Chapter 12

Gourd Blower

My inventory screen held a few items. Items I had forgotten about from ten years ago. There were a few health potions, a couple of mana potions, and various blocks of exotic wood. There were a few other items but I stopped looking when I saw the Fable stone. I held my hand out and mentally called out the Fable stone.

As soon as it popped into my hand, it glowed a fierce turquoise. It flashed. Everything went dark. My eyes were open the entire time, but it still felt like I came to, in some far away part of the world.

I found myself floating in a compact sphere of nebulous clouds, somewhere in the heavens.

Alright, here we go!

I hadn’t touched a Fable stone in more than ten years. I was excited to visit the gods again. I wondered which three I would be faced with this time.

The colorful clouds all around me wisked together to make two forms. Humanoid forms. Giant forms. Colors and clouds coalesced until the giant gods seemed quite real from the waist up. I instantly recognized one of them. I also wondered why there wasn't a third. As this wasn't a regular occurrence for me, I didn't put too much thought into it, focusing instead on the goddess I’d briefly met before.

“Dellia Lucerne!” I said.

“Adventurer,” she said.

“You must be Hawkin,” the other god said. He crossed muscular arms over a wide chest. His hair hung thick and wiry. He was unkempt, as though he’d recently pulled himself from the sea and salt crystals had dried in his beard. “I am Potere, god of-“

“I choose Delia,” I said. I allocate Dellia Lucerne as the god of my quest path.”

Potere narrowed his eyes at me. For a moment, he was silent.

“Hawkin knows what he wants,” Dellia said. “His desires are more in line with mine.”

“Don’t you want to hear what I could offer you? I’ve existed eons longer than Dellia. I can navigate you through a life of adventure and far flung travels!”

“That’s where you're mistaken,” Dellia said. Potere ignored her.

“I can offer you quest rewards that outmatch Dellia’s by ten fold. My reputation is woven into the very fibers of your world.”

“Hawkin isn’t an adventurer who wants to find himself traveling the world,” Dellia said.

“Nonsense,” Potere said. “Dellia is already failing you, Hawkin. Choose me as the god to oversee your quest path. With my boons and influence, your name shall become legendary. Together we will improve my influence on your world!”

“Dellia’s right,” I said.

“Of course I’m right,” Dellia said.

“I want to stay right where I am. I love these woods. I’ve…”

I may have even made a new friend.

“Absolute nonsense,” Potere said. “Dellia has poisoned your mind. She has sedated your ambitions. You were born to be a great adventurer!”

“I don’t want to be a great adventurer,” I said. “I just want to live my life and brew beer.”

“Not just any beer,” Dellia said.

No. Not just any beer. I want to replicate the ale that the brothers shared with me. Even then, that doesn’t seem to be enough. I want to…

“You want to push the envelope,” Dellia said. “I've told you once before, Hawkin. You’ve done something with yourself that has opened you up to become one of the world’s greatest brewers.”

“Riddles!” Potere said. “Dellia is a young goddess who straddles the line between a false god, and a trickster! You are weak if you cannot see past her ruse!”

Potere’s vehement words shook me. My mind instinctively questioned whether Dellia was tricking me or not. I gazed upon her. Her eyes were closed in a measure of practicing patience.

“I can promise you a fruitful path,” Potere said. His voice was now saccharine, and there was a cosmic glint in his eyes. His smile wasn’t one of mirth.

Dellia. It has to be her. She knows what I want more than this temperamental god. Even if he is more experienced.

“I choose Dellia Lucerne,” I said.

Potere’s odd smile withered and he muttered under his breath. He shook his head slowly, as though I were some naive soul charging head first into death. Then his form dissipated back into clouds which broke and rained a universe of lights.

“I knew you would choose me,” Dellia said. “Though, you did make a mistake with Potere.”

“How’s that?” I said.

“You interrupted and rejected a god in the same breath.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve used a fable stone. I didn’t mean to be rude. I knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t interested in what Potere had to say, honestly.”

“Your honesty could come back to hurt you. The fact that Potere left means he may hold a grudge against you. If he holds onto it long enough, it might turn into contempt.”

“I should have been more patient. You’re right.”

Dellia smiled and her form wavered as she looked upon me. Then her form began to dissipate.

“I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Hawkin. Your quest path begins now. I’ll guide you as best as I am able to. Take this boon and be well.”

I came to in my cabin. I was sitting on the edge of my bed. My hands were empty. My vision came back to me as if I had stood up too fast and the blood rushed to my head, then drained away and let me see again.

[Fable Stone used.

Dellia Lucerne assigned as god to quest path: Brewer

Rewards, quest path, and loot will now be influenced by Dellia Lucerne.

Dellia’s reward: Gourd Blower skill book]

Gourd Blower skill book acquired]

[New Quest Objective: Use Gourd Blower skill book!

Reward: Ten squash and one small brewer’s loot chest.

Use Gourd Blower skill book?]

[Y/N]

Gourd blower? What could that be?

I checked my inventory and saw the skill book beside several different blocks of wood. I haven’t had to make a new handle for my forester axe in a while and I’d all but forgotten about the spare material.

The fire in the stove was low and the cabin had gotten colder. I was sure it would snow again soon. Maybe tonight while I slept.

My gut was correct. It snowed while I slept. I woke up to a chilly cabin. The fire in the stove had long gone out. Thrush was gone, and he’d even thought to close the door behind him.

I could hear the snow on the roof. I could feel it in my bones before I opened the door and gazed out at white woods.

I filled the stove with wood and fire, but some water to boil for tea, and prepared some squash to roast. Then I tidied up a bit, and prepared to go chop some more wood from the big oak while breakfast was roasting.

I didn’t hear the blue jays this morning, but I left them a small dish of nuts and fat to enjoy. Their silence told me Thrush might not be too far which was oddly comforting. I was at peace and at ease while I chopped wood and transported each log to the ever growing pile of wood beside my cabin.

Still have a long way to go before I feel I have enough for the rest of winter. For now, I’m cold and hungry. Let’s see if Thrush is home and if the squash and tea are ready. Then I’ll take some time to absorb my new skill book and see what gourd blowing is all about!