CH 1: This Place Sucks

[JadedDM]

Hollidan laughs out loud. "Well, she works in mysterious ways. But I'm sure she isn't offended. Which deity do you follow then?" he asks.

[HorizonsDream]

Echo realizes her blunder on calling Gonto a he instead of a she, but she shrugs it off. "Renos," she says.

[JadedDM]

"Renos," Hollidan repeats. "The god that teaches ambition is the most important virtue, above all others? Wow, I'm shocked. I never would have guessed," he says in a monotone, clearly being sarcastic.

[HorizonsDream]

"Ahh, but you're wrong," Echo points out with a smirk. "Of course, that isn't surprising. Renos teaches to find strength within yourself rather than depending on others," she explains. "Ambition isn't exactly the most important virtue, but it does play a part. In a way, it isn't much different than what Gonto teaches, at least when it comes to finding your destiny."

[JadedDM]

"In a way, though, it's quite different. Gonto teaches us to find strength in others. A single stick can easily break, but a bundle is much more durable. One soldier is all but worthless, but an army of them can change the world. Everyone is connected, whether you want to admit it or not," Hollidan says.

[HorizonsDream]

"Seeing the strength in others is fine, and even useful at times. You can't depend on it, though. The only person you can truly depend on is yourself," Echo explains. "And as for everyone being connected, I find that hard to believe." She had been on her own most of her life so far.

[JadedDM]

"Well, Gonto teaches to look at the big picture, by stepping back and seeing everything at once," Hollidan explains. "After all, your mom raised you, right? Maybe you don't depend on her as much as you used to, but you did. And you probably depended quite a bit on the other people in your town, even if you didn't recognize it. Ha! You'd never have gotten this job if I hadn't vouched for you, for that matter.

"There's this old parable, called the 'Self-Sufficient Merchant'. The Phraise tells it much better than me, but I know the gist of it. But anyway, there's this merchant who's really successful. And he takes all of the credit. He started poor and penniless, but built up his business until he's now very rich. He has a gorgeous wife, a big mansion, and big pull with the nobility," he says.

"But then the story goes on to explain how the merchant was raised by his parents until he was old enough to fend for himself. Someone had to have taught him as a boy how to read, to count, and how to deal with people--all useful skills for a merchant. That without the craftsmen to make the goods, he would have nothing to sell. Without the customers to buy the goods, he'd earn no coin. Without his guards to protect him, bandits would have robbed him blind on the road. It goes further than that, though. It was the king and his servants who created the infrastructure that lets him be a merchant in the first place. They built the roads he travels on, they mint the coins he barters for, they keep the land safe and stable so commerce can exist at all.

"So when the merchant claims he built his business himself, he's wrong. He didn't build that. Not alone, anyway. That's what is meant by everyone being connected."

[HorizonsDream]

"Everyone played their part," Echo says. "But that merchant still did most of the work. He had to develop the goods to sell, woo his wife, and so on."

[JadedDM]

"The point, though, is that he had help. We all do," Hollidan explains. "Nobody ever became great on their own."

[HorizonsDream]

"Which means, in the eyes of Renos, they are weak if they admit that they needed or depended on that help," Echo says.

[JadedDM]

Hollidan chuckles. "So it's only weakness if you admit it out loud?" he asks lightly. "That seems kind of repugnant to me."

[HorizonsDream]

"Depends on the person and what that person believes. In my case, if the help was nothing more than a small contribution, then I'm not going to really consider it help. I didn't ask for that help even if they decided to give it to me. Most of what I do is by myself. You can try to convince me otherwise, but I don't see it that way."

[JadedDM]

"Fair enough," Hollidan says. "If I should ever see you in grave danger, I will be sure not to help you, lest I damage your pride," he adds with a smirk.

[HorizonsDream]

"And I'll make sure to be all helpful towards you because you so obviously need it. I have to make sure I'm making my contribution to your soon to be greatness as a paladin," she retorts back to him.

[JadedDM]

"Who said anything about greatness?" Hollidan asks. "I think you're projecting on me. Not everyone is concerned about being the best of the best, you know," he points out.