Roughly an hour before dark they spot a good camp site and land. From the looks of it many people have used this place before. Some have had to defend it to, they find when stumbling across old bones and rusting weapons. A short search around the edges shows nothing recent though. But to ease their minds Nyesha blesses the camp area with a protection from those who intend harm or theft to those staying there. Nyesha went a step farther and carved the blessing in to a good sized stone, using a finger charged with lightning and set it in the middle of the hill with a diagram of the hill added in for clarity. For some reason she felt compelled to add a sign for herself and gave it some thought. In the end she used the 8 pointed star with small signs (using the alchemy symbols from her original prayer wheel) to show what each point represented. In the center she put a compass wheel cause it Felt right.

With that done they set up their meager camp with a fire pit, and bedrolls. Nyesha used her lighting to start the fire and set about to cook her evening meal while Freyah leaned back and watched the sunset, "You know traveling with you is nice." she comments out of nowhere. "You don't ask much, well anything really, from me, other than directions, your pleasant company to." She gets up and walks down to the edge of the camp, looking up the road, but nothing more.

Nyesha wonders what brought that on.

Right at sunset a shimmer appears over the camp fire, and the form of a motherly looking halfling appears. Nyesha starts and Freyah looks at her, "Something wrong ?" Nyesha nods at the fire, "Don't you see it ?" Freyah looks at the fire and the smoke, then back at Nyesha, "I don't see anything." The image smiles, Nyesha slowly nods, "OH It's a vision. Goddess of some kind, looks halfling."

The image laughs, "Nice description child. I am Yondalla, creation goddess of the halfling race." Nyesha sits up straight, "Oh hello, nice to meet you. I have read about you but the books I had never had any pictures of you or the other Hin gods." the image smiles and nods, "I know, We are a small set and many don't focus on us much. I am here though because you made a Major mile stone, literally it seems." she says looking over at the protection stone. "When you created a special sign for yourself you made a step to being a Recognized Goddess. I like your symbol to, one inside another with a great deal of potential. Now then. I petitioned the 'Sky Lord' to find us a new god or goddess to help round out our pantheon. He chose you. I don't know all the specifics on it he tends to have his reasons as he is a god of Fate as well as Sky." Nyesha nods, not interrupting, The image seems to appreciate that. "You are proving to be a good choice. Oh and that blessing you gave the dwarf who shared his food with you worked out very well for him. He stumbled, literally, upon a very nice ore deposit. Something he needed so his family could have a good life." Nyesha grins widely, "Oh that is good news." she nods, "The dwarven god of Ores and earthly secrets asked me to thank you. He is a good one and well he made a prayer of thanks to you via the Sky God. Which I am passing on to. I think you did a very good turn for him in the long run and it made a real difference in his life." Nyesha blushes a little, "Even though I scared him, he did a nice thing for me, I could think of no other way to thank him." she states simply. Yondalla nods, "I also liked the blessing you gave to the stout fellow earlier today. It will serve him well I think. As for Mr. Tooke, he is not under my purview as he is not a halfling but one of those rare miniature humans. Unfortunately his wife is and is one of those rare evil sorts that pop up on occasion." She holds up a hand, "Their son however has a good heart, though is a little slow. But I have made use of him on occasion because he Listens with his heart. This morning for example he decided to clean the house. Among other things he gathered all the old bags and such and put them out in the old clothes chest, one of those bags was a bag of holding with his evil little fathers Spell-book in it, as well many nice magic item he kept back. Some to be identified other cause they kept his attention. He accidently sold the lot to you for a single copper. I found that hilarious and a good punishment for his thieving ways." Nyesha nods, "Nice, but what am I to do with a spell book ?" Yondalla smiles, "Because your last life was human, some of that made it through to what you are now. You can work Magic like a human, same potential to. In your understanding, you are presently a Mage, Warrior, and Priest. That little lightning trick you do with your fingers, that is actually a cantrip level spell. Your little sound effect you make when you do that is the trigger for it." Nyesha looks surprised, "Really, huh ? What do you know." she laughs, "This is so Cool!" the Goddess laughs to, "oh yes and it gets better. Now that nasty little man knew that that vest you wear would magically fit you when you put it on and he told the truth about it making you look Poor while wearing it. But what he did not know is it's really a powerful magic item belonging to Vag."

Nyesha falls over, "A Vest of Vag ? The Hermit ?" Yondalla nods, "Yes, and it pleases me you know of him." Nyesha sits up, "I wrote a story once that had a cloak of his in it. I did allot of research and that's how I know his name. Vag is Sanskrit for Hermit, so it made sense." Yondalla nods, "Yes, in the old times he was the god of lone travelers, vagabonds and such but few remember him now. So he is passing on the mantle. There is only 1 vest, but many cloaks and robes. You my dear are now the Hin Goddess of Travelers, be they vagabonds, merchants, adventurers, or the like. Anyone who travels. Something we Hin have needed for a while really as we only have one other who covers that." Nyesha nods, "The thief god." Yondalla nods, "Yes. I really don't care for thieves and having someone like you cover that aspect is a nice counter point to him. Also you tend to be a more proactive warrior, fighting against evil and the demons. Our closet war god is all about Defense, which is good. But having someone out there who stops things before they get out of hand is good to. I hope you two will get along enough to be able to work together in the future." Nyesha nods, "May I ask some questions, while you’re here ?" Yondalla nods, "Of course." Nyesha thinks, "Ok, can you tell me what my other powers are. Beyond Weather and electrical control I mean, those I think I figured out pretty well."

Yondalla thinks, "Ok you know you can see magical aura's. You can also use magic far better than a human, this is because you’re a goddess, you can do twice as many spells a day as a mage of similar level, also once you have a spell memorized you don't lose it as easily. Mostly as your fluent in the magic language to start with. Your actually Smarter than you were to begin with to. Granted a level with the gods, or pure genius. Your ability at Stealth is higher to. Hm about 40% better than a normal halfling." Nyesha claps, "nice" she whispers, "You can heal others and yourself. Now your subconscious heals you without your effort but with practice and concentration you can heal faster, even if dismembered. Though that will go slower." Nyesha nods, "Like a troll or similar ?" The elder goddess nods, "Very good, yes. Sky Lord calls it Bio-Physical Regeneration and you can use it on others. Even your strange friend over there. Though full undead the ones you call Dark Stalkers will be harmed by that power as it is a Holy Power. This means also that any priest you have will have increased healing powers as well as Elemental weather powers. Mentally your mind is Invisible for all effects and purposes. Any being of your rank or lower can Not see your mind, making you immune to telepathy, ESP, empathy, mental attacks and Domination or Presence abilities as those gifts can't find your mind to affect it. I can tell you that I can see your thoughts and they are very hard to read. Your mind is all lightning and just seems to bounce around in your head like a constant electrical storm." Nyesha laughs and rocks back, "Yeah It helps keep me in a positive mood." Yondalla laughs to, "Good. On the physical side, you are as Strong as a Hill Giant, your skin is like fine mithril, can't be cut except with an enchanted weapon of the 2cd order or better and even then Only the magic of the weapon will count against you. You will still bruise and are subject to broken bones but it takes a bit more to break your bones. Your night vision is stronger to. Only about an additional 15ft but that's impressive in a people where only a third of the population have it at all. Let's see, your ambidextrous, your hearing is far better than average, you attract more than your share of luck, good and bad, though bad is usually demons whom you've proven quite able to handle so far. You inspire loyalty in those around you and to Hin you are far more beautiful, in an exotic way, than otherwise. Ah and you can use swords like a Master, any sword you can lift. On Magic of the Priestly set. You are basically praying to yourself, or more like your godly potential which increases as your understanding increases. You can do blessings all day long, but for specific things you will need to craft a prayer type spell. Yelling 'Be Well!' is not a prayer and really does not work. Had a human demigod who kept doing that. Other than bruising people it has no effect." Nyesha nods, "Faith healer who forgot the faith needs a proper prayer I take it." Yondalla nods "ah at present your only a demi-goddess to. In time that may increase. But your pretty much fated to always wander as no place will be home for long. Not to say you can't stay a place for a time, but you got an extra dose of wanderlust. Even compared to those who have more than usual." Nyesha smiles, "Ok, well that fits. Am I limited to only Hin ?" the goddess smiles, "No. As your taking on Vags followers as he has retired from this world, well as much as a Hermit ever does, All travelers can invoke you in prayers. Anyone who calls on general travel protection gods may get your blessings Though they will be more potent for Hin just because you are a Hin goddess." Nyesha nods, "Good to know." Yondalla looks at something to the side, "That looks like everything. Oh and this is officially welcoming you to our small strange family. Do try not to alienate other gods too much. Evil ones I don't care about overly much, but I like my allies." Nyesha nods, "I will try but I am protective of my friends, even my strange ones. Besides I see potential in her. She was hurt very badly by a false god and that really irks me." Yondalla nods, sudden comprehension showing on her face, "You have a great deal of potential yourself young one. In ways I never thought of myself. OH lastly and this is for your own reference, you are a Neutral power with good tendencies. You have a strong heart but are more practical to. Well you have potential in that direction. That is everything for now you take care little girl." Nyesha nods, "Thank you mam you as well." and that is it, the Greater Goddess is gone.

Nyesha rolls on to her back and stares skyward, "Wow." is all she says.

Freyah is giving her a long sideways look. "What was that all about ?" She ask warily.

The new goddess looks over at her friend, "I just got promoted to full goddess, demi level, in the Halfling pantheon and in general a little to. An older god has gone in to retirement and picked me to take up his mantle."

"So how far do I run to get away from you now ?" Freyah ask with real fear.

Nyesha looks at her, "Oh stop that, your my friend and Officially I am a neutral power, Goddess of Travelers. That covers Anyone who travels, wanders, traders, adventurers, explorers, vagabonds and the like. She was giving a list of powers I have and other things. Like I can actually work human type magic with no limits, meaning I can become a major arch-mage if I want. I am a mix of warrior, mage and priest who ironically prays to myself. Or as she put it my godly Potential. Now as for you, well you need not fear me I am not going to go all 'holy' on you. Well maybe a little but I am counting on you to keep me from going crazy with it. Your good at that right, keeping me from going Crazy Holy person." Freyah slowly smiles, "Yeah I can do that I guess. You go that way I get to smack you though." Nyesha nods, "Good cause I may not know I am doing it till I have gone over the edge. OH, I got Healing powers to that will work on you but not the Dark ones. Immortals yes, vampires BBQ."

Freyah gives her a long look, "BBQ ?" she says eventually.

"Food item actually. Basically meat cooked over an open fire, smothered in special sauces. But also means Burning Meat. Vampires don't take Holy very well. Immortals well it depends on them and how Evil they are." Freyah nods. "Ok I can see that. So we are pretty much the same as before then ?"

Nyesha nods, "What did it though was I created a Symbol for myself. I was thinking it as a kind of signature for that blessing stone I created but it turns out that is now my holy symbol. An 8 pointed star with a Compass in the center. A compass always has 1 long point that is North. the smaller points are optional and usually point East, South and West. Sun rises in the East just to be clear. The 8 points are a little more esoteric but stand for the 8 elements, Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Bone, and Spirit. Though Bone can be replaced by Flesh to, really it's a Life sign but finding something alive that will sit still long enough to cast a spell is not easy, so I substituted bone. Spirit is more than just souls to, it is the Spark that makes all forms of life possible. You are a form of life, just so you get this."

Freyah slowly nods, "So the elements of the world plus things those can exist in, Wood has fire and water in it." Holding up a hand, "Fire per-say is not In wood the way you mean. It is a mix of water, earth and sunlight. Sunlight is really just a HUGE ball of Fire. Metal is Earth, Fire, and Spark. The spark there is Creativity for what can be Made with metal." Freyah nods in understanding, "OH I get it. So Flesh or Bone represents the Living world then, people, animals and all ?" Nyesha nods, "And Spirit is what binds it all together ?" Nyesha claps, "Right! Very good. And I travel the world and try to help people reach whatever destination they need to be at. Though some destination is the afterlife, which is outside my purview. Other than sending them there. Demons, demon worshippers, false gods, all in my opinion need a quick exit from the living world." Freyah laughs and nods, "On that we agree. Did the goddess tell you anything else of interest ?"

Sitting up and getting her bag, "YES, That mean little man, Tooke, he is actually a very short human and a mage. He accidently sold me the bag his spell book is in, as well as some choice magic items. AND I can work magic, which means with his spell book I can learn spells and work them. Though like mortals I am still learning, so am not all that powerful yet. Weather powers not-withstanding." she adds.

She finds the magic bag, steps back from the fire and upends it, "Everyone out now." she happily says and it releases ALLOT of stuff.

6 rings, a small iron bound book with a silver lock, a silver key, a ledger looking book, a pair of boots, 3 staves, a wand, a purse, and a familiar looking Rod that Nyesha pounces on and starts giggling, "YES! MINE!" hehehe. She dances around the fire with it. Whooping with joy. Freyah watches amused even as she pulls over the purse. She counts out the coin in it. Only 43 silver, but not a bad haul over all.

(Note: Sky Lord is the one who put the Rod in the bag, as it really was meant for Nyesha to begin with and if not for some outside interferance, she would have had it much sooner than now.)

Nyesha holds up the rod, presses a stud and a blade extends from the end, the rounded ball at the top lowers and the rest becomes the hilt of the new sword which then burst in to flames. Nyesha then does some impressive swirls and turns with it. Made all the more impressive with it being dark. After a bit, huffing from exertion she puts the blade away, "Rod of Lordly Might. Very rare multi-weapon and tool. Has a built in ladder and can be used to brace or break in doors. Points North and has some other powers. Also has 3 weapon modes, Mace is the default, then the sword, then a sort of pole arm with the sword blade and the base extends out from 6 to 12ft, giving great deal of range. Always wanted one." she explains.

Freyah nods, "I can tell. I got it all gathered up while you were celebrating. There is a purse in here with 43 silver in it, several rings, 2 books, 3 staves and a stick." Nyesha takes the stick and looks it over. Seeing runes on it (fancy script), "Wand of Fire. Nice. Point it, say a magic word and Boom. Well different words for different effects. I never had one and it only has the word for Fireball on it, the others have worn off. Who ever made this put the command words on the part of the handle where you hold it, so they rubbed off." she shakes her head.

Looking over the rest, "Well except for the book without a lock it's all magical." she picks up the book and whistle softly. "This list all magic items, where they came from, who he sold them to and how he got some of them back ,ie sent his gang out to retrieve items, the last page list all the items in the bag. Ok this is nice. He had a full list of these items and what they are. Ring with red stone, Fire Resistance - Ring with T symbol etched in to it, Telekinesis." Nyesha pics it up and puts it on. "Ring with inlaid turquoise - Regeneration. Ah a healing ring, nice. Ring, ear with mother of pearl Chameleon, not as good as invisibility but still very nice. Toe Ring of Protection rank 1. Toe Ring, really ?" shakes her head, "bracelet of seeing through stuff, really, It's Penetration Vision, twit. Staves, 2 Curing, fully charged, a Staff of Power, Nice that one. Wand of fire, Magical Mace, hmph not surprising he did not know what it was. Boots of Ice walking and cold repelling. " she sighs, "Boots of the North. Some people make things more difficult than they need to be."

Freyah nods as she dumps out the second bag and finds it full of coins. She counts them out, "Nice hall here, 35 Copper, 24 Silver, 48 Gold, 8 Electrum, and 195 Platinum. Well we are set for a while." she notes happily. Nyesha nods, "Probably the little monsters life savings to. Deserves to lose it for all the suffering he put people through." Freyah nods, "I will not comment as I am not a nice person either." Nyesha grins, "Difference between you two. You do what you do to survive, he did it for greed alone." Freyah sort of nods, "Well that and revenge, but with your help I will be able to put that behind me or if we run in to Jarl, Put him out of the world. I still want him dead or worse than dead you know." Nyesha nods, "I figure your probably not the first woman he has done this to and not the last either. His kind need to be put down." Freyah is all for that.

Finally picking up the locked book and the key Nyesha looks through it. It is a pretty straight forward spell book. Very few notes in a hand Not like that in the ledger which makes Nyesha wonder who this was stolen from. Even so she works out that the spells in it only cover about 40 spells and that there is room for a few more. She happily notes the spells that allow a person to decipher others spells (basically Read Short Hand spell) as well as notes on how to write in your own spells. Then Detection spells, Identify spells and a few Adventuring spells like Mage Missile and Sleep among others.

She read till she just fell asleep.

Groggily the next morning she wakes to find that sometime in the night it got cold yet she is bundled up nicely, in both bedrolls and apparently Freyah to. The taller woman, with her bed roll, is happily snuggled around the halfling woman, sound asleep. After a few minutes of struggling Nyesha finally resorts to a low level zap of the arm pinning her to get free. So she can take care of nature. When she gets back she finds a frowning Freyah looking around, "What are you looking for ?" Freyah, blurry eyed, "I think I was dreaming. I had this nice warm pillow then I woke up and there was no pillow." Grinning and shaking her head, "That pillow was me. Apparently you scooted over me in your sleep. I had a bit of trouble getting out of your grip though." Nyesha laughs at the sad look, "Well I had to go. I did not want to pee all over my blankets." That wakes Freyah up a little who nods, "Good point, I would not have enjoyed waking up to that either." she pulls the still warm blankets around her, "I hope my using you for your heat was not upsetting." The Immortal says quietly. Nyesha smiles, "Other than needing to pee, It was nice actually. I am a bit of a cuddler really and since you established I don't smell like food I am ok with your sleeping with me on these colder mornings." Freyah smiles, relieved by that.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Getting out her food and relighting the fire she sets about fixing breakfast, only to find herself being cuddled again, "You really do like how warm I am don't you ?" Freyah nods and yawns slightly, "Yeah. You are nice and warm. I don't get warm to easy and enjoy it on these cold mornings. So until we have to leave, if you don't mind, I will just use you to warm me up." Nyesha just laughs at that and works on making breakfast.

As she works, "yesterday you said something about the vest having great power or the like what does that mean ?" Freyah ask sleepily."

Nyesha nods, "Oh right. Well let's see what we get." she pulls off a patch at random and sets it down to one side, in case it's big. What appears though is a large strange jar with odd lettering on it, the contents are smooth and brown. Nyesha picks it up an laughs, "Ha, Peanut Butter. Which is a type of bean that is roasted then crushed, mixed with sweetener like sugar or honey and some kind of vegetable oil. It comes out like this." Freyah sniffs it but makes a face, "Don't care for the smell. I take it is some kind of food though." Using her spoon, Nyesha scoops out some and taste it, making mm sounds. "Better than I remember. Yum." She has some with her breakfast, "Each patch on the vest makes something different. Problem is it is somewhat random what you will get. Could be food, could be a horse, or war dogs, or a row boat, and so on. A couple hundred type things, some useful some not. Or maybe not in the situation. Takes a while to learn what each patch does. Now to clarify, there is a Robe of Useful Items which sort of works the same way. But the Robes patches only work one time and then are gone. Once you're out of patches you just have a Robe left. Vest and Cloaks of Vag reset themselves over time. In a couple days a new patch will appear on the vest with a fresh bottle of Peanut Butter. No guarantee It will be the same kind, as there are many different kinds, all with slightly different taste. But this one is my favorite. Peter Pan Creamy. They also make a chunky version which has unground pieces of the nut in it. I say nut because even though it's a bean it is crunchy like a nut." Freyah nods, "In this instance I will stick with blood." Nyesha giggles and puts the jar in her bag, "Your loss." she says happily, then adds "More for me. hehehe"

Being a curious sort though, as Nyesha eats, Freyah picks off a patch to see what happens. She tosses it to a side and before Nyesha can say anything about it, a beautiful black cat appears. It looks around then walks up to Freyah and starts rubbing on her leg. Nyesha sighs, "Well congratulations you now have a pet cat. Animals summoned by these things bond to the person who summoned them not the one wearing the item." Freyah watches it curiously, "Never seen a black cat before, but I hear they are good luck." Nyesha looks at its butt, "Not sure about that, but they are good little hunters, can be very affectionate but on their terms, and this one is a boy. I had cats in my last life time. I had a black female called Sister. She could be very loving one moment and a total little beotch the next. Note when they have had enough petting they tend to nip at you. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough that it hurts. Also they are very smart, they learn things, like names, and behaviors. And Freyah, I am partial to cats, so don't eat him please."

Freyah shrugs, "Depends on how hungry I get truthfully." but she is petting the big tomcat just the same. She looks up at Nyesha, "What is Beotch? " Grinning, "Well it's a cat, so I can't call it a Bitch as that is a female dog and all." Freyah giggles and shakes her head, "Ok good point." She starts picking at a different patch, "What are you doing ?" Nyesha ask incredulously. Freyah shrugs, "Seeing if there is anything to feed the cat in this." Nyesha moves to get away only for the patch to come off in Freyah's hand. Then it got heavy and turned in to a small bag that clinked when dropped. Both women look at each other, then Freyah reaches out and opens it, revealing the tell-tale gleam of gold. Freyah pours it out and slowly counts it, twice to be sure. "100 gold coins" she whispers, then looks up at the vest. Nyesha quickly crosses her arms over it, "Stop it. There is only a 1 in a hundred chance of finding more like that. Besides it's not like we need more right now and I don't want a pile of junk left here cause you went patch pulling crazy. It's my vest, I am the only one who is supposed to go patch pulling crazy." she points out. "Also there are possibly bad things in the mix. Attack animals who attack the owner and such." Freyah stands and nods but is eying the magic vest, "But you’re a goddess, you can just blast them, or I can eat them. I just want to pull a couple more patches." she inches closer. "FREYAH Get ahold of yourself, your acting a bit crazy here girl." Nyesha pleads as she moves away from the patch pulling immortal. Freyah jumps forward suddenly grabs off a patch and holds it high, "HA Got -UFF!" the patch expanded and turned in to a small black Pack Horse with harness and empty saddle bags, appears and promptly lands on Freyah as she held the patch overhead. The animal must weigh around a thousand pounds and it stumbles off the immortal girl. Nyesha catches it before it can run off. "That is why I always put the patches to the side. Some large items in the mix." rolling over and wincing, "noted, I need healing please." she moans. Nyesha ignores the moaning woman as she comforts the horse, "There there did the bad woman scare you hm. No worries I have you, your safe from the idiot who thought she could lift you over her head." The horse sniffs Nyesha's hair then tries to nuzzle it. Nyesha herself is surprised at how small the horse is, the shoulder comes to just under Nyesha's small height. The animal has a calm temperament and seems quite enamored with the small woman.

The shiny black coat combined with its gloss and fine form tell of this animal as having been well cared for. The harness and bits of dust speak of it being a work horse, likely in a mine area. A careful look under it, proves it to be a mare and a check of the teeth show her to be around 2 years old.

Finally having had enough of the moaning Nyesha goes over to the squished immortal and works out How to activate her healing power. Her hands grow warm and as she lightly presses them to the other woman she can see the wounds clear up and close and the broken bones pop back in place and mend. All in all it only takes a few minutes for Freyah to be completely healed. "and let that be a lesson on grabbing stuff from other people." Nyesha states as she gets up from dealing with Freyah, who just lays there and nods, "Never going to just hold one of those over my head again. What landed on me anyway, all I saw was black fur."

"A horse. Pretty female horse in a miners pack with empty saddle bags. She is small to, I can just see over her shoulder."

Freyah sits up and looks at it, "That is a pony. They are smaller than horses. But sized right for you or dwarves. Your right though she is a pretty thing. Glossy black and all. Any markings on the gear to show who she belonged to ?"

Nyesha goes and looks. Under the packs is a faded metal tag "Leeds Mining Corp, est. 1776." she sighs, "Well I don't think we need worry about the owners coming for her, she is from about 3000 years in the future, give or take a century." Freyah's eyes boggle, "What ?" Nyesha shrugs, "Same for the peanut butter. Vag is a crafty old soul, steals things from the future or other worlds and brings them to the past. That is how these item patches work. Sneaky bastard to be sure."

Freyah nods, mind reeling. She looks at the cat, "Wonder when he came from ?" Nyesha shrugs, "No collar but healthy enough, so probably a run-away kitty. They do that from time to time. Wander off then return home. Though as we have no home, he will likely get his fill of wandering with us." Freyah goes and lays down while Nyesha looks over the pony some more, seeing if she has a name, "Well I can't find a name tag on you and I don't know what to call you. I don't speak animal languages worth much of anything either. I am a goddess of travel and weather, newly appointed at that. Which means I am still learning how to do things. I hope you can bear with me." the horse just nuzzles her. She pats her cheek and then checks on her Immortal pet. "You gonna live or should I just bury you somewhere ?" Freyah sits up and snarls, "That is not funny and if you try It I will gnaw your arm off so you can't dig." Nyesha shrugs, "They grow back. But your just laying so still, like an unburied corpse, so I thought I would kick you to see if your still with us. Metaphorically speaking." Freyah throws a clod of dirt at her in answer. Then gets up. "I guess we should pack up and go huh ? " Nyesha nods and goes and packs her stuff. Puts out the fire (buries it) and decides the leave the stone there. Freyah catches the cat and the horse while Nyesha is busy with her stuff. Then they set out on the road, "Sorry about going all grabby on you back there. Just got over excited I think and now we have a horse, so can't do the flying thing and have to walk." Nyesha nods, "Well it's not too bad, we covered a good bit last night so we should be ok for the time being. And this way we can talk and see the sights and kill brigands and such." Freyah cracks up and shakes her head, "Only you would compare seeing new sights and killing brigands." Nyesha shrugs, "With my luck I expect brigands and demons and such. But I also hope for new sights and maybe friends on the road to." Freyah nods, "You do have a knack for that." she confirms.

Two hours down the road they come upon a good sized 4 wheeled cart that was pulled by a donkey. One wheel is broken and the family of halflings are standing around it looking very worried. The man turns as he hears the pony snort and spots the ladies, "Pardon me, would either of you know anything of carpentry ? Our axle broke and we don't know how to fix it." he explains. Nyesha walks over and carefully looks it over, "Not the axle per-say, it’s the wheel hub, the metal on it has cracked clean through and caused the wheel to turn sideways." The man wrings his hands, "oh what are we to do. We have to get our goods to the market in Border Town."

Freyah looks at Nyesha, Nyesha looks at the pony, the pony moves over and nuzzles Nyesha's hair, then goes over to the woman and nuzzles her hair. Nyesha smiles, "I think my equine companion is saying she can help carry some of the load. She was a mine horse so is used to heavy loads and long days. If you can use her and take good care of her I have no problem with letting you have her." The family looks very surprised, "You would do that, for strangers ?" Nyesha smiles at them. "You are Hin, I am Hin, we are all Children of Yondalla in the end, right. We came across her by accident, she sort of adopted us. I think perhaps fortune chose us as a way to find a home for her. Truthfully I am a traveler, I don't have a permanent home and well as nice as she is, I can't care for her properly. You’re a merchant and I can tell from how healthy your donkey looks you know how to care for your animals. So I don't think it's a bad match."

He looks surprised then shrewd, "How much ?"

Smiling widely, "Free, just have to take care of her and someday help someone else out who is in need. It's called passing it forward. Someone once did me a very good turn, so now I am passing it forward to you. Simple little things in life tend to make life better for everyone yes ?"

The wife catches the reins and nods, "Very true. Thank you very much. Oh, what is your name ?"

Smiling, "I am Nyesha, the tall one is my friend Freyah and I hope the rest of your trip is blessed and safe. Oh and avoid Tooke's General store. It came out recently he has been working with thieves. Sells things to travelers, then send out this gang to kill them, take back the stuff so he can sell it again. He is not even a Hin, just a very short human, a very evil one to." They look surprised, the man nods, "Always thought there was something off about him. Always wears boots, claims his toes are cold. Ah well, we will be careful. Thank you."

The wife and daughter are already loading over their supply of spring vegetables to the packs on the pony and in to packs they will have to load on to the donkey. With the two animals they are able to carry everything they had in their wagon.

Nyesha smiling heads down the road. "One good deed for the day done." she says happily. Freyah nods, "And one extra animal we could not properly care for taken care of to." though she looks sadly at the pretty pony. "I could have fed off that for a week or more." she sighs. Nyesha shakes her head and keeps walking.

"Ok so now we are down a horse, what is next ?" Freyah ask.

"Next is whatever comes up the road and talks to us. Or attacks or you know " she shrugs. Freyah just shakes her head.

One hour later.

Stumbling out of the woods a man in ripped but once nice finery clutching a good sized, stuffed bag to his chest comes apon them. He sees the women and stops, wary of them, "Please leave me in peace, I have had a horrible enough day."

Nyesha comes over to the frightened human, looking up at him, "Yes I think we can see that. What happened to you good sir ?" she enquires softly, so as to not spook the man further.

Shuddering, "Wolves. Came out of the wood and tore in to my poor horse and came after me. I fought them off best I could then grabbed my bag of my best goods and fled. I only lost them when I fell off a short cliff and in to a swift river, then, well I managed to make it to the far shore without losing anything else. But now I am lost and alone and have no idea where anything is."

Nyesha nods, "Sounds like a really bad day alright. What pray tell do you sell ?"

He pulls himself up and states, "Shoes and boots. Fine quality ones for the most part. It's my trade. This bag has some of my wares but also the tools I need to make or repair them as well."

Freyah and Nyesha nod, Nyesha points back the way they came, "About 10 days walk that way is a place called Border Town. Good merchant area, they get many travelers and would be adventurers there. The way we are going, about 20 or so days is Civilization. Or so I am told, never been there so I am unsure about that myself."

He grins at that, "Ha, Yes there are times where I wonder if we are really civilized or just faking it. At any rate do you have any food you can spare ? I have not eaten in what feels like days."

Nodding Nyesha gets out a partial cheese wheel and cuts him off a large piece, adds a good amount of hard tack and several sausages, puts them in a small bag she has and hands it to him. "Portion it right and it should do you till you get to Border Town. Oh and you may want to avoid going any further North. Border Town borders the land of Demons and Gods, it's the last safe stop on the paths leading to the Land of the Gods. Which is why we are going south. I would invite you to go with us, but Demons are hunting us and it would not be safe for you." Freyah sighs, "True, though mayhap you could sell me some shoes ? My last pair are in terrible shape." she shows her self-repaired old boots and he shakes his head.

Sitting down on the side of the road he pulls out his wares. He does have some fine boots but none that fit her. So he sets about repairing her old ones. While he works a troop of Dwarves comes up the road, pulling and pushing wagons and fielding children. When they see the shoe merchant fixing the woman's shoes they come over and look at his wares and start to talk, "Ho there good merchant, have you time to see to others as well. We have been traveling for quite some time and many of us are in need of some quality shoe repair, or new ones if you have them." the head dwarf states in a deep rumbling voice.

The shoe merchant looks up, "I have my tools but I am afraid my supplies are thin. I lost most of my gear to raving beast a few days back. But I am willing to sell what I have and work till I have no more leather or cloth. If you have the coin."

The lead dwarf nods, "We have leather as the hunting has been good. Perhaps a trade in goods and materials as well as a bit of coin ?"

Nyesha looks at them, "Are you all going to Border Town ?" The lead dwarf glares at her, "We are, though it's rude to interrupt negotiations."

Nyesha shakes her head, "He is heading that way himself and I thought if he traveled with you he could ply his skills when you camp, or at least you can add that in to your negotiations."

The shoe merchant and the dwarf leader both look at her, then each other and consider it. The dwarf nods, "It is a fair point and a good idea. You come with us, we protect and feed you, you fix our shoes and maybe help with the other chores of the road ?"

The merchant looks at his wares and his options, thinking about it even as he finishes repairs to Freyah's shoes, "Given my options at this time, your offer is more than fair really and the added company and comfort of fellow travelers would be welcome. Very well sir. I will work with you and yours on the way to Border Town, which these fine ladies tells me is just 10 days or so travels hence."

Freyah tries her new shoes and pleased gives the fellow a silver for his trouble (and cause she feels he will need the coin). He thanks her for her trade.

Nyesha smiling, "So where are you all headed then ?" She ask the dwarf. He grins, "Far North, place called Gods Watch. My brother is a prospector and found a large vein of ore up that way. So large he got a mage to send us word of the find and got us moving in this direction. We have been on the road heading more or less this direction for many months, hoping he found something or at the least help him search if he had not."

Grinning even wider, "OH I know who you are talking about. Yes I heard he made a nice discovery, though no mention was made of what sort of ore he found. I don't know his name, but he is nice. He shared his food with me when I was very hungry and lost. I am happy he found what he needed. Oh, I am Nyesha, a halfling warrior - priestess. We two are heading south. Had enough of these mountains for now. OH! Last bit of warning concerning Border Town. It' recently came out, though I don't know how many really know it, that a merchant called Mr. Tooke, who is a short human pretending to be a hairfoot halfling, is also in league with a gang of thieves." she digs out Mr. Tooke's ledger and hands it to the head dwarf, "I would have given this to the Sherriff there myself but for a bit of confusion. I worked a miracle for my goddess against some night walkers, the blood drinker types, and suddenly I had people thinking I Was a goddess. Had to get out before they started trying to worship me or something." The Dwarf smiles, "Yes I have heard of such things happening. Work a big enough miracle and suddenly people start worshipping the wrong person. The priest not the god they represent." His wife comes over, nodding, "We saw it in a town we passed through, the priest kept Trying to tell the people of his God but they were wanting more miracles and nearly worshiping him instead. Silly humans."

Freyah nods but keeps quiet. The woman takes the ledger and looks it over, looking quite surprised at all the larcenous deeds it list and this Mr. Tooke's underhanded trading practices. "We will make sure this gets to the right people." she assures Nyesha.

Nyesha smiles, raises a hand and in English, "May the road find you safely to your destination and may your heart lead you to do the right things." she added as she noted a little gleam of greed in the woman's eyes. In common she adds, "Little blessing to help you on your travels. I tend to do those allot."

Freyah nods, "I can vouch for that. Her god has dominion over travel and travelers so it's part of her orders." The lead dwarf nods, "I am Halzag Stonefounder, head of this clan. I thank you priestess for your blessing. " smiling she sees them off.

After the dwarves leave Nyesha walks along looking quite pleased with herself.

Freyah keeps looking at her, "Ok why give them that book ?"

"It's the evidence the law keepers need to go after Tooke, if they are honest at any rate. Also I put a little extra boost to keep them honest in that blessing." Freyah shakes her head and grins, "You are getting the hang of this goddess business, but at least your turning in to one of the good ones.

Any more encounters today you think ?"

In answer, Nyesha wraps an arm around Freyah's waist and lifts them in to the sky. Giving them a boost to their journey. Freyah laughs and holds her arms out, feeling safe in the little woman's embrace as they soar over the tree's.