He stopped at the counter, “Yes, do you have breakfast I can take with me? A wrap? Sounds perfect. Can you send, I suppose a little of everything, up to my room for my lady guest? She is learning about local food.” He alleviated the look of doubt on the face of the server with several silvers.

After getting a wrap of some sort to take with him, and sending up breakfast to Path, Dainin made his way through the city to the temple. It took an effort to avoid the construction, there was always someone coming toward the temple with supplies or going from it with rubble. The head priest Chandler made him wait, even though some of the lower-level priests were clearly surprised to see him back at this point. Overhead, there was a lot of construction to repair the roof.

He thought he saw, but couldn’t properly trace the purple aura well enough among the other mages on the street, a hint of a black and purple uniform. A cleric of Mysteera?

When Chandler came up to him, he looked him over, “No armor?”

“Damaged when I encountered Path.”

“So, did you run? I do not sense the artifact?”

The question annoyed Dainin so much that there was a temptation to say that he had run away after all. He made himself take a deep calming breath in, “I have a new quest. I encountered the dragon and solved things to my Goddess’s satisfaction. I regret to inform you that the artifact will not be returning to this temple.”

“We have been informed of this aleady by a cleric of Mysteera that has come along earlier than you that a different artifact signifying the Fortune Goddess’s goodwill will come to rest here. I suppose that was because of your success.”

“I suppose so,” he said, wishing desperately he had caught a better look at the person that had passed him on the street.

“What happened with the dragon?”

“It was resolved to the Goddess’s satisfaction.”

Chandler just smiled thinly.

I wish I could see into this man’s powers like I can see into Elene’s. He did not like something in the man’s expression or aura. He decided not to hand over the gems that Path had given him to help fund repairs. “I think we have no further business together then.”

Chandler bowed politely enough to him. “I believe that to be accurate. Thank you for your work subduing the dragon.”

Dainin did not correct him there either, but it still felt off to him somehow. He would leave the temple. He tried a prayer to Mysteera. Is there anything I should know with a cleric following along after me and a Head Priest of the Weather Goddess not caring to see me?

However, there was no answer. He felt a little unsettled. Fortune could go your way when the Lady Luck smiled on you. But when she frowned, you could find you lose everything.

He would stop to buy Path a pair of boots. I am still tired. Oberon is probably still tired. My armor still needs to be repaired, but I feel as though there may be something going on that involves her hoard after all.

Problem is, even if I turn us around and head right back, would we even be able to do anything to stop whatever might have been happening?

There was no clarification from Mysteera. There was no update to his quest.

He returned to the inn, and he headed up to Path, who was sitting on the bed, legs folded, arms folded, eyes closed, and her head down. She seemed to have eaten all of the breakfast he sent up, which was actually a lot.

She looked up at him, “You are back sooner than I expected.” She stretched, huffing as a joint popped, and put her feet on the floor.

“Napping?”

“Examining your icky curse you placed on me for gaps.”

“It was Mysteera, not me, so good luck.”

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“We are going back to my cave now?”

“I think we can. Just so you know, it would be better if I could stay long enough to get my armor repaired first, but we can rush back if you want.”

“We should. I spent my whole life building up my hoard.”

Guilt nibbled at him. He’d probably be fine without his armor for a few days. He rarely needed it in reality. Except lately between the dragon and the forest god, but he hoped there was not anything like that waiting for them currently.

“Well, I bought you some boots. Shall I help you put them on?”

She looked at them, and nodded. He would kneel down and help her with socks, but the moment the first boot went on, she wrinkled her nose. “I do not like it.” He waited. “It is pinchy on my toes. Take it off.”

“If you do not wear them, you will get dirty feet and the rough texture of everything we cross will poke you.” He demonstrated by doing just that on the side of her foot. She moved it with a huff.

“I do not like them.”

“You will get used to them.”

She tapped her barefoot. “They do not feel good on my feet.”

He sat back on his calves, “Well, Lady Path, you get to choose one of the two outcomes. Either you go barefoot and endure the ground against your soft human feet or you put on both shoes and get used to them.”

She wrinkled her nose and sighed. “Put on the other shoe.”

“Very good,” he said gently. He put the other shoe on while she huffed.

She walked around with her nose wrinkled. “I am used to feeling the ground with my feet. This is muffled. I do not like it. My toes do not bend the same. I can feel it touching my foot everywhere.”

“That is what they do,” he agreed, taking her hand once he had everything packed and leading her downstairs so they could check out.

Oberon, as he predicted, was still tired and gave him an exhausted snort. He sent the stable boy running for some travel supplies as he packed his armor and Path kicked at the cobblestone with the toe of her boot. “It’s noisy here. I didn’t realize how much effort things take…”

“It is nice to hear you sounding empathetic.”

“I just didn’t want the other dragon here. I knew why they would be bringing it here. I wanted to remind them I could be a problem if they just…”

“I understand. And I’m glad you are thinking about it more, but I … agree a little, that it was not nice and could be handled differently.” I wonder if that is why the Goddess sent me for you given how others might have handled it.

At the same time, he still felt anxiety about her hoard that he did not share with her. She seemed anxious enough without him sharing his suspicions. “How long does this really take?” she asked after clomping a few circles near him in her shoes.

“Not long, you want to have things to eat and drink along the way? Plus I am unsure we will be coming back any time soon to this town.”

“I do not wish to come back at all,” she said flatly.

“I am aware.” The stable hand returned with supplies and he put them in his saddlebags. “All right, Lady Path, up you get,” he scooped her by the hips up onto Oberon. Oberon snorted at him. Path squeaked and ended up with the dress hiked up well past her knees. “This again?” she complained as she tried to slide down the otherside.

He scooped her back on and against his chest. “Do you want to get there today?”

“I can walk.”

“You can,” but he did not let her down as he clucked at Oberon who started walking, steered with his knees, for the gate out of the city.

“If I can, then put me down.”

“Just because you can doesn’t mean I want to wait for you while you clomp around in your new shoes.”

“My body still aches from the last time on this beast.”

“Once we are out of the city, you may walk then.” She made a disgruntled noise and leaned back and he felt her teeth against his chin. He felt himself making an involuntary noise and pushing her forward. “No biting, you beast.”

“You make me angry, I’ll bite if I want.”

He huffed. Any time I am even a little tempted to forget she is a dragon, she finds some way of reminding me so very clearly. His cheek tingled as he tried not to think about the bath.

Once they were out of the city and away from the people, he kept his word and slowly lifted her down. She grumbled and wobbled a bit. He was a bit sympathetic, riding horses was much harder work on the body than it looked like it was. He had to really slow Oberon as they walked alongside.

She clomped along in her boots for about an hour, “This is so slow. I am so small. I make so little progress.”

“So back up on the horse?” he asked.

“No.”

“You are being stubborn.”

“So?”

“You get two choices,” he said, since it had worked earlier. “You get to walk along like that for however long it takes to get back up to your cave, or you let me put you back on Oberon and we get to the cave today.”

She actually tried to growl. It was a funny noise from a human throat. She stopped and put up her arms.

He humbly accepted his victory as he leaned over and scooped her back up into the saddle with him. The time, he sat her sideways against his body and held her for a while, even though his body was still really tired.

She huffed and rested her face against his neck and her shoulder against his chest. They rode in silence for quite a while.