“Night,” Harry said as he headed for bed alone.
“What about you, Tom?” Marie asked after a minute.
“I’m going to get drunk, then I’ll go to bed,” Tom replied. “It might not be the best thing for me, but I want to decompress as much as possible.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Marie said, standing when John left the stage. “Night.”
“Night to you both,” Tom said, waving them off.
“You can put it away, can’t you?” a farmer laughed, taking a seat across from Tom.
“What can I say? It’s in my blood,” Tom deadpanned.
Laughing, the farmer raised his own mug. “To those who know the value of a good drink.”
“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to one when I see Charlie again,” Tom replied.
“Hey!” Felix exclaimed, coming up with another mug.
“No disrespect,” Tom said with a shrug, “but I’ve had his private stock.”
“Ah, well then, I can’t fault you,” Felix nodded.
“This is still better than wine,” Tom said, picking up the new mug.
“To real spirits and not spoiled grapes,” the farmer laughed.
“That I can drink to,” Tom smiled.
Chapter Thirty-two
White light with swirling specks of black surrounded Harry. “What the fuck?” Harry said, his voice both echoing and being swallowed by the emptiness. “Okay… hello?”
“Hello, Harold Anderson. Welcome to our world.” The androgynous voice surrounded him.
“Our world?” Harry asked, looking around and trying to spot the source of the voice.
“Indeed,” came the answer. Was that a different voice or the same one? Harry wondered.
“Your world… are you the reason we’re here?”
“We are not,” the voice replied. “I see you are having trouble telling us apart. That is normal. Please wait a moment,” the voice said. The pitch changed as it spoke the last few words, becoming more feminine.
“Yes, that is probably for the best,” the second voice added, its tone deepening toward masculine.
“There are two of you, then?”
“Yes. You may call me Light,” the feminine voice said. The soft, sweet lilt made Harry think of Ireland.
“And I will be called Dark,” the second voice added, a guttural German accent becoming evident.
“The two gods of the world, then?”
“Caretakers,” Dark replied.
“Watchers,” Light added.
“Guides,” they said together.
“Great, but why are we talking?” Harry asked. He had a bad feeling that this was going to be the start of the sort of long, epic quest chain that he hated in tabletop games.
“Because you do not belong here,” Dark said firmly. “None of you do. You suddenly appeared through barriers that have been in place for eons.”
“However, you have accepted the world, even if your views are not exactly in line with ours. That inclines us to let you stay,” Light added.
“Wait, we can go back to Earth?”
“No,” they both said.
“The other option is to remove you from the world,” Dark added.
“But we decided that would be unfair,” Light continued. “We hope you are willing to accept our offer.”
“Offer?” Harry asked, trying to wrap his head around two gods having a casual chat with him.
“To grow in the manner we have decreed for the people of this world,” Light said.
“Look, this is hard to cope with. Can we talk in a normal setting?”
The light dimmed abruptly. Blinking against its loss, Harry saw that he was in an empty tavern. A young woman wearing a simple white dress came down the stairs. The front door opened, showing a night sky. A well-aging man came in through the door, dressed in a crisp black that seemed to pull what light there was into itself.
“Is this better for you?” the woman asked as she glided to the table.
“Yes. Thank you, Light,” Harry said. “Dark.”
“Now, about the offer? Would you like to stay and grow or would you rather be removed?” Dark asked, taking a seat at the table.
“That isn’t really much of a choice,” Harry said. “Death or the chance to live and bring our friends back?”
“It is still a choice,” Light corrected him. “This means you may stay of your own free will, and that will make things easier when the others find out you are here.”
“Others?” Harry asked.
“The other caretakers,” Dark replied. “Ours is not the only world that has watchers. We are not normally allowed to bring others from outside, and never against their will.”
“My friends... are they having this conversation, too?”
“They are and will, for those who are still awake,” Light replied.
“Why did you wait all this time to talk to us?”
“We only touch those who have learned enough to advance,” Dark shrugged. “Normally, it is a brief offering of options and then gone. They never talk to us, just choose their options.”
“Oh, so we leveled, then?” Harry chuckled.
“Yes, if that is how you view it,” Light nodded. “We have learned much about your old world, and might even start integrating some of those ideas here.”
“Those shall have to be scrutinized closely, first,” Dark added, almost glowering at Light.
“Before you guys go down that line too far,” Harry said, “can we talk about leveling, please?”
“Of course,” Light smiled. “You are a scout, which means you have those options, as well as some extras because of the training you have had.”
“Okay, how do I see them?”
“This would be easiest,” Dark said, placing a slim book on the table. “You may select your choices by folding a corner of the page in.”
Harry took the book and started looking over the pages. Licking his lips as he looked at each choice, he whistled softly, “How many do I get?”
“Four. You have also gained increased vitality, as your body stat has improved,” Light said.
“Just four…” Harry mumbled, looking over the options again. Looking up, he asked what he thought was the most important question, “If I pass on one of these now, can I get it next level?”
“Not necessarily,” Dark replied. “What is offered is based on your current path and any training you might receive.”
“Okay,” Harry frowned, his decision becoming harder to make with that restriction.
“Take your time,” Light smiled. “Once your choices are made, you will leave this place and sleep normally again.”
“What if I never choose?” Harry asked.
“Then we select for you and kick you back to the world,” Dark said, getting to his feet. “As you are closer to Light, I would be the one to choose for you.”
“Fun,” Harry rolled his eyes. “I’ll choose.”
“That is fine. Time here is not the same, so you need not rush,” Light said, rising to her feet.
“I can’t preview these choices ahead of time, can I?”
Light and Dark stared at each other for a long moment before speaking in unison, “No, not at this time. We shall consider that for the future. We can see why you ask and it deserves thought.”
“Thanks,” Harry sighed.
“Choose well,” Light smiled as she vanished.
“Indeed. Your quest shall be a fun one to watch,” Dark added before he also vanished.
“Fucking gods,” Harry grumbled, looking back at his choices. “Okay, let’s make a quick easy cheat sheet…” The book he was holding suddenly sprouted a new page at the front. Blinking, he looked at it and laughed, “Thank you. I’m sorry, but my world doesn’t do gods or watchers, so this will take some getting used to.”
Flee: Break from combat without being hit.
Fleet footed: You have become adept at moving faster both normally and while sneaking.
Now you don’t: You become better at using minimal shadow or cover to hide from enemy eyes.
Marksman: When using a ranged weapon, you can choose to inflict critical damage once per rest.
Armored scout: Gain bonus armor stat when armored.
Single blade: Your focus on using a single blade makes your attacks strike more deeply.
Double blades: Fighting with two blades is natural, allowing you to strike or defend with either.
Nature’s lesser magi: Being close to nature as a scout, you have learned to harness the natural world in a way similar to a magi of the same path.
Shielded scout: You can do what most scouts cannot: use a shield.
Them, not me: When fighting the same opponent with an ally, they will focus more on your ally instead of you.
Keen tracker: When tracking, you find the trail more easily.
“I get four of these,” Harry breathed out. “I hope you guys have an easier time of it.”
~*~*~
Stretching, Dick went to roll over, but everything felt wrong. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a featureless grey place. The bed, Sheila, the inn— all of it was gone, and he was dressed. “Okay, what the hell is this?”
“Maybe we should treat him like his companion?” The androgynous voice came from all around.
“Probably for the best.”
“My friend?” Dick asked, looking around.
The light flared and grew darker at the same time, making Dick close his eyes. When he opened them, he was sitting in a tavern. He was about to get to his feet when a beautiful woman came down the stairs. Eyebrow climbing, Dick appraised the woman with a smile. The door to the tavern opened, and an older, refined gentleman entered.
“Okay, this is now the weirdest dream I’ve had in years,” Dick said. “If it was just you,” he gave the woman a smile, “I’d know where this was going.”
“Foolish,” the man spoke, a German accent there, but not heavy. “Light is beyond your reach.”
“Dark, calm, please. He does not yet know who we are,” Light giggled, her light Irish tone bringing a smile to Dick’s face. “We are Light and Dark, the beings who oversee this world.”
“You’re the gods of this place?”
“No, Richard Wilson,” Dark replied. “We are watchers, caretakers, and guides.”
“And yet you know my name?”
“We know everything about you,” Light said. “Your pains on your old world and your happiness to be here. Your fears for your friends, and your elation over being an adventurer.”
“You said you had talked to my friend?”
“Harold Anderson,” Dark snorted. “You are much more entertaining than he.”
“Why are we talking with you not-really-gods, then?”
“Blunt,” Dark smiled. “Because you are not supposed to be here. You and your friends should not be on this world.”
“We explained this to Harold already,” Light said. “First, there is a choice you must make: do you wish to stay on this world and be governed by its rules, or would you rather be removed from it?”
“Removed as in back to Earth?”
“No. Removed as in death,” Dark replied, looking at his nails.
“Not much of a choice.”
“But a choice, all the same,” Dark shrugged.
“I’ll stay, thanks,” Dick glared at Dark.
“Good. You will be entertaining,” Dark smiled.
“Since you will be staying, it is time for you to advance… or ‘level,’ as Harold put it,” Light added.
“Ah. Will we be meeting every time this happens?”
“No, this is only to establish your willingness to stay,” Dark said, standing up. A book appeared from thin air in front of Dick. “That has your choices inside of it. Choose wisely, magi.”
“My spells?” Dick asked, touching the book.
“And more,” Light added. “You get spells, but you also need to choose your path. You have some time, but not forever. Earmark the page once you have made your selections. You must pick a major path first, and then you can select a minor path. These are the most important choices a magi can make. You also get to pick one thing from three other non-magi paths.”
“Which major and minor path you pick can almost never be changed, but the few rare times they can be… the cost is high,” Dark added.
“Well, this will take a bit of thinking, then,” Dick said, opening the book and finding a cheat sheet at the front. “Oh…”
Dick settled down to look over his choices and didn’t notice when the two beings left.
Major Path (Outsider influence): Side with one of the many watchers that are not Light or Dark. Depending on which outsider you choose, your minor paths will vary. Outsider influence will diminish your energy for spells but grant permanent bonuses based on the outsider chosen. All magi following Dark or Light will shun you if they find out you have chosen this path.
Major Path (Light): Siding with Light will influence your spells and open up minor paths that reflect her. Light is the watcher of positive, life, and creation.
Major Path (Dark): The oath of Darkness influences your spells and opens up minor paths that reflect him. Dark is the watcher of death, destruction, and negative.
Major Path (Nature): Side not with the watchers, but the world itself. This path casts aside the idea that watchers are the highest energy. Your spells will shift to reflect nature. The minor paths focus on animals, plants, or minerals.
Major Path (Knowledge): Magi who ignore nature, outsiders, and the watchers, and instead focus on studying will amass great knowledge of the arcane. This major path gives the benefit of more spells per level. Minor paths grant benefits to specific circles of magic.
Major Path (Innate): Magi who chose this major path quickly outstrip all of their brethren in energy. Minor paths from here focus on manipulating raw arcane magic and twisting it in new ways.
Shielded caster: Able to hold and cast with a shield in hand. Using a shield also increases your armor stat.
Light armor initiate: Wearing the lightest of armors no longer makes it harder to gather your energy.
Weapon magi: Your ability to use a weapon in combat means you can charge your weapon with a spell, letting the spell discharge on contact. Only one weapon can hold a charge at any given time. Spell fades if the weapon leaves your hand.
“Well, fuck me,” Dick exhaled slowly. “And I need to pick a spell as well, besides the major and minor paths. I wonder what the others are taking?”
~*~*~
Tom blinked, his eyes darting around the near total darkness that surrounded him. Small motes of light shimmered in the air. “Feels like I’m out in space,” Tom chuckled, frowning when he realized he was sober. “Okay... that’s some shit. I worked hard to get fucked up.”
“You will be again shortly,” an androgynous voice said.
“Do not worry, this is merely a moment out of time. We need to talk with you,” the same voice, or possibly a different one, said.
“Huh?”
“It does seem that these strangers react better with the new way of speaking to them,” one or both of the voices said.
“Yes, it helps them adjust faster.”
“Look assholes—” Tom stopped talking the darkness became total. Pitch blackness was then drowned out by blinding light. Tom blinked several times, and found himself sitting at a table in a tavern. “Okay… maybe a dream?”
“Not a dream,” an older man said with a German accent as he came through the door.
“No, this is a meeting,” a woman with a soft Irish voice said, coming from the stairs.
“Damn, I’d rather it be a dream if you’re involved,” Tom said to the woman, ignoring the man. “Old dude can leave.”
“Even worse than his friend,” Light sighed.
“Yes, much more like me,” Dark chuckled. “Thomas Hertin, I am Dark, and she is Light. We are the watchers of this world.”
“My real name
… so you’re the gods here?”
“No. As we have told your friends, we are watchers, caretakers, and guides,” Light replied. “You and your friends should never have been able to come to this world. We are looking into how you managed to get past our barriers.”
“Before we do anything else, you must make a choice to stay here or—”
“Staying,” Tom said, cutting Dark off.
Greenways Goblins (Resurrection Quest Book 1) Page 30
