Friends in a Foreign Land

“Tell me, how long has it been since the gods brought you to Traum?” the mayor asked.

Jacob nearly missed his next step when he heard the mayor’s question. Christi’s eyes bulged out. Mana could be felt condensing around the party as Nolan and Willow slide their chairs back to stand.

Arden quickly cast a spell enveloping them all before holding his arms out to the sides to motion for his family not to take any actions, yet. “I’ve just cast a spell named [Dome of Truth]. You could resist it but I will know if you do. I ask that you do not. Mayor, what you’ve just revealed could be very dangerous for my family and I. Knowing what you know now, do you intend ill toward me or my party?

With an huge smile on her face the mayor answered, “Absolutely not. I’ve being praying for help for quite some time. I never expected the gods to answer quite like this, but I am happy that they did.”

Christi looked like she was still processing what was happening so Arden turned to Jacob next, “Jacob, can you keep this secret of ours?”

“Of course Arden.”

“Are you already trying to figure a way to make more money off of us?”

Jacob smiled and replied, “Of course Arden,” before breaking out into a laugh. Arden chuckled as well as he turned to look at Christi.

Taking on a more somber tone he said, “I can only assume with how much you hate the gods this news likely makes you dislike us even more. If you can keep this secret of ours, we will continue to help the town and I’ll try to stop needling you. Can you keep our secret?”

Christi looked to the mayor, “With all that we’ve lost. With all that you’ve lost, you still pray to the gods? You asked for their help?”

The mayor gave Christi a motherly smile and patted her hand, “Of course, dear. Who else would come to our aid? Lord Daintith made he clear that he didn’t care what happened to us.”

Christi looked like she didn’t agree but finally said, “Yes ma’am.”

Arden continued to watch Christi, waiting on her to answer his question. Finally she looked up, “So you’d really just abandon us if I refuse to keep your secret? Just let what’s left of Wildemill to die if I don’t do things your way? If I don’t keep a secret that’s going to get out eventually anyway?”

Arden met her eyes and slowly nodded his head, “Our secret may get out eventually. But this is only our seventh day in your world. Knowledge is power and as your mayor just demonstrated, we have very little of it at this point. Every day we can keep this secret is one more day for us to grow stronger in this new world. You’ve mentioned to me twice that we are weak first tiers. I don’t even know what that means, other than we’re weak and vulnerable.” Taking a drink Arden continued, looking to Christi and Mayor Helen, “But I need you to understand that while we are here to help, my first obligation is always to my family. And weak tier one or not, I will burn this whole world down to its bedrock to protect my family.”

*wack*

Just as he finished talking, Nolan smacked Arden in the back of the head and started lecturing him, “Dude, really? Just had to go all dark and edgy? They have undoubtedly lost loved ones to these goblins and Christi very obviously wants to burn the world. You think you can do something she can’t? ‘Ooo I’m dangerous and mean. Fear me.’ You’re a damn cleric because your goddess knew you wanted to heal people more than anything.”

While Nolan chewed Arden out, the rest of the party started smiling, some even laughing. This in turn lightened the mood in the room. Even Christi cracked a smile.

“And what do you mean you don’t know what tier one means? I went over the tiers as we walked here. How the hell you going to lie like that in a [Dome of Truth].”

At this Arden started laughing, too. “What dome of truth? I dropped the spell before I got to that part. But none of you noticed.”

“That’s pretty slick,” Mayor Helen mused. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on you.”

“Probably not a bad idea ma’am,” Arden replied before looking to Christi. “Will you keep our secret?”

Christi smirked and replied, “Sure, if you agree not to try and be all dark and scary again.”

“Deal,” Arden said.

“Ernis was suppose to teach you what you needed to know, right?” The mayor asked.

“Yes ma’am,” answered Nolan.

Mayor Helen continued, “In the larger towns, the temples actually offer classes for Migrant Spirits to help them acclimate to Traum. To teach them enough to keep them from misunderstandings due to cultural differences. And to keep them from being taken advantage of. Wildemill does not have the resources to offer such training."

Arden took a drink before asking, "So, what aid can you offer? And, more importantly, what would you ask for in return, mayor?

"I ask nothing you've not already said you wish to do. I want to save this village. If you can stop the goblin threat, that is enough for me. As for what I can help with, well… anything I can. For starters, I'd be willing to help answer any questions I can. I can only imagine what it's like waking up in a new world.

Taking a deep breath, Arden asked, "So situations like ours are common? You mentioned Migrant Spirits a moment ago, is that what we are?"

"Yes, though you might also hear the term ‘Twiceborn’ used occasionally as well. And no, I wouldn't say Migrant Spirits are common. Most cities or bigger towns will have a Migrant Spirit pass through every century or so. But I've never heard of a group of migrant spirits before. And you were right in trying to keep this information hidden. There are those who would try to take advantage of you were they to find out."

“If they only see a Migrant Spirit once a century, how does it make sense to keep people trained to help them?” Nolan asked.

“It’s worth it because of the damage it prevents. Someone new to our world but still holding on to the values of their previous world could end up causing a lot of issues.”

"Which deity is it that you follow?" Arden asked

"I pay tribute to a couple. Mostly to Tynas, the god of law, but also to Beliki, the goddess of crafting. And a general prayer each day to Ba and Shikotel as is normal. But I also pray to others as the situation calls for it.

"Who are Ba and Shikotel?" Willow asked.

Mayor Helen blinked a few times before she shook her head, "I've never helped a Migrant Spirit before. Please forgive me for assuming you would know things that you do not. Let us start at the top, shall we. Quo is the supreme being, the God of balance. They are the one who created this world. Quo created Ba and Fo. Ba is the God of Order. Fo is the God of Chaos. Quo then created Shikotel, the Goddess of Life, and Belseri, the Goddess of Death. Through those five, all other deities were made. Through all of them, all of life was created."

"Does anyone actually worship Fo?"

"Of course, my dear. Usually, it's people who are feeling their life has gotten too repetitive or dull. But it's even odds on if they'll regret doing so or not."

The rest of the party continued to ask the mayor questions while Arden took a moment to size up the situation. Was she one they could trust? Did they even have an option? Willow broke Arden from his ruminations by laying her hand on her father's shoulder and speaking softly, "I trust her, Dad."

Arden took a deep breath, "I hope your right. In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose." Looking to the mayor, he continued, "Mayor Helen, when we spoke to the gods, they gave us a mission of sorts. They worded it as more of a request, but it really wasn't. Basically, they know they've screwed the pooch here and claim to understand why people no longer venerate them as before. They did not choose to share that information with us. What we were told was that we were to spend the next few years traveling around helping people and training. They want us to do a bunch of good deeds in their name to let people know they still care. I suspect that there's more to it, but that's all we know right now."

"It's great that they're finally taking action, but they might as well send you to fight at Dugu Senuma for all the good it'll do. Four people, even Migrant Spirits, aren't going to make people forgive them for centuries of neglect."

"I wholeheartedly agree. But we accepted the job so we’re going to give it our best.” Looking to Christi, Arden added, “We need someone to tell us the truth about why so many people dislike the gods. A history lesson, if you will. Or books about it that we could read. Anything to help us get a better understanding of what we’re up against.”

This was all the opening Christi needed. She started to venting more than teaching but it essentially came down to her feeling like the gods neglected the mortal races. They used to come down and meet with people and bless them. Then there was a war where millions were killed. Then the gods lost most of their power and it was mortals that protected them. When the gods’ had their powers restored they left Traum and had not returned. From there, Christi’s story turned more personal as she shared about the town of Wildemill and how the gods had done nothing to help with the goblins. How the town had been attacked for over six months straight now with no help whatsoever, during which time both of her parents had been killed. By the time Christi had finished her story, her voice was cracking and she had tears in her eyes.

Jacob brought out a bottle of ale and poured everyone a glass, starting with Christi. As she drank, Jacob spoke up for the first time that day, “The dealings of Gods and Goddesses are beyond me. I just want to run my inn, spend time with my family, visit with old friends, and maybe make some new ones. And those things are hard to do when nearly everyone has fled the town to look for safety elsewhere.”

“I fear I’m not that detached, myself,” Mayor Helen cut in, “But I’ve not renounced the gods as Christi did, either. The goblins killed my husband some months back. I blame the goblins but I also lay a certain amount of blame for his death at the feet of the gods as well. But I continue to pray and seek their wisdom for how to run this town, for how to keep us safe. And I’ve prayed for help. I’m not sure that they’ve ever granted me the wisdom but at least they finally sent help.”

The group continued to talk until lunch time, with everyone asking questions. Christi seemed more at ease after getting to vent her frustrations and the Mayor suspected that’s what Arden had wanted. They discussed plans for how to keep the town safe as well as training opportunities for the party. Christi agreed to have her training sergeant work with the party help teach them how to fight. The mayor agreed to set aside time to talk with them about the world and to try and teach them what she could. They discussed the town’s needs, such as crops and firewood. Hazel pitched her idea of posting goblin heads on spikes south of town to the mayor who was hesitant but eventually agreed to let her do it.