Chapter 35: Reuniting With the Twins as a Rock?! (Patreon)

As I mentioned before, I reworked Chapter 33. You don't have to reread it, but here are some of the important changes:

Alice tries and fails to manipulate FOT's body with [Haunt Object].

It is much harder to control a human body than a doll.

Alice completes the [Establish a Shrine!] task, unlocking the [Consecrate Earth] skill, which allows Alice to infuse faith into an area and thus provide a strength buff/debuff to her believers/enemies.

She subsequently consecrates the abbey, establishing it as her sanctuary.

[Voices of Prayer] ranked up.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Reuniting With the Twins as a Rock?!

"Are you daemon-touched, Priest?"

The two men stood beside Alice the Rock, the rows beyond filled with several of Alice's new faithful. Their heads were clasped together in prayer, seemingly oblivious to the tension that unfolded mere feet away from them.

The Mayor's men had arrived later in the day, armed with spears and clubs and bits of armor that made Alice worry more than anything else. The soldiers had not entered the abbey, however.

Only the Mayor of Waterhold had.

"That question is an insult," Kuonrat growled, which was not the kind of answer Alice would have given with half a dozen soldiers waiting outside his abbey doors.

The Mayor of Waterhold's face was an impassive mask. He reminded Alice of Dirt, albeit with less fur and a straighter back. Her short stay in Waterhold had already convinced her it was not a wealthy town, and the Mayor's slimy roughness seemed only to solidify that truth. He was a middle-aged man with short-cut brown hair and a starved face that held little kindness.

"Master Alice of the Merry Weather is the true god of Waterhold," Kuonrat continued, his voice rising with zeal as the faithful muttered prayer beyond him.

"I have received no such report from the Counsel of Magi," the Mayor said, and he allowed himself the faintest of smirks. "Has a [Magi] visited our fair town? That would explain the commotion at the North and South Gate."

Alice was not sure what the Mayor was talking about, but Kuonrat did not seem overly concerned with whatever commotion was going on elsewhere in Waterhold.

"Master Merry Weather revealed Her Magnificence to me Herself," Kuonrat said, his beady black eyes sparkling.

The Mayor clearly was not convinced.

Well, I suppose that's what whispers are for, Alice thought to herself, and for what felt like the hundredth time that day, she planted a rather complex desire.

"Believe in me!" Alice whispered with [Serpent's Whisper]. "There is nothing strange about Waterhold's old g-god returning!"

"You need but look at those trembling with faith to see the truth of Her Power," Kuonrat said, oblivious to the whispers Alice had worked in the Mayor's head.

No black text graced Alice's sight as the Mayor turned his starved face to regard the muttering faithful. His eyes found Urd pushed up against the wall, looking as terrified as she had been before.

"Your new god even welcomes those scorned?" the Mayor asked, almost mockingly. Alice felt a nerve pop in her nonexistent face.

"Master Alice of the Merry Weather is a kind god," Kuonrat said, his voice adamant. "Even you, Mayor, can receive Her blessing."

The Mayor opened his mouth to respond, but Alice's focus shifted away from the bickering two. Her [God Sense] extended beyond the walls of the abbey, revealing even some of the street outside.

"Oh!" Alice almost leapt with surprise as two familiar faces appeared at the very edge of her sight.

"Them's the Mayor's men," Axel said, his eyes blackened and his nose swollen.

The other twin's answer was to gulp noticeably. A filthy rag was wrapped around his forehead and was still red with blood where Red Shirt had slashed him.

"Well, I believe all this talk about daemons was a tad... overblown."

Alice snapped back to the Mayor and Kuonrat as the man nodded respectfully to the Priest.

"I will, of course, have to send word to Grimma," the Mayor said, and though Alice had no idea who that was, the name curdled Kuonrat's expression. "The [Magi] placed our fair valley under Master Zora's control, after all."

"There is no god but Master Merry Weather in Waterhold," Kuonrat said resolutely, and Alice wondered both with excitement and fear if Grimma was the name of a [Magi].

The Mayor offered FOT's body, which had been propped up against Alice the Rock, a brief glance, offered Kuonrat a final bow, and marched hurriedly out of the sanctuary towards the soldiers waiting outside.

As the man passed Iver and Axel, the twins looking around awestruck, Alice heard the Mayor mutter darkly under his breath.

"More like the god of Waterhold's cripples and urchins..."

Alice felt another flicker of anger and was contemplating if a well-placed [Smite] might help improve his attitude when the twins noticed Urd pressed up against the abbey walls.

"Urd!" Iver shouted, and The Girl jumped as though a fire had been started under her.

Urd's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as the twins ran up to her. Kuonrat seemed hardly to notice the shouts as he watched the Mayor leave through the abbey doors.

"What happened?!" Axel asked, his eyes shifting anxiously from Urd to Alice the Rock at the head of the sanctuary. "We're heard... There's all sorts of talk in town! Is that the Master?! Why's She look like that?!"

Alice could not help but smile as she watched her three faithful reunite. She had known that not all of her urchins had abandoned her, but she had not dared to hope Iver and Axel had remained true. The twins had suffered the worst at the hands of Red Shirt and his friends.

They should really see a doctor or something, Alice thought to herself as she eavesdropped on Urd's conversation. Almost idly, she blessed both boys, willing their aches and injuries healed.

"I... I felt it!" Iver said, looking around excitedly. "God is here! She has Her own church now!"

"That's Her doll!" Urd said importantly, pointing at FOT's inert body. "She made it Herself!"

"Woooow!" Iver and Axel said in unison, neither noticing Kuonrat as he drew nearer like a storm cloud.

Their excitement vanished as the Priest's shadow fell over them. Alice could see the fear in their eyes, could see them retreat back a step as if unsure.

"Truly, you lot are to be praised," Kuonrat said, and he reached for the twins. Both boys flinched, but Kuonrat did not strike them. "I see now that you innocent younglings were the first to accept Our Master's divinity!"

Iver and Axel seemed petrified with confusion as Kuonrat violently patted them on the heads.

"It's... It's true then!" Axel said, retreating from Kuonrat's hand. "You've... You've learned all about the Master."

He glanced over at Urd, unspoken words revealed for all to see in his uncomfortable stare.

"What have you heard?" Kuonrat asked, and Alice recognized a tiredness she had not noticed before now.

Iver and Axel exchanged an anxious look. They seemed reluctant to speak, but Alice suddenly found herself worried to hear what they had to say.

"Tell Kuonrat everything!" Alice planted the desire in Axel's ear with [Serpent's Whisper]. She already knew from the Mayor's concern that the town had not welcomed their new god with open arms.

Axel chewed on his lip. When he spoke, he did so to the floor, not daring to look up at the Priest.

"Well... I heard you've gone... insane," Axel said. "They say you're daemon-touched, that you've betrayed Zora and- "

The twin might have said more, but Kuonrat's bark of laughter sapped whatever courage had allowed him to speak so bluntly.

"What foolishness," Kuonrat said. "I pray that the Master forgives them."

And at these words, a hungry look came over the Priest. He turned to Urd, who shrank away from his attention.

"Does the Master speak to you, child?" Kuonrat asked eagerly. "Has She wisdom to share?"

Urd bit her lip, and Alice realized dimly that she had been rather silent. The excitement of her first sermon and everything that had followed had left Alice more than distracted.

I suppose most gods aren't super talkative, though. That was actually what made most gods seem godlike, Alice felt. Now's probably not the best time for me to clam up, though.

"Tell Kuonrat he did a very good job," Alice said, and Urd's face broke into a wide smile beneath her bandages.

Kuonrat's expression mirrored Urd's own as Alice's words were conveyed. Alice wished she could share in their delight. The Mayor's skepticism and Axel's comment left her with nothing but a frown.

"Urd, ask Kuonrat if he is worried that people might..." Alice bit her nonexistent lip. It was not hard to imagine what people would do if a false god suddenly popped up. "Does Kuonrat think people might attack the abbey?"

Kuonrat's excitement softened as Urd conveyed Alice's worry. He nodded his head thoughtfully as he spoke.

"I know You shall be our shield," the Priest said, which made Alice wince. She was not the shield her new cult needed at the moment. She was not altogether sure how powerful [Consecrate Earth] was. "Forgive my impertinence, but I sent your faithful servants to acquire protection for the abbey until such a time that the unenlightened might learn of Your Glory."

Alice brightened at this comment. [Geological Memory] summoned a brief conversation between Kuonrat and Daan. She had not known what help Kuonrat had sent Daan off to collect, but it was clear now that it was some kind of protection.

Hold on a minute...

Curse Spread: Daan Puck

Severity: Powerful

Received experience!

Received cursed energy!

[Geological Memory] went even further back, summoning the moment Daan had first touched Alice the Rock as they moved her body out of the cavern. She had not given much thought to his name then, but...

Both Dale and the street urchins mentioned a Puck Boy Gang before, Alice realized. Is that the protection Kuonrat is talking about?

"With your permission," Kuonrat began, and Alice was snapped free from her thoughts. "I wished to spread the Good Word of Your return to more of Waterhold."

Alice felt as though this was an awful idea. If what Axel said was true, the rest of Waterhold thought Kuonrat had lost his mind, that he was daemon-touched. Whatever that meant.

But I suppose there's no other way to acquire more believers, Alice thought to herself. While FOT's guidance had said Alice needed a hundred, it seemed like she would need to convert all of Waterhold to avoid having her followers burned as heretics.

"Urd, tell Kuonrat he is to... to spread the Good Word about My Return," Alice said. Her focus swept over the abbey and the new faithful bowed in prayer. Not all were cripples like Maika, but none were exactly NFL quarterbacks. "But have him... Tell Kuonrat to take some of the newly converted with him."

The Priest bowed in solemn acknowledgment. Alice would feel better about Kuonrat knocking door to door if he had a few others watching his back. It was never going to be easy to convert Waterhold, but she was starting to realize it might just be deadly.

Four of Alice's eleven new faithful left with Kuonrat. She blessed each of them, wishing them strength of arm and tongue. When they left, the abbey suddenly felt so much quieter, so much less secure.

Urd had begun to regale an eager Iver and Axel about all that happened the night of Red Shirt's death, but Alice could find no joy in Urd's excitement. She could not help but tap her nonexistent foot in impatience.

She had taken the first step. She had revealed herself beyond the minds of street urchins or the dank cavern of violent cultists. [Geological Memory] was quick to replay the violence that had flared, the danger that had cracked Ivor across the face and left his lip bloody. Alice had been lucky to receive [Consecrate Earth], but who knew if her luck would last.

What she needed more than followers was power.

And the thought tickled free another memory.

I still haven't selected a [Divine Miracle]! Alice realized, wanting to kick her rock body.

Some of her anxiety vanished as she quickly opened [Divine Development], Urd's excited retelling disappearing from Alice's thoughts.

Divine Miracles

[Divine Miracle] available for selection

Holding her nonexistent breath, Alice focused on the text and was rewarded with a familiar pop-up. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she had selected her first miracle.

Select Miracle to Unlock

Divine Burden: Once a day, you can remove and absorb the accumulated suffering of others and then place this burden on a selected individual. If the individual is able to overcome the bestowed suffering, they will receive a special blessing equivalent to the suffering placed upon them.

Divine Stigmata: You can establish a [Divine Mark] for your followers to adorn themselves with. You will be able to monitor the well-being of those wearing your [Divine Mark] and can grant them healing or suffering depending on your will.

Divine Proclamation: Once an hour, you can bestow a [Divine Command] to all followers of zealous faith. Those who obey your [Divine Command] will receive a temporary special blessing that will assist them in the completion of your will. Those who ignore your [Divine Command] will suffer greatly for their arrogance.

Alice felt some of her worry chip away as she read the three miracles. Perhaps it was because she actually had followers now, but her mind raced with the possibilities each could provide.

I really like the sound of [Divine Proclamation], Alice thought to herself. The last set of miracles had been for once a week, once a month. Every hour sounded much more useful, and to be able to shout at all of her followers at once!

Everything would be so much easier if I could just blast commands instead of having to speak through Urd or whisper in people's ears one by one.

[Divine Stigmata] seemed useful for much the same reason. Being able to monitor the well-being of those who wore her [Divine Mark]... It wouldn't be the sight she gained from [Divine Communion], but if the description could be believed, she would be able to know if Kuonrat and the others were being attacked somewhere in Waterhold.

[Divine Burden] seemed interesting, too. The Mayor hadn't been wrong about saying she was a god of cripples and urchins. Those that had been converted from Kuonrat's sermon were not the prettiest and heartiest that had listened.

And then there's Dirt and his family. I'm not sure anyone would be able to overcome that kind of suffering, though, if I plopped it onto their shoulders.

Alice read and reread the three miracles, her nonexistent brow furrowing as she played out in her mind which would be the most useful.

In the end, her thoughts turned once more to the weakness of her followers, to the healing she had given to almost all who had crawled before her on trembling claws and feet.

[Divine Stigmata] would mean I could heal people more easily, Alice thought to herself. She wasn't sure if she would ever need to inflict punishment on one of her believers.

Nodding to herself, Alice settled on that miracle.

New Skill Unlocked: Divine Stigmata I

Divine Stigmata (Rank I): You can establish a [Divine Mark] for your followers to adorn themselves with. You will be able to monitor the well-being of those wearing your [Divine Mark] and can grant them healing or suffering depending on your will.

Just like the first time she had selected a miracle, Alice was overcome with an immediate rush of doubt and anxiety. She certainly didn't feel any different... though she realized right away she wouldn't.

The skill description said I can establish a [Divine Mark]... but what the heck is that?

"I still can't believe that's God!" Axel said, the conversation pressing forcefully against Alice's thoughts now that the screens had disappeared.

"She was just a small rock before," Iver said, his eyes wide as he studied Alice the Rock's new sapling form. "She looks so cool now!"

Alice blinked as the words washed over her. It seemed so simple. It seemed so stupid. But Alice was pretty sure she knew what her [Divine Mark] would look like.

She was about to tell Urd all about what she and the others needed to draw when something appeared at the very cusp of her [God Sense].

"Oh."

The streets around the abbey had been largely deserted since the first sermon, as though the town of Waterhold was afraid to approach.

"Oh shit."

But people were approaching now, and they were certainly not looking to convert.

"I saw that daemon-touched Priest run off with some of his crazies," a man said. In his hand was a torch, though the morning sun was bright overhead. "I say we burn that daemon-tainted abbey to the ground before he comes back!"

Oh snap! I think Urd is about to become extra crispy!

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