by Logan Jacobs
Ross and Rebekah, the young couple whose infant died at a week old, would probably be the easiest to convince. They still had so many opportunities to have a great life ahead of them, and even if they didn’t want to risk another pregnancy, they could always adopt.
Bron and Sarah would be harder to convince. They’d owned a general store for years when it was burned to the ground with their children inside. They were deep in the throes of grief and couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
No one was too far gone for me to save, though, so I set my thoughts to figuring out how to help these people.
After I’d interviewed all of Sarosh’s followers, I reset back to my save point to wow them all with my knowledge.
Chime.
“I could eat,” Thom said, and mumbles of agreement echoed from behind him, but Zeb elbowed him sharply.
“Only if the priestess says it is alright,” the old man muttered to the ten other people.
“Zeb, do you only do what the priestess tells you to do?” I asked.
“I am an obedient and loyal follower of the priestess,” Zeb answered with a stubborn lift of his chin.
“Are you sure that’s not just because you miss your wife?” I pressed with one lifted eyebrow.
“I-I-I’m not sure,” Zeb said as his eyes went as wide as saucers. “How do you know about my dearly departed wife?”
“I am actually a god,” I laughed. “I know all things. Like Luka, you are still grieving the loss of your husband, are you not?”
“I miss him terribly,” the older woman whimpered.
“Thom,” I said as I turned my gaze to the man who leaned against a cane. “You and your two brothers were injured in battle, and your only wish is to serve the world in whatever way you can.”
“Enough!” Sarosh interjected in a loud voice, and she sliced her hands through the air like she wished to cut off my head. “I do not know how you perform these tricks, but I will get to the bottom of it, once and for all.”
“Does that mean you changed your mind and want to talk?” I teased with a grin.
“If you wish to question my followers,” the priestess said with narrowed gray eyes. “Then I need to do the same to yours.”
“Go right ahead,” I encouraged as my smile grew even more. I was confident in the people who followed me, and I knew Sarosh would not find the answers she hoped for from them.
“We should get off the road,” Zeb interjected in a sage voice. “We are at risk for marauders.”
“We are in no danger with me present,” I informed the old man in a confident tone.
“We will break for lunch,” Sarosh snapped, and she shot me a glare. “My people are weary.”
“Very well.” I shrugged. “Gives us more time to chat.”
“Hmph!” Sarosh huffed and folded her arms across her chest, but then she led her people off the road into the copse of trees.
I rolled my eyes, and then I returned to my companions to update them on what was going on.
“We’re going to take a lunch break,” I informed my crew in a pleased tone. “Sarosh wishes to speak with you guys about your experiences with me. You have the right to deny her, but there is no harm in being completely honest with her.”
“What right does she have to question us?” Mahini asked, and her piercing blue gaze shot to the small gathering of people seated beneath the trees.
“They are on their way to Vallenwood,” I explained with a worried frown. “They plan to kill themselves in sacrifice to the God of the Purge. I cannot allow these people to willingly walk toward their deaths, not when I can stop it.”
“Very well, Bash,” Elissa said with a firm nod. “I’ll tell them everything I know about you.”
“Keep out the bedroom bits,” I suggested with a wink. “No need to rub it in their faces.”
“Okay,” my wife giggled. “I’ll try.”
“What are our orders, sir?” Riondale interjected as he cast a concerned look over my shoulder to the silver-haired zealot.
“Enjoy your lunch, or dinner, whatever you want to call it.” I shrugged. “And if you feel like talking to her, feel free to.”
So, we tied the horses to some of the trees, and we began to spread out some of the rations sent with us from the king. He’d included some of the delicious meats that had been served at the feast the night before, but he hadn’t sent any alcohol. I’d been hoping for it since the mood lifting beverage would be a boon in my attempt to save Sarosh’s life, but I would just have to use my charm and wits against her.
My party approached the zealots with neutral expressions, and we set about building a fire in the center of the trees. Sarosh and her followers watched silently, but they all smiled gratefully when Riondale began to pass out the food. The whole bunch looked half-starved, and it made me want to continue feeding them until they were nursed back to full health.
Some of Sarosh’s followers would never be able to return to full health, and even the God of Time couldn’t undo severed limbs from months before I was summoned. No, my only option was to change their perspective about their situation so they no longer saw it as a blight, but more so as a blessing. I’d attempted harder things before, but giving hope to grieving widowers and wounded soldiers would feel really good.
“How kind of you to share with us,” Sarosh said after she’d accepted a plate from my lieutenant. “Your people are generous.”
“We have more than enough to share,” I explained in a kindly voice. “If we start to run low, we can always refill our stores from the wilderness.”
“You would kill the animals in the wilderness, but you do not understand someone’s desire to perform the ultimate sacrifice?” Sarosh shook her head. “You are an illogical man.”
“I’m illogical?” I laughed. “You’re not my follower, but I still give you the time of day. Do you know why? Because I don’t want innocent people to die. You will be a murderer if you go through with this, Sarosh, and deep down, you know it. Admit it.”
“Why should I listen to you?” she snapped. “My master warned me of men like you, those who would pretend to be immortal deities in order to trick lesser beings.”
“Your master was totally describing himself,” I insisted. “Mirror, mirror, and all that.”
“I believe he was describing you.” Sarosh’s lips curled up into a sideways sneer. “You’re merely projecting your own fears of being discovered as a fraud.”
“I have no fear.” I grinned at the annoyingly stubborn woman. “Ask me anything, Sarosh.”
“I think I’d rather ask the people who blindly follow your wicked ways,” the elven-like priestess countered, and she turned her gray eyes to my companions. She scanned over the faces of the guardsmen, and then her gaze flicked from Eva, to Elissa, and finally landed on Mahini. “You have an honest aura, you go first. Tell me what miracles you have seen this supposed god perform.”
“From the first moment I met Sebastian, I was awed by his power,” Mahini informed the priestess in a solemn tone. Her face was neutral, but I could see the emotion swimming in her tumultuous blue eyes. “He predicted my every word like he could read my mind--”
“He did that to us, too,” one of the wounded brothers mumbled from my left side.
I resisted the urge to chuckle as I listened to Mahini recount stories of our meeting, and then she explained how I’d fought by her side through the goblin infested copper mine. Tears threatened to overpower her for a brief moment as she touched upon the subject of her fallen Golden Sword brethren, but she kept her expression stoic for the remainder of the story.
When she finished, I wanted to applaud her, but it didn’t seem appropriate with the seriousness in the atmosphere. Sarosh meant business, and I had a feeling the older woman hadn’t smiled or laughed in years. I wondered briefly if I could change that, but then I turned my focus back to Mahini.
“Then he defeated the goblin king,” the desert goddess finished with an awed shake of
her head. “It was so fast, and accurate. I could never question him, or his power. It has always been obvious to me.”
“I see.” Sarosh tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. “So, you have sex with him?”
“We are bonded, body, mind, and soul,” Mahini answered without hesitation, and her piercing blue eyes shot daggers of ice into the priestess. “Calling him my lover would not be enough. He is my eternity.”
“Damn,” I whispered as I glanced at Mahini. I knew she loved me as I loved her, but I’d kinda always assumed that my feelings were more powerful because I’d seen her die a thousand deaths to save my life.
“Ahem,” Elissa interjected as she glared at Sarosh. “I’m his wife, by the way. Was there something you wanted to ask me?”
“His wife?” Sarosh’s eyes widened in surprise. “He married you?”
“Why so shocked?” I asked.
“You tie yourself to a mortal?” Sarosh shook her head in disbelief. “It does not seem like something an immortal deity would do.”
“Maybe you’ve never known one personally?” I suggested with a smile. “I’m not going to be anything like your false god, I’m the real deal, and I can prove it.”
“I’m done listening to your blasphemy,” the priestess scoffed. “I already told you, I want to hear about your misadventures from the poor souls trapped in your company.”
“Ouch.” I made a mock hurt expression. “I thought you liked me, Sarosh.”
“You’d be the only one in the world who didn’t,” Elissa added, and my wife crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her gaze on the priestess. “My father even likes him, and I swore he would hate anyone I wanted to marry. Bash saved me from an awful arranged marriage, and now I’m free to be who I am without being forced to be in the kitchen all the time.”
“Your husband allows you to do whatever you want?” Sarosh pushed with furrowed eyebrows. “Do you not see that as odd?”
“He loves me just the way I am.” Elissa shrugged. “I’m sorry you’ve never experienced that before.”
Sarosh huffed but didn’t respond.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Rebekah, Ross’ wife, said. “I know Ross loves me, but sometimes I feel like he would be disappointed in me if I decided not to follow Sarosh.”
“That’s not true,” Ross insisted in a soft voice, and the dark-haired younger man clasped his wife’s hands lovingly in his own. “I’ve always felt like you wanted us to follow her together, and I would go with you anywhere.”
“Don’t listen to them,” Sarosh snapped at the young couple in a harsh voice.
“Why not?” Elissa countered hotly. “Don’t they have a right to hear other perspectives? Like, how Bash defeated an entire army single-handedly just to save me from a loveless marriage.”
“That was my brother,” Eva chuckled. “Trust me, he had it coming.”
“The man you follow killed your brother?” The priestess’ gray eyes lit up like she’d discovered a hidden gem of truth.
“Fair and square.” Evangeline nodded.
“So, why do you follow him?” Sarosh pressed.
“I want to see the world, to save people, to experience life to its fullest.” The duke’s daughter shrugged. “I waited for years for the opportunity to get out of my father’s castle, and the Great One provided it. I had to prove my worth, but after I watched from the castle windows while he fought against the dragon, I was determined to do anything I could.”
“Wait, dragon?” Zeb’s eyes widened with fear, and he instinctively glanced up at the sky.
“A dragon has awoken for the first time in ages,” I explained in a calm voice. “I first encountered it at Castle Bullard, but I ran into it again in Vallenwood.”
“The city is besieged?” Thom asked with a frown. “I don’t want to run into a dragon’s mouth.”
“Yet you are willing to kill yourself in the name of a god you’ve never met?” I countered, and I leaned back and rested my hands on the back of my neck. “Seems like you all have a death wish to me, which normally I can get behind, but you aren’t even trying to help anyone. You’re just killing yourselves for no reason.”
“Our deaths will stop the apocalypse,” Sarosh informed me in a proud voice. “Once the king witnesses our sacrifice, he will fall on his knees and pledge allegiance to the God of the Purge.”
“And then what will happen?” I pushed.
“Then the world will be saved,” Sarosh said as if she was stating the obvious.
“I’d like to see your god go toe-to-toe with a dragon.” Riondale smirked and folded his arms across his breastplate. “I’ve never known a man more fearless than Sir Sebastian.”
“Sir Sebastian?” Sarosh lifted her eyebrows questioningly. “Are you a knight, now?”
“I am,” I confirmed with a nod.
“I’m not hearing anything bad, Sarosh,” Cristal observed in a wry tone.
“There has to be more to the story,” the priestess insisted, and she narrowed her gray eyes at me.
By this time, the sun had begun its nightly journey toward the western horizon, and the light was growing more and more dim. We’d been sitting around the fire for a couple of hours, and while the conversation was riveting to me, my back ached from being in the same position the entire time.
“It’s getting dark,” I observed as I glanced around at the shadows beneath the trees. “Why don’t we set up camp and pause this conversation for now?”
“I wouldn’t want to keep you from your travels,” Sarosh said with a shake of her head, but I could tell she wanted me to stop talking to her followers now.
“We won’t get very far in the dark,” I pointed out. “Besides, we started late, so maybe it’s best if we stay in this spot for the night and get an early start in the morning.”
“Very well,” Sarosh allowed with a tilt of her head. “I will welcome your hospitality for tonight. There is safety in numbers, after all.”
“I’ll arrange for a watch shift,” Riondale offered.
“Thanks, Ri-man.” I flashed the young lieutenant a grateful smile. “Have Corvis unsaddle the horses and get them some grain, too.”
“Yes, sir,” Riondale said with a crisp salute, and then he stood from his spot and signaled to the rest of the men.
“You are lucky to have beasts of burden to carry you,” Sarosh mused in a tired voice. “My feet grow weary faster than a horse’s hooves.”
“I can imagine,” I chuckled. “I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have without Goliath. He’s a good boy.”
“You have an affection for some animals, but not for others?” Sarosh’s gray eyes perked up like she’d found a loophole in my story.
“Some are companions,” I explained with a yawn. “Others are food. It’s simple.”
“Would you like to join me on a quick hunt?” Jorgen suggested with an amused smile. “Stretch your legs for a bit?”
“That sounds heavenly,” I laughed. Then I gave Sarosh a small bow of my head. “We can continue our discussion later, but for now, I’m done talking.”
“Very well, Sir Sebastian,” Sarosh murmured, and she turned her attention back to her abandoned plate.
I walked with Jorgen through the woods in search of prey for a while, but all we ended up finding were a burrow of rabbits and some squirrels. I made sure to clean them before bringing them back to the campsite, though, since I wasn’t sure how the odd priestess would react to watching me field-dress my game.
A few of Sarosh’s followers were lingering around the edges of the campsite, but they mostly turned away and returned to their priestess when we approached. Thom, Carn, and Abe were interested in our kills, though, and I took a moment to teach them how to locate rabbits and other small game.
Jorgen taught them a few rope snares and other ways to trap the small furry rodents, too, and then we went over some basic recipes. It shocked me that people who grew up in this world would be so unfamiliar with hunting and dressi
ng animals, but I supposed the issue stemmed from poor leadership.
Elrin’s town had been in bad shape when I first arrived, and while I liked the Mayor of Bastianville a lot, I couldn’t say he’d done a fantastic job of running the town before I’d showed up.
Every city I’d visited had some issue, and while I enjoyed helping people, all the problems could have easily been avoided if the leaders had done their jobs right. All the way to Vallenwood, I’d encountered strife, despair, and other drama, and it was hard for me not to blame the King of Sorreyal for the land’s troubles.
“Thank you for sharing your knowledge, Oh Great One,” Thom said with a grateful smile. “It has been hard to get enough food for all of us on the road, and Sarosh insists upon a vegetarian diet most of the time.”
“She changes her mind sometimes?” I asked with a confused expression.
“Sometimes there is nothing but meat available.” Carn shrugged. “She doesn’t want us to starve before we can perform our ultimate duty.”
“It’s still hard for me to understand why you would follow her,” I said in a sympathetic tone. “Don’t you have something to live for?”
“We failed our people against the bandits,” Abe said with a shake of his head. “The only way to restore our honor is to give our lives.”
“According to who?” I pressed. “I don’t see a god anywhere except in the mirror. I’d like to exchange words with this God of the Purge, and I wouldn’t follow any commands from him until I met him face to face.”
“It is uncommon for the immortals to bless us humans with their presence,” Thom argued. “It doesn’t make sense to us that you would be riding a horse if you’re a god. Why are you stuck in the body of a man?”
“Who said I was stuck?” I smirked.
“Sir, your tent is ready for you,” Riondale interjected with a quick salute.