Ch.29

The next day.

"Even if you only use your f, f, fists, you are f, f, far stronger than our family or anyone else would expect, ninth." Ogram stood at the ruin's main entrance, a fur bag on his shoulder containing provision for the road ahead and a handful of gold coins Erik had gifted him for his help.

"I, I, I, Ogram Basara, eighth child of Skadi Basara, acknowledge your path, little brother. May your wyrd grow strong and fame spread to all of Ulreon."

Erik showed a rare sober smile to his sibling, his dislike of the teenager alleviated though all sins weren't forgiven, not yet but it was a start.

A loud bang echoed in the ghost town as the stutterer slammed his axe against shield to symbolically seal his words.

"Thank you for everything, l, l, little brother. Feels weird calling you that," the teenager said.

"Please don't," Erik forbade it, feeling strange shivers.

"I, i, in any case, I owe you a life debt," Ogram said, grinning to erase the shame. "I'll be sure to repay it. Whatever you need from me in the f, f, future, just ask."

A Basara's favor was invaluable. Although it might be more difficult after the loss of his totem beast, if the Ogram of this life rose to a greater standing, Erik could certainly use his support. "Words spoken cannot be taken back."

"N, n, never."

Erik nodded. "Power after weakness."

"Power before peace."

"Power above freedom."

With those ritualistic words given, Ogram bid his farewell, walking out of town. Erik could see through the spiritual realm the big teenager has been rewarded with a golden thread for surviving the direwolf. His current brother was on his way to become stronger than in Erik's memories.

A notification weaved into existence.

—

[Congratulation! You've earned your older brother's acknowledgment and changed his Fate, in doing so accomplishing a rare deed! Reward: +40 wyrd]

—

One acknowledgment, eight more to go.

'Eh, I guess all deeds, rare or common, give an amount of wyrd depending on the deed itself.' he thought, unable to understand how this mysterious system worked. Certainly, the rarer the deed, the greater one's reward, but even amongst deeds of the same rarity, there were differences and thus higher or lower rewards.

"So, did you get what you wanted, White?" Erik declared, turning towards the ruins and another matter that required his attention.

The ghost appeared in the physical realm through a convergence. "I am most pleased, child."

"Good, then go back to the Void before you lure me again in an impossible situation."

"Come on, if I knew about the direwolf, I'd never have guided you here. As for the ghosts, I was convinced you'd manage somehow. You've proven quite the resourceful child so far. And, should I remind you you've yet to release the cursed souls of this town which was the whole purpose of this journey."

Erik had guessed as much.

He gnashed. "Be honest, you wouldn't leave even after I free them." He disliked the whole idea of an invisible entity haunting him everywhere he went. No privacy. However, he had resolved himself to this fate for some time now.

"Indeed, my wyrd lies with you. I can feel it."

A ghost could feel? Now that was news. "What do you really want, White?"

"Right the wrongs. Ice cream. Croissant. Honey cakes. Many things. Like you starting to call me by my real name: Erik."

…

Certainly, "Erik" was a popular name in Nurmen but… "Not gonna happen. Unless you got a middle name or a nickname, it'll be 'White.' Calling a ghost that'll stick by my side 'Erik' is… no, just no."

"Rick then."

"I can make do with that." The convergence weakened, another one opened, reestablishing the connection between both plains. "The others are asking when are you planning on undoing their curse?"

A notification appeared.

——

[Fate Quest: Naglfar's Tormented Souls]

Objective: Free the cursed souls of Naglfar.

Time Limit: None

Rewards:

1° Body type: Phantom Hand

2° +30 Wyrd

——

"Well, to start with, they have to tell me what this curse is all about. Truth be told, it's not my area of expertise." His basic shamanic knowledge taught him little about how freeing lost souls worked, even less how to undo curses.

"That much I can teach you."

Even if he couldn't see it precisely, Erik imagined the ghost was puffing up his chest. "You were a shaman in your life or something?"

"Hehe. Come." Rick put both hands his behind his blurry back and started hovering in direction of the church.

Curious, Erik followed him, wondering what surprises awaited this time.

Past the church, at the foot of the mountain within the ruin town's borders, a frozen waterfall glistened, reflecting sunlight.

Erik gazed up, estimating its height to be around 30 meters. Taking a closer look, he could feel nefarious energies oozing from behind the ice.

"Their souls are linked to it," Rick said.

Slash!

Like a wolf, Erik clawed off the ice revealing a massive nothing; rock and snow. And yet he could feel something was there. "A hidden door?"

"Bingo. Closed, it fuses with the mountain. A near perfect camouflage. Now, the problem is no one but a pure blooded Basara can open this door—transcendents not included. Am I right, Munin?" Rick eyed the raven perched nearby, observing them with keen interest.

Rex was still recuperating from his wounds inside the church so the raven was the only one by Erik's side.

"So it is truly you, Erik," she flew down on her contractor's shoulder.

"Rick," Erik corrected, not wanting to be confused with the ghost.

"He bore this name long before you, kid. It isn't your right to strip him of it," the raven replied.

"It's fine, Munin, if it confuses the child so, then I shall use my nickname." Rick said, sounding calm and accepting.

Surprisingly, Rick seemed to understand her.

"I've had my doubts since your appearance differs and my memory is vast," the totem beast landed on Erik's shoulder. "Why is an old crow like you haunting my contractor?"

'You know each other?' Erik sent her a mental message.

'Yes. I cooperated with him around ten thousand years ago.'

Ten thousand years ago!? Baffled, Erik looked at the ghost in a new light. 'Rick has been erring the spiritual realm for that long!?'

"It's been a long time, bird, hehe."

Oh no, Rick said the b-word.

"Fuck off!" Munin scowled. "Laugh all you want now, when the kid unlocks my true form I'll kick your ethereal ass!"

It seemed they knew each other quite well.

"Should we work on the matter at hands?" The ghost switched topic like he did towels; if he ever used them. "Would you kindly open that door and release those poor souls?"

"Tsch, the kid needs what's inside to train anyway. If there is anything left, that is."

As much as it pained his pride to be bossed around by two beings he couldn't fathom, Erik followed the raven's instructions, cut his palm with his knife and placed it on the hidden door to keep his promise to the lost souls.

Crack!

From his palm, golden rune snaked up the rock, coming alive after a thousand years slumber. The seal that maintained the room shut shattered as the door slid inside the mountain.

"Wildfather," Erik muttered, peering inside the darkness. He could see thousands of bones littering a spacious room, making it almost impossible to see the ground.

"Naglfar has changed much since the last time I saw it." Munin said, "I hardly believe it myself but it was the ancestral town of your clan, where it started from humble beginnings. It has never developed into a city because, at the time, they wanted to keep it simple, small, and cozy."

"Before they left it, they erased all traces and the inhabitants' memories and trapped them in their vault, all so they could hide their shameful sin and start anew." Rick added, "The Basara clan cursed their souls to keep people out of this place."

"Dishonorable," Erik spit, clenched fists, anger flaring inside him. No one deserved such curse. As someone who had died with many regrets, he could empathize with the ghosts. "How can I release them?"

"Normally it'd require a powerful shaman's spell but you've broken the seal that trapped them thanks to your bloodline. All that is left is for you to burn their bodies and honor their memory."

***

Stars gleamed in the black tapestry of the moonless sky, their majesty unparalleled and the stories they told infinite.

At the center of Naglfar, the town's mead hall burned, Erik had used it as a pyre to save time. Flames licked wood and bones, their appeasing light glowing on Erik's face, accentuating his rough yet elegant facial features.

"Rest assured, I will find the sins of my ancestor, right the wrongs, and restore your honor in your name," he said to the many ethereal beings observing him. "Be free, now."

Rick and Munin watched in a ceremonial silence.

Gentle whispers carried the will of the dead as bones crumbled to ashes freeing them of their torment.

"Freedom at last."

"May your wyrd grow strong, last shaman."

"Thank you, Inheritor, thank you."

He nodded towards the ghastly crowd diminishing by the passing seconds, blurry figures dimmed and faded, transforming into golden dust.

Suddenly, a thread of bone ashes whirled around the fire like ribbons, it flew above the buildings and then dove down towards Erik whose eyes grew wide.

"Don't move, child." Rick said before the teenager's reflexes kicked in.

Ashes enveloped his right hand which turned grey white for a moment until his skin absorbed it all and a notification appeared.

[Congratulations! You've cleared the Fate Quest: Naglfar's Tormented Souls!]

[Rewards: 1° +30 Wyrd / 2° Body Type: Phantom Hand]

"May this blessing help you weave your fate, Erik Basara."

The whispers disappeared along with the lost souls put to rest. Amazed, Erik examined his right hand. In the physical realm, nothing unusual. In the spiritual realm, however, his hand up to the elbow shone white like the ghost.

'Interesting,' Erik thought, reading through the details of his new body type. 'It appears I can touch spiritual beings now and temporarily fade my arm into the spiritual realm.'

Many possibilities opened to him with this new body type, though, testing would have to wait for later.

"Thank you, I'll make good use of it."

***

A few minutes later.

From thousands of bones, only ashes remained but…

"Why are you still here?" Erik asked, seeing about a handful of ghosts gathered around him, Rick included.

Problem was, with so few of them, no convergence formed, which meant no communication was possible until he somehow increased his Saga's grade and earned more knowledge that would contain some clue on how he could speak to spirits. He had a feeling he could upgrade [Shaman Senses] or that would unlock more features.

The other problem was, with the ghosts gone, the saga [Last Shaman]'s fame decreased to Almost Unknown and the wyrd bonuses it provided went down from 50 to 15 instead, however, its grade increased to Uncommon, unlocking new benefits.

Well, considering everything gained on this trip, he wouldn't complain.

"They probably decided to follow you," Munin said, guessing her contractor was still seeing ghosts.

Thinking back on the previous Fate Quest, Erik found her words to be true.

"Damnation."

*****

Lore Extract:

"What the fuck?"

—Caliber Wolf, watching Naglfar's ghosts' funerals.

——

System Extract:

Saga: [The Last Shaman]

Grade: Uncommon

Fame: Almost unknown

Benefits:

1) Basic shamanic knowledge.

2) +15 wyrd.

3) Spirits and souls will look more favorably on you.