Fuck, I was screwed. Of all the fantasy worlds out there it just had to be this one. Scowling, I turned another corner at random, getting even more lost on my way to the tradehouse. This complex they called a church was really just a massive maze of buildings and hallways.

  My mind had been running wild ever since I entered the cathedral. Considering the level I was at, It was doubtful that much of my ‘revelation’ could actually help me. My thoughts lingered more on my circumstances than finding my way, which wasn’t helping either. What did I even have going for me? At best, I had loose contact with four random people. Sure, two happened to have noble or adjacent backgrounds, but it wasn’t like I knew who they were. They weren’t more significant than background characters… but I still needed them to agree to keep assisting me. Out of everything I knew about the world, none of it was practical for actually living in it.

  I’ve got history and esoteric lore in spades: like how the world’s magic gets generated, or that monsters can feed off magic to fuel their bigger sizes. Anima Aura, Infusion Aura, never heard of them before. I get the latter was some hit-point analog, but what was the former?

  My knowledge doesn't have any practical use, considering I can't cast spells or use Aura intentionally. I never actually defined how spells were casted. Instead, choosing to let whatever game system I used make those assumptions, essentially handwaving the details away.

  Ugh, did a god really tell Sofia to find me? Letting anyone know I was actually a goddess, or that I have the memories of one, would undoubtedly be a death sentence. Was it because they saw me as a random curiosity that appeared out of nowhere or did they know more? The gods should want me dead, or at least the in-universe version of me, assuming we’re the same. They tried to usurp in-universe me once. As punishment: I stripped some of them of their names, banished them from the mortal plane, forced them to show no favoritism among their followers/show neutrality to all that worshiped them, and severely limited the influence they could exert over the mortal plane. Theoretically, my death could undo all those punishments.

  Yeah, I was doomed.

  My heart was racing, I stopped in my tracks, closing my eyes to take a breath. When I opened them I noticed a nun giving me a quizzical look.

  "Do you mind helping me find my way to the tradehouse?" I asked with a smile. She agreed and I continued to walk with a slight queasiness. At least with a guide I was going the right way.

  Starting to spiral wouldn’t do me any good. I needed to take things one step at a time to consider the options… Assuming it was one of the gods of the Severance pantheon, because of course my dumbass made several different tiers and pantheons of gods, that would leave Strolph, Emyzer, Orn, or Stultvultan as the suspects who called out to Sofia.

  Strolph and Emyzer were likely a no go. As far as I could tell when I was looking at the statues and the stained glass in the cathedral, anything I had written down as lore or made a mental note about was a fact here. Any gaps were seemingly filled in. Strolph and Emyzer were the most fleshed out of the four and based on that I doubt they’d involve themselves with me. As either a curiosity or as part of some scheme. If anything they’d let nature run its course in the woods and leave me as dog food.

  Of Orn and Stultvultan: Orn was inherently an edgy chaotic trouble maker. I didn’t get around to determining much more than that. In other words: a wildcard. Stultvultan meanwhile was the resident trickster god of the pantheon. So I could be playing into a scheme if it was him.

  The real question was why the other gods, both inside and outside the Severance pantheon, haven’t sent their followers after me. The fact that they haven’t lends credence to the theory that I was some random curiosity to them. The gods not knowing who I was would be the best outcome. Going from an all powerful goddess to weak mortal was a bit of a career change. It wasn’t a huge stretch of imagination to consider that they might not have considered that possibility. However, calling out to someone wasn’t exactly cheap for a god, which lends credence to them seeing me as more than a curiosity. Yet, the gods weren’t exactly unified so one defecting to my side wasn’t impossible…

  The one silver lining was that any god with animosity wouldn’t be able to directly smite me. In-universe me extremely inhibited what they can do in the material world after they tried to usurp me. If I wanted to survive, my best bet was to either get strong enough, or acquire enough supporters, that I could fend off whatever followers they sent after me.

  Dammit, in hindsight I really wish I gave the in-universe goddess version of me an actual following of worshipers. Sure, I was egotistical enough to make myself a goddess within my world, but I didn’t give myself a real following because that would’ve been really awkward if any of my players found out… Technically, my players were also considered Primordial Gods, but still having people in a fantasy world that I made up and they contributed to worshiping us felt like it was crossing a line.

  Eventually, I arrived at the tradehouse, Glenn was the only member of his party there. He was a bit hard to miss. The shiny fullplate a far cry from the chain and gambeson a merchant’s typical retinue wore.

  “Good evening Maeori, is Sofia coming?” Glenn waved me over.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Unfortunately, you’re stuck with just me,” I said, spotting disappointment in his eyes. “By the way, I meant to ask since we’re in the city now, do I need to call you Ser Soufornd or something?”

  “Ha! It’s been some time since I've heard that!” He gave me a firm pat on the back while we started heading for the door. “I renounced my titles so there’s no need to be formal. I sure as hell know Archie and Ivili haven’t felt the need to.”

  “I see. On other matters, I do have a request for you.” He raised an eyebrow, though I motioned for us to keep walking. At least until we were a little ways off. “I have a quest for your party. Could you gather Archie and Ivili together in the morning? I’d prefer to discuss it as a group rather than twice.”

  “That wouldn’t be a problem,” Glenn said with a bit of hesitation, “what's the nature of this quest?”

  I waited a while longer until we reached a spot where the road was less crowded. “You mustn't tell anyone, but I received a revelation from a god.” Of course I couldn’t tell him I was the god in question. It was a beautiful half-truth that worked so well. I watched on as Glenn showed the familiar surprise that the claim solicited. I’ve always loved a good reveal.

  “Are you sure of this?” He said, stopping to give me a grave look that masked his initial shock.

  “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

  “Ha! That’s great! I always wondered what would set off our adventure. I could not’ve dreamed it would be something so grand!” Well, it’s for the best that he's excited. More so than I was at least.

  Our destination was still a few miles away. I was a miserable conversation partner for Glenn who was still riding the high of his fantasies. Every so often he’d try to make small talk or pull more information from me. All of which I brushed aside. There were too many things left for me to consider. Namely, game plans now that I knew where I was. I concocted a rushed plan to sell to Fionn and Sofia, but I doubt it was the best course of action to take.

  I tried to pull every detail, item, and event I could from nearly a decade of games into my mind. Considering which ones to chase after and which weren’t worth it. In the midst of my plotting a sickening thought crept into my mind. ‘What if I’m not alone?’ If I, the game master, found myself in this world, what of my players? If they were here, are they their characters or thrown into the wild like I was? The former feels more intuitive, but the latter cleaned up some messes with some players having multiple characters. Most importantly if my players were here would that mean, she’s here? Was Lily here too?

  I stopped. Glenn turned back looking at me. “Hey Maeori, is everything alright?”

  “Yea, I’m fine,” I muttered, drying my eyes. “I’m still sorting through the knowledge I got, and it’s a lot.”

  “Can’t say I really would know,” Glenn said awkwardly, trying to be encouraging. “I’m sure it’ll get better.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  After a few attempts to restart a conversation Glenn realized I wasn’t in the mood to talk and we walked in silence the rest of the way. I felt a bit bad. In a year from now I’ll hopefully be dragging him halfway across the continent. I did need to ingratiate myself with him and the rest. At least, long enough to get to where I needed. I’ll need to add the city of Northwatch to our itinerary. If Lily was here, that’s where her character would be.

  Eventually we arrived near the docks where the Adventurer’s Guild sat. It was doubtful that it existed to serve the nearly non-existent local adventurers. If anything it was here to help the adventurers from overseas who took jobs to protect ships from monsters. With that said, it seemed strangely bustling from a glance with people coming and going. However, it wasn’t quite the crowd one might expect. Instead of rowdy and armored mercenaries, or mages with pointy hats, there were townsfolk and dockworkers.

  Most of the floor space was quartered off for a tavern that the regular townsfolk visited. On the other side, seeming almost more an afterthought than the staple it was meant to be, a lone receptionist was knitting a coat behind a counter that had seen better days. A little ways away a small, nearly empty, bulletin board had a few papers for job requests hanging. I stole a glance at the jobs while Glenn procured me a room. There really wasn’t anything interesting. Find a lost pet, gather some herbs.

  It was fun to see. Not for the lack of guild business, but as an affirmation of my knowledge of this world. It wasn’t that this region of the world lacked problems, far from it. Rather other ways had grown and prospered and the guild came late to this continent. The interests of merchants and noble houses to train soldiers and monopolize the trade of monster parts halted the growth of the adventurer’s guild here. For the better, truth be told.

  I noticed Glenn coming back after talking with the lone receptionist/inn keeper. “Sorry for the awkward walk, I had a lot on my mind,” I said, scratching the back of my neck. “When you get a revelation and information floods your mind it really gives you a lot to think about. Both good and bad.”

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. How about tomorrow I give you a tour of the city?” He said passing over the key. Apparently it was for a private room, he went all out.

  “That’s a tempting offer. I still want to go over our quest in the morning with Archie and Ivili before anything else.”

  “Alright then. Sleep well, I’ll round up Archie and Ivili in the morning.” With that we parted ways for the evening.

  I would find out later that while Glenn was kind enough to pay for me to get my own room. Archie was stingy enough to add it to the running tab I owe the party.

  I made my way up to my room. It wasn’t overly big, a bed, a window, a storage chest, and a basin with some water already in it. I made my way to the basin, hoping to get cleaned up for the night, my reflection looked back at me. It was odd, there were some clear similarities to my old self. It was clearly still me and the differences were subtle, like looking at a twin who had a better upbringing with better nutrition and fitness. I traced the scar the wolves left me; surely there’d be worse to come.

  After getting cleaned up I sat down on the bed. I survived another day, who knows how long I can keep that up. I looked out the window in time to see the Haze cast the world into a purple hue. It was beautiful and I appreciated it more this time around. It wasn’t merely some random fantasy element, but something new I never considered about this world. I guess it made sense in my mind. There were two suns, one of light and one of magic. This evening gift must be from the latter.

  I laid down as the Haze gave way to darkness. Despite my head still spinning, I was exhausted enough that sleep came easy.