Back at Wellspring that evening, they found soldiers. Another contingent from Averell had camped out.

The Brotherhood monk spotted the hovering lights of Ruyo's party and reached them first. "Ma'am, they're planning to stay until you help them, and I'm not sure the city plans to stop having troops here."

Ruyo said, "So they're treating this place like an extension of their territory?"

"I'm afraid so, not that it's completely a bad thing. Several combat mages in the group, by the way, wanting elementals. Before they drag you away to start teaching, how did the trip go? I see you're banged up but alive."

Ruyo took a deep breath. "The short version is, it's a big ancient hospital and our first expedition found some clues to the old language and technology. There's still more to see down there."

Elly said, "We found a fire spirit! But so far we can't get him to talk well, or in our language."

Lisette added, "Or to appear to anyone but Ruyo and whoever he's currently using as an energy source." She pointed to where Pir currently hovered.

The monk squinted. "I see nothing. I suggest not bringing it into the cave, ma'am! I can't even get a regular candle to burn in there. It's magelight or nothing."

Ruyo grinned, then saw the troops' officer approaching. "All right. I need to see to these soldiers. Take a break, everyone; you earned it. Khulis, I assume you found something else nice in that office. I don't care but show me if there are any interesting markings."

Khulis looked surprised to be called out on whatever he'd pocketed while alone. "Of course. And I still want that other furniture."

The men and the sisters walked away with the monk, showing him the notes and talking about their trip.

Alone, Ruyo greeted the officer near his men's campfires. "Welcome to my humble abode."

The man was even shorter than Ruyo, but broad-shouldered and heavily muscled. "Let's get this over with. What do we have to say for your ritual thing?"

"You don't have to say anything, sir. I'm not compelling anyone."

"Well, my superiors compel me, and I'm told you can't or won't hand out magic unless we treat you like a god. So tell us the words."

Wasn't his attitude roughly what she'd asked for all along? I do this for you, and you do this for me. Ruyo stood there, hurt. She didn't deserve to be adored, but she liked to think she got along well with most of the people currently praying to or for her.

"Well?" the officer said.

Ruyo answered carefully. "Is basic magic really going to save anybody's life, or are your higher-ups making you sign up for the newest shiny thing?"

"The second one. The main use of it is to get unlimited water, and we already have a few specialists for that. It'll just be easier with more people filling the canteens. I'm told you have some kind of throwing bomb too."

"What do you really need more than magic tricks?"

"I need to be left alone to fight and win, damn it. More men, more siege engines, a reliable food supply."

"Did anyone show you the food-creation spell?"

"I saw some kind of vegetable loaf. But unless you can supply fresh food to the front lines, hiring you is no different from hiring a baker."

Ruyo rubbed her chin. "Here, let me give you a sample." She created a ball of light and let it ripple into the form of a dry, portable biscuit.

"This is different than what your excuses for guards showed me."

"Right, that's the dry version that should last longer before spoiling."

"A baker can do that, too." He took a bite. "Tolerable."

"Then I've improved. All right. I've been working on becoming an enchanter with this kind of power. So far I've only made a bomb that releases a small ice monster, and I doubt that would impress you. What if I could give you a token of some kind that turns into food on command, but has a fraction of the weight and size and can't spoil while in storage?"

The officer paced, chewing. "That could be useful, yes. Wouldn't be relying on fancy tricks to shock the enemy; we'd just be fed and able to worry about the actual fighting. But can you do it?"

"I'll have to experiment, but probably. Look, if your officers are pushing you to do this ritual it's between you and them. If you just spend a minute in the cave today and tomorrow, talking about how you hope 'The Lady of Waters' will help you fight and keep you alive, that's enough for my magic to work. We can get that done, and spend the rest of your time here trying to develop a spell that's actually useful to you. If you're mystically on my list of believers, that makes me a little more powerful and likely to succeed."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The officer looked somewhat mollified. "Yeah. Let's get this done." He went over to the troops to organize them for some kind of semi-compelled prayer. Ruyo disliked the thought of the troops being under pressure, but she wasn't the one encouraging it.

She went into the cave to look around. All seemed to be in order... except that part of a wall had been knocked out. Ruyo's heart missed a beat. But it was in one of the places where she'd harmlessly weakened the stone; the monk had apparently been carving out a side room in his spare time. So far it was just a short tunnel.

She crouched and touched the circle in the floor mosaic, murmuring, "I'll get you back, Nusina."

Boots stomped in behind her. Ruyo stood and greeted the troops, so they would at least have seen her. She was about to walk out when the officer said, "We shouldn't be talking to a wall. If you want my men to do this --"

"None of you have to, as far as I'm concerned."

"Then we should say what we have to say, to your face."

Ruyo blushed but stood there, accepting it.

"I want to go home to my family when the war's done," one soldier said. "Can you help with that?"

"I can make it a little easier, at least."

The men told her their names, asked for her help, said they wanted her blessing if she could give one. None of them were bowing and scraping at her feet, but they wanted something from her and were being polite and a little confused about it.

Why did it feel different, to have people appeal to her this way versus simply buying and selling favors like so many pounds of cloth or iron?

"I'll do what I can for you," Ruyo said. She sensed a little energy from them, a little more power.

With the ritual done, Ruyo started them all off on the path of magic and explained she couldn't continue it for hours, which conveniently would get her a second round of prayers in the morning. She said, "All right; now please excuse me. I'm going to try developing a new spell for you."

Left alone, she sat down at her table and resolved to claim one of the future side-rooms for a proper bedroom. So many things to work on! For now she needed to focus.

She had done enchantment already to bind Quill summoning spells to bottles. Now she needed to bind the spell she'd been doing each morning while traveling, to conjure up tolerable food. It helped that she'd been trying to do that in bulk lately; it was easier to make several loaves with one spell than to do them one at a time. Bottles would defeat the purpose of saving weight and bulk. Back to trying sticks. Or maybe bits of glass, or paper scrolls like some wizards used?

While Ruyo was experimenting with trinkets and magic, Elly called out from the entrance. "Hello?"

"Come in."

"Any luck?"

"I haven't got the theory knowledge to spell it out, but there's this one... corner of the spell that doesn't work yet."

Elly stood with her hands behind her back. "We tried carrying Pir around, but he won't get close to the cave. No surprise, right? I think he's not very smart, either. Somewhere between an animal and a talking book."

"Nusina was apparently made to maintain this place. I guess there are different grades of spirit. Excuse me a moment." Ruyo went back to the hidden door where she was keeping some valuables. She came back with one of the fragments of the eyeball-wheel thing she'd fought with Matthias the monk. It looked like a shard of horn or bone, not gruesome at all. "Don't ask me how I got this, but it's another example of an elemental or similar creature. Not a talking one, thankfully."

"But it's solid?"

"Yes, and I don't know what the difference is between it, the creatures we fought in the ruin, Pir and Nusina. There's probably a lot to learn from the comparison." She sighed. "And my best expert is missing."

"You'll get her back. Maybe the answers are deeper down in the hospital."

Ruyo nodded. The shard she held was still faintly magical, just unable to do anything. The latent mana gave her an idea for her enchantment work.

Before she could get too distracted, Elly interrupted her. "Do you think Pir can grant someone control of... of the fire god's power?"

"Probably only if we find a fire shrine, and even then we don't know if the old fire god -- assuming there was one for each element -- left behind a backup the way that my precursor did."

"We should look for one."

Ruyo said, "We have a lot going on right now, so to search for a shrine just so you can get powers like mine --"

Elly held up her hands. "Whoa, I didn't mean I'm just after godhood for myself. Although that would be pretty great. I mostly meant, what if the cult is thinking along the same lines?"

What they most knew of the "Inheritors" was their search for knowledge. Even if Ruyo hadn't been around, the city's mages would surely have killed that fire beast, so the latest attack wasn't simply an attempt to destroy the city. "We ambushed the 'university' base. I think they were experimenting, and that turned into a test of their latest creations and of their spirit-trapping methods. If they had a lead on where another god-fragment might be, it would tempt them."

"Or if they thought we had one."

Ruyo said, "Sneaky. You want to draw them out, huh? It could work. Let me think about how to play this."

"And if you do ever find a way to make someone the new fire god, or better yet, wind..."

Ruyo made herself smile, though she was afraid a whole lot of people would start asking that soon. "At worst, Elly, you're going to get more powers and you're already an experienced adventurer."

When Elly left, Ruyo returned to her work, though she was also thinking now about ways to use the girl's idea. Eventually the mercenary officer strode into the cave and bellowed, "Success?"

"Just in time. I may have something."

She beckoned him over to the table, and handed him a stick carved with a stylized wavy-line design she liked and could do easily. "Break this over the table."

He snapped it. In a blue flash a small pile of doughy rolls appeared. She counted four. "I've gotten three of these to work, but it's not always the same number."

He tore into one roll. "If this starts out fresh the moment the stick breaks, then that's rations at a fraction of the weight."

"Right. Sorry about the taste; I'm not much of a cook. If I know more about making things the normal way, I get better at the magic version."

"Really. So sitting around and cooking with the troops would make you better at this?" When she nodded, he said, "Then get yourself out there and share supper with us. That's better than flinging useless splashes around."

Ruyo stood and stretched. "By the way, there's a rumor I'd like to spread, if you don't mind letting it slip somewhere." Namely, We found a key to the power of the fire god and the mighty Ruyo is looking for the way to unlock it and someone worthy to give it to!