Chapter Nine
I quickly made a new save point, and I barely registered the tingling sensation as I pulled my feather sword free from its sheath.
Mahini was already notching an arrow to her bow, but she looked to me for orders.
First, I had to make sure Elissa was safe, so I turned to the tiny redhead astride Star.
“You need to hide while we take care of these bandits,” I explained in an urgent tone. “Stay out of sight, and scream if they find you.”
“Alright, Bash,” Elissa replied with confident emerald eyes, and she immediately turned her horse’s head to the side of the road. “I’ll be safe, you go save the town.”
I gave her a reassuring smile before I turned back to Mahini.
“Fire at will,” I said with a nod, and then I leaned forward in my saddle and whispered to Goliath. “Let’s kick some ass, buddy.”
The warhorse charged forward when I nudged him with my heels, and I roared out a battle cry as we dashed toward the fur clad bandits. My feather sword felt right in my hand, and I was alive with the thrill of battle. Even with the short amount of time I’d spent in this world, I already felt like I belonged here, and I knew I could save this village.
Goliath galloped across the open field with his ears perked up, and his nostrils flared as I clung to his back and eyed the closest target. An arrow shot through the air and embedded itself into the back of a man further ahead, but I barely registered his death as I cleaved a bandit’s head from his shoulders with one swipe of my feather sword.
Suddenly, an arrow flew from the direction of Ivywood and struck me in the shoulder. I cried out in pain and jerked the reins, and Goliath reared. I was knocked from the warhorse’s back and slammed into the ground.
Chime.
“Shoot the fuckers with the bows first,” I ordered Mahini after I told Elissa to hide. Then I clicked my heels against Goliath’s flanks to urge him forward into battle.
I managed to sever the head of the first bandit I encountered, and I kept a watchful eye out for any rogue arrows as I continued across the battlefield.
Mahini followed my directions perfectly, and the sound of arrows zipping across the battlefield filled my ears. She was firing so fast I could hardly believe I only had one archer on my side.
The second bandit I encountered dodged my sword and flung his dagger toward me and Goliath in a haphazard manner. The blade tumbled end over end, but I knocked it from the air with my feather sword, and it fell harmlessly to the ground. Goliath reared up, but this time I kept my seat, and the giant warhorse brought his iron shoes down onto the man who’d thrown the dagger.
He was trampled beneath the hooves of my steed, so I turned my attention to the next bandit. My new target had a large two-handed sword he swirled around above his head like a whip, and I could only imagine how strong he had to be to manage such a move.
I wasn’t the best at fighting from horseback just yet, but I’d gotten the hang of it during my battle with the Loser Lord’s small army, so I pulled on the reins to charge toward the sword swinging dude, and Goliath responded immediately.
The warhorse was much more accustomed to this sort of thing than I was.
The longsword swinging motherfucker yelled out a battle cry as I drew near him, and he brought his sword down to aim at Goliath’s legs. My horse easily jumped over the blade and kicked out his back legs at the same time. His hooves slammed into the dude’s chest and knocked the wind out of him, which gave me the perfect opening to spin my horse around and slide my feather sword into the bandit’s throat.
He made a sickening gurgling sound as blood sprayed out from the wound and splattered across my face, and I swiped it away with the back of my hand as I scanned the battlefield for my next opponent.
Mahini had managed to take out three of the archers, but there were still two more, so I turned Goliath toward the remaining range attackers. They saw me coming, though, and an instant later I was riding through a cloud of arrows.
One struck me on the shoulder and managed to get between my armor pieces at the junction, and pain shot down my arm and up into my neck.
I was getting closer and closer to town, though, and I couldn’t wait to have all these fuckers bleeding in the dirt.
Chime.
“Take out the archers first,” I directed Mahini before I charged into battle. I beheaded the first guy I encountered, chased down the dagger throwing bandit and killed him, and then turned my attention to the longsword asshole. I didn’t pay attention to his fancy sword swinging technique, and Goliath once again jumped over the blade and kicked him in the chest.
Instead of going after the archers this time, I made my way toward the city walls. Hopefully, Mahini would keep the ranged attackers occupied so I could focus on the rest of the assholes.
Four of the men held a battering ram, and they pulled back and then slammed it into the wooden gate of the town with all their might. The wood on the gate creaked and splintered, so I knew it wouldn’t last for much longer.
I dropped the reins to free up my left hand, and then I pulled out one of the daggers Jax had made for me. They’d originally been intended for Loser Lord, but since I’d killed him and claimed Elissa for myself, the blades had been gifted to me instead. They were perfectly crafted and well balanced, so I flipped it in my hand until I was holding it by the tip, and then I flung it through the air and into the back of one of the battering ram men.
The blade landed deep into his spine, and the bandit arched his back, cried out in pain, and dropped the battering ram in the process. It was too heavy for the other three men to hold on their own, so the long tree stump fell to the ground, and they turned to me as they drew their swords.
I moved my leg over Goliath’s neck and slid down from his back to land on the ground a few paces away from them. Then I pulled the curved dagger I’d taken from the sorcerer Raijin Thornheart out from its sheath and grasped it in my left hand.
All three men charged toward me at once, and their angry cries filled my ears as I held my ready stance and waited. Then they were on me, and I parried a blow from a guy to my right with my sword before I struck the asshole to my left with my dagger. The blade sliced across his shoulder and cut through his fur armor to cleave his muscle in two.
The man yelled in pain and dropped his sword, which left him unarmed, so I spun in a circle and pulled my feather sword across his neck.
I finished my spin just in time to catch a blade with my sword, and while I held my enemy’s attack off with my right hand, I brought my dagger up into his gut with my left. Blood poured down my forearm as the man crumpled to the ground, but the last battering ram asshole turned tail and ran away.
I started to chase him down, but then I managed to snag my straight bladed dagger from the dead man’s back as I ran, so I tossed it end over end after the retreating asshole. My blade grazed his neck, and it left a small gash along his exposed throat, but it didn’t kill him. It slowed him down, though, so I quickly covered the distance between us and jammed my feather sword into his spine. He died soundlessly, and his body was already limp when I pulled my sword free.
Then I scanned the battlefield for another opponent, but there were only three men left. One archer and two axe wielders. Mahini was doing her part from her mule’s back on the edge of the field, and by the time I crossed the distance to the remaining bandits, the archer fell to the ground so full of arrows that he resembled a pin cushion.
That left two ax wielding assholes for me. Just the way I liked it.
I held the sorcerer’s dagger in my left hand, and my feather sword in my right as I squared up to the two men. They eyed me warily as they realized they were the only ones remaining, but they didn’t surrender. Instead, they raised their axes in unison, and they let out twin cries of bloodlust as they charged toward me.
Dumbasses. I’d just killed all their buddies, and they still attacked?
I ducked below the first strike, and the blade grazed against the armor on my shoulder. Then I spun and whipped out my feather sword in one fluid movement, which left deep gashes across both men’s abdomens. The fur armor did little to protect them, and soon the white fluff on their torsos was painted red with their own blood.
One of the axe men tried to attack me again, but his motions were much slower due to his injury. It was easy for me to parry the blow with my sword, and then I sent my dagger up into the exposed skin below his chin. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his life force left him, and a spray of blood added another layer of decoration to my arms as I removed my blade from his skull.
The other axe man was keeled over with both arms wrapped around his bleeding gut, but I didn’t waste any time putting him out of his misery. I brought my feather sword down in a wide slash that severed his head from his shoulders, and then I turned to scan the battlefield once more.
They were all dead, and the fifteen bodies littered the field between the road and the small town. Six of them were stuck full of arrows, but I’d taken out the other nine on my own. My breaths came in heavy pants from the exertion of the fight, so I took a few deep breaths as I wiped my blades clean on the closest corpse’s fur armor.
“Amazing job, Great One!” Mahini congratulated as she trotted over on Warrior’s back.
“You did pretty good, too,” I replied with a grin. “I didn’t know you could shoot that fast.”
“I only did what any Golden Sword would have,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m sure the people of Ivywood will be grateful for your sudden appearance during the battle. I didn’t see any fighters from the town out on the field.”
I frowned as I realized she was right. Why hadn’t the town sent out people to defend themselves? Were they as bad off as Bastianville had been before my arrival?
If so, they were in desperate need of a god, and it just so happened today was their lucky day.
“Let’s see what we can find on these bodies, and then we will go meet the town,” I suggested as I scanned the corpses laying across the field.
“Yes, I need to try to salvage some of my arrows,” Mahini chuckled and then slid down from Warrior’s back to help me sort through the remains. “I’m sure many of them will be too damaged to use again, but waste not, want not.”
“Good idea.” I nodded.
“That was amazing!” Elissa exclaimed as she trotted Star over to where Mahini and I stood. “I was scared for a moment, but the two of you killed all of those men so quickly I barely had time to be afraid!”
“Nothing to fear, my love.” I reached up and patted her leg. “Just some assholes who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I just love traveling with you, husband!” Elissa said with a grin. “I love watching you help all the people of the world and save them just like you saved Bastianville.”
“The best is yet to come,” I assured her. “We still have the Duke of Ballard to visit, after all.”
“I’m sure he will be just as amazed by you as we are,” Elissa replied. Then she giggled and pointed toward the city. “Looks like they are coming out to thank you.”
The town gates had opened so a small handful of people stood just on the edge of the village boundary, and they stared at the dead bodies littered across the field in abject terror.
I sighed, created a save point, and ran a hand through my hair. “Time to be diplomatic.”
“I will gather anything useful from the bodies,” Mahini said with a curt nod. “You go tend to the townspeople, Great One.”
“Thank you.” I gave her a grateful smile and then headed toward the small crowd of people at the town gates.
I put on my best smile and waved as I approached, but I didn’t even get a chance to open my mouth before a woman stepped forward and lifted her hand to stop me. Her long, unwoven silver hair gave her the look of an elder, but she had no wrinkles on her face to give away her age. Her eyes were a dull gray, like she was almost blind, and her slightly pointy ears stuck out through the metallic tendrils.
“I warn you, stranger,” the silver-haired woman said in a stern voice. “What you have done here today is only delaying the inevitable. All of these people will perish anyway, for the end of times have come upon us. The gods are displeased with us, and we must appease their wrath with our blood before it is too late!”
“Excuse me?” I lifted an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest. “I am the God of Time. Who do you think you are, telling me I’m displeased?”
“Y-You’re the God of Time?” The woman faltered, and her head tilted slightly to the side as she processed my words. “How can that be? My master said nothing of your appearance in these lands…”
“You have yet to introduce yourself,” I reminded her in a steady voice.
“Forgive me, I forget myself.” The silver-haired woman straightened her shoulders and pulled on a regal expression. “I am called Sarosh, and I am a High Priestess of the Purge.”
“That’s a weird name for a religion,” I muttered under my breath as I considered how to handle this strange woman.
The townspeople seemed hesitant to interrupt our exchange, but I’d seen a few eyes glimmer with hope when I’d announced my godhood. If I could only get rid of this crazy zealot, then I could convince them to follow me.
“If you are indeed the Great One of prophecy,” Sarosh continued as her gray eyes adopted a fevered look, “then you understand the dire situation the world is in. Help me convince these plebeians to abandon their fruitless labors and follow me to the safety of eternity. Please! Before it’s too late!”
“How exactly do you propose to do that?” I asked.
“She calls for blood!” one of the townspeople interjected in a fearful tone. “Sarosh said we must sacrifice ourselves in order to be guaranteed our soul’s harbor in the next world.”
“She’s a heretic,” I argued with a shake of my head. “I am a god, I know all things.”
“How do we know you’re not the heretic?” another person questioned in a suspicious voice.
“There’s too many religious zealots around here for my tastes,” yet another townsperson grumbled.
I sighed. This was going to be tricky, but I didn’t want anyone to question my godhood, so I reset to my save point to give this strange woman a taste of her own medicine.
Chime.
“I will gather anything useful from the bodies,” Mahini said with a curt nod. “You go tend to the townspeople, Great One.”
“Thank you.” I flashed her another smile and headed toward the small crowd of people at the town gates again.
“Greetings!” I called before the woman could open her mouth. “I have come here to save you from the heretic Sarosh. Do not heed her evil words, for I am the God of Time, and I am here to save you all.”
A hushed whisper swept through the crowd of about twenty people, and the silver-haired woman’s mouth fell open in shock.
Perfect.
“If you are truly who you say you are,” Sarosh countered with an arched eyebrow, “then you know how dire the situation here really is. The people of Ivywood must abandon their fruitless endeavors and swear fealty to the gods in order to save their souls.”
“They will find no harbor for souls within the Purge,” I insisted, and whispers once again went through the gathered people in a wave.
“Lies!” Sarosh hissed, and she pointed an accusatory finger at my face. “You are a false god, my master warned me of your appearance.”
“No, he didn’t,” I argued. “You’re the one who is lying.”
“Perhaps we shouldn’t believe either one of you,” a townsperson observed in a thoughtful tone. “Two heretics arguing is nothing to raise a fuss over.”
“Who is the one who defended your town against these marauding bandits?” I asked as I gestured at the field of corpses behind me. “I did not need to save you, but I did. You saw me fight, and yet you still do not believe?”
“It is true,” someone whispered. “He killed almost ten of those men by himself, and look, he doesn’t have a single scratch on him!”
“I am the God of Time,” I insisted in my best god-like voice. “Whoever wishes to follow in the path of those men should feel free to follow Sarosh to your deaths. If you wish to live, follow me. It’s as simple as that.”
“I say neither!” someone shouted, and cries of affirmation reverberated throughout the small crowd. People began to splinter off and leave, and a moment later there were only five people standing around Sarosh and me.
I couldn’t let them leave without believing me, so I reset to my save point again.
Chime.
Mahini once again volunteered to loot the dead, and Elissa eyed the watching crowd with obvious trepidation.
“Have no fear, Elissa. These people will figure out we are here to help them, and then everything will be okay. I promise.” I gave her a reassuring smile before I turned to cross the distance to the townspeople.
This time I ignored the woman and went straight to the crowd of people. I walked straight up to a woman with brunette hair swept back into a braid, and I shook her hand.
“What’s your name?” I asked with my most friendly smile.
“B-Beth,” she replied with a blush. She was an older woman, probably mid-forties, but she’d aged gracefully, with only a few laugh lines decorating the skin around her hazel eyes.
I talked to Beth for a moment while Sarosh intoned about the end of the world behind me, but I continued to ignore her as I made my way through the crowd. I reset a dozen times until I’d gotten to know all the townspeople present, and I began to piece together a picture of Ivywood from the various encounters with the residents.
Sarosh had appeared about a week ago. Ivywood had faced back to back raids and attacks, but their protective cousin city, Lake Balerno, had been unable to send them aid. Many died defending the small woodland town, and their population had dwindled to a little over twenty. Every person in the village had shown up at the gates, which made the task of getting to know them easier.
Beth owned the small Ivywood Inn, and she was worried about the lack of visitors filling her rooms. She believed the end of times could be upon them, but she wasn’t ready to give up on life just yet.
The leader of Ivywood was also present at the gates. His name was Hacket, and he was a very old, quiet man who leaned heavily against a wooden cane as he spoke to me.
By the time I’d made my way through the small crowd, I knew everyone’s names and what they were most worried about. The main concern seemed to be the bandit situation, but I’d already decided to try to help the people with that, so I moved on to other pressing issues. A lot of people were upset about the lack of money flowing through the town, and a small portion were fearful of the upcoming winter. Everyone had lost a loved one to a recent raid, so an air of grief clung to every face.
Once I was satisfied with my level of knowledge, I reset to my save point and considered the best way to approach the situation. I needed to convince the people I was a god and Sarosh was a heretic. I didn’t know the strange woman’s story, but she had an energy about her that was unsettling.
“I will gather anything useful from the bodies,” Mahini said with a curt nod, which brought me out of my thoughts. “You go tend to the townspeople, Great One.”
A thought suddenly struck me at her words, and I shook my head. “No, they can wait. I bet we can find some valuable things on those bodies to give them as a peace offering.”
“But, Great One,” Mahini argued in a shocked voice, “you earned the loot from the men you killed. Do you really wish to give it away?”
“These people need it more than I do,” I pointed out.
“You know best,” Mahini relented with a small shake of her head. “Your generosity and benevolence still surprises me.”
So, the two of us combed through the dead bodies while the people and Sarosh watched from the gates. No one made a move to stop us or to help, but they also didn’t leave to reenter the town, so I considered that a good sign.
Once we’d stripped the bandits of their weapons, armor, supplies, and gold, I piled my bounty up in front of the gates and then made a new save point. Looting the corpses had taken more time than I’d expected, and I really didn’t want to have to do it again.
Then I approached with my best smile and a friendly wave. The people seemed slightly less hesitant, and more faces were lit up with curiosity than in any other attempts I’d made. Yet another good sign.
“Greetings,” I said before Sarosh could open her mouth and begin her monologue. “I am Sebastian, and I am the God of Time. I am here to save Ivywood from all that plagues it. Hacket, please come forward.”
“Have we met before?” The elder man hobbled forward with his cane, and he gave me a questioning glance as he peered up at me.
“Not in this life,” I replied vaguely.
Sarosh opened her mouth to interject, but I held up the palm of my hand to stop her.
“You will get your turn to speak later,” I informed her in a firm tone.
Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and she pursed her lips angrily as she stepped back away from me. The villagers eyed me with growing fascination, and I wondered how many of them had attempted to get the heretic to shut up and failed.
“The God of Time, you say?” Hacket asked as he stroked his long gray beard.
“Indeed.” I lifted my chin proudly. “Like I said, I am here to save Ivywood.”
“How do you propose to do that?” a man named Willum demanded with crossed arms and a sour face.
“For starters,” I said as I turned to the man who I knew was one of the last three guardsmen remaining alive in Ivywood, “you can help yourself to the weapons from the bandits. I have no need for them. The armor is subpar, but if it is better than what you currently have, then you may consider it yours as well.”
“That’s… wonderful!” Willum said as his eyes slowly lit up with hope and joy. Then he nudged a man standing to his right. “Did you hear that, Krider? We can get some new weapons!”
“I heard him,” Krider replied in a voice filled with awe.
“Now,” I said as I turned back to the rest of the gathered people. “Where is Zed?”
I motioned to the middle-aged man who ran the apothecary shop, and he stepped forward.
“How did you know my name, O Great One?” the older man asked as his brown eyes narrowed.
“I know all things,” I insisted calmly. “I know your stores are running low, and you need to restock your herbs and ingredients. I also know your old bones are too weary to traverse the woods around Ivywood in search of what you need, so I will help you.”
“That would be such a blessing,” Zed replied in surprise. “How did yo-- God of Time, you said?”
“Yes.” I nodded to emphasize my point, and I resisted the urge to grin. This was going just as I’d planned. As long as I could keep Sarosh from speaking, then I could wow the citizens enough that nothing she could say would penetrate my god-like presence.
I distributed the rest of the loot to the people who needed it most, and by the time I’d gone through and greeted everyone by name and expressed concerns for their most pressing fears, they were all singing my praises.
The twenty odd people crowded even tighter around me, and they pushed Sarosh further out of the circle with each passing moment. The heated glare on her face let me know we weren’t finished yet, but she didn’t seem overly anxious to interrupt my time with the townspeople.
Once I had everyone pulling on my shirt sleeves and trying to touch whatever exposed skin they could reach, I cleared my throat and motioned for them to step back. Everyone obeyed immediately, and then I motioned for Beth to come forward.
“I’ll require a room at your inn,” I informed her. “I will pay full price, though, and I’m not hearing any of your arguments to the contrary.”
“V-Very well, Great One,” Beth said with a curtsey. “I will return at once to prepare your room.”
“Good.” I nodded then turned to Zed. “Write me a list of plants to gather and descriptions of them, and I will gather your supplies before I retire for the evening.”
“Thank you, O Great One,” Zed said, and he bowed so low his nose almost scratched against the dirt.
“Once you are fully stocked,” I continued, “I expect you to continue your work on Willum, Krider, and Hank. I know they were injured during the last battle, and their wounds are growing infected. If we cannot do something to help them before the end of the day, they may still lose their lives.”
“Yes, Great One,” Zed said with an emphatic nod.
Now, that was more like it.
I continued through the crowd of townspeople until I’d greeted everyone by name and given them a suggestion to improve their lives immediately. It seemed so obvious to me, but then again I wasn’t susceptible to superstitions.
Once I’d introduced myself to every citizen of Ivywood individually, I finally turned to acknowledge Sarosh. Her gray eyes were hard as she considered me with a thoughtful expression, and I could only imagine the horrible things she was doing to me in her brain.
“Sarosh, do not be angry.” I grinned at the priestess. “I am here to deliver a message of hope to the people. Your master has tricked you, he is not a true follower of the gods. Follow me, and you can live, Sarosh.”
I held out my hands with the palms up in a placating gesture, and I urged her with my eyes to heed my words.
Sarosh stared deep into my eyes as though searching for all the truths of the world within my depths, but I held her gaze firmly in mine until she looked away.
“I do not know if what you speak is true,” she murmured in a low, unsure voice, “but I cannot turn away from my master before I can ask him about you. You could be a test sent to challenge my faith, and I do not want to fail.”
“Very well.” I shrugged. “Just stop trying to convince the people of Ivywood to kill themselves, and we will get along just fine.”
“I shall leave this town,” Sarosh replied with a shake of her head that sent her silvery tendrils flowing around her face. Then she turned to eye the crowd of people, and she raised her voice for all to hear. “Whoever wishes to follow me may do so.”
With that, she turned around and strode toward the town gates. I supposed she was on her way to pack, but I was glad she’d decided to leave Ivywood to me.
There was only enough room for one god as far as I was concerned.
To my surprise, three villagers trotted after the retreating Sarosh. They were some of the girls whose main concern had been a lack of food, and it hurt my heart to think they’d rather choose to sacrifice themselves than to listen to my advice.
I almost called for them to stop, but then I thought better of it. I had a feeling I hadn’t seen the last of Sarosh, and I kinda didn’t want to do this whole thing over again.
So, I instead turned to Beth and inclined my head toward the town.
“Shall we?” I asked as I offered her my arm.
The older woman giggled and wrapped her dainty hand around my elbow, and then she led me toward the gates.
“Come see me in the morning,” Hacket requested before he turned toward the town himself. “I’d like to visit before you leave.”
“If I have time,” I replied with a small nod.
I didn’t want the leader of Ivywood thinking he could boss me around, after all.
The Ivywood Inn was dusty and dirty. The tables all had their chairs flipped upside down and were covered in cobwebs. It looked like it hadn’t had a patron in months, or it was haunted and that was just part of the aesthetic.
“Sorry for the state of things,” the innkeeper apologized as she dusted off a table and pulled the chairs down. “Haven’t had much reason to clean up as of late…”
“Have no fear,” I comforted the middle-aged woman. “Soon, many travelers will come from Bastianville with pockets heavy with gold to spend. My followers will flock to your establishment because you have made the right choice.”
“I never did consider following that Sarosh lady,” Beth assured me. “Business might be bad, but it’s not worth throwing my whole life away over it.”
“I’m glad you think so.” I nodded sagely. “You are very wise for your age.”
The innkeeper responded with another giggle, but she seemed at a loss for words for a long moment. She busied herself getting us a meager meal scraped together, and after we’d eaten a bowl of chicken and rice soup and a chunk of bread, she hastily cleared away with the dishes without saying a thing.
Once Beth had directed Mahini, Elissa, and me to a room, I went immediately to the bathroom to draw a bath. The water was lukewarm at best, but it would do in a pinch. Soon, we’d be staying in the duke’s castle while I discussed terms with him, and the accommodations would be much more lavish.
I got cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes, and I put on a few pieces of armor just to be safe. I strapped my feather sword and my two daggers to my belt, and then I tucked the sorcerer’s dagger into my boot.
One could never be too careful in strange places.
The apothecary’s shop was my next stop, and I greeted Zed with a friendly smile. The older man was sitting at a desk in the corner, and he was busy writing on a piece of parchment, so I took a moment to look around.
The shop was full of shelves containing jars of various sizes and colors, and inside were herbs, flowers, mushrooms, and various animal specimens. There was a stuffed fox on a mantle above a small fireplace, and two cushioned arm chairs sat to either side of the flames. A shelf full of books filled the wall behind the medicine man’s desk, and a workbench occupied the opposite corner.
“My apologies, Great One,” Zed said as he stood from his desk and shook my hand. “I was just finishing up the list you requested.”
I made a new save point, and then I took the piece of paper from the apothecary’s hands. I glanced down over the words and realized I didn’t recognize any of them, so I cleared my throat.
“To be honest, I don’t know very much about these herbs. I want to help you, but will you show me what they look like and explain what they’re used for?”
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Zed replied as his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “You want to learn from me, Great One?”
“Yes, please,” I said, and then I pointed to the first item on the list. “Like this one, what is mullein?”
“Mullein is a soft leafy plant with seed pods that grow tall and bushy out of the center.” Zed’s eyes lit up as he began to discuss what was obviously his favorite topic. “It can be used to clear out the lungs, and is great for an emergency bandage. It’s very absorbent, but also soft enough to be used as on the body.”
“Fascinating,” I breathed as my eyes trailed down to the many plants I was about to learn.
This was going to be awesome.
It took several attempts for me to memorize the list and be able to identify them when questioned, but I finally had the entire list down. I could glance around the apothecary’s shop and point to the plant inside a random jar and tell him what medicinal benefits it had.
Once I was satisfied with my plant knowledge, I tucked away all the information into a part of my brain saved for new skills, and I reset to the beginning of the interaction with the apothecary.
Chime.
“My apologies, Great One,” Zed said as he stood from his desk and shook my hand. “I was just finishing up the list you requested.”
“Thank you, Zed,” I replied with a grateful smile.
“No, no, thank you, Great One,” the apothecary gushed. “I have been asking everyone in town to help me, but no one knows the plants or has the time to learn.”
“I already know what you seek,” I assured him with a nod. Then I handed him back the list I hadn’t even looked down at yet, and I proceeded to list off every item in order.
“Your power is astonishing,” the older man breathed as he looked me up and down like I was made of gold. “You truly are the Great One of prophecy!”
I laughed and raked a hand through my hair. “You can call me Bash, as my other followers do.”
“It would be an honor, Gre--er, Bash.” He spoke my name like it was the most foreign sounding word he’d ever tasted, but the glimmer in his eyes filled my chest with pride.
It took me several hours and several attempts to locate all the plants and get enough to restock Zed’s shelves, but thanks to my power, I quickly was able to find the good sources and go straight to those locations. To the outside perspective, I’d been gone for less than an hour, but I returned with a bountiful harvest of medicinal herbs and fungi.
After I’d helped Zed apply healing poultices to the injured guardsmen, I collapsed happily into bed next to Mahini and Elissa. The bed was slightly lumpy, and the sheets were itchy, but we’d be on to Lake Balerno in the morning, so one night of less than posh surroundings was acceptable.
The next morning, I separated out a sizable portion of the gold I’d won in Port Kilwick, and then I decided to head to the leader’s house for our discussion. I wasn’t sure why the old man had requested my presence, but I was about to find out.
“You two get our stuff ready,” I directed Mahini and Elissa. “We’ll be leaving as soon as I get back.”
“Yes, Great One.” Mahini bowed her head.
“Of course, my husband,” Elissa said with a wide grin and a twinkle in her emerald eyes. “I cannot wait to see the next town and watch you work your magic once more. Being your wife is truly a blessing.”
“No, I am the one who is blessed by you both,” I chuckled.
I kissed them both on their foreheads, and then I headed out of the inn. I angled in the direction of Hacket’s house, but I ran into him on the street a short distance away from my target.
“Oh, Great One!” Hacket said in surprise, and he swept down into a low bow right there in the middle of the street. “What an honor to see you this morning.”
“I am fulfilling your request for an audience,” I reminded him with a smirk. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I listened to you speak to my people,” the leader of Ivywood began, and he gestured for me to follow him back to his house. “You knew them so well at your first meeting, I assume you already know why I have asked you to come here today.”
“I know all things,” I said, and I gave him a solemn nod. “You must still voice it yourself, though.”
“I understand, thank you, Great One,” Hacket said, and his neck flushed a light pink hue. “Well, then I suppose I shall just get into it. I need your help to save Ivywood.”
“I’m listening.” I inclined my head to encourage him to keep talking.
“Our sister town, Lake Balerno, have you heard of the curse?” Hacket stopped and turned to face me with earnest eyes.
“I plan to travel there next,” I replied.
“Oh, wonderful!” The leader clapped his hands together, and his shoulders sagged with relief. “You must lift the curse in Lake Balerno to save Ivywood, and I truly believe you are the only one with the power to do it.”
“This is very true,” I confirmed, and I nodded slowly as I thought over his words.
Lake Balerno was a trading hub and probably provided a lot of income to the people of Ivywood, as well as goods needed to live so remotely. Fixing the curse in Lake Balerno would immediately solve a lot of Ivywood’s problems.
The leader gave me a cautious glance out of the corner of his eye, and then he cleared his throat.
“Can I beseech you to lift the curse in Lake Balerno?” he asked in a pleading tone. “Will you help save both the towns afflicted by the evil spell?”
“I will.” I lifted my chin and put on my most god-like facial expression.
The leader’s face lit up with hope, and he bowed his head to acknowledge my words. Then we spoke of a few different townspeople, and Hacket gave me small updates on how my advice was being followed.
It was nice to see a town so willing to follow me. In the end, all they had needed was a little hope.
Soon, Hacket and I parted ways, and I passed out pieces of gold to every citizen I encountered as I walked down the street. My gifts were met with praise and cheerful cries, and by the time I reached the end of the road, my sack was empty.
It was time to move on to Lake Balerno.
Mahini, Elissa, and I hit the road with light hearts and stomachs full of dried meat and fruit. The road was well worn, but deserted, and we rode at a slow, leisurely pace with intermittent moments of fast paced trotting so I could practice the motions. After a while of idle chatter, we fell into a comfortable silence that lasted until the lake came into view.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
The lake was utterly disgusting looking. It seemed to be about a mile wide and twice as long, but the water level was far below what it was supposed to be. The slime of algae covered every inch of the surface, and the color was a murky brown. It didn’t look drinkable, let alone capable of sustaining an entire town.
I had to figure out how to break a curse, it seemed, and fast.