Nestled deep in the Teforh Forest where few dared to tread a special village continued its cursed existence. Ever since its salvation at the hands of the goddess Jenna the village Nova Bellumis had become allowed its relocated residents to grow comfortable in their new lives. A village of werewolves, a paradoxical blend of savagery and civilization. Such a settlement was only made possible through the ingenuity of humans and the divine grace of a kind goddess.
The reputation of such a bizarre village had already preceded it throughout the local province. Whispers abounded concerning an entire population of cursed beastmen who thirsted for the blood of man. Fear filled the hearts of anyone who heard of its existence despite the goddess herself reportedly sanctioning the place. Why would Goddess Jenna allow them to continue existing? It certainly confused people.
One such confused individual was Timothy Ukell, the high priest of the goddess. When he heard about an entire village of werewolves he would've normally dismissed it as mad ramblings. That had not been an option however, as he had heard about the place from the goddess herself. Imagine then the anxiety he felt when he heard that he was personally going there. He already had his hands full with his priesthood which was complicated by the presence of his fairy companion.
The playfully sinister fairy Salferia readily enjoyed messing with Timothy and any other humans around her. Though she was on extremely good behavior for a fairy under threat of a goddess's wrath. When she heard about the village of werewolves she thought it was funny that such twisted creatures would play pretend at still being humans. She wanted to visit if for no other reason than to laugh at their expense.
As for the reason the high priest was going to Nova Bellumis? It was at the direct request, or demand, of the goddess herself. There was a shipment of food and clothing that had been gathered as a relief effort for the people there. Because they had been recently relocated their entire lives had been abandoned to a horse of walking dead. All of their clothing, stored food, and even their homes had been lost to them. The fact winter was closing in only exasperated the problem and the grace of the goddess demanded action.
So here Timothy stood at the outskirts of the village, the pile of supply boxes piled high after being teleported here by the goddess. Up above the night sky was dominated by a large glowing moon, the cold winds rustling the trees and causing shadows to skitter about the landscape. He didn't like being here at night but Jenna had insisted on it as it would make the villagers more comfortable than a daytime visit. He clutched his warm cloak around his body and wished for a large fire.
The fairy Salferia stood on his left shoulder, her usual exploring outfit replaced with a warm fuzzy wool dress. Her dark purple pigtails waved around in the light wind and her darkly colored wings were held together behind her back. She watched with excited eyes as the representatives of the village approached them, though it was almost like her emerald eyes viewed them as prey.
Walking towards the goddess and her entourage were three villagers, their faces full of hope and relief at the sight of the supplies.
First was the head warrior Markku, the tall and powerful man in his human form in a rare display. His long black hair in a ponytail behind his back. He was the best warrior in the village and it was he who had personally fought the goddess in hand to hand combat. His reverence for her and the mercy she had shown both him and his people made him a staunch believer.
Second was a man named Pittenbar Illice who acted as one of the main butchers for the village. He was quite knowledgeable in cooking and so was nominated to help inspect the incoming supplies. Even in his human form he was burly, his short black hair unkempt much to his wife's chagrin.
Thirdly and lastly there was one of the elders of the village: an old woman named Judit who had been there when the council deliberated on their future actions in this new home. Her long red hair went well with her dark pink skin and her emerald eyes showed great wisdom. She was quite reserved since her husbands death and had stepped into his place on the council. Now this position was put to a test even her late husband had never endured: namely treating with an actual goddess.
Jenna stood up straight and smiled as the three approached, her shining hair illuminating the immediate area around her.
“Hey there! Here's that stuff I promised you.”
The three villagers walked up and bowed low to the ground before the goddess. Judit was the one to speak first as she was one of the elders.
“Thank you powerful and merciful goddess!” She kept her head low. “Your blessings are more than we deserve. To think you would take pity on a village of beasts such as us.”
Jenna let out a little giggle and put her hands on her hips in a display of self importance.
“Yes yes! Praise me!” she then grinned down happily and extended her left hand to the three. “You may stand. It's good to see you so respectful.”
Timothy was looking around with a look of nervousness on his face. While none of the people standing here were monstrous he had seen one or two of the villagers in their werewolf forms walking around in the distance. With the goddess here he knew there was no real danger, but the sight of actual monsters running around was still a bit frightening.
“Um goddess?” he asked turning to Jenna. “This certainly is an interesting village.”
Salferia reached over to her companion's ear and tugged on it roughly causing him to flinch.
“Look at this big baby!” she taunted while laughing. “Scared of a few hairy beasties are you? I'd swear you just left your mother's teat if it wasn't for your size!”
The three villagers finally noticed the fairy as they stood back up and a flash of concern came over their faces for a brief moment. It seemed even cursed beastmen had an innate fear of the fey folk. It wasn't for nothing that the other races distrusted fairies, as it was well known the fairer folk's penchant for chaos.
The elder Judit gave a slight bow in Timothy's direction and the two beside her did the same.
“Greetings young man and fey companion. I've not heard of you I'm afraid.”
Jenna clapped her hands together and stepped forward so she was between the two groups.
“Right! I suppose introductions are necessary!” She pointed to her priest. “This is Timothy and his fairy friend Salferia. You can considering them my underlings!” She laughed. “Timmy is my high priest and Salferia is just sorta around.”
She then pointed to the werewolves and at Markku specifically.
“That's Markku. He's a pretty tough warrior in the village and the guy who did fisticuffs with me when we first met. The other two I don't know. Mind introducing yourselves?”
While Markku looked down in great embarrassment the other two straightened their posture and somewhat nervously introduced themselves.
Judit went first and bowed her head respectfully, her frail frame still holding poise despite her age.
“My name is Judit. I've been on the council of elders in this village since the death of my late husband. I'm grateful to meet such a kind goddess and her loyal servants.”
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Next Pittenbar stepped forward and did a quick bow, his expression stern which concealed his own nervousness at meeting such guests.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Pittenbar Illice and I'm the premiere butcher here, as well as a good cook. I'd never imagined getting the honor to meet a real goddess and its wonderful to meet her trusted servants as well.”
A high pitched and mocking laugh came from Timothy's shoulder as Salferia burst our with mirth. She was bent over halfway and clutched her stomach.
“Look at them! They're absolutely terrified of the three of us!” She calmed herself and stood up straight again. “Not that I blame them! Imagine how pathetic they feel even as powerful as they are?”
This outburst made Timothy blush very red in embarrassment on behalf his companion. The three villagers were also starting to feel very awkward and ashamed. What the fairy said was true after all. What could even a werewolf do in the face of such power?
Before anyone could say anything however Jenna walked over to Timothy and reached out with her left hand. Salferia had been too occupied with her mirth to notice the hand approaching and was soon caught up between the large fingers.
“That's quite enough of that” Jenna said sternly as she shook the little fairy around a little. “We're on our best behavior tonight remember?” She then released her captive and ignored the angry protesting as she turned back to the villagers. “Sorry about that you three. Why don't you come look at the stuff we brought you?”
With the awkward mood mostly relieved by Jenna's friendliness the villagers seemed to relax again. Even though Jenna was an all powerful supernatural being her down to earth kind attitude naturally made others feel at ease around her. At least anyone who wasn't actively angering her that is.
Timothy also felt much better with Jenna taking over that situation and he stepped aside so the villagers could approach the goods. His still complaining passenger pulled on his hair angrily in order to vent the feelings she couldn't express to the goddess.
The supplies themselves consisted of a collection of almost a hundred wooden barrels and crates of various sizes. They were all tightly sealed and stacked neatly on the open dirt and labeled with large painted letters on the sides to indicate their contents. The goddess had personally transported them here herself through magic circles as it was the fastest way possible, though future logistics weighed on her mind.
Pittenbar walked over first and started looking around the barrels lowest in the stack.
“So may I ask what sort of supplies are in these goddess Jenna? Not that I doubt your generosity of course.”
Jenna nodded. “No problem! I'll tell ya.”
She then lifted her left hand and a thin metal rod appeared in it, one end curved and the other flat. It was a crowbar and she handed it to the man with a smile.
“Use this to check inside.”
Pittenbar looked surprised when he saw it appear in her hand.
“Thank you goddess.”
He gratefully accepted it and began prying open the barrel he was in front of.
Markku moved into position nearby the other man in a sort of guard position, though he was curious himself to see what they had been delivered. Their elder Judit however stayed back near where Timothy was standing as she didn't want to get in the two men's way.
At this point the rest of the village had noticed what was going on and a small crowed had gathered. Even though they were still pretty scared of Jenna they also understood at this point how safe she was. Eventually their nerves were overcome with curiosity and more people joined the small group at the pile of crates. They came over regardless of if they were in human or werewolf form as they knew their goddess didn't judge them for it. It was warmer in fur after all.
The young village children especially were excited to see Jenna again and clamored for her attention. They instantly mopped her cutting off her explanation about the crates. Some of the parents of the children were on hand to collect them but some of the little kids still clung to the goddess's legs or arms. After just a short time even Jenna's patience was tested and she enacted a devious plan. At the same time Judit had noticed this and moved to collect the children herself.
“Come now children” the elder said sternly. “Hurry off and leave the goddess be! Is this how you treat the savior of our village?” There was a hint of fear in her voice as she scolded the childern.
Jenna simply giggled and the sound soothed everyone like a chiming bell. She squirmed around her arms and shook off most of the children. Then she gestured over to Timothy with a devious smile on her face.
“Hey kids!” she said in an excited tone. “Do you know who really was excited to play with you?” Her finger pointed at the surprised priest. “Yeah its him! His name's Timothy and he's pretty fun you know? He's my servant so you can have fun with him ok? Just play gently.”
The excited young children payed rapt attention to Jenna's words and when Timothy was indicated they squealed with excitement. In a rush of tiny legs they mobbed the embarrassed man with grabbing hands and cries for fun. The cries of mercy from the poor priest drowned out by the little one's excitement.
The fairy on his shoulder however actually seemed happy to entertain the children, perhaps because they shared similar fun loving and imaginative traits as she did. The children seemed to like her as well, their little faces filled with shock and awe at the tiny woman.
Both parties would be heavily monitored by the goddess of course, as she didn't want anything dangerous to happen to anyone involved. This passing of the torch did however complete her clever plan to free herself to focus on the shipment again.
Jenna sighed softly and patted her clothing down to settle it back into place, the grabbing hands of the children having bunched it up in uncomfortable ways. She then turned back to Pittenbar and Markku with a pleased smile.
“Sorry about that. Now where was I?”
Judit smiled warmly and shook her head.
“Don't apologize oh wonderful goddess! It makes an old woman overjoyed to see you love the children so much. Thank you for your gentle actions.”
Markku nodded in agreement as the young goddess blushed.
“Its true. You're greater than we couldn't imagined.”
Jenna rubbed the back of her head and moved over to lean against a stack of crates.
“It's nothing really! I'd expect anyone to do the same. Anyway where was I in the explanation?”
It was Pittenbar who spoke next. He was just replacing the lid on the barrel which had been filled with harvest apples.
“Before our interruption you had only told us the fruits included. We've never had much fruit to eat before so this will be a wonderful winter indeed.”
Jenna's eyes lit up as she remembered and then she nodded.
“Right! Fruits!” She rubbed her chin with her left hand. “Besides those there was also plenty of processed flour for making bread, lots of vegetables, and even some seasonings.” She paused and looked up at Markku. “Also there was quite of bit of preserved meats. I know you guys like meat.”
Markku nodded and smiled.
“Indeed goddess.”
With a smile Jenna pushed herself off the crates and then clapped her hands.
“Oh also before I forget! There's something very important in some of the crates. I took the effort to get quite a lot of animal blood packaged up in glass flasks in there so be careful of the crates marked fragile.” She looked at their shocked faces. “Blood? You know for emergency supplies?”
Judit gasped and held her hands to her chest in shock.
“Truly we don't deserve your generosity goddess! To imagine you'd go so far for our village.”
After this news Markku fell down on his knees before the little girl, though even then he towered over his goddess. He bowed his head and then went down to bow fully on the ground at her feet. There were tears in his eyes as he was almost crying with joy.
“Thank you great Goddess Jenna! I apologize for my own worthlessness as a hunter. We don't deserve your mercy. To save us with your generosity is something we can never repay.”
Jenna laughed awkwardly and blushed more, this level of adoration always making her a bit shy. Not that any of the villagers knew that of course. To them her reaction was odd but they didn't question it, for who could know the mind of a goddess?
“Well I was feeling especially merciful is all” she said straitening her posture. “Just don't take it for granted or else ok?” Her tone was now stern though it lacked true conviction in her threat. “Anyway why don't we start carrying this all into the village?”
Markku stood back up and took several steps back from Jenna.
“We couldn't make our goddess soil her hands by carrying the supplies into the village. It was embarrassing enough for us that you transported them here yourself.” He smiled down at her. “Please allow us to do the work ourselves.”
Much to their great relief Jenna just took a step back and lifted her arms behind her head. She looked up at Markku with one eye closed as if she was evaluating his response.
“Alright then. You are a good doggy after all.”
Even though he wasn't in his werewolf form Markku couldn't deny that the way she said those words make his heart happy. It was embarrassing to be referred to like a dog but coming from his goddess it seemed to instead be elating and he couldn't fully understand it.
By now the other elders of the village had shown up as well and Judit had gone to greet them and bring them over to meet the goddess. This left the work of transporting the goods to the other two men initially there. Together Pittenbar and Markku began organizing the able bodied villagers who had gathered. With so many hands the crates and barrels would be a the longhouse within the hour and they could be properly stored and distributed. Tonight truly was one of celebration.