To Jasper's dismay, he still had to pay for the ale. That was relatively easy, though, as his new Domain allowed him to see the likelihood of any event he desired.
He had spotted a high probability that some money had rolled under a cupboard which was standing at the back of the inn.
Summoning a small gust of wind, Jasper quickly pulled out a square piece of silver that he instinctively knew was called a Reval after Emperor Rivalbane. Technically, the silver coin was worth five Revals, while a bronze triangle coin was worth one. The round golden coin would have been worth ten, though they were much rarer.
He paid the full five Revals for the ale, knowing it was highway robbery.
"So, Mister Longknife. I want to make things very clear. We can do this quickly and without any problems whatsoever, or you can find yourself at the hands of some rather unfortunate accidents." Jasper said while he started to like the wordplay that he could do with his new Domain.
Divine Domain Message: Luck. Failures: 1/5 [https://i.postimg.cc/19mFscbb/image.png]
Jasper saw the pop-up before Longknife answered, and it seemed like his charisma wasn't high enough to get this guy to talk.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I am just a simple farmer here for something to drink and eat." Longknife said, sticking to his cover story.
Jasper gritted his teeth. He sighed before taking a deep breath and activating one of his new powers: A Truth that Burns. Instantly, he was made aware of the thing that Longknife didn't want him to know, and suddenly, everything seemed to make sense.
"Fine. In that case, let me lay this out for you. You see, someone like you isn't who I am after. I am looking for the mastermind behind the network. I am not interested in stopping any criminal activity in A'kastin, but I am interested in making it more accessible. Breaking up the monopoly on crime. Right now, anyone not associated with the thieves guild cannot perform any illicit dealings, which is such a shame, especially when you are so hard to reach. I also know that you can't change this fact, which is why I would like to speak with your manager... so to speak. Point me in the right direction, and I will leave you be... you could end up making your own guild in this city." Jasper said, though he could tell that Longknife didn't look that impressed, and the divine god of knowledge was honestly a little shaken by the fact that he didn't get direct information about the organisation's leader.
Divine luck Domain message. Failures 2/5 [https://i.postimg.cc/GtX1b2P9/image.png]
Jasper sighed as he knew that he had failed to intimidate the farmer. He could try and get the information some other way, though Longknife was his only real lead at the moment.
"Do you have any other conspiracy theories that you would like to explain, or can I go back to my drink?" Longknife asked, and Jasper had to admit defeat... at least for now.
While he could probably force the criminal to speak through violence, there would be no point. Longknife was a critical part of the current infrastructure for the starting zone. He would be the obvious choice to become a trainer for any shady NPCs around the place. He would probably create a network that would be used for hundreds of years, which would be ruined if Jasper took him out.
Jasper made his way out of the pub, and to his surprise, he spotted Celeste and The Scribe heading into town. Deciding to join them, he also spotted a young girl following them.
As they got closer, Jasper smiled.
"Ah, just my Luck. How fortunate that I should bump into you guys here." He said, hugging his wife, who gave him a suspicious look.
"Please don't tell me you picked the Luck Domain... I am going to make you sleep on the couch if you keep making luck-based puns." Celeste said with narrow eyes.
Jasper just grinned, and his joy grew stronger when he saw her resignation. The Scribe, on the other hand, was bowing quite intensely, which was to be expected. What wasn't expected was the look of utter horror on the young girl's face.
It was like seeing The Scribe willingly bow to someone was more shocking than having the sky turn green.
"No need for formalities, Erik. You have done some quite impressive things while we were gone." Jasper said, waving at the old man, who seemed relieved that he didn't have to bow anymore. "I am guessing that the young girl is Jasmine?" Jasper asked, looking at the child with the unruly red hair.
"How'd he know?" She asked in a whisper, making The Scribe smile.
"That right there, whippersnapper, is Magnus. The god of knowledge." Instantly, the kid looked a bit more on edge.
"But you said that the gods were banished, old man." The young girl tried to only talk to The Scribe, but her voice still carried.
Jasper was just happy that people seemed too busy to pay them too much attention.
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"Oh, they are," Jasper said casually. "However, we are a special case. Consider us the ur-gods. The first gods. We are bound by some very different rules." He explained to the apprentice of his most valued, and only, disciple. "We can only visit the world once every one hundred years or so, and we can only stay here for about a week, maybe a little more." He explained, before turning his attention back to The Scribe. "Anyway, it is a great help that you have been writing down your progress, I will be honest, most of the information that I have gotten so far about the world is probably from your books. Keep up the good work." Jasper said and
The Scribe gave a nod of thanks. "So what is your plan now?" He asked, before turning his attention to Celeste, looking between the two, clearly thinking.
"Well, I have a couple of problems with the drows. I need to get my smithy back." She said, clearly a bit annoyed at the fact that it wasn't around.
Jasper nodded. He had assumed that either the dwarves or the drows had the smithy, claiming it for their own purposes.
"I need to talk to the gods. Preferably some kind of civil talk, but my mission is to elevate two more." Jasper explained, and The Scribe looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.
"Are you dense, boy? Elevating two more gods? Have you completely lost your marbles? The gods we have are already acting and squabbling more than Jasmine is." The old man said, absolutely forgetting who he was talking to. Jasmine gave a half-hearted protest when she was mentioned. "For the sake of peace, Magnus, please tell me that you will elevate someone much more responsible." The Scribe said with a stern look.
Jasper shrugged. "I might. Honestly, I need someone who is the embodiment of peace to be the counter to Orlek and someone who is the manifestation of crime to counter Kelllwan." He explained, making the old man's face fall a bit.
"Magnus, why are you so focused on this balance? Why can the good not prevail?" The Scribe's frustration was evident in his voice.
Jasper could understand his frustration. He could boil things down to fate. This world was fated to have conflict. Otherwise, it would not make for an exciting experience when players got onboard. If good was allowed to prevail over evil, then it would be a very different game experience from what had been intended. He couldn't say that to his disciple, though.
"Erik, do you know what kind of trees have the strongest roots?" Jasper asked, trying to look wise and filled with worldly knowledge. "It is the trees in the rough wind that have the strongest roots. Do not see adversity and chaos as something to be avoided. The soul is not quiet, and it is not chaotic. It is transient, shifting between states. There will always be chaos, and there will always be quiet. The world should encourage harmony." The god of knowledge explained, quoting some half-forgotten tweet he had read online and a proverb he had heard in a song once.
All in all, it was the kind of yoga quote meant to sound incredibly profound, but in all honesty, it was as deep as a puddle.
The Scribe gave Jasper a look before nodding. "Fine. Your point is that if you create more good gods, then some of them will fall to evil, so you would rather create the evil gods to know that they are not more powerful than the existing gods." The old man said, extracting more information from Jasper's platitudes than the god had intended.
Jasper nodded before clearing his throat and changing the subject. "Indeed. So, does anyone of you know where we can sleep for the night?"
It wasn't long before Celeste suggested they slept in the mine they had created, and with no better options, they all agreed.
Stepping into the mine was a surreal experience. It was located within the city. However, a new building had been added to it. A massive warehouse where a ton of ore, gems and even a couple of runes were stored.
Celeste grinned, realising this was her haul for the mine over the last hundred years. The mine seemed like it had run its course and was no longer providing much, though what it had made was enough to kit out an army.
The refined ingots and stacked crates of valuable objects would have been plundered had it not been for the divine might behind the soul oath, allowing people to know that this was Celeste's claim.
The Scribe and his young apprentice Jasmine didn't seem that impressed by the creations, but Celeste quickly started to work, making box spring mattresses for all to sleep on. She even found that using some of the mithril that had been mined made for excellent springs. The goddess wasn't wasting materials as she could quickly deconstruct the items if needed.
Using a couple of strange runes formed from some natural rocks, she made a water boiler, and before the quartet knew it, they had a warm shower and actual beds to sleep on.
Jasper was making a couple of ritual circles and talking with The Scribe, while Celeste tried to make everything a bit more comfortable. She had the resources and the warehouse was big enough that she could quickly build a couple of rooms, which was then furnished promptly with a couple of decorative items.
Jasmine, on the other hand, was looking through the wealth on display. Just the gems alone were more wealth than she had ever seen, and this obscene wealth felt hollow or surreal to her as he looked at the booming piles of raw materials.
The redhead contemplated grabbing a couple of the items, just to sell them for Revals, but she knew that wouldn't be a popular move, and as such she stayed her hand. She heard the old man make his annoyed sound and wander over to check on him.
The Scribe looked at the circles and shook his head. "You are making this more advanced than it needs to be." He complained. "You are using a ballista when an arrow would be enough." He looked at the god, giving him the stink eye.
"Hey, I am just assuming that you have created multi-layered veils that are self-repairing. I don't wanna leave them to close themselves after we open the portal," Jasper said, making the old man huff with consternation.
"I may have skipped out a bit on the multi-layered aspects of the veils. It was a rush job, you twerp. You try creating a whole new plane to isolate the gods in and create something in a space so thin that it does not exist. It is not easy, you know." The old man said, and Jasper couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Well, then, I am guessing that it is my privilege to spruce up the layers." He started changing the circles, ensuring that each one was more densely packed than the latter. "See, when I am tearing a hole in them, I will also apply a fractal veil, ensuring that if you pass through it, you pass through them infinitely. Overlapping again and again." Jasper explained, pointing at a couple of lines and showing just how he had improved things.
They all continued their work until the sun set outside, Jasmine, Celeste and The Scribe stopping to eat before preparing to get some sleep.