What a frightening sight the two of us probably were walking through the halls of the temple. Just a skeleton man and a little girl, one an awe inspiring lich and the other an all powerful goddess. In all reality it was such a normal sight to see me walking around at human size that the sudden appearance of Barthenor seemed quite normal in comparison. There were also other another dangerous supernatural creature wandering about the temple in the form of a fairy, so if people could get used to that then a skeleton wasn't all to shocking.

There were not that many people inside the temple at the moment anyway, the winter cold keeping most from traveling too far away from their homes unless necessary. Those that were around recognized me on sight in large part due to my frequent visits but also because of the paintings of me that were placed in special areas of the building. They offered me bows and words of thanks but generally kept a wide berth of me. My overwhelming presence was still not something the average human felt comfortable feeling. As a goddess my aura was quite large and powerful and other living things could feel that on a spiritual level.

After a rather short walk of a few minutes Barthenor and I reached the room where my second most favorite worshiper was currently residing. He was currently in what passed as the laundry room of the building helping the girl he liked fold clothing. There was also the little fairy Salferia as well, someone I still hadn't had much time to speak to. I'd have to borrow her sometime soon and have a chat about where she came from, though according to her it was an above ground village so not much might be learned. Thankfully everyone was getting along just well here at my temple though.

I walked up to the open door and stood right in the middle of entrance with my hands on my hips. Then I smiled happily and announced myself.

“Why hello everyone!” I exclaimed. “Having fun with some domestic duties?”

Everyone quickly turned around to see who was speaking with a jump of surprise. Their faces only became more surprised when they saw it was my standing there. Even though I often came for unannounced visits it was still surprising when the literal goddess you worshiped just showed up to your workplace for a chat. This surprise they easily recovered from, though the next shock almost gave them a heart attack. They noticed Barthenor standing behind me and both let out a cry of surprise.

Maisy's long orange hair swirled around into her face as she jumped backwards and almost fell over the table she had been standing in front of. A shrill shriek escaped her throat as her wide eyes stared in terror at the skeleton before her.

Timothy on the other hand had almost recovered from his initial shock by now, his right hand clutching his heart as he pushed himself back up from where he had fallen into the table. With everything he had seen me get up to he was thinking that this was just another cruel prank of mine. I knew he was thinking this because I read his mind of course.

Finally it was Salferia's turn to make an appearance as she emerged from the front pocket that Timothy had on his robe. She took one look at the lich and put her hands on her face in a clear mockery of the other's fear.

“Oh sha-derba! Its one of those skeleton people!”

Barthenor remained silent as if judging my reaction to all this. The appearance of a fairy did get a quick glance from him however before he returned his gaze to me.

I scoffed and lifted my left hand to wave in front of myself in a dismissive manner as I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah I'm sure you know what a lich is.” I sarcastically commented at the fairy.

Salferia put her hands on her hips while her face became quite smug and proud.

“Of course I do!” She replied just as sarcastically. “You think the fey don't know about that ritual oh goddess?” She then lifted her right hand to flip her pigtails in a snobby gesture. “Not that we'd be stupid enough to actually go through with it.” There was a pause as she snorted in disgust. “Humans.”

Timothy at this point had fully recovered and straightened himself and his robes in an attempt to recover some dignity. He then turned and helped Maisy get back to her own feet, then backed away for her to preen herself. As he left her to that he faced me again and let out a deep sigh.

“I see you have another friend my goddess.” He observed almost dryly. “Might I ask what a lich is? I suppose you'll be telling us regardless.”

I let out a poorly faked laugh as both my hands returned to my hips.

“Oh of course my little cute friend!” I replied. Then I went to more serious body language as I looked between the lich behind me and the three in front of me. “A lich is what happens when a mage hates the idea of dying so much they go through all kinds of nasty rituals to live forever.” I then shrugged. “Its just their soul is trapped somewhere and their body rots away into bones or sometimes even less! Pretty much any species can do it, even dragons!”

Barthenor cut in for a moment in a dull tone. “Not possible.”

Dismissing his remark with the wave of my left hand I closed my eyes and nodded.

“Right right. I'm sure you know more than me.” Then I opened them again and stepped into the room and slightly right of the door so that the lich could walk in as well. “Why don't you introduce yourself?”

Barthenor stepped into the room proper and did a slight bow of his head and chest, his right arm rising up in front of where his belly would be before it fell back away into his robes.

“I was once known as the mage Barthenor Delhala.” He said calmly. “Though you likely know me by my later title of 'The Demon Mage of Henjuk.'”

Maisy was trying to appear proper and polite, though it was clear the young woman was quite a mess of nerves at the moment. So many powerful beings in one place was having its toll on her.

“I-I see...” She stammered. “It's a-a pleasure to meet you sir.”

Seeing how her emotional state was only deteriorating I lifted my left hand and a small circle of blue magic symbols appeared on it for a brief moment. I then spoke quietly.

“Calm emotions.”

Suddenly the young woman was surrounded by a light blue aura before it faded away. Instantly her heart rate slowed and she was able to take a long breath, her demeanor now quite relaxed.

Salferia on the other hand had quite a different reaction. She laughed in her bell-like ringing voice, though there was always a slight undercurrent of malice to her enjoyment.

“You're that human?” She asked shaking her head and crossing her arms over her stomach. “I thought Mistress Hala crushed your pathetic little body under her heel like the pest you were!”

While his exposed skull did not allow the expression of emotions there was a change in Barthenor's glowing eyes that marked a clear change of emotion. He was giving the fairy a look that was equal to a glare of anger.

“I am sure you and you're kind would have enjoyed that.” He said in a uncharacteristically cold tone. “The fey slaves as always to their servitude of the world and its champions.”

Salferia huffed and crossed her arms over her chest instead, turning her head and glaring at the lich out of the corner of her eyes.

“Better than being the enemy of the world!” She snapped back. “Scum bound humans.”

It was clear that this argument was going to escalate until it got out of hand so I stepped in to put a stop to it. With both hands held out towards each of them I raised my voice just enough to make the stones of the room's walls shake and force the living among us to cover their ears.

“Enough!” I said in this loud voice. Then immediately afterwards I lowered my voice to normal volume. “You two had better play nice else I'll dish out your punishments personally. Understand?”

The two of them gave each other one final glare before looking anywhere else. That wasn't good enough for me however and I frowned as I lowered my arms.

“Apologize to each other.” I added. “Verbally.”

Both fairy and lich gave me a look of pure disbelief, as if neither of them could believe what was going on. The stern look on my face combined with the tapping my foot however made it clear I was not joking.

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Barthenor was the first to speak as he made his apology with clear disdain in the tone of his voice.

“I apologize fairy for my behavior.”

Salferia was still looking away with her arms crossed over her chest, a pouting expression on her face. The lich apologizing however brought a small smile to her face, thought it was quickly replaced with a look of fear as she caught my face in the corner of her eyes. She spun around and bowed her head to hide her face, her arms hanging to her sides.

“I'm sorry for my behavior too!” She said quickly.

After seeing them apologize I let out a small sigh and shook my head. It was satisfactory for now. This was another clear reminder that even though she looked so young Salferia was actually extremely old. Though it would give me away to ask her about her relationship to the goddess Hala it was clear she had at least met her at some point. This little fairy was likely at least eight-hundred years old, if not older. As I thought about all this I suddenly slapped my forehead as I realized I had forgotten something important.

“I can't believe I forgot!” I exclaimed. “I need to introduce you three!”

Turning and taking a couple steps closer to the three temple dwellers I motioned to them with my hands while turning to look at Barthenor.

“These are three of my very important friends here at the temple.” I stared. “This young man is my high priest Timothy, this woman is his friend Maisy.” Then I quickly pointed to Salferia with a flip of my hair. “And this fairy is Salferia.”

The bratty fairy put her hands on her hips and puffed out her well endowed tiny chest. She then introduced herself with some added flair.

“Salferia the stupendous and all powerful dainty maiden of all beauty and charm!”

I rolled my eyes and let out a little sigh.

“She's a chronicler.” I corrected.

Barthenor nodded and seemed to think for a moment.

“Very good.”

Worrying about another argument Maisy stepped into the conversation and smiled weakly, her hands lifted in front of her chest and pressed together.

“Well with such lovely introductions out of the way.” She said nervously. “Why don't we take a break and have some tea? Me and Timothy were about to take a break ourselves so we'd love if you two came along!”

Timothy sensing what his friend was going for nodded in agreement and tried to put on a brave face himself. Unfamiliar social situations were not his strong suit as they weren't mine either.

“Yes that sounds nice.” He said. “Please come along goddess? Also I never got a chance to say before but it is nice to meet you Sir Barthenor.”

“It is nice to meet you as well.” Barthenor replied coldly. “Your goddess must take great affection to you.”

I blushed only slightly as I turned around to face away from the humans.

“I sure do!” I replied with an embarrassed grin. “Anyway tea sounds nice.” I looked up at the lich and made a motion as if sipping from a cup. “What do you say bony? Care for a spot o' tea?” I then added with a shrug. “I know the two of us can't really partake but you know.”

Barthenor looked down at me with an incredulous look.

“If you are convinced.”

I sighed and turned back to the others.

“He hates the idea of calling me a goddess but also can't just call me by my name alone.” I explained. “So he tries to avoid referring to me directly at all. Isn't it cute?”

Maisy crossed her arms over her chest and frowned slightly.

“Seems annoying.”

Ever the one to try and be peacekeeper Timothy put his left hand on his friend's shoulder which got a quick blush out of her. That fed back into a blush for him as he removed his hand.

“Well um...” He started. “I'm sure the goddess is allowing it for a good reason. Heavens know she has to interact with all manner of interesting people we could never imagine.”

This got Maisy to drop her arms and sigh.

“I suppose. Well come on then.”

The young woman started walking towards the door and I stepped out of the way to give her plenty of space to pass by. Barthenor also moved out of the way to allow her by. She tried to avoid eye contact with either of us as she walked out of the room with Timothy following behind. By this point Salferia had already hidden herself in the pocket of her favorite human's robes and was now out of view, not that she wanted to see the lich anyway.

Once they were all filed out of the room Barthenor and I followed after them as our little group started down the hallway towards the dining hall of the temple. We were quite the sight and got plenty of stares from passerby as we went along. Such a odd group was more than qualified for the strangest bedfellows the average person would ever see in their lifetime. Only the humans in our group seemed self-conscious about the constant looks however as both lich and goddess were beyond caring at this point.

On the way we all partook in various forms of small talk and while Barthenor was not that talkative he did at least answer most questions presented to him. He had a few questions for the humans as well, mostly about how and why they came to worship me. It was clear by his lack of reaction that he was either confused or surprised to hear their story. There wasn't that much to talk regardless before we reached the dining hall and filed inside.

The temple's dining hall was pretty large as was the building. Its length and width were about two-hundred feet by eighty feet and was filled with many tables and benches. The official kitchen was attached at the east side and all manner of pleasant smells were coming from that direction. All in all it functioned like a cafeteria.

Maisy smiled and turned around to the rest of us.

“I'll go get some tea!” She said. “Why don't you all find a place to sit?”

Timothy nodded and blushed again.

“Sure thing!” Then he turned to me. “Why don't we go over there?”

With the young woman jogging away to get the tea the priest led me and Barthenor over to one of the tables closest to the wall on the far side of the room. There were barely any people in here at all and they of course gave our little group various levels of stares. No one came over to bother us however so we were all able to sit down without issue. Timothy on the far side of the table while the lich and I sat on the other side together.

After we had all sat down and gotten comfortable I noticed Salferia still had not reappeared. She likely would once the tea showed up but for now was likely avoiding having to see Barthenor. The two of them really didn't like each other and I found it quite interesting how she had similar issues with the only elf I knew. Maybe it was something that was the same with all fairies or maybe it was just her. I'm sure I would find out eventually.

We sat in somewhat awkward silence as we waited for Maisy to return with the tea, only really managing to talk about the weather. It sucked that all three of us had a clear weakness when it came to small talk. When our savior Maisy returned the young woman was able to effortlessly start up a conversation while putting down the goodies. Her friendly nature really did make one feel at ease and it was clear why Timothy, as well as many other young men, took a liking to her.

As for the matter of lunch she had brought a kettle of tea, some sandwiches, a few cookies, and several cups. Of course neither Barthenor nor I partook of the meal though I did offer my thanks for the offer. The smell also brought the little fairy out of hiding to indulge herself of the delicious offerings. She remained mostly quiet as well throughout mealtime, though of out disgust for the mage rather than fear of me.

Thus we ended up talking for the better part of an hour about various things, mostly about the various relationships everyone had with me. There was also a great deal of interest in how Barthenor and I met which I allowed him to explain himself, only interjecting myself to keep him from explaining any graphic details. There were some things disturbing enough I'd rather my two innocent worshipers not know.

The news of the temple's powerful visitors also brought the official steward Arlon into the dining hall. The older man was quite fascinated and much less terrified of the lich than the others had been, likely due to the combination of his faith in me having it under control and the fact he had forewarning. He did not stay that long either, rather allowing me and my little group have our visiting time.

Barthenor eventually asked me quite bluntly why I committed to such personal interactions with my worshipers. He was aware that goddesses had favorite humans but the extent to which I took it too was clearly outrageous compared to others of my kind. In response to his question I simply told him that this was just the kind of goddess I was and strived to be personal with my worshipers whenever possible to build up trust and faith. This answer was clearly not wholly satisfactory for him but he accepted it to ponder over.

By the time our little visit was nearing its end we also got a quite unexpected and unwelcome visitor when shitty elf came bursting into the dining hall in a whirl of wind. He was quite furious after hearing about who exactly I had brought into the capital city, one of his spies clearly being installed in the temple and reporting my visit to him. It was also a point he made that the king would also be furious with the lich being in the capital and reminded me that it was very reckless.

For the most part I completely ignored his outrage and dismissed him with the fact it wasn't his business who I associated myself with. I also reminded him that I was a literal goddess and had the situation well under control. This of course didn't make the elf any less angry but he had no choice but accept my judgment on the matter and that I would keep everything under control. All this took only a few minutes and thankfully he left before I had to kick him out myself.

After that interaction Barthenor was even more shocked and genuinely asked if it had been something to worry about. When I told him it wasn't he once again asked in confusion why I would allow a mortal to speak to me in such a way. Honestly I didn't know entirely myself but I told the lich that it was because I wanted there to be a certain level of freedom around me. Thus allowing such anger towards me was part of my method of rule and I would certainly put in their place any dissenters should they get out of hand. He likely would think on that answer for a very long time.

The rest of our visit went by without other interruptions but sadly it eventually had to come to an end. It had been over two hours when all was said and done. Even though I loved to spend time with my worshipers at the temple they were still busy people and I kept Timothy and Maisy from their work long enough. So with somewhat sad smiles all of said our goodbyes. Even Salferia was seemingly warming up to me and while she didn't show it she clearly was sad I had to leave again as well.

With the goodbyes said I opened a portal directly to my castle from inside the dining hall. Because I had the ability to do so there was no real reason to walk somewhere before doing so after all. Barthenor thankfully didn't try to escape and went through the portal without issue with me following behind. Once we were back inside my goddess domain, which served as prison, I asked him what he thought about our little adventure. Sort of as expected he answered that it left him with much to think about and I didn't press further.

This skeletal mage likely had much of his worldview challenged and his preconceived notions about me outright proven wrong today. It was understandable that after such a day one would want to spend time thinking it all over. He would also likely have much to share with his curious minion in Neske. That woman had her worldview shaped largely by her master and thus would have her own choices to make regarding their future. Perhaps she would receive an outing with me as well.

Regardless of what the future held it was time for me to leave the two to their deliberations. There was many more duties for me to fulfill as a goddess. I truly hoped that these two would become allies of mine but I was not going to force it. True trust was built on mutual feelings and today I felt was a good first step in that process.