Free The Honorable Barbarian by L. Sprague de Camp Page A

Vurnu conceived a new universe, these souls remained imprisoned in the diamond. I told people that, therefore, in this cycle human beings were born without souls. Only I could release captive souls from the Cosmic Diamond, which I possessed, and assign them to bodies. Naturally, I gave my own followers preference in thus ensouling mortals.
    "This was nonsense, which I made up out of mine own vagrant fancies. But my followers loved it. They flocked to my temple, and soon my subordinates began setting up more Temples of Bautong.
    "I said that Bautong, my patron god, had guided me in this holy work; and the treasure rolled in. So vast became my wealth that I could command obedience from the Lord Sophi. My spies in the households of the great, from the Sophi down, kept me apprised of their malfeasances and scandalous doings. This knowledge proved useful in persuading them to contribute to Bautong.
    "Then one night, Bautong himself visited me, a fanged and fiery presence. To prove that this was no dream, he laid his hand on the wall and left a black, scorched handprint still to be seen. If any further proof were needed, the aspirant temple girl who shared my bed awoke and fled screaming.
    "Bautong complained that my methods were giving him a bad name amongst his fellow deities. I must, therefore, close the temples, give my hoarded wealth to the poor, and go into exile, on pain of punishments too ghastly to repeat. So here I am, striving by prayer, austerity, and doing such good as I can to enhance my lot in my next incarnation."
    "Was the Cosmic Diamond a pure fiction, or didst pass off some bauble as the true gem?"
    Pwana chuckled. "A shrewd guess! At first I told my worshipers the diamond was too precious to expose to their mundane gaze. Then my activities brought me a gem as big as an egg of one of yon gulls. So I caused it to be set in the forehead of the statue of Bautong; but covetous wights persisted in trying to steal it. Every few mornings, my temple attendants had to remove the corpse of some would-be burglar, slain by one of my familiars, and to clean up the blood and scorched flesh.
    "When I went into exile, methought it unwise to leave this bauble where it would tempt weak mortals to sin. So I pried it from its setting and put it safely away, in case the gods should call me back to my spiritual duties. And now, Master Kerin, methinks we can enjoy our frugal repast."
    They ate, washed out the pot in the surf, and returned to the hut. Kerin's eyelids sagged.
    "And now," said Pwana, "I shall explain my theory of probability. It is that, for a sequence of events to occur, the chance of the whole series taking place is the product of the chances of the individual events in the series. Take your nationality for example. If the chance that you, with your complexion, were not a Novarian were one in four, and with your features were one in four, and with your accent . . ."
    Looking around, Pwana found that Kerin had fallen asleep, curled up against the wall of the hut.

    When Kerin awoke, the sun was near to setting. It took him an instant to orient himself. Then he found Pwana hoeing his garden. The hermit said:
    "Aha there, Master Kerin! On the morrow, you can bear a hand with the weeding."
    "Glad to, if my blisters permit."
    "I shall speed their healing with a minor spell."
    "But tell me," asked Kerin, "how can I get hence to Salimor?"
    Pwana leaned on his hoe. "Kinungung is not an established stop for ships, albeit I often see them sailing past. That is one reason for my choice of this retreat."
    "Could one build a signal fire?"
    "One could, but then one might draw the attention of pirates, who are not too proud to snap up a single castaway to sell in the slave marts. Whereas I fear not death at their hands, it were wrong to expose you, with many years ahead, to that fate.
    "There is another possibility. An old sea captain, a friend of long standing named Bakattan, stops by here on his way to the Inner Sea. He brings news