“Good, I’ll join you when I’m done here.”
Nakor went inside the building, where another disciple was overseeing a class of students, five this time, listening to the introductory lesson on the role of good in the universe. Nakor realized that most, if not all, were there for the meager food his church provided after the lecture, but he was always hopeful someone would answer the call. So far he had recruited five new students, for a total of six counting Sho Pi. Given he had unilaterally decided to create a church for one of the four greatest Gods in the Midkemian universe, it was a very modest beginning.
“Any questions?” asked the disciple, who had himself heard the lecture for the first time only a few weeks before.
Four of the students looked back with expressions showing limited comprehension, but one tentatively raised her hand.
“Yes?” asked the disciple.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing what?” said the disciple.
Nakor stopped and listened.
“Not you, all of you. Why are you preaching this message of good?”
The disciple looked at Nakor with near panic on his face. He had never been asked anything so basic, and the simplicity of the question was confounding him.
Nakor grinned. “I’ll answer, but first I must know, why do you ask?”
The girl shrugged. “Most who preach are servants of one of the common gods, looking for something. You seem to be asking for nothing, and I wish to know what is the catch?”
Nakor grinned. “Ah, a cynic! How wonderful. You, come with me. The rest of you, wait here and you’ll eat.”
The girl rose and followed.
Nakor turned as he led her into what had once been a shipping office and now served as his personal quarters. A half-dozen sleeping mats were strewn across the floor, and a small brazier heated a pot of water. “What is your name, girl?”
“Aleta,” answered the young woman. “Why?”
“Because you interest me.”
The girl looked Nakor up and down frankly, and said, “Well, priest, you don’t interest me if you’re looking for a companion.”
Nakor laughed. “That’s funny. No, you interest me because you’re curious.” He poured tea and handed her a small cup. “It’s not very good, but it’s hot.”
She sipped at it and said, “I agree. It is not very good.”
“Now, about your question. I will answer you if you tell me what brought you here.”
“I worked at an inn to the west of here before the war. It is now ashes. I almost starved during the winter. I have managed to stay alive without having to spread my legs or kill anyone, but I’m hungry, and your monk said there’s to be food.”
“A frank answer. Good. There will be food,” said Nakor. “As to why we do this, let me ask you a question. What is the nature of good and evil?”
The girl blinked, and Nakor studied her as she framed her reply. She appeared to be in her middle twenties. She had a plain face, with wide-set eyes that made her appear to be as curious as her questions showed her to be, and her nose was straight. Her mouth was full, and her chin was strong, and the entire effect was more attractive than not, Nakor decided. She wore a heavy cloak over her dress, but Nakor had glimpsed enough of her as she had crossed the former warehouse to judge her slender, perhaps even wiry.
At last she said, “Good and evil are natures. They have no nature. They are what they are.”
“Absolute?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean do good and evil exist in some absolute sense?”
“I suppose so,” said the girl. “I mean, I think men do what they do and sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s evil, and sometimes I’m not sure, but out there, somewhere, good and evil exist, I guess.”
“Good guess,” said Nakor, smiling. “How would you like to stay with us?”
“That depends,” she said, skepticism clearly evident. “For what purpose?”
“I need smart men and women. I need people who realize that what we’re doing is important, without taking themselves too importantly.”
Suddenly the girl laughed. “I’ve never taken myself very seriously.”
“Good, neither have I.”
“What is it you’re doing?”
Nakor’s manner and voice turned serious. “Out there are forces beyond your understanding. Beyond mine, too.” He grinned, then returned to a serious demeanor. “Many of those qualities many people think of as being ‘abstractions’ are truly objective entities. Do you understand me?”
The girl shook her head. “I have no idea what you just said.”
Nakor laughed. “Very good. You are honest. Let me put it another way. The Good Goddess is sleeping. She is in a trance caused by evil forces. To awaken her we must do good in her name. If enough of us work on her behalf, she will return to us and evil will be driven back into the shadows where it belongs.”
“I understand that,” said Aleta.