Lilly landed in a copse of trees about an hour north of the city. There were nearby farms, and her presence sent a flock of sheep running.
Gersius and Thayle climbed down and began to pull the packs down from the saddle.
“Lilly?” Gersius said as he looked at the saddle. “Where are your coins?”
Lilly turned her long neck and looked at them both.
“I gave them to Balisha. She can absorb them for power, and she needed them more than I do.”
“That was very noble of you,” Gersius said.
Lilly sighed and looked over her back at the remainder of the bags.
“I still have the coins in my pack, but I can’t find my sword.”
Thayle looked up in alarm. “Oh! I forgot!”
“You forgot what?” Gersius asked.
“Her sword,” Thayle said with a shake of her head. “I tried to grab it when that creeper vine attacked us. It pulled her over just as I got it out of the sheath and I dropped it.”
“You dropped my sword?” Lilly asked with a hurt feeling over the bind.
“Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry!” Thayle said with pain in her voice. “I was so horrified that I turned a blessing I forgot all about it.”
“It was a very cheap sword,” Gersius said with a shrug.
“But you gave it to me,” Lilly said.
“Lilly, you just gave away enough gold to buy the greatest sword in all the land and still have plenty left to have ten copies of it made,” he pointed out.
Lilly tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. “I suppose your right. It only has value because you gave it to me.”
“I will get you another sword,” Thayle said.
Gersius laughed. “And she can throw it at you like she planned to throw mine at me. She does not need a replacement.”
“You don’t appreciate emotional value,” Thayle said. “That was a gift from you. It wouldn’t matter if it was a wooden sword.”
Gersius shrugged again as he pulled the buckle of the saddle open. “If she really wants a sword, she should commit to training how to use it.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Lilly said as the saddle came off. “I would like to know how to use one properly.”
Gersius and Thayle shared a glance and then looked up at Lilly’s blazing eyes.
“You’re serious?” he asked.
“What happens if we get attacked inside a building?” Lilly asked. “I can’t change forms everywhere. I might need to know how to fight where I can’t be a dragon.”
“She’s right,” Thayle said as they stacked the packs to the side.
Gersius pointed out a spot on the ground, and Lilly started to dig. He considered the idea and nodded his head as the logic became clear.
“We will both train her then,” he said. “My fighting styles focus on masculine strength. It would be useful for her to learn how your order fights.”
“We fight a lot like men do,” Thayle said as they watched Lilly tossing large piles of dirt aside.
“You have not adapted your style for the size and strength of women?”
Thayle shook her head. “We wear heavy armor and we fight like men do. We do avoid trying to match a mans strength and prefer more mobility.”
“Your armor is far better suited to mobility than the heavy armor of Astikar,” he agreed.
“Speaking of which, are we marching in our armor?” she asked.
He nodded as Lilly pulled the saddle into the hole and piled the bags on top. “We need to keep up the ruse until it is safe to reveal who we are. I want to talk to Lengwin before we give away our secret.”
“Can I wear my robe then?” Thayle asked.
He smiled at her. “Not in the mood for an hour march in the hot sun while wearing full armor?”
Thayle smiled back. “The privilege of rank,” she said with a bat of her eyes.
He went to his pack as Lilly buried the others and started the process of putting his armor back on while Thayle fished out her green robe with golden vines.
When they were satisfied the equipment was hidden, Lilly changed and dressed putting her blue and white dress on. Thayle laced it up for her and told her over and over how beautiful she looked.
“Are you two ready?” Gersius asked them when Lilly finally shouldered her pack.
“We are ready,” Lilly responded for the both of them.
They made the trip back to Avashire and shared many of the details of what they had seen of their divines heavens. Gersius told them of the windswept plains and the red hawk of Astikar. Thayle described the magical forest and the lake of still water. The description of Ulustrah as a doe made them all try to imagine her, and they felt it over the bind and laughed.
Lilly then described Balisha and her fallen heaven, and the mood became sad.
“We will give her the power to restore her glory,” Gersius had said when Thayle had lamented how horrible the place sounded.
The road back passed quickly, and they found themselves approaching the gates of the city. When they arrived at the gate, the guards were alert and watching the skies.
“Is there a problem?” Gersius asked the guard captain as they approached.
“There is talk of dragons in the sky!” The man said. “Folk say they saw one circle overhead to the north!” He looked at Lilly in her blue dress and looked back to Gersius. “What’s wrong with her eyes?”
Thayle spoke up, “A simple training spell for a new acolyte of Ulustrah, it helps her to see the auras.”
“Right, I heard about this. You two were here a week ago or so,” he said nodding. “Right then, on your way, can't be chattering when I am on duty,” he added while waving them into the city.
“You are good at lying,” Gersius said as they walked into the cities crowded streets.
“I don’t like lying, but I am going to keep Lilly’s secret as long as I can, for both your sake's,” Thayle said as they passed by a bakery.
Lilly caught the smells from inside as a woman came out with a basket full of long narrow loaves of bread.
Gersius stopped and smiled at Thayle.
“The lady Lilly wants to go into the bakery,” he said.
Thayle turned to look at Lilly who had fallen behind and now peered through the window of the shop.
“Well, a little cake never hurt,” Thayle said with a grin.
Gersius led the way and opened the door to let the two women into the store.
The man behind the counter was a large gentleman with bushy sideburns. He wore a huge white apron that was covered in white dust. He looked up as he carefully stacked a tray of dark brown bread the size of a fist.
“I had no idea bread came in so many varieties!” Lilly exclaimed as she took in the shop. Every wall had tables, and on every table were baskets of bread, cakes, and other things she had no concept of. They came in all shapes and sizes from long and narrow to round and flat. They came in many colors as well from nearly white to dark woody tones. Some of them were braided, and some had split tops that glistened with honey.
She smelled them as she traveled the room, growing intoxicated by the mixture of aromas.
“Is there anything I can be doing to help you, fine folks?” The man said in a jovial, happy voice.
Gersius walked over to greet the man. “The ladies are interested in a few treats.”
The man leaned over and watched as Lilly stuck her head inside a basket to take a deep inhale.
“She seems a little more than interested?”
Gersius smiled as Lilly moved to the next basket. “Hard as it may be to believe, the lady with the blue dress comes from a culture where bread is almost unknown.”
The man looked shocked at the idea. “Must be a faraway place. Just the look of her shows she is not a cellic or a Nardarian. What land does she call home?”
“She comes from far to the east and north, a very mountainous region.”
“Probably can't grow much grain then. Bread would be hard to make without the millet and barley,” The man said laughing. “err now, why do her eyes do that?”
“Oh, that is just a spell the priestess put on her. She is in training to be an acolyte of Ulustrah. It helps her to see the auras.”
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“Oh, of course, you both being priests and priestesses, I should have known.”
Gersius watched as Thayle introduced Lilly to the various types of bread and eventually arrived as something called a raisin bread.
“This smells divine!” Lilly said as she took a deep inhale while leaning over the small spiral-shaped loaves.
“I love these myself, but I try not to eat too many of them,” Thayle said.
“Why?” Lilly asked.
“If you eat too much, you will put on fat, and you will need a bigger dress to wear,” Thayle said.
Lilly pondered the thought. “Thayle, I am a dragon. Even in this form, my body can not gain more weight than is healthy, nor can it lose it. I would have to starve myself for years to fall below my weight, and I would have to eat this building, and it's contents many times over to rise above it.”
Thayle suddenly felt extremely envious. “I wish I could get that gift,” she said with a pout.
Lilly turned to look at Thayle with a smile. “When was the last time you ate?”
Thayle thought about it a moment. “I suppose, four days ago.”
“And how much weight have you lost?” Lilly asked.
Thayle paused to consider it. “None, I am just as healthy as before.”
“I do hope you learn to enjoy your dragon gifts,” Lilly said with a smile.
Thayle looked at her with surprise. “You mean I do have that gift? I can eat like you?”
“Don’t you eat like me already?” Lilly questioned. “Is four days not a long time for you to go without food or water?”
Thayle smiled back as she fully understood.
“They do seem to be rather hungry?” The baker questioned as the two women loaded up their arms with bread and cakes.
“I believe the ladies have earned it,” Gersius said as even his eyes began to go wide as the women walked up to the counter.
“Did you find anything you wanted?” he asked sarcastically as Lilly and Thayle unloaded their mounds of treats.
“Oh, hush!” Thayle said with a smile.
“We will need bags to carry this with,” Lilly said.
The man behind the counter smiled gleefully as he counted loaves of bread. “I will give you both baskets. You are my best customers.”
Lilly smiled at him as he worked.
The man quickly tallied up the pile of pastries and bread, and Gersius was surprised when Thayle suddenly offered to pay.
“You can’t possibly have limitless funds. How much money did you manage to escape Whiteford with?” she asked.
“Lilly recovered my backpack from the farm. I still have a little money, and I am sure Lengwin would give me plenty if I asked him.”
“I have plenty of money, let me pay for this one,” Thayle pleaded.
“As you wish,” he said with a nod.
Thayle paid the man, and they walked out of the shop with baskets in hand as Lilly and Thayle tasted everything.
Gersius smiled as he felt their happiness; it was almost as good as eating it himself.
They returned to the temple of Astikar where Gersius was careful to wear his helmet when they requested to see Lengwin.
“Of course, he has left special orders. You are to be brought to him at once,” one of the guards said with a bow.
They were led quickly through the temple and back to Lengwin's office where he sat at a desk covered with papers and notes. His usually happy face looked dour, and he drummed his fingers on the wood of the desk.
Gersius stood before the desk with Lilly at his right and Thayle on his left, both women still holding baskets of bread.
“Is everything alright?” Gersius asked when they were finally left alone.
Lengwin nodded. “I have received many letters back, and met with some emissaries from the other temples,” he said his eyes holding the look of a man making a difficult decision. “There is going to be war, Gersius,” he said at last.
“We knew there was going to be a battle for Calathen,” Gersius said as he removed his helmet.
Lengwin shook his head. “No, Gersius. the Father Abbot knows the priests of Ulustrah support you. He searched the temple of Eastgate looking for you and found nothing. Later they sent in assassins to see if you had been hidden away. I am told they were also looking for priestess Thayle.
“Me?” Thayle said in shock.
“They know you are connected to him,” Lengwin said with dire eyes. “The rumors say that the assassins were discovered and a battle erupted. I'm afraid there were a number of deaths.”
Thayle gasped, and Gersius shook his head in dismay.
“We had hoped they would search it and find we were not there and move on. I prayed nobody would be hurt,” Gersius said.
“That hope is long gone,” Lengwin said.
Gersius looked up at him with heavy brows. “What else has happened?”
Lengwin stood up and put his hands on the desk to use it for support as he looked into Gersius’s eyes.
“The Father Abbot has decided the faith of Ulustrah is an enemy of the people. He has outlawed it everywhere he has influence and pressures the places he doesn't. He has since raided and burned the temple in Calathen, and several of the surrounding states. I have been given orders to seize the temple here in Avashire and arrest the priests tending it.
“Your order has no authority over us!” Thayle barked.
Lengwin shook his head. “Please, Grand Priestess, I have no intention of following this ridiculous order.” He paused and shook his head. “But you can rest assured there are spies in the city. When the Father Abbot learns I have not followed his command, he will know I am with Gersius.”
“Then we do not have much time to prepare,” Gersius said. “We need to move quickly before the Father Abbot can strike at us.”
Lengwin shook his head again.
“Many of the smaller temples and holds are afraid to rally to the cause. They don't want to get embroiled in this. I have letters of apology all over my desk from small temples that will not join us. They won't hinder us either, but they will not aid us.”
“They cannot stand neutral in this coming conflict,” Gersius said. “They need to choose to follow you or stand against you, there is no middle ground.”
“And what of you?” Lengwin asked. “Who do you follow? Are you a priest of Ulustrah now?”
Gersius smiled and looked down at Lilly. “No, I am the High Priest of the order of Balisha Queen of dragons.”
Lengwin looked at him with a face of confusion.
He motioned to Lilly, “Lilly, is now the High Priestess and the leader of the order.”
“We are equals,” Lilly said, addressing him. “I can't do this without you at my side.”
“Balisha is real?” Lengwin said as he leaned back up. “And you are both part of her order?”
“We are the heads of her order,” Gersius pointed out.
Lengwin looked to Lilly who bowed slightly to him to acknowledge Gersius had spoken the truth. He looked at Thayle, who stood to his left. “And what of you? Are you a priestess of Ulustrah or have you a new title as well?”
“I have several new titles, but I am still a Grand Priestess of Ulustrah. My love for my Goddess has not changed.”
He nodded, “I see. What new titles did you acquire since we last met?” he asked.
“I am now dragon knight, and wife to Gersius and Lilly.”
“Dragon Kight?” Lengwin said as he looked back to Gersius. “But, but you were supposed to be the dragon knight?”
“I am the dragon knight, and so is my wife. There will be two dragon knights in this age.”
“Two?” Lengwin said, then looked back at Thayle. “And you are his. I mean their wife?”
“I am,” Thayle said with a confident smile.
“So they are both your wives now?” Lengwin said looking from Thayle to Lilly before finally settling on Gersius.
“Is that a problem, High Priest Lengwin?” Lilly asked.
“Well, no, of course not. Many men have two wives, it is not uncommon,” he said as if startled and shook his head. “Why must you always be so unpredictable, Gersius?” Lengwin said with a smile. “I suppose congratulations are in order again.”
“Thank you, but we need to address the problem at hand,” Gersius said. “We need that support.”
“Gersius, I cannot force them to aid you. I can rally the men directly under my command, but I have no direct authority over the smaller temples.”
“You are the highest member of the order for hundreds of miles. You run this entire region,” Gersius pointed out.
“I can order them to assemble and parade if I want. I can lead them in a worship service or set the hour of a special event, but I can't order them to march on their Father Abbot. They have to make that commitment on their own. If I were to make such a demand, it would be more likely they would march on me.”
Gersius closed his eyes and took a deep breath to get control of his frustration. Lilly’s hand crept into his as he focused on controlling his anger.
“What will it take to convince these temples to aid us?” Thayle asked.
Lengwin threw up his hands in exasperation. “I have no idea, Grand Priestess. I have told them as much as I dared about the rot in the order and my intention to challenge the leadership of the church. But they have many letters from the Father Abbot himself about the devastation of your dragon. They have no proof either way and fear getting involved. We need something to show them that will make them understand.”
Lilly heard his words and nodded. “Show them me,” she said.
Gersius and Thayle both looked over at her, confused.
“I will carry all of you, including you,” she said, pointing to Lengwin. “We will fly to every one of these temples, and they can see the truth. They will see both Astikar's and Ulustrah's priests are safe in my presence.”
“You want to carry me?” Lengwin said, his face going pale. “And how will you fly? Your wings are gone?”
Lilly smiled at the man and blinked her blazing blue eyes. “Much has changed since we first met, High Priest Lengwin.”
“This plan might be perfect,” Thayle said. “To have both a high priest of Astikar and Ulustrah arrive on the back of the so-called savage dragon and show the people the lie for what it is.”
“It has some risks, but it might be exactly what we need to do.” Gersius agreed. “Show them all that Astikar has nothing to fear from the dragon, and that it wishes to aid them in the war.”
“Better yet, I could introduce you as the Dragon knights,” Lengwin said as he thought feverishly. “The faith of Astikar has worked diligently to promote the image that the dragon knight is a hero of the order. The temples will have no choice but to come to our aid.”
Gersius nodded, “Good let the lies of the Father Abbot come to haunt him for a change.”
“We should set off at once then. I will make arrangements, and we can begin traveling to the temples all across the north reach,” Lengwin said with determination.
“No!” Thayle and Lilly said in Unison.
“No?” Gersius said, surprised.
“You owe us a night in a bed!” they both said.
Lengwin smirked and sat down. “I will get everything ready for tomorrow. You seem to have your hands full tonight. I Will arrange a room in the inn for you.”
“You know we should see if my order has as estate garden someplace around the city,” Thayle said.
“Why?” Gersius asked.
“It would be useful to have someplace Lilly can change form in safely that isn’t an hour or more outside the city, and where we can store our stuff without worry of theft.”
“And you think your order might have a place like that?” Gersius asked.
“We sometimes have small farms and estates near major cities. They are places to retire older members and to give young acolytes who need to be tempered some physical labor to do.”
“That sounds a lot like the monastery farms we maintain,” Lengwin said.
“Yes, it does, and to have such a place would be beneficial,” Gersius had to admit.
“Sadly we do not have such a place here ourselves, or I would offer you a room there,” Lengwin added.
“Then we should ask at my temple,” Thayle said. “They may have something.”
“This would mean we will have to make your order aware of what Lilly is,” Gersius said.
Thayle smiled, “Every member of my order that gets within ten feet of her is going to know what she is.”
Lengwin suddenly jumped up and stood at his desk. “If you are going to your temple, I would appreciate if you would deliver a letter for me,” he said, taking a pen to paper. “I want to tell them that I am going to take no action against them. So long as I control the order of Astikar here, they are safe.”
“I would be delighted to deliver such a letter,” Thayle said.
He finished his work and blew on the ink to help it dry.
“You should come back here in the morning, Gersius. You and your lovely wives, with Lilly in her dragon form. I will await you in the yard with my entire command in attention.”
“What will this accomplish?” Gersius asked.
“I want them to see me call you both the Dragon Knight and see me embrace the priestess of Ulustrah, showing our two orders are not at war, at least not this far north.”
“Hmm,” Thayle said, pondering the thought. “Perhaps someplace even more public, where much of the city could see Lilly descend. I could have my order called to attention too. We could make a huge display of it.”
“Yes that may be better,” Lengwin said with a nod. “I could issue a proclamation, have much of the city gathered, even the nobles and heads of families. I will announce to them that the dragon knight has returned and come to unite Astikar and Ulustrah. Then you fly down on Lilly's back, and I will introduce you to the gathered crowd.”
“What if there is a panic?” Gersius said, concerned.
“Some will panic, there will be no doubt, but I will be sure to prepare the crowd beforehand. If your lady Lilly would but speak to them in dragon form, they could see she is not a monster. She needs to show them she is intelligent and a friend. It would do much to win hearts.”
Gersius nodded his head. “I suppose it has to start somewhere.”
“Then let it start here,” Thayle said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“You both agree then?” he asked.
Lilly smiled and nodded her head.
Gersius looked to Lengwin and gave him a nod. “So be it. Tomorrow we show the people of Avashire and then the northern towns that the dragon knight has returned!”