“Thank you.” Virgil murmured, as the breeze blew past. He didn’t know any of gods of breezes or wind, but he appreciated the gentle cooling anyway. Summer was over, but it wasn’t quite fall yet either. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was quite oppressive. The endless grows of grain whispered in the breeze, but they offered him no shade. He paused for a moment, leaning on his vermin stick, while he wiped the sweat off his brow.
“Best get moving again, or they might see me.” He grumbled, even if he’d paused for only a few seconds. The boss was always yelling at people, but if you did your job well he yelled less. He took a few slow steps forward and looked about. No rodent tracks, no burrows and no abnormally moving grain. Best of all no howlers, thank the gods. He shuddered recalling his last encounter with one. Virgil stole a quick glance at the sky and sighed, the sun hadn’t moved much in the last few minutes. “Just two more hours.” He told himself. “Two more hours and they’ll ring the work bell”
For a field hand, beautiful days were often the worst. Without a cloud in the sky all you can do is press on while the sun tries to wring you dry. Parched lips and dirt caked feet were just part of life here. But someone had to patrol the fields and keep the vermin down. Too much rain and too many vermin had taken a toll on the vegetable patches this year. If the grain came up short too, it would be a hungry winter. Not for the farmer or his family, they’d always been a tad plump. But the ones doing the actual work were another story. Virgil had worked here for almost twenty years, and never once had he seen a fat field hand. As for the few indentured workers, they looked lean in the best of times.
A few more minutes passed without surprise, and he stole another glance at the sky. “Two more hours at most.” He repeated, like a slow mantra to bolster him through the remainder of his day. A glance at the grain did cause him to smile. The green of summer was slowly ripening towards the golden harvest of fall. “Another week and we’ll harvest this field. So two or three weeks for all the fields, payday, and then only light chores ‘til spring.”
Virgil was about to glance at the sky again when he was blinded by a sudden golden light. Anyone nearby would have seen a vibrant golden beam shoot down from the sky and surround him. Being inside the pillar of radiance however, was a far less thrilling experience. “My eyes!” He cried out, covering them against the searing light.
“Oops, let me turn that back down.” Someone said, as a harmonious melody played in the background. Uncovering his eyes, Virgil tried to look around. All he could see in any direction was darkness, like a starless night.
“Is- is someone there?” He asked, with a trace of fear in his voice. His free hand was reaching out, trying to tell what was around him.
“Yes, dear mortal. I am the glorious and beautiful goddess Jane. As you can see, I have-” The voice began, only to be cut off.
“I can’t see.” He replied, growing annoyed and feeling his skin ache and chafe.
“It’s on that little glowing thing in front of you.” She sighed. “You aren’t, well, SLOW are you?”
“No, I am not stupid. I just can’t see you or the glowing thing. Or rather, I can’t see ANYTHING after that bright light.” He explained, while trying to keep his voice civil. It wouldn’t do to insult the goddess that just blinded him. She might choose not to fix it.
“Oh, is that all? I mean. Wait, oh.” She replied, before making a few soft noises. None of her sounds were words, so he wondered just what she was up to.
“Just, oh? You can fix this, right? Jane?” He asked, making sure to remember her name. It may be important if he needs to complain and beg for a cure at a healing god’s temple. He was also quite sure he’d personally never offer her a single prayer if she couldn’t fix this.
“Yes, yes. You’ll be fine. This is common side effect, I’m sure of it. And don’t worry, it’s only temporary.” Something about her response caused him to grind his teeth. Her voice was quite pleasant, but the more Jane spoke the less sure she sounded. At the very least, it seemed like she was hiding something. The fact that his exposed skin still hurt did nothing to improve his disposition.
“You sound a bit nervous. It’s a good thing this is temporary. Do you think it will last much longer?” He asked, trying to hurry things along.
“No. No. Uh, just a moment and I will have you- I mean, before it wears off. Yes, before it wears off and you feel better.” She explained, trying to backtrack on her own statement. He tried to remain patient, figuring that there were far worse pranks than a minute or two of blindness. “Ah ha, there we go.” She murmured.
When the second wave of golden light washed across him, he cringed by reflex alone. But being able to see the light, that was a good sign. As the glow faded, he could at least tell light from dark. The world around him was a wash of colors and light, but none of it was in focus. Virgil couldn’t help but sigh. “Another healing, maybe more.” He told her.
“What?” She asked. Her voice carried traces of surprise and annoyance.
“You didn’t fix all the damage yet.” He explained. His words were greeted by a sharp inhale of breath. “I can sorta see, without any focus, but my sight is still pretty useless. Oh and my skin stopped hurting, so if you don’t mind. Could you repair the rest of the damage you caused?”
“S- sorry about that…” Came the timid reply. Soon after, another wave of gentle light washed over him. As the golden light faded the world around him returned to focus. Indeed there was a mysterious glowing shape in front of him, but what was around him drew his attention away. All the grain within a few feet of him was scorched and withered.
“Oh shit.” He cursed, ignoring the shape and the nearby goddess. As he looked around he realized that the grain near him had faired even worse from her actions. All the plants within several feet of him had been seared and scorched to black. He ignored the gentle glow of light that washed over him and reached for the nearest plant. At his lightest touch, the grain stalk crumbled into ash. Virgil couldn’t help but sigh. “A whole seasons worth of diligence…blowing away in the wind.”
“Are you ignoring me?” She asked, starting to sound annoyed. He turned towards her voice, then turned again. After making a full circle, and a fool of himself he realized she wasn’t visible. He sighed again.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“No, I’m studying the damage you’ve done.” He explained, sounding a bit disheartened. He just shook his head as another wave of gentle light washed over him. He wondered for a moment if she was actually a bit slow in the head, but hoped instead that she was just new to the mortal world. “Not to me, at this point I’m whole again.”
“Then what, to the grass rows?” She asked, sounding more curious than annoyed. Very new to the mortal world then, he realized.
“It’s not grass. It is called grain, and this is a farm. In another week or two, when it is ready, we will harvest it. The stalks are used in bricks and bedding, but the seeds are more important. Some of the seeds are saved for the next year. Over time, the rest are ground into flour or boiled into mush. This is-” He tried to explain.
“Mush? Eww, that stuff is gross. I’ve only had to eat that stuff as punishment, when I made mom really angry.” She declared, even making gagging sounds to enhance her point. He wanted to argue, he did, but she seemed to be right for once. Every day, the stuff they served the field hands tasted worse than what they served the day before. Still, the way she talked did not bode well for his future.
“I’ve heard it can be made well, but yea it often is foul. At least around here. But it’s a lot better than starving. Mush hurts on the way in and down, hunger hurts until you abate it…or you die from it.” He explained.
“Death by starvation? Wow, that would be embarrassing. Why not just conjure up some food if its that bad?” She asked. He couldn’t help but sigh again, it was becoming a habit.
“You might be missing a few details on that whole mortals and gods being different thing. Now,” he paused to look at the glowing shape in front of him. “What exactly is this?”
“It should be obvious. Perhaps you should just stop and read it.” She suggested. It annoyed him, that she sounded like she was talking down to a child. He was smarter than most of the field hands, and a lot of the villagers to as well. Though to his dismay, that really didn’t take much in a place like this.
“I can’t read it.” He explained, while looking at the glowing rectangle full of useless squiggles. It was another side effect of being born and raised in the middle of nowhere.
“What? It should automatically be in the right language. Here let me simplify it for you.” She stated, before the frame shimmered and the squiggles became crude images.
“What the hells?” He asked, before reading off the new images. “Sword add slime, arrow, dead slime. Sword add wolf, arrow, dead wolf. Sword add poorly drawn man, arrow, skull add golden light.” He looked up and glanced around for her again. “Seriously, what is that supposed to mean?”
“Okay, that setting is a little too simplified. Ahem. One moment, and…there.” She stated, he noticed the harmonious melody no longer played when she spoke. It was probably just more theatrics. When he looked back to the glowing rectangle, it once again displayed squiggles.
“So I still can’t read it. Or perhaps I should clarify for you, before you do anything else. I simply can’t read.” Virgil explained, in his mind he already dreaded her response.
“So you really are just slow in the head then. Damned.” She grumbled, this time it was her turn to sigh.
“I’m not stupid if that’s what you are implying. Take a look around for a moment. Do you SEE any books or scrolls around here? Almost no one in this village can read, and those that can guard it jealously as it assures that they keep the best jobs.” He complained, a touch of venom in his voice.
“Oh, huh. No wonder so many people in this village seem stupid. Well here, the least I can do for you is this.” As she spoke another light washed over him, it wasn’t the same as her healing attempts but at least it didn’t burn. “There, from now on you can read any language and understand it. That will be your first boon.”
“That’s wonderful! Does this mean I will be able to write as well as read?” He asked, feeling real excitement for the first time today. As he glanced back toward the glowing window the words began to make sense in his mind. His excitement however, was soon curbed.
“Uh. It only says you can read anything. It doesn’t say a word about learning how to write. Ahem. I guess you will just have to figure out that part on your own.” She replied.
“Oh well, it’s a start. Now, what do we have here?” He mumbled as he looked over the screen before him.
Congratulations noble soul!
Your prayers have been answered and your NICE ASS have been noticed.
You have been selected by JANE the GODDESS of (aspect goes here).
Hence forth you shall be a HERO for HER cause. As such, you are expected to HELP HER PASS HEROES 110 CLASS and EARN LOTS OF GLORY FOR ME!.
Go forth brave (job function) and (duty or first quest goes here).
And always remember to uphold the values of THE BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING GODDESS JANE, lest you lose her favor.
…
The window continued on for quite a while, but she hadn’t even bothered to fill out the rest. How lazy can you get? “So that’s what it takes to become a hero these days, just having- Wait, WHAT?!?”
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Author’s corner: The other day the idea came to me as I was driving to work. It seemed to amusing I couldn’t leave it be. I hope you all liked it, and that there aren’t too many mistakes. If you did enjoy it, please leave a message below to let me know. I am not asking for ratings or reviews until a few chapters are up. It’s way too soon at chapter 1. Yes, good reviews are a lifeblood of stories here. But a story should have a chance to take a life of its own, before people bolster it up or murder it in the alley. BTW, sorry I will get back to WDOW soon too. Life is just, well…life.