“Uh, that’s six realms,” I interrupted. “What’s the seventh?”
“We don’t talk about that one,” Tolin said, his tone indicating that he wouldn’t answer any more of it. “Now, where was I?”
“Hell,” I answered.
“Ah, yes. Hell.” He sighed before he began again. “Those who cultivate hatred and cruelty are reborn there, dragged into the depths by the weight of their bad karma. There, they suffer great torment for their wrongdoings. Only when that bad karma is used up can they be reborn into another plane, and so start the cycle again.”
“You said I would travel between these planes,” I said. “Do you expect me to keep dying and being reborn? Because I’d really like to avoid death as long as possible.”
Tolin shook his head. “For an Immortal, there are other ways, and you must study hard to learn them. The journey will take centuries, but as you master the elements, they will extend your lifespan, allowing you to complete your mission.”
“So, I’ll live forever?” I thought I’d heard some amazing stuff already, but this was on a whole other level.
“Nobody lives forever. If you’re not careful, you won’t even last days. This is a perilous undertaking, and there are many who would stop the Swordslinger: those who profit from the world as it is, with all its flaws and corruption, those who don’t want to see it redeemed. They will go to any lengths to prevent the rise of the Swordslinger and the birth of a new age. But if you can survive the perils they throw at you, you will live far beyond the lifespan you were born to.”
I looked at him, this strange old man who was promising me so much. On the one hand was power and near-eternal life; on the other, hard work and danger.
But if I’d been afraid to face hard work and danger, I never would have joined Running Blade, never would have been sent to the Himalayas, never would have been here in the first place. Maybe some people would have walked away from it all, but for me, the danger added to the thrill.
Besides, I didn’t have a lot of friends in this new world. If I was going to survive here, never mind finding a way home, then I needed to work with whomever I could find.
“There’s no time like the present,” I said. “How do we start?”
Tolin lifted Master Softpaw from his lap, and the cat mewled in protest as he was deposited unceremoniously on the floor. The caretaker stood, grunted at some ache in his joints, and walked toward the door.
“First, we have to make you fit into this world,” he said. “You can stay at the temple for now, working as my assistant. I’ll have to find you some proper clothes, instead of those ugly things.”
I looked down at my clothes and shrugged. “You have something better in mind? They call these designer clothes back where I’m from.”
“All clothes are designed by someone. It’s just a shame that yours were designed by a sailmaker, not a tailor.”
“Touche,” I said with a wry grin.
I followed him out the door and onto the veranda running around the main temple. The boards squeaked beneath our feet, and Master Softpaw pounced at the sound before peering through the gaps in search of imagined mice.
For all I knew, there really were mice. The place was certainly run down enough for it.
“We’ll find you a weapon,” Tolin said. “You were lucky those orcs came at you barehanded—not everyone will be so considerate.”
We walked past the doors to the main chamber. I glanced inside, but it was too dark to see much.
“Is there a fire-slinging sword in there?” I asked. “Maybe one who calls herself Nydarth?” I chuckled under my breath.
Tolin stopped and turned to look at me. “What do you know of that sword?” he asked, a little too eagerly.
“Nothing,” I said. I didn’t want to share more of myself until I had more proof I could trust him. “I just thought I saw a shelf at the back, somewhere a weapon used to be.”
“Hm.” Tolin looked unconvinced. “Let me show you the weapons you can have.”
He led me through another door and up a flight of stairs. At the top was a wide room with mats on the floor, like the dojo of a martial arts school. Weapons sat on racks around the walls: swords, clubs, spears, bows, and others I didn’t recognize. It was strange to find such a fine collection of well-cared for weapons in a busted-up temple, but Tolin seemed full of surprises.
“Choose wisely,” he said.
I walked around the room and looked at each weapon in turn. There were long-bladed spears with edges gleaming in the light that came through the open window; vast clubs with rounded heads of stone and bronze; samurai-style swords, each with a single sharpened edge and a handle wrapped in intricately patterned silk. As I picked up each one, I started to get a feel for their uses—the way they were weighted, the movements needed to swing them in battle, how they would cut or crush.
I found myself drawn to one in particular. I unsheathed a simple, double-edged sword of shining steel, its narrow blade nearly four feet long and with a blue tassel hanging from the pommel. The weapon was light enough that I could wield it with one hand, but the handle was long enough to let me use both for extra strength.
I slid it back into its sheath. “This one.”
“An excellent choice.” I hadn’t heard Tolin approach, but he was standing next to me, holding a set of gray robes trimmed in a blue that matched the tassel. Had he known which blade I would pick?
“What will I say if people ask why I’m carrying a weapon?” I asked. “After all, I’m meant to be a lowly caretaker’s assistant.”
“No one would ask such a foolish question.” Tolin handed me the robes. “We live on the outskirts of the Danibo Forest. You must
