Beliefs

[Zerrif]

"Get your fresh fish right here! Cheaper than that cheapskate by the boat, and better quality too! Bass, Salmon, Angels, I got them all, come one come all!" Rang a voice standing on the Alberta docks. A tall, muscled merchant, with long green hair tied back in a ponytail that reached down to just above the small of his back, stood in front of a cart that seemed to be slightly overloaded with fish. People were crowding around him, and he was quickly replacing fish with bags of zeny.

"Hey! You! One, you're ruining my business, and two, there's a bloody ship coming-- can't you see it? Get off of the dock you moron!" Shouted a fisherman, as the crowd soon dispersed. The Merchant just smiled, and hefted up his cart, which was now full of zeny.

"That's what you get for messing with Muarim the Merchant." He replied back, before he dashed off, carting his newly-made money off to a banker for safe keeping. He snickered to himself as he ran. "I knew getting into fishing would be lucrative. Just gotta undercut a slight bit, but make enough for bait, and you're set!" He looked over his shoulder to see a meagre vessel pulling into port, and just shrugged, continuing west of the docks.

---

"Finally, Alberta!" D said, thankfully. The last bit of the ride had been rather tumultuous for the smith's stomach, and he'd been glad to have his feet on even ground, rather than having to deal with his final few retches over the railing of the ship. The Mage took a step beside him, and giggled, arms wrapped around him lightly rubbing his stomach.

"Mm... Well, don't you have those receipts to turn in? Go ahead, we'll go find Gerik's friend." He said. Gerik blinked at the Mage's demeanour. It was far different from the grumpy, just-woken-up flower that he had been no more than an hour earlier. And he was hardly ever this happy. "Right, Gerik?"

"Huh? Yeah." He said, with a nod, as D just nodded, turning around and ruffling the flower-mage's hair. He was quickly gone, beelining for the Merchant's Guild, or perhaps a private place to let his stomach finish what it had started. "Hey B--" Gerik was about to speak, when a loud clacking of wheels on the Albertan cobblestone made him look up.

"Hey! You guys need any fi--" Came a voice, pulling the cart. The Merchant in question skidded to a halt, grinning as he saw them both. "Little boy Gerik? You're an acolyte now?" He asked. "Why, it was only a year or so ago that I saw you still sweeping up those dusty church halls! How're you doing?"

"Hah. He always did have a great sense of timing." "Bascht, this is my good friend, Muarim. He's a travelling Merchant. He carts around all sorts of things into the deepest dungeons, incase any adventuring parties need some emergency supplies." The Acolyte explained. The Mage nodded his head, and the Merchant let his cart thump onto the ground.

"That's right. Muarim's Moving Merchandise-- if you need it, I'll bring it." He said, offering a hand; though the Mage didn't shake it. He just dusted it off on his pants, and smiled, reaching for a wide-brimmed hat, setting it on his head. "So how're the old Fathers doing? Still working you to the bone for minimum wage?"

Bascht blinked. It was like these two were childhood friends. They were soon lost in a friendly banter, and he just moved to the side, sitting on a barrel with Pillow on his lap. Amoren soon padded up and just curled into a ball beside his feet, not acting up at all. The thing was cute, when it wasn't hungry.

"Oh, hey, now that you're an Acolyte, you can supply me with Holy Water! I'll pay handsomely." The Merchant said, before he turned around rummaging in his cart. Gerik just laughed. "Yeah, I've been meaning to go back to the church to stock up, but the Mistress and Master have been keeping me busy. But I always get time off around now to start vending again. You sly dog, you knew I'd be here, didn't you?" The Acolyte's face beamed.

"Mis-- oh right. How's that working out?" Gerik asked. The green-haired Merchant just shrugged. "Well in any case, get me some bottles, and I'll make them while we wait for our third to come back from delivering receipts. We're heading to Payon, see. Going to investigate the dungeon-- I heard the undead are in higher numbers than before."

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! I heard about that too. In fact--" The Merchant suddenly had a ponderous look about him. "You supplied at all for going down there? I just stocked my cart up, and I've got nothin' else to do, really. Want me to come along? I know you said you've already got a third but the more the merrier, right? I'll even discount you huge if you need to use my supplies."

Gerik laughed nervously. Muarim was indeed a hardy fellow and a good friend, but money was at the forefront of his mind at some points. "Well the third isn't accompanying us into the dungeon, just on the way to Payon. It's just me and Bascht over there." Gerik said, turning his head. Muarim turned his as well, before he spotted the fox on the ground.

"He~ey, that's a Nine Tail! Tame too! That's really rare. He for sale?" Muarim asked. Gerik couldn't help but laugh, and shake his head. "Shame. Well hey, I just bought some cheap Tofu from this guy-- he needed cash to go to Moscovia and sold me a boatload. You need any?"

"Yeah. Timing is right. And now..." Gerik thought. "How much?" He asked, almost by reflex. The Merchant waved a hand.

"Nah, pet food is free. Can't have the world's friendlies going hungry, right? That'll just make em angry, and resent us. No need for hate in this world." Muarim said, before he started rummaging in his cart again. He pulled out a hefty bag, at least the side of Gerik's head, and opened in. Within were individually wrapped cubes of the soybean paste. There had to be at least a hundred, maybe two pieces in that bag.

"Really?" Gerik asked. He was even more astonished to see the Merchant nod. "Thank you, Muarim. This will be a big help." He said, before he graciously took the bag. He snapped at the fox, waking it from its slumber. He waved a cube of the tofu around, and before he knew it the vulpine was chewing on his fingers, amicably, not hungrily. "Hehe. You've saved me yet again, haven't you Muar?"

"Yeah, s'pose I have. Well, if we're just waiting for your friend, I'm gonna get some stuff just for the Payon Dungeon, if you don't mind. I'll meet you guys by the Alberta exit." He said, as he waved at the Mage, receiving another silent nod. He shivered a little, before he turned and adjusted his hat, carting off.

"What did you mean, saved you?" Bascht asked, as Gerik came back to the barrels, sitting on a nearby one. The vulpine was at his heels, and he dropped another cube of tofu, before shaking his head.

"No more. You'll get fat." He said, though the Nine Tail didn't really seem to care. He looked up at the Mage, smiling. "What did I mean? Well... I suppose there's no harm in telling."

---

When I was a young boy at the church, I was first in charge of very small duties. Dusting, sweeping, arranging pillows and such for kneelers. Nothing important or nothing that could potentially ruin a service, you know? But as I grew older, I became more responsible-- though a side of me was still childish to the end.

I remember it was an extremely hot, summer day. The kind of heat where it's not just hot, but it's so muggy you can barely breathe. It feels like you're walking through molasses. It was my first day aiding in altar service-- though I wasn't allowed to properly altar serve during a service because I wasn't an acolyte, I did help with setting up, and replacing objects.

It was after, what I had thought was, the last service of the day. I was bringing back the chalice of holy water to the back chambers, when I was passing by a window. Water had never glinted to beautifully before, and I realized just how parched my throat was. I even remember my very thoughts. "It's just blessed water, right? It's still water."

Before I knew it, I had ducked into a small alcove, and I was drinking the water. Footsteps rang down the hall, and so I quickly shut the chalice, which barely contained more than a few sips. One of the Father's found me, and assumed I was just in there for shade. Though, he was looking for the chalice, since they were going to hold one last service for the day, to make up for lacklustre attendance due to the heat.

I panicked. He walked off and I looked inside the chalice again. The water inside looked so meagre, I felt sick to my stomach. I was rushing about the church when Muarim entered, being one to attend the alter ceremonies. He noticed my plight, and in my panic I explained to him what was wrong.

"Hm. Well it's your lucky day that I've got a fresh chalice of Holy Water from the Saint Capitolina Abbey. Looks exactly like that one." He pointed out to me. He showed me the chalice from the cart, and I opened the lid. Dear god, he charged me that water's weight in Zeny, but it saved me.

---

"So he basically saved you from getting in trouble with the priests, huh?" Bascht asked, dangling his legs from where he was sitting. Gerik chuckled.

"Not fully. The priests knew that I'd switched the chalices-- apparently the Saint Capitolina Abbey chalices had a special marking on their lids. I hadn't noticed it. But I was forgiven, and even treated to a cone of Ice Cream by Father Bamph. But ever since then, I'd noticed Muarim attending scattered services-- not always around. I began to talk to him, and I learned of what he did."

The Mage shifted his Lunatic onto his shoulder, where the ball of fluff decided to puff up for a little, before nestling into his neck. "I see. He sounds like a good fellow, if he was willing to do that for you in a time of need."

Gerik laughed raucously again. "Maybe. Or maybe he was after my zeny. I don't know, but I'd like to believe that he is a good fellow. What about you? Any friends from the academy?" Gerik asked. He watched as the Mage visibly stiffened-- the Lunatic on his shoulder even jostled slightly at the motion. "I'm sorry, did I--"

"No--" Bascht started, before he stood up. "D's back." He said, causing Gerik to look over his shoulder. The Blacksmith had a smile on his face, walking back towards the two.

"Ready to go, then? I figure if we leave now, we should make it to Payon before dark." He asked. Gerik stood as well, nodding.

"Even shorter than that." He added. D blinked at him. "I used to live in Alberta, remember? I know shortcuts through the forest. We won't have to leave all that early. I've just one more stop to make, anyway."

"I thought we had only come to meet your friend." Bascht said. Gerik winced a little at the tone of the last word, but the Blacksmith didn't seem to notice it.

"Well... while we're here, I wanted to pick a few things up from my house. I haven't been in a couple years, and I need to disturb the dust a little."

"You have a house here, but you lived in the Pronteran Church?" The Blacksmith asked. Gerik rubbed the back of his elbow, before he froze. Horror filled his eyes, and he started to shake, the Nine Tail at his feet headbutting his leg as if to break him out of whatever trance he was in. D hurriedly rushed over, and sharply slapped the Acolyte, making him blink and stare up. "Sorry about hitting you-- I didn't know-- Is everything okay?"

"... Memories." Gerik mumbled, before he stared down the road. The Blacksmith just nodded. "I just need to get a few things from there, and then we'll leave."

"Understood." Bascht said from behind the smith. "Well then, shall we? Best not to linger upon places like this."

Gerik just nodded, though it was empty.

---

"Mama! Mama look! I bought this for you!"

"Cretin! How dare you! We don't have the money for this and you--"

A slap. The crack echoed in the room. Beads fell to the ground, clattering like little thunderous drops everywhere.

"I just... I thought it'd look pretty..."

"Tell your father. Now we have to figure out what to do with our money this month."

Crying. Feet running upstairs. A sigh.

"I had bought it for you... since the clothes you always wore looked so dirty..." Gerik mumbled. The room was barely lit, wooden boards over the windows letting only slivers of light in. It was dusty too, he felt like his sinuses had just backed up the moment he'd opened the door.

In all truth, he was surprised the place still stood, and that his key still worked. He was here, now, knelt beside his mother's night-table, holding a rosary in his hands. He'd tried to gather up the scattered beads after it had been smacked out of his hands and fallen, but he was missing four for his last decade. Still, he wrapped it intricately around his arm, the cross just dangling on his wrist.

"I'm sorry I was so stupid then. You kept buying me the nice clothes, the nice food, the things I wanted. I just wanted to pay back your kindness..."

"I realize, however, I wasn't meant to pay it back, but to show that upon others. I won't let you down."