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"Tal uroj lutum hetaur dvalar de."

"I wish to pass peacefully through these lands."

"Correct. Elaborate on the meaning of each word individually."

She did as Kel asked. He was walking slightly ahead of Aeliana, and she glanced down the road reflexively to make sure there was nothing for him to trip over or run into as she answered. It was strange; she had heard the phrase once, an hour ago, but she knew exactly what it meant and what each of the individual words meant and could even conjugate some of them as well — and all of it was as effortless as speaking Maldoran.

"Good. You've not made a single mistake all day. I think it is clear by now what Towr's Blessing of Learning; Language does."

She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see her and said, "Yeah. I can learn new words by hearing them only once."

Which was useful, but it didn't bring her old language back. At least it would make relearning it that much easier, assuming the blessings stayed when she got home. She wondered why Towr had given her this particular blessing. Did she feel bad about stealing Lyra's native language, or had she just given Lyra something she thought might be mildly useful in her travels?

It was better than nothing, at least. She could learn languages more easily, and she got a free peach every day. While neither of those things was something she would have thought to ask for, she supposed she couldn't complain.

"The road is starting to bring us closer to the river again," she said. "Should we stop to camp soon?"

They had been going all day. Kel hadn't taken the blindfold off once, not even for lunch, and while she'd gotten distracted a few times and forgotten to tell him about a pothole or remind him to pick his feet up higher to step over a log while they were walking down to the river, she thought she had done a pretty good job of guiding him. By now it was almost second nature for her to glance at his path every few seconds to make sure there weren't any obstacles.

She just hoped it helped the next time they met an unfriendly god. She had the sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to be content with one day of practice, and since he would be relying on her to direct him in life-or-death situations, she couldn't blame him for wanting to make sure it was second nature to her. She hadn't realized just how boring traveling could be, so between learning Aketian phrases and acting as Kel's eyes, at least this day had been more interesting than the previous one.

"We should be nearing the next village, so if you wish, we can continue on until we reach it and you can sleep in the temple tonight."

She hesitated. A bed would be nice, but her hammock was surprisingly comfortable. Today had been peaceful, but the thought of having to speak to another god, one who might not be as friendly and welcoming as Saofoth, made everything that had happened come crashing down on her again.

"I think I'd rather camp out tonight."

He gave a single, brief nod of understanding then started quizzing her on more Aketian.

They passed through the little village the next day. It was almost identical to Lokokami and Kyokami, but they didn't stay long enough to figure out what the local god's lιən was or for her to speak with it. She waited on the outskirts of town while Kel traded coin for more travel rations, and they set off again before noon. A few people tried to talk to her, but when Kel demanded that they "Leave the priestess alone, she's on a journey to the Temple of the Great God," they gave her space without complaint.

She was glad she had helped Galin, she really was, and if there was another emergency like that, something life-and-death, she would help again, but if she made a habit of stopping in each village and talking to the local god, they would never get to the city in time, and she was determined to get to Heliotheopoli in time for God's Day.

They settled into a routine that lasted them for the next week. That second day out from Lokokami had been the worst, but as her ribs healed and her body adjusted to riding Aeliana, she woke up each morning feeling better and better. Kel insisted on her continuing to guide him with the blindfold most days, even encouraging her to guide him through setting up the camp each night. It was hard at first to get used to telling him in exact terms where everything was in relation to his hands or feet, but it got easier to do as the days went on.

She hoped they wouldn't have to put it to the test anytime soon, but at least she was certain that the next time they saw a god, they would both be better prepared if it attacked them.

On the eighth day after leaving Lokokami, which marked two weeks since she found herself in this world, Kel announced that they would reach Ersgath by that evening if they pushed hard through the day.

"The town is at the crossroads of the Great Western Road and the Northern Road," he told her. "It's a busy town, and we will begin to see more people as we get closer."

The landscape had already begun to change. The sections of forest were thinner and smaller and they passed through more and more fields, along with some sections of plains that were too rocky to have been plowed for crops. They were beginning to see more homesteads too; farmhouses and clusters of wooden buildings dotted between the towns. People waved to them as they went by or occasionally tried to ask Lyra if she could make an offering for them or speak with some local god or the other, but it was getting easier for her to tell them that she was on an important journey and couldn't spare the time. She was surprised by how quickly people accepted that answer, and every night she resolved all over again to never lose her green tunic. It made people listen to her in a way she had never experienced before, not even at home.

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"Does that mean you're done wearing the blindfold?" she asked as she tightened the girth around Aeliana's middle. Kel had been teaching her how to care for the horse every evening, and by now she could put all of the tack on and take it off by herself, though he still lifted the saddle for her, since it was heavy and made the healing wound on her ribs ache and pull when she tried it herself.

"No," he said, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't put it on yet this morning. "What good is you guiding me if you can only do it on an empty road? You must learn to do so even in busy and dangerous situations. I would much rather be run over by a carriage because you were not paying attention than get impaled by an angry god."

She had to admit that was fair, but she wasn't looking forward to being his eyes as the road got busier — or the weird looks they were sure to get. Between her tunic and his sword, people respected them enough to give them space, but it was clear they weren't used to seeing a priestess guiding a blindfolded man down the road with nothing but her voice.

Once Aeliana was ready to go, she grabbed her daily peach from where it was sitting on top of her pack and offered it to Kel, who shook his head. She shrugged and slipped it into her tunic's pocket as she shrugged her backpack on. He had been eating them all week and nothing bad had happened to him, and she was getting sick of the dry bread, chewy meat, and hard cheese that made up the bulk of their meals.

She led the mare over to a fallen log and used the added height it provided her to get into the saddle on her own. Proud of herself, she leaned down to pat the horse's neck before guiding her to the game trail that would take them to the road. She watched as Kel finished strapping his armor on. She had no idea how heavy the armor was; it was metal, so she assumed it must weigh a lot but he never seemed to notice the added weight. Someone in Lokokami had hammered the torn metal flat, but it still bore the scars of damage from the claws of the god in the cave.

Once he tied his blindfold on, they set off back toward the road. She barely thought about it as she guided him down the game trail. Her mind was mostly on what they would do when they got to Ersgath. Kel would get a horse, which meant they would be able to travel more quickly the rest of the way to Heliotheopoli. Hopefully they would be able to get some better supplies too. She tried not to think too much about what would happen when they finally got to the city and she could ask the people at the Temple of the Great God why the hell it had brought her here.

She tried not to think about what she would do if they didn't have any answers for her.

Once they reached the main road and there were fewer obstacles she had to guide Kel around, she took the peach out of her pocket and bit into it. It was a nice day. She could see a break in the trees ahead, and the sun was shining as brightly as it did every day, but there was a brisk, cooling breeze today that made the heat bearable. Something like a rabbit, but with short, rounded ears, watched them from the side of the road until they got too close, then it bounded off with an alarmed chirping sound. A bird that looked like a blue jay except it was a deep maroon all over complained at them from a branch with a call that sounded like a baby crying. She carefully guided Aeliana to the opposite side of the road as they passed, knowing from experience that she would end up with bird shit in her hair if she didn't. She even remembered to warn Kel about it, which she thought deserved a pat on the back.

As she finished the peach — which was every bit as perfect as that first one she tasted while she was recovering at the temple — and threw the pit into the woods, she realized she was… almost happy. Kel wasn't exactly chatty, but he was patient with her and he had a sort of flat humor that he showed more and more as their journey went on. She still wasn't sure how to feel about what he'd tried to do to Galin, but she was glad that he was escorting her to the city. She trusted him a lot more than she trusted any of the gods she had met.

Aeliana was warm and steady under her. She had been growing to care about the horse more than she expected. She was a calm and gentle presence, and carried Lyra every day without complaint. It took a little bit of extra work to make sure she had access to grass and water and to pick her hooves clean and brush the dust and sweat of the road off of her every evening, but there was something reassuring about the horse, and the first time she'd pressed her long, equine face into Lyra's chest as Lyra scratched the white-blonde mane between her ears, her heart had melted.

She wasn't home yet, but each step brought her closer and she might as well enjoy this journey while she could, right?

The road curved slightly ahead of them, and she warned Kel about it as they stepped out into the sunlight. "Wow, that's bright," she said. "It looks like we're coming up on a rocky field. There are hills in the distance to our right and I can see the river to our left, about a quarter of a mile away." She squinted. "There are two men on horseback coming toward us further down the road."

"Describe them to me. Are they armed?"

"I can't tell, they're still too far away."

As they got closer, she spotted the swords at their hips and felt her heart rate increase a little. They were the first people who were armed that she had seen, besides Kel. She described them to him.

"They have swords that look like yours but a little shorter. They're wearing leather armor with metal studs in it, and the horses are a lot bigger than Aeliana. Both the horses have some sort of strap across their chests."

"Those are breast collars, and are often used when people are riding on rough terrain or planning to see combat. Tell me what the men are doing."

"They have a dog, too," she added when she spotted it. It was a big black one, loping through the rocky field to the north. It didn't seem interested in her and Kel, but it was clearly with them and for all she knew, it was a trained war dog or something. "Maybe you should take the blindfold off." She shifted in her saddle uncertainly. Aeliana's ears flicked back toward her in response and she patted the horse's neck idly as she focused on the men. "They've seen us, but they're just kind of staring. Should I wave?"

"It may be best if we simply pass them by. It's possible they are deserters from the war across the sea. Most bandits or brigands would not be so well-armed. If they fled from the war that may explain their gear. They likely wish to travel east without drawing notice."

They certainly didn't look like they wanted to stop for a chat. One man had short, dark hair and the other had longer, lighter hair that was drawn back into a short ponytail at the back of his head. The one with darker hair glared at her as they drew closer, but the blonde-haired one reached across the distance between the horses to nudge him, and the dark haired one's expression turned blank instead of angry. It wasn't much of an improvement.

"I really think you should take the blindfold off," she muttered to Kel. "They look unfriendly."

He reached up and untied it, shoving the fabric into a pocket in his backpack as he took in the two men. Neither of them paid much attention to him; their eyes were on her.

She gave them a weak smile and guided Aeliana as far over to the side of the road as she could. Hopefully they could tell that she didn't want any trouble.

Her heart pounded in her chest like a rabbit's, but the men didn't do anything but stare as they passed them. She knew she wasn't imagining the blatant dislike on their faces, but neither of them reached for their swords. She felt a rush of relief as their horses passed her and Kel without anything bad happening.

Then, just as they were out of sight behind her, she heard one of them speak.

"Der Schwertkämpfer ist nicht beritten. Er könnte uns nicht davon abhalten die Priesterin zu töten."

She twisted around so quickly she almost fell off her horse. He was speaking German.