The first plainly obvious thing Roth noticed was the state of the docks. They were made of wood, the surfaces rough from years of wear. Through the clear water, he could faintly see large wooden wheels attached to the piers driving down to the seabed.
It was a stark contrast to the metal and concrete he expected from a trading port in the modern day.
Roth could see three docks out in the water, all of them fairly close together. By the shore, there was a stack of logs near the base of one of the rocks, with scratch marks marring the tops of the logs.
“It really is different…”
A faint mutter left Roth’s mouth as he started walking toward the shore. Lia was already starting to walk that way, and she flinched imperceptibly as Roth followed just diagonally behind and to her side.
“Wandering ghost, you look unfamiliar with this place.”
Lia slowed her pace until Roth was walking equal to her.
“My name is Roth… and yes, I haven’t been here before.”
Roth peered at the young woman’s beautiful face.
“If you are familiar with the area, might you show me around?”
Roth’s words sounded a bit unnatural as he tried to copy the more composed tone held by the girl, and she shook her head.
“I only briefly stopped here on my travel north, and I have other duties to attend to. Farewell.”
When she reached the beginning of the dock, Lia turned and walked off toward one of the smaller dirt paths leading up to the town. Roth stopped once he stepped onto the beach, turning around to wait for the rest of the crew.
Holl was helping Captain Wilson secure the boat to the dock. The vessel was just over sixteen meters long, and a good portion of it extended past the end of the dock, the boat not being able to pull forward any further due to the increasingly shallow waters.
Once the boat was secured, most of the Algo’s crew, along with Cundy and Holl, headed for where Roth was waiting.
“... As I was just saying, this is a great place for folks like you to get acclimated. The waters are relatively safe around here, and it’s far enough away from the coast that the war shouldn’t reach you until years later.”
Wilson and his crew continued walking toward the town, and Roth followed behind them.
“It’ll still be another two months before the sea starts to freeze, but the waves will be harsh. It’s probably best to avoid it until the summer months. It shouldn’t be too difficult to last until then.”
There were a few people walking around the street ahead of the crew, and Wilson’s pace slowed as he walked over to a young couple. If it isn’t the Northrup couple! How’s the baby?”
“Our Lord Enthenglem has taken her into Their embrace.”
Wilson’s expression fell.
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss.”
The woman shook her head.
“No, it is a joyous occasion. We will be blessed for years to come!”
Wilson had clearly originally been planning to chat with the couple further, but after the brief introduction, he led his crew away. A few of his workers headed off in various directions to gather supplies, but Roth’s crew stuck with the captain.
“I’m hearing that much more often around here recently.”
Wilson glanced back at the couple behind them.
“It’s something of a minor religion here on Marie Island… when we were heading north just a couple months ago, though, Elis and Leon Northrup were two of the staunchest opposers to it… they even called it an evil cult.”
Wilson grit his teeth.
“I would take a closer look into it, but I can’t make a long stop to investigate. Holl, if your crew plans to stick around here for some time, be careful. If it isn’t as simple as a way to deal with grief, it could end up being quite dangerous.”
“You want us to investigate some evil god?”
Roth was already glancing back at the boat as he spoke. Just when he thought that he’d finally made it to the safety of land, now there was some evil god cult. Suddenly, heading back out onto the water didn’t seem quite so bad.
“Nothing that serious, I’m sure. If it was that bad, we’d already be babbling its praises right now. If there is anything at all, It’ll probably just be a spirit-level entity formed by the locals’ folk tales.”
He’s saying that something like that can happen?!
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“Our first priorities will be getting the resources to survive the winter and the money to buy a boat, but I’ll spare some time to look into it.”
And Holl is agreeing to it?! We’re just some sailors, we don’t even know anything about this messed-up new world. Why would we try to get entangled with something like this?
The conversation came to a halt as the group arrived outside of a shop. Similar to most of the buildings in town, it was made from weather-battered wood and looked just large enough to serve as both a shopfront and a dwelling. There was a sign hanging just over the door, proclaiming it as a tannery.
“I’ve been friends with the owner here for many years. He can give you a place to rest.”
Wilson paused before knocking on the door.
“And don’t mention Enthenglem to him. He was one of the first to start believing in it, after the passing of his only son. If you’re investigating it further, please leave him out of it.”
Wilson knocked heavily and pushed it open without waiting for a response, leading Roth’s crew inside.
“Old man Raymond, did you fall asleep in the middle of the day again?”
“Ay, may the Lord save you.”
A gruff snort sounded from somewhere behind the counter, and a few moments later, an elderly man holding a mug of steaming liquid walked out from the back.
“Jacob Wilson. Here I’d thought you ran off to start a family with some Quian woman.”
“I wish. You know there is no time to raise children now, with what’s happening at the coast.”
The old man shrugged, the wrinkled skin of his face curling up into a smile as he sat down on a stool behind the counter.
“With enough offerings to the Lord, all will be well. Such a war will not last forever or pierce this deep into the continent. There is nothing to fear.”
Roth could make out a hint of worry on Wilson’s face, but the captain did his best not to reveal it before the elder.
“I picked out some new quality clothing for the town in Portage, and I’ve still got plenty of money left. I’ll buy up anything you have here and take it west. That’s not the only thing I’m here for this time, though.”
Raymond’s bushy gray eyebrows raised as Wilson gestured toward Roth, Holl, and Cundy.
“These fellows lost their ship in a wreck, my crew will be dropping them off here. Please help me out and give them a place to stay.”
The old man nodded repeatedly.
“Of course, the Lord Enthenglem is generous. A place to stay, a bite to eat, and warmth for the winter will all be granted.”
Wilson’s frown deepened.
“Did something happen around here while I was gone? You seem much more enthusiastic than when I stopped by on my way up north.”
Raymond nodded excitedly.
“The Northrup family, have you seen them? It was truly a miracle when the Lord took their baby into his embrace! Ah, they are so blessed.”
“Can you explain what you mean?”
“The baby has joined the pantheon of the gods, she is no longer with this mortal world. We townsfolk cannot fully understand the ways of Lord Enthenglem.”
Wilson shot a concerned glance over at Holl, then questioned Raymond further.
“Where are Enric and Tolus?”
“Out hunting, they will return in a few days.”
Wilson let out a quiet sigh as he turned to the door.
“Well, thank you for your generosity in letting these three stay. I will show them around the rest of the town, then will bring the goods I picked up from the north to you.”
Raymond nodded and raised his steaming drink up to his lips, his eyes following the crew even as he took a deep gulp of the liquid.
-
After walking a few meters away from the storefront and confirming that there was no one else nearby who could listen in, Wilson pulled the three crewmates close.
“He wasn’t like this before. A couple of months ago, you would’ve been hard-pressed to get him to mention Enthenglem at all… I’m afraid that this might be worse than I expected.”
Wilson looked out at the forest.
“Enric and Tolus that I mentioned before have Regards, both of them should be unaffected by whatever is making them believe in this stuff.”
Wilson started showing the group around town, occasionally running into other town residents and a few of Wilson’s fellow crew members.
Almost everyone from the town that they met greeted the group with “May the Lord save you.”
The whole time they were walking around town, thoughts were running around Roth’s skull in a panic.
Yep, this island is definitely being influenced by some kind of evil god. Everyone we’ve seen is praising this ‘Lord Enthenglem!’ Screw staying here, continuing on with Wilson’s crew is definitely the safer option!
At the same time, the young man couldn’t help but remember what Wilson had said to Raymond. War. With all of the occult stuff Roth was already encountering up here in the ‘Peaceful, relatively safe’ north, he didn’t even want to try imagining what would happen in a full-on war.
It’ll probably be even worse by the coast… Why did this have to happen to me? I want to go back home, where I don’t need to worry about some mind-controlling evil god or mind-altering Regard!
After they finished their tour of the small port town, Roth’s crew headed back to the Algo to gather up some goods to give to Raymond. Included were some finely-made leather and pelt tunics and other clothing.
It had a distinct style that Roth would associate with the Great Lakes area native tribes from his past world.
After bringing the goods to Raymond, Wilson received a large cart full of pelts that could be sold along the coast for a huge profit. When everything was done and finished, Raymond brought Holl, Cundy, and Roth over to a small house on the outskirts of town.
It looked like it had received subpar maintenance, but it was still a livable building that kept the warmth in. There were only four small rooms inside and an outhouse a few meters away from the house, but when Roth saw the layout, he finally felt a tiny bit of excitement.
Three of the four rooms in the house were bedrooms, while the fourth and largest one doubled as a kitchen and dining area.
Three bedrooms meant one for each of the crew members, though, and it also meant that Roth would finally have a bit of privacy.
I can finally look at my map without having to worry about Holl or Cundy sneaking up on me… and I can figure out what this Regard thing is. I’ve felt it tingling on my back a few times, so it should be there.
The memory of Lia’s flaming tattoo-looking Regard on her arm sparked in Roth’s mind and he grinned for a brief moment.
Do I look badass with a tattoo like that right now, too? It’s on my back, though…
All three of the crewmates hadn’t gotten enough sleep on the boat to make up for what they lost on the island, and all three of them retired to their new rooms fairly quickly. As soon as the door was closed tightly, Roth wasted no time pulling the map out of his backpack and unfurling it.