In the morning, Elly woke up ravenous and grateful. While devouring bread and oranges and delicious roast squash with Ruyo, she said, "My best bet is to talk with Magus, over in Starshore. I like her and she knows lots of theory. Got to get yet another shrine over there too. Or go back to Sor's Hill to activate that one."

Ruyo said, "Welcome to my world. You don't have to travel with me, you know."

"It's probably a good idea until I can go eight hours without a nap. So let's move on."

Once they'd had that chance to speak privately, Ruyo opened the doors and met up with the rest of the entourage, guards included. "We're going to Starshore for training and another shrine. Who's coming, and when's the next boat downriver and the next ship south?"

There were also Averell officials there, some mid-ranking clerk and the daughter of a minor Councilman. Finally there was Nadia, a commoner woman who'd served as a body double for Ruyo. She stepped forward, not wearing her disguise. "Tulia and I have been talking, and I'm ready to take over the message-sending job at this church with the Council's permission."

"That's fine. Thank you again for your help in that ambush. You stuck your neck out for the city-state and I hope they remember that."

"I'm glad to be back."

Ruyo nodded, and turned again to the officials. "So, the ship?"

The clerk said, "The Anemos family would like to study Lady Elly's powers and make sure there's a trained group of night-elemental casters before she goes."

Ruyo sighed and turned to the Witch Hunters. "Save us, will you?"

Their chief blinked. "This really is important business. Both of your patrons will be back soon with more power to hand out. The more smoothly this trip goes, the better they'll be able to be useful to you."

"What he said," Elly added.

#

For now the city only pushed Elly into granting her magic to one other person. But she visited Virid on the way out and blessed him too, making him one of the world's first users of her element. The boy looked thrilled by the gift, quickly learning to make the shadow-orb float and drift in ways that Elly herself hadn't mastered. "I'd come along," he groused, "But the whole family vetoed it until I'm a little older. Good luck out there, you two!"

Ruyo made sure he and a few of the staff were caught up on the latest level of her own powers. "How go your studies?"

"I'm practicing a lot, Miss Ruyo. Especially at the construction idea and self-defense. Maybe we can work together soon."

"I'd like that! At this level you should be able to breathe water, too, but make sure somebody's there to fish you out. I had trouble learning that trick."

The group continuing east included Ruyo and Elly, Nusina and the other spirits, Tamur, Roland, and the four westlanders. And of course, the guards. The city arranged a departure that evening on a small barge where they could all rest in tiny cabins.

Tamur said to Ruyo, "The guards mentioned there was a hat-maker who stopped by. You missed him."

Ruyo shook her head. Poor guy! She'd meant to speak with the cheerful haberdasher again, but there'd been a war and a stabbing and the rise of a new goddess. Nor had she done much trading in person, or met with her handful of other contacts in the city.

"Next time," she said.

#

While traveling, she summoned more supplies to appear at the Wellspring shrine. The continual supply of iron, lead, wood and food should help keep the people there alive and building. She made a note to ask about the printing-press project they'd largely abandoned since being away at war.

There was a commotion that night. Ruyo woke up and went to the boat's railing to find sailors with pikes in hand, shouting to scare off a cluster of glinting eyes and bulky shadows. The boat had stopped for the night.

"Gators?"

"Yes, ma'am. We saw 'em coming; we're safe enough."

She watched, her eyes adjusting to the gloom. "Nusina, are you around?"

She zipped into view. "Yes?"

"Do you think you could fly over to them? Bring them this." She created a small canvas sheet, then filled it with a pile of bread and tied it loosely.

One of the sailors said, "You shouldn't give them food. Gives them ideas."

"Gives me an idea. Nusina, I should be able to outrun them, right?"

"Please be careful. I'd tell you this is a bad idea, but --"

Ruyo smiled and ruffled her splashing form. "Overruling you this time, droplet. It's worth some risk."

Over the sailors' objections, she hopped down from the boat and landed on the surface of the dark river. She conjured a ball of blue light to help her see. The intruders were on the muddy banks a stone's throw away.

The gator-men hissed and drew back. Ruyo snapped her fingers and Nusina floated toward them carrying the bundle of bread, setting it down between them.

Ruyo called out, "I won't hurt you."

They were naked but for crude straps of reeds or tendon that held stone knives and unidentifiable things. One of the beasts stepped toward her and opened its jaws, hissing.

Ruyo hissed right back.

It stared at her and snorted, unimpressed.

Nusina said, "What are you trying to do, anyway?"

"I see one with a nasty-looking cut. Put a light on that one, will you?"

Nusina hovered over that gator. Its scales were pale and one of its legs showed signs of infection. Caught in the spotlight, it looked frantically around and the others stepped away.

Ruyo tried walking toward it and the other gators backed off. Her footsteps on the water carried her up onto the mud without her sinking into it. Slowly she reached for the wounded leg. "Call out if this guy tries anything."

The gator fidgeted but let her study its bad leg. She could feel it glaring down at her, its breath humid and foul, and its fellows watching from nearby. She tried to push those thoughts aside and trust Nusina. As she'd done with a wounded animal seemingly ages ago, she held her hands near the infection and seized hold of it without touching. A foul stream of yellow-green pus flowed out. She could sense what part of the fluid didn't belong and how to cast it aside. Then, she reached for the creature's scales.

"Careful!" Nusina said from above. Ruyo glanced worriedly up but the gator wasn't attacking her.

Ruyo touched the wound, drawing a pained hiss, and sent a spell into the unfamiliar flesh. It wasn't quite like anything she'd handled before but she managed to apply the basics of healing to it anyway. In the strange shadows cast on them from above she watched pale flesh and scales begin to knit themselves together.

The gator loomed down and she looked up, unable to ignore the long toothy snout pointed toward her head. Slowly she began to back away.

With equal care the gator reached out with one arm and touched her shoulder. Its claws were surprisingly blunt and it pulled away again without harm. Around her, the other gators had gone dead quiet.

Ruyo backed up to where the bag of bread lay on a relatively solid patch of mud. "Yours," she said, and pointed.

A sailor called out, "You done over there?"

"Uh, yeah. Coming." Ruyo left the staring gator tribe and climbed back onto the barge. The crew, too, looked confused.

Ruyo shrugged. "I'm not sure if that did anything, but we might end up with another shrine out in the swamp."

"They're just monsters," said a crewman.

"Not quite, I think. And hey, there's been a proposal to train them to fight for you. Wouldn't that be good?"

But really, she'd rejected that idea, at least in the specific way some of the lords wanted to do it. After her encounter with a more organized tribe of the beastmen, she had the sense that these creatures might appreciate her friendship.