40 - What a World

The two of them angled away from the swollen river, heading up a steep slope. Kaid scampered up the incline with ease. At first, Joe assumed the severe pitch would be a struggle, but he was pleasantly surprised. Even the few points he had in Strength and Dex shored up his stride. With seven points of Vigor, he felt he could normally climb all day and not break much of a sweat.

Today had not been a normal day, though. When they stopped midway up, Joe opened his sheet and reviewed his new self.

Name: Joseph (Joe) Morris

Race: Changeling

Level: 6

Experience: 2,122 / 3,150

ATTRIBUTES

· Strength: 2

· Vigor: 7

· Dexterity: 3

· Perception: 3

· Spirit: 5

Available Attribute Points Unspent: 1

RESOURCES

· Health: 235 / 235

· Stamina: 158 / 559

· Mana: 258 / 258

CLASSES

· Primary Class: Healer

· Secondary Class: None

· Tertiary Class: None

SKILLS

STRENGTH SKILLS: (0 / 2)

VIGOR SKILLS: (6 / 7)

· [Efferous Endurance] (U) rank 5

· [Healer's Ward] (U) rank 0

· [Deaden Flesh] (U) rank 3

DEXTERITY SKILLS: (3 / 3)

· [Simple Weapon Aptitude] (C) rank 8

· [Swift Strike] (C) rank 6

· [Whisperstep] (C) rank 8

PERCEPTION SKILLS: (3 / 3)

· [Assess Wounds] (C) rank 6

· [Coin Catcher] (C) rank 3

· [Identify] (C) rank 11

SPIRIT SKILLS: (5 / 5)

· [Dispel Rot] (C) rank 3

· [Healing Touch] (C) rank 14

· [Heartfire] (C) rank 7

· [Purge] (U) rank 4

TRAITS

· [Anyone] (Racial)

· [No one] (Racial)

· [Sneaky] (Racial)

· [Iron Mind] (Hereditary)

· [Beastmaster] (Achievement)

· [Durable] (Achievement)

· [Hobbler] (Achievement)

· [Punching-Bag] (Achievement)

· [Signature Skill] (Achievement)

· [Survivalist] (Achievement)

· [Tactician] (Achievement)

· [Thick Skinned] (Achievement)

· [Vivacity] (Achievement)

· [The Seal of Passing] (Prophetic)

They crossed over the top of the rise and decided to make camp in a sheltered hollow before beginning the long, slow descent that would take them out of the forest. Neither one of them had much energy for conversation, even with [Efferous Endurance]. The spell could only do so much. It was no substitute for real sleep.

Opening the supplies Nella had prepared for them, they found a tin with a minor warming charm on the inside. Within was packed with still steaming biscuits filled with ham and some delicious thinly sliced vegetables Joe didn't recognize. The two of them polished off the whole supply in minutes, sighing in blissful satiation.

Joe spent a quarter-hour cleaning up the new sturdy staff he had just cut from a sapling. As soon as it was good enough, he curled into his blankets beside the already snoring gnome. In a matter of minutes, he was sawing logs in chorus with his tiny guide.

The next morning, between their traveling bouts of hide and seek, Joe quizzed Kaid about the port town they were headed for and the Kingdom in general as they walked.

Port Heron was a fishing village that had grown up into a medium-sized town. He explained it was a mix of new and old, primitive and modern, old, heavy log buildings surrounded by more recently built clapboard structures.

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There was a big general store in the old town quarter that Kaid was going to slip Joe into so he could get supplies for his trip. He was pretty sure the guards would be around the docks and the town gates, but the small sneak-thief knew a way in that would avoid those checkpoints, a smuggler’s tunnel that led into that section of town.

As for the Kingdom of Duskrug, Kaid described a boot-shaped territory with the toe pointing east. The western border was a steep range of mountains known as the Karabast Highlands. To the east was a region known as the Small Kingdoms, a loose confederacy of independent realms. Duskrug was originally one of the tiny nations. Its diplomatic and military strength led to decades of expansion. At that time, the Eagle Throne of Duskrug controlled all the lands against the Highlands, from the great fey forest of the Dire World in the north to the Straight of Glandrion in the south.

“So, how powerful is this church? Is getting out of the reach of the Duke enough, or am I going to have a problem with every town guard I meet everywhere from now on?” Joe fretted.

“Nah, Phealti is only one of the gods of law. Technically, he is the god of order. He’s not the god most guards follow anyway. That would be Glauri or Ekwitee. Glauri is the Goddess of laws and rule. Ekwitee is the god of justice.”

“How many gods of law are there?”

“Four. Phealti, Onhur, Glauri, and Ekwitee.”

Joe had been noticing the weird trend with the names of the gods and couldn’t help but ask. “Are the names of all the gods variants of words of their dominions? Back in Crowfield, I saw the brewer god’s name was spelled Aye Why El, which sounds like ale. And the harvest god Rhepe was a variation of ‘reap’ with an H. Are all the gods named after the thing they are associated with?”

“You got it backwards, Joe. Ale, the drink, was named after Ayl, the god, but you don’t go taking a god’s name, so the spelling of the drink was changed.”

Joe’s mind boggled for a second, trying to wrap his head around that idea. He had to keep reminding himself the gods in this world were not figures of myths but actual entities that could influence the world.

He added ‘finding a priest or priestess’ to his mental list of things to do. Having always loved mythology and folklore back on Earth, the chance to discuss theology with somebody who actually knew the answers could be an amazing conversation.

“So, what is the deal with this Phealti?” Joe asked as they followed a deer trail through the forest. “What does the god of order do?”

“Phealti is all about the proper order of things. The movement of the moon and sun. The order of seasons. But nobody really knows him for that. The big thing about him is his hatred of outsiders: demons, voidlings, fey, aberrations. All those things that come from beyond our world and find their way into Illuminaria.”

Kaid stopped and turned around to give Joe a pointed look. “There are even some that don’t like newcomers, even though the One Above says we are to welcome you guys. Sir Groven seems like he’d be one of those hardliners. That would be another notch against you.”

Joe recalled Hawking had mentioned that fact already. “Great. How powerful is this church?” he asked.

“About middle. They’re not a very big church, but Phealti tends to recruit a lot of paladins. That means that, even though they are one of the smaller churches around, their members are usually pretty strong. That allows them to push hard when they want something.”

“So, maybe getting out of Duskrug is my best bet. Heron Reef is on that southern channel. Should I take a boat east or west?”

“EAST!” the small man barked. “Definitely east. Unless you want to live on the mountain peaks or in the dwarven mines, everything else west of here is a horrific mess. To the southwest is Blackfell, a nightmare land of necromancy and endless undead. Straight West is the Blood King. He showed up not too long ago, and in less than ten years, his fanatics have conquered everything up to Blackfell all the way to the other side of the Highlands. Northwest are the wizards of Eldmara. They are not so bad if you can stay on their good side, but they're prickly buggers." the gnome stated, gesturing with hands for emphasis. "Your best bet is to get lost in the Small Kingdoms or cross the Straight and head for the Hornwood.”

The gnome didn’t know much about the Hornwood except that it was far warmer than the lands above the Gladrion Strait. A tropical climate sounded pretty good to him. It had been a long time since Joe had had a vacation. Having lived in the colder northern region of his home country on Earth, the tropics might just be the place to go to get away from Duke Amberwroth and Sir Groven.

The day was spent walking and training up [Whisperstep]. Kaid told funny stories of the shenanigans he and the village youths got up to. Joe tried to tell stories about humorous gaming sessions, but they were less successful. Tales of people playing in a fantasy world to someone actually from a fantasy world kept leading to too many questions and clarifications.

Just as the sun was starting to set, the pair reached the forest’s edge. Not wanting to sleep in the open, the pair moved back in under the thick trees and found a hollow surrounded by three massive pines. The sloped earth and thick boughs blocked any light they made.

In a matter of ten minutes, Kaid turned the chaotic cluster into a comfy little den. He wove the bendy branches to make a thicker roof and allow Joe more space to move about. Using the extra needles he had Joe gather, the pair had an exceptionally soft bed to lie on. Mentally praising the coziness of gnomish burrows, Joe ended his fourth day in Illuminaria.