As we both calmed, cuddled, and slipped off to sleep, I wondered if Molly would pull us in for a chat. I shouldn't have really wondered about that given Taffy was her paladin.

When we both appeared, however, I let out a laugh. "Molls! Clothes would be good."

"Whoops! Uh, here!" Molly said, and with a blink we were both wearing simple trousers and shirts. "Sorry about that!"

Leaning against Taffy, letting her arm drape over my shoulders, I just couldn't work up the desire to be upset with Molly. We walked over to where Molly and Caprice were sitting and joined them. Both were silent until Caprice started giggling.

"Taffy and Dusky had a room to themselves," Caprice said.

Molly picked up a pillow out of thin air and whapped Caprice with it, which sent feathers everywhere and made Caprice squeal in surprise. "Their love-life isn't any of our business, Caprice. Now, let's move on. It should take you only a few months to travel to the Home of the Gods. Caprice has been talking non-stop about a portable tavern and it seems like a good idea. If nothing else it will let you be both highly visible and incognito at the same time."

"You're forgetting me." Taffy tapped her chest with a finger. She actually jolted just a little, and I realized that was probably because she was so used to wearing her breastplate. "I'm just about the most visible thing in the world to anyone with a hint of divine magic. The Cartmaster's priest here in town spotted me clear as day. Nice guy, too."

I nodded to that. "So we have time to get this monstrosity built, then head out to the place, and then we host the party, I guess?"

"My monstrosity, you mean?" Jules walked over to sit with us. "Ma'am," she said to Molly, "I didn't mean to interrupt, but I thought it a good idea to remind the world's best bartender of her promise." She delivered a gentle punch to my arm and sat down beside me.

It reminded me of what'd happened to The Hog. "Yeah. Your monstrosity." I still felt bad about it all.

"It's alright, Dusky, I'm not mad at you. You didn't light my tavern on fire." Jules reached her hand up to squeeze my shoulder, then turned to Molly. "I think we have enough information to get this whole thing moving. We'll go to the nearest big city and, there, get the carts built and enchanted. Then we head for the Home of the Gods, taking our time and arriving just before the others. We'll set up and offer everyone hospitality while the talks go on."

"Sounds like everything is taken care of. Remember, just say my name before sleep if you wish to talk to me." Standing, Molly spread her wings and gestured to Caprice, who vanished, then Taffy and finally Jules. They were all gone leaving me and Molly together. "When are you going to tell them about being a weredragon?"

"I could never live that down." I slumped, wishing Taffy was still here to lean against. That was probably why Molly sent her off—to force me to face this. "It's just too weird."

"You told them about the Bed Warmer class you could have taken." Sitting down beside me, Molly seemed far happier than she'd been at the start of all this. I guess having more friends helps.

"Molls, I just—" I stood up when she tried to put her arm around me and looked back at her. Damn, she looked hurt. "I don't want to screw this life up. I mean, my last one was going nowhere at an incredibly slow pace. Even getting used to a new body, new friends—a whole new life—it's still better here than back home. If you still want to find a way out of this, that's fine and you can take it, but I don't want to go back."

She looked surprised and let out a laugh. "This might surprise you, but the highlight of every day was meeting up with my best online friend. We'd talk about the stupid game I helped keep running and they'd tell me of their latest adventures in the game." Leaning back, she looked up at me. "You could say that my whole world revolved around that friendship."

"So we stop looking?" I asked.

"I can do something here. I can be a positive influence. The best bit of all, Dusky, is my best friend is here." Damn. Damn, damn, damn. When I held out my arms she rushed up and into them for a hug. "Dusky—If you don't want to tell them about the weredragon thing, that's fine. We all have our secrets."

I gave her one last squeeze before I felt her start to discombobulate me back to a normal dream. "Thank—"

----------------------------------------

Waking up in the arms of a beautiful and strong woman would have been wonderful. Instead, I was pushed to one side of the bed while she snored. Rolling over toward her, I carefully reached up and poked her nose.

"Huh? Wha—? Dusky?" She reached for me and pulled me closer. After the night we'd had before being summoned by Molly, she still had energy for more.

By the time we left our room, I couldn't help but smile constantly and giggle when she touched me. It was a cozy and intimate feeling that permeated me. "If you keep doing that downstairs, we'll get a reputation."

"You already have a reputation for being too adorable, Dusky. Besides, after last night—"

I snorted. "… and just now."

"Right, and just now. Anyway, I want to have our happy moments together when I can. We have a long road to walk, and I doubt we'll be able to spend all of it in a wagon rolling around together." She led the way out to the tavern room where we spotted Jules, Caprice, and Chloe already talking together.

"There they are!" Caprice pointed at us. "Come and sit with us!"

Honestly, I felt so mellow I could probably put up with any amount of ribbing. Taking a seat beside Caprice, I reached a finger out and poked her in her side. "So, high priestess, what's the plan?"

"Buy a big wagon here. Load all our things into that so we don't have to carry so much. We head for the capital and get our wagon train built, then head to—head to the place." She let out a little sigh and leaned sideways into me. "But first Caprice needs a hug."

She said it in such a worn-out tone that I reached both arms around her and pulled her against me. It meant I had to pull a bit away from Taffy, but she knew I'd dive back to her side. "You signed up for the job, Caprice. Now you're the head honcho. The big cheese. The—" She was giggling and squirming, the sound making me smile just as much as her. I didn't let go.

"Cheese is stinky. Caprice don't like it." Sticking her tongue out, she managed to squirm her way out of my grip. It almost reminded me of how clingy I'd gotten during my days as a dragon. "Has anyone but Caprice been to Shining City?"

I had. I'd been there quite a bit as Espy. When things got too hot in the wilds, I'd retreat there and just chill. Of course, no one knew about my alt Dusky Rose. What surprised me was Caprice had been there, but no one else in our group had. "I went there a few times. Didn't do much. Mostly just to keep my head down," I said.

"Keep your head down?" Chloe asked.

"When I was a different person. I would hunt other player characters and fight them." It sounded terrible, given how the world was now. "It didn't actually kill anyone, just—I'm not them anymore."

Chloe smiled and shook her head. "You say that, but the knowledge and understanding of this past is still useful. Don't disregard any part of your life, Dusky. It might just be useful in the here and now."

"Gloria figured out who I was. She said she was going to have all credit passed to me from that previous me. I don't know how far that will take us, but it might be worth something."

"We should get moving. If the priests in Northwind are going to send anyone to find us or tell others about us, it will be in this direction." Shuffling to the side when she finished speaking, Jules made room for the barmaid to start filling the table with bowls and mugs. "Thanks."

"Boss said everything's covered by the drinks you made." Nodding toward me, the barmaid smiled. "If you would like to make some more, you can stay here whenever you like for free. All of you."

"There aren't any healers in town?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, there is one, but he's a missionary from Father's church. He—he charges a lot of gold for any healing."

I winced at that. "We're looking to leave early tomorrow, right?" I asked everyone and got a bunch of nods. "Okay, well, my friends have to go out and find a wagon we can buy. I'll spend the day enchanting any more drinks you can bring me. I don't know how many I can manage, but if they're just shots of strong spirits, they'll keep forever."

"We can't afford—"

It was almost embarrassing how much of a stranglehold that church had on healing up here. "I didn't say you had to pay for them."

"Dusky," Taffy said, leaning over to kiss my cheek, "don't ever stop being you."

It was stupid to think that for the sake of me spending just a day burning my mana up, these people would need to pay someone else a ton of money to get healed. "I don't like knowing I could have helped and—and just not."

So I got stuck in while the others went out shopping. It really wasn't all that hard. They'd bring me a drink of their weakest, watered-down beer and I'd enchant it. Between drinks I'd cast Focus to keep my mana topped up.

I was surprised when one of the barmaids led a young man over to my table and looked at me with hope. "What's the matter?"

She started off explaining, "This is John, my little brother. He—"

He turned a little and I could see the issue. His right arm looked wasted away. It was like all the muscles on it had withered and dark crisscrossed, jagged lines that looked like burns traced from shoulder to wrist. I wondered what could have done it when he said, "Lightning hit me."

"Let me see it so I can tell if the magic is working." There was a little curiosity in me. I'd heard of people surviving lightning strikes, but I'd never seen the effects of it.

"I-I'll know if it works." He tugged at the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up to reveal more of the angry-looking scars down his side. "It aches constantly."

I tried to get a feel for his general health, but without some familiarity I don't think I have any kind of special ability to do that. What I wouldn't give for a health bar and a status readout. "Well, let's start with something small. If you notice a difference, tell me." When he nodded, I cast a spell, "Weak Heal."

Watching the scars, I didn't look up to his face until he gasped. He had a smile—not a big one, but it was still a smile.

"You want more?" I asked.

"Yeah. I mean, yes, please." He sounded conflicted and worried, as well as excited. I guess, if they don't get much magical healing up here, annoying someone giving out free healing would be a tragedy.

"Well," I said, reaching up to my arms and pulling my sleeves up dramatically, "I have plenty in the tank, so let's try a big one. "Balanced Health."

The spell was always a rush. I could feel my mana drain from me in a flood, form up into the spell, and sink itself into John. A soft glow of golden light surrounded him for just a moment before it faded. The angry scars on his arm looked far less red and less, well, actively a problem. They were scars, not an ongoing issue. "Should I try more? That's a big heal, but more might be needed."

What I wasn't prepared for was him hugging me. There was no intimacy in it, but I still felt a little awkward as the guy started to literally cry on my shoulder. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said over and over.

"John! Let go of—" his sister said.

I looked at her and shook my head, just letting him keep crying there. "Balanced Health." Another rush of mana as the spell flooded the three of us—focusing on the person with the most need—and I felt a sort of completion at the end. It was like the spell was telling me he was fully healed. Or, at least, as healed as my spells could get him.

Finally, after what felt like about ten minutes of him sobbing and me just patting his back awkwardly, John leaned back. His face was a mess. I guess I hadn't seen many guys sob like that—his eyes were just as puffy and wet as any I'd seen, and the intensity of his gaze on mine was something else.

But my gaze had to scan the marks again. "Your arm is still smaller."

"I can work on that, though. I could barely move that arm. That whole side of me has been aching ever since I got hit. I—I thought the gods hated me."

"I know one that doesn't." Leaning back a bit, I was aware of how much mana those big heal spells cost. What with me having used some up already, I was close to empty. A bit of relaxation would help with that. "She's not just my goddess, she's a friend too."

"Your friend?" He sounded skeptical—I didn't blame him. "How does that happen?"

"Molly is a new goddess. When I first met her, she didn't have a single follower. I guess that makes me her first. But I'm not her high priestess or anything. Like I said, we're friends. She is neutral, just like most of us."

I started talking about Molly. About how nice she was, how much she wants to protect people, and even about Taffy and Caprice. At some point John's sister came back with bowls of stew and little heels of bread for us to eat. "Start bringing the alcohol again. I have enough mana back to continue."

Leaning over my stew, I tried a mouthful and found it delicious. "So, what are you going to do now?" I asked John.

"Now I need to work hard to build my strength back up. I want—" He stopped and looked thoughtful. "What I'd really want is to be able to heal, like you."

That's when I realized I had no idea how normal people in this world got classes. Could he just think real hard and become a level one healer?

"I'd need a god to do that, though." Now he was looking at me with greater interest and I realized why he'd been so interested in hearing about Molly. He thought I got to be a healer from her. "I was hoping your goddess might help me?"

Bingo. Well, that's what Molly wanted. She wants to help people. If her followers are known for healing arts, that seems like a pretty good way to do it. "Just before you go to sleep tonight, say her name. Pray to her and ask her for help."

"Just like that?" He looked incredulous. Was a god really that hard to contact here?

"Just like that. You think a goddess who wants to help as many people as she can would make herself harder to talk to?" I liked to think my reasoning was why his consternation turned to a smile—but I had to remind myself that I was, despite not being a super fan of the label, a pretty and exotic woman.

And that's when I remembered something—something important. Looking around for my pack, I opened it and reached inside. Taffy had packed the exact thing I needed. Pulling out the long, pure white feather, I passed it to John. "This might help too. Feel it, get to know it, and when you pray to her, hold an image of this in your mind."

He took the feather and started to run his fingers over it carefully. After a few minutes he looked up at me. "What is this feather from?"

"It's from one of Molly's wings." Maybe giving him an artifact was a bit much, because his fingers started to tremble and he quickly held the feather back to me. "Are you sure you can remember how it feels?"

"Please take it back before I break it!"

I took the feather back. "I trust you not to break it, John. Just relax."

"But it's from a goddess!" As soon as he said it, and with the feather out of his hands, he covered his mouth.

Tucking the feather back in my pack, I reached for the tray of little flasks his sister was setting down. "Yeah, but she's got more. Major Heal." The alcohol seemed to buzz with energy for a moment before settling. "Talk to the priest to the Cartmaster, Stewart. He won't turn you away and is a lot wiser on these things than I am."

"But he's from a different god…"

"Molly is friends with the Cartmaster. There are other gods—gods of neutrality—and you'd be best talking to Stewart and Molly about them." I could feel when my mana topped off. I reached for another flask and cast "Major Heal" again.

"Couldn't you just cast it on all of them at once?"

"Yeah, I could, but then you'd need to drink all of them to get one heal." There were some shortcuts in life that worked, but the game mechanics that still functioned seemed to be rigid. It got me thinking how long these mechanics would still be mechanics and not just how magic works.

"Oh. Is this a skill healers get?"

"This? No. This is a skill I got as a Tap Jockey—a kind of barmaid. It lets me imbue any spell I have that has a target into a measure of alcohol. If I was a shaman, I'd be filling these with much smaller heals, but could make some great support spells." I decided to give him a taste of one of my buffs. "Enhance Constitution."

As the soft glow faded from both of us, he was left wide-eyed and staring at me. "That feels amazing!"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"It won't last, but feel free to hang around while I make these potions. Major Heal." I moved the flask to the completed side and then added, "Focus."

"What does focus do?"

"It lets you recover your energy faster, but you can't be doing anything strenuous or it stops working." Talking shop was interesting, but what was more-so was wondering how he'd earn experience and gain levels. Did you get experience just for healing people? Looking down at the potions and soon-to-be-potions, I had to wonder if people using these would boost my level.

"There's so much stuff involved with this. How long will you be in town for? I might have more questions." He actually looked way more relaxed now. I wonder if the health buff was the reason for that? If so, and he got a few levels, he'd be able to have that buff up all the time.

"If you follow Molly, and attend her while you sleep, we'll be seeing a lot of each other." I felt my mana top off again and lifted out the next flask. "Major Heal."

It should have felt way more odd than it did to sit there and talk shop about the healer class. I'd been so angry to be stuck with it when I first arrived, but it was exactly what our little group needed and what the world needed.

I didn't keep track of how many flasks I enchanted. Why should I bother tracking that when it didn't matter how much they were worth? Who cares. I don't need money and this helps people.

When the front door opened, and a familiar woman in armor walked in, I felt a flutter in my chest and a smile pull across my face. Taffy looked right at me from the door and my own smile mirrored on her face.

I stood up and stretched as she marched across the room. Her eyes played down and up, and I realized I had literally just put on a show for her. Well, who cares. She didn't so much crash into me as she pulled me against her. I hugged back as much as I could, but her armor was cold. I managed to pull back.

"What?" Taffy asked, looking at me with confusion and worry on her face.

"Your armor is cold. Sit down and warm up—then you get hugs." I sat back down and patted the chair beside me.

She crashed down beside me, the fireplace radiating warmth that would soon have her armor toasty enough to snuggle. If it seemed odd I enjoyed snuggling up to her in armor, I didn't care. "Where are the others?"

"They're getting the wagons stored out back. We got two. Who's your friend?" Taffy had locked eyes with John and I could feel the weight of her curiosity.

"This is John. He wants to meet Molly and become a healer." Picking up and casting in rapid succession, I finished off my mana down to nothing again and settled back against Taffy's now warm armor. It wasn't that the stuff was comfortable to lean against, just being closer to her made me feel warm.

Taffy chuckled. "That's one way to show that you want to help people. If your town needs a healer, I think it would be a fine choice to talk to Molly about it."

"You know the goddess too?" John asked.

"Oh," I said. "Right. Introducing you both properly is my job, isn't it? Taffy Sugarborne, this is John. He was struck by lightning some time ago. I healed most of the deep trauma of it, but he has a way to go to fully recover—but he can fully recover now. John, this is Taffy Sugarborne, paladin of the goddess Molly."

John's eyes widened and he held up both arms as if to stop Taffy from feeling offense. "S-S-Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Relax. Hey, just calm down. I've only been a paladin for like a week. My vow was to help people, not get angry at them for no reason." Taffy stretched her arm out and offered a handshake. "I'm sure if Dusky approves of you, Molly will too."

"Wait, what?" John looked at me and then back to Taffy. "How would she know?"

"Dusky is… special. To Molly, to me, and to Caprice."

I giggled—I couldn't help it. "Oh, you're going to meet Caprice shortly. Prepare to be hugged."

"Who's Caprice?" John asked.

"An excitable and very cuddly kobold who is Molly's high priestess. She—" I cut off when the door at the back of the tavern opened and the kobold in question walked in with Chloe and Jules. Yaff wasn't with them, but I figured she might be doing her own thing. "Here she is now."

Caprice bounced over, looking very happy with herself, then sat down on my other side (from Taffy). "Caprice want a nice warm fire and a nice warm friend." When she pressed against me, I realized that though she didn't wear armor, her scales were themselves chilly-cold.

"Ahhh!" I tried to get away from her, but Taffy was in my way. So, I was stuck with an ice-kobold hugging me until she actually warmed up. "Why didn't you stand in front of the fire for a few minutes?"

"Because Caprice likes hugging Dusky." She squirmed a little before settling in, leaching the heat from me so that one side of me was cold and the other hot, thanks to Taffy's armor now getting nice and toasty. "Who is Dusky's friend?"

"This is John. He's going to try to talk to Molly tonight and become a healer." When Caprice didn't respond at first, and her mouth hung open, I reached up and closed it for her. "Caprice?"

"Dusky is the best. The absolute best!" She managed to tighten her grip while turning her attention to John. "John want to be a healer like Dusky?"

"Y-Yeah. This town really needs someone who can heal that doesn't charge a fortune. I want—I want to help people. I want to help them like Dusky is helping them." There was a fire in his eyes and I could feel the intent radiating off him.

Glancing up to Taffy, she had a big smile on her face. The conviction John showed stood out to everyone, it seemed. "My mana's pretty dry. Why don't we grab dinner and have an early night?" I asked.

Taffy turned her attention to me and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "I support this decision. Plus, we need to leave early tomorrow. Stewart told me he's seen a few people come into town today dressed in his robes. We don't want them dogging us all the way to—to wherever we are going."

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Waking up, I expected to be in Molly's realm. I also expected to be clothed. Clothing, for a dragon, was more or less not a thing—but I only noticed that I was a dragon after a moment longer of thought. It took a bit more to realize I wasn't the tiny dragon anymore. I was huge.

My tail was easily as long as I was, I had huge wings I could stretch out, and the feel of my breath inside was more like an inferno barely contained than something I'd have to work to produce. I wasn't just a dragon, I was the size of an ancient dragon.

"Like it?" Mother was so tiny, but I wasn't stupid enough to think for a second she couldn't swat me like a gnat. "This form gives me certain power over you. You are a long-lived half-elf, but even the longest lifetime dwindles to zero and you will die."

She was, as usual, naked. Here, though, she was different from the guise she'd worn in Molly's domain. From the waist up she was the amazingly beautiful woman, but from her hips down she had the huge, bloated body of a spider.

"But not anymore. Not for you. Oh, the chaos you brought to Father's heartlands… It's time for your boon and a gift. The boon is simple, as I explained it, you and your monstrous side will grow closer. This would happen anyway, but I'm just speeding it up.

"The gift. When your half-elf husk grows old, withers, shrivels—when the worms and rot would take it—you will become a dragon. You will spread your wings and forever be an eternal and powerful beast."

I stared down at the goddess and tried to get some kind of feel on my emotions. Half-elves lived hundreds of years—practically forever compared to a human. Now she was telling me even that wouldn't be the end? It just didn't even register. But I wasn't an idiot. "Thank you."

Even as stupid as I sometimes felt, I wasn't so idiotic as to get angry with her right in front of me.

The "little" goddess beamed up at me. "It's not often that civilized beings are so cordial with me. Usually they are too busy screaming and trying to run away. What makes you different?" She seemed to study every inch of me, and I was so thankful that being a naked dragon wasn't nearly as revealing as being a naked half-Elf.

Was I going to tell her Molly and I were from another world? Hell no. She was an ally, not a friend. "I've been through a lot. I guess following Molly has forced me to look beyond the pure good or evil anyone can be, and judge them by the way they treat me and those I care about.

"Don't get me wrong, Mother, you're unnerving, but you have only been helpful. I remember seeing your, uh, followers when we were trying to get away from the inn." I couldn't help but smirk when she looked surprised and off-balance for the first time ever. "You made a deal, you stuck by it."

Mother, goddess of monsters, broke into a grin that showed off a deadly set of fangs to great effect. "Molly deserves you. You're too nice to work for the likes of me. When that gift triggers, I'll not make any claim on your being—unless you wish it. Now, go. Molly will be confused as to where you are, but do keep this form until you wake."

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"Pouncey!" Caprice seemed to recognize my alter ego no matter how big and old I looked. I was huge—she could barely even get her arms halfway around my foreleg's wrist—but that didn't stop her from trying to hug me for all she was worth. "Has Pouncey seen Dusky?"

Leaning down, I did what came naturally. Stretching my tongue out, I licked Caprice from her toes to the top of her head and rumbled a purr.

It was easy to look over Caprice's head while she sputtered, and catch Taffy and Molly's eyes. Taking in the young man sitting and talking with them, I blinked once at Molly before carefully rolling sideways and onto my back—lifting caprice onto my chest.

"Is this how big Pouncey will get or how big she really is?"

It was impossible to answer that, so I just licked her again—and again, and again, until Caprice started sputtering and trying to fend me off.

With any conversation we might have being very one-sided, I instead just kept playing with Caprice and having fun. It was good to just let loose and have fun with a friend—even if I could never stand to tell her it was me.

Movement caught my attention, and I watched as Molly put her hands on both John's shoulders and poured light and magic into him. It had a familiar feel to it and reminded me of my own. Caprice seemed to notice too, because like me, she too stared at John.

"John a healer now?"

No, he wasn't. He was a support. He had a few little heals, a few little buffs, and not a lot else. Even if he never gained another level, those heals could become his life's work—but I don't think that would be it. He had so much drive and purpose that it had shocked me a little. He would become a healer—a great healer. I had no idea how or how I knew, it just felt like truth.

He turned to look at Caprice and me, and then with a wave disappeared. Then Caprice did too.

"Dusky, what happened?" Molly got up and walked over to me. When she reached out to rub at the ridge on the right side of my face, I leaned into the attention.

"Mother paid her debt. Even now I can feel we're—me and my dragon side—we're closer. I could feel more of her influence when playing with Caprice just now. I don't know what that means for normal situations, but if it means I can have a little bit of input when she's in control, it'll be great."

"No. I mean why are you so big?" Molly gestured at me—all of me.

"Oh." Duh, of course she wants to know why I'm like this. "Mother thought it would be fun to remind me of my mortality in an utterly weird way. From the way she described it, when a weredragon becomes too old, in their bipedal form, they will die regardless of how far along their draconic side is.

"She said she changed that. When my half-Elf side dies, I will become a dragon and stay a dragon."

Molly leaned her head against my cheek and kissed me. It was a little rush of magic and I was, suddenly, my normal self again. Focusing on my body, I even managed to clothe myself before Molly thought to.

"That's a pretty heavy thing to lay on you. What did you say to her?" Taffy asked.

"She's a goddess who had me in her realm," I said. "So I told her 'thank you' and got the heck out of there. She seemed to think I'd stay that way until I woke up."

"Mother is very even-tempered for an evil deity. I think she's just been alone a long time without any peers on her side—with an enemy growing stronger by the day." Putting her arm around me, Molly led me back to the couches where we all sat down together. "John was a surprise. If Taffy and Caprice didn't warn me earlier, I would have been shocked when he prayed to me."

"I was shocked when we got back to the tavern and she'd introduced him. He seems really nice, and dedicated." Taffy reached out a mailed hand, that was far too soft given I knew how her armor actually felt, and tousled my hair. "She spent the whole day making healing potions."

Molly leaned back on the couch and let out a sigh. "Any time I think to myself, What would be the right thing to do, I have started changing it to, What would Taffy or Dusky do? It seems to be working for me so far."

That was a hell of a thing for someone with literal god powers to say. "You shouldn't be so surprised that people are coming to you for help. They need gods who listen, not gods who command." Even as I was saying them, I had no idea how I'd come up with something so impressively good to say. It was like poetry.

I was so full of it sometimes.

"That's it exactly," Taffy said. "Most people don't want a god telling them how to live their lives, they just want one that can help them. If you can help people to help themselves, they'll remember you every time they do.

"It is, after all, why I joined you. I think you'll wind up with a lot more followers before our journey is over."

"Oh, about the dragon thing." Molly had my full attention now. "Jules knows. Yaff definitely knows. I don't know if Chloe does."

I hung my head at the news. With a sigh, I focused on the ground. "I can't ask them all to keep this a secret from Caprice."

"We could tell them all together," Taffy said.

Taffy's words made me look up as she gazed past Molly at me and in her eyes I saw support and acceptance. "Okay. When we're out of town, I'll tell her." Defeat. Complete and utter defeat.

Molly let out a sigh. "Then I think you might want to have a bit more sleep." Leaning closer, she kissed my cheek—

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Waking up with Taffy was an experience I don't think I'll ever get tired of. Warmth, cuddles, and a little extra something before we started the day. It was still dark, though, and when I slipped out of the room to use the gong, Caprice was waiting.

"Forget baths. We're leaving as soon as Dusky ready." She looked serious, but my bladder was making sure I knew that I didn't have time to ask what was happening.

"Got it… I really need to go." I can't believe I hopped from foot to foot for a moment before she realized what the issue was and stepped aside.

With relief obtained, I walked back to our room and found Caprice helping to dress Taffy in her armor. How long I'd spent in the gong I don't know, but apparently it was enough time for Taffy to get her basic things on and, together, about half her armor. "I'm glad I don't have to wear all that."

While I started pulling out clothes to wear, I noticed Taffy looking at me significantly. It didn't take a mind-reader to realize what she was telling me—now was an ideal time to let Caprice know. "Caprice, I need to tell you something."

She swapped from Taffy to me, helping me get the corset around and behind my back. "What about? Cookies?"

Exhaling as best I could, I felt her get a little more tug on the strings. "N—" She let a little slack into it and I could breathe again. "Not cookies. It's about Pouncey and me." The bed moved suspiciously as if there was a kobold on it wagging her big tail back and forth. It was so cute I almost wanted to drag this out so she'd keep doing it. "Caprice I—"

Feeling her having tied the straps off, I turned around on the bed to face her. "I am Pouncey, Caprice. Kinda, at least. It's like another part of me that's more wild and out of control takes over and I—I just—" I couldn't continue. Her eyes were so wide and her movement had ceased. "Caprice?"

"But. But-but. But! Pouncey tried to eat Caprice when we first met!"

"Yeah. Like I said, I'm not in control like that. I'm a were dragon."

Her face went through a rush of emotions from shock, excitement, confusion, and finally settled on a frown. "Why didn't Dusky tell Caprice?"

"Caprice, she was embarrassed. You did a lot of stuff with Pouncey that anyone would feel a bit embarrassed about." Taffy was a big, damn hero. She was my big damn hero.

Caprice turned back to look at me after turning her focus to Taffy while she talked. "Dusky should have told Caprice." Her tone sounded like she was still concerned about something, but she went back to helping Taffy dress. "Why was Dusky so big last night?"

"Mother," I said, then clarified, "Mother of Monsters. We had a deal where Pouncey and me would be able to communicate a little more, help each other. She said it would happen anyway, but with her help it has started far faster. She—she scares me a little, but I think if I wasn't scared of her, that would be bad."

"Dusky is sensible." Caprice climbed off the bed and pulled out my leather pants. Seeing them was a double-edged sword. They reminded me of exactly two things, Gloria Windsong's butt and how good I looked wearing them.

As Caprice pulled the pants up my legs, I looked over to see Taffy watching intently. I raised one eyebrow at her and she grinned. Okay, so I wasn't the only one who liked seeing someone wearing them. Good.

"Then it was Dusky that made the deal with her? That paid that price? And—And then Taffy paid a greater one." Caprice looked up at Taffy with a look that broke my heart.

I gave up wiggling my butt to get the pants on and pulled Caprice into a hug. "I didn't want to lie to you, Caprice, but it just—"

Reaching one of her arms up, Caprice pushed me backwards onto the bed then reached over me to pat me on the head. "Don't worry, Pouncey, Caprice will take good care of you."

I groaned. With the secret out, and with Caprice making a joke about it, it was like the embarrassment was crushed down to almost nothing. "That's why I needed you to come with us—why it was important. As a dragon, I couldn't leave you without risking people." I hugged her and pulled her down to the bed. "I know it seemed silly to me at first, but I rely on you so much, nest-sister."

A knock at the door surprised us all. Taffy reacted first, standing up and walking over to put her armored-self in the gap to stop whomever it was from seeing inside. When she opened the door, I could hear Jules.

"Where's Caprice and Dusky? We need to move before first light," Jules said.

Taffy turned her head to look back and give us both a significant look that said, hurry up. "Caprice is helping Dusky get dressed. We won't be long."

Jules' sigh almost made me giggle. "We have the horses hitched up. Get them out as soon as you can, Taffy."

"Got it." Turning and closing the door, Taffy stared at the two of us hugging on the bed. "Both of you, get your butts moving."

"Just my butt?" I asked.

Caprice nodded and giggled. "Caprice have bigger butt, needs more time to move."

"I know you do, I've had to wash it, remember?" I grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, buttoning it up over the corset and tucking it into my pants. Looking down to get it buttoned up, I thought for a moment and then left the top few buttons undone. It showed off my chest a little more, but no more than the corset would allow anyway.

Besides, I'd be wearing my healer robes over it anyway, it's not like I'd be showing too much off. That's when I remembered what my earlier efforts with my healer robes had looked like, and I wondered if the game's aesthetic still worked. I dreaded reaching for my robes, but if we ran into anything serious on the road, I'd need them to be the most effective healer I could be.

The robes, without being worn, looked like they'd cover me from my neck and wrists all the way to my ankles. When I'd pulled them on before, they'd always reshaped into a hip-defining and chest-exposing—now they didn't seem to. I pulled the front closed and they were just robes.

"Did you get new robes at some point?" Taffy asked.

I looked up at her and could practically trace her eyes down to where my cleavage wasn't. "No, these ones just stopped being quite so stupid with altering themselves because a woman was wearing them."

She just kept looking. "Can you change it back?"

Caprice broke into giggles, and despite myself I joined in. Reaching up, I teased at where the robes came together so that a little of my chest was exposed. "That's about all these allow for. Besides, it's not like your work clothes spare much to look at." I caught the look of surprise on Taffy's face and asked, "What?"

"You like looking at me? But I'm—"

"Muscled, strong"—I leaned in and had to stretch a bit to get my mouth by her ear—"hot as hell."

Pulling back and seeing Taffy's face blush almost as red as her hair made me feel a little giddy. How was she this adorable?

"Does Caprice have to tell Jules that Taffy and Dusky will need an hour or two?"

I couldn't stop laughing. Taffy told Caprice we were okay and she could go, but she stuck around and kept an eye on us. We quickly got our packs together and headed out.

In the back of the tavern, John stood waiting for us—well, maybe just me. I waved to him and he approached us. "Hey, John. I told you Molly would speak to you, didn't I?"

He rushed forward and hugged me against him. I could hear a little sob come from him before he let go. "You did, and I didn't know if I could believe you, but she really did! I can cast healing spells now!"

"You have some growing to do, but yeah. Just remember to keep helping people." His enthusiasm was amazing. I could practically feel him buzzing with energy. "Also, talk to Stewart at the Cartmaster temple. I'm sure he'll be able to help you find people that need your assistance."

"I w—I will!" John's eyes were still wet. When I pulled him into another hug, he broke into outright tears again. "Thank you so much!"

"You need to take care of Riverholm, okay? This is your place. Don't let him push in and take over." I squeezed John tight and then released him. "We need to go now. Hopefully, when we get done, things should be much easier."

"Molly told me you're—" John closed his mouth and reached a finger up to tap the side of his nose. Right, we have nosy people in town.

"Yeah. We better get going. After we're gone, ask Stewart if anyone left town after us. He'll probably know, and you can tell Molly tonight." We both straightened up. His arm still looked a little wasted, but if I didn't know better I'd say Molly did something to help it grow back way faster. It wasn't complete yet, though.

We finally managed to say our goodbyes, with extra promises to connect in the evening, and we walked out into the chill morning air. Jules did not look happy.

Time to test something. Walking over to Jules, I reached my arms out and hugged her. I think she was a little surprised, but she did hug back after a moment. "Thank you for putting up with me."

Jules looked at me for a moment before groaning. "This is coercive—and it's working. Get on the wagon, Dusky. You're driving the second one. There's not much to it, the horses will want to follow the first. If something bad happens, jerk on the reins hard and they'll stop."

"Will do," I said, letting go and walking over to the wagons. Chloe was climbing up on the first one and when I got up on the second one, Caprice jumped up beside me. When I looked at her, she picked up the reins from a little knob they'd been wrapped around and passed them to me.

"Dusky needs to hold these."

I took the reins. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"That's why Caprice is here. Also, the horsies know what to do. Don't make horsies upset and things go fine." I just stared at her. "It's true."

There was no way I was getting out of this, and who knows, it might lead to new skills or a new subclass or… something. When the front wagon started moving, the horses didn't need me to tell them to follow. "Okay, this isn't so bad."

Giggling, Caprice leaned against my side. "They're easier to control than a certain dragon Caprice knows."

This. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I was scared of. Caprice would never let this go. But—Okay, so it felt good to not be hiding that anymore. Holding the reins in one hand, I reached my arm around her shoulders and hugged her. She had gotten angry, something I couldn't blame her for, but she hadn't walked away.

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