In this city where commerce reigns supreme, the prosperity of trade casts a long shadow, with the evils of the night lurking just beneath the surface.
Despite the presence of temples dedicated to numerous deities of the good alignment, the influence of the gods of evil cannot be overlooked. Holy paladins view this city as a disgrace, yet due to unspoken political factors and the economic significance of Waterdeep, they are powerless to act.
The goodness that submits to order appears feeble in the face of the inherent evil within order itself; in this regard, they are even less effective than the chaotic good, who are often seen as laughable.
When the caravans' ships dock at the harbor, Tyche never doubts the darkness that lurks within human nature, just as she always believes in the goodness within it.
Having left the North, these profit-driven merchants quickly shed their veneer of civility. During her return to Waterdeep, Tyche received not a morsel of food.
Although she did not need such sustenance, the shock of witnessing merchants openly discussing selling this beautiful young lady into slavery before her very eyes was palpable. No wonder the goddess of commerce and wealth, Waukeen, has lingered at the intermediate divine power level for so long without advancement.
Commercial activities without the guarantee of trust can collapse due to a minor accident or lie, let alone merchants who often meet their end through betrayal on long journeys. Bandits and foreign races in the wilderness emerge like weeds after rain, making death on the road a common occurrence.
After sending these unscrupulous merchants to meet their goddess, Tyche unceremoniously plundered all the valuables from the ship.
The sailors reacted indifferently; to them, it made no difference who was in charge.
With Tyche's extravagant spending of ill-gotten gains, the sailors quickly switched sides, even finding the best buyers for the ship's goods, doubling the money she had thrown around.
One should not harbor too many illusions about the sanitary conditions at the port, where seawater mixed with grass, hair, and even excrement was trampled into grotesque mud by dockworkers and pack animals. The stench of feces and decay made Tyche's eyelids twitch, and the splashing mud weighed heavily on her heart.
The outermost part of the city is the slums, where Tyche raised her windproof barrier and stepped into this chaotic area.
Poverty breeds crime; to survive, men join gangs as thugs or thieves, while women, under the control of gangs, flaunt themselves to squeeze the last copper coin from the pockets of dockworkers.
Tyche's arrival was conspicuous; the slums were a place even tax collectors avoided, let alone a noble lady like her.
Her cloak, slightly reflective and immaculate, though her face was hidden under a hood, her fair hands starkly contrasted with the grimy surroundings.
Tyche was not surprised by the shadowy figures following her; Waterdeep's labyrinthine sewer system harbored many secret churches of evil gods and gangs. If she were truly a runaway noblewoman as they thought, unless a bishop-level priest could cast a divine spell, no one could find someone who disappeared in the slums.
Turning a corner, a heavily made-up girl pulled Tyche into a dilapidated house; the girl, no more than sixteen or seventeen, looked incongruously young with her cheap, mature makeup. She signaled for silence, carefully avoiding cracks to evade possible gazes.
After some time, the quarrels and curses outside faded away, and the girl dared to breathe again, clearly not as composed as she appeared.
"That runaway noblewoman, I risked my life to save you; it's not too much to ask for a reward, is it?"
The girl wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and raised an eyebrow at Tyche, who was hiding in the darkness.
Chuckling softly, Tyche took out a handful of gold coins and handed them to the girl.
"Not at all excessive; your kindness is priceless."
The girl did not smile but instead looked troubled and said, "Could you change it into copper coins? Even with gold coins, I can't use them; if a third person knows I have gold, I'll be dead in the gutter, sold to a necromancer by scavengers."
"Wise and restrained girl, you shouldn't wallow in this hell on earth."
Tyche didn't have any copper coins, but she pretended to rummage through her sleeves, even transforming gold coins into copper ones.
The girl hid the copper coins in her chest and said nonchalantly, "I have my own plans; you should think about how to get out of the slums alive."
Seeing Tyche still silent, the girl patted her jingling chest and said, "Follow me; your cloak is too conspicuous. You'd better find a way to cover it up."
Tyche readily accepted, taking the tattered black cloth the girl found and draping it over her cloak.
Winding through the dilapidated shanties, the girl led Tyche to a tidy community; the people here were fundamentally different from those she had seen before. Although equally gaunt and poorly clad, the hope in their eyes shone like a candle in the darkness.
Pointing to a wooden house at the center of the community, the girl said, "This is the temple of Ilmater, the God of Suffering. His kind priests will take you back to the inner city."
As if hearing a friend's call, the girl responded loudly and left a warning for the runaway noblewoman: "Next time, don't foolishly run into the slums alone; your beauty and noble status will only bring unimaginable misfortune!"
Tyche watched the girl walk to a house, distributing the hidden copper coins to barefoot children, whose pure cheers made Tyche smile. No matter how filthy the place, there is always something beautiful that can make even a god's heart, weathered by endless years, tremble with emotion.
The temple of Ilmater was no better than the surrounding houses; Tyche, looking at the leaky walls, carefully adjusted her dress before knocking on the dilapidated wooden door.
The only indication that this was a temple was the holy symbol hanging high on the door, hands bound with red thread, the emblem of the God of Suffering.
This intermediate deity of good, known as the Broken God or the Crying God, willingly bore the world's suffering. He cared deeply for all the children and young lives in the world and opposed those who dared to harm his charges.
Many did not understand the teachings of the Crying God, who called on his followers to help all the wounded in the world, teaching priests that bearing others' suffering was the most sacred act. If you suffered for others, the Crying God would provide the courage and strength to persevere. No matter the pain or danger, one must adhere to the correct principles unwaveringly and stand up against all injustices.
Ilmater's church had many steadfast followers across the Faerûn continent; in this harsh reality, many sufferers, the sick, and the poor relied on the charity of the Ilmater church. Many people respected the church of the Crying God, and his priests often received generous help while providing free medical care.
Such a deity, who had silently endured pain for thousands of years, deserved everyone's respect!
An elderly priest with a receding hairline and a face full of scars answered the door; he walked with a slight limp, as if he had suffered an incurable injury to his leg. However, his unremarkable face wore a comforting smile, as if the intersecting scars were no longer significant and no longer caused pain.
"Greetings, pure and kind Crying God."
Tyche bowed slightly, showing respect to this benevolent deity.
This elderly priest was Ilmater, who had fallen into the Material Plane; he was very calm about Tyche's arrival, smiling as he welcomed this never-before-seen saint into the temple.
"You don't seem surprised by my arrival?"
Tyche spoke up, Ilmater's attitude was overly kind; in these extraordinary times, few deities would welcome an immortal of unknown origin.
"My gaze is with my followers; at least I am sure your smile is sincere, and that is enough."
Ilmater's gaze was serene and profound, as if he saw through Tyche's disguise to the truth in her heart.
"My ally, the God of Justice, Tyr, also comes from another world like you; I witnessed his rise and formed a close alliance with him."
Ilmater trembled as he handed over a cup of water, "I welcome the arrival of a good deity; unknown goddess, you understand my teachings better than Tyr, and that reason convinces me more than any words."
The chipped cup did not seem like something that should be in the hands of two deities, but Tyche sincerely recognized Ilmater's actions; the God of Suffering practiced his teachings and was not deliberately neglecting his guest.
The simple temple was bare, with not a single intact piece of furniture. The beds were made of rags and straw, the tables and chairs were rickety, but Ilmater accepted everything calmly, exuding an aura of "though the room is humble, my virtue is fragrant," commanding respect!
Tyche smiled, placing all the gold coins she had taken from the merchants on the shrine.
"In a short while, I will be deified as the protector of women and children; although you may not fully agree with the doctrine I choose, I still hope to become your ally."
Tyche spoke seriously, "I will choose the neutral faction and protect the homeless orphans and bullied women. For this, I ask for the help of your knights and monks; even if I succeed in deification, my power cannot affect this complex city."
Good-natured Ilmater was a true martial artist; this gentle deity could also show an extremely fierce and cruel side at times. His church had several knight orders composed of paladins, and some monks followed him. The God of Suffering might not be favored by the nobility, but his reputation among the common people was undoubtedly the best; if he could get Ilmater's help, Tyche could quickly gain a foothold and some influence.
"I am happy to see the emergence of a deity who protects the weak; I will do my utmost to help you!"
Ilmater agreed to Tyche's request without hesitation; he truly stood on the side of the sufferers.
Deities cannot act against their teachings, as it would cause their alignment to shift, so Tyche truly believed in Ilmater's heartfelt promise.
In the following days, Tyche preached her doctrine near Ilmater's temple; the God of Suffering even used the gold coins Tyche donated to build a temple for her.
With the God of Suffering as a guarantor, the suffering people quickly accepted Tyche's faith.
Ilmater's priests provided a simple meal every day for those who could not afford to eat; in this harsh reality, many sufferers, the sick, and the poor relied on the charity of the Ilmater church.
Tyche's temple took on the role of an orphanage; those poor girls had to do special jobs to support themselves, and in the process, some unexpected lives were inevitably born. Most of these newborns ended up starving to death, and the lucky ones either joined gangs as cannon fodder or followed in their mothers' footsteps, with few managing to escape the slums.
The God of Suffering could not do it alone; the aid Ilmater received was not endless, and his priests were already struggling to help the disabled and the sick, unable to do more.
The abandoned children found by the servants of the God of Suffering were taken in by Tyche, who hired unemployed women to care for them, sharing some of the burden for the God of Suffering.
After Tyche's reputation grew, more and more abandoned babies appeared at the temple door, and desperate women prayed to this new goddess; for a time, an unprecedentedly large faith pointed towards Tyche, who did not take these beliefs seriously, using them to inspire some priests, finally giving the bottomless pit of a temple a profitable project.
After obtaining divine spells, the priests could create extraordinary potions, and healing services could also be exchanged for rewards from injured adventurers; coupled with Tyche's maltose technology, the temple gradually began to generate income.
This is how a positive cycle begins; with a surplus, Tyche built another temple. The markets for sugar and adventurers were endless, and Tyche's reputation spread further with the adventurers.
Tyche, who had managed to survive and develop, soon entered a period of rapid growth; with Ilmater's protection, she had a smooth journey, gaining enough followers to support the level of a lesser deity.
Now, all she had to do was wait for the calamity of the saints to pass, and Tyche could be officially deified.
Her cooperation with Ilmater became increasingly close; among the gods, Tyche was the only one willing to support the God of Suffering's final conversion ceremony.
In this world dominated by faith, those without faith would be hung on the Wall of the Faithless after death to suffer torment, while Ilmater's priests would try to persuade the dying to accept Ilmater's philosophy, allowing them to receive the Crying God's blessing and avoid pain before they died.
Tyche did not need faith to assert her existence and was very supportive of this ceremony. The gods detested those without faith; to better absorb faith, all gods except Ilmater agreed to throw the faithless against the wall.
Ilmater's doctrine had never had an adherent until now; Tyche's willingness to let priests perform conversion ceremonies for the formless was significant to Ilmater.
If Tyche did not care whether the children chose darkness or light and even reached a certain level of cooperation with the Thieves' Guild and the Assassins' Guild, Ilmater would have recommended her to join the alliance of the three gods of justice on Mount Celestia; this alliance was led by Tyr, the Lord of Justice, Ilmater, the God of Suffering, and Torm, the God of Loyalty, with Lathander, the Morninglord, and other good deities also watching over each other, forming a subtle clique within the pan-human pantheon.