Godless and Faithless Chapter 6

If Rayner had known he would have to carry Axel so far, he would have begged the goblin Vix to stay with him to help. Needing a break, Rayner set Axel down next to a blighted tree. Despite leaving the zone of the miasma, the damage to the environment in proximity to it continued.

He’d seen twisted trees, sickly grass, and muddy ground ever since leaving the miasma.

Checking Axel’s pulse and breath, Rayner saw no improvement in his condition. As he rested among the cursed land, he took out his list. In only a short time it had gotten long and increasingly ambitious. But now he wanted to focus on the basics. The game-like system has several key differences from what he was familiar with back home. A review of what he had learned was in order.

Attributes like speed, strength, health, wisdom, and charisma existed, but in a different form.

These stats continued to represent the same function. Speed represented movement, accuracy, and generally all motor skills. Health represented how long until death, exhaustion, or physical condition.

Wisdom or intelligence tended to mean how smart or wise a person was; this stat helped magic users in almost all games, it was also the attribute Axel specialized in. Strength represented physical power.

Then there was charisma that he used to intimidate his enemies and rally his allies. In other games it helped trick or seduce people, this world had a more practical use for it.

All these stats were rolled into one super statistic: mana.

When he looked at the tattoo on his palm that everyone in this world had, he could see none of the traditional stats, only mana. A greatly simplified system, if only he understood all of it and its complexities. Finding a teacher they could trust would also be on his to-do list.

As far as Rayner could tell, Worshipers, this world’s adventurers, had greater ability in one stat and that would mean more mana would be spent powering up that specific stat, compared to others. Thus far he and Axel did this without much knowledge of how they accomplished it, not to mention the use of skills.

He took out another page to make notes on the use of skills. Then Axel stirred behind him. Axel shook as if in a winter storm without clothes and his sweat soaked his shirt. Rayner hoped his condition would stay the same if not improve.

He put his list away and returned Axel’s body back over his shoulders, wishing his friend was not so heavy but sucked it up. Axel needed help, and soon. Besides, Rayner could use a little exercise.

The first village Rayner stopped at greeted him with armed civilians, a man and a woman, but after seeing his and his friend’s injuries they let them in. The village had sturdy walls surrounding it, with a trench for added defense.

The local healer did not know what was wrong with Axel, so couldn’t heal him. When the healer tried to pray for him, she said it was not working. It was if the gods could not see Axel, she told him.

That was probably because they couldn’t. Not with their Titles, Godless and Faithless, preventing them from worshiping or getting blessed and cursed by gods. The Titles sounded cool but more often than not, they prevented them from fully integrating into this world’s society and culture.

He’d carried Axel and their supplies for most of the day until he reached the village. He needed rest. Rayner decided he would stay and ask the villagers if they were headed in the right direction and for any other useful information.

Other than the wall, the village was like any other: people went about their daily chores and kids chased each other, bothering those at work. He stopped at seeing the armed woman who let him in the village.

“Hello, thanks for letting me and my friend in. I forgot to say thanks before, so, well, thanks,” Rayner said, offering his hand.

She shook his extended hand. “We help each other out around here when we are able. It is better than the alternative.”

“Alternative?”

“We were hasty. We should have stayed behind the walls but left our protection to confront you. As soon as I saw you, I knew you could have defeated us.”

It was true, he could easily fight them, but he had no intention of doing so. “I want you to know I have no desire to hurt anyone here.”

“That is clear now.”

“Will other villages react the same way?”

She took a moment to think. “There is a saying ‘it is better to feed the beast than become the food’.”

It hurt to know people would think of him as a beast, mainly because he was thinking of himself as a beast as well. He didn’t want to be a Barbarian. Rayner had always imagined himself as a paladin or a white knight, maybe even a hero.

Seeing his distress, she said, “Do not trouble yourself over this. It is an abundance of caution we take out of habit.”

“I understand. Could you also tell me about the monsters your walls protect the village from?”

“Sure, but you should have seen them on your way to the village. Isn’t that how you got your injuries?”

“We took a shortcut through the miasma.”

“A shortcut, are you two fools?” she said in shock.

They were, but he did not want to admit it. “Our quest is important. We are trying to reunite a family so they can hopefully begin a new life.”

Confusion replaced shock on her face. “I have never heard of a combat Worshiper undertaking such a quest, certainly not deeming it important. Is this man whose quest you have taken a lord? If so, you have been fooled, we don’t have lords here, it is too dangerous.”

“He is a poor refugee, not a lord, and his plight is important to me if not to anyone else,” he said. “How can this region have no lords, is it autonomous?”

“Most of Alta governs by way of elected councils. If this were a powerful country, it would be the strong worshipers that rule.”

He and Axel had not thought of the government of Alta at all. They understood Alta lacked strong Worshipers but never questioned why a militia had not at least been mobilized. With so few lords how was this country being governed? Was it a democracy? He put it in his notes.

The woman peeked at his furious writing, amused. “Are you a Cataloger as well, do you research monsters?”

“No, I just like to keep of track of what I don’t know about. I would still like to know about the monsters in the Alea region.”

“I can’t speak for the entire region, having not fought too far outside my village. I can tell you that the monsters we fight are ones that anyone would recognize, goblins, kobolds, gremlins, various wolves. Troublesome but manageable, with the walls and some defense forces.”

She shifted from foot to foot and had trouble looking at him. He supposed she was understating the problem or trying to look tough. “Thanks, that’s good to know. Never fought a gremlin before. Could you give some tips?”

He was trying to put her at ease, show her he was not a big bad monster slayer and was genuinely interested in learning a way to get an edge in combat.

Without hesitation, she went in depth into the telling of her own humble adventures.

***

Rayner kept himself busy and useful, determined to let the villagers know he was no threat. He shoveled animal waste, chopped firewood, and plucked weeds with the children.

The children had many questions for him. He learned more from them than they did from him. Their questions were mature. It must have been the environment they grew up in.

“Have you bedded any princesses?” a child yelled.

“I can’t say I have.”

“Taken any maidens?”

“If you mean forcibly, no I have and would not. I have rescued some women. Some were maidens.”

“Are you a hero?”

That gave him some pause. “I would like to be.”

“How many monsters have you killed?”

“Not enough!” He boasted, causing the kids to giggle.

He felt something wet and hard hit his back. It was a ball of mud, a kid had thrown it at him, and looked ready to fire off more. Rayner wasn’t upset and was getting ready to play along until he saw the boy’s tears.

“You are not a hero, I bet you have not killed a single monster.” The boy threw another mud ball at him. “I bet you have taken many maidens you big nothing!” The kid hurled insults at him along with his mud balls.

He avoided the mud balls easily, but that was not the problem. The child was more sad than angry. A man picked up the child and apologized to Rayner on the kid’s behalf. The kid never stopped yelling at him and squirmed in the man’s arms.

“No problem sir, he is just a kid. I don’t know what I did to set him off. I heard that some may think I am a danger to this village, but I assure you I am not.”

The man hesitated. “Come with me inside, we can talk about it in my home.”

The kids having already finished pulling weeds went home, along with the angry child who gave him a parting glare to let him know this was not over before scampering off.