The world snapped for just a second like it was made of rubber or string. Ed's head started to pound with a headache as he readjusted to being alive again. His body had become adjusted to being a cosmic divine being and his soul was still looking around to see if it could go back to having conversations with the two divines he had just been seated with.
Ed rubbed his temples and tried to shake out the fog in his head. He wasn't in the town square any more. This didn't even look like his hometown. He was absolutely somewhere else in the world. It was a church chapel; they all had the same general layout. The chapel was shaped like a T, with the offices and housing for the orphans and priest at the top and the worship hall in the long middle.
Outside had gardens and a well. There were clotheslines for the priest and orphans to dry their clothes on and a stack of wood near the back door. People were in the yard, and they acted like he hadn't just appeared out of nowhere.
Ed took a deep breath and enjoyed the freshly scented air of being alive. The weather was similar to his own home town so he couldn't be too far away from home. He patted himself down checking to make sure everything was still there.
On the table in front of him was a satchel. A glowing E was sitting on the top flap and it seemed to be filled with things. Ed definitely had never owned anything like this before, this must have been the gift that Ysennia was talking about.
Inside the found a few items from his house. A scarf that had been given to him by his childhood best friend lily was the first thing he pulled out. He sighed and realized he would likely never see her again. He pulled out more things from the bag including a copy of the gospels of the divine, a tube containing a copy of his soul scroll, and a small bag of coins.
Ed had been mostly broke in his last life so this bag was far more full than he was used too. A small section of coppers, bronze, silvers, and gold coins was laying around inside. It was a small fortune compared to anything he had experienced in his previous life. A small sheet of paper came out in his hands when he poured the coins out. He almost threw it away but opened it just to check.
"Dear E, The spare change should get you food, clothes and a place to stay for a few days. Every couple of days some money will appear in the pocket of this bag, please use it wisely. Also, I will leave notes in here for you if I need to contact you, don't worry they look blank to anyone but you. Please take care of yourself, Y"
Ed marveled at the small fortune in his hands. The thoughts of getting more money for doing nothing but trying to grow himself made him smile. This was more successful than in his previous life. He was the town errand boy and blacksmith trainee. If he had money it mostly went to pay for a bed at the smithing forge.
A melody wafted through the air in the courtyard. It was a pleasant sound but sounded somehow hollow. Like maybe it wasn't really there in the first place.
Ed looked around for the source. Church grounds weren't unusual places to find traveling musicians. They often let them stop and play in exchange for a small lunch of bread and smoked meats. You would see them telling tales of saints and exploits of heroes of the church. It was a good way to teach orphans new things from other churches. It was the most exposure some people ever got to the world outside their towns in their lives.
In a small clearing, a few dozen yards from Ed was a man. He sat cross-legged in the grass playing a stringed instrument. It looked like some kind of mandolin from this distance. The whole thing looked like it might not really even be there. The man himself sort of looked like he was the picture painted on glass. He had an otherworldly look to him.
Just as Ed was contemplating this a chicken in the field walked directly through the man. "Oh damn," he said standing up and trying to brush himself off. The chicken had walked through him but its feathers were fluffed up from the resistance of walking into him. "I still haven't gotten used to being solid yet. I must still be only partially here."
It was when he stood up that Ed got a good look at him. He was tall by normal standards. He wasn't muscular at all but not skinny either. Just sort of a tall lanky frame of a man who might have been a swimmer in a previous life. He had dark green pants and jacket over a light cream-colored shirt. He had a small bag tucked into his waistband but nothing else. It was like he was traveling too light.
This had to be the helper, though Ed. He seemed to be the only one who was paying any attention to him at all.
The bard walked over and sat down across from Ed. "A beautiful day for music isn't it!?" he tucked his instrument into the bag on his waist. It looked absolutely absurd because that stringed instrument had to be at least 3 feet long and the bag was no bigger than your average melon.
"Uh, yeah it is a good day for it I guess." Ed stammered.
"So do you say it's good to be alive? Or is it good to be corporeal? I have been a spirit so long I am little rusty on my etiquette…" He said smiling and rubbing his hands together as he looked around the world like a kid who found something amazing.
"You should definitely say alive. The other is too damn weird. I take it you are my guide?" Ed replied.
"Yes, I am!" He extended his hand across the table excitedly. "The name is Rennish, I used to be a bard in my previous life. Ysennia told me she was sending me so that you could learn some social skills and to practice with your powers."
Ed blinked a few times. "She said something like that. I have no idea what she meant by it though. It's a whole lot of stuff for my brain to try and process all at once."
"Well, I am glad they filled you in on that part. Yes, I am your, escort, and teacher I guess would be the best word. I am glad that you can see me. Can you look at the people around us Ed? What do you see?"
Ed squinted and looked at the priest as he was walking around watering the flowering shrubs along the back of the chapel. He was there but he also had this glow that sort of outlined him. It had colors of gray and blue with a warm tinge of yellow at the bottom.
"He's got colors around him," Ed replied.
"That is his aura. You can tell the type of people by looking at their auras. Look at mine, anyone who is mostly divine or using divine powers will have an aura like mine."
Ed looked at Rennish and his aura shimmered like spider silk with the colors of the rainbow. "Your's is a whole mess of colors," Ed said.
"Yes, and yours would be similar also. Just it would look like it was more stable in just one color instead of all of the colors." Rennish stood up and looked around the courtyard. "You know a town should be nearby. We should probably find a place to stay for the night instead of just talking out here in the plain old open."
Ed nodded, it made sense to him. At some point, someone would notice the two men sitting here all day and wonder who they were.
Ed's body ached when he stood up. Maybe he was just noticing all the pains of being alive again. It would take a while for him to stretch out.
"Ysennia asked me to help get you setup. I gave her ideas. She did give you a variety of coins right? I used to be like you, you know?" He said excitedly.
Ed nodded and shook the coin purse as he pushed it all back into his satchel.
"Good, looks like the town is this way. I see smoke from chimneys over there. Follow me and let's go see what we can find." And Rennish took off in his own excitement headed towards the town.
Ed followed along. Not thinking about how absurd this whole situation would look to anyone else. He walked behind him trying to avoid the things that Rennish was just stepping right through. He still wasn't getting this whole being solid thing down at all. He moved a little too smoothly. Anyone who has walked on dirt would know that your gait changes as you move across differences in the terrain.
Ed looked out across the fields that lined the roads into town. He found people working with cows or tending weeds. He saw aura's filled with vibrant colors of blue, red, and yellow. Rennish was still glowing and if he looked into the forest he could tell that the trees were very faintly glowing a dark green.
Other animals and creatures had their own auras of the divine power that held them to the real world.
Ed could see squirrels and snakes moving. The cows in the field had peaceful calming colors around them. Other things like spirits and ghosts moved with their own auras. It was Ed's first time seeing them, and it was the first time a normal human responded to their gaze. This caused most of them to scatter.
However, sitting in a pond of running water through a lake was a small person. They were definitely the same color as Rennish's glow, that same hue of spider silk. Ed stared at the small nude little person letting the water run through their limbs and over them and they noticed him staring. They had skin the color of an early morning sky blue, with bright yellow hair and eyes of pure black. They noticed Ed ogling them and waved at and winked. With a snap of its fingers, the small being disappeared.
Rennish stopped just outside of town and looked at Ed, "You want to find out where we can get lodging, or do you want me to do it?" he asked a little too eagerly for Ed's comfort.
"Don't worry I will do it," Ed said and shouldered past him. He could picture Rennish getting too excited and saying something ridiculous in his newly reborn state. And he wasn't sure that anyone else could really see him either.
The town had a basic wooden palisade protecting it and two guards were posted to defend the entrance. One was obviously doing people coming in and one watching those going out.
"Excuse me. I am a little lost in my travels. Can you tell me where I might find a reasonable inn?" Ed said.
The man looked down the edge of his nose that was bent from defending the peace against the drunk. "Welcome to CunStead, try the Inn near the center of town. It's called 'The Peasant's Spear'. Head straight up this road 4 blocks and turn right. You can't miss it." He waved him into the building.
Ed nodded his head in thanks and headed through the door into town. He hoped Rennish would take the hint and just follow him, which he did.
And just like he said they arrived at a building with a sign that said "The Peasant's Spear" with a comical looking farmer holding a pitchfork as a spear. Ed guessed it was this town's sense of humor. Ed walked in through the front door and into the parlor, a desk sat in the middle of the room with a well-aged man taking a nap behind on a chair. "Excuse me, I'd like a room please."
"We do 3 copper a night for a room. 1 Bronze for 3 square meals, horse lodgings, and a night's stay. A silver a week for 2 meals and a warm bed." He croaked out in a voice stained with age.
Ed passed him a silver coin. This way he didn't have to worry about paying daily and Ed rarely ate 3 times a day. Rennish was a spirit still and Ed didn't even consider that he will want food.
"A gold coin every 2 days or so will mean I could rent a house if I needed it. I don't even know where I am yet so no point in planning to stay." Ed thought to himself.
"If you don't mind, I'm a bit lost. I have been traveling for over a few months and lost track of my map and the towns." Ed lied hoping it was convincing.
"Don't worry. You are in CunStead. It's about the middle of the continent if you looked at a general map. Where you from, boy?" He asked.
"Deavers Township," Ed said and hoped it would help gauge how far away he was. IF they knew the town, it was still in trading distance. If they didn't, well he'd been bumped off any map he'd ever seen.
"Deavers?? That's quite the trip! Have you been walking without sleep? No wonder you look so pale and gaunt. Upstairs, 2nd door on the right is your room. We will fill out paperwork later when you've had some sleep." He said and pointed upstairs.
Ed didn't argue, he was tired beyond description and needed the sleep. Rennish followed and was obviously still invisible, the deskman never even acknowledged him.