EV B2 Chapter 26:

  I studied the man's face for several moments. It was an average face attached to an average looking man. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, with a strong jaw and a wolfish proportion to his nose. His brown eyes held a surety that surprised me. Even with that defining quality, he wouldn't stand out in Valhalla at all. This place was full of self-assured men and women. No, there was only something that stood out because I was paying attention. It wasn't necessarily the calmness of his eyes but a steady look like there was nothing in the world that could move him.

  As I looked down at him, I could see the top of his slightly thinning hair and his bushy beard that went down nearly to his chest. That was strange. Everyone I had seen so far looked like a 25-year-old in perfect health. The only bald men clearly shaved their heads by choice or habit. I had never bothered to do anything with mine, and it was the same standard cut I wore my entire life. The man still looked 25, but maybe he had balded early.

  I offered my hand in the normal greeting everyone around here used. My plan was turned slightly up and extended a bit farther than a traditional handshake.

  "I'm Miles, and you're right. This is the first time I'm here," I said. He reached over and clasped my forearm with a strength that matched my own.

  "You can call me Brother Peter."

  "Well, Brother Peter, it's an honor to meet you," I replied.

  Our gazes were still locked as I turned slightly so we could both face the board.

  "Well, that brings me back to my earlier question," Brother Peter said. "Is there anything I can do to help? You seem to be interested in maybe leaving an offering for Tyr."

  I looked over at what was essentially the jobs board and shrugged. "I was considering it."

  "Well, if you don't want to leave an offering, the rewards aren't half bad at all," Brother Peter said, a smile in his voice that was infectious. I could see why he was such a charismatic potential leader—or at least, why he had been described to me that way.

  I felt a slight pull. Was his Charm stat even higher than mine? That shouldn't be possible. I focused for a second and felt my Inscisive Gaze activate. It told me he was only level 18, but it wouldn't give me any more information.

  Well, I was only level 23 at the moment. But my fifteen levels in Arcane Fool gave me a leg up against everyone. Of course, I didn't get any points automatically assigned to Charm, and I hadn't been using my free points there. Did he have a class as well? He might not need one. If his blessing had unlocked Charm and he'd been able to put points into it, maybe...

  I studied him for a moment longer before realizing I had forgotten to respond to what he had said.

  "They're not half bad. And outside of the monthly challenge, it's the only way I've seen to make coin. As a single person." So far, this was mostly true. Unless you wanted to go down Bjorn's route.

  Brother Peter blinked, surprised. "Really? You must be new around here. Many temples have some sort of work that can be done for most gods. Obviously, Tyr's the vastly superior choice, but you could also work as a barkeep or find some sort of position fixing or creating weapons. Nothing that will be fully enough. The challenge is still necessary—and really the only way to make lots of money."

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  As he said the last word, he tapped the side of his nose with a wink, telling me that the gods' plan of trying to force everyone to get their money through the challenge didn't work as well as it had been explained to me during the orientation.

  I never really bought that. I think the only reason the challenge became relevant—or stayed relevant—was the 20%. Perhaps it was the way to earn the most amount of money, but that coin still needed to enter an economy, and from there, it had to circulate. There were always people at the better end of things, trapping more wealth and power than others.

  Well, I already knew you could buy carries the challenge, but maybe there were more mechanisms keeping that from growing out of control.

  "Yes, I'm new," I told Brother Peter. "I barely managed to get the last challenge done since I showed up only days before it arrived. I know, I know—I technically had a month's leeway. But, I don't know, there's something about the feeling of accomplishment when you set your mind to it."

  "Mm. That's impressive to finish a new challenge so fast. And with just coming here. It is the opinion of the church that Baldur is a little too soft when setting his challenges, but impressive nonetheless. Did you have a party to do it with you?" Brother Peter asked.

  "Yeah, I did. Though it wasn't something that was going to last."

  "A temporary party, I see," Brother Peter said with a knowing nod. "Those are complicated business, of course. Parties formed through a temple, like Tyr's, won't have such fragility. We tend to form bonds that last, such as the Brotherhood of Combat."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Really? It feels like almost everyone here focuses on combat. Why would going through a temple like this make it any different?"

  "Well. Let me put it into perspective. Back on Earth, you were aware of gangs and gang violence, right?"

  I wasn't surprised that someone was going to talk about life before Valhalla. That was usually taboo. It also told me about his general time period. But that was still a century, or so I figured he could be from.

  "Well, there was a lot of conflict and fighting there, and for the most part, they formed—"

  I noticed a slight hesitation in his speech there, as if they wasn't the word he wanted to use.

  "They formed real bonds. Bonds that kept them together. And sometimes, they were lasting. But most of the time, when something could easily split them apart, loyalty wasn't the same.

  "But take most military units that fought for a cause—for something righteous and just. Those bonds would last until everyone was dead."

  I wasn't sure I believed what he said, but it was a chance to learn more. So I went with it.

  "It sounds like you have some personal experience," I said.

  A twitch echoed through Brother Peter's facial features, but he suppressed it almost instantly.

  "I think this second chance at life gives us all the ability to start fresh," he said haltingly, then sighed. "However, I don't have a problem talking about my past. It's just that most people avoid the subject."

  I nodded. "Yes. There's good reason for that, for the most part."

  "What about you?" Brother Peter asked. "What did you leave behind? I don't think anyone who ends up here is 100% satisfied."

  "No, I don't. I mostly agree with you," I replied. "I left behind some family—and quite dramatically."

  I found myself wanting to be more honest with this man than was probably wise. His charm stat must have been very high.

  "What did you do back in the before?" I asked after a moment of companionable silence.

  "Oh, I was a janitor," Brother Peter said with a faint smile. "There's something so satisfying about cleaning up filth and putting it away. About removing debris and disorder."

  He went on to talk about what he loved about being a janitor. As he spoke, I realized that, like everyone here, Brother Peter was a bit more than a little crazy.