Ichor Cell-Chapter 6: Helpful old man

“Uhhhh…” Alex froze before rubbing the back of his head ruefully. “To be honest I didn’t really expect you to agree. Thank you for this.”
“No problem.” The old man assured him, though the slight tension in his shoulders told Alex that he wasn’t quite over his fear just yet. “Now, ask away.”
Considering the fact that everything Alex
did
know could be written on a one sided sheet of paper, the answer was obvious.
“Tell me
everything
.”
The old man looked at him for a second, then bent down and grabbed one of the ruined cabbages that had rolled out of the crate before suddenly throwing it at Alex’s head. With his new body he should have easily been able to dodge, but he was so stunned by the action that by the time he thought to move the cabbage had already met his face.
“Hey! What the fuck was that for??” He questioned indignantly while rubbing the point of impact.
“Language! Also do I look like I have infinite time on my hands? I wasn’t aware that I was a god, but maybe you can see something that I don’t!”
Seeing Alex’s confused expression, the old man threw another cabbage at him.
“Were you dropped on your head as a baby?” The old man questioned while pointing a bony finger at him. “What kind of answer is “everything”? How the hell am I supposed to know everything, much less have the time to tell it all to you? If I knew everything, do you think I would still be running a store at my age? I would have long retired in my mansion, with all the riches various kings and lords would give me for my wisdom! Tell him everything, he says. Boy! Give me a real answer!”
“All right, all right, goddamn!” Alex cowered. “If that’s how you wanna be, then fine!”
He considered for a bit more. “First, I want to know the name of this country as well as its general layout, including the name and location of this city.”
“You don’t even know the name of our country?” The old man asked in disbelief. “Wow, you really are some sort of otherworldly creature, aren’t you? Why would I ever tell you any information about the defences of this city? I don’t want to die, but I don’t think my life is worth compromising a whole city’s defences.”
“For the last time, I’m not some bloodthirsty monster, I’m just… lost.” Alex tried to defend himself, losing steam the further he got into the sentence and ending on a lame excuse. “Plus I couldn’t care less about the city’s defences. I just want to know the general layout, the type of stuff a regular citizen needs to get around.”
The old man simply quirked an eyebrow at that, not even deigning to give it a response.
Slumping his shoulders in defeat, Alex finally gave up. “Whatever, just tell me what you can about this place.”
“Very well.” The old man leaned back and shuffled around to get into a better position. “The country we’re in is called Orenthia, and our little city is called Crebes; well, I say little, but it's actually quite important to our rulers."
"What's so important about it?" Alex asked.
"Nothing much, it's just the biggest exporter of various foodstuffs in the country." Grenil shrugged with a smug grin. "It's estimated that around a fifth of Orenthia's food production takes place within this city."
"That much?” Alex was surprised. That number was nothing to scoff at. "So it must be pretty prosperous, right? Actually, before that, how many cities are in this country? If there are only two, it’s not quite as impressive."
Grenil chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about that. There are several dozen, some estimate there to be over fifty of them!"
"That is impressive." Alex nodded along. "That explains the guards with the magic laser beam swords I ran into yesterday."
“You had a confrontation with some guards?” Grenil’s eyes sharpened at that.
“Yeah.” Alex replied, looking up from the ground. “I got into a fight with them for reasons I cannot disclose and they chopped off my arm.”
“But…” Grenil frowned, before indicating with his hand. “You still have both arms?”
"Huh?" Alex looked down again. “Oh yeah, right, they grow back now!”
“Did you just say it grew back??” The old man immediately shot back, despite his previous assurances.
When Alex threw a pointed glance his way, Grenil smiled awkwardly before cautiously shuffling back to his seat and sitting down, however he still maintained a tense posture.
‘God dammit. There goes all the hard work I just put into convincing him he was safe.’
Alex thought in exasperation.
Suddenly his eyes widened.
‘Shit! Where did the severed arm go then? I swear I took it with me when I was running away!’
The old man watched cautiously as Alex once again burst into a strange series of actions with seemingly no explanation. He got up and started searching around himself, then he began searching throughout the shop, lifting every piece of furniture and looking through every crack.
When he had completely scoured the bare shop interior in a scant few minutes, Alex walked up to the old man, who curiously asked. “What was that?”
“That was me looking for my arm.” He sighed, his mind racing as his eyes darted around the room, trying to remember where he had dropped it.
“Wait a minute…” Alex narrowed his eyes, recalling his escape from the mansion. He remembered grabbing the arm, emptying out all the blood and getting to the roof for a better vantage point. He remembered reaching the big wall and climbing on top with the arm in his mouth, however he did not seem to recall having the arm when he left.
Upon further reflection he realised that he had dropped it when punching the poor guardsman, and hadn’t picked it back up.
“God damnit!” He swore as he started pacing.
‘So you’re telling me that after all that work, I still just left it lying around? Even worse, I left it right at the scene of a murder? For fuck’s sake…
’ He dragged his hand down his face in exasperation.
“I’m happy to sit here and listen to you talk to yourself for as long as you want me to, but I would still prefer to know what is going on.” The old man chose this moment to remind Alex of his existence.
“Right, right.” Alex stopped to turn around to face him. “I just realised that I left a severed arm of mine lying around near the location of my conflict with the guardsmen. I am now worried about whether they have some magic that could track me through a body part, or even worse, some long distance cursing that would do me in without me even knowing.”
“You can really regrow limbs??” Grenil asked incredulously.
“Apparently so.” The young man replied. “I didn’t used to be able to. But that’s besides the point. Just help me out here. You know more about the magic here than I do.”
“Well I won’t pretend to be an expert in these matters as a puny mortal.” Grenil tilted his head in consideration, “However I will say that magic like that seems way beyond what regular guardsmen and even most nobles are capable of. They might be able to do some harm, and tracking you is definitely on the table, but remote killing like that sounds too advanced for them; at least I've never heard of something like it happening.”
“You just said you have no idea what you’re talking about!” Alex threw his hands up in exasperation as he resumed pacing. “Why would your words reassure me? For all we know, they might be able to call down a meteor from the sky to smite me whenever they want!”
“Well…”
“It’s fine,” He lowered his arms. “If they can do that, then I’m screwed either way. It’s better to assume that their capabilities are limited to tracking me and move forward with that assumption.”
Stolen novel; please .
Grenil nodded at that. “Worrying over something you cannot change is a pointless endeavour that will only make you more miserable. It’s surprising that you’ve figured that out at such a young age.”
“Anyways, before I try to figure out my next course of action, I still need to figure out the situation here.” Alex said as he walked back to the old man and sat down.
“If you say so…” The old man quirked an eyebrow. “As I was saying before being interrupted, we are in a country called Orenthia, in the city of Crebes. It is an important trade city; its position right in the middle of the nation means it can quickly supply almost any area if the need arises.”
“This is actually why on top of a huge number of farmers and the like for food, it possesses a much higher percentage of crafters than most, as well as a greater military presence.” Grenil gestured at Alex with his hand. “So in a way you were quite unlucky—in any other city whatever you did might not have drawn as much attention or as many guards. On the other hand, you
are
lucky, since you managed to get away.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that one…” Alex muttered darkly, thinking back on the horrors he had committed in that bedchamber.
“Pardon?” The old man asked.
“It’s nothing.” Alex shook his head. “Continue.”
“Well, the power structure in this city is the same as in any other throughout the region. At the very bottom there’s the slaves.” Grenil relented. “Usually consisting of captured criminals or prisoners of war, they have no rights whatsoever. They cannot own land, earn money, or even walk the streets without express permission from their master. To make sure they’re easy to identify they have several markers.”
“One is a rune branded directly onto their forehead. It’s rather large and almost impossible to miss, so you’ll definitely recognise it when you see it. It is said that in higher circles where magic is more commonplace, the runes are more than a mere marker. They speak of powerful mind magic capable of turning them into a mindless machine that can only obey its master.” He shivered. “A fate I personally believe to be worse than death."
Alex agreed with the sentiment. Especially in his case. While he might be able to recover from physical harm, he wasn't sure an attack on his mind could be shrugged off quite as easily.
“The other mark is a collar.” He moved on. “There’s nothing magical about it; it’s only used as an identifier, as well as a way to lock the slaves up when needed.”
“Damn.” Alex had to stop and think about that.
As someone that had grown up in the modern world, with modern sensibilities, he obviously found the idea of slavery distasteful. However… Alex knew himself, and he knew he was not a very kind person. He wasn’t some sort of saint, willing to put his life on the line and make it his goal to rid this world of slavery.
At the same time, he wouldn’t consider himself a bad person, because if it didn’t inconvenience him too much, he didn’t mind helping someone in need, but only to a point.
‘Whatever. Think about moral dilemmas and the wrongness of slavery when you’re not in danger of being hunted down by magic sword wizards.’
He told himself before nodding at Grenil to continue.
“The next level is us.” The old man explained, gesturing between the two of them. “The commoners.”
“Woah woah woah.” Alex interrupted him. “Who said I was a commoner?”
The look Grenil gave Alex at that moment was absolutely dripping with condescension.
“Hey! What’s that look for?” The young man complained. “Maybe I’m a noble that got mugged and a hit to my head made my memories disappear! You don’t know.”
The look in Grenil’s eyes intensified.
“Okay, okay!” Alex raised his hands. “If it makes you happy then I can be a commoner.”
“Commoners actually make up the majority of the population, as the name implies.” The old man chose to ignore him. “We are allowed to own land, though not too much, and are usually employed where skilled labour is needed, such as jewellers, weavers, and shopkeepers.”
“What about women?” Alex asked, aware enough of this time period to know they weren’t really considered… people.
“What about them?” Grenil tilted his head.
“Do they also classify as commoners or are they something between a commoner and a slave or…” The young man gingerly asked.
The question seemed to truly baffle Grenil as he stared at Alex with complete befuddlement. “Why on earth would women be ranked differently from men?”
“Uh…” Alex tried to think of a way to tactfully explain Earth’s history of sexism.
“You know what?” Grenil raised a hand. “I’m not even gonna ask.”
‘Huh.’
Alex thought.
‘How surprisingly progressive of the people of this world. Though I guess that in a world with literal magic, there are some women that could absolutely destroy any man that would suggest they were lesser.’
“The next tier above that are the merchants.” Grenil continued. “Technically they are simply commoners with a lot of money, but enough money opens many doors. It allows them to do and own things that regular commoners cannot, which is why people usually place them in a category of their own.”
“Entering the ruling class, we have the nobles. There are a bunch of subclasses among them as well but that’s not really relevant, and I also don’t really know them. Nobles are usually people that have rendered some kind of meritorious service to the city or nation, which gets them an audience with the council and a chance to rise above their station.”
“There are however exceptions.” Grenil said, his eyes narrowing. “It is said that some nobility was not appointed by the council, or at least no council of mortals. I have heard of several cases of commoners doing some task for the gods and being rewarded with riches, nobility, and sometimes even Divine artifacts. Though that last one I would take with a grain of salt.”
“Why?” Alex asked. “Rewarding some kind of magic treasure for a job well done doesn’t seem that crazy.”
“If you don’t know anything, stay quiet. Better to say nothing and be suspected a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Grenil snapped at him. “I’ll get to that in a second.”
“Jeez, relax, I’m just asking questions.” Alex put his hands up defensively. “Please continue.”
“Where was I?” Grenil frowned.
“Magic nobles.” Alex helpfully supplied.
“Ah, right. Divinely appointed nobles.” The old man nodded. “As I said, some people are ennobled by the gods themselves. They don’t really have any advantages over regular nobility; people are just less willing to mess with them because they are usually already rather powerful. They’d have to be to complete the gods’ tasks.”
“The main differences between a noble and a rich merchant are twofold. The first is that the merchant is still a commoner and cannot own a significant amount of land, while the noble can. This ensures that while they can gain great wealth from trading, merchants will never be truly self-sufficient. The second is that nobles are allowed to own their own private military force.” Grenil focused his eyes on Alex.
“That fact is the one thing keeping our society the way it is. Commoners will never be able to overthrow nobles because not only do the nobles have more money and influence, but they also have absolute power as well. A trained, well-equipped platoon can take on a hundred times their number of untrained commoners and come out on top. If you had gotten into a fight with a merchant, you maybe would have had to deal with one or two hired bodyguards, four or five at the most. For even a small sized noble house? Thirty men easily.”
“I see.” Alex frowned. “So what you’re saying is I got really unlucky.”
“Well, I don’t really know the circumstances of your conflict, but if that’s what you believe then sure.” The old man shrugged. “Finally, above even the nobles lies the Acropolis. That is the real seat of power in each city. They care not for all the conflicts and petty machinations of the lower city as long as we continue to pay tribute to them.”
“And what exactly do we pay in tribute?” The young man asked in apprehension.
“Faith.” Came the reply.
“What do you mean faith?”
“I mean faith. Prayers.” Grenil focused his eyes on Alex’s face. “Gods reside upon the acropolis, and to live under their protection we provide them with faith.”
Alex stared at Grenil’s expressionless face. “You’re telling me the gods actually,
physically
live in this city?”
‘If the people I attacked have any sort of connection to the so-called Acropolis and enlist the help of a god… I might be fucked.’
He broke out in cold sweat at the thought.
'He did say that gods existed in this world, but I thought they were more abstract and metaphorical. If there are actual, physical gods on this planet, within this city even, that makes things much more dangerous.'
“No, no! Nothing of the sort!” Grenil waved his hands. “When I say they reside there, I mean that’s where all the temples are situated, not that that’s where they actually live. A few minor gods may be staying up there, but the majority of those are so weak and have so few believers that they may as well be human. No, while the people living up there are either members of the council or their families, real gods live in the divine realm.”
"Oh, thank god!" Alex just about dissolved from relief, pumping his fist into the air.
'I get to survive another day!'
Grenil stared at his celebration impassively.
“Sorry about that.” Alex shook coughed awkwardly. “I occasionally forget I have an audience. I usually have it under control, but recent events have made it quite hard to stay focused.”
“I can imagine. Whatever led to you waking up naked inside my store covered in blood must not have been very pleasant.” The old man nodded, but the wariness in his eyes didn’t dissipate.
‘All that talking and he still thinks I’m insane.’
Alex sighed to himself.
‘Well, I don’t blame him. Kinda hard to trust someone you meet like that.’
“Anyway," He tried moving on. "Do these gods have names or do you just refer to them as their domain?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for example the god of fire. Do you call him the god of fire, or does he have a name?" He clarified.
"Oh, that. Of course they have names. Everything has a name, and if something didn't people would give it one." The old man scoffed, before leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't tell anyone, but I believe even the greater gods were once mortal."
Alex gave him a surprised look, intrigued by the possibility. "Do you mean it's normal for a mortal to become a god?"
"The short answer is yes, but that's a whole other conversation which we'll get to later." Grenil waved the question away.
“Why?” The younger man asked.
“Look, I have nothing against explaining things to you, but could we do it while we work? I was supposed to open half an hour ago and my store is also a complete mess thanks to a certain someone.” Grenil interrupted while shooting Alex a pointed look.
“Oh.” Alex was taken aback. Looking around, he realised that the older man had a point. The store was a complete mess, and he did promise to pay back the owner for the damage he did in some way. “You’re right.”
Getting up, Alex directed his gaze at the shop owner, who was also getting to his feet. “So… how can I help? I have to remind you that I can’t really take anything outside of the store due to my allergy.”
“Well first of all, you can help drag all of the debris to the side exit.” Grenil jerked his thumb behind himself. “There’s a dumpster that way, but it’s outside so I guess you should just leave everything near the door and I’ll carry it out.”
Alex nodded his agreement and got to work.