Ilias Temple and its village (Part 2)
After running away from the bath and brushing his teeth (thank God they had toothbrushes), Peter dried himself in the room next to it, where one would take off their clothes to go to the bath or dry themselves before moving on to their business. As the towel bushed roughly against his skin in an attempt to dry the young man as fast as possible, he wanted to return his mind to that peculiar show of magical prowess. But remembering the need to get out of here as fast as possible, the mind swirled and swirled.
Excitement and apprehension competing, the towel rubbed even more roughly as he wanted to both get out of there and quickly go to some place quiet to test out his magic. Though as the dirt fell from his body, so did his confusion slowly subside. From this a clearer judgment arose, one that leaned a little bit more towards safety, but still catering to the spirit of the explorer, in all its naive recklessness.
"Next big priority, learn the basics of magic and spellcasting. Though what happened back there didn't seem to be something big and mean, I might want to have an idea what I'm doing before testing out more". Not having the patience to study deeply before diving into what seemed to be FRICKING MAGIC, Peter decided that at least finding someone to quickly cram the information into his brain was the best way to go.
That or relying on the great wisdom of children's books once again.
Having yet another objective, he took a moment to organize what he wanted to do.
With eyes narrowed, the young man considered his previous notions of this place and formulated a rough idea of what to do and what were his priorities.
"First, I need to get a better feel of this place, and not just the temple. The village will probably have more job options available than here, so that's the place I want to go. Second, I've got to find out how capable I am compared to the people and monsters here, I don't think monsters will be as weak as those soldiers. These two I need in order to gain some independence and safety. Speaking of which, the priest did give me some money." Now that was something. Having money gave a certain measure of independence, because if you had a lot of money, you had time. A rich person had time to invest in himself and find a good way of life, one that satisfied them, and potentially gave even more money (at least theoretically). But a poor person, someone that didn't have next days meal guaranteed, had to desperately spend their time on the NOW, this made so that they were, in a certain way, more dependent on things like luck or a job they hate.
In other words, depending on how much he had been given, he might get to spend a little more time in safety.
He might also have to admit that Klaus probably wasn't that bad of a person.
Still shady though.
Peter turned away from these thoughts for a second. After all, for now it was mostly speculation. More importantly, the priests schemes weren't as much of a priority as getting far away from them. And if that money was enough that he needn't worry about food and ceiling for a few days, then he should thank the heavens for not gaining an enemy or getting himself involved in something illegal instead of sulking that his judgement of character was wrong.
"Right then. Third, finding out how much money Klaus actually gave me, and save it as much as possible. Those coins might end up being what will buy my next meal one day." "And finally giving me an idea about how much I have to worry about that priest", Peter though with finality. Ending this internal conversation for now. Saving him time and peace of mind.
Now, he moved on to what he actually wanted to do. The edges of his mouth curved upwards in obedience with his emotions and intentions.
"Fourth, meeting new people! If rural towns here are the same as back home, then the people should be more friendly, and certainly less stiff then the sisters" Looking forward to having an actual friendly conversation with someone. Hopefully without much manipulation involved. Was something Peter had been longing to do. Unfortunately, he remembered, some of it was necessary on his part, since he had to hide the fact he was from another world and at the same time sell off the persona Klaus had made.
That was one of the reasons he didn't have time to read up on magic yesterday. He had to internalise certain things about Natalia and his mask in order to come off as genuine. Things like the climate, where he had lived, how it was to live there, etc. Trying his best to find an excuse for the possible questions he would get, most of his time was spent researching about that region.
As boring as it was, Peter studied enough to be sure he would be safe as long as he was mindful about where his conversations were heading.
But it was still more lying than he was comfortable with.
"Sigh"
"I've been sighing a lot since coming here", he noticed.
"Anyway, onto something more comfortable. I think this is point number… 5?", reviewing his previous statements with his hand on his chin, Peter tried to get back on track.
"Right! Fifth, I really need to find someone to teach me the basics of magic!"
Now that picked him up.
"And finally, sixth: I need to take a walk on those mountains!"
Finally rejuvenated, Peter put on his clothes and walked away with a full smile on his face. Tough he thought of it as enjoying the small things in life, a brief, stray line wandered across his mind as his metaphorical tail wagged with happiness.
"… -o, ea-y. Ho- childish."
"Am I easy to please? No, that can't be right. I can' be that childish"
"Food, attention, toys and walks are enough to satisfy you. Much like a dog indeed!"
"A… A dog?!" as the young man's embarrassment grew. Blushing, he rationalized, trying to negate what was obviously true. Having been hit on one of his sensitive spots, he slapped his cheeks and walked off the room, ignoring the voice in his mind.
"It seems he still can't hear me properly. Even when I try to talk to him, his soul interprets it as his own internal voice."
...
"… No matter, it is not essential for now. He will grow stronger, then he will recognize me for who I really am"
…
As Peter walked out, not paying attention to his surroundings, be passed a crowd of men and woman heading towards the bath.
A few of them, the more experienced ones, paused for a moment to look at him.
"...Did you see the way that guy walked? It was like gliding against the ground.", the warriors observed his posture.
"...Did you sense his Qi? It was like one of those kitsunes from Yamatai.", the martial artists observed his Qi.
"...Did you sense his Aura? It was potent and dense, like that of a youma.", the mages observed his mana.
"..."
"Who the hell is that guy?"
And so, unknown to Peter, some rumours started being spread about him.
"What kind of monster did his father fuck, the goddamn monster lord?"
It wouldn't be long before those kind of stories spread around the temple.
Or even further beyond.
But that was not for now.
…
Surviving the goop that was breakfast, Peter walked his way into the main temple chamber with the intention of finally going into the village.
But seriously, didn't they have something better than some wheat porridge? Didn't they already cut enough costs with security? At least some vegetables would have been very much welcomed.
The soup they gave him while in bed was pretty good… and it had a lot of vegetables...
And he didn't even have the opportunity to eat and talk with the adventurers since he woke up so early, so there was nobody at the table yet...
Wait, was he given that stuff because they didn't have anything ready yet?
The nuns did look kind of sheepish…
Damn it.
"I'm sick of this Darkest Dungeon stress business. Can't things run smoothly for once?". Having not seen the end of it, our protagonist asked the heavens.
The heavens said no.
Not literally, of course. But Peter could feel it, the Kosmos had certainly given him the middle finger right now.
Looking at the heavily decorated room on the temple first floor, Peter wondered what kind of importance this place has to have to the church for it to be this luxurious. Or even this big and fortified.
"But this place must be hella expensive to maintain, especially with the level of technology this world seems to have".
He remembered that this world had its fair share of differences compared to his own. Maybe it was one of those things that let this place exist.
"Then again, there is magic and makina. Maybe they found some bizarre things in one of the Tartarusi that makes this easier to do…"
"...or to maintain. The Tartarusi only appeared 20 years ago. This temple is much older than that. And before the magical renaissance, magic was very strictly prohibited by the church… Then why was this place built if it was so costly?"
… Wait, makina.
Realizing an important detail he had ignored up until now, Peter's eyes widened.
What kind of things were makina? The only things he read about it was that they were advanced pieces of technology that could be found inside the Tartarusi.
Advanced pieces of technology…
Could it be…
"You're finally thinking"
Another interesting mystery, and one that might have something to do with how he got here.
A possible escape.
That was what he thought.
As Peter's face contorted with determination, he found another objective.
"… and seventh, uncover the mystery of Tartarus"
For a moment, his aura shook.
And I smiled.
…
After sitting down and counting the coins in his pouch. Peter knew he had exactly 1,000 dracmas.
How much that was worth was anyone's guess. But he figured it shouldn't be too hard to have an idea. After all, he just needed to go to a few shops and compare the prices there. And hopefully it should all work out.
That is, if they didn't try to abuse his inexistent pricing notion and swindle him.
But anyway, after checking that he looked normal and unassuming, at least what he thought that was. Peter confidently walked forward and out of the temple. Looking towards the horizon all the while.
Since the temple was on a higher elevation than the village, he could get a good look at it and the surrounding lands.
It was pretty small by modern standards, even taking into account the rural towns. A few dozen wooden houses of what looked like German design close to each other, with a few patches of farmland in between the wide spaces that separated each building. Figuring they're too small for proper farmland, the young man thought they were more like personal little farm gardens. The roads were made of dirt and great amounts of weed and grass could be seen. The actual farmlands surrounded the village. Those were indeed big, and they stretched for a few miles, with little houses scattered every now and then.
"Hmmm", he put his hand to his chin. Sensing a feeling of deja vu.
"… Oh right, in the bath!", he remembered.
Looking at it, he noticed something. He hadn't realized it in the bath since it was a picture, idealized and therefore hid the fact he saw right now in front of his eyes.
"… This place looks too poor to have a temple like this. In fact, since it is such a big hub for adventurers in the Ilias continent, not to speak of its apparent religious and political significance, this should have been quite a rich town.". Not to say it looked miserable or anything. On the contrary, by what he had read about it, it seemed the people here were safe and didn't have any actual poverty, in the sense of homelessness, starvation and what not. In fact, he shouldn't have said they looked "poor" but rather "simple". They looked like very simple folk.
"Does the temple heavily tax them? What is going on?", Peter felt that asking around would make it too obvious. This also smelled of something he could get in trouble over, and he wasn't interested in getting involved in other worldly politics as of late, much less when that could get him evicted, or worse.
Although, if the people here lead simple lives this means they probably be more homely, which is a good thing for him.
He just hoped they're not xenophobic or anything.
But...
"Another mystery to add to the pool, woo wee", he said in a deadpan, while putting his arms in the air in mock celebration.
Back to the village, he didn't see many people walking around, and the few stands they had were still empty. "I must be too early." though Peter. "But maybe that's for the best, it means I can take a walk around and look at the place before introducing myself".
Speaking of which, to whom should he introduce himself to? Of course he'll greet someone he bumps into. But what he wants is someone who will introduce him to others, someone respected who will give him a good name if he is mentioned by them. Generally speaking, elderly people fulfil that role more often than not within their own family. And since these kind of villages are pretty much a big family, selling himself as a gentle young man to a few elders will most likely work. They should also know a lot about this village, so they also double as a source of information.
"Right, that's my game plan"
While scheming he walked, calmly and without a single sign of nervousness on his face. Trough his self-interested mask though, what our young protagonist really hoped to get out of this visit was:
"God, I hope I can finally have a normal conversation"
…
Appreciating the clean air of the county, he walked with a spring in his step. The natural environment already having its effect on his mind. He did quite like nature, it often had the best places to walk and had a therapeutic effect on him. And although this wasn't a forest or a mountain, it was close enough.
It had some trees and grass, for what that's worth.
Maybe this place would be good enough to do one of his famous "Walks of Mystery"?
What the hell was a "Walk of Mystery" you may ask? Well it's a habit Peter had every since he was a kid, one that was actually very useful. The process went something like this:
There was something, a question or situation that was deeply troubling him. He might not even know what it was concretely, but it made him uncomfortable. Peter would then decide a place that was inspiring and beautiful for the walk, which had to be long, and before starting he would tell himself "By the end of this, I'll have an answer to my problems", he would then start walking. With this in mind, he would be mindful of the ambient and his situation at the same time. Suddenly, while he was relaxed, he'd start getting inspired by the grass, the wind, the sound of birds, the smell of morning dew, etc. By the end of the walk, he'd hopefully have an idea what to do about his problems. It was a form of meditation, one guided and helped by nature.
And why the name "Walk of Mystery"? Because child Peter though it would make it sound cooler than it actually was! Walking wasn't exactly a hobby other children respected, and you know what children do when that happens.
Tons and tons of teasing.
And he wasn't the most outgoing one back then either.
"Hehe, I sure was silly.", Peter laughed sheepishly while remembering his childhood idiosyncrasies. He remembered looking so much like a girl back then, people would take a look at his face and say "What a pretty little girl you are!", then he'd puff up his cheeks and half scream half whisper "I'm… I'ma boy!". Not that he made much effort to look manly. He'd always preferred the long hair anyway, and walking around with a with a Winnie the Pooh plush certainly didn't help.
The plush he still had to this day, in fact.
Peter stopped, for a moment blushing and cringing internally. THAT was something he didn't want to remember.
"Once again, how childish"
"I… I'm… I'm not childish, it's a memento from grandma! I couldn't just throw him away!", he'd rationalize to anyone who knew the fact.
It never did him any favours.
Laughing softly at himself, Peter walked onwards. Consoled by his own comedy and the visage of the village, he regained some of his cheerfulness and continued reminiscing his childhood.
"..."
"I want to be a hero!", said the small child, in a rare moment of courage.
"..."
Sigh
Well...
The day had just begun, plenty of time to make up for the last few days. The sun shone wonderfully, the wind was crisp and the ground made pleasant sounds as he walked. What could possibly go wrong?
Descending the dirt stairs towards the more populated commerce area of the village, he passed a big house to the right and a cemetery to the left. No need to go there and be emo, and he'd certainly not barge into a random somebody's house without permission. He was not some rpg hero.
Though this world was certainly rpg like. Just much more hornier and disgusting.
Like that slug from last time.
"Actually, she didn't really try to rape me, did she? She just offered herself and I bonked her over the head", finding a reason to feel kind of guilty, Peter rationalized it. Thinking that she shouldn't have done that if he was so obviously in distress.
Or more darkly, that she would have tried it had he refused.
"Hmmm?", in front, Peter saw what looked like an elderly woman carrying boxes of vegetables.
Figuring that was his cue, he slowly approached the old lady before stopping at a safe distance. "Let's see, what should I say?".
"Excuse me Mrs., but would you like some help?" he said while calming himself down to make his tone sound more friendly.
"Hmm?" the elderly woman stopped walking and looked at Peter. Analysing his face for a few seconds before realization dawned on her expression.
"Oh! You're that young man Lazarus rescued, are ya fine already? I'd wager you'd want to spend a few more days in bed.", she smiled, still not letting go of the boxes. Although it looked kind of heavy, she seemed to have no problem carrying them.
Without pause, she continued.
"And it's fine my boy, as you can see, age has not caught up to me yet"
"She reminds me of the grandma from the wine shop", thought Peter sheepishly.
But in that case, he knew exactly what to do.
It's showtime.
"But I insist, think of it as helping me break the monotony of the temple. I've been wanting to find something to do anyway.". Peter opened his palms and pointed them to the highest crate of the stack she's been carrying.
"I've also been wanting someone to talk to. The nuns aren't exactly available, and I've yet to get a chance to talk to the adventurers.", he pointed his palm in the direction of the temple. Also gesticulating with his other hand.
"So I thought, "Why not explore the nearby village?". You seemed friendly enough, and I also have to thank Lazarus for saving me.", ending his monologue and satisfied with his showmanship, Peter waited for the lady's reaction. This kind of silliness was often appreciated by the kind elderly people of which this grandma seemed to be a part of. It also gave him an air of innocence, a bonus when you're a stranger.
It also made him popular with children, but that was not the point.
"Pfff, hahahaha", the old woman laughed softly.
Bingo. Another point to Peter the crazy clown.
Waiting for her laughter to subside, a grin was drawn on his face.
"Hahaha, if you're that eager then fine! You seem more than strong enough for the job".
"Thanks!" smiling genuinely, the young man went ahead and grabbed two crates, being mindful to not grab too many and spoiling the opportunity.
Put those here, put those there. The two of them worked for a few minutes, arranging the old woman's stand. Already feeling the healing coming, Peter was glad he could finally help someone and not have to worry about appearances for a while. So he worked gladly and eagerly in helping the old lady, down to organizing the stand itself and where to put the vegetables for display.
Silently but surely, both made quick progress. Immersed that they were in their work.
But, unknown to him, his own plan was already in motion. As the villagers came out of their houses, they saw the young man that was rescued practically yesterday helping old Erika with her stand.
Even more unknown to him was that the brief meeting that was about to happen was but the beginning of a long and great adventure. Something that would change this multiverse forever.
A young innkeeper and her son walked towards the stand.
…
"Hrm, is this good, Erika?", Peter asked the old woman as he finished organizing the carrots.
"Let's see… it's good! Done something like this before, boy?", old Erika asked while looking at the carrots from the other side of the stand.
"Got that good a vision for your age I see! Must be the carrots!", Peter jokingly said.
"Hehehe. Anyway, yes! I've done this before, my parents owned a farm you know, I had to learn at least this much." Half-true, he really had done something like this before when he lived in the country town.
"Excuse me". The young man heard a feminine voice from behind him.
"Hmmm?", turning to face said voice, Peter saw himself facing one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
She wore a dress of higher quality than what he expected, it was rather neat and decorated in colours of blue and white. Her face and figure were modest but elegant, and her skin showed no blemishes. Her hair, which was down to her shoulder in a fashion similar to his, was of a peculiar colour, seemingly a mixture of blond, light brown and silver. More than that, her sapphire eyes were something you could lose yourself in.
Hmm? There was a boy beside her.
Looking down, Peter saw a colour even more peculiar: purple. Purple hair adorned a small boy's head. Said boy looked at him with curiosity, fidgety and obviously wanted to say something.
"Umm… Ummm… Why do you look like a buff lady, mister?" The young boy said, wanting to start a conversation.
"Pffff, hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!", Peter guffawed.
"Luka!", the beautiful woman, a little exasperated, put her hand behind the boy's neck and did something to it. "Ouch!", the young boy squeaked, having failed to think of a way to start the conversation, he had said the first thing that came to mind, unfortunately, his mother though it was rather rude and punished him by pinching his skin.
Sulking, the boy looked down.
"How cute!" internally commented the young man.
Gathering his bearings, Peter wiped the tears off his eyes and gave the boy a lifeline.
"It's fine miss, I get that a lot. I hasn't bothered me for a long time." grinning widely, Peter commented.
"No, no. He shouldn't have done it all the same, I'm sorry for his rudeness…". She reasoned.
"C'mon Luka, apologize.". Switching to a loving and motherly voice, the woman softly urged the young boy to apologize.
"I'm sorry, mister". Luka said, with embarrassment clear in his voice.
After that, the young boy went back to fidgeting, switching his eyes from his mother to Peter intermittently.
Interesting, is she his mother? it looks like it. Although she looks quite young, about twenty something, it could simply be that she just looks younger than she is. And the way she talks to the boy is definitely motherly.
She neither refused nor accepted the boys lifeline. Not too strict but not too soft either. And seemingly cared about whether the boy learned his lesson.
Yup, definitely a mother alright. Or at least a good caretaker.
Not wanting to undermine her authority, but at the same time wanting to let the cute kid speak, he directed the following lines:
"It's fine, boy… Luka, was it? What's up, that's not all you wanted to say was it? No need to be afraid.", he cheerfully said, in a tone combined of softness and excitement, he wanted it to encourage the boy.
Having been caught, Luka panicked for a second, he looked at his mother he saw an angelic smile. Taking that as a sign of approval, he gathered his courage and said what he really wanted to say.
With excited, almost shining eyes, the young boy asked Peter: "You're an adventurer right? Do you know anything about swordsmanship? Could you teach some of it to me?" Not waiting for Peter to answer, Luka triple tapped his questions, in hopes that by saying it quickly, the chances of the young man accepting were raised. A sort of childish logic of proportion.
"Oh, he's that kind of kid huh? Well, boys will be boys…" Peter sheepishly though as he rubbed the back of his head.
…
..
.
Hello! John here.
I had planned for a much bigger chapter to be released this Friday, but I had migraine problems and had to postpone writing. This is what I could do with the time I had. Hopefully it doesn't happen again so that things are released when they should be.
Anyway, as you might have noticed, I'm the kind of guy that likes to set up the pieces first, then do the big stuff. That doesn't mean there won't be combat or interesting meetings before canon starts though. Or that important pieces won't be revealed during the conflict stages. It's mostly a matter of proportion, you can expect me to resolve conflicts mostly with stuff I had set up beforehand, so the setting up part is very important. The disadvantage is that my story might end up being a slow burner, and I'm afraid kind of boring to some people. But I'm getting a pretty good response so far, so I hope I'm not boring you guys (and gals, one can hope).
Following Goqqi's suggestion, I'll say that I have a good familiarity with the game, up to a certain point. I thoroughly finished Part 1 and am playing and reading about Part 2, I also played the original trilogy. I can also say that the world that our protagonist was thrown into is VERY similar to that of the games, I cannot say that they will be the same since:
1- Part 3 is yet to come out, and I might do something that contradicts future revelations from it;
2- I'll explore and add lore where there was none;
3- I might change or expand things that were glossed over;
4- There will naturally be changes in the story due to the involvement of Peter and other external factors;
Other reasons might exist, but I'll say that the major players and points are the same. At some point I might have to stop for a little bit and reorganize the information we have about the lore so that I don't end up fucking up the canon somewhere.
Anyway, I think that's all. Your opinion is always welcome!