Evelynn led me through the hundreds of stalls with practiced ease. Ducking and weaving past the various vendors each yelling about the items they had for sale.
And after a few minutes of travel, we arrived at a small shop nestled snugly between two other buildings. Evelynn led the way inside and I followed. It was cramped inside, with maps covering the walls and rolled up into barrels all around the shop.
Evelynn walked up to the counter and tapped the small bell sitting there. The sound echoed throughout the shop and almost immediately a small, bearded man speed walked his way out from the backroom with a smile on his face.
"Oh Evelynn, great to see you! Who's your friend there?"
She scoffed, "Definitely not a friend. He's just new here and I was asked to guide him around, and for whatever reason the first thing he wanted to do upon arriving in the town was visit the map store."
The shopkeeper laughed and turned towards me, "Then you must have been lost out in the woods for some time. You should tell me about it later. Anyone who can survive a night out there has my respect."
I grinned, "Maybe, but you'd need to at least be buying the drinks if you want me to bring up those memories."
He chuckled, "Well I don't know about that, but what kind of map were you looking for?"
"I just need it to tell me where all the major cities are."
"Oh, and why would you need that? I get that you've been out in the wilds for some time now, but it's safe here. Bigger isn't always better; seeking them out may not be worth it. Even if this town doesn't house a god we get along fine. She still provides her protection after all."
"They provide protection to the towns?"
He grinned, "You really must have been deep in those woods. Which makes you that much more interesting! You'll need to tell me and the lads about where you come from later down at the tavern, but to answer your question, yes and no. They live in some of the major cities, but because we worship Alena, the god of lies, we receive a piece of her protection."
"I assume that's where the illusionary wall at the town's entrance came from?"
"Exactly!"
"Do y'all have a church for her or something?"
The man smiled, "Oh you betcha, it's the best landmark in this town! It was carved out from marble and had gemstones embedded into it. Her statue even has a cloak made from real dragon scales!"
The old man seemed to catch himself.
"Oh, but I shouldn't take up so much of your time. Have you even got a room yet?"
"No."
"Then let's get the business part of this meeting over with."
The man reached beneath his desk and pulled out a large paper map, which he then laid out atop the weathered table.
I studied the map for a moment, a slight frown forming on my face. Every town seemed to be incredibly spaced out, and that's not even mentioning the cities which seemed to be hundreds of miles apart from one another.
"How much for the map?"
The old man grinned, "Why don't you make me an offer."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a thick gold coin before setting it on the table.
"This enough?"
His eyes widened, "Y-Yes, that would be more than enough."
Evelynn peeked over my shoulder and scoffed, "Daniel, you can't be scamming every customer that walks through those doors!"
She turned towards me, "That's at least double what the map costs. He hardly ever sells the larger ones. Nobody in their right mind would want to travel too far away from the town."
The old man exaggerated taking offense, "You wound me, Evelynn. This here is an antique! An antique I say!"
I smiled, "I appreciate the help Evelynn, but I think I'll just take the map for the gold coin."
With a grin I slid the gold piece across the table. It was always good to try to make friends, especially while in an unfamiliar environment. In these kinds of places a little greasing of hands can oftentimes mean the difference between living and dying.
With that I grabbed the map and took my leave, "I'll suppose I'll see you at the tavern later?"
He smiled, "You bet, but you better come prepared to tell some of your stories."
"Sure thing."
---------------------
I walked out into the street alongside a bored looking Evelynn who turned towards me with uninterested eyes.
"Well, where do you want to go next?"
I didn't need to think about it, "Take me to the temple. It truly sounds remarkable. I could do with seeing something other than that endless forest."
That wasn't exactly a lie, but I had other plans for the place.
Evelynn eyed me for a moment before gesturing for me to follow, and not ten minutes later we arrived in front of a building just as the map maker had described. It was rather impressive given the available tools, but nothing more than average workmanship compared to the works of earth.
Evelynn walked up and leaned against one of its pillars, "If you're going in you can do so by yourself."
I grinned, "Not a big fan of me or just religion in general?"
"Both I suppose, but especially the religion. The goddess may keep this place safe, but she is still the god of lies. She's not someone worth trusting."
I shrugged, "Nobody truly is."
With that I walked past the witch and up to its grand doors which were left ajar. I could see a few dozen people praying inside beneath a grand marble statue of the goddess.
I didn't pay too much mind to its features. They were unlikely to be accurate considering they'd likely never even seen her before.
I took a step into the church, and time seemed to slow to a halt as the world suddenly went dark and I was swallowed by a void.
Inky blackness surrounded me, and I found myself no longer standing in the church. Instead I was somewhere that seemed to stretch on infinitely with practically nothing in sight.
A tranquil voice echoed out across the nothingness. It sounded truly beautiful, like what you'd imagine an angel to sound like.
"You dare enter my domain?"
She clearly meant the church, and sounded rather pissed about it. Not that it mattered, this was a god and I'd already made plans for this. I was here for a deal and that had already started.
I smiled brightly and addressed the void, "I took the liberty of inviting myself in. You and I have business to discuss."
She scoffed, "What could I ever want from an insignificant underworlder such as you? That Demon should have simply accepted his punishment, but he didn't, and now his ilk run rampant through my realm."
"I can imagine your frustration."
"No, you can't."
The void suddenly became hostile, and I fell to my knees as an unnatural fear gripped my heart.
"You understand nothing. You insignificant, greedy, worm. You think you can just walk into my realm and leave unharmed?"
I fully collapsed to the ground, my breath only coming out in spurts, "You…shouldn't…kill me."
A moment passed before the feeling of absolute fear imbued in me lessoned, and I was able to take several deep breaths.
I looked up towards the void and wiped the drool from my cheek, a smile present on my face.
"Because I'm here to make a trade with you."
Suddenly mocking laughter filled the void, "And what of yours would I ever desire?"
I stood up slowly and fixed my messy hair.
"You just gave me a pretty good idea of how upset you are with the Demon. Which means his plan is working. I'm sure that by now my kind infests your cities, blending in with the populace and sowing discourse. Am I wrong?"
The voice of the goddess became sterner, "Get on with it."
"Well, God of lies, what if I told you that I knew the face and name of each and every one of them?"
"…"
The space around me distorted in an instant, until it eventually formed into a cozy looking office with a desk sat in its center. On the other side was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had snow white hair that stretched down to her shoulders and crimson red eyes. She was tall for a woman, and wore dazzling golden armor fitted perfectly to her.
"Take a seat. You have my attention."
I pulled out the pink heavily cushioned seat and sat down before locking eyes with her.
"I'm sure that your men have been having trouble rooting the earthlings out, and I can already imagine the crimes they've committed. Burnt crops, poisoned wells, assassinated church members. Do any of these sound familiar to you?"
Her eyes narrowed, "What do you want for this knowledge?"
"Well I'm glad you asked."
I reached down into a pocket and pulled out a small booklet filled to the brim with text so small that I could never hope to read all of it without a microscope.
"I'd like to trade my knowledge for a power of my choice, and I'd like you to follow some general rules listed here during the transaction."
I slide the booklet towards her, an ever-present smile on my face.
She looked towards the booklet, then towards me and scoffed, "You look just like that Demon."
"I'll take that as a compliment."