9. New Associates


    Mercurius began the next day trading once more, he bought stone for his citizens, splurging 200 gold coins which were soon used to great effect. Loyalty had definitely been bought, the amount of Trade Points were in the millions, such profound quantities of godly power were of course extremely useful to Mercurius who further cemented his mercantile miracle, getting to 5000 gold coins within a mere hour. While trading among the Hunur, there among their steppe, near the Hitaran border, Mercurius was conducting some trade as usual, when two figures caught his attention. There among the hide tents, in the open sun, two figures were running away from Hitaran horsemen, and then Hunur horsemen blocked the fleeing people causing them to stumble.


    “They are idolators! They must be punished, those filthy dogs!” The Hitaran said, getting his sabre ready to strike them down.


    A man and a woman, both in their 20s held idols in their hands, cradling them and waiting for the release of death.


    “Excuse me, I will negotiate their release,” Mercurius said, “how much?”


    “It is not negotiable, unbelievers do not get pardoned!”


    “Pardoned,” Mercurius repeated, “I will pay for their release.”


    “How much?” The Hunur cavalrymen said, “1000.” No way in hell do they have that much.


    Mercurius soon returned with 1000 gold coins, astounding both the Hitaran and Hunur soldiers. They looked aghast at the gold.


    “We still have to kill them!”


    Mercurius took a hand of one and the other and whisked them away to his barony between Balna, Uruq, mountains and the Hunur. A man in his 20s clasping a woman in her 20s. Both grovelled in front of Mercurius in relief.


    “Thank you! Thank you!” The man said with tears filling his eyes, relief spilling in every gulp of breath.


    The man looked at the temple with astonishment.


    “Lord Mercurius, how, who are these people?” A citizen of the Barony asked.


    “They were people in trouble who I helped, I wonder myself?” He said, looking at the two figures.


    A woman with light green hair and green eyes, and a man with crystalline blue eyes and blue hair.


    “I am Mercurius, evangel of the God of Trade? You are?”


    “I am Ur,” the man piped up, “I am the devotee to the God of Water”


    “Gaia,” the woman said, “devotee to the Goddess of Agriculture.”


    “Goddess of agriculture?” Mercurius whispered, “does that mean you can make things grow?”Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    “Yes it does,” both rescued people said, “although it needs water.”


    Mardonius and Salutius came to look at the new arrivals, many were excited.


    “We must build them statues, and temples!” Mercurius said, “the wealth of our community-”


    “We are under attack!” A Hunur person said.


    Roughly 300 Balna soldiers commanded by an enthusiastic lord came, 100 Hunur horsemen likewise came from the East closed in from the distance to enact punishment on the heathens. Native Hunur converts shot arrows at the incoming raiders, the workers all congregating to the temple steps.


    “There’s too many of them, I know a quiet place, it’s a long long way away from here, but if you wish for safety it will have to be there!” Mercurius said, “we must flee. Damn it. I knew it was too good to be true.”


    Balna soldiers fell, but he whisked away statue after statue, and soon his two confidants, and Mardonius’s girlfriend, then it was the two new people with their God Powers. Women and children were whisked, and all the people. Mercurius came back to get his gold, snatching 200 gold, but leaving the rest. The settlement had been totally abandoned, his loyal Hunur were put out of harm’s way before Mercurius took one last look at what was his Barony.


    “Fuck…” he seethed, “fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” He shouted.


    He had saved everyone, and remarkably quickly, but all his work was now being looted. Snatching some iron, wine and food he returned. He returned once more looking upon the Balnan lords looting his temple, Hunur and Balnan’s beginning to fight each other over the vast treasure.


    I will get my revenge. I assure you, I will Balna will be mine one day. They will rue the day they messed with the evangel of the God of Trade.


    The weather was much warmed where Mercurius had taken his lot. He was in Moru, or at least close to it. Moru was likewise a Church of Light nation, but he was situated in the far south of it, barely on the periphery, therefore perhaps they could grow their strength there while they waited. Moru was in the far west, far south of the known world, over there he could grow his strength, and rebuild what was destroyed.


    “The temple stands for now…” he muttered, “but we will have to build another one.” Mercurius said wistfully.


    Shacks were made in the sand, now officially stranded far beyond their homes.


    “The weather is nice here, but we will need water more desperately.”


    “I will make trades, and recover our wealth.”


    Mercurius once again ventured out. Buying Northern Kingdom wood, which was apparently thinning out and selling it in Moru and Hitara for a modest sum. He bought Balnan wood and sold it in Zhong. By the end of it all he had made 800 gold. Buying marble and iron put him back at 150gold coins. He sold spices and teas from the east in Balna and Uruq and earned himself some 2000 gold coins. Collapsing on a quilt near the ocean, in their new camp. Workers slowly worked on their new camp. The ocean crashing in the background, the seagulls inspecting the humans down below and occasionally shitting on them.


    “A metaphor for life…” Mercurius said.


    “At least we are alive,” Mardonius said, “we are building statues for the God of Water and Agriculture.”


    “Good luck,” Mercurius said.


    He drank same water, and watched as statues to the two other deities came to be constructed. The water deity had a trident and something resembling a net, the agricultural deity held a bushel of wheat in one hand and stick in the other. Both were replicated in large form. Three first layer’s of marble were put down for three temples, and Mercurius sighed once again.


    Three of them.


    Water was being placed on the floor and wheat was grown, to much astonishment of the local crowds. Mercurius noted that the devotion to the God of Trade lessened, and the rate at which water and crops grew quickened.


    The people are praying to those Gods instead. I can’t be jealous, they’re doing an obvious good.


    Mercurius brought back material for statue making. Gawking at the statues. Three large statues for the God of Water and God of Agriculture were made, allowing them to slowly grow things, while Mercurius collected materials for his new nation. Marble and iron flowed in, and spices from the east flooded the markets of the west. He would collapse that evening, with barely 500 gold coins. Spending colossal fortunes on a slew of materials. The Baron of Nowhere, was now no longer a Baron, now he could become something even greater. He eventually felt the jolt as the temple was being torn down. He would get his revenge.