Path to Wheatstone 1

I kept silently praying for those goblin souls because I could not leave them there without giving them a minimal rite. I know that this is not the end of the journey, and Matila and Jel eventually will meet them again, but they have to keep going and be strong.

Knowing for sure that there is an afterlife could appease one's heart, but even though, their absence would mark the lives of these two girls. I don't know exactly the teachings of the goblin deity, but considering the way they were behaving, I could guess the feeling of revenge was there, but we were not consuming them.

Matila came close with teary eyes and asked me, "I will see Moma and Papa one day?"

"Yes, my dear. One day, not only you, but Jel and I will find everyone here too. Unfortunately, not in this world anymore, but elsewhere."

"Where?"

---

Disclosing details about the next world to those who have never been there is a great sin. Zoe warned me about that constantly. Mortal souls shall experience it for themselves and have the free will to choose their beliefs. Because if I told her the truth, I would taint her free will forever, as she would live preparing herself for the afterlife.

This was a frequent motive for my questions. As an apostle, am I not already a living definition that gods exists? According to Hermes and Athena's explanation, my mere presence would inspire people, while revealing details could make people forcibly convert to our creed. That is not how believers should adopt a faith; it needs to come from a free and independent heart; if not, that faith is void.

I was worried now because my divine aura could have tainted their wills. However, I recall Athena saying: "You can incite people to our faith; you can say that there is a world after this; you can convert people. What you cannot do is explain that you are a transmigrant directly sent by the gods. One thing is if people believe on that because of your power, another one is you are saying."

"My demonstrations of power would not be enough to make people believe on me?" I remember questioning her.

"Yes. But that is their conclusion; they have faith, and this is the important part, that you are an emissary of the gods. There are some other apostles that communicate with us, but they were never walking beside us. An atheist could say that these people are delusional ones." She replied me.

"So, at the end of the day, they can't have the absolute certainty that there is another realm." 

"Not quite right, they can. They can use magic, teleportation, portals, and several other means to meet with us and obtain a portion of the Truth. The problem is being told by a higher being. This holds a different weight than any other mortal, including mortal apostles." Hermes intervened as soon as he noticed that we were digressing over the matter.

---

"Well, you are going to become a priestess, right? This is what our gods told us:, there is a better place."

"And why can't I go now?" for a three-year-old girl, her questions were oddly similar to those that a human child would do.

"The gods created us so we could live a free life. If we go to where your tribe is, when it is not our time, we are defying the gods' gift. We should wait for our turn to meet with them, if we try to go earlier, we would not meet them." I explained the better I could.

"Seriously?" The one to ask this question was Jel. "Do we need to wait for our moment?"

If by moment, she meant the death's one. I thought to myself and resumed my explanation, now for both of them, "You are right. And we can say that the horror of your tribe was a violation of the gods' gift. They should have led longer, much longer lives. That is why the crime that mage committed is awfully evil."

"Then, your job is to punish the evil ones." Her eyes become to get that fanatical glee again.

"My job is to make the lives of everybody better, according to my gods' commandments. Eventually, I would need to act to purge the evils, but it is not my main task. I am apostle, a cleric, not a paladin."

"I wanna be a paladin!" shouted Matila.

If I didn't know that everything I said was actually true, I would die of embarrassment right now. Her declaration made my chuunibyou syndrome tremble inside. Such a wonderful proclamation.

I regained my senses after her sudden explosion. "I would like to remember that I agreed that you could come with me, becoming priestess or paladin. It is something for the future."

Jel and Matila nodded effusively to my statement. I feel a chill on my spine. I guess that they aren't concerned about that and are going to adhere to some clerical work, whatever I said. Likewise, I was even thinking that the more I try to dissuade them, the more eager they become.

"Girls, sorry for rushing. I am glad that you are energetic after this burial. But we need to move. I don't if that imp had allies. But I doubt that he is alone hunting goblins with undead in the forest."

Again, the girls agreed immediately to my suggestion. I think that now I have two unconditional believers that will follow me until the depths of hell, even if I didn't command them to.

I finished some magical marking on the tombstone and used the Goblin language to inscribe a short memorial for this tribe:

"The braves ones that overturned the terror of unliving."

Neither Matila nor Jel knew how to read, so I told them what I wrote. After a brief explanation, we started our journey.

---

After the last goblin landed, an elderly one, Charon made a question to him: "Why are choosing this fellow? He had good speaking skills, but I think you barely know anything about him."

"My tribe members asked me the same. However, this human is now our god. He treated us as if we were one equal to him; he cherished them without any ill intent, and he is going to make them priestess."

"True, I don't remember many humans that cared about other races like that."

"His heart was enraged when he saw the despair that we were submitted. His fury made him defeat the evil necromancer and release our souls and bodies from that eternal torment. How could I not be indebted to my savior?"

"I think that he did even know that much about your situation."

The elder goblin laughed at Charon's objection. "And because he didn't properly understand what his actions were, do I have the right to turn my back on him?"

Charon fell in thought, the elder goblin reply was spot-on. "But to make a vow to him as if he were a god, even when he barely has any divinity."

"I don't understand what you mean, sir. But he was the one to release us from the clutches of the undead god. Even if another god had sent him to us, his sole and decisive actions saved us."

Charon noticed that he could not dissuade the elder goblin in its decision. "I am not convinced that is what that fellow wanted, though. But why drag your tribe members into this new worship?"

"We agreed on that, and there were some that are going to devote themselves to the gods that sent the apostle to us." The elder goblin made his point, then continued. "You said that there is a fiefdom of his where there are only vacant spots. We need to restart; it would be better if helping a little our savior and to praise him when he come back."

Charon scratched his head. He was imagining how troublesome this apostle was going to become. He left for Midgard 24 hours ago, and now a tribe of goblins is worshiping him as a god.

"I need to make sure, just that elder."

The goblin looked confused at the ferryman. Then, he shouted, "You all, goblins who think Rufus is a god. I am going to take you to his fiefdom."

"Did you say we had to pay, and the trip to his place was expensive?" one of the goblins asked. The elder was a bit taken aback too; he had been trying, since earlier, to get a loan from Charon to permit that all the tribes crossed to Rufus' fiefdom. What could make him change his mind?

Charon was bound to tell the truth to mortal souls. And he knew what kind of thing would happen, but he confirmed their intentions in following Rufus lead. When the goblins arrived, he was going to use Rufus' iron coins for the goblins to travel to one of Tartarus' domains, the one where the goblin deity lived. However, after noticing that they had seen the events until their burials, he decided to measure the devotion of goblins. Charon's Conclusion: They resented their founder god and accepted Rufus as their savior.

"Rufus left enough money to cover all the travel expenses of the devotees to the gods that had chosen him. And I am going to use these funds to take all of you to his fiefdom."

The goblins were astonished. Their savior even thought about the hardships that they would face in the afterlife and left measures ahead. He was truly a benevolent god.

The goblins fell on their knees, and each one of them made a gentle prayer. Rufus and the girls were walking to the road that would lead them to Wheatstone. At that moment, he felt divinity from prayers reaching his vessel. He looked at the girls, but they were talking among themselves about the lake. From where did this divinity come?