"So my priestess in Averell, who I specifically told to not cause trouble in my name, has started a slave revolt for me?"

Miras was the second priest of Ruyo, the dangerously inexperienced Goddess of Water. The heavily built man was deformed by his recent troubles with an earth spirit, giving him pig-like tusks among other changes. "I don't think she directly caused it, ma'am. The people I spoke with said they were inspired by her, not that she told them to act."

Ruyo and Miras were at the pond on the village's edge, near a carved stone cylinder that served as the local shrine to Ruyo. She said, "I do not need this right now. Was Tulia there in person?"

"I think she was on her way or had just left; they didn't make that clear."

"You two have never met, have you?"

"No."

Ruyo ran her hands through her long brown hair in frustration. She was about to curse Tulia out for starting problems, but maybe the revolt wasn't her fault. "I need to go investigate. Where exactly?"

"It's an empty part of the forest, northwest of here. They sent a messenger to me."

"Fine. I'll go. Do you have everything you need here?"

"For now, yes. I'm terribly sorry, ma'am."

"Not your fault. Do you have any idea what they want other than their own freedom? How many were there?"

"Dozens, maybe a hundred. They didn't seem to have much more than the clothes on their backs, so I'm not sure what they're eating."

Ruyo thanked him and went to the inn to retrieve her companions. There was Elly, the nimble cloaked girl with a bow, and Lisette, her sister. Both were dressed for trouble in what scraps of armor they'd been able to make at her base camp's forge. "I'm leaving in a few minutes for a side trip. Likely trouble. Are you willing to join me?"

"Of course," Lisette answered in the same low tone.

#

The three of them set off based on directions Miras had given. "You don't suppose this is a trap?" asked Elly, looking suspiciously around the forest.

"Supposedly they're on my side, just without my consent."

Hours of hiking later, just after they'd passed a winding creek and a distinctive boulder, Elly held up her hand and halted. She pointed to some branches overhead, and drew her bow.

Ruyo conjured a ball of water around each fist and shouted, "Come out, whoever you are!"

Lisette dropped her backpack, grabbed the spear attached to it, and got in front of everyone with that and a shield in hand. She'd been practicing this move.

A voice called down from the trees. "Is that her? Ruyo?"

"It is. What do you want?"

"We're comin' down!" Muffled thumps and rustling sounded as two men climbed down from a perch. They were haggard, dressed in the cheapest clothes; one had a bow and the other just a club, held at their sides. "Miss, we're glad to see you."

Ruyo said, "Where is Tulia?"

"I don't know. We've been waiting for hours. Come with us to the camp."

Ruyo shrugged toward the sisters, then dropped her spells and followed.

It was just minutes away: a swampy little valley with a lightning-blasted tree and a disused mining camp. The mine now consisted mainly of an overgrown clearing and neglected, unfinished cabins. The dozens of people here looked mostly like slaves of the low-end, manual labor kind who might be working in the sewers or stables of Averell. But some were more like Tulia, the personal servants of nobles and workmen who were dressed and fed better for their owners' benefit.

As Ruyo followed the sentries, the pair called out and got the group's attention. The people swarmed closer, curious and asking, "Is it you? Is she really a goddess? What's that floating thing?"

Ruyo said, "Hello. I am the Lady of Waters, here by request. What floating thing?" She looked where one man pointed, confusing his fellows; he was apparently able to see the ghostly bonfire called Pir.

Pir was a fire spirit floating next to Elly, and was normally invisible to almost everyone. It amused Ruyo that the discovery of an ancient fire spirit from a ruin was the least important thing on her mind right now. She shook her head and said, "I'll explain later. Anyway, what's going on here?"

A large man stepped forward and bowed. He was one of the better dressed folk. "Lady, I'm honored to finally meet you. Many of us haven't seen you before but we heard through your priestess about your power."

"Glad to hear it. And...?"

"We decided to walk out. The city can't do anything to us while they're trying to please you."

Ruyo's fists clenched. Nusina would be counseling her to not throttle these people, and to get or keep them as devout followers. Ruyo said, "What would you like me to do for you?"

"Set us free!" said one lady. "Protect us!" said another man. Someone in the back shouted, "Food!"

"There's only so much I can do right now. I haven't got a lot of power in Averell, nor enough prayers to feed everyone."

She felt ice in her gut. This situation was going to get bad very quickly, if they had no means to feed themselves besides turning themselves in... or using what few weapons they had to raid Sor's Hill or some other place. She quickly added, "Let me work on that for a moment."

She sat down and created a clean cloth to spread on the ground. Before she could start magically conjuring up bread, Lisette tapped her on the shoulder. "Ma'am, what do we do?"

Ruyo addressed the escaped slaves: "Did you have plans for what to do tomorrow?"

"We were waiting for you," said a man.

The large one who'd appointed himself leader spoke again. "We can pray in support of you, ma'am. Many of us have done it before."

"Doing that from just anywhere doesn't work, yet."

Elly said, "Then..."

Ruyo got the point right away. If she sent them along to Sor's Hill, specifically to hang around at the shrine there, she could probably keep them alive. The question was, should she give them that option instead of forcing them back home through starvation? She sighed. "Excuse me for a minute."

She got up and walked away from the camp with the sisters, leaving behind a worried group. When they were probably out of earshot, Elly murmured, "You're probably committing a crime if you help them at all."

"In Averell, anyway." Ruyo cursed quietly. "These people are asking for my help. I sympathize, but they've gone about it in a way that makes it hard for everyone."

Lisette said, "They're slaves. Do you expect them to meekly obey when there's someone who might help them?"

Elly looked surprised by her sister. "Ruyo can't solve every problem at once. She's got a lot going on."

More than you know, thought Ruyo.

She had to figure this one out herself. After a minute of thinking and pacing, she went back to the group. "If you travel to Sor's Hill and pray there each day, that will help empower me. Then I can provide food and a little cloth for tents. Right now that's my limit. Also, I'm not above the laws of Averell. While I can help you with your most basic wants, I can't yet shield you from the consequences of the walkout you just did."

The crowd looked confused, maybe betrayed. One woman said, "But you've preached against slavery. 'No gift...'"

No gift of Ruyo shall be used to keep people chained, save as just punishment, she had said.

"I didn't preach immediate abolition. Did Tulia? Where is she?"

The leader said, "We told her to join us, but she didn't. Maybe they caught her."

In a way that might be good news. It sounded like Tulia was not the one responsible for leading the charge.

A problem here was that Ruyo's powers could whip up food by magic, but only at shrines better equipped than the basic one in this village. Sor's Hill would be able to receive their prayer energy, but she'd need somebody to deliver the food from the better shrine at her headquarters, Wellspring. She did not want to harbor these fugitives at her new home. It wouldn't do anything to protect them, probably, and it'd worsen her status with Averell.

She said, "I need to reach the city to have any chance of helping you further. Do any of you have enough magic yet to provide clean water for everyone?" A few hands went up. Ruyo had personally granted them that power. "Good. Please be the wells. I'll save my strength to focus on supplies."

She got everyone moving in a few minutes, toward the village. The people of Sor's Hill were sure going to appreciate the influx of uninvited guests! But dozens of steady followers, some of them new, would help her. She estimated the drain on her mana from creating enough bread per day and some cloth.

"Is this going to help you overall?" asked Elly as they led the way.

Ruyo finished tallying cost estimates with her mind and fingers. "I think so, assuming they all pray. Not a big net gain but I can feed them. Also, there's sort of a long-term improvement with each new follower who prays even occasionally. Like becoming a 'well-known merchant' even if most people don't see me much."

While she walked, she practiced. She tried creating more food at a time, more standard loaves or a big one with a single spell. The rations she made were just bread in one of a few flavors, plain or vegetable-like or vaguely like oranges. Not something people wanted to eat every day, but tolerable. So Ruyo kept working. She needed to work on efficiency anyway. She passed each new batch of food back for the dozens of escapees.