Ruyo was dazed during the ride back to the city. When she came to, she was in an unfamiliar bed in a tiny attic room with barrels cluttering it.

Nusina lay next to her, nearly flat. Her shiny eyes drifted into place and she spoke mentally again: "You there?"

Ruyo was too weak to do more than nod and answer with her own thoughts. "Glad you're back. I'm not good company right now. Where are we?"

"A neighbor's guest room. Your folks collected Lisette and Elly but wanted you to have a proper bed." The spirit paused. "I'm still too weak to materialize. No more fighting tonight, okay?"

"Agreed."

"So there's a fire spirit now?"

Ruyo told her, "Yes. Pir is his name, and he knows some of the ancient language. I don't think he's nearly as smart as you though. We've been though a lot since the cult captured you."

"I heard some of it on the way back. How's your leg?"

It ached, but didn't feel broken anymore. "I think it's healing," she said aloud.

"Try your magic on it anyway, for practice."

Ruyo vaguely recalled her limited medical magic training, and tried to sense her own injury. She mostly just felt like she was in no condition to do anything intelligent to fix herself, and said so.

Nusina said, "Call it a night, then?"

Ruyo was asleep too quickly to answer. She rested better than she had in a while.

#

A shopkeeper woke Ruyo. "Are you alive up there, miss?"

She groaned. She felt like a sack of vegetables flopping around after last night's exertion and having to heal.

"Your friends asked me to get you up in the morning. Something about breakfast spells."

She opened one eye. Right; she owed people stuff. Mumbling into a pillow, she said, "Yeah, I'm on it."

She was about to fall asleep again when Nusina woke too. "Wake up, milady. Duty calls."

Ruyo sat up and focused her mind enough to concentrate on the Wellspring cave, feel it like a distant anchor, and target it with a food-creating spell. With that done she fired off a few more spells. "Got to spend a few hours today making enchanted sticks."

"It also sounds like you'll be expected to meet with the local rulers."

Ruyo muttered a curse. "How are you? Well enough to stay awake while I'm not?"

Nusina said, "Somewhat. I should be good in a day or so."

"Great. Wake me in another hour." She pulled the blanket up again and was out.

#

She woke up on her own this time, prodded by hunger. She reluctantly crawled out of bed. She conjured up a roll and tore into it. Orange flavor this time. "I feel a little better. You?"

The spirit was floating around the room now, still intangible but looking restless to go out. "Better, yes. Being trapped like that is horrible."

Ruyo was still dressed in all but her armor. "I guess you haven't had a proper view of my hometown. Welcome to Starshore." She opened the door and went out to thank her neighbor and go.

Instead of heading right back to her parents' place, Ruyo wandered the streets to get some fresh air and stretch her legs. A warm wind blew. She spoke with Nusina while they traveled. "So you taught the cult how to make new things, to get them to shop in strange ways we'd notice?"

"That was the hope, yes. The group isn't all bad. Maybe we can take over. Don't look so shocked! With the really awful people arrested, we could give the rest just what they wanted: exciting magic and technology to study."

"Even after what they did to you?"

"For the most part they just kept me in a cage and made me reveal ancient secrets. I really don't remember many. After a while they quit trying to get me to reveal where more lost god fragments are, and accepted my advice on building things that legitimately could make them rich and powerful. I barely even had to lie! Brass really is good for the mechanical bearings they'll need."

Ruyo shook her head as she walked past the dockside taverns. "I don't think I'd be so forgiving. And I doubt we got all of the really bad ones. Didn't recognize more faces from the day you got kidnapped."

"I notice you didn't rip anybody's lungs out."

She sighed and watched the seagulls. "I can't just destroy everyone I'm angry at. My friends are counting on me to keep them safe and there are other things to protect, like the research papers in that lab. How are the sisters? And my dad?"

"A little burned and bruised, but they'll be fine. The guards brought in a healer."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Ruyo walked along the shore's wet sand. Nusina said, "I can feel you're getting more prayer energy. From what I've heard, you're doing a good job getting followers. And I heard something about a ruin?"

"Right. You'll want to see that place. But here's a secret part that nobody else knows yet, I hope..." Ruyo explained the secrets of Averell's state Church, including the missing artifact.

The water spirit left her position at Ruyo's shoulder and hovered close to her face. "Really?! That exists? I... I remember it a little."

"Is it something the Khyberians could use to elevate another god?"

"I'm not sure. Yes, there was a Night or Darkness god, but I don't get the same horror I feel about his opposite." Nusina rippled. "Instead I feel like he was good but that you could never quite tell."

"Any other details about the old gods?"

"I think that 'Night' had something to do with the existence of were-creatures, and it wasn't an evil scheme. I'd like to speak with Pir and see what he knows, but I'll have to go through your friends for translation. Or... Actually, we may be about to have even more of a language breakthrough, if we can all get together with the Inheritors and their samples of old writing. The sisters mentioned they'd figured out a few words."

"I'm glad to know you accomplished something even while you were down there."

"One immediate side effect is that after being half starved, I've gotten better at surviving without a constant mana supply. I can roam more freely now."

"Good. I've had to learn some basic healing by necessity, myself."

Nusina paused. "By the way, thank you! I forgot to say it earlier."

Ruyo smiled. "We were both exhausted. Sorry for not getting here sooner."

"I knew you were still alive. So it was only a matter of time before you kicked down the door and found me."

#

After some relaxed walking and exploring, Ruyo took Nusina back to her parents. Elly and Lisette were out at a restaurant with Ruyo's mother, while her father manned the shop. He said, "Rough night, huh?"

"I'm sorry to put you through that."

He laughed. "It was the most excitement I've had in years. Would've been better if none of you got hurt, but it turned out all right. So you come back from a broken leg in one day?"

She was still favoring her leg and it stung with each step, but it was in good shape. "Call it two days. And... thanks, Dad."

Nusina popped into full existence and said, "Hello, sir! I can't appear for long since I'm recovering too, but thank you and your wife. Your daughter's growing well into the new job."

He blinked and reached out; Nusina let him touch her. "I thought I saw something in that cage but so far I've just seen the fire spirit. Is Ruyo collecting the whole set?"

Ruyo said, "Pir doesn't trust me. Can't imagine why."

"Well, you need to tell the Council that you're available, before they get impatient and send guards to ask what the hell happened last night."

"All right."

#

Ruyo went toward the imposing stone theater that served as the main legislative building. A three-story office tower stood next door and held the bureaucrats and their endless paperwork. She went to the tower and left a message for the young secretary, whose eyes widened at the mention of Ruyo's name. He said, "They said to watch for you. I'll send word right away. Um, miss... do you really claim to be a goddess?"

She bowed slightly. "Not a very powerful one yet, but yes. I can grant basic magic to anyone, and create a few things." As a calling card, she created a simple wooden platter on a free table and covered it with bread.

"I'd like to ask you for magic, when you get the chance!"

"Sure. Give me a few weeks though."

She went home to wait, and spent the time working on the latest supply of sticks to enchant for Averell's army.

"That looks like a major mana drain," Nusina said.

"And time. Several hours a day of the same spell, and that's with the city supplying me with the raw material and the mana. Is there some way to make it faster?"

Her father overheard. "Most people work several hours a day, you know."

Nusina materialized long enough to add, "I wasn't going to say it."

Ruyo huffed. "Some variety would be nice. I'm using up most of my power on this project each day --"

"Which is why you're getting the power."

"And I'm throwing in a few of the bottled elementals, but it seems like I should be out training and exploring."

Taris said, "That much is reasonable. As long as you're meeting your contract obligations there's nothing wrong with doing other things. And why are you getting these sticks made in Averell when we can make them here? We have some apprentice enchanters. I hear they even work several hours a day at the same task!"

#

Ruyo met twelve of the fifty-odd Council members in a side room of the theater. They'd assembled hastily and she got a smattering of positions. Starshore was ruled by representatives of various interest groups, such as the head of the Miners' Guild, the Order of Magi, the City Watch, and the Honorable Cobblers and Tanners. She got all four of those today along with one of the odder members whose post existed for historical reasons: the winner of last year's Grand Singing Contest.

They listened to Ruyo's strange tale. First about the events of last night. Then a summary of who Nusina was, Ruyo's power (which she demonstrated), and what else she'd been doing. Nusina appeared briefly to greet them.

The first man to speak wore a fancy cape and a metal circlet like a crown, though he was only the official Harbor Lord. "We've heard some of this from Averell. It pleases us to have one of our own city's daughters get such a windfall." He coughed.

Immediately a merchant on his right proposed a vote "to welcome the honorable Ruyo back to Averell", which the Harbor Lord seconded, watching everyone's eyes. After several seconds of awkward silence, no one spoke out against it, and the motion passed.

Having read the wind, the Harbor Lord shut up. The next man to speak was in somber black, introduced as the Chief Wailer and Mortician. He said, "I've heard little reason to blame you for the disturbance. We've been contacted by the Mendrettos family to say they condemn and disavow Veneri and will cooperate in serving justice to him and his associates."

Ruyo said, "I can testify here or in Averell to the kidnapping and other crimes. He stabbed his own mother in front of me."

The men and women before her recoiled in disgust. The Wailer said, "Cutting short another's time is a foul deed."

An old woman ran the Order of Magi. She tugged at the sleeves of her starry robe and said, "As is the misuse of magic. Do you plan to grant magical power to large numbers of people?"

The Harbor Lord said, "There's no law against that, Magus."

Nusina spoke silently. "They're objecting to that?"

Ruyo told her, "She's worried we'll expand the supply and cut her guild's prices." She coughed and answered aloud. "Honorable Magus, my gift is at the lower end of the scale of magic. It doesn't compete with the superior skills of the professionals. It will also spur demand for more magic education, to help people try to reach a professional level."

That answer didn't entirely satisfy the guildsman. "And it doesn't cover fire at all?"

"No. Apparently that's a flaw in my magic, and anyone wanting that will need to have a natural gift."

The Harbor Lord added, "Fire magic is likely to be in growing demand if some of the Inheritors' research pays off. The Order will have to provide that."

Ruyo addressed the whole group. "Look at the bigger picture, sirs. Starshore can become a city where hundreds of people can use basic magic -- and not the most obviously dangerous kind."

"Water can be plenty dangerous," Nusina put in. Ruyo nodded.