Chapter 24

The men stood in front of Bo’s house as they had months ago when they said their goodbyes. While they hadn’t stayed with Bo all that long in the grand scheme of things their time with Bo had left a deep impression on their journey.

Bo was both a mentor and a comrade. He was there when they had fought Kazan and his Zolem. Bo had lost his leg in that fight despite their best efforts to heal it. They had even tried Roden’s Never the Time and Place ability, but either it was too far gone or it was too late by the time he had recouped it.

The loss of his leg barely slowed down the old adventurer. He’d immediately healed up his stump and crafted himself a fully functional prosthetic. In the eyes of Errrkkkk, Riakon, and Roden, Bo was the epitome of what it meant to be an adventurer for life.

Bo was the one to help Riakon study enough to learn a spell. He’d helped Errrkkkk learn the Soul Sphere from one of his many scrolls. He’d even helped Roden understand how to be a cleric as an adventurer. Each one of them had Bo to thank for at least some of their success thus far.

It was those facts that made approaching his home after so long a daunting task. They had a lot to tell him and not all of it was going to be easy, Riakon most of all. Yet, each man looked forward to talking shop with their old mentor.

A disembodied voice came out of nowhere, “aye shitheads! Are you going to stand out there all day or are you going to come inside?”

They hadn’t seen any evidence of anyone around and the house sat still, nestled in the trees and carefully crafted landscaping that made the house blend into the surrounding vegetation. The door swung open to reveal Bo standing in the doorway with his hand to his mouth.

“Get the hell in the house before dinner gets cold.” Even though they could see him the voice still came from seemingly everywhere at once.

Riakon was the first to speak up, “hey Bo, good to see you!” he said, raising a hand in greeting.

“Yeah yeah, c’mon bugs are getting in.”

Bo ushered the men into his home with jovial pats on the back as they passed by their old friend. The men dropped their gear and took seats at Bo’s table that was already set for four.

“How’d you know we were coming, cacaw?”

Bo chuckled, “as if my wards could miss yall tearing through the Wilds on your way here.”

“Yeah that tracks.” Riakon said through a mouthful of hot beans and rice.

Bo took his seat at the table, “so how have these been going for you boys?”

The men looked at each other and started telling the story of their adventures since leaving Bo’s.

During Errrkkkk’s retelling of their encounter with the Treant, Bo interjected.

“Woah you ran into a violent Treant?”

“Yeah he was a real dick.” Riakon added.

Bo shook his head, “strange things are happening in the Wilds these days.”

Roden furrowed his brow, “what do you mean?”

Bo let out a huff, “don’t you boys know anything? Treants are supposed to be guardians of nature. There shouldn’t be such a thing as a violent Treant. Rude, sure, but never violent to one of its own kind.”

The men looked at each other, “well he was definitely violent.” Roden said firmly.

“That doesn’t bode well for what is going to come.” Bo said, a mixture of alarm and worry.

Riakon tried to put a positive spin on things, “Errrkkkk got a little plant out of it.”

Bo’s face morphed into his ever present scowl,

“a plant?”

The men picked up their tale from there explaining everything up to their encounter with the lycans and Mu’tumbo.

The men were sure to leave off the Lysander predilection toward strong mead and fireweed.

Bo made it clear he found their time among the lycanthropes disturbing, but Roden couldn't hold it against him.

Bo was an old school adventurer from a time when the Timber Wilds were still harboring legitimate monsters spawned by the Archlich.Those creatures had no redeeming qualities.

Errrkkkk made sure to tell Bo about every arena fight and how they've grown more powerful since their time training under Bo.

The men were buoyed by Bo's modicum of approval of their successes. It was around then they had to recount their time in Pescatin.

Unlike when they told the story to Miriana. Bo wanted all of the details and Riakon had a lot of explaining to do.

During Riakon's hesitant story Bo remained stoic.

When Riakon started explaining how Tiamat’s influence came over him, Bo frown deepened.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When Riakon explained the ritual he was compelled to perform, Bo put a hand on Riakon’s arm.

“It's okay son. There is only so much us mortals can do in the face of those manifestations.”

Riakon was shocked by Bo's understanding.

“Really?” Was all he could manage.

Bo chuckled, “of course, there are any number of great adventures who've been corrupted by malevolent forces. What matters is casting off those forces.”

“Yeah about that. I'm not really sure how that happened either.” Riakon said, a little embarrassed.

It was then a female voice cut into the conversation.

“That twas me.” The feminine tone interjected.

The voice was motherly and bright. The source of the voice entered the small dining room from the kitchen doorway.

The owner of the voice was a tall woman with dark red hair streaked with orange and blonde tied up in a wild bun that made her look as if she was on fire.

Riakon and Errrkkkk both nearly leapt out of their chairs at the strangers entrance. Bo remained seated, but Roden could tell the older man had pulled a weapon under the table.

“Who are you, cacaw?” Errrkkkk nearly shouted his accusation, but withered under the woman's attention.

Once it was all quiet again, she spoke again addressing Bo.

“We appreciate your hospitality and the help you have given these boys, but I must ask for a space for us to speak with our children.”

“Uhhh well I suppose you could use the backyard, but if you don't mind me asking how'd you get in my house?” Bo said as he studied the woman.

The woman waved off his question,

“Your shrine to the pantheon was all that was required for us to gain entry–.”

“You keep saying us, cacaw.” Errrkkkk said interrupting her.

The woman nodded.

“I left my brother outside, I hope to take you.” She said looking to Riakon, “to meet him.”

Roden couldn't take the general confusion anymore, “you're Era aren't you?”

He said it knowing it was correct. That encounter was what Zamira had reminded him of just that morning. The coming of Era and Erjorn was the main reason Roden made sure they made it to Bo’s before heading back to Port Sept.

The woman nodded again.

“Yes, it is as you say. I am Era, Goddess of the Sun and Nature.”

As she spoke her name and title a bright glow emanated from behind her as if the sun was setting in Bo’s kitchen.

Errrkkkk threw himself to the ground in supplication, murmuring prayers of praise to the goddess before him.

Era looked down at the birdman before she crouched and patted his head gently.

“Errrkkkk, all is well. We have much to discuss, my child. It is time you learn where you come from.”

Era turned her head to look at Riakon, who was frozen in his chair.

“Do not be afraid, we did not come to punish you. This is a joyous day. Now come outside and we can speak on things that have long been secret.”

Errrkkkk and Riakon both stood slowly and followed Era through Bo’s kitchen and out into the backyard.

When he heard the backdoor shut, Roden looked at Bo, “I suppose we are just hanging out in here, huh?”

“Yeah, seems like we aren’t necessary.”

Roden eyed Bo suspiciously, “you seem pretty calm for a guy who just had a goddess show up during dinner.”

Bo returned the gaze back to Roden, “I could say the same about you.”

Roden chuckled, “fair enough, this isn’t my first unexpected meeting with one of the gods.”

“Is that right?” Bo said with a mix of accusation and surprise.

Roden nodded, “yeah, when Riakon was busy with his ritual I ran into Zamira. That’s how I ended up switching teams.”

Bo’s bushy eyebrow shot up in genuine surprise, “well ain’t that something.”

“Oh it’s something alright. What about you?”

A thoughtful expression washed over Bo’s face as he thought of a long untouched memory.

“I ran across Byote on a hunt once. I was in a squad of adventurers and we were being hunted by aberrations left over from the days of the lich. They were truly brutal monsters that tore through our defenses. My squad was hiding in an abandoned den we’d found and lucky for us our Cleric was able to make a sufficient plea to Byote, who came out of the woods and led us safely to the Outpost.”

“Ya know, it seems to me the gods are awfully involved in the lives of the people these days.” Roden said offhandedly.

Bo clicked his tongue, “by design I imagine.”

Roden frowned, “what do you mean by design?”

Bo looked at Roden as if he’d grown a second head.

“Boy you are a terrible Cleric. Don’t you know anything about your profession?”

Roden rolled his eyes, “please enlighten me.” His voice dripped with sarcasm as he said it.

“Scholars figured it out a few years ago. Because of Orvell the gods became significantly more prevalent. Some would say exponentially more powerful on account of all the worship.”

Roden stared at him, a steely look on his face, “I don’t get it. How did Orvell make the gods more powerful?”

Bo took a deep breath, “it’s not so simple as he made them more powerful. It’s more like his actions created an environment that allowed them to thrive.”

“How the fuck did he do that?” Roden replied, his interest obvious in his voice.

“Orvell’s reign was a dark time, but he mostly left the people to their own devices. He isolated the cities from each other. That made it so each settlement had to become self-sustaining. As a natural effect of that it made people more reverent toward the gods. People who didn’t used to farm were now praying to Mirohna for her blessing on their little plot of land. Any time someone had to venture far, Era and Byote were being given offerings for safe passage. The followers of Ay became teachers in an effort to preserve what basic skills they could. Each god benefited from the situation in a similar way.”

Understanding was slowly coming over Roden, “okay so people became more religious during the Dark Times.”

“You could say that again. People became nearly fanatical. They clung to their religion and it paid off. Without the gods it’s hard to say if the people would have ever been able to overthrow Orvell. Some say the king was chosen by the gods to confront the lich. One of his biographers made the claim that the king was directly helped by the gods, but was never able to state which one specifically.”

Roden slouched a bit in his chair. It was all quite confounding to him. In his game, he hadn’t involved the gods in Orvell’s defeat. He’d just made up a band of adventurers and said they eventually defeated Orvell. He’d thought that was because he had just wanted to progress the world he was building and didn’t want to play a game during a time when the world was ruled by his old big bad evil guy.

“Hang on, you said by design before. What’d you mean by that?”

“Oh that? Well some scholars think Orvell was knowingly facilitating the empowerment of the gods of Mir through his policies. He never forbade religion although he did make an attempt to position himself among their ranks as a god-king. Not much ever came of that, but he had a cult who worshiped him.”

Roden was struggling to find the connections in Bo’s history lesson, “why would a tyrant want his people to empower their gods? Seems counterintuitive to me.”

Bo laughed through his nose, “You and the majority of everyone else. The thing is though you can’t deny the outcome. Ever since the defeat of the lich and the restoration under King Roderick, the gods have had a constant presence in the lives of the people. Before Orvell, the gods rarely manifested. Now each god has a highly devoted following and the most popular ones seem to have a public manifestation every few years.”

Roden thought on Bo’s words for a long moment. He tried to understand what exactly could be the benefit of empowering magical apparitions generated from the collective unconscious of the people. It was that thought that led him to consider what must have come before.

“Wait a minute, what were the gods like before Orvell?”

Bo shrugged, “I don’t know. No one really knows. There are records, names, and some holy practices, but not much else from before.”

Roden snapped his fingers and held up a finger, “that’s it!”

It was Bo’s turn to be confused, “what’s it?”

“Whether he intended to or not, Orvell codified the gods.”

Bo furrowed his brow, “what the hell are you talking about?”

Roden was getting excited at his growing revelation, “before and during the time the lich took over, I’d be willing to bet the gods were a loose collection of ideas. Each town probably had their own idea of who each god was and how they should be worshiped, but by doing that the peoples’ perception of each god expanded. I’d be willing to bet some of the gods picked up new domains during that time.”

Bo nodded slowly, “there is some evidence to that.”

Roden was on the edge of his seat, “and I’d be willing to put money once each settlement was able to communicate again, religion flourished as the varied beliefs were combined into a common belief across all people.”

Bo thought on his words briefly, “you have a point there son. I suppose you ain’t such a bad cleric after all.”

It was all making sense to Roden. Just like on Earth religion vied for the attention of the people. When two cultures interacted their gods would have a metaphorical battle in the minds and hearts of the people. The same thing happened with all the abandoned religions until all that was left was the monotheistic ones. Roden wondered if Mir could ever become monotheistic, but quickly dismissed the idea as unlikely given the obvious manifestations of multiple gods.

“Oh I’m definitely a bad cleric, but I love a good mystery.” Roden said good naturedly.