Game Master in Another World

After dinner, Igasnov got up. “Right, I’m off to preach a sermon on the virtues of Solvarn; I should be back later.”

“I want to come too,” Juliana said.

“Sorry, I don’t think that is possible; your presence may strike fear into these villagers.”

“I’ll just come as a cat, then, for I must see your sermon in action to adequately judge your character.”

“Fine, but don’t expect anything spectacular. I’ll mostly be lecturing them on the tenets of justice.”

“May I come too, please?” Toby asked quietly.

“You sure can, Toby. A young, impressionable mind like yours does need some solid religious education. And judging by your current mentor, you are going to need a lot of correction.”

Igasnov stared at us while speaking.

We shifted back into our cat form and promptly climbed up Igasnov’s back, settling onto his shoulder.

“How am I supposed to present a sermon with you up there?”

Juliana dug her claws into his neck.

“Ouch! Fine, I don’t have time to argue.”

Igasnov headed out the door, with Toby following closely behind.

The church was quite simple—nothing as grand as the Holver church. It was a basic wooden building with rows of simple seating inside. The front pew was slightly elevated, and several carvings of what must be the gods adorned the walls.

The pews were filled with villagers quietly talking amongst themselves. Toby found an empty seat and sat down, while Igasnov continued to the front of the church with us on his shoulder.

“Greetings, everyone. I shall begin shortly. I apologise for the cat on my shoulder, but she refused to leave.”

A ripple of laughter went around the room. It seemed this made a great icebreaker.

“Welcome, everyone, to my humble sermon. For those of you who don’t know me, you can call me Igasnov. I am a paladin who serves in Solvarn’s name, punishing the wicked and helping the downtrodden.

“I prefer to use parables to convey Solvarn’s teachings, so for now, I will tell a story.

“There was once a town that had a judge; he always accepted bribes and was rarely fair. In that same city lived a widow who worked as a tavern waitress.

“One day, she tripped and spilled hot soup over the local lord. The lord was furious and demanded she be fired immediately. The tavern owner agreed, and she lost her job. The lord then saw to it that she was not allowed to work anywhere else in the city, rendering her destitute.”

The audience looked enthralled with the story; they sat completely still, watching Igasnov closely.

“The widow was left with no choice but to petition the judge. She knocked on his door and pleaded with him for help, but the judge refused.

“Every day from then on, the widow would knock on the judge’s door, begging for his assistance. She would find him walking through the town and shout about her case where everyone could hear. Yet still, the judge would not help.

“After a week of being interrupted and having the widow approach him wherever he went, he eventually gave in. ‘Fine, I will look at your case if you finally leave me alone! I won’t be doing this out of fear of Solvarn or a moral duty, just to finally have some peace.’

“The judge successfully petitioned the lord into allowing the widow to work again, resulting in her being able to earn her keep at a tavern.”

Igasnov cleared his throat before continuing.

“There are three things that you can learn from this story. First, despite your standing and regardless of anything else, if you stay true to your convictions and what is just, you will eventually succeed.

“Secondly, true justice is making things right for the oppressed and overturning the powers that caused the injustice in the first place. The judge made the lord rethink his position on ousting the widow over a simple mistake, allowing her to work once more.

“And lastly, the reason for the justice matters not, as long as it is true justice. The judge was merely helping the widow to stop her pestering, not for any moral cause. But still, his actions were just.

“Solvarn expects us all to live our lives in a just way, not simply because we fear them or out of moral duty. Any reason is sufficient, as long as it results in true justice.

“And that is the sermon I wanted to present to you today. May Solvarn’s light guide you.”

The room repeated in unison, “May Solvarn’s light guide you.”

The mayor stood up and approached the pew. “Thank you, Igasnov, for speaking today; it is always great to hear insights from a seasoned religious man like yourself.”

We then sat down in a seat; Juliana remained firmly on Igasnov’s shoulder.

“Now for the news,” the mayor began.

“Firstly, Igasnov stood firm and routed the raiding army from the nation of Cyrll. There were a total of ninety knights, plus the Devil of Freyton City. He defeated them all and tamed the devil, causing her to spare the village of Thoryn.”

The people in the room clapped, and a person next to Igasnov put a hand on his shoulder, thanking him.

“Now, for the sad news. Our army sent to conquer Freyton City was routed; only one thousand of the original force has managed to return. They speak of true horrors: wild wolves in the thousands being conjured with no regard for anyone, a great storm freezing soldiers solid, and a dragon appearing to lay waste to thousands of men. Let us all have a minute’s silence for the brave soldiers who perished in that battle.”

The room grew very quiet and still, with everyone bowing their heads in contemplation.

I did not really care for the soldiers who died; they came to Freyton City to murder everyone. I thought they deserved what they got, and if they hadn't been stopped, the genocide would have been heinous.

When the silence ended, the mayor spoke again.

“In other news, Charlotte is with child; we can expect a new arrival in the spring.”

The room was filled with smiles and clapping, and a woman whom I assumed to be Charlotte received a hug from an older lady beside her.

“And finally, Igasnov and Toby will be staying with their cat in the spare house. Please make them feel welcome.”

A man sitting next to Toby gave him a great big hug; Toby looked awkward and stiff.

“That is all for tonight, unless there are any more notices?”

The room was silent once more. At least that was a commonality from my first life: in meetings, the quickest way to get silence was to ask if anyone had something to share.

As we all began to exit the church, an older lady stopped Igasnov.

“Come by my place for breakfast tomorrow. You look like a hungry lad, and I would like to reward you for the defence of that village. My cousin lives there, and if it weren’t for you, they would surely be dead.”

Igasnov nodded politely. “Sure, I will come around at daybreak. Is it okay if I bring Toby and the cat?”

The lady nodded. “That will be fine. It seems your cat is quite attached to you.”

Igasnov smiled. “Indeed, she is very firmly attached right now.”

The woman laughed. “Okay, I shall see you tomorrow morning.”

A younger lady also stopped Igasnov. “You know, it is awfully lonely in that house. I could provide some company tonight.”

Igasnov shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m only here for two days, and a brief fling is just not my style.”

The woman’s face fell in disappointment. “Please let me know if you change your mind. I’m in the house with a white door and a small bird carved into it.”

She fluttered her eyelashes at Igasnov as we continued out of the church.

Igasnov sighed. “I often have to fend off the advances of young maidens these days. There simply are not enough men in the villages anymore, as most have been conscripted into the army and killed.”

We made it back to the house and sat down. Juliana hopped off Igasnov’s shoulder before shifting back into her Nhalyri form once more.

“Now, Juliana, no naked dancing in the village tonight. You will be spotted, and you will cause a panic,” Igasnov warned.

“Worry not, for I had my fill of the ritual last night; I should be okay for at least another week.”

Igasnov abruptly changed the subject.

“Do we want to travel with the villagers, or travel alone? If we go with the villagers, we can provide protection, but alone, I think it would be easier to keep your identity a secret.”

Juliana replied without hesitation, “We must protect the villagers. If my identity is revealed, I can slip away, take the form of a winged creature once more, and follow without detection.”

I found no flaw in the plan myself. Besides, if those villagers didn’t make it to the town, Juliana’s mood would be significantly worse.

“Okay, that sounds reasonable, but please don’t reveal your true nature if it can be avoided. I would like this trip to be uneventful,” Igasnov requested.

Juliana returned his smile. “Certainly. For this trip, I will just be your cat.”

Toby snickered slightly. “A very scary cat.”

“Indeed,” responded Igasnov.

Everyone went to sleep quickly, sleeping in a comfortable bed once more without needing a watch was amazing.

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