"Okay. -'Raavi?"

"Yes, I saw."

"Al right. - He might be able to track it down anyway, knowing what to look for. Trying to convert you is one thing, that's something else again."

"An all too common something, yes."

"Yeah. Well, we have some amount of leverage, there aren't many domains that're entirely self-sufficient, and we can always warn people off if we can't stop it. And hopefully this one won't be that bad."

Zero shrugs. "I suppose there's always hopefully."

"They behave themselves a little better when somebody else's acolyte is around, too - I would've guessed closer to one in fifty than one in eight. We'll probably be fine."

He nods, and rubs his wrist.

"I suspect being an avowed atheist with no other deity to claim me has also rather hurt my chances."

"Can't've helped, yeah." She checks the fish, adjusts how it sits over the fire.

"So anyway, why this one? I get that you're doing a tour, but you could've gone anywhere, why here?"

"According to what I've heard, Liandrasivia is a Goddess of law and order. God-queens are fairly common, but ones that take more than a symbolic role in government are rarer. I'm interested in the effects of deities on their domains, and she seems the type to be remarkably different from her neighbors. She appeals to people who want a place in the world, and I'm perhaps the definition of rootless, so there's an element of... testing my lack of faith? That sounds correct."

"Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll stick around and see how it goes."

"Perhaps I'll actually be slightly safer." 

"It can hardly hurt, hmm? Even if it is just me."

"Just you watch, now it'll turn out she has a pathological aversion to travelling acolytes."

"Yeah, that's possible, I suppose, this far out. Still not very likely, though, most gods are pretty decent."

Zero smiles sardonically. "It's always the one in a hundred chance that gets you."

"We'll see. I can always leave if it won't help. Anyway, soup's up."

Zero's smile turns more thoughtful as he retrieves his own plate. "I will grant that you're one of the best cooks I've met. A solid sort of skill."

"Mmhmm. You don't get anywhere neglecting practicalities." Nom. "And that's an advantage of this lifestyle, lots of opportunities to learn from different people."

"I would never have thought of that," Zero deadpans.

"If you'd rather skip the small talk, I can do that." Nom.

"No, no, that's fine. I suppose I'm just a little on edge myself."