"[Is that your God's Symbol?]"

 

 

 

 

The past week had been a busy one. Andrew had taken over a corner room in the basement for his bedroom, choosing it for its strategic advantage in creating a secret exit. It wasn't spacious, but he didn't need anything fancy. Additionally, it was directly beneath the old conservatory, which Andrew was transforming into a church for Asclepius. This location allowed him easy access to both his bedroom and the secret, entry by teleportation-only storage he planned to set up.

 

The past week had been dedicated to repairing and enhancing the mansion using chained Make Whole spells, repair spells, and the occasional minor enchantment here and there. In just a few days, the building looked as good as new, reminiscent of its original construction. Andrew had only just begun working on the grounds, planning to transform the entire property into as fortress-like an orphanage could be within a month. With most of the urgent projects completed, it was now time to focus on creating an actual church. Unlike a simple shrine, a church offered numerous advantages, the most significant being that it served a divine spell caster much like a laboratory serves a wizard.

 

Andrew stepped back from the white circle with a red cross in the middle, freshly painted on the double doors leading to his new church. He glanced at Miriam and shrugged. "[I guess so.]" Then walked inside.

 

Miriam looked confused. She fluttered her way after him, "[Wait wait wait. Hold it.]" She hovered in front of Andrew and held up her hand toward him, "[What do you mean, you guess so?]"

 

Andrew shrugged again as he replied in their shared language, "[I don't have a clue. I'm making it up as I go along.]"

 

Miriam squinted with one eye, "[Come again?]"

 

Andrew rubbed his forehead, "[Look. My original application was my... initial bid? I think that's the best way to put it. When you apply for a character, you expect there to be some push back. You ask for the moon, you settle on the stars. That sort of thing. I never expected it to be approved without any push back at all.]"

 

Miriam gestured around the half-built room, "[What's that got to do with Asclepius?]"

 

"[Well...]" Andrew scratched the back of his neck, "[I didn't like the gods offered, so I... made one up for my application.]" Miriam was so stunned she forgot to flutter her wings and started to fall. Andrew reached out to catch her, "WHOA!"

 

Miriam fell back on her butt in his hands, "[Asclepius doesn't exist? WHO'S GRANTING YOUR SPELLS?]

 

Andrew shrugged again. "[I dunno. Honestly, I haven't the foggiest. I sort of assumed that when the final approval came through, I'd have to choose a different god. Asclepius was just a placeholder. I picked a bunch of domains I wanted, found a name on the internet, and bam, god.]" He looked around the room. "[Honestly, I have no idea how it's working, but I need a church to do some enchanting, so I'm making a church. I'm mashing up a bunch of different things together and seeing what sticks.]" He hooked a thumb at the door. "[That's the symbol of the Red Cross, an organization that helps the unfortunate in my world. I don't think they'll mind if I borrow it.]"

 

Miriam just stared at Andrew. Eventually, she blinked and shook her head, "[Are there any other lies you aren't telling me?"]

 

Andrew frowned, "[It's not a lie. I DO worship Asclepius. He's just not a god that exists in the game setting. I have no idea how that's working. I assumed I would have had to have converted or something, but... it's been working, so I'm not going to rock the boat.]" He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "[It's just like the legion. It's part of my background, but that never happened.]"

 

Miriam lept into the air and hovered in front of Andrew, "[HOLD IT.]" She squinted at Andrew, "[Explain that. SLOWLY.]"

 

Andrew sighed, setting down his paint and brushes on the altar before moving to sit on one of the newly placed pews. He took a deep breath and began speaking slowly. "[You and I arrived in this world at the same time, but I had to create a background to explain all my levels. That background included time spent in The Legion, which I read about in the Ghosts of Oblivion supplement. I know all about the Legion from the book, but I never actually spent time in the Legion. My CHARACTER did. Understand?]"

 

Miriam came to a rest on the back of the pew Andrew was sitting on and stared at him, "[So... someone lived a life before you arrived and you just... took over their life? What happened to them?]"

 

Andrew spread his hands wide in a gesture of uncertainty. "[I ain't got a clue what happened. I don't know if my background actually occurred, or if it was retroactively shoehorned into the world. Maybe someone lived the life I described and then got kicked out, and I took over.]" He paused, then added, "[I have a feeling it's like a wish spell. I was created as I was supposed to be, and then the memories of people who lived in the world were altered to match my background. Fortunately, I didn't include the names of anyone I needed to know, so I guess the change is minimal.]"

 

"[So who did this? The gods?]"

 

"[The gods... the gamemasters... I got no idea. Whoever is running this crazy show, I guess.]"

 

"[Do you think they made a god just for you?]"

 

Andrew snorted, "[Nahh... I suspect one of the already existing gods just took on an alias. That's how I'd handle it.]"

 

"[Do you think they added anything to your backstory you don't know about?]"

 

Andrew was on the verge of making a dismissive hand gesture, but he abruptly halted, his eyes widening in realization. They darted from side to side as he pondered the question, then suddenly he gritted his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows as he squinted his eyes. His face looked like he had just taken a bite of a rather nasty lemon, "[Now there's a sobering thought.]" He muttered tensely.

 

Miriam scratched her chin thoughtfully. "[I mean... it sure feels like a potential wish corruption situation. That's basic devil stuff. When someone makes a poorly worded wish, as the one granting the wish, you should twist it in a way that most benefits you.]" She looked up and pointed at Andrew. "[You wished a god into existence. If I were an already existing god and I was having problems with another god, and someone did that... ANNNND... the one wishing didn't want a quote 'cheat' unquote, a thing which seems to be tied directly to-]"

 

Andrew cut her off and abruptly stood up, "[The god sponsoring me! That god doesn't have to spend power on a cheat because I refused one while getting my crazy background to screw around with.]" He smacked his fist into the palm of his other hand, "[It's like getting a free secret identity!]" He started to aimlessly pace back and forth, "[Holy crap. I couldn't figure out what they were getting out of all this, but maybe that's why I got approved as is. My poorly worded background allowed for some behind-the-scenes chicanery.]" He turned to Miriam, "[What you think I should do?]"

 

"[Do? Nothing. Just... keep it in mind. You're the one who claims that the best exploits involve strange situations. What's stranger than you?]" Miriam shrugged, "[For now, there's an advantage in your continued existence. From my personal experience of being in a similar situation... I suggest you keep being useful.]"

 

Andrew sighed, "[Got no idea how I'm useful, but... I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and see where this all goes.]" He paused to look around the church, "[But you know, for what it's worth...]"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"[I like how things are turning out.]"

 

---

 

Elyin couldn't believe her eyes.

 

 

 

She had lost track of much time had passed since she started searching. After teleporting, she found herself in the capital city of Crownhold within the kingdom of Rapacus. Based on her conversations with Miriam, she deduced that they hailed from somewhere in this kingdom, likely originating from Fort Triplethorpe. However, obtaining counterfeit identity documents was imperative, and the only spies skilled in such matters that she was aware of were located in the capital.

 

Her initial action involved reaching out to one of these covert operatives stationed in the capital before swiftly departing. She knew it was only a matter of time before they were warned about her, so she prioritized putting considerable distance between herself and the city. The journey to Triplethorpe was lengthy, but aided by her collar of obfuscation and ring of fouled detection, she felt confident in her guise as a hopeful, inexperienced farmhand, merely aspiring to carve out a path as an adventurer.

 

After a period of searching, she came across news of a peculiar encounter involving a silvery faerie. Promptly, she set her course for Peltra. Infiltrating the town proved challenging, yet luck was on her side as the guards relied on a low-quality status-reading orb, easily deceived by her ring. Upon entering, the guards advised her to pay a visit to the best equipment shop in town, if she was going to engage in any adventures within the area.

 

Thus Elyin found herself standing with disbelieving eyes, looking at the storefront of Andy's Apothecary.

 

"Why is he being so obvious?" She muttered to herself before walking in.

 

The shop wasn't big, yet it wasn't crowded either. Its shelves displayed a variety of ordinary remedies alongside a collection of adventuring gear that piqued her interest. As she browsed, feeling somewhat bewildered by the unfamiliar items, a voice broke the silence, "Welcome, traveler. Don't hesitate to ask me questions if you require assistance."

 

It took Elyin a few moments to pinpoint the source of the voice. Perched on a diminutive stool beside a peculiar contraption adorned with buttons on the main counter was Miriam, evidently observing Elyin's arrival.

 

"Uhhh... Mind if I ask what you are?" Elyin tentatively asked.

 

"Yup." Mir replied, "I work with the owner, Andy. He's the assistant adventuring guild master. If you have a problem with the fae, then I suggest you leave. Otherwise, have a look around, or let me know what you are looking for."

 

"Uhhh... okay." She gestured to herself, "The name is Noel. I'm new in town. The guards recommended I come here for supplies. However..." She pointedly looked at the price tags of one of the contraptions on display, "I don't think I have the money."

 

Miriam nodded, "Ah. Well, we do sell some of the more mission-critical equipment on credit. You'd have to go talk to Andy about that. He's at the guild right now. If you are new in town, I recommend you go there anyway and get acquainted with the other adventurers. We've reached the ninth level of the local dungeon recently, so there should be work-a-plenty."

 

Elyin nodded, "Oh? Humm... Well... I'll go to the guild hall and do just that. And... talk to...?" She rolled her hand in the air indicating she was looking for a name.

 

"Andy. He'll be working the front desk. The guild master has a bum leg and doesn't like working reception."

 

Elyin pointed at Miriam, "Right. I'll... go talk to him right now." She turned to leave, then had second thoughts and turned back, "I got to ask, have you always been here? I think I would have heard of this place if you'd been around a while."

 

Mir shook her head, "Nope. We wound up here by accident. Right after we arrived, Andy decided it was a sign from his god to give up adventuring. We opened the shop and have been living here for the past... I want to say... four months now?" She smiled wistfully, "It's hard to keep track when you're living the slow life."

 

"Slow life?"

 

"Yeah." Mir nodded, "When you aren't adventuring all the time, it's... rather dull. But... we like it that way." She dismissively scrunched up her nose, "Excitement is overrated."

 

Elyin blinked, "Wait... you don't go gathering your own supplies?"

 

Mir shook her head and looked a little surprised, "Why bother? We simply submit requests at the guild. It supports the local economy and grants us extra time for our craft." She motioned around the shop, "I highly suggest considering an auto healer. Yes, it's a bit pricey at a thousand silver, but it can dispense healing oil made exclusively for it by a local potions maker. Just flip a switch, and it administers the oil automatically. Several adventurers have credited it with saving their lives from certain death." She waved her hand dismissively, "But don't just take my word for it. Chat with other guild members for their opinion."

 

Elyin nodded, "I think I will do just that." She tipped her hat, "Nice meeting you, Miriam." She turned and walked out.

 

 

Mir was smiling as the door closed.

 

 

Mir kept smiling as she slowly took a deep breath.

 

 

Mir said but one word, softly, but with conviction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Crap."