Gloomy skies of gray dominated the heavens as another droll winter day overcame the land. Billowing gusts of wind carried with them ice loaded clouds that deposited snow to blanket the landscape below. This was miserable weather to most and very little productive work could be done in the out of doors in such conditions. Despite this however people's daily lives went on and they did what they could. Not everyone could be immune to cold like a goddess.

The city of Vinedenne was my first stop to spread the good news. Here I quickly found the resident head mage and my general friend Ferherlyn. It was one of my usual stop and grabs before spiriting him away with me to the castle proper to find Quarely Mettlelin my lord friend. None of these people were difficult for me to find due to my ability to just see their location at all times on my map. They quite often forgot this fact and thus my sudden appearances often surprised them.

Together Ferherlyn and I stepped out of a portal inside Vindenne Castle, right into the room Quarely was dressing himself. He had just been changing out of his formal attire into something more casual and I had waited until he was just about done before barging in on him. Because I could see anyone anywhere at anytime I wanted sometimes I peered in on people's lives at such times as these. It was just something I had gotten used to seeing and didn't bother me, though of course I tried to give people as much privacy as possible.

Quarely jumped in horrified surprise as his goddess and head mage stepped from the glowing doorway into his room. He had just finished pulling his pants up and had only an undershirt on.

“Great heavens!” He cried out, leaping back several feet.

Ferherlyn immediately blushed in shame and took a step back from where he stood behind me, the portal having already closed.

“I-I'm sorry sir!” He stammered. Then looking down at me. “Goddess you really should be more mindful of other's privacy!”

I just shrugged and looked over at Quarely as he rushed to put on a shirt.

“Nothing I haven't seen before.” I replied. “Besides I am super careful about giving people their privacy.”

Quarely let out a deep sigh and finished putting on his shirt. He then stood tall and tried to put on a more dignified appearance.

“Most people knock goddess.” he said. “But I know you already knew that. This must be quite important for you to arrive so suddenly.”

“It quite is.” Ferherlyn added. “Our goddess has developments on the undead crisis.”

I grinned quite proud of myself and put my hands on my sides.

“That is I've solved it.” I said triumphantly.

Quarely looked down at me with wide eyes, though he wasn't quite as surprised as expected. He was probably expecting a goddess to solve problems in a timely manner and he couldn't be blamed for that.

“I see!” He said looking between his two guests. “Why don't we sit down in the room over and you can tell me about it.”

I nodded. “Sure. But I can't stay long so I'll have to make it quick. Gotta tell the king and whatnot the news too. The problem was literally just wrapped up less than like an hour ago.”

Quarely smiled and nodded back, then lifted his hands up in a welcoming gesture.

“Well then I'm thankful you decided to come tell me first goddess!” He said with a smile. “Lets go sit immediately.”

The three of us all walked out of the large changing room and into the main living area of the lord's quarters. There was a warm fire burning in the fireplace and several small tarts of some kind on a plate resting on the table. It was common for family members and special guests to be entertained in here after all and so the annex of the lord's chambers often served as a meeting room.

I sat down on the far side of the table and left Quarely and Ferherlyn to sit down close to each other on the opposing side. Despite being such an old man Ferherlyn was pretty peppy today, perhaps because of the nature of the news I was delivering. Once we had all settled down into our seats it was he who spoke first.

“So pray tell how this crisis was resolved Goddess Jenna.” Ferherlyn said excitedly.

“And so quickly too.” Quarely added. “Its been less than a month if I recall. Just the nature of goddesses I suppose.” He then said with a shrug.

I was beaming and felt very proud of myself. Even though these two were just lowly humans for whatever reason getting praise from people I liked felt much better than getting it from just anyone. My little girl legs were swinging under the table as I sat in my chair.

“Well to start out with I found the source of the undead.” I began. “It was actually that old mage Barthenor that all those stories are about.”

The two men looked at each other in shock and also confusion. Ferherlyn then turned back to look at me.

“But goddess. He lived and died almost a thousand years ago. How could he still be alive today? Are you certain it wasn't just a copy emulating him and using his name?”

I crossed my arms over my stomach and shook my head.

“No it's the original Barthenor.” I replied. “Demon mage and all that. He's a lich now.”

Quarely looked at me quizzically.

“What pray tell is a lich?” He then looked to his head mage. “Have you knowledge of such a thing?”

The old man also shook his head which made me let out a small sigh. I suppose such things wouldn't be common knowledge in a world where magic was so constrained. Not that I'd know what they were in my own world devoid of magic without the annals of fantasy.

“A lich is what happens when a wizard, or in this world mage, wants to live really hard.” I explained. “It involves a horrific ritual with lots of human sacrifice and dark magic where the mage in question gains immortality! They lose the ability to die in the traditional sense and stick their soul inside an object. Then their body rots away into bones as they continue providing human sacrifices to their trapped soul to perpetuate their existence!”

Both men looked at each other in sheer horror, though it was the mage who was most horrified as he knew the implications better as a magic user himself. Ferherlyn turned to me with a pale complexion and he swallowed nervously.

“I-I see goddess.” He stammered. “I take it this was the result of his great delves into necromancy. Might I ask how the situation was resolved if these lich are so impossible to kill?”

I let out a little laugh and grinned over to the old man. I then put my hands on the table and shrugged.

“Oh they aren't impossible to kill. They just are really difficult as you have to destroy their phylactery, that's the thing their soul is in.” I then slid my hands together. “And I didn't destroy him if that's what you were wondering. I captured him instead, along with that vampire minion. There won't be any more undead being made so any that we clear up will be gone for good.”

Quarely looked somewhat disappointment and worried at my explanation and rubbed his chin in thought.

“If this truly is the demon mage of yore and he's so dangerous I don't see what you wouldn't destroy him. It is within your power so I assume there's an important reason you wouldn't goddess.”

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Ferherlyn nodded and looked at me with a serious expression.

“I agree.” He said with a nod. “Goddess Jenna while we do trust your judgment this seems quite dangerous. Necromancy is forbidden for good reasons and this man, or what's left of him, is responsible for terrible acts. Simply leaving him alone is quite reckless I dare add.” He then bowed his head. “Please forgive me if I was being too critical of you goddess.”

I let out another small sigh and looked over at the nervous man. Then I smiled softly at him.

“Its alright old man.” I said teasingly. “I would've told you if I didn't like your opinion.” I then looked to Quarely. “The reason I kept him alive, or unalive in this case, is because I really haven't decided what to do with him yet.” I shrugged again. “The amount of knowledge he has could be quite useful and seeing as I'm trying not to just execute people anymore I could get him to work off his debt to society. Hundreds of years of living can do a lot to change a person and he doesn't seem at all like he was before.” I paused for a moment as I had lost my train of thought though I quickly recovered it. “Oh and he isn't running loose.” I added. “He's currently locked up in my goddess domain. He's not going anywhere.”

Both Quarely and Ferherlyn sighed in relief hearing this and seemed to relax in their chairs.

“I see my foolishness to assume ill of our great goddess.” Quarely said with his hand on his chest. “Of course you would take the necessary steps to ensure our safety.”

Ferherlyn nodded in agreement and seemed slightly embarrassed himself.

“Indeed I apologize for even questioning you goddess. Though if you believe in his usefulness so intently it does make me curious about him myself.”

“Maybe you can come visit and have a chat with him sometime.” I suggested with a smile. Then I started to sound a bit more excited as I waved my hands around. “Think of all the forgotten knowledge he has that could be rediscovered. Oh and properly cataloged this time!”

It was clear that my old mage friend was getting excited at the idea despite the clear forbidden nature of this whole thing. He obviously still had some reservations about all this and had a slight look of concern on his face when looking at me.

“As long as this forbidden knowledge doesn't make its way into the hands of humans.” He said in a more serious tone. “I understand that knowledge being your domain you would want it for your personal archives but there really are things man best not know.”

There was truth to his words of course and it was definitely something I'd keep in mind. It was actually good to be reminded of this just because of how forgetful I knew I could get in the moment. When exciting things were discovered it was easy to get carried away. Thankfully I had friends in my life that were able to be that grounding force and remind me of the important things, even if I should remember them myself.

“I'll be keeping that in mind don't worry.” I said reassuring the mage. I then sat back in my seat a bit more relaxed. “Well anyway that's all there was to report. Since this crisis was in your territory I figured I'd come and tell you first.” With another sigh I sat up and slid out of my chair to stand. “Now I better go tell the king and whatnot. They'll need to hear the good news too.”

Both of the humans remained seated and showed their appreciation through smiles and nods. Quarely in particular was quite relieved and thankful looking which made sense seeing as he cared so deeply for the people under his rule. Once I prepared myself to leave however they both stood up to give me the proper respects.

“Thank you for delivering the good news in person.” Quarely said with a bow. “I truly do appreciate all you've done for my people. We can rest easy again with this threat eliminated. Truly we are blessed to have a goddess like you.”

I just grinned over my shoulder as I opened another portal in front of me.

“You really are!”

With that said I stepped through the glowing circle and into my next destination. Being able to teleport wherever I wanted was extremely convenient. So within a matter of seconds I found myself within the castle in the capital city of Norlov. Although most of the royal family still refused to worship me there was the crown prince who did. It was he to whom I had teleported myself.

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Turshok was walking down one of the hallways of the castle and minding his own business when suddenly a glowing portal appeared right next to him. Its golden light lit up the otherwise dreary passage as the light of the sun was greatly diminished in the winter. He couldn't help but jump in surprise and let out a quick yelp. When he saw me stepping out of the portal however he managed to calm himself down and tried to collect himself.

“Goddess!” He said holding his right hand to his chest. “You really mustn't surprise people like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

I slid around from his side to stand in front of him, my hands behind my back as I put on the most innocent look I could. Due to still wearing my winter outfit was difficult to keep my arms held behind me due to the puffiness of the coat but it was just too fun to mess with people.

“Oh I'm sorry Mr prince.” I said in a teasing voice. “I just thought you'd want to see your favorite little girl today. Am I bothering you?”

Seeing the way I was acting sent a visible shiver down Turshok's spine and caused him to take a step back. While he wasn't outright scared of me it was clear he was quite nervous with my behavior. He spent several moments in silence before finding the words to speak.

“I-I'm never opposed to a visit from you Goddess Jenna.” He said with a nervous smile. “I-It's just you appeared so suddenly it startled me. There's also no need to keep up the innocent girl act. We're both well aware of your great power.”

With my little teasing act fully rejected I let out a sigh as both of my arms dropped down to my sides. I then moved my hands up and stuck them into the pockets of my coat while looking up at the young man with a disappointed look on my face.

“Yeah whatever tiny.” I said with pouting lips. “I guess you don't want to hear the good news I brought either huh?” Then I turned away and started walking down the hall. “I guess I'll go tell your shitbag of a father instead...” My voice trailed off.

This got Turshok to jump into action as he quickly took steps to follow me. He reached out with his right hand and had a very frightened look on his face.

“Goddess wait!” He called out. “Please tell me I want to know!”

After hearing his desperate cry for my attention I stopped walking away from him. A big grin dominated my face which I quickly forced to vanish while turning back around to face him. I then bobbed up and down on my heels with my hands still in my pockets. It only took a few seconds however for the big grin to return as I just couldn't help it.

“Oh ok!” I replied. “I'll tell you little guy!”

Turshok let out a sigh of relief and stood up straight again. He was likely worried of what would happen if his father had gotten involved as he knew already how badly things went when he interacted with me. For all he know his father would cause some sort of horrific incident that would bring ruin upon the kingdom for generations due to my wrath or something.

“Thank you goddess.” He said smiling at me.

Even though the prince was still very much taller than me due to his age he was more aware than most of my true nature. Unlike the other royals and elites that had their egos sometimes have them forget their place it seemed Turshok was at all times aware the little girl before him was anything but. Maybe it was the fact he was one of my worshipers that caused this fact to remain ever present in his mind. Either way it was pleasant to have a so called powerful human respect me as he should.

I nodded and finally removed my hands from my pockets with my left hand going to my hip while the other hung down by my side.

“The entire undead issue has been resolved.” I explained in a serious tone. “As of today actually. You'll never have to worry about such a crisis again. Or at least I'll make sure of that.”

The prince nodded and seemed quite relived. He then bowed to me before standing up straight again.

“Thank you for saving us from such a terrible threat Great Goddess Jenna!” He said. “Please pray tell can you spare any details on how it was resolved? Or what the threat truly was?”

“Sure I guess I can.” I replied. Then I crossed my arms over my chest and begun explaining. “The so called 'Demon Mage of Henjuk' made a reappearance in the Henjuk mountains some time ago. He made himself into a lich, a type of undead creature that's quite powerful, and thus managed to survive for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

Turshok's eyes went wide as he looked down at me.

“That sounds horrific!”

I closed my eyes and nodded.

“It really is.” I continued. “Imagine just living forever while your flesh rots off your bones!” I then shrugged. “Anyway when he woke up he began collecting himself an undead army to take over the world I guess. Him and his vampire minion are now locked up someplace he wont be able to cause trouble again and I'm keeping a close eye on him.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And before you ask. The reason I didn't destroy him is because I'm still deciding what to do with him. As a goddess of knowledge having someone like him around that knows so much is kinda a weakness of mine I guess.”

It took a few moments for the prince to process all this information but eventually he nodded and smiled at me with a bit of confidence.

“Well no matter how terrible he might be I know we can rest easy with him in your custody. I trust your judgment on the matter and once again thank you for your swift resolution of the issue.”

I smiled and dropped my arms to my sides again.

“You're welcome. You don't mind telling your dad and the shitty elf for me would you?” I looked to the side. “I'd do it myself but. Well you know. Not in the mood.”

Turshok gave me a deep bow.

“Of course! I have no problem passing on the information to them. I take it you'll be leaving now then?”

My fists returned to my hips as I made a little pose.

“Afraid so little prince!” I replied. “Got a few other people to let know and then I'll deal with the mage in my final decision. You stay safe now ok?”

“You stay safe as well goddess!” Turshok said standing up again. “Though I suppose that's silly to tell a goddess.”

Not bothering to correct him one way or the other I simply turned back around to face away from the prince and opened another glowing golden portal. My left hand lifted up and I gave him a little wave before stepping through the light and on to my next destination. It was time I sought the advice of the few humans I could truly trust and Miya's parents were at the top of that list.