did in Addington.”
“Pfft,” the woman hissed. She stared into my eyes for a long moment, almost as though she could see into my soul, but I kept my expression neutral. “What can you do to help us? Things have gotten bad around here lately. We lost three guardsmen just last week, and the mine has practically dried up…”
I wasn’t satisfied with her reaction to me. Everyone in Carleone had to be totally convinced of my godhood in order for me to have one hundred percent completion, so I reset to my previous save to use the knowledge she’d given me to my advantage.
Chime.
I entered the inn for the second time, and I waved to Nelly with my best smile on my face.
“Nelly!” I greeted her like I’d known her my whole life. “Torya sends her love, and she said not to swindle us.”
“D-Do I know you?” Nelly asked with a confused expression. “I don’t remember seeing you around here before.”
“I have never been here before, but I am the God of Time,” I explained. “I know everything about you, Nelly. I know you’ve been worried about the people of Carleone ever since the death of three guardsmen, and I am here to ease your fears.”
“O-Oh, w-well, what can I do for you?” Nelly’s confused look remained firmly in place.
“I have come to save Carleone,” I announced. “The mine is drying up, and many of your miners are out of work. I can help everyone, just like I did Bastianville.”
“It’s true!” Elissa added. “He saved my town in only a few days!”
“Can it be?” Nelly’s confusion was quickly shifting to awe. “Could you truly be the Great One of prophecy?”
“That I am.” I bowed with a flourish. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“Carleone could use some good news after everything we’ve been through…” She shook her head again, but this time to dispel her internal thoughts. Then she turned and gave me a radiant smile. “I would love to be of service to you, Great One.”
“So, a copper for three dinners, and one more for the room?” I asked with my most flirtatious smile.
The innkeeper giggled like a young girl, and she wrung her hands on her apron.
“Alright, alright,” she agreed, and she shook her head in awe as she accepted the two copper coins from me.
After a short while, the promised dinner arrived. It was a warm, creamy potato soup, with a bowl of grapes, and hunks of fresh buttery bread on the side.
I was definitely eager to dig into a hot meal after the long day we’d just had.
Once we’d finished our meal, Elissa announced she was going to take a nap since the fight with the kobolds as well as the day of riding had exhausted her.
Mahini and I bade her a sweet rest, and then the two of us headed out into Carleone to explore.
Jax’s forge didn’t have a smelter for coins, so the copper harvested from the mine used to be hauled to Carleone to get turned into money. Elrin had sent me with several hunks of unrefined copper to smelt, so the forge was our first destination.
Plus, I loved seeing the excitement on Mahini’s face at the prospect of new weapons and armor.
We stopped by the stables to grab the copper ore and some of the looted kobold weapons from our saddlebags, and I directed the stableboy to take the rest of our belongings up to our room, but I warned him not to wake up my wife. Then we continued on until I heard the ping of a blacksmith’s hammer, and Mahini’s piercing blue eyes lit up with joy at the noise. I chuckled to myself as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and turned in the direction of the sounds of a forge.
We followed the sound of the dinging hammer to the edge of town, where the river cut inside the city walls beneath a low archway. The opening in the wall wasn’t big enough for anything but the water to move through, and the heat of the blacksmith’s hearth accompanied the rushing waters.
An impossibly tall bald man with dark skin stood with his back to us and leaned over the anvil. The large hammer swung in his hand like it was a feather, and the rippling muscles in his exposed arms glistened with sweat.
He reminded me of John Henry.
I cleared my throat, and the hammer paused in midair. I put on my best smile and motioned for Mahini to do the same. The desert goddess frowned for an instant, but then her lips curled upward the slightest bit.
Good enough.
“What do you want?” The blacksmith turned to give us a hot glare.
“We’re visiting from the town formerly known as Addington,” I explained. “Jax said there was a decent forge here in Carleone, and I’m fascinated by smithing, so we decided to drop by.”
“Formerly known as Addington?” The blacksmith crossed his arms over his chest as he raised one eyebrow.
“Yes.” Mahini nodded. “It was renamed after the Great One, Sebastian, so it is now called Bastianville.”
“Who is this Great One, then?” he asked in a gruff voice as his dark eyes darted between Mahini and me.
“That would be me.” I bowed with a flourish and grinned even wider. “I am the God of Time, but you can call me Bash.”
“Bash, huh.” The blacksmith seemed skeptical still, but his glare eased into a neutral appraisal. “I’m Malakai, but you can call me Mac like everyone else in this shit hole does.”
I couldn’t tell if the nickname was something he enjoyed or not since he didn’t seem to appreciate the townspeople of Carleone referring to him by it, but I ignored the hostility in his voice and eyed his anvil.
“Nice to meet you, Mac,” I said as I analyzed the blade he’d been working. “You’ve got the makings of a fine sword, there.”
“You have an eye for quality,” Mac chuckled and beckoned me in closer.
I let out the breath I’d apparently been holding and crossed the distance to the anvil. I shot a grin at Mahini over my shoulder, but the desert goddess merely leaned against the door frame with a blank expression. Her mercenary training was coming out, and she was obviously on the alert.
I could tell she didn’t trust any of these townspeople, but she would soon realize she wasn’t in any danger with me around.
“What kind of metal are you using?” I asked as I eyed the freshly formed sword.
“Steel, for now,” Mac answered as he picked up the blade with his tongs and tossed it back into the fiery hearth. He pumped the bellows a few times before he turned back to me. “I’ve got a bit of malachite from the mine that I’m going to turn into copper and start working with. If you’re sticking around for a few days, you could see what I come up with.”
“We are only staying one night, unfortunately,” I replied. “Maybe on my way back home we will stop by.”
“It’s a beautiful icy green rock,” the blacksmith rumbled, and his desire to possess the stone was blatant in his dark eyes.
“Of course,” I said, since that was the common ore that made the metal.
“It turns into copper,” Max continued as if he didn’t hear me, and his eyes had a far-away wistful look that made me think the dude really loved gems and minerals. “Good for meal cookin’, but the metal is soft so they aren’t great for combat.”
“I would love to see it,” I said as I gave him a friendly smile. “I actually brought some copper here. I heard you can mint them into coins?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and looked down as I set the rough ingots on his anvil.
“We are going to visit the duke,” I said. “Can you send the coins back to Bastianville once you are done minting them?”
“Yeah,” he repeated as he looked at the copper. “I heard Add--Bastianville was having a goblin problem with their mine.”
“Not anymore,” I said. “I fixed it, and that is why I need to talk to the duke. We need to open up trade again.”
“Huh.” He nodded. “Well, I’ll have these coins ready for your town soon.”
“Sounds great,” I said.
Smithing was awesome, and I really looked forward to mastering the skill with all sorts of different metals.
“If you’re interested in the tradesmen,” Mac said after a few moments of silence, “you should go speak to our tanner. I may be comparable in skill to your Jax, but our tanner is the best for many miles around.”
“Bastianville doesn’t have a tanner, right?” I looked to Mahini to confirm.
A dark look crossed her face. “Not anymore.”
I sighed. We’d have to fill that position eventually, but maybe Carleone’s tanner would recommend someone looking for work.
“Thanks for the advice,” I said.
Before we left, I sold the blacksmith the looted kobold weapons since none of them were powerful enough for me to keep, and then he gave us directions to the tanner’s business.
Overall, I was very pleased with the interaction since I didn’t even have to reset to a previous save to get on Mac’s good side.
I was just that awesome, I supposed.
Mahini and I waved goodbye before we headed back into the main street of Carleone. The distraught and bummed out expressions on everyone’s faces was starting to get creepy, and I really hoped I could figure out how to help the town before the end of the day.
We were almost to the tanner’s house when we literally bumped into a person with a huge bundle of skins on his back.
“Ope, sorry there,” the man muttered from beneath his heavy load. “I’m almost home and wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“Here, let me help,” I insisted, and I took the bundle of skins from his back.
The man let out an exhale as I took his load, and he turned to give me a grateful grin. He had shaggy brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and the wrinkles around his eyes suggested he was in his later years. His brown eyes were warm, and so was his smile, but there was a hint of pain behind his expression.
“Right this way, not too far,” he said as he led the way to the tanner’s house.
“I think you’re actually who we are here to see,” I said as my eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you the tanner?”
“Aye,” he answered with a nod. “Name’s Cliff.”
“I’m Bash,” I said, and I placed the bundle of skins down on the porch in front of his house so I could shake his hand.
“Pleasure,” Cliff said, and he gave me another friendly smile. “What can I do for you today? After helping me carry my skins, I feel the need to reward you.”
I took a moment to create a new save point just in case the tanner declined my request for a lesson in his trade, and I took a deep breath before I approached the question.
“If you could show me some of what you do,” I suggested in an eager tone, “I would consider it reward enough.”
“Ah, you wish to learn the secrets of the furs, eh?” Cliff raised an eyebrow and gave me an appraising look. “My apprentice is on a trading trip for me at the moment, so I could use some help processing the skins I got today. How’s your bladder?”
“My bladder?” I asked in utter confusion.
“Aye, your bladder.” Cliff barked out a laugh and placed his hands on his hips. “You really don’t know much about tanning, do ya?”
“I think you’d be surprised how quickly I learn,” I informed him with my chin raised.
“We’ll see.” Cliff jerked his chin toward the house behind him. “Come on in. Ignore the smell, it comes with the job.”
We ducked inside his house, and the putrid scent of death, decay, and ammonia filled my nostrils. The scent clung to the air like a dense cloud, and my eyes stung. I blinked back tears of pain and squinted to see the path Cliff took through the barrels and baskets that filled the front room.
Cliff led me to a back room where three tables were tucked into one corner, another corner had several wooden frames of various shapes and sizes, and the last area held wooden barrels in a large stack.
“The first thing we do is scrape the bulk of the gore from the inside of the skin,” Cliff explained in a voice that showed he was used to teaching. “Fortunately, that’s already done, so we can skip that step.”
“Alright, so what’s next?” I glanced around the room, spotted a couple of pegs with aprons hanging from them, and grabbed one to place around my neck.
“Next, you bring those skins in here and lay the bundle on one of the tables over there,” Cliff said as he pointed to the corner with the workbenches. He seemed to be enjoying bossing me around, so I was excited to see his face when I mastered his skill on the first try.
Well, the first try from his perspective anyway.
After I brought in the skins, Cliff cut open the bundle and spread them out. I saw the fur of cows, goats, and deer, as well as something I suspected was a horse skin. I shuddered to think about my Goliath becoming leather armor, but maybe the pelt came from a horse that died of natural causes.
Then Cliff showed me how to strip the legs and neck from the skin so only the largest section of the torso remained, and the discarded pieces were all thrown into a barrel full of some stinky liquid that I didn’t want to get too close to. It made a hissing sound as the random strips of hide disappeared beneath the surface, and I shuddered again as I imagined the acidic ingredients included in the mixture.
“Do you need some water?” Cliff asked as he clipped the skins to a rope that ran halfway up the wall. The bottom of the skins dragged on the floor, but the tanner didn’t seem to care.
“No, why?” I asked with a frown.
What was this guy’s obsession with my hydration and bladder about?
“You’ll need it for the next step,” he explained. Then he positioned himself in front of the first skin, unbuckled his pants, and began to piss into an empty barrel.
I grimaced and turned away, and Mahini’s silent frown spoke volumes as her eyes looked everywhere but at the tanner.
“All done,” the tanner announced. “Now, it’s your turn.”
“What do you need the pee for?” I gave him a skeptical look as my hands hovered over my belt.
Cliff sighed dramatically and motioned for me to come closer to the barrel. “It strips the hair and muck from the skins, young man, I’m not trying to steal your pee for anything creepy. Come on.”
“Ohhhh…” I laughed and ran a hand through my hair.
“You’ve never tanned anything a day in your life, have ya?” Cliff shook his head like this was the biggest tragedy of the century.
I didn’t answer, but I resolved myself to learn everything I could and then restart and come in like a total badass, so I pulled on a pair of gloves before Cliff showed me how to sponge the urine mixture onto the skins. The smells made me nauseous, but I swallowed hard and kept going. When we were finished with the first step, we rinsed all the skins in the river outside, brought them back in, and stored them inside barrels.
Then the tanner opened a row of barrels and pulled out some skins that had already been soaking in the mixture.
“I like to stagger my skins so I always have something to work with,” he explained as he showed me how smooth and pliant the leather he held was. “This has been soaking for a while. We’ll rinse it, scrape it some more to make it even more pliable, and then it will be ready to stain.”
He showed me how to stretch the skins onto a frame, and I worked at the leather until my hair was soaked with sweat. I smelled of urine, and my clothes were filthy, but I was determined to get the full lesson while I could.
Cliff rubbed a gross mixture all over the finished skins and then rolled them back up and placed them inside barrels once more.
“After I wash those tomorrow, then they will be ready to stain.” He brushed the animal shit from his hands and then placed them on his hips.
“Do you have any ready to stain?” I glanced over at the stack of barrels in the corner.
“No,” Cliff said with a shake of his head. “I’ve got some more stains coming from the lake town in a couple of days. They have a true tanning master over there, taught me everything I know.”
“I’ll have to go visit him and see what he can teach me,” I said mostly to myself. Then I focused on the moment right before we entered the tanner’s house where I’d made a save point.
Chime.
“I know the basics of tanning, but I’d love to see your technique,” I told the tanner who had just offered me a reward.
“You know some tanning?” Cliff curled his eyebrow in a questioning manner. “How’s your bladder?”
“Full and ready,” I chirped, and I shot a sideways glance at Mahini just in time to see the look of total confusion flash across her beautiful face.
Worth it.
The tanner led us inside, but I made sure to bring the fresh skins with me this time. Then I made myself at home in Cliff’s workshop, and I cut open the bundles and began to spread them out just like the tanner had during my first run through.
Cliff’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he watched me handle the skins like I’d done it my whole life. I started trimming without being directed, and the tanner rushed over to check my handiwork, pointed out a few flaws, and moved to take over.
Chime.
I received fewer critiques on my trim job this go around, and once that was completed, I immediately moved toward the empty barrel.
“Need some water?” I asked the tanner with a cocky smile.
“What are you doing, Great One?” Mahini asked as she shot me a warning look.
“Relax, my love,” I said with a wide smile. “Urine is required to process the hides.”
“Oh.” The desert goddess frowned, and she looked to the tanner for confirmation.
“He’s right,” Cliff chuckled. “It’s been a while since I got to talk to another man of my trade. Tell me, do you prefer elk or bison skin?”
“Neither,” I replied in a vague tone as I turned my attention back to the empty barrel. I emptied my bladder and refastened my pants, and then I gestured to the barrels full of skins ready to stretch. “Cliff, let’s work on the ones you started soaking yesterday. They should be ready to dehair by now.”
“H-How did you?” Cliff’s mouth hung open, and his eyes darted from Mahini to me like a cornered animal. “Did you break into my house?”
“Relax,” Mahini said as she raised her hands placatingly. “My master is the God of Time, and he knows all things.”
“A god?” Cliff snapped his mouth shut and frowned deeply. “Impossible.”
“Very possible.” I shrugged. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I know these skins are ready to be worked today, and I’ve never stepped foot inside your house before. I only arrived in Carleone a short while ago.”
“I-I… I don’t know what to think.” Cliff shook his head in awe. “Only my apprentice knows what is kept inside each barrel. It’s impossible for you to know… Unless what you say is true. Could it be?”
“It is.” I set my jaw in a hard line. I was torn between skipping the whole basking in the presence of a god thing or just moving forward with learning to tan.
I stared at the tanner with a neutral expression while he fought his internal battle. His eyes glistened with hope as he stared back at me, and I realized I’d already convinced him.
“It is an honor to have you in my shop, O Great One,” Cliff broke the silence with a low bow that almost had his nose scraping the floor.
“Please,” I insisted, “call me Bash.”
“Alright, then, Bash it is.” Cliff gave me an awed look and then shook his head again like he was trying to wake himself up from a dream.
“Listen, Cliff,” I said when I realized he wouldn’t be teaching me anything else for the day, “I need to speak to the leader of the town, Carlisle. Do you know where I could find him?”
“Oh, he’ll be at the tavern already,” Cliff said without hesitation. “He’ll be deep in the drinks, though, so you might get a better conversation out of him in the morning.”
“I don’t have a lot of time to spend in town,” I explained. “But thanks for the tip.”
“Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with before you leave Carleone,” Cliff insisted as he shook my hand enthusiastically. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Great One, please come back.”
“I’ll come back through,” I assured him. Then I focused on my power and felt the familiar tingling sensation spread throughout my body.
Chime.
This would be my last attempt, but I didn’t want the tanner to have any memory of me asking him questions about the mayor since I already knew everything.
Well, the townspeople all needed to think so, at least.
I went through the same motions of helping Cliff haul the skins inside, and when I started to trim them, his eyebrows shot up in surprise at my skill. I carved the extra pieces off with precision and a steady hand, and then I went through the process of revealing my god status to him. The only difference during my final attempt was leaving without asking Cliff about the mayor.
The stoic warrior woman at my side said nothing as we crossed the distance to the tavern, but she laid a hand on my forearm to halt me before we entered.
“What are we doing here?” she asked as she eyed the front door of the bar.
“This is where the Mayor Carlisle will be,” I explained with a knowing smile.
Mahini shook her head in awe, and she opened her mouth like she was going to say something but then closed it again.
“I just want to say, it’s been an honor to be by your side as you meet these people,” the desert goddess finally said in a low, reverent tone. “You handle these people with a polite dignity that… well… you are quite benevolent. You truly are the Great One we all need, and I am honored that you have taken me as one of your lovers.”
“Thank you, Mahini,” I said in my most loving voice as my throat filled with emotion. “You know, you’re pretty great yourself.”
“I am incomparably mortal beside your greatness,” she argued with a fervent shake of her head.
I decided to change her mind about that, even if it took me a million lifetimes to do it.
I made a new save point, and the familiar tingling washed over me like a glass of warm milk before bed. Then I pulled open the tavern door and ushered her in before me. I made my way to the dirty bar at the far end of the room, and I glanced around at the people scowling into their drinks as I passed through the common room.
No one in Carleone was happy, it seemed.
I leaned over the bar to get the bartender’s attention, and I eyed the old man on the stool beside me while I waited. He had a bald spot on the back of his head, but the rest of his scalp was covered in salt and pepper hair. His long, grungy beard looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks, and he wore a saggy gray tunic with a black sash wrapped around the waist. He looked like a homeless man and a noble all at once, and I wondered who he could be.
“What do you want?” the bartender asked as he ran a dirty towel inside a beer mug and eyed me suspiciously from the other side of the bar.
“I’m looking for Carlisle,” I said with a small frown.
These people needed to lighten the fuck up already.
“Fuck off,” the older man beside me muttered, and he pushed off from his barstool and moved to an empty table.
“That’s him, there,” the bartender said, and he jerked his chin toward the older man with the salt and pepper hair and the sour attitude. “Careful, he’s been in here since noon.”
Just fucking great. I’d finally found the mayor of the town only to discover he was a pissed off drunk who looked like a homeless man.
Carleone was in dire straits, and it was up to me to fix it.
Even if it meant playing nice with an asshole mayor.
‘“Is that any way to speak to a god?” I asked Mahini, and the dark-haired goddess shrugged.
“He doesn’t seem to be the friendliest mayor around,” she quipped with an arched eyebrow.
I wanted to hack the conversation with the mayor, since it was already obvious to me I would need several attempts to get on his good side. If he even had a good side, anyway. Still, I was set on winning this encounter, so I’d just have to figure something out.
“Maybe things are different in Carleone,” Mahini suggested when I didn’t respond, but I could tell from her voice that she didn’t truly believe it.
Carleone was in a bad situation, and they needed my help, so I took a deep breath and crossed the distance to Carlisle’s table.
“Can I buy you a drink?” I offered with a friendly smile.
“I have a tab,” the Mayor of Carleone replied in a gruff voice, “I don’t need your handouts.”
“Well, then, can I sit with you?” I summoned all the patience I possessed and ignored the hostility in his tone.
“No.” Carlisle glared up at me. “Go away.”
Alright, so a head-on, direct approach didn’t work.
Chime.
This time, I ordered three beers before I moved to Carlisle’s table with Mahini at my side, and I slid the extra mug across the surface to the mayor with a friendly smile.
“That one’s on me,” I said, and I took a long swig of my own beer before Carlisle could argue.
“Thanks,” the mayor grumbled under his breath, and then he drained his mug in one long gulp.
“I’d love to hear more about Carleone,” I started to say, but Carlisle held up his hand to stop me.
“I don’t feel like talking to strangers today,” the mayor said in a voice that left no room for argument. “Scram.”
Well, this grump was a tough nut to crack, but I was determined to get him to talk to me.
Chime.
On my next attempt, I tried to intimidate the mayor with my physical strength.
“Listen here, you grumpy asshole,” I growled in my most powerful tone. “You’re going to talk to me, or else!”
“Guards!” Carlisle shouted, and an instant later two men in leather armor stepped forward from the shadows and grabbed both of my arms.
Chime.
This bastard wasn’t going to get the better of me. I had another trick up my sleeve, and something told me it was the one thing Carlisle couldn’t resist.
I led Mahini out of the tavern the moment I respawned, but she stopped to give me a questioning look as the door fell shut behind us.
“You’re giving up on the mayor already?” she asked with a confused expression. “I thought you wanted to talk to him.”
“He’s in a bad mood today,” I explained. “But I think I know what will warm him up to us.”
“What is that, Great One?” Mahini asked as her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“My secret weapon,” I informed her with a mischievous grin. “Elissa.”
So, we jogged down the street to the inn, and I dashed up the stairs to our room where my wife was napping. The beautiful redhead blinked her dazzling green eyes at me when I entered the bedroom, and she let out a long, slow yawn.
“I need you,” I informed her in an urgent tone.
Elissa gave me a sly smile and pulled up the bedsheets to reveal her completely naked, porcelain skinned body. “Come here.”
I growled with desire, but I resisted the urge to ravish her right then and there. I wanted to get this mayor thing out of the way, and besides, there would be plenty of time for ravishing later.
I had all the time in the world, after all.
“I’m sorry, my love,” I sighed. “I need your other skills right now.”
“Oh.” Elissa gave me a joyful grin. “My other skills? What can I do for you, my husband?”
“Carlisle won’t talk to me if I’m on my own,” I explained. “I need you to come with me to get through his dark funk. If he knew you when you were a little girl, he will be overjoyed to see what a fine young lady you’ve become.”
“I’d love to see Uncle Carl!” Elissa hopped out of bed and scurried over to her luggage, and then she pulled out a demure blue dress and tugged it on over her head. “Here, help me with the straps, please?”
I crossed the room as she turned her back toward me, and I tightened the straps that ran up her spine until the dress clung to her porcelain curves like it had been painted on.
I spun her around in my arms until her breasts were pressed against my chest, and then I seized her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. She tasted like bubblegum, and I knew I was quickly getting addicted to her sweet flavors.
“You are my secret weapon,” I murmured against her slightly parted lips.
Elissa giggled. “I like the sound of that.”
“You look lovely,” I said as I pushed her an arm’s length away and gave her a scrutinizing look. “Now, no time to waste. Let’s go see your Uncle Carl.”
Elissa practically pranced from the room and out of the inn to the main street of Carleone. Her fiery red hair waved behind her like a flag, and the look in her shining emerald eyes melted my heart. Mahini watched my wife dance ahead of us with a wry smirk on her face, but she kept a hand on the hilt of her sword just in case.
I caught the townspeople staring at the trio of us, and I wondered what we looked like from their eyes. I never thought of myself as particularly handsome, but here I had two of the most beautiful women I’d ever met by my sides, and it certainly did a lot to enhance my image.
I made a mental note to introduce myself to all the people of Carleone once I’d finished my conversation with the mayor. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I reset and had all his citizen’s names memorized and problems solved seemingly instantaneously.
That had to be one of the best parts of my powers, being able to enjoy the awestruck expressions on everyone’s faces when I kicked ass and took names. No one had spotted our skirmish with the kobolds, so I’d have to rely on my charisma and memory to get the town of Carleone on my side.
It was a challenge I was totally up for.
By the time we reached the tavern, excitement bloomed inside my stomach and set my blood on fire, and I could hardly wait to walk in with Elissa and Mahini at my side.
“Uncle Carlisle!” my fiery red-haired wife exclaimed as soon as we entered the tavern, and she rushed over to the mayor’s table and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.
Carlisle blinked stupidly over her shoulder at Mahini and me, but then it was like a light bulb went off in his dome, and his eyes widened. He returned my wife’s embrace and then pushed her away to get a good look at her.
“Can it be?” The Mayor of Carleone shook his head in disbelief. “Little Lissy?”
“I’m all grown up now!” Elissa chirped, and then she turned to beckon me forward. “I even got married to a god!”
“A what!” Carlisle turned to give me a wide-eyed, incredulous look. “Did you say… a god?”
“Yes, Uncle Carl.” Elissa nodded with utter seriousness. “Sebastian saved our town, and then he rescued me from having to marry the duke’s son. He’s my hero, and I love him so much.”
She gave me a heart eyed expression and clasped my hand warmly in hers.
I returned the squeeze, gave her a loving smile, and then turned to give the mayor a small bow.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Carlisle,” I greeted.
“Stop with the mayor nonsense,” Carlisle snickered. “Call me Uncle Carl, and that’s final.”
Bingo. My secret weapon had worked perfectly.
“Yes, sir, Uncle Carl,” I laughed. I signaled to the barkeep to bring four mugs to the mayor’s table, and then I pulled out chairs for my women. Mahini sat on my right while Elissa sat to my left, and I positioned myself across from Carlisle.
When the barkeep brought over our beers, I slid one across the table to the mayor and gestured for him to drink up.
Time to loosen those lips.
“Tell me everything,” Carlisle urged Elissa. “You said your new husband saved Addington?”
“His name is Sebastian, and he is the God of Time,” Elissa announced in a proud tone. “We renamed Addington to Bastianville to honor his heroic deeds. He wants to help your town as well.”
“Carleone is beyond anyone’s help,” Carlisle lamented. “Even a god, I’m afraid.”
“Nonsense,” Elissa dismissed with a wave of her hand. “Nothing is beyond Bash’s power. He’s amazing, Uncle Carl, trust me.”
Carlisle looked from Elissa’s earnest face to my neutral one a few times, and I could see the doubt in his eyes, but then his shoulders sagged as he sighed.
“If you say so, dear Lissy,” the mayor replied, “then I’m inclined to believe you. You’ve always had your mother’s spirit… It’s hard to deny you anything.”
Elissa’s emerald green eyes welled with emotion, but no tears spilled out onto her cheeks. Then she clasped Carlisle’s hand in hers and gave him a wordless smile.
“Have no fear,” I said in my most godly voice, “I will help your town before the day is done.”
“What can you do?” Carlisle shook his head as his doubt once again overpowered him. “Can you make a mine run free after a drought?”
“I cannot,” I said, but then I gave him a smirk. “But I can redirect your unemployed miners to a fresher mine in need of workers.”
“I heard the mine in Adding--er, sorry, Bastianville, was overrun by goblins.”
“Was.” I shrugged. “Nothing me and my warrior maiden couldn’t handle.”
I inclined my head toward Mahini as I spoke, and the desert goddess blushed but remained silent. She was always more stoic and tight lipped when in public, and being in a new town had heightened that trait in her.
“You cleared out all the goblins with just the two of you?” Carl’s mouth gaped open in shock. “Unbelievable! You truly must be a god…”
“Please,” I continued, “tell me how I can help Carleone.”
“Well, it’s been a right mess…” Carlisle took a long swig of his beer and emptied his mug. “I’ve given up my salary and stopped working the mines myself. I wanted to save the ore for men who needed it more than I did, but things have just continued to get even worse.”
“How so?” I pressed.
“With so many people out of work, the homeless crisis in Carleone has gotten out of hand. I’ve opened up my home to those without, but now it feels more like a hostel than the house I built ten years ago.”
“Well, like I said, the goblins are gone, and the population of Bastianville has really taken a hit with all the kobold raids and the mine being shut down.” I raised an eyebrow and gave Carlisle a pointed look. “Maybe we could come to some sort of agreement that aids both of our towns.”
“Is ol’ Elrin dead, then?” Carlisle eyed me subtly, but I was aware of his every movement.
“Far from it,” Elissa assured him with a happy grin. “In fact, he’s been able to let go of some of the responsibilities of leadership to the new counsel, and I think the extra down time will be good for his health.”
“I can’t argue that one,” the Mayor of Carleone agreed. “My health has taken a fall ever since I opened my house to the less fortunate. Can’t get a minute of peace to myself, everybody always wants something from me.”
“I’d like to relieve you of some of your burden,” I offered with a grin. “Send your homeless and unemployed to Bastianville. They’ll be able to work in the mines, and I can send a portion of our earnings here to pay you for the workers.”
“That’s all I’d need to do?” Carlisle blinked at me like this was the best news he’d heard in months. “Just… send them away?”
“Well, if you could spare some mules, carts, and more pickaxes, we’d appreciate it. The goblins made a mess of all the supplies inside the mine, so we’re basically starting over from scratch.”
“I doubt that,” Carlisle argued. “Even a halfway dug mine is far from starting from scratch. Last time I visited, back when Elrin was thinking of founding Addington, ol’ Elrin showed me some rich veins of copper ore in that mountain. I bet it could be worked for generations without pause.”
“Are we in agreement, then?” I pushed. “Workers, mules, carts, and tools?”
“That sounds doable.” Carlisle nodded, and a glimmer of hope bloomed in his eyes. “My house will be mine again…”
I resisted the urge to pump my fist in victory. Plenty of time for that later.
“Business is done, right?” Elissa asked as she bounced up and down in her chair. “Will you show us around Carleone now, Uncle Carl?”
“Of course, Lissy,” the mayor replied with a bright smile.
It was amazing how the expression transformed his face. Gone was the surly guy who’d grumbled at me during every attempt, and he was replaced by a middle-aged man with a full life of joy ahead of him. It was quite the sight to see, and I was glad to say I’d played a part in making it happen.
We drank one more round of beers while Elissa caught Carlisle up on everything that had happened in her town since he’d last heard from her father, and then the four of us exited the tavern to walk down the main street of Carleone.
I made a new save point so I could reload to that moment, and then I followed the mayor out into his town.
The sun was beginning to set, but the well-lit street was bustling with activity. Even though people shouted their wares, and some waved fresh cooked food up in the air, there was still a feeling of melancholy in the atmosphere. The heat of day was ebbing, and a coolness settled onto my skin as we walked. It was peaceful, but gloomy, and I was more motivated than ever to lift the mood of the town.
“Annette, come here!” Carlisle called to a woman who sighed dramatically when she heard her name called. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“I don’t have time for this, Carl,” Annette grumbled.
“It will just take a moment,” the mayor insisted.
The older woman had graying hair pulled back into a loose bun, and she wore a modest gray dress and a stained yellow apron. She shook her head at the mayor’s request, but she still made her way over to us.
“This is Sebastian, the God of Time,” Carlisle said in a formal voice as he gestured to me. “He’s married my adopted niece, Lissy, here.”
Elissa gave the woman a curtsey and a smile, but Annette was blind to my wife’s greeting since her eyes were locked onto me.
“God of Time, you say,” she murmured in an almost hypnotized voice. Then she threw herself at my feet and began to sob. “Please, sir, please bring him back to me! He was my heart, but now he is gone.”
“Who is gone?” I asked as I placed a hand below her armpit to pull her to a stand.