"...I didn't bring this anywhere. I found the door in a magic," says Aya. "And going in it seemed like a better idea than tromping through a swampy bit infested with embroidered bugs and frogs."

"Embroidered.... Bugs and frogs? What kind of funky god do you worship? They just gave you a door to windy temple? It's - what, is there a desert god of embroidery now that can touch a place that is holy? Because this is definitely super holy."

"...We are obviously working from different assumptions here. Where are you from?"

"... Um. Parvallo desert? Domain of a god called Raezenoth? God of the desert winds? No, not ringing any bells?"

"No, no, and no. I'm from Eseo, religion has been falling out of favor but if I had to ascribe my current location to a deity it'd be Aelare because she's usually held responsible for magics as a category, and there's not a desert - or a bar - for miles around from where I walked in, although I have no reason to expect to still be anywhere near it because I opened a door in a magic and walked right through it and who knows what doors in magics tend to do."

Idania looks at her, then tilts her head. "... I think we are working from very different assumptions. Like - okay, what domain does Aelare the goddess of embroidery preside over? Does she not have one?"

"...Magics," says Aya, "are a kind of place, such that if things go into them, magic is likely to happen to them, whereas if things do not go into them, magic will not happen to them. 'Embroidered' is the colloquialism for 'had magic happen to it', especially relatively tolerable effects - if you go in a magic and are turned into an inanimate dollhouse replica of the Yerayine Theater you're more likely to be called 'sleeved' than 'embroidered'. And in various mythology, Aelare makes and possibly micromanages the magics."

"... Okay," replies Idania distantly. "Okay. Um. When I was speaking of gods I was speaking literally. As in, it is not myth, it's not part of mythology, it is day to day life. They are around, in their various domains doing their own things, and they do magic. They don't turn people into dollhouses, there's no point to it. I am an acolyte of one and I am blessed, this has completely beneficial effects, because he knows I will go where he can't to do his deeds. Is that just not a thing where you are from? At all?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I'm not exactly educated, let alone well-traveled, but I have read a lot."

"...Compared to having gods of what quality and effectiveness?"

"That really depends on the god? They really don't get along with each other, for the most part. Some are powerful with huge domains, some not so much. There are gods of everything, even plagues, famine - so on. But there's also gods of healing, of harvest, of freedom, of safe travels. I can give you specific examples of my god, if you want them, but you seem to want a general overview."

"Well, compared to having gods that fight a lot, I suppose it's - simpler, and depending on how often humans are caught in the crossfire as opposed to receiving useful divine assistance, possibly also safer."

"Honestly, if humans stay out of it they will generally be left alone. I mean, sure they'll get some effects of their godly neighbors, and will want to live in an area with a god that they don't hate, but... Gods don't tend to just murder everyone that they can? Even the scary psychopathic ones, like the ones of plagues or something are usually trying to frighten people into asking for protection from their onslaught. Just killing everyone that they could would be suicide."

"...Would it?"

"Yeah. Very, very suicidal - if a god doesn't have anyone that worships them, no one that gives them offerings or acknowledges their existence, they die."

"Then why are there still terrible ones?"

"Because people hear that there is a plague god nearby and they freak out because they don't want to get sick, so they throw offerings or lip-service to the god so the god will pass them over. It's actually kind of terrible, I have a rant about it but I will spare you, suffice to say it is counterproductive in the long term."

"It sounds like it. So - neighbors, 'nearby' - they have places, they don't just go wherever?"

"That must make mapmaking interesting."

"It really does," laughs Idania. "It's kind of a pain! Like you will come back to a place a decade later and say, 'Why is there a desert where an ocean used to be?' Though it usually doesn't happen that quickly. It's a slow, gradual thing, over centuries."

"Mapmaking and tourism. Huh. ...I wonder if where the door leads if we try to leave."

"If it takes me home it's pretty likely to spit me out in a magic, even if not necessarily the same magic," says Aya. "I'm ridiculously lucky to still be shaped like myself and not have scales or clockwork elbows or be partially made of wood having gone into one just once. And even if it was going to put me somewhere outside of a magic I'm - well, I wouldn't want to be in the same country I came from, and of the other countries that exist there's no overwhelming reason to prefer my set to yours."

"Okay. Makes sense. I'm pretty sure you can just come with me, Raezenoth might want to ask you some questions but if I vouch for you you should be fine. You're not going to desecrate any holy ground, right?"

"I wouldn't know how to do it if I were inclined to try," says Aya. "Raezenoth is - your god? One tends to pick and choose these things?"

"If you want acolyte-hood, yeah, you tend to. I don't even know how you'd go about being an acolyte to more than one god, but I suppose it's technically possible under the right conditions. If you just want to be left alone, though, you can give offerings to lots and they won't get snippy with you."

"...Offerings are... what exactly?"

"Basically, you give something up at a temple to a god. It can be something simple or small, something that doesn't matter to you much, but if you do that don't expect anything big in return. If it matters to you a lot it means more, and the god or goddess you sacrifice it to will take more notice. If you put a lot of thought into it, as well, it does the same. However, if you are disguising an insult as an offering, it will go badly so you shouldn't do it unless you want to pick a fight with a deity."

"I walked through the door with literally nothing but the clothes I'm wearing, insofar as I can be considered to own those or for that matter myself - I suppose it's unlikely anyone's going to chase me, but still."

"No one's going to chase me into a magic. They have no reason to believe I'm still in useful condition and I wasn't that expensive anyway. But no, technically not."

"I really don't think anyone is going to be chasing me into a magic. But that is nice to know."

"...The god can hear you if you talk to the sand?" hazards Aya.

"Yup!" says Idania brightly. "I probably came off as bonkers there, huh?"

"Just a little. What did he say?"

"Asked where I found you, what happened to the temple, if there was anything about you he should care about, then where the slavers were so he could smite them. Then he was like, 'Well if my temple is now a bar I'm taking advantage of this.' Which is a thing that he would do, by the way. Then he said it was fine for you to come here as long as you didn't desecrate anything."

"Again, I have no idea how to do that, so if it's the kind of thing I might do by accident you probably want to specify."

"It's the kind of thing that you can only really do on purpose. You get the exact opposite of a god's domain - or something that is antithesis to whatever they are. I'm not actually going to tell you what would work to desecrate Raezenoth's holy land, but if you were to put - diseased corpses on a healing god's domain, that would do it."

"Noted. I have no plans to do that to yours."

"I figured, but I am an acolyte and it is my job to keep that from happening to my deity. So it's not like - me being suspicious of you, it's general policy. Thanks, though, for not!"

"What exactly do you do as an acolyte besides talk to your magic sand?"

"I spend lots of time on the move, doing errands, or if there's nothing for me to do I'm basically... Do you have priests? We do, but an acolyte is higher ranked than a priest."

"There are priests, yes. Religion isn't completely out of favor. But somehow I suspect the priesthood might differ."

"Right, well. Priests run around trying to convince people that their god is the best god and people should worship them. They usually get a part of their god's domain to carry around, and they'll try to talk to them, but often the god won't answer. I am like that, kind of, except I am less - spout out religious drivel and more, 'Here let me befriend you!' Also Raezenoth replies to me, just about every time unless he's extremely busy."

"What are the advantages of having this job?"

"Well. For one, I can fly. I am also under his blessings, which gives a number of minor benefits. But mostly I get the excuse to see the world and get to... I don't think the right word for it is righting wrongs, but I can fix things. Give people some chances where they don't have any. Raezenoth's not big on just handing people stuff, but he loves giving people chances to prove themselves."

"Does it also pay money or do you have to have a second job for room and board and the like?"

"Oh, that. Well if I meet any followers of Raezenoth they're usually pretty happy to feed me and let me borrow a bed if I put in a good word for them. If I'm going on a longer trip Raezenoth will give me money that I think he got from donations or offerings or something? I haven't asked. I don't care if he pays me, anyway - he makes sure I am reasonably okay and fit for duty, and that works out all right for me."

"How did you become an acolyte?"

"Basically? I wandered past when Raezenoth needed an acolyte very desperately and he decided to go with trial by fire and essentially said, 'Okay, look, these people are terrible and they are trying to ascend to godhood by killing me I can't stop them please help.' I'd known of him, before, never had him talk to me directly, but I didn't want him to die, sooo... I helped. Then I got acolyte status and I just kind of kept at it."

"People can ascend to godhood? Gods don't just sort of start existing?"

"Gods do just sort of start existing, but um - people can ascend to godhood, though. They've got to gain a god's trust to near absolute levels, though." She looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth. "Then betray and kill them."

"How many gods are there, anyway? Of each kind? Approximately."

"Just on the continent I'm on? I'd put the overall number at around thirty, total. There are a few with large domains and a lot with smaller ones, but - there are a lot. I think the most common kind's harvest gods, and there's only one other desert god besides mine that I know of. Other than that, it varies a bit. I could tell you about all the gods I know of, but there's a bit of bias as to the ones I can meet. Like, I don't know many ocean gods because I am kind of a huge glaring danger when sailing and therefore don't tend to do it."

"...Your god doesn't get along well with any of your continent's surrounding ocean gods?" Aya guesses.

"One, in particular, she has got it out for me so much. The other ocean gods might tolerate me if it weren't for her, but they can team up, if there is a common enemy. They find desert gods easy to pick on. Haven't had enough reason to chance seeing if the others will not try to kill me. Maybe they won't if I throw a lot of offerings at them, but one definitely will and it's hard to tell where borders are for ocean gods. Thus, not trying it. I like not being dead."

"And they can identify you and your affiliations from a ways off?"

"Apparently I do the religious equivalent of screaming them? I don't see how, I'm not really preachy, but every god I've talked to besides Raezenoth has mentioned it. So, yeah. It's probably the same with other acolytes."

"The acolyte status is a formal - magical? - thing, not just a social arrangement, then?"

"Formal magical thing. It definitely makes some kind of connection, to get magic super powers from a god. I think some gods don't call them acolytes, foreigners I've met have different words for them. I can't remember what they are, haven't met that many."

"...I wonder how we can understand each other. I'm speaking Esevi..."

"I'm... Not speaking that. At all. I'm speaking in Jorten. I know a bit of Virnoku, too, but I wouldn't call myself fluent. How in the world can we understand each other?"

"And I can read Ancient Sudre but, obviously, our linguistic skills aren't coming into play here. Maybe it's the magic? A magic could have made me - surreptitiously polyglottal just as easily as it could have given me seaweed for hair."

"Maybe. I know gods speak all tongues, so if you lose the ability you can still petition and ask for help from them. Probably not useful for day to day life, though, unless you're an acolyte and a god will just be nice and translate everything for you."

"And you're sure this will apply even to very faraway languages? I wouldn't mind learning a new language or two, but it will hardly be instantaneous."

"I asked Rae once," she says, dipping into her casual nickname for him. "It's all languages, ever. I actually made up some gibberish and applied it to meanings and used them and not only did it not phase him, but he didn't notice at all."

"...that begins to sound like mindreading."

"Hm. I can see how it would, but I'm pretty sure they can't. Rae asks me questions, and I spend a ludicrous amount of time in his holiest temples, so if he could mindread he wouldn't really have much point to asking some of them. Not all of them were loyalty or truth testing questions, some of them were just 'Hey how is that person over there doing.' Plus, they can definitely be lied to. If they couldn't, no one would be able to manage to betray them, they would just notice someone was thinking bad thoughts and off them."

"I didn't say it was necessarily comprehensive or arbitrary mindreading."

"True. I could always just ask. Want me to do that? As a rule, Raezenoth and I don't lie to each other, if he doesn't want to tell me he or doesn't think I should know he will say so."

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Does that mean they can tell if people are lying to them by - creatively interpreting the literal definitions of words, or whatever?"

"Interesting. But if you're not trying to communicate with a god at all they don't get any special insight into what you're thinking except possibly being able to watch you from a number of angles?"

"Yup. Which they are not likely to do unless you attract their attention through some other method. They are usually pretty busy."

"But yours has the time to supplement a casual conversation."

"He kind of, um, finds a way to have time," says Idania awkwardly. "For me. Did I mention he is awesome? Because he is."

"You've said, yes. Can I get as close to an unbiased account as possible of who else is in the general region the door leads to?"

"So they tend to have - two things that they do, loosely a thing about where they are and a thing about what they find - interesting about it?"

"Yeah, basically. Sometimes you can find gods with wildly different domains but they have the same thing they find interesting about both of 'em. It's weird, when that happens."

"What's non-divine politics like on the ground there?"

"I am way less aware of non-divine politics than I am of divine-politics, I just kind of ignore country borders and they let me do it because I am an acolyte. I'll give it a shot, though. There's Santelos, where women are apparently beautiful creatures to be worshiped and are very much in charge. Uh - have a queen? Royal family? Lots of backstabby politics? That's about all I know about them, unless you want to hear about how they have great pastries. It spans several domains - some of Opedir's, some of Cartolomir's, and I think they have all of Tamaryse's. Rae's in Aragrail, which is a loose collection of lords that agree to back each other up in case of war. Other than language it varies a lot what sorts of customs are in each. I was born in the Tarvincial province, I can tell you a lot about that, but less about the others because I kind of stopped caring when I got acolytehood. Uh... The others I'm not sure about, I don't even remember their names anymore, I can identify them but by things like 'Oh that's the place with the weird guards' and 'That place smells but they have great pancakes' or something."

"Is it largely safe for you to travel around sampling the pancakes because you're an acolyte or is tourism more or less a reasonable lifestyle choice for anybody?"

"Bit of column A, bit of column B. It's reasonable, but expect to not have as easy of a time of it as I do. You would probably need to explain who you are and why you are not terrible, maybe where you're from. If you say you're from Rae's domain they will probably not expect you to have anything official, so that's a plus. Also, just - give a few offerings to the local gods in case of bandits or something. I'm an acolyte and it's usually still smart to give a petty trinket so they don't get annoyed with me and send something nasty my way."

"I really, really don't have any things unless I'm going to be able to get away with pulling out strands of hair. The magic even vanished the manacles I fell in with when it healed me."

"Well, you can usually find suitable offerings if you look, even without money. It can actually even come from the domain of the god you're making the offering to. You can go pick a flower and that will work if you put thought into it or it struck you as something you liked or found appropriate. Maybe not on like, Rae, but for the nature gods I know they would go for it. It's actually really not focused on 'you have spent lots of money on me therefore you get nice stuff' - it's about how much you care, and how much respect you are paying. So if your hair is important to you and you offer up a lock of it, that means a lot, but if you are just giving up strands of it because you don't want to take the time to find something else, then that would probably not."

"Okay. Flowers, I can pick. What are the offerings for, exactly? Do they do something that the gods are so fixated on them?"

"Kind of! They're... I think gods can live without them, but they certainly help with that. It's people taking the time to consider them and give them attention that they need to survive. The more you care about the thing you give, the more they get from it, and... They kind of need that. I guess maybe there are some foreign gods that might not care about them and focus on like - people singing about them or something, but offerings is the way to go for this continent, for sure."

"So if I follow you through that door - what's the immediate situation? Where does lunch come from, how can I get started learning the language, where could I find a safe place to sleep, and what does my ability to travel away from the nearest population center look like if I want to do that?"

"Immediate situation is, Rae tells you, 'There are a ton of ways to survive here I'm not a mean god go figure them out.' It's actually not a - harsh desert, it's pretty fair, and basically everyone's expected to figure out how to feed themselves when they're in it. It's not mean about it, it's not unforgiving, and it's not like - Immediate Death: The Domain. Rae's a fan of giving people the means to take care of themselves rather than handing it to them. Sorry, I know that annoys some people. Uh, I'm willing to help with learning the language when I have time, but I might not always have time, so you can probably ask someone who lives by windy place to help. Ability to travel - hitch a ride with a caravan, or pack up some things and walk."

"I'm - bright, I think, I haven't had that much opportunity for direct comparison - but physically clumsy, narrowly experienced, and as we've discussed incapable of speaking your language unless the fact that we can understand each other now is a persistent effect the magic slapped on me, which means my most marketable skill is now un-. I'm not sure a place designed to be - however exquisitely - fair for the independent survival of locals will be hospitable to me. It's possible I should explore this bar more instead."

"That's up to you. I mean, I'm not gonna drag you in after me. But I was just some idiot girl at like - seventeen and I had absolutely no life experience. I did just fine. Better than fine, actually. It's not just - fair to the people that live there, it's... I mentioned Rae was moonlighting as a god of runaways? Because he will not give them an unfair situation. Like, if you need water, the most obvious thing to need in a desert, there will be - hints. To where to find some, to where to go to retrieve it. Shrubs that are only in a certain area, a place with some shade, wind that incessantly goes in a certain direction. It will never be nonexistent or unreachable unless you give up. That sort of thing."

"...Okay, that doesn't sound too bad. What is the death rate like in this desert?"

"From the desert itself? Usually about a dozen or so each year, I'd estimate. It's... Usually not the people that are trying to find refuge, it's the people that aren't and stick to their guns and ignore every sign that there's something that could save them just around the corner."

"Out of how big a population?"

"Estimating it's... ten thousand? Ish? Not counting the caravans?"

"Okay, that's not so bad. Even if I assume you were leaving old age out of your estimate."

"I was. Do you want to leave with me to windy place, or see if there's another option that's better? I won't be insulted if you don't want to come with me, I know it's not for everyone."

"...How long can I convince you to wait while I check this place out a little bit?"

"An hour? Maybe two? If nothing comes up, which, something could. If something does I'll warn you and let you choose then before booking it to do acolyte duties."

Idania gets up to read the napkins. "Um? What, is it going to move? Do I need to leave right now so I don't lose my home forever?"

"So I guess you could go home, if you want," says Idania. "I'm not sure if you want to, considering, though."

"My offer to stick around for a few hours stands," confirms Idania. "But after that Rae will probably need me for something. I can maybe pay a bit of a tab if you choose to stay and try your luck for something better, but I don't have tons of money and I can't exactly throw all of it away."

"Tempted to have what you're having, but that would be boring. Bar? Something strange and interesting, please? I am curious and I like trying new things. I promise not to get weirded out if it's lime green."

And here is a lime green something smelling of mint and apples and honey and liquor in a sugar-edged glass with a crazy straw.

"At least till we finish our drinks," agrees Aya.

"Yeah. They're nice drinks, it would be sad if we didn't finish them."

Sip! "What's mine? I'm pretty sure it's alcoholic, but other than that I have no idea. Except that it is delicious."

"Well, I'm glad you're doing something you like. You seem to be quite a nice bar. If strange and transporting to multiple freaky worlds with no gods."

"Huh. The end of the universe? Is this how all universes end? With exploding stars?"

"Hm. Well, at least it's a pretty way to go out, I guess. If you've gotta go at least leave a pretty corpse, and all that. Do they get bars, too?"

Does who get bars? asks the bar.

"The universes, when they're ending. Or is it just you? I's curious!"

"Aw, there goes my dream of a society of bars at the end of the universe. I could have gone multi-universe bar hopping."

"No, you're a great bar," says Idania reassuringly. "It wouldn't be for - you not being a great bar, it would be so that I could see lots of other great bars and get a feel for the sorts of people that are in each."

"That's interesting. So you don't - have a method of telling time?"

Oh, no, I can tell the difference between seconds and minutes and weeks easily enough. There have just been a great many of them.

Grin. Drink sip, drink sip. "So how does the - drink conjuration work? Can you just make everything? Ever?"

I do not dispense dangerous things, and beyond the first drink I charge reasonable prices, the bar says. But essentially yes.

"Huh. What about inedible things?"

Idania giggles. "Yes, but those are so the edible things don't end up on our laps or floating in a watery sphere! They don't count, that is food supplementation."

"Does he usually have a face?" Aya asks, investigating the details on the coins.

"How much are these worth in buying power?"

"Well they came from measuring salt, so that's the obvious answer. But uh - you could buy a few horses with that amount, or a small house. A little itty bitty one in a shitty neighborhood, mind you. If you want me to break it down per coin - a dredge is about fifty scraps. One scrap will tend to feed you for - about a day? And thirty pinches is one scrap."

"Jorten, Virnoku, and Karish, but that one's only in use in the south near ports. It's not anyone's official language, but it could be useful."

"... I have so many questions about how it can hover but not be magic!"

"Huh. Just a general estimate - if someone knows nothing about engineering, at all, and tried to learn it from scratch with the best teachers available - how long could it take to reach the ability to build hovercrafts?"

"Huh. Okay. Wow. That's - you know, against my better judgement I want to know why they would need to be that durable. Just being thorough, or what?"

"Is there any information I can offer that would help with shopping for your very own hovercraft? Environmental conditions and hazards, and so on?"

"I'm not positive I'll leave here with a hovercraft. It'll depend on how much I can fit into the budget. But - well, first of all, are gods likely to attack my hovercraft with direct lightning strikes or by causing it to crash into things?"

"Not unless you upset one that could do those things. If you use it in their domain they will be curious, though. A wind god like Rae will think it's the best thing ever, one that's more boring and hates flight will think you are strange and probably ask you not to use it in their domain."

"How hard it is to get from any given point A to point B without traversing specific domains?"

"You can usually always manage it, but sometimes it's annoying and requires long detours."

"Okay. How do curious or annoyed gods deal with that when the person who is intriguing or irritating them is not one of their acolytes with - magic vials of sand?"

"Curious, they will probably find a way to talk to you and be really surprised that you are not an acolyte. They will ask questions and if you're nice they will probably let you keep walking. Irritating, they will check first, be surprised, and either leave you alone or threaten you for a good offering and or try and swat you."

"...Maybe I'd better go with less conspicuous things."

"That's up to you," shrugs Idania. "Rae will let you use it, for sure, though. He will seriously think it's the best thing ever."

"This might not be especially tactful of me, but given the list you gave me I expect to get along better with the healing god."

Idania giggles. "That's fine! I am not a touchy acolyte. Go worship whoever, I like Rae, you don't have to."

"Is that one nearby? I may as well ask about the specific one I have in mind..."

"Perinixu, right? She's the one you wanted? Yeah, pretty nearby. It's a bit of a walk, but only about two weeks just by walking."

Bella writes the name down. "In general how hard is it to become an acolyte?"

"Pretty hard. Usually it takes years. She might throw you some blessings and let you be a priest, though."

"... Oooo. Ooo. You are the best bar," says Idania, laughing. "Kinda tempted to try and do the same and makes tons of money, but - nah, it's cool. I'll get by just fine. You're still a lovely bar. Can I tip you? I want to tip you."

"Well, can I give you a pretty thing to decorate yourself with? Or something? You are a lovely bar!"

I try to remain completely unadorned. You wouldn't believe the sorts of cultural sensitivity problems one can run into with patrons from literally everywhere. But I very much appreciate your flattery.

"Fair point. Okay, then um - keep being awesome, bar. My normal method of 'I will put in a good word for you with my god' is kind of useless here. Oh well."

"Well, want to wait a little while longer and see if anyone shows up, or head out now?" Their drinks are, after all, long finished.

"Let's go. I don't think anyone else is coming in a reasonable time frame."

The door closes, and - there goes mutual understanding. Idania says something brightly in her language. Of course, it's unintelligible.

She nods. "Comparable to a bunny," says says, carefully, so Aya can look it up. "A bunny that speaks Jorten."

"A bunny that speaks Jorten," Aya repeats while she hunts through her dictionary. She laughs again. "Adorable. Mmm."

Aya flips through her dictionary. "Tour," she says. It's convenient she made sure to get a dictionary with a section organized by phonetics.

"You'll know how it works," explains Idania. "Less chance for accidental insults."

"Oooh," says Aya approvingly. She bikes in - well, Idania said her god would approve of the bike, and it hovers, it's not going to scratch the floor.

Aya rides slowly, peering at the pictures, piecing together their narratives, smiling. And follows her host.

Aya flips through her phrasebook. Just to make sure: "Should I?" She's kind of short on things that are neither essential nor potentially insulting.

"Only if you want to," says Idania, serenely.

"Good -" Slightly distorting the intended meaning of her phrasebook phrase: "I'm broke."

"Tour."

Aya stays on her bike. She notes the location of the well - and points it out to Idania and asks, "How much?" (rather than 'is it free', because the former is in her phrasebook and the latter isn't).

"Free," supplies Idania. "But don't waste it."

"Okay." Flip flip. "Where can I find lodging?"

"No inn," supplies Idania. "You can stay with me, or find someone who will let you stay with them."

Flip flip. "Thank you -" flip flip - "I want to learn more Jorten first."

Idania nods. "Want to see my house, then?"

Translate translate - nod!

Aya translates this offer, thanks her in her adorable Eseo accent, and sets down to study her dictionary, supplementing with the phrasebook for grammar. It's one of those multi-layered books, with the sentence in Esevi followed by Esevi with Jorten word order followed by Jorten phonetics in the Esevi alphabet followed by proper Jorten, very handy for picking up sentence patterns.

Aya translates this as best she can, fills in the rest by common sense, and continues studying till her milkshake wears off and she starts looking for lunch.

Aya decides to go ahead and make a nice lunch that will keep a while, since there's fixings and Idania has been very nice to her. Let's see, what is there? There is enough stuff to make that nutty flatbread the old lady liked, and bean spread to put on it. Assuming Aya has correctly recognized this herb. She tastes it. Yep. Mix mix knead knead mash mash fry fry. She eats hers folded in half around its filling, leaves the rest of the spread in a covered bowl and the bread under a cloth on the counter.

Meanwhile, Aya translates the words that surround the thanks, and then what she wants to say back: "You're welcome. What happened?"

"Nature god decided to set an acolyte on Rae. I won," she explains, carefully.

(After more page-turning): "What happened to the other acolyte?"

Wince. "Dead," she explains succinctly. "He attacked a town. Hurt some people."

(Turn turn turn. Immersion is the best teacher but it's labor intensive.) "Are they okay?"

"Most. Two died, one's severely injured. Lots of others with minor injuries."

"Happen often?" Aya asks. Then she finds the sentence pattern she was having trouble locating: "Does this happen often?"

"No. Usually people are left out of it, too."

"Good."

Aya stays up a bit longer studying, then goes to sleep on the couch till dawn intrudes.

Aya decides to fix breakfast. She puts together something with oats and milk and dried fruit and sugar and makes enough for two.

"I think a week. I want to learn more Jorten."

Idania nods. "Sure. I can help you while I'm here if you have problems."

"Conversation practice helps," Aya says (she has to look up 'conversation', but not 'help' or 'practice'). "Just - talk, and I'll learn to hear the words right."

"All right! I'll keep going slowly, though. This is a strange and kind of fun way to have a conversation. Slowly and with pauses for looking things up."

"The pauses will be less over the week."

Aya has to look up 'nostalgic', and, ironically, 'dictionary'. "Maybe in a few years," she says. "When I am very eloquent."

Idania giggles. "You'll get there pretty fast, I think. Getting thrown into a place that speaks an entirely different language gives quite a 'sink or swim' mentality."

"Yes, this is faster than when I learned Sudre."

"You're picking up the grammar pretty well. I guess having a customized phrasebook from a magic bar helps, huh?"

(Page page) "It's only a little customized, but yes."

"Hey, a little customized is better than what people normally get. Usually it's a book that isn't customized at all or a teacher that is terrible at teaching."

"It's helping that I already know two languages."

"That too. Previous experience and practice at it helps. I doubt you can use Ancient Sudre to help with Jorten words, though."

"Yes. It's about how to organize the learning."

Idania nods. "Makes sense. Glad it's working! I don't know how I would say half of what I say in mime rather than speaking."

"I guess you'd say different things."

"I'd keep it simple if I had to speak in mime. None of my usual wit."

Idania giggles. "But I would get into miming after a while! Lots of large, extravagant hand gestures, head tilts, so on."

"You could use objects in your house."

"I could! It would be delightful, I would juggle them. While flying."

Aya takes this opportunity to learn "delightful", "juggle", and "flying". "That would not say much," she opines.

"No, but it would be really fun!"

"You could do it anyway."

"Then you'll be good at it."

"Yeah! Then I can show the trick to all of my friends."

"They will be so impressed."

"They will be. Who else can juggle while flying? Mostly because not many people can fly, but, whatever."

"Who else can fly, anybody?"

"Rae just has me as an acolyte, but there are other gods who grant flight. So other people can definitely fly."

"It's different things for each god?"

"Yeah. Based on personality and what they choose to grant. Gods pick an ability to gift to all of their acolytes. One per god. The acolyte I got into a grudge match with had something with plants that could turn them into constructs."

"Her acolytes do a thing that cures plagues and sickness. If I remember right. I might not be remembering it right."

"That's a good one."

"It's good for helping people and for getting followers. Not so much with self-defense. If Rae and Perinixu make an official alliance I will probably end up pulling double duty."

"Is it looking like they're going to?"

"Honestly it's hard to say! Right now they've agreed to not poach from each other and mostly leave each other alone. Past that, I dunno. She doesn't like some of the things Rae does, and vice versa. But they don't hate each other, and have a sort of - grudging respect thing going on."

"What doesn't he like of what she does?"

"If you don't fit in to the society she's got going, then you get basically ostracized. If you cause trouble, she's got some kind of blessed knights group to throw you out, in lieu of an acolyte. I mean, I get why, but it's kind of against Rae's 'if you can prove yourself then you are good with me' thing."

"She doesn't have an acolyte, or her acolyte isn't her bouncer?"

"She's got two acolytes, but they're not her bouncers. Seeing as how it's kind of hard to use 'cure plague' in an offensive sense."

"You could transport sick dangerous animals, then cure them in the middle of enemy camp."

"Yeees, but that's not really worth the trouble, it's easier to just bless a bunch of guys, hand them swords, and tell them to be threatening and punch people."

"Okay. What are blessings like?"

"Depends on the god. Usually they're useful but comparatively minor. The ones I have, for example mostly just make my life easier. If it's windy it won't send me off balance or screw up my person in any way. I can walk on hot sand barefoot no problem, I don't need to drink water as much as other people, I've got slightly enhanced reflexes for reactions and I'm flexible - that kind of thing."

"Nice deal."

"Very! They're basically guaranteed to always be useful in some way. Some people have managed to get blessings from multiple gods, it's not an either-or sort of deal. A lot of effort, but I guess it's probably worth it if you can pull it off."

"I guess the gods have to like each other?"

"Not necessarily like each other, but definitely not be at war like Varkalobitch and Rae are. They just have to not be snippy about their followers having a blessing from a god they don't like. I think if you travel to domains far enough away from each other that neither god has an opinion of or a reason to fight the other, it could work."

"And the blessings stay put forever?"

"Unless the god rescinds them, yeah. I think there are like - traces of the blessing left over after even if they do, but it's sort of a shadow of what it was. Acolyte specialness can't be taken back, though, that's why there are so few of them running around."

"That makes sense."

"Plus acolytes are the ones who can usurp their own god," says Idania, with the same distaste she had before. "So, another limiting factor."

"Have you ever known it to happen or have you just heard of it?"

"Well. I got acolytehood because someone tried to do it to Rae and he was basically powerless to stop them. So he grabbed me, gave me impromptu acolytehood, and set me on them. He was getting some blessed people to go do it, but the rogue acolyte was faster because of flying and kept hopping between temples and desecrating them."

Aya nods.

"So uh, yeah, it's a thing that can definitely happen."

"I believed you that it could, I wanted to know how common it is."

"Pretty uncommon, it's hard to pull off. I think there's a god out west who usurped? Can't remember her name, though."

"Raezenoth's lucky to have you, I think."

Idania smiles. "Thanks. I like being an acolyte, so I'm lucky to have him, too."

"Symbolism and a sign of trust. Walking barefoot's less hazardous to me than other people, but only because I'm his acolyte. But I still like having them, because I like walking, so it's still giving something up, it's not frivolous for me. So by giving them up I am saying 'You are important enough to me to give up a thing that I want due to circumstances you have given me that makes it viable.'"

Aya has to look up a lot of those words. "What happens to the offerings?" she asks.

"Some are re-purposed, gods have power but sometimes they need things, like money and shoes and stuff. But most of the time, the offering is - I don't know the word for it. Eaten? Destroyed? It gives more power but you lose whatever the offering was."

"It disappears?"

"Yes. That."

"I would have given something but I wasn't sure how to pick something, and I'm not sure how much margin of safety I have on what I brought with me." (Composing this sentence requires a lot of reference material, but she gets it out fluidly enough in the end.)

"It's entirely all right," says Idania. "You're not used to the system, and you kind of - just got used to having things for yourself. Kind of understandable, not immediately giving things up to a thing you haven't even met."

Aya nods, and glances at the tattoo on her heel, and smiles a little.

Idania doesn't know the significance of the tattoo, but she doesn't ask. "Actually if you're any good at crafts I know some people who do glass working and use Raezenoth's sand to make pretty things. It's really not a 'person with the most money wins forever and always' kind of thing."

"I don't know how to work with glass," says Aya. "I took dictation and cooked and cleaned and gardened and did laundry and ran errands and translated old books, that's most of what I know how to do."

"Hm. Okay, off of the top of my head from just those - write something to Rae, give that as an offering. It can be a story or what you think about him or - whatever you want, really. Cook something delicious and put aside a portion of it for him to give later. I think the - riches and splendor of the offerings altar gave you a bad impression of it, this is windy place and it is Rae's center of power, essentially. So there are pilgrims and sometimes they splurge."

"Interesting. I don't know about a story - I'm not an author - but okay. I can certainly make extra food."

Idania nods. "I think it's a pretty forgiving system, but then again, I grew up with it, so I guess I'm used to it by now."

"In Eseo people would mostly donate money to temples, not things, and usually posthumously or if they're particularly rich."

"Huh. If you don't have - obvious gods running around doing things, then why?"

"People think there are gods, and appearing to be favored by them, which mostly means being lucky, makes those people look good. And the people who work at the temples do some worthwhile charity work. If the old lady had freed me like she said she would I would have been able to stay at one while I saved money."

"She bought me when I was six. She said she was leaving me to myself in her will. She didn't."

"She was a bitch," says Idania, in a calm certainty. "And the world is better that she is gone."

"It could have been worse, but I do not miss her."

"Well, yeah, things can always be worse. It doesn't make what occurred good because it was less bad. She was still terrible for doing - any of that. I'd go spit on her grave if I could get to it."

"I mean - if she had never existed - it is likely that it would have been worse. Most people buying six year olds are worse. Staying on the farm would have been worse, in most ways, except I would have been with my parents. More than her would have to change to make it so my life was better."

"... Mm. Fair point. I suppose I don't know enough about a society wretched enough to support slavery to truly get what it's like. That it exists at all is a travesty."

Aya nods.

"If your door hadn't of opened into a magic I would have asked Rae to give me permission to go, he would have been all for it, and then there would have been consequences to their actions."

"There are a lot of slaveowners in Eseo, and some in some neighboring countries too."

"Then I would ask you to hold the door, grab as much holy sand as I could carry, dump it somewhere in your world and hope that's enough for Rae to get a foothold so we could tell people I free, 'Hey go pick up some flowers and rocks and stuff and give them to this guy and it'll help with freeing other people' and moved on from there. I do not like slavery. It would go away."

"I wouldn't stop you, certainly, that would represent an improvement."

Idania smiles a little. "I don't even know what I'd do after it went away. I guess go back to doing my normal thing, with the knowledge that Raezenoth's basically untouchable by other gods because he would be in another world."

"That would be interesting. I wonder if more gods would start popping up in my world if there was one to start it off, though."

"I don't think we'll be able to find out," shrugs Idania. "But maybe? I'm not sure if that would be considered a bad thing or not."

"Apparently some of them aren't as nice as yours."

"Yeah, there are some bad ones, but I'm pretty sure there are nicer ones, too. Most of them are just kinda bland, really. So I'm not sure if it's bad or not, it would depend on the ratio."

Aya nods. "I wonder how gods would interact with magics."

"Hmmm. No idea, they'd probably end up as dead-zones between domains if they did stuff to make the area desecrated or something. Then they'd just be the same, except gods would probably put huge walls around them because it would annoy them to lose followers to embroidery."

"There's fences around the known ones, for the most part. The one around the one I fell into broke."

"Oh, well. So not much would change at all, except maybe less breakable ones. That's very intelligent, I am surprised and impressed that your backwards and terrible society of slavery thought of it. No offense to you, of course."

"None taken," says Aya when she's translated this. "Sometimes people jump into magics on purpose, but mostly they're just dangers no one wants. I don't think it's the same kind of not-terrible to think of fencing magics and to think of manumitting slaves."