Fork This Life!

Chapter 22: Ferdinand, Paladins, Gods, and a Largely Ignored Fork

(POV Ferdinand)

Seeing a village in the distance, I adjust my course towards it. Not too long after, Gerald’s voice pops into my head again. ‘Might want to speed up a bit,’ he says, ‘there’s skeletons in this village as well.’

Again? It was only slightly over a week since the last time, and it couldn’t be that I just so happen to find the only two skeleton infested villages, can it? What in the world is the army doing, letting some necromancer run rampant in the villages like this?

These thoughts cross my mind for a few moments, before I discard them and focus on the more pressing matters at hand. I start running towards the village, but I don’t draw my sword yet. It will only get in my way when I’m running.

It only takes me a few minutes of running to make my way there. As I arrive at the edge of the outlying fields, I’m greeted with a very odd sight: in each of the fields on either side of me, there is a single skeleton wielding a hoe.

I rub my eyes, but the sight doesn’t change. They are still repeatedly lifting their hoes and striking the same place on the ground, doing nothing more than deepening a line in the dirt.

‘I saw this earlier, but is this… Normal, skeleton behaviour?’ Gerald asks, sounding about as confused as I feel.

Completely unable to figure out any reason why they might be doing such actions, I say, ‘I don’t know much about skeletons… but I’m going to guess: no. No, it is not normal.’

‘Okay then… Kill them anyway?’

I draw my sword. ‘Kill them anyway.’

Vaulting over the fence surrounding the field on my right, I move towards the skeleton there. As I approach, it stops its strange actions and starts acting as I would expect a skeleton to act: by attacking anything living near it.

In this case, me. The skeleton lifts its hoe and swings it at me. I dodge. It may be a farming tool, but it can still deal quite some damage. After the tool passes harmlessly in front of me, I dart in and break off one of its arms with my sword, causing the hoe to drop to the ground. After that I make short work of it.

I didn’t even break a sweat from that, and vaulting over the fences and into the other field, I move to take out the other skeleton. If anything, that one is easier than the first. Quickly jumping at it just as it strikes the ground once more, it can’t pull it up in time before I take off its skull in one fell slash.

Vaulting back over the fence once more, I walk along the path and further into the village. As I get closer the sky started to dim slightly, and I took the opportunity to ask Gerald for more info on the village.

‘Looks like about thirty in the village itself… But there seems to be a skeleton in every field, as well. About ten of them that I can see, but there should be fields I can’t see. Nobody living except us, unfortunately.’

Which means that the villagers are either dead or had escaped… Speaking of dead villagers, where were the corpses in that last village? Hadn’t quite a few of the villagers died in the escape? And yet there were no corpses… had they been turned into skeletons?

It’s unlikely for me to figure anything out, even if I consider it further, so I throw the matter to the back of my mind and venture into the main area of the village. As I enter, skeletons turn their skulls creepily towards me and brandish their rusted weapons, moving in to attack.

They creep out from buildings, the spaces in between buildings, the town square… Taking a deep breath, I ready my own weapon. There may not be as many here as there were last time, but there is only me facing them this time.

Taking out a single skeleton is a simple task. One, maybe two solid hits is all it takes. But with a horde of them, you have to be wary of attacks coming from multiple directions, make sure they don’t surround you and at the same time get an attack in every now and again.

I make my way into the space between two buildings, which is small enough to restrict the approaching skeletons to come two at a time. Doing this makes it much easier, and I make short work of seven skeletons before Gerald alerts me to some starting to loop around to the other end.

Escaping before they surround me, I find another gap, repeating the process until the skeletons in the village are nothing but scattered bones, and I’m quite exhausted. I sit in the town square, half wondering whether the well would be safe to drink from, or if it, like much of the plant life around me, had also been poisoned by the death energy. Better not to risk it, but the thought makes me wonder how those villagers are doing.

Just as I start to catch my breath, Gerald pops into my head again. ‘That elven woman with the armour and horse is coming here. And it looks like she’s brought a friend.’ He says.

‘Thanks. Is the other person a paladin as well?’ I ask in curiosity.

‘Paladin? Well, they’re wearing similar armour and weapons, so… probably?’ Gerald says hesitantly.

‘Alright.’ Not wishing to repeat my mistake from last time, I ask one more question. ‘Is the new one a man or a woman?’

‘Man. Actually, he looks even younger than you, so I don’t know if he would be old enou-’ He cuts himself off and asks a question. ‘What age do people become termed as ‘man and woman’ rather than ‘boy and girl’?’

I think about it briefly. ‘I couldn’t say about places outside the Empire, but here it’s about 16.’

‘Ah, thanks. He’s probably a bit older than 16. See, why I asked is because where I’m from it’s 18, and I knew about some places where it was as high as 21.’ He explains.

Interesting. But does it really matter all that much? It’s just a way of calling someone, after all.

Taking a swig from my water bottle, I run my tongue over my dry lips and continue to sit where I am. I have no doubt that they will soon be here. As far as I know, most gods detest the undead, so they won’t pass up the chance to destroy some.

And sure enough, a few minutes later I can see the two paladins on their steeds trotting down the street towards me. Standing up, I sling my backpack over my shoulders and watch them draw close. Because of the similarity in the design of their armour, I can hardly tell the two apart.

Dismounting from their steeds, they walk towards me, stopping a couple of meters away.

The one on the right asks suspiciously, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Since he doesn’t sound like the paladin I met last time, I assume this one is the man.

I’m about to reply when the other paladin pushes up her visor, revealing a face that… all I can say is that the elven reputation of beauty is in no way exaggerated. Her eyes remind me of the fields in spring, when they are covered in a carpet of vibrant green. “You are that adventurer who was helping the villagers reclaim their village from skeletons, are you not? Why are you here?” She asks.

“I was travelling and saw this village in the distance, so I went towards it. Then I found all the skeletons here, so I started to clean them out.” I shrug slightly. “I don’t suppose you know where all the people who lived here are?” I ask.

She frowns. “As far as we can tell, they unfortunately perished in the initial attack. And who is that behind you?”

My head whips around, and I see Joe standing there, smiling and waving. Since when was he there!?

I’m not sure what to say about him. “That’s Joe. I’m not all too sure why he follows me around, but he’s a good person as far as I can tell.”

“Because I was bored, obviously.” Says the now significantly less grimy old man Joe. “Figured I’d find someone interesting and tag along in their adventures.”

“Then why me?” I ask him, bewildered.

“Oh come on. With all the things you’ve encountered in the past month or two alone, you’re asking that?” Joe says, raising his eyebrows. He begins to count them off on his fingers. “First you discover an ancient ruin that’s still fully operational, survive an encounter with THE spider matriarch, befriend one of the former top brass in the Empire’s navy, survive an encounter with his murderer, kill the- wait, that one hasn’t happened yet. But you get the gist.”

What was he about to say?

The lady paladin looks a bit confused but addresses me again. “Would you be willing to assist in defeating the necromancer who did this? If he’s sending out this many skeletons to each village he attacks, I’m afraid he may have several hundreds to defend himself, as well as more powerful undead. We may not be able to handle them all ourselves.”

“But surely, with our holy magic being the bane of the undead, we should be able to defeat the necromancer with relative ease?” The male paladin asks the other.

She turns her head to face him. “Luc, would you like your eventual death to be because of your stubborn refusal to accept help?”

“No…” Luc replies, taken aback.

“Remember that while we help others, we are not to be above receiving help from others.” She reprimands, then turns her head back to me. “So, are you interested?”

I smile wryly and shake my head. “I would be happy to, but I don’t think that I’m strong or skilled enough to be able to fight against a weak necromancer, let alone a strong one. Last time I tried something like that I nearly died.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “How about if we train you as we travel?”

‘Accept her offer.’ Gerald says suddenly.

…I was about to.

“Then I will gladly join you.” I agree happily. “But why would you trust a random adventurer like me?”

Although the question is addressed to the female paladin, it is Luc who answers. “Because we paladins have skills that can detect lies and intentions. And you haven’t spoken a single falsehood or had a single impure intention during this whole conversation.”

I pause. Well, that would explain it.

“And how about you, Joe? Will you also come with us?” She asks.

I glance at him, and he shrugs nonchalantly. “Sure. I’ll have to give you forewarning, though – I don’t fight. I won’t get in the way, and I’ll keep up with you travelling, but the most I can offer is a few wise words every now and again.”

For some reason she just nods and accepts this. Maybe, like me, she realised the futility of arguing against a guy who doesn’t care about your opinion. Well, at least he’s honest about it.

Luc flips up his visor, revealing a face similarly graced by elven beauty, and offers a gauntleted hand. I shake it. It feels strange – I’ve never shaken the hands of someone wearing metal armour before. “My name is Luc. I pray we get along well on our future journeys.” Luc says warmly.

She offers her hand as well, and when I shake it, it feels startlingly different from his, despite the gauntlets being so similar. While his grip was firm and strong, hers is somehow gentle and yet in no way weak. “My name is Lily.” She says with a small smile, and then asks, “And yours is?”, finally reminding me that after all this I still hadn’t introduced myself.

“I’m Ferdinand.”

As I look at the two paladins, I can’t help but notice a black cat slinking across the edge of the town square. I don’t think anything of it at first, until I remember Gerald telling me about a cat in the last skeleton-infested village we visited.

Lily catches my odd gaze and turns around. When she sees the cat, she turns back and shrugs slightly. “Just a cat.”

“Why,” I say slowly, asking the very same question that Gerald asked me not so long ago, “is there a cat in an area full of undead that hate anything living?”

Lily’s eyes widen, and quickly catches the small furry feline. “Why didn’t we notice this sooner?” She mumbles, looking intently at the cat she is holding in one gauntleted hand. “Enslavement magic, observation magic… Now that I think about it, there must have been one of these in every village we visited. The necromancer has been watching us this entire time!” She exclaims in frustration.

“Are you able to track where the magic is coming from?” Asks Luc seriously.

“Perhaps, if…” The cat falls limp in her hand, causing her face to darken slightly. “The Necromancer killed it and cut off their connection to it before I was able to get anything more than a rough direction. South-West.”

Luc asks, “Do we head in that direction, then?”

Lily narrows her eyes for a moment, thinking. “No. We will find some more of these skeleton villages, purify them, and find some more of these cats. Then I shall be able to pinpoint the necromancer’s location.”

With that said and done, Lily and Luc roam around the village for a few minutes, purifying the death energy that lingers in the area. After this, the pair of paladins re-mount their steeds, and Lily pulled me up to sit behind her.

“Grip with your knees – but not too hard, or you could hurt him.” She advised. “And put your arms around my waist.”

Slightly dumbfounded, I awkwardly do as she said, gripping the horse’s flanks with my knees and… wrapping my arms around her (heavily armoured) waist. In a brief moment of clarity, I adjust my sheath so that it won’t poke into the horse while we’re riding.

I may not have ridden a horse before, but I know enough about them to know that irritating them is something you do not want to do.

After that, I must have fallen into some sort of a daze, because the next thing I know we’re already trotting along the road. In my defence, this is the first time I have been so close to a woman… even if she is wearing a suit of armour.

Twisting my head to look around a tad, I’m taken aback at just how far from the ground I am. I mean, I have no problem with heights, but it is a very strange sensation to see – and feel – yourself moving along while your feet dangle off the ground.

The distinctive smell of the horse tickles my nostrils, and I catch sight of Joe behind us – Not on Luc’s horse, as I had assumed, but jogging along with a relaxed smile on his face, looking around and taking in the view. He sees me looking at him, and waves to me.

…Right, okay.

“Try not to move around too much, please.” Says Lily, making me turn my head back to the front and adjust my posture slightly.

For a while, I just take in the sights. For once, other people are moving out of our way on the road, instead of me moving out of theirs.

Reaching the city doesn’t take more than an hour, much faster than it would have on foot. Although I suppose that with my recent increases in endurance and dexterity, I should be able to jog quite a distance.

“How do we find out about which villages have been attacked?” I ask.

Without turning her head, Lily nods towards the large building we are moving towards. “The local temples are among the first to know about things such as these. We only left here a few hours ago, but perhaps they have learned of something new in the meantime.”

I nod in understanding, before realising that she can’t see it. “That makes sense. By the way, which God or Goddess are you two the paladins of? I must confess that I’m not overly familiar with the signs of most gods.”

“We are devotees of the elven god Vitus, he who represents harmony and survival.” She replies. “And who do you follow?”

Who do I follow? It must have been years since I last prayed. The last time must have been… when my parents sent me away. I try and remember which God it was that we worshipped. “…Adeodatus.”

“The God of farming?” Lily says, a hint of surprise in her voice. “I would have expected Kamal, God of swords, or perhaps Orzora, Goddess of strength, due to you being an adventurer.”

“I used to be a farmer.” I explain quietly. “There was a famine, and my parents sent me away with a sword and the rest of the food. After that, I became an adventurer… the God of farming didn’t seem to fit me anymore, but as I said, I don’t know much about the other Gods.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Lily says softly. The horses plod on through the streets. Neither of us speak for a few moments. “The priests here will be glad to tell you about their Deity, if you wish to change who you follow. Just… keep in mind that you do not need to follow a Deity that relates to your chosen profession. You should choose one whose ideology and beliefs mirror yours.” She explains.

“Thanks.”

We reach the temple shortly, and we dismount from the horses. A young boy takes hold of both pairs of reigns, guiding the horses to a stable off to one side of the temple. We walk inside.

Inside is a massive, multi-tiered circular area, every tier lined with shrines bearing the symbols of a different Deity. Some have priests tending to them, while others stand largely abandoned. People mill about, offering prayers or tributes. The windows are covered with some sort of coloured glass, depicting various scenes.

The enormity and majesty of the building makes me feel tiny, insignificant in comparison to the hundreds of Deities represented in this place. Humbled, I quietly walk around, asking a few questions to the priests here and there.

There are a lot of gods to go through, too many to go through in a week, let alone the hour or so I wandered around, but I managed to go through quite a few. I even visited the shrine of Adeodatus. Some deities have similar beliefs and ideals, while some of them are quite… unique? But now that I think about it, all of them could be loosely termed as ‘good’, or at least can’t be described as ‘evil’.

Are there no evil Gods? Or are they just not represented here?

‘You know, religion here is very different to how religion was in my home world.’ Gerald says suddenly.

‘Really? In what way?’ I ask him.

‘Well,’ he begins, ‘for one thing, every religion was in this sort of silent holy war. They all believed that they were the true religion, and were all thus trying to spread to as many people as possible, while simultaneously telling people why the other religions were false, and trying to pick holes in their beliefs and such.’

Confused, I ask, ‘True religion?’

‘Yeah, the one religion that was ‘right’. See, every religion claimed that their God had created the world and everything on it, and there could only be one God who had created everything, right? If you had so many religions in one place like there is here, talking about their beliefs so openly, there would be arguments everywhere – hell, there’d probably be riots.’

All I can say is: ‘Wow.’

‘That reminds me: which one of these Gods created this world? Or is it all of them?’ He asks.

I have no idea, so I ask a priest nearby. “Who created the world?”

A voice behind me says “Crap.” Who would speak so vulgarly in a temple?

The priest in front of me, a bald man dressed in white, frowns in confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t know, child. If you wait a moment, I will ask my God, and perhaps He will gift us with the answer you seek.”

He bows down at the shrine behind him, lips moving soundlessly as he prays.

Finally, he stands up and sighs. “I’m afraid he hasn’t – wait…” He breaks off, seemingly listening to an unheard voice with an expression of rapture. A tear glistens at the corner of his eye as he says in awe, “My God has told me that the world existed before even the Gods…”

‘Well, there you have it.’ I tell Gerald.

‘…Alright. That was convenient.’ He says strangely. What more does he want, a God personally answered his question!

At that moment, an armoured hand grabs my wrist and starts pulling me along towards the exit. I have a moment of panic before I recognise the person dragging me along. “Luc? What’s happening?” I ask, regaining my balance and swiftly walking alongside him.

He releases my wrist. “We need to go, NOW.” He urges me, hurrying along at a pace that feels entirely inappropriate in this holy place.

In a matter of seconds, we are outside and back on the horses. I’m not sure whether to be relieved that I’m behind Luc because I won’t be distracted by being so close to a woman, or disappointed that I’m not behind Lily because I won’t be behind a woman…

…I think Gerald has affected me. Why else would I be thinking of something so useless in a serious situation?

“What happened?” I ask as we trot through town.

When Luc replies, his voice is thick with worry. “Skeletons are attacking almost every village that the priests here know about.”

Alarmed, I ask, “What about the army? Adventurers? Surely they are doing something?”

“We did not want to waste the time it would have taken to find that out. However, it would be ridiculous if they were not assisting.” Lily answers, a similar tone in her voice.

That’s true.

…But then again, why didn’t they help with the last two villages we saved?

Gerald: Status

Ferdinand: Status