They shared glances across the table as they digested what the captain was asking. Uzca listened with curiosity. His ultimate goal was Telestria and his family, but if there was some danger he could help with, he wouldn't turn his back to it.

"Go on," Thad said.

"About two weeks ago, we lost contact with Dreggs. We maintain regular communication, as sometimes we need to coordinate crossings for maintenance and closures, and it pays to know what's happening downriver and if people are trying to smuggle anything illicit, that sort of thing."

The captain rose, poured himself some water, and sat back down. Bezben rose to do the same, but the water pitcher was just a few feet from the swamp hag's head. He looked at it and sat back down, looking a little green.

"Seven days ago, travelers coming up from Dreggs indicated that some criminal element had taken over the city. They're charging outrageous sums for crossings, and apparently, no semblance of law remains. As the stewards of the Comise, it's my Constabulary's duty to go to the city and restore order. The Emperor's decrees demand it."

"You can't wait for reinforcements from Telestria or Nuris?" Thad asked. From what Uzca understood, Telestria was the largest city in the province, and Nuris was the second largest. It was at the base of a different range of mountains than his own, while Telestria was on the coast.

"I thought about it, but I have to think of the innocent people in the city. As more travelers decline to pass through Dreggs and make their way along the river to us, we've found out more information. This is a known criminal organization with only around one hundred members.

"I plan on taking a force of two hundred south by river. We'll move overland once we're a couple miles from the city. I aim to restore order."

"You might end up starting a siege," Thad said. "They have a fortified position."

"The plan is to infiltrate the city first. The problem is, most of the Constabulary are known to these criminals..."

"Ahh," Uzca said. "You want us to sneak in and what? Distract them? Cause a disturbance? Find their leadership?"

"Nothing yet! Eventually, most likely. First, we would try to do some fact-finding. We want someone in the city looking for the things we want them to look. Just getting solid information would be a great help. If an opportunity arises while that's happening? Well, we can capitalize on that, but I don't intend to formulate a final plan or even move my full force down to the city until I know what we'd be walking into."

The group all tried to speak at once.

"I'm not sure..." Thad began.

"We need to help," Uzca said.

"This sounds awesome!" Bezben said, perked back up.

"You two want to help?" Thad asked, unsure.

"Sure," Bezben said. "Beating up criminals seems like exactly the kind of thing I came with Uzca to do."

Uzca gave Bezben a flat look. "I'm going to Telestria, but I'm not exactly on a schedule. I have time. I'm not going to turn my back on a whole city of people who could use my help. I know this isn't what you agreed to, Thad."

"No, it's not, but you're probably right. We should help if we can, though we really shouldn't do the captain's dirty work purely out of the goodness of our hearts."

The captain nodded, clearly glad they had tentatively agreed to help. "Of course not. I wouldn't expect you to. I'm only authorized to issue payment for a handful of days upfront, but we can certainly negotiate bonuses depending on how everything works out."

"Beating up bad guys and getting paid? Today is my day," Bezben said, rubbing his hands together then wincing at his bandaged hand.

They hammered out the details, the captain agreeing to pay out their swamp hag reward before they left in lieu of upfront militia payments. They would meet a boat down at the riverside docks in the morning to take them close to the Dreggs. From there it was on them to investigate.

They left the station and agreed on a few more stops.

A constable gave them directions to a place with healing available, and they soon arrived at a grand temple in the heart of the city. It had soaring towers and was nearly as high as the keep that overlooked the bridge.

"Temple of the Living God. You'll find one in any major city in the empire."

"Are these the only temples we'll find in the lowlands?" Uzca asked.

"No, you'll see temples to other gods as well, but they're typically more historical sites than places of worship. They're old and typically small, temples to those gods who died or were forgotten."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Forgotten? Not dead?"

"There are more gods than people realize, though I suspect you and your brethren have a keen understanding. Some gods were forgotten before the fall of Old Livia, so we continue to call them forgotten because we don't know if they're dead or not. I didn't have much of an opinion on it until you both told me of your gods. The fact that there are multiple gods in the highlands, alive and well, gives credence to the idea that there might be more forgotten gods, or perhaps the gods of the highlands might also be forgotten gods of the lowlands."

"That's an interesting theory. If I meet my god again, I'll ask him if he has any temples in the lowlands," Uzca said. "You said you spent time with his priests of the Living God? What is their religion like?"

"Oh yes. It's interesting. The Living God lives in Amailesh with the higher orders of his priests. He helps with research and semi-regularly preaches throughout the city. His defining tenet is truth and the free sharing of knowledge. That's one of the more annoying things in Amailesh. The Living God speaks into the minds of everyone in the city, and he does not seem to care if you're in the bathroom."

Bezben laughed. "Sounds like you killed two birds with one stone to me."

A priest greeted them just outside the temple as they approached.

"Good day, pilgrims. Have you come to pay homage to our Living God?"

"Not exactly," Thad said. "My friend is in need of some healing."

Bezben waved with his bandaged hand.

"Of course, the Living God provides to all, whether or not they follow his guiding light. Please come with me, and I'll take you to our healer."

The inside of the temple was just as majestic and grand as the outside suggested. Paintings of events Uzca knew nothing about adorned the walls, and he was surprised to see what looked like a library taking up a significant portion of the temple's floor space. It was quiet inside, so he whispered to Thad.

"Is there a library in here?"

"Oh yes. Knowledge in pursuit of truth is another defining tenet. It's the reason I went to work with the priests in the first place. They're almost more a scholarly organization than they are a religious one, at least at the heart of the Living God's power."

The priest led them into a hallway, stopping several doorways in and indicating the room beyond. "Please wait within. Healer Semeva will be with you shortly."

When they were situated in the small examination room and closed the door, Bezben expressed some uncharacteristic worry.

"Should we do this? My hand looked a little better this morning! Didn't you say this was some kind of magic mark? What if they can tell we're Highlanders?"

"It's alright, Bezben. The clergy of the Living God accepts all, though I wouldn't offer that information without prompting. Either way, that mark looks like it might be infected. I lack the specialized knowledge in healing magic to treat something like that. All that is beside the fact that the origin is divine magic, which, as we observed in the Laka-uni village, doesn't respond well to regular healing magic."

Bezben grumbled but didn't argue further. The healer arrived and knocked at the door before entering and sitting in front of Bezben, who had sat on the examination chair.

"Good day, I am Healer Semeva. I understand you need healing?"

"Yeah...my hand. It's a long story, but I think it might be infected."

He waved it around as though she couldn't see which hand was thoroughly bandaged.

"May I?"

Bezben acquiesced, and the healer pulled out a pair of scissors and deftly cut away the bandage. She sucked in a breath when she saw the wound on his palm. When Uzca saw it, he did the same.

"Bez, that is not better!"

The black ink of the mark had traveled around his palm and was threatening to creep onto the back of his hand and up onto his fingers. The center was still raw and open around a central symbol.

"Before I ask about this, let's get it cleaned up. It will let me see what we're dealing with more clearly, as well as allow any healing magic we end up using to work more effectively."

Thad took notes while Uzca watched. Semeva retrieved a metal pan and filled it with water and a boiled rag from a stack in a cabinet. Bezben gritted his teeth as the healer began blotting around the wound.

"It doesn't seem like you've been caring for this well. It has some signs of earlier healing, but it looks like you ripped all that up."

"Yeah, we were crossing the Meglemen yesterday and ended up in a fight."

Semeva nodded as though she heard that kind of thing all the time.

"There. The wound is clean, but a few things are happening. The most prominent and most relevant is the mark on your palm. I can sense divine magic at work. Do you know what it's doing?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Bezben said.

"May I ask where you got it?"

Bezben glanced at Thad, who nodded. Bezben gave a slight shake of his head. When Thad didn't jump in, he reluctantly started trying to explain.

"Well. My cousin and I are from the Highlands."

The priest didn't bat an eye at the admission.

"A few days ago, we met a man with some kind of divine illness. He—"

"Attacked by a ghoul in the Livian Valley," Thad interjected.

"Yeah, he couldn't be healed except by divine magic. I petitioned my god, and he agreed to heal the man in exchange for this mark. But as I said, I have no idea what it is or what it's doing."

"It's a divine transfer mark. It essentially allows power to flow through connected entities. Some of our priests get them, and they are able to channel the divine power of our god with his permission. You are connected to your god through the mark. It shouldn't actually bother you too much once it settles in, but for that to happen, you need to let it heal. No activity with the hand. Are you able to use any divine magic?"

"I, uh, have a gift?"

"I understand the Highlander gifts are magic, but outside when they are initially granted, not of a divine nature. You should be able to use that magic, so long as it doesn't involve using this hand at all. You're going to leave it alone for a full week and then slowly start stretching it so it doesn't get stiff."

She showed Thad the stretches, and then she used some small amount of healing magic on them.

"The spell I used should help with any incompatibilities you noticed between the mark and yourself, and it should accelerate the skin healing over the next day. Don't use the hand, don't carry anything in it, and don't wrap it again."

She gave him a cream to use every night, and before they knew it, the healer was out of the room, and they were free to go.

"Maybe we should have mentioned we were infiltrating Dreggs tomorrow?" Bezben asked.

"If you're worried about your hand, maybe you should stay behind?" Uzca suggested. He knew Bezben well enough to know that wouldn't happen.

"And let you go alone? No way. I'll just be careful."

"I guess I can't stop you. What do you guys think about getting some lunch? There's a tavern over here I wanted to try out."