“It is ignored by the pantheons, or at least tolerated, as it is not a monotheistic belief. It still upholds the existence of the gods although it differs on the answer to the origins of these deities.”
“I am starting to have a headache taking in all you said,” commented Tyler, rubbing the temples of his forehead, “so what you mean is that Adar has as many pantheons as civilizations? In addition to lesser mythological beings, creatures, and whatnot? It’s so… messy.”
“A clusterfuck, using your term,” grinned the Gothi, “and they fight constantly, for worshipers and territory. Of course, through proxies, their believers. Everyone wants to be top dog, as you would say. It is a good thing that they have this rule about not being able to directly interfere in a major way in worldly affairs except through champions and such. As in Sodom and Gomorrah totally laying waste with fire and brimstone interference. That’s prohibited and severely punished. Otherwise, we would have found this world at the level of the Stone Age. Of course, there are exceptions and loopholes.”
“That’s good to know… I think. Anyway, is it time for breakfast? I’m starved. Forgot dinner. Feel asleep.”
“Oh, I forgot. Norse families only ate two meals a day. The day-meal at mid-morning and the night-meal. Some do have a three-meal diet but not in this household. Here, I brought you my version of a beef sandwich.”
Tyler took the sandwich, slices of beef with a bit of lettuce and a few tomato slices between two big slices of flatbread.
“Thanks. I really need this,” mumbled Tyler while biting into the food.
The Gothi waited for him to finish eating while examining the cell phone and tablet. He obviously was captivated by the unfamiliar inventions.
“Can I have these inventions? That is of course if you don’t have any use for them,” the Gothi requested while Tyler was changing back to Nordic attire.
“Sure, no problem. As you said, they’re pretty useless to me now.”
The Gothi’s grin was almost as wide as his face.
“I’ll make it up to you, Havard, I promise. Thank you very much. These inventions really intrigue me and my benefactor will surely be interested in them.”
Tyler looked at the Gothi.
“You mean the All-Father?”
The Gothi just laughed.
“The All-Father is quite proactive in his desire for knowledge, as you well know. At least these gadgets won’t cost him his other eye.”
When the two got to the dining area, the food was already there. A kind of unleavened bread, porridge, a jug of milk, and meat which appeared to be warmed left-overs from yesterday. The hunter and the kids were nowhere to be found. Only Helga was present, again doing kitchen chores. Tyler greeted Helga who apologized for Eric’s absence, saying he had left early to hunt. After a while, Helga excused herself, saying she had to go out to see to their animals.
“Do you feel well enough to travel, Havard?” asked the Gothi, “I asked for an early day-meal as I was thinking of bringing you instead to Maljen for your full recovery. At the same time, you get to see a major town in Skaney.”
“I think so,” replied Tyler. He did feel a lot better despite his restless night. He could sense that the arrow wound had already closed though the front and back of his left shoulder still felt tender.
“Though riding a horse may be a bit rough for me,” he added.
“Don’t worry, I brought a carriage for you. We can leave after the meal. I really didn’t want to impose on Eric and Helga anymore.”
“I may be the one imposing on you in turn, Ivar.”
“Hah! That I doubt, my friend. Your knowledge and the gadgets you gave me are more than enough. I could host you for the rest of your life and still will not have repaid you.”
“Too much, Ivar. You’re messing with me. I do want to be able to go out and see what I can safely see in this world. Operative word being “safely.”
“You fail to see the significance of your arrival, Havard. It is a rare occurrence for one from Earth to make the journey to Adar and survive to see civilization. Though we may lack the magical affinity native to those born in this world, our Earth background and way of thinking is sought after by the gods. At the very least, we are novel additions to this world.”
“So, we are novelties then?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. Independent of that, we bring a different mindset to their concerns, an innovative way of resolving matters. Not to mention unreserved loyalty to whoever we chose as our patron deity. Think about it, we find ourselves alone in this world. No family, no familiar psychological bonds and dependencies, nothing at all, except our clothes and whatever is in our body when we arrive.”
Ivar’s words disturbed Tyler though he kept his game face on. A way of thinking? That would be a chancy quality at best. He agreed that his knowledge may be an asset to this world or to deities interested in it but such a resource is finite. Loyalty? To adopt Ivar’s thinking would be to accept being a thrall, a slave, as Miss Psychotic described. He had no doubt that such loyalty would be magically enforced. Tyler was certain he was not willing to go that far, even to save his own neck. A novelty? A toy for immature and capricious beings, powerful as they may be? No way, Jose.
“I’ll think about it,” commented Tyler, “you have to understand all this is too much, too soon for me. There’s a lot of information to absorb and more to learn before I can make any decision.”
“I understand. It may even take you a few months to decide one way or another. But being on Adar forces one to mature a lot faster and in a different manner than one expects. I don’t expect you to make a decision until you’ve seen and known what Adar is and what it has to offer. For now, you can stay with me until you’ve come to a decision. Never think that it imposes a burden on my part. We do come from the same world. I know what you have gone through.”
“Thanks, Ivar. I mean that. It would have been a lot more difficult without you around.”
The Gothi just replied with a dismissive gesture, indicating that no thanks was needed.
Tyler went back to his room to get his things. His clothes he crammed into the backpack. By way of habit, he checked the back pocket of the jeans for his wallet before he remembered losing it back at the lake. All he remembered was when he came to, the familiar bulge in his back pocket was gone. He didn’t mind it then and didn’t mind it now. He had accepted that the wallet and its contents counted for nothing in this world. It’s not as if his credit cards could be used at the nearest blacksmith or inn. His watch remained in the pack as it would attract attention.
The Gothi’s preparations for the journey to Maljen were a surprise. A horse-drawn covered wagon waited for him. It was not what he expected. It looked like a four-wheeled ordinary wagon converted to be half a carriage and half a cargo platform. Sort of a pickup truck, only with two horses. Built-in steps on the side assisted entrance to the carriage part which looked to be enough for three persons at the most. The covered carriage part was made of wood. The cart driver had his own place in front of the passengers.
Ominously, Tyler also saw five armed and armored mounted guards waiting for them. Two others were on the cargo platform of the carriage. Seeing the Gothi in the carriage, he joined him. The bench-like seat and its back rest were covered in fur. Leather handholds hung from the top of the compartment.
“Expecting trouble?” asked Tyler, looking at the armed guards.
“No. Bandits have been reported between Maljen and the next town but I don’t expect them to be around. We’re just short of two rast from Maljen. I don’t think they would be so bold. But better safe than sorry. By the way, a rast is around five and a half earth miles. Have to keep thinking of measurements in Skaney terms, makes life a lot easier. I suggest you also do the same. You won’t need to do the conversion in your mind every time.”
“Okay. Good. I would hate to be bandit prey,” said Tyler, his memory going back to the aftermath of the bandit raid he saw soon after his arriv
al. But despite Ivar’s explanation, he thought it strange that their carriage would be escorted by several heavily armed men. The Gothi did go back to Maljen by himself yesterday afternoon.
“Don’t worry. If bandits do show up, my magical abilities would be more than enough, even without the guards,” the Gothi reassured him.
“We do have to pace ourselves. I guess your wounds won’t take well to being jostled around. But we’ll be there in about two hours. Meantime, rest and take in the scenery. If you have questions, I will be happy to answer them. Your question hour I plan to do tomorrow when you’ve recovered a bit more.”
The journey was uneventful for the first few miles, turning from the trail leading into the hunter’s house into what looked to be the main road. The forest now surrounded them. The way appeared to be well-traveled and the road to be reasonably maintained as no deep potholes made itself felt.
The mounted guards have moved to some form of formation. Three on one side of the carriage and two on the other, each maintaining some distance from the other. One was ahead of the carriage, acting as the point man for the entire group. The two in the back of the carriage brought out bows with ready but undrawn arrows, full quivers on their backs.
“This carriage doesn’t appear to be period authentic,” Tyler commented.
He had been itching to inquire about it as the conveyance appeared strange to him. He honestly couldn’t remember seeing anything like it in period movies or even in the RPG games he had played which had a Nordic element.
“Oh, my invention,” laughed the Gothi, “I got tired of riding the usual wagons. Climbing from the back was also not convenient. I also saw the impracticality of separately dedicated carriages and cargo movers in many instances in my business.”
“You have a business? I thought being a priest was a full-time job.”
“We’re allowed to be rich. Actually, we are expected to be a bit wealthy so I started a small trading business. It had been a few months but the return has been excellent."
"My status as a Gothi also helped,” added the man with a wink, “Having a trading enterprise also gives me access to information which otherwise wouldn’t be available. For now, it’s just Skaney though I recently contributed to a trading venture with a ship which was going to New Athinai, the nearest Greek city. A dangerous voyage, what with pirates, temperamental water deities and spirits, and other dangers. But the captain is an experienced fellow, having done two trips before and the return of investment is spectacular. As long as he hugs the coast and with a little bit of favor from the gods, it may prove to be a lucrative venture.”
“How about inventions? This contraption of yours looks to be a good idea, you could sell carriages which look like this.”
“Economy of scale and people would just copy it," replied the Gothi, "even change its specifications for their own purposes. Though a bit of warning. Inventions are well and good here. But complex inventions which are science-based and do not rely on the magical rules of this world are verboten. The gods believe that it poses a threat to their belief system. Science, in general, does espouse principles which deny the idea of godly or divine existence.”
“Complex inventions like?”
“Electricity for example. Running light bulbs on magical energy is fine, they do have them here. They’re called mage-lights. They’re expensive but they exist. Run them on fossil-based fuels and you get a visit from a very angry champion or spirit.”
“I am starting to have some ideas already. Using magical energy of course.”
“Oh? Let’s hear some of them! I am open to a business partnership if we can make them here!” exclaimed the enthusiastic Gothi.
As Tyler was about to expound on his ideas, a deadly complication reared its ugly head.
Tyler’s first inkling of trouble was when an arrow suddenly sprouted in their driver’s neck, spurting some blood on Tyler’s face. Immediately thereafter, the loud boom and reddish yellow flash of an exploding fire ball enveloped their point man. The mounted guard nearest to the front left of the carriage also dropped from his horse. Tyler could see at least three arrows sticking out of the body.
“BANDITS!” shouted a guard in the back.
Tyler’s mind went into overdrive. Shock, fear, and adrenaline all acted as a boost to his senses as well as his reflexes. Quickly, he crawled to the driver’s position. The dead man was still seated. Though he had leaned to the left of the front of the passenger side, a decorative wooden panel preventing him from falling off. His bloody remains continuing to bath him and the seat in gore. The reins were still gripped in his hands.
Tyler grabbed the reins and pushed the dead man off the carriage. The carriage was still plodding along but he could see that their group was still in the ambush kill zone. He cracked the reins, forcing the horses to speed up. He whipped it some more, trying to get more speed.
He could see the remaining mounted guard on the right milling about, trying to find their attackers. A quick glance at the forest in front of him didn’t show any enemies. He then knew the enemy kept to the forest on both sides, refusing to expose themselves. He didn’t know if any of the guards at the back of the carriage survived.
Keeping his head down, he could see the increased speed of the horses pulling them away from the ambush site. He couldn’t see what Ivar was doing but he hoped it was something effective. He knew they couldn’t fight foes they couldn’t see.
They rushed along the road. Glancing back quickly, Tyler could see that Ivar, the two guards in the carriage, the remaining mounted guard on the right, and one of the mounted guards at the rear were still alive.
“Ivar! Where do we go?” Tyler shouted while looking at the front.
“Just follow the road!” replied the Gothi, “We are safer in the carriage! Will cast a spell to protect us!”
Tyler followed the Gothi’s instructions. Hopefully, they had outrun the ambush. But as he made a turn following a bend in the road, he saw another welcome party waiting for them, with a fallen tree blocking the way. Beyond them, he could see the edge of the forest.
“Ivar! More in front!”
The carriage was closing fast on the roadblock.
“Don’t stop! Continue forward! I’ll take care of it!”
Tyler could now see bowmen waiting behind the impromptu road block. He saw them release their arrows at the carriage. At the same time, he heard the Gothi murmuring some incantation and felt a wave of force going forward towards the road block. The arrows closed but bounced off some sort of barrier protecting the speeding carriage. The wave of force finally reached the fallen tree and violently blew through, cutting it in half. The waiting men in the middle of the road block were blown away. Together with branches and wood splinters from the middle part of the tree, leaving most of the road open.
They rushed through, carriage and guards alike. Tyler drove like hell was upon him. Again, he took a quick look at the now destroyed road block. He could see the remaining men in the road block fighting with people. Tyler believed that the newcomers must be those pursuing them from the first ambush. Still, the group continued, dropping back to a more manageable speed upon sighting the walls of a town.
“Is that Maljen? Tyler asked the Gothi.
“Yes! We’re nearly there. The guards will watch for any pursuit.”
As the road turned and curved through the bottom of a small hill, obscuring their view of the town walls, Tyler saw that a wave of solid ice was being blown across the path of the rushing carriage. He pulled on the reins to slow down the horses, cognizant of the danger of the horses slipping on the ice. Then, from the tall weeds of the right side of the road, he saw a winged creature rise, the size of a large horse and which looked like a small dragon. The tall vegetation must have hidden it while it was lying in ambush. A small humanoid creature, holding a small spear, was riding on its neck. Both creature and rider were covered in frost while two other similar creatures, also with riders, rose from further back.
&nb
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The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION) Page 7
