Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash

The room I first woke up in was one of the guest rooms across the main corridor in the south wing. Lisaykos put me there because the Cosm-scaled room made it easier for Kayseo to do her shifts watching me. My little bedroom in Lisaykos' quarters was too cramped for her to manage on crutches. A day after waking up, Lisaykos reinstalled me in my old bedroom with its wonderful view of the river with the volcanic rift in the distance. She liberated me from the splint at the same time when I promised I would be good and sit in bed all day. She left me with a selection of things she knew I wanted to read but I was interrupted after the third bell.

"Great One, you're finally awake. How are you? Your wastewater ideas are amazing! We need to negotiate!" Imstay let himself into my bedroom from Lisaykos' bedroom, beamed like the quack medicine salesman he was at heart, and sat down. Since he was doing a decent job of being good to our problem child Aylem, I decided I would try approach him as a potential source of buffoonery instead of disliking him outright. His anger at the priestess who attacked me in Black Falls had been real, as had been his concern when he found me. I think I might tolerate him better if he could figure out that I preferred honesty and sincerity rather than the habitual charming routine.

I confess his eruption into my bedroom left me speechless for a moment. I was wondering how he found out I was now awake since I had gone back to sleep after Twessera had brought me a plate of my favorite eggy rolls for morn repast. Then I remembered who ran his intelligence service.

"Does the High Priestess know you're here, Imstay King?" I put a place marker in the book I was reading, which was about the island nations west of the Fens which I wanted to go see.

"Not yet," his smile got bigger. "I thought we might talk first."

"Oh no, you don't, Imstay King," I shook my finger at him. "If you want to negotiate then Lisaykos is the person you want to talk to. I don't do my own negotiating."

His face fell and I had to laugh, "good try but did you think I would crumble before such an obvious trick? How did you get in here, anyway, without Lisaykos seeing you?"

"Easy," said the suddenly-appearing Usruldes in his ninja suit, "I picked the lock into her bedroom from the hallway."

"But those are magic locks!" I protested.

"And I am Usruldes," the crow's feet next to his eyes crumpled up in amusement. "I haven't met a lock yet that can keep me out."

"The two of you are not a good combination," I commented. "You bring out the worst in each other, like a pair of schoolboys up to no good."

"I will be assessing a one-time tax of a silver piece per head to finance the wastewater plants in all the cities, towns, and villages," Imstay didn't give up. "A portion of the tax will go to you as the artificer who made the design. You might not get as much if someone else negotiates for you."

"Appealing to my sense of greed won't work, Imstay King. I have wealth far beyond my needs. I don't require more."

The look on Imstay's face was priceless.

Usruldes started laughing, "I told you money was the wrong thing to bargain with."

"The two of you should leave the way you came before Lisaykos catches you," I warned them as I opened my book back up.

"Too late," Lisaykos said behind them.

Imstay groaned.

"I will let you retreat this time, Imstay King," Lisaykos smiled her evil smile, "and you will not tax the residents of Aybhas for the sewers here. I used my personal funds to put down new drains for the city as a gift to the populace."

---

Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash

While Usruldes and I were off fetching Aylem to bring her home, Lisaykos hired craft workers from the Shrines of Giltak and Vassu to install modern plumbing throughout the Shrine complex, and road builders from the Shrine of Gertzpul to put in sewer drains separate from the storm water drains. When the plumbing was complete for the main shrine and its outbuildings, she had already arranged to plumb the chapel shrine on the northeast side of Aybhas, and both the craft and food markets, whose buildings belonged to the Shrine. The Shrine of Mugash is the biggest landlord in Aybhas, which was something I never realized before.

What a racket these watermages from the Shrine of Vassu have going! They've been using charms on waste from necessaries for at least two or more millennia. They convert the solids to odorless fertilizer, which they then sell. The raw liquid wastes are sold to tanners and dyers. What the watermages don't sell, they dilute and dump it into the kingdom's rivers or send to lagoons to evaporate and leach away.

The watermages did have a clue that raw sewage can lead to diseases like cholera and typhus. They knew that open lagoons were a problem, especially for big communities like Is'syal and Aybhas. But given their level of technology, they didn't know what else to do with their liquid wastes other than just to dump them and hope dilution would take care of the problem.

The hard labor behind this system of waste management was Coyn slaves, all owned by the Shrine of Vassu. Moxsef and her watermages owned more Coyn slaves than any other person or organization in Foskos. Lisaykos tried to reassure me that the spoot slaves, as they were called, were well-cared for. I think I will use my own eyes to see for myself, as soon as I can get around better.

I wasn't that excited about getting sucked into designing wastewater treatment plants for Foskos. It would take a lot of effort, and more importantly, time. I didn't want to get involved in a big complex project that would be a further distraction from what I really wanted to do. I needed to research how to disrupt the slavery system and I needed the time and the freedom to do that. I had to go and see for myself what life was like for the slaves in Foskos, both the good and the bad. I suspected that my Cosm keepers only let me see the best-cared-for Coyn. My own past told me there was still great suffering too. I wanted to know where it and how bad it was.

I was all gung-ho to get up to the White Shrine of Landa, get the revelation, and have Aylem break the crystal. Then Galt visited me on my second night back in my bedroom.

* Wake up, kitten, * Galt's voice full of round vowels and rolling R's pulled me from my slumber. "I need to talk with you."

"You're a god. Go away. I don't want to talk with you people ever again," I growled, half-asleep and grumpy. I pulled the blankets over my head.

* Don't make me fully manifest to tickle your feet! * Galt sniggered gleefully. I had no doubt he would do just that. He wasn't the kind of entity that made idle threats.

I sat up and did my best to glower. A transparent person-sized Galt was sitting at the foot of my bed.

* I'm unhappy with how things are going right now, kitten, and I think you are too. *

I think the hinge in my jaw broke when Galt said that to me.

* Thank you, by the way, for not cutting me off, * Galt looked as serious as I had ever seen him. * You sure riled them up when you closed your mind. That was the first time you were able to do that, yes? *

"I what?"

* You decided you didn't want us in your thoughts and you pushed everyone out, even me. It was rather impressive. You are beginning to blossom as a soul. It's wonderful to watch. But they didn't realize you had come this far and would do that to them. * Galt sniffed indignantly, * I hope Tiki and Mugash learn something from this. So, I was thanking you for leaving the door open for me to come and chat. *

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"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

* If you think about it, you will, * he purred softly. * I wanted to ask a favor of you. Can you wait at least a year or two before going up to the White Shrine of Landa? * Galt suggested. * The bone man isn't quite ready yet. Yant is in bad shape. Not as bad as Black Falls, but not great either. But I'm not asking for his benefit. He doesn't even know I'm here. If you wait, it will be better for all the Coyn currently enslaved.*

"What advantage is there for the Coyn if the destruction of the crystal is pushed back?"

* I am the god of knowledge so you can trust me on what will happen. It will be easier to get the government to put emancipation into place if you wait. * Galt then did a cat-like yawn, licked his paw, and smoothed the fur on his transparent head.

Then he continued: * The fun thing about being me is that I know what the immutable events will be. When it comes to time, I'm even better than Tiki. If you wait, you will create this wonderful immutable circumstance where three-quarters of the Coyn that belong to the Shrine of Vassu will become surplus labor. That's because you, Emily, can show the Cosm how to make wastewater treatment work for them. Once Foskos has Earth-style modern plumbing, one-half of all the Coyn workforce will have no more work. The economic crisis will precipitate emancipation. You can win this war in Foskos with economics alone, kitten. There will be bloodshed but it will be minimized. *

"And breaking Landa's crystal now?"

* Millions of all six sapient races will die, * Galt remarked, * in 27 different conflicts across the world, precipitated by the loss of the control charm at a time before Imstay and Aylem are ready to accommodate the economic change in Foskos and it will delay the universal spread of indoor plumbing with running water on tap by 78 years. *

"How many conflicts if I wait for one to two years?"

* Five to six, two in Foskos, two or three in Impotu, and one further east. *

"So, you're asking me to engineer wastewater treatment in Foskos now and to wait before putting the revelation from Landa into play?"

* Yes, just sit down with Ud and Raoleer and Moxsef and teach them the nuances of wastewater treatment, hold off on Landa, and everything will be fine. *

"Did the other gods put you up to this," I gave him a look.

* No, I'm too angry to talk with them right now. They tend to leave me alone when I get mad at them and I got mad at them. They get so stupid at times. It just infuriates me. I'm not supposed to be intervening directly but screw them. Given what they've flubbed this time, I'm ignoring them for now. Well, maybe not Giltak. Giltak's alright if a little timid, even if Giltak is a mekaner's mekaner. *

* And now I'm going to break the rules, * he hissed. * That's how unhappy I am. Kitten, the war with Impotu is over access to the big crystals in the shrines. It's been over 20 years in the making and had its root in something that Fassex's predecessor did. Do you want to take a trip to Is'syal, Emily? This is worth a revelation, and one with no headache – that's a guarantee. *

"No thanks, Galt," I rolled my eyes, "you folks have already blown that wad as far as I'm concerned."

* Then I'll just tell you, * he grinned an evil grin. * Back when we created Cosm civilization along the Salt River, we laid down several large caches of extra big crystals. One of those caches is in a cavern under the Crystal Shrine of Tiki. There's an entrance through the floor under the big dome. It will help with rebuilding the shrine in Black Falls. It might also help with the situation in Impotu, depending on how enlightened Imstay and Aylem can be. *

"Does Tiki know you're telling me about this?"

Galt grinned, * Not a clue, kitten, not a single clue! *

"So I need to go to the Crystal Shrine?"

* You got it, Kitten, * he grinned. Then he stopped grinning, and stared off into space, holding up a paw. * Wait. *

Wait for what, I wondered.

* My apologies. It seems I must heighten my protection of you. This means you need to go to Is'syal, Kitten, so I can make you my revelator. Now, I know this is a sudden about face, so before you throw me out, let me tell you what's in it for you. *

"It better be good, hairball, 'cuz the god committee song-and-dance routine is getting really old really fast."

* This isn't the committee. This is just me and now Giltak. The deal on the table, courtesy of Giltak, is Glayon vines, Kitten. Your guess about them is correct. The revelation will save you from doing five years of experimentation to get a working product, not including the invention of the thermometer and the barometer first, which the experimental route requires. If you agree to the revelation, Raoleer will deliver what you want to make Kayseo's life better within six rotations. *

"Damn you, Galt. That's underhanded."

* I prefer to call it enlightened coercion, * he waggled his whiskers at me. * You care deeply for Kayseo, who truly is a very sweet girl. Giltak and I will ensure she gets the help she needs to prosper despite the loss of her feet. Also, I can sweeten the deal. How about dinner at Spenger's in 1972? *

I glowered at him as I waffled. A fish dinner at Spenger's on San Francisco Bay was a huge temptation. The conniving cat god knew where my soft spots were.

* And dessert at your choice of Edy's on Shattuck in Berkeley in 1972 or Reed's Dairy in Idaho Falls in 2000? * The wicked cat upped the ante.

"Arg! You damn cat! It's a deal."

* Groovy, my darling kitten. Visit me in Is'syal tomorrow if you can or the day after. I'll let Kamagishi know. * He looked very pleased with himself.

I heard Lisaykos' knock pattern on the door. I looked at Galt, but he was gone.

"Come," I said.

"I heard voices talking," Lisaykos in her nightdress and housecoat walked in and lit the light crystal. She looked around my empty room with a frown.

"I was talking to Galt," I said. "No, it was more like Galt was talking to me."

"There are days when I feel like I am living inside a legend or a story book," Laisaykos sat down, shaking her head. "What did Galt have to say that he needed to wake you in the middle of the night?"

"I know you're going to squawk at this, but I need to go to the Crystal Shrine of Tiki and the Fated Shrine of Galt. The trip to Is'syal needs to be tomorrow or the day after. Aylem should probably go with me to the Crystal Shrine. I need to find a spot on the floor under the dome, and I think Aylem can find it faster than I can," I looked up at Lisaykos, who was giving me quite a look.

"I believe you are going back to sleep," she reached her hand around the back of my head, "and we will discuss this over morning repast."

Then Thuorfosi shook me gently to wake me. "Good morning, grumpykins. Your hot water is waiting for you," she gave me a nostalgic smile. I nodded, stumbled down my bed stair, grabbed the towel she handed me, and did my morning routine. She had the usual array of underwear, gartered stockings, undertunic, and housecoat waiting for me.

"How about a decent pair of pants, and one of the new overtunics? Red would be nice," I said, "and my slips, please."

Thuorfosi looked concerned, got down on her knees in front of me, and felt my forehead, "how bad is the fever? You must be delirious --- it's the only plausible explanation."

"Very funny," I grumped. "Where's my hairbrush?"

"I can do that for you," she volunteered, like she did every morning, except I hadn't been home lately.

"I really can brush my own hair," I pointed out.

"You did your own braid too," she was already undoing the braid, "and it looks like it too."

"Hmph."

She chuckled, "besides, I won't be able to do this much longer, so I'm glad you got back when you did."

I turned around, and searched her face anxiously, "why? Are you going away?"

"Yes, I am," she smiled sadly, "and I will miss you, but you can come and visit. Wolkayrs and I are moving into a cute little house at the foot of snob hill that Lisaykos found for us."

"Why are you leaving? What's wrong?"

"Silly, nothing's wrong. Wolkayrs and I are starting our first family leave."

"Family leave?" I knew I had heard it mentioned but wasn't entirely sure what it meant in this context.

"Emily, I'm pregnant. We're going to have a kid. We'll both be off for a year and a half, though given that Lisaykos can't function without Wolkayrs, he'll be coming in two to three times a week initially to help Lisaykos' temporary help. Still, I doubt she'll need much help since she's five times faster at math than anyone I've seen besides you, and she already can use your slide rule. She also knows how the records work at healing chapel shrines, as well as at the main shine."

"Do I know this person? The look on your face, Thuorfosi, says that I do."

"It's the Queen. She needed something to do. She offered to work as a regular healer but Lisaykos is only letting her out to heal the worst cases. She said it would be demoralizing otherwise."

"Is it?"

"In a way, yes." Thuorfosi finished brushing. "The Queen makes even the most difficult injuries look easy to heal, and she's so fast, and she can perform healing after healing after healing. Even the senior healers feel inadequate with her around."

"Someone told me --- I think it was Fassex --- that Aylem is twice as powerful as the entire Convocation put together," I remarked. "Given some of the things I've seen Aylem do, I believe that."

"She's different since she came back," Thuorfosi started braiding. "I think I like her better now. I just wish she would smile more. She looks so sad all the time."

"She's got a lot to work through," I said. "The new Aylem isn't so bad. I just hope she doesn't turn back into the old Aylem."

"Me too."

"So when did you discover you would be having a kid? Tell me everything!"