Ed and Rennish sat on a log slightly off the merchant's highway. The afternoon sun was hidden behind some trees and they were both thinking away and chewing. In the heat, you just want to be still. Farther south the weather would become more comfortable but they were still so close to the border that the desert heat was still a problem.
It felt like an hour before anyone said anything. Rennish broke the silence out of his being completely uncomfortable, "Okay Ed, so here is my thought. Your right, the gods did something here. I don't know what messing with her will achieve outside of just messing with you because you messed with her."
Rennish leaned back a little bit and used his hand to blow some air on his face. "Yes it is possible to undo whatever was done to her but not until we know exactly what was done."
"Do you think I can suck the divine power from her body and kill the change?" Ed said.
"You could, but take too much and you run the risk of killing her or wiping her from existence. You could target just the affected area's but that requires information we just don't have." Rennish reached down and pulled up a weed from the grass around them.
"Take this flower Ed, now use your divine power and try to kill just one petal." He said holding it out to him.
Ed took the floor between his fingers and looked at it. He closed his eyes, picturing it in his mind and tried to remove just one petal from the image. When he opened his eyes, the whole flower was dead and wilted. "What happened?" Ed said.
"You don't have a fine control yet," Rennish sighed. "In my spirit body I might have been able to look inside her body and find the kernel but not like I am right now. I can see the divine power just like you do but I can't peer inside."
"Okay so we need to see inside, how do we bribe a spirit to do that for us?"
"You don't, we have no emotions as spirts. It's supposed to make us more fair and just but it can also make us cold and calculated also. I think the Oracle may be our best bet depending on what kind of oracle she is. We can also look for healers between here and there. Although, to be honest, I have no idea where there is." Rennish shook his head.
Neither of them had a great idea of where the oracle's home was beside the fact that it is past the Glass capital and their box needed to be delivered at the front gate.
Ed got up and walked to the carriage, his satchel was inside one of the lockboxes that were attached at the bottom. He opened it up and pulled it out before heading back over to Rennish. He pulled out the purchased general map and their magical map and sat them next to each other. Ed pulled out the Finder also. It was spinning slowly in a lazy circle.
They compared the maps and found that the further south they got the better their magical map became. More details and information showed up as they traveled. They laid the two maps on top of each other and found that they weren't far from another major village. It was certain to have a healer of some kind, so possibly they could help. A plan was roughed out. It looked like 2 weeks would get them to the capital, and if they could make it there hopefully Ed could drain out enough divine power from Ashra to reduce the effects of his being nearby.
Rennish called MiNoosh and explained the situation via the communication Golem. MiNoosh gave them all the details he had about the oracle and where she lives. He described the terrain and how to get there by heading slightly southwest of town following the river away, towards the coast. He also expressed that ditching the carriage and taking a barge south would save them time on the trip. Rennish thanked him for his information and put the golem away.
"We could have taken a boat…" Rennish sighed. It would have meant they needed to get a cart when they got to the capital but it would have saved time. Ed just shrugged at him and smiled.
"Enjoy the scenery while you can. Besides, I need the time to practice between here and there."
So over the next few days a routine set in. Ed started to sleep outside the tent and left Ashra in peace. He and Rennish had camped like this in the desert so this wasn't much worse. He just used the shade of the carriage as a way to stay out of the sun. The bugs on the other hand were a whole other issue until Ed used them as target practice for his power. If he could target a mosquito in the air then he should be able to start targeting other things. Slowly he was able to distract the bugs, then capture the bugs and then totally freeze the little bugs into small ice balls from moisture in the air.
The made their way from town to town, looking for healers. During their rest time of the day, Ed made golems and other items with his divine power. Ed had given Rennish his bag of instruments back to hold for now and Rennish would set up outside of town singing songs and telling tall tales about men and women from other worlds. It wasn't a bad life. They made a few silvers here and there between towns, Rennish's performances usually guaranteed them at least a meal or a place to sleep.
Whey they were moving between towns Ashra would sit in the back of the carriage watching the road as it passed behind them. At night when they all traveled awake together, Rennish would play his instruments and distract them all. He had a huge mass of songs from his time as a spirit to play from so he played songs from worlds and realms across all creation. He explained the odd songs as things he had heard in his previous adventures because Ashra was not yet informed that he had once been a spirit. Ed drove the carriage to keep himself occupied and away from Ashra. The only way they communicated was with her facing away. Occasionally she would put her scarf around her neck and sit down up near the front of the carriage. The two would sit back to back with the plank of wood between them. Ed would hold one end of the scarf and she would hold the other. It was the closest they had gotten to physical contact since they left Northern Gate.
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While the three were making a path through the countryside Priya and her caravan took the boat south. The merchants had a storehouse near the northern border and lodged their horses and carts there while a barge took them the rest of the way south. Unbeknownst to her, she had passed the three of them while they slept on the side of the road.
During her time as a merchant, they had always used the roads. So this trip on the river was a new surprise for her. Unlike ocean travel, river travel very rarely induces the same sort of motion sickness and she sat on the rear of the boat. She watched the fish swim along under the boat as they enjoyed the shade it put over the water. An older mariner was sitting on the opposite side, using a fishing pole to catch the night's dinner. He was up to 5 river trout so far and it looked like tonight was going to be a good dinner.
The caravan's leader, Allsiz, which is pronounced as all-sieze, assured her that the trip would only take a few days this way. It was much faster to go south than it was to come north. Because you were fighting the current this way you had to have oxen on the opposite shore dragging the barge north. It still wasn't the normal two-week overland trip but the cost of the oxen and the nine-day trip cost almost as much as two merchant trains. The whole goal was to turn around and charge a premium in price for the quick availability of goods.
They arrived in the Glass City merchant dock south of town. Allsiz wished her well and gave her a small bag, the merchants had each chipped in a small donation to help get herself on her feet after her ordeal. The wife, who had been her company most of the trip, agreed to take her to the Dwarven Embassy in search of the Jorgensen representative. If anything, they would make sure she got home or got set back up so that she could earn a living going forward.
And the Dwarven embassy felt just at home to her. She had marveled at the large glass-domed building that was the main sight all across town. It's light blue glass and green bronze bracing made it look like a giant fishbowl. The buildings were of each of the styles common in each of the different demi-human strongholds. The only area that looked run down that she could tell was the small slice of land that had at one time been the human area of the town. Now it was dilapidated and abandoned. The only residents were those hiding from the law or squatting in buildings they could never otherwise afford.
The building where she sat now made her feel at home. It was smaller than standard homes but no one had to duck. Dwarves weren't all tiny people. In fact, many made it to 5 units tall in certain areas where they had the space to grow and the food to feed them. And on the wall facing the entry were the plaques with the engraved names of the prominent families. She scanned them until she came to the Jorgensen plaque. It wasn't embellished with as many feats and names but the ones it had were listed out with major accomplishments. Most were in engineering or math. A few were politicians with accolades on running a city. The list seemed to end about 40 years ago, but she was told they were still a strong family none the less.
Her companion led her to a woman sitting at a desk, who looked much like Priya herself. They had the same soft rounded features and a large smile. She looked up at Priya with surprised eyes and smiled. "Yes, good afternoon. How may I assist you."
Before Priya could say anything the wife stepped forward and handed a small leather pouch across the desk. "My Name is Lemionaire LeLiss, of the Leliss trading family. On our travels back this woman escaped illegal slavery and stumbled into our camp. She claims to be a Jorgensen and so we have brought her to you."
The receptionist opened several pages to check the heraldry and family lineage. She then looked at a copy of the seal of the LeLiss family and its members.
"Okay, I see that you are a friend to the Dwarven Peoples Mrs. LeLiss. We thank you for taking care of our lost child and I will pass this onto the Accounting department." She pulled out a sheet and stamped it before passing it over to Lemionaire to sign.
"I never knew you were so connected," Priya said.
"Well, we do a lot of business, and bringing you here helps not only us but you as well. It's always good business to find a way to help yourself when you can." She smiled and hugged Priya. "You are always welcome with us if something happens. Come see the store if you get a chance, and ask for Lemon when you do."
She released her and took a step back holding onto her shoulders. "Now, go on and follow this lady to the house leader. You need to see what they can do for you."
Priya smiled and nodded. She had no expectation of being accepted as a dwarf but it was as good a start as any. Especially if they had the power to ship her back north to the company of her family. She followed the receptionist who led her to the front of a door marked with the crest of Jorgensen. She knocked politely three times. "Please stand here and someone will be out shortly." She smiled before walking away.
She looked at the door. She had her small bag of belongings and some second-hand clothes from Lemon that made her less like a refugee and more like a lady. She was still drastically underweight but that would change. She looked at the door and waited. Finally, it opened with a crack and she saw that man who stood behind it.