"I'm more adventurous than most, and roads are unusual as a terrain type, but aside from that yes. Most of us are forests and fields and mountains and things. But we can all make avatars and other things and we're all hard to hurt. We're powered by attention the same way normal people are powered by food, and the traditional way to handle that is to accept offerings from people who like us and want us around - I'll be more useful than just noticing nearby ambushes to you if I end up claiming the whole road, I'll be able to keep it firm and smooth and let you know about the weather up ahead and pass messages to other caravans and bring you emergency supplies and things."

"So your body is the road, and you can observe it and change it and... talk from it, like you're doing right now. And you can expand it, claim or create more roads? I know that path where we found you wasn't there before. And you can provide road services, and in exchange you want people feed you in attention? I'm not sure what that means. What kind of offerings?"

He's a bit concerned about bringing this thing to Pallass now. Kiraavi's spinning it like he's a friendly street cat that neighbors toss scraps to, but what he's actually talking about—"if I end up claiming the whole road"—"we're all hard to hurt"—is total observation and unilateral control over the largest trade route between Pallass and Salazsar, if not the entire road network through Izril.

That's if he can't, you know, "claim" the whole Walled City and hold its very existence hostage for arbitrary demands.

A glance at Prish, and it's clear she's thnking the same thing.

"There's a few more details but that's basically right. For offerings, the part that feeds me is the person thinking about what makes it a good offering for me; the exact thing doesn't matter much for that. I like getting travel gear that still has some good use in it, though, since it's less expensive for me to move things around than to make new things and I like people to be able to ask me for supplies they need, and I like books about people's travels."

Thing is, if they don't want to deal with Kiraavi, what are they going to do? Dig up and burn miles and miles of dirt path all the way to the Bloodfields? Would that even work? And he's been friendly so far...

Prish says, "So what's your plan once we get to Pallass? It's where we're going, by the way."

"Well, part of that depends on you, if you're interested in telling people about me that'd be useful. If you're just going to dump me out and go about your business I'll want to wait and see how things are done here before I introduce myself. I'll probably have to make another avatar when I'm ready to, in that case, I'll be less confusing that way if people here aren't used to gods."

"I think I'd get in trouble for dumping you out without so much as a letter to a Wall-Lord," says Vyrll. In fact, he's going to stay outside the walls until someone with the authority says otherwise.

        Prish says, "What's an ideal outcome, average outcome and bad outcome for you, here?"

"In the long run, or just at Pallass?"

"Why not both?"

"Well, in the long run, I'm a little nervous about whatever killed your gods, so I'd like to find that out before I do very much here, but if it's safe enough and seems like it'd be mutually useful I don't see any reason not to get to work on claiming your whole road system. That won't be quick, though, I have some energy reserves that I can put toward it but I wouldn't want to overextend myself; generations, probably, if your world is as big as mine and you live as long as the humans I'm used to. So the best case would be - whatever problem your gods had is known and resolved, and people straightforwardly... are you all right?"

Vyrll and Prish are sharing a confused look.

"I didn't follow all of that," Vyrll says. "What are you concerned about? The gods are dead."

"Right, and I don't want to join them."

"What would cause you to join them?" Inquiring minds want to know.

"Well, I'm also a god?"

"Right, and you're not dead."

"Right. And so I need to know why your gods are dead, so I can be sure it won't happen to me."

"...I don't know if they died of a reason..." Vyrll looks at Prish.

        "Everything dies of a reason," she sensibly points out, though she sounds less certain of this.

"The dragons?"

        "I thought there was a war with the dragons."

"What weren't there wars about? If that's why they're not around anymore I didn't hear of it."

        Prish shrugs.

Vyrll turns back to the road. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"...we were talking about what I want to do at Pallass and in the future. There's a... safety question.... that I'm hoping someone will be able to answer for me, and I expect that's going to be the most important thing. But if it goes well, I'd like to look into claiming your road system, I think it'd be mutually beneficial." He sounds mildly bewildered and much less upbeat than he was a few minutes ago.

Haha whether the Walled Cities should let an alien god seize absolute control of the already contentious road networks is so none of Vyrll's business.

"You'll have fun negotiating that," Prish says dryly.

"We'll see." He's not actually in the habit of negotiating with mortals, and it's not like they can stop him. ...probably. It's probably not like they can stop him. "So what other species of people do you have here? I've seen drakes and gnolls and goblins, so far."

Ominous.

        "Humans live up north. There's Antinium, to the west, and—" Prish grimaces "—in Liscor. In the whole world, there's... too many to count."

"Lizardfolk, Nagas if you consider them different," Vyrll offers. "Uh, Half-Elves, Half-Giants..."

        "Beastkin. Minotaurs."

"Fraerlings."

        "Selphids, Dullahans..."

"Demons."

        "Drowned Folk."

"Stitchfolk."

        "If you're counting Goblins, then Ogres, Trolls..."

"Beastkin."

        "I already said that."

"Are we missing any, still?"

        "Oh, absolutely."

"I really hope I can stay and meet them all." He sounds delighted and wistful. "What about the political situation, what's that like?"

"That's a terribly broad question."

        Prish snorts.

"In Izril, we have humans in the north, Drakes and Gnolls in the south. Drakes and humans are 'ancient enemies'—" he makes quotes with his claws "—but we fight each other more than the north these days. Petty squabbles over land and mines and tariffs. The six Walled Cities are the big fish; most of the smaller towns and cities are protectorates of some flavor of one of them. Pallass, where we're heading, is one of them—the City of Invention. We're coming from Salazsar, the Walled City of Gems. Those two tend more unfriendly than not, but this is a good year."

        "Walled Cities are the Drakes," Prish clarifies. "Gnolls live in them, but they're Drake cities, Drake lords. The Great Plains are Gnoll territory, south of here, and east past the High Passes."

"Anything specific you wanted to know?"

"Huh, it's a pity I'm not a different kind of god, most of us can make mines. You're mostly fighting other people, the walls aren't to keep animals out or something?"

"They do that as well, but mostly it's for war."

        "The Drakes are insufferably proud of their walls," Prish informs.

"They're tens of thousands of years old," Vyrll huffs.

"Mm," he muses, displeased. "I don't offer healing, since so many of the other gods at home do that it's easy to find if someone needs it. That'll take a generation to change, but maybe I should, if you're having wars. I'll have to think about it."