"Aren't you going to look at your status?"
Jamie stopped in the middle of the temple's great hall, surrounded by ancient columns that soared toward the vaulted ceiling. The soft light from the stained glass windows painted colorful shadows on the marble floor, and the murmuring of whispered prayers from the faithful echoed around him.
"Status?" Jamie spoke aloud, his words breaking the sacred silence. Heads turned in his direction, curious and judgmental eyes fixed on him.
"As if you didn't already think I'm crazy," he muttered, loud enough for them to hear. Some of the faithful exchanged glances before returning to their devotions.
The cat beside him—or rather, Jay's spirit inhabiting the feline body—shook his head and gave a theatrical slap to his forehead. ‘Hey! This is still my body. Could you please not ruin my reputation even more?’ Jay complained in his mind.
Jamie sighed, preferring not to respond. "You mentioned something about looking at statuses," he said, trying to focus.
‘Yes, yes. Just imagine the card you tore hovering over your hand. It will trigger your connection with the gods.’ Jay explained while licking one of his paws.
Jamie shot a disapproving look. ‘He might be a cat, but he was a human being hours ago.’ The boy shook his head as if shaking off a bad thought.
Jamie extended his hand with the palm up. He closed his eyes briefly, concentrating on the image of the Bard card he had destroyed. When he opened his eyes, golden letters began to form in the air before him.
| James Frostwatch (Soul: James Murtagh)
| Experience: [0 / 2000]
|
| Attributes
| Strength - 11
| Dexterity - 15
| Constitution - 11
| Intelligence - 16
| Wisdom - 14
| Charisma - 18
‘Wow! Great attributes, although... you're quite weak in strength,’ Jay commented, floating lightly beside Jamie's shoulder as he read the glowing words.
"What do you mean, yours and mine are different?" Jamie asked.
‘Yes. Although it's the same body, the way of using it is completely different. Besides the Class and the gods' blessings to this body,’ Jay explained.
Jamie didn't quite understand how it worked but accepted the cat's explanation.
"Can everyone see this?" Jamie asked, worried about others' glances.
‘Only the two of us. Since I'm connected to you, I can also see the gods' messages,’ Jay smiled, his feline eyes shining.
As Jamie returned his gaze to the sheet, new inscriptions appeared, floating like golden smoke.
| [Blessings]
|
| Memories of the Past
| Within one vessel, two souls entwine,
| Their memories now as one align.
|
| Legends of the Future
| Legends dwell within a bard’s embrace,
| Songs of past and present interlace.
| Through melodies, the future's paths unfold,
| Behind the masks, true stories are retold.
| Each day anew, the genuine tale's seen,
| In every verse, the essence of the dream.
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"What the hell is this?" Jamie exclaimed, surprised by the enigmatic inscriptions. "What does this mean?"
Jay reread the words, his whiskers trembling. ‘Well... blessings are rare, gifts offered by the gods. Usually, the god of magic or war grants them when they take a liking to someone. But it seems you received two blessings from unknown gods. There's no mention of their names.’
The cat floated from one shoulder to the other before continuing. ‘However, I've never seen anything like this; blessings shouldn't be hard to understand or even be in rhyme. Is this because you're a bard?’
"Right. I think I understand the first one." Jamie felt a flow of memories that weren't his—Jay's memories, his life, his knowledge. "This will help a lot," he murmured. "But what about the second one? What does it mean?"
"I have no idea," Jay admitted, tilting his head.
Lost in thought, Jamie walked toward the temple exit. The heavy doors opened to the main street, where the city's bustle enveloped him. With the new memories, he understood how complicated Jay's situation was.
Following the main street, Jamie walked until he reached a modest-looking tavern. With its roof completely white from a thin layer of snow and the sign creaking in the wind, Jamie entered the establishment.
Due to the hour, there was still no one inside the tavern, just an old man carrying some boxes from one side to the other.
"Yo-young lord. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The old tavern keeper tried to speak humbly; however, it was easy to notice the sour smile he wore, wanting the boy to leave his shop as quickly as possible.
"I'll sit at one of your tables. Bring me a strong drink and disappear," Jamie ordered, his firm voice making it clear he wouldn't tolerate objections.
As he sat at one of the tables, he glanced briefly at the tavern keeper, who was unscrewing one of his bottles and pouring it into a goblet.
In the middle of his vision, golden letters began to dance near the tavern keeper until they formed phrases.
| William (Tavern Keeper)
| The tavern keeper's heart betrays his wife,
| With neighbor fair lady, he hides his secret life.
Jamie squinted, trying to read the tiny letters that surrounded the tavern keeper's head.
"Ah!" he whispered, understanding his second blessing. "I can see each person's legends? Is that it? In William's case, he's cheating on his wife with the neighbor."
The cat, who was distracted after climbing onto the table, turned his eyes to the tavern keeper and read the verses. "Makes sense. It's an impressive power; too bad you can't choose which piece of information you'll receive."
Jamie nodded. Being able to see any information about a person's life would be a dream come true for a criminal, yet even so, this blessing was already overpowered.
William slowly walked over with a mug to the table, placing the goblet with force and discontent to the point that some of the drink spilled.
"How's your neighbor doing?" Jamie asked casually.
"Wh-what do you mean?" William stammered, his face paling.
"She seems like a nice woman," Jamie commented with an enigmatic smile curling his lips.
"Humph." William moved away, snorting, seeing that the boy was playing with him. However, after having his secret put at stake, he preferred not to try to expel him.
"Right, now my problem is with you." Jamie pointed at Jay, who was laughing upon seeing the tavern keeper's confused face.
‘With me?’ Jay tried to look innocent, his ears tilted.
"When were you planning to tell me that you're in deep trouble?" Jamie said, shooting a judging look.
‘Well... I had already told you the main issue,’ Jay tried to get away with it.
"Main issue, my ass. You haven't even begun to explain your situation," Jamie replied angrily. "To begin with, you're the third son of the first wife, who passed away a few years ago. Your father ignores you and is a puppet of the new wife. You have no rights or inheritance except the duty to protect Frostwatch. Basically, you're a slave."
The cat nodded in agreement. ‘Slave, slave,’ he said as if someone agreed with him for the first time.
"Your stepmother hates you and wants to kill you to make way for her children to inherit something. Your fiancée—you've never seen her in your life and are being sold in exchange for support from some other noble house. You're weak enough that everyone in your family thinks you're a punching bag. Even your brothers and sisters do nothing to protect you. Basically, if I stay here, I'll die sooner or later. Did I sum it up well?" Jamie asked.
The cat seemed sad to receive the barrage of statements about how his life was miserable. But he quickly broke into a broad smile. ‘You're absolutely right. Summed it up perfectly. And how are you going to help me?’
Jamie felt as if he was about to foam with rage at Jay. However, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
"I already have a plan. It won't fix your life; on the contrary, it will end it once and for all," Jamie explained, downing the drink. He could briefly taste the mead before swallowing it completely.
"Let's go." Jamie slapped the table, getting up. "See you next time, William."
"Hey! Hey! What about my payment?" William asked.
"You can ask the lord; he'll pay my bills," Jamie said, already with his back to the establishment.
Without stopping, he found himself again on the main street.
‘Go where? What are you going to do?’ the cat asked, while Jamie seemed to be looking for something, observing both sides of the street.
"We're going to carry out a very simple plan. I'm going to get revenge. We're going to cut our ties, and we're going to make a lot of money."