Chương 72: And Into the Fire

Lv. 20 Shaman? At age 30?? It was true what they said: never judge a book by its cover. For the young man who now shared Jordan's table was just about the furthest thing from how he imagined a master spellcaster—a true master who'd reached the pinnacle of his class." Why aren't you answering? Have I offended you?" The man called Hanza wasn't done talking, giving Jordan barely two seconds to respond before launching into another spiel.

"Can't be helped, I suppose. I had this meal prepared as a peace offering, but I know that the Westerner tastes can be somewhat—"" Wait, hold up!" Jordan had no choice but to snap out of it then.

"How do you know I'm a Westerner? That stuff doesn't show up on my [Character Sheet], does it?" Hanza blinked a couple of times, then gave a shy, apologetic smile." You'll have to forgive me once more, Gatekeeper, for putting the cart before the horse. I've been told that it's a bad habit of mine. And no, it's not your [Character Sheet] that gave you away. I merely drew and put together several inferences…

from your name, from the way you carry yourself, and—now that you've finally graced me with the music of your words—from your accent."" Damn," Jordan murmured, genuinely kind of shook.

"Am I that obvious?"" No, I wouldn't say that you're obvious. At least not to most people you'll come across on your travels, I'm sure. No, but I'm something of an oddity in that regard. Perhaps not unlike you yourself? I can't imagine that it was a straightforward reason that brought you wandering into the forgotten corners of Padma land. We're not used to receiving visitors around these parts, as you might well have gathered. Which naturally leads me to ask: to what do we owe this great and rare pleasure?"

Boy, does this guy talk a lot— and so fluently too, without a single pause or stutter anywhere. Jordan sensed Hanza to be something of a rare breed: a fast-talker whose mind had no trouble keeping up with the speed of his tongue. Jordan could only hope not to fall too far behind. The conversation had taken several detours, but it got there in the end. The part where Jordan could clear up some misunderstandings. He opened his mouth to do just that, when… Charisma DC 13: success N üwa: "A word of caution, lordlet.

You were about to run your mouth about your Affliction, weren't you? Well, I won't stop you, but know that you do so at your own risk. Leafellers are more closely attuned to the nether realm than most of their countrymen, but that also makes them doubly wary of those deemed to have come back from the dead. Be mindful of how much of yourself you're willing to share." Jordan closed his mouth wordlessly. The God of Charisma had juuust barely passed their DC, so it was a good bet to heed their latest advice.

But that also put him in an awkward position. How was he to ask for help without revealing what he needed help with? [Intelligence v s Charisma] [Intelligence] roll: 10 [Charisma] roll: 19 Final: 16 vs 22 Result: [Charisma] wins! Trust the dice to suddenly start slamming god rolls when the stakes were low! Just as well for Jordan, who likely lacked the relevant knowledge to make an 'intelligent' case for himself anyway. And so, it was time to pull out some good ol' bullshitting speechcraft."

I'll be straight with you," Jordan began smoothly, deciding that the best lie was a half-truth.

"I am a Westerner, just trying to backpack across Stormvast on a shoestring budget. My friend and I were simply lost, man. Nothing deeper than that. Point us in the direction of Leafell City, and we'll be out of your hair, no hard feelings. Unless…" At this, Hanza Padma's unassuming eyes glinted with interest. Jordan froze, wondering just what had gotten into him to complicate such a simple yet effective story. Must be that [Charisma] shouldering [Intelligence] out of the way. Nothing bullshitted, nothing gained."

Unless?" Hanza pressed.

"What were you about to ask me, Gatekeeper Yu?" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site." Unless you have a job for us? Like I said, shoestring budget, and we're already running low on funds. Maybe it's some kind of good luck that we unknowingly stumbled into the, uh,'forgotten corners of Padma land'. What do you say? Got something for a Lv. 5 Tetherer and a Lv. 30 cauldron-bearer to do?" Whenever Jordan did get going, he could surprise himself with his own glibness.

Hanza's amused smile seemed to indicate that the nobleman wasn't really buying the act, but nor did he dismiss his guest's suggestion out of hand." We have a ropeworker of our own," Hanza spoke, somewhat slowly by the blistering standards he'd set, "one older and more experienced than Tetherer Sapling. Besides which, I… wouldn't begin to know how to leverage the expertise of a Lv. 30 Gatekeeper. With that said, however…"

The fast-talking nobleman trailed off, against all odds having to think about what he said next. The glint in his eyes changed from interest to excitement as he went on," We have a saying here in Stormvast. As the winds and clouds meet, so do great minds come together to change history. Now, I myself do not presume to be one such great mind, nor would I claim that our little corner of Leafell has any part to play in the grander course of history.

But I do—perhaps not unlike yourself, Gatekeeper Yu—believe in the power and sanctity of fate. That is to say, heaven has brought our paths together against all odds, and it would be remiss of me to shun this opportunity for growth and friendship." What a long-winded way to say'everything happens for a reason'! But Jordan was happy to let his host talk, because part and parcel of being a good speaker was to also be a good listener." What say you, Gatekeeper Yu?

Will you hear my proposal on a quest I'd like you and Tetherer Sapling to undertake?"" S—sure," Jordan stammered, even as he wondered: since when is Hanza offering me a job instead of me begging for it?" Splendid. But… before we get into the finer details, perhaps it's best that you saw for yourself what you might be up against. Will you join me for a walk?" Jordan did, following Hanza out of the guest room and onto a dimly lit hallway (again made entirely of stone and all of it, presumably, underground).

Only then did he notice perhaps his host's strangest feature. Namely that the man was barefoot, apparently unbothered by the chill of the stone floor. Strength DC 13: success Zhurong:"Pah! The fact you find that surprising is confirmation of your greenness, manling. Spellcasters of the Requiem gate affinity routinely go barefoot to strengthen their links to death and ancestry. I came across plenty of his kind in my days, even amidst the carnage of a raging battlefield." Zhurong was on a roll today.

With that unexpected assist, Jordan was reminded of an entry from [the Fundamentals of Spellcraft] First Edition. 2. the Requiem Gate Domain: Shamanism, death, ancestry. The Body: Feet. The Mind: Thy past shall set thee free. Now that he thought about it, it was a little hard to square Hanza Padma's unassumingly friendly manners with how metal his gate affinity was. As Jordan followed the 30-year-old, he idly wondered just what sort of 'past' had set the Lv. 20 Shaman free.

It took a few more turns onto samey stone hallways for Jordan to entertain a new thought: hang on, is this whole building underground? And the gods had taught him to be more open about sharing his thoughts, so he asked out loud," Hang on, is this whole building underground?"" Oh, heavens no. We do have stables and boar pens that are partially built above ground and incorporated into Threestone Forest. Can you even imagine? The animals would go wild if they were locked indoors all the time!"" Uh huh.

And I guess I never asked, but… why all this secrecy? No offense, but your whole place is built like a wartime bunker. Is there a reason for it?" Hanza's barefoot patters paused as he gave Jordan a sidelong smile. Oh shit, did I stumble into no-no territory again?" It's a perfectly reasonable question, Gatekeeper," the Shaman said as he resumed his walk.

"Believe it or not, it's one I myself have wrestled with all my life. But if you were in my position… that is to say, born to a singular duty—that of preserving all that your ancestors had built and fought for over 1, 800 years and more—wouldn't you do the same?" Jordan didn't have an answer to that. The question wasn't exactly the sort that a 21st-century Earthling reckoned with on a regular basis. Just as well, because the host seemed perfectly content to let the question hang in the dank air." We're here."

Hanza stopped beside a heavy wooden door, ostensibly no different to any of the other doors they'd passed on their way here. The Shaman put a hand on it, then stopped again in a rare show of hesitation." Behind this door is something I want you to see before deciding whether to take the job. But I ought to warn you already… that it's not for the faint of heart."" Oh, I should be okay," Jordan blurted as his job interview instincts kicked in.

"I might not look it, but I've seen some shit. But… maybe just so I can be ready for it, what sort of badness are we talking about here?" Hanza smiled again, though rather sadly at that. And if Jordan had more experience outside the bubble of 21st-century Earth, he might have even recognized the smile for what it showed—the remorse of a leader who'd failed his people."

Behind this door is where we keep our deathtouched," Hanza explained, "those who'd been pulled into the nether realm, such that their souls now have no way to settle back in the mortal. In other words, these are souls left wandering between two lives."