The morning market was already bustling by the time Teffania got there. Ludo hovered next to her, smiling to himself as he watched the young girl next to her tugging on Teffy’s sleeve.
“Can we get the honey ones?” Lusa asked, her eyes wide as she pleaded.
Teffy frowned, but didn’t answer her right away. She took a few coins out of the smaller of two pouches tied to her belt. Ludo watched as she counted the coins one at a time.
It’s a shame.
He sighed as he glanced at the much larger pouch. That one held the coins that had to be paid to her loan shark.
Having watched her all through the night, he realised her winnings would have been enough to support them for several months. However, even with paying her debt off, Ludo was sure she had more than enough left to indulge a little.
“We’ll take two of the plain ones,” Teffy finally said to the stall owner. “And one honey. We’ll split it.”
The woman handed over three thick slices of bread wrapped in a thin cloth. Surprisingly, Teffania paid with only a single coin.
Oh, it’s cheaper than I thought with the way she’s behaving.
Lusa took the slice of honey bread from her sister before carefully breaking it in two. She looked at the two slices and handed the slightly larger one to Teffy.
Such a good kid.
All in all, Ludo was in a rather good mood as he accompanied them unseen. The pair ate with content expressions as they browsed the other stalls.
Eventually, Teffania stopped at a stall to look at a pair of boots. They were old, clearly used, but still in good condition. He saw the hesitation on her face as she touched the leather, but she moved on without even asking for a price.
Even with a bit of financial security now she’s still holding back. She’s so used to not being able to buy things she wants. She should be more confident.
He had a good reason to think that. Technically, she’d won against a military commander and even impressed him. So her future looked bright. Yet, she walked through the market as though she could lose everything at any moment.
As they made their way to another stall, a man approached them through the crowd. He was broad, with a clean leather vest over a green tunic. Ludo watched as people just moved out of his way.
Must be someone important.
Then, he noticed the two other men following the newcomer from several paces behind.
“Teffania.” The man grinned as he spread his arms. “Congratulations on your victory. You’ve got the whole village talking.”
Teffy stared at the man as if he were something unpleasant best left forgotten. Meanwhile, Ludo spotted Lusa gripping her sister’s sleeve tightly.
“Groman, I was just about to come find you,” Teffania plastered a fake smile on her face. “I have your money.”
“Ah, straight to business then?” Groman smiled. “I always like that about you.”
So, this is the scumbag loan shark?
Now that he looked closer, the man’s personal hygiene wasn’t the best. It became obvious the nice clothes were to compensate for the rough life he’d lived to reach this point.
Yeah, she’ll be better off steering clear of this guy.
Teffania took the large pouch of coins from her belt and tossed it to Groman. He caught it with ease without paying much attention to it and weighed it in his hand. A broad grin crept across his face as he kept his eyes on Teffania.
“Count it,” Teffania said.
“Come now, there’s no need for that. I trust you, Teffania.”
The way the sleazeball said it made Ludo feel sick to his stomach. He couldn’t help but wonder how Groman had intended to make Teffy pay off her debt if she couldn’t get the money.
“I insist.”
Groman’s smile lingered oddly on his face for a moment too long before he sighed as he slowly opened the pouch. It didn’t take him long to count the coins inside, though his lips moved as he did so. When he finished, he tucked the pouch inside of his vest.
“Paid in full,” he said. “Your parents would be proud. Not many people manage to dig themselves out from under a debt like that.”
Teffy ignored him as she reached for Lusa’s hand. It was a clear attempt to convey that she was done having this conversation.
“I have a question, if you’d indulge me,” Groman said, before she could turn away. “This god of yours. Ludo, is it? The one everyone’s talking about.”
Ludo felt uneasy as something tugged at his mind.
“What about him?” Teffania asked.
“Do you think… he could rig games? For his devout believers, I mean.”
“How would I know if he can do that?” Teffy shrugged with a frown.
“Oh, I think you do.” Groman stepped closer, and although he looked like he was smiling, there was no warmth in it. “You see, my employer runs certain… establishments. I’m sure you understand what I mean. A god who could tilt the odds, even a little bit, don’t you think that would be worth a lot to him?”
“He’ll just need to pray to Ludo and find out for himself.”
“Ah, you know how gods are. Who’s to say he’ll answer? But if you were to put in a good word for me, or agree to work for us…”
“I’m not interested.”
“Ah, but you haven’t heard my offer yet.”
“I don’t need to.”
Teffania glared at him as he met her gaze. Then, he looked at Lusa.
“Such a sweet little sister you have there,” Groman said. “It would be a shame if anything happened to her. The roads to the baron’s mansion can be dangerous. Especially for a girl her age.”
This fucker!
Ludo was getting angry now. It couldn’t have been more obvious that Groman was threatening Teffy. Teffania’s hand gripped Lusa’s shoulder as she pulled the young girl behind her.
“We’re done here,” she said without hiding her disgust.
“Already? But we have so much more to talk about?”
Groman studied her back as she pulled Lusa away toward their home. His slimy smile vanished as he nodded his head.
“Safe travels, then.” He stepped back as his two cronies moved forward next to him. “I’ll tell my employer you declined his hospitality.”
Another threat?
Teffania didn’t wait to hear if he said anything else. She seemed to be in a hurry as she dragged her sister through the crowded market. Every now and then, Ludo caught her glancing over her shoulder.
The silence lasted until they left the crowd. Then, Lusa spoke up.
“Who was that man?”
“No one. Don’t worry about him.”
“Was he trying to give you a job?” Lusa’s face scrunched up as she tried to make sense of what she’d heard.
“He was, but it’s not a good one.”
“Oh.”
Thankfully, Lusa didn’t press the matter. She seemed to accept her sister’s explanation as if it were natural.
Back at the house, Teffania moved like a whirlwind. She pulled a sack out from under her bed and began filling it with their things. Spare clothes, a wooden comb, a small knife, and anything else she laid her hands on. Meanwhile, Lusa stood in the doorway, her face going pale as she watched.
“Sis, what are you doing?”
“We’re leaving.”
“We’re leaving home? Now?”
“Yes.”
“But, where are we going?”
Teffania paused, her hands shaking as she held the sack. “The Baron’s town. I need to go there for the next round of the tournament. So I shouldn’t waste any time.”
“The Baron? And I’m coming with you?”
“Yes,” Teffy sighed as she rubbed Lusa’s head. “It’s a long walk, so go make sure I’ve got everything you want to take with you. I don’t know when we’ll be back.”
Lusa nodded before running off to gather her things. The bright little kid seemed to think of it as some grand adventure with how excited she’d become. Meanwhile, Teffy was hesitating. She kept chewing her lip as she checked the stuff she’d packed.
That was when a notification popped up.
New Follower gained.
Huh?
Now this was a surprise. Even with Teffania’s tournament win, and people praying to him, he hadn’t gained an actual follower other than Teffy yet.
What’s this about?
But his good mood from gaining a new believer quickly crashed and burned.
As he pulled up the relevant menu, and looked at the details, the name of the person made him freeze.
It was Groman.
The loan shark from the market was praying to him. It wasn’t a casual prayer either. Curious as to what he was asking for, Ludo stopped intentionally blocking the voices that tried to reach him. There were only three people praying to him at that time, so it was easy to single out Groman’s voice. It was an honest request for a blessing to help him win at dice.
Ludo laughed with a sneer.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s not happening.”
He quickly blocked out the voices again and left the prayer unanswered. Groman had threatened Lusa. He’d done it with a smile, and he’d meant it. Ludo wasn’t going to give him anything.
Faith +1
That made Ludo smile. He’d guessed he didn’t need to respond to prayers to gain their Faith after the crowd prayed to him at the tournament. It felt good to be taking something from someone who usually only took from everyone else.
Still, it seems actual believers give more Faith.
This was something else he’d noticed. Despite the large crowd and the many prayers that came in, he actually didn’t receive much Faith in comparison. He wasn’t sure of the exact number, but he reckoned a non-follower prayer gave something like 0.2 or 0.3 Faith.
Just as he thought that would be the end of it.
Faith +10
What the fuck?
Ludo was gobsmacked. He quickly opened up his mind again and immediately groaned.
How desperate is he?
That’s right, there were now ten people asking for the exact same thing as Groman.
It made him uneasy.
These people weren’t praying because they needed him, or actually enjoyed games. No, they were praying because they’d seen what he’d done for Teffy, and now they wanted it for themselves. Even if it meant devoting themselves to him.
Is that all people will see me as? A tool to cheat at games?
It also revealed a serious flaw to Ludo. Imagine a god who had hundreds or thousands of followers, and there was someone trying to abuse their blessings. They could easily get someone else to act as their proxy without getting caught.
That thought stuck with him as Teffania finished packing. Before long, she slung the sack over her shoulder and took Lusa by the hand. The pair stood in the doorway, dwelling on their memories for a short while before walking out of the house.
Ludo silently floated next to them as they left the village. Teffy’s head hung low as she focused on placing one foot in front of the other. Ludo honestly wondered what she was thinking right then. It must be hard to leave your family home. Especially when it’s all you have left of your parents.
However, he had his own issue he was struggling with. More Faith kept coming in, showing that Groman hadn’t given up yet.
I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid. Ugh, did I just jinx myself?