They left town the next day. Elly's guards pointed out that she needed to visit Sor's Hill, but she insisted that the delay would be fine. Virid had managed to talk his family into letting him come along, so long he stayed out of any ruins this time.

The trip by ferry was short, going downstream with a boost by Ruyo and the others. From there they caught a small ship north along the coast, beyond Follyport and Trueharbor. They approached the east-west mountain range that marked the official border with Khyber. And with that, in this corner of the southlands, they found a town in ruins.

The navy of Khyber had raided the coast. Just to the south, in Trueharbor, their ships and marines had damaged the buildings and sunk a ship of cookware. Here on the border though, Ruyo stared at charred fields, smashed barns, and a harbor where the broken wharves stood idle. Surface currents showed the whole harbor jammed with sunken wrecks.

Elly, standing on the deck beside her, was the first to speak. "They didn't tell me it was this bad."

Ruyo's hands tightened on the railing. "I should've investigated sooner. I spent days playing at being a performing bard and taking a break."

Nusina said, "We were all busy, milady, even during that 'break'. We can't be everywhere."

"We're here now, at least. Let's see how we can help."

"How about if I take a dive to see the shipwreck situation?"

"Good thinking, but come back quickly to help us make our grand entrance."

Ruyo waited for the ship to dock, so as to not upstage Elly. But that meant anchoring well outside the harbor and getting into a rowboat that could pass the wreckage.

"That has to be crippling trade," Ruyo said, speeding the boat along. They carried a few small boxes of medicine from Averell. A big-armed sailor had decided to ignore the oars and just chip in with Ruyo's wave spell.

Elly's guards were coming in the next boat. Elly relished the moment of privacy. "Ruyo, I completely agree about not letting the Witch Hunters use me as a weapon. But I do need some kind of combat ability. I haven't had much practice with a bow lately."

"Elementals?"

"Haven't had much luck yet. And hitting someone with the 'nightfog' is about as mighty as a pillow. But I want to avoid being defined as a death and destruction gal."

"Something with mobility, maybe? Hop around, flit between shadows. Get your keepers to give your bow back."

"Maybe."

They got out at a makeshift dock, where sullen men knew they had to stand around to do work but didn't have enough of it to keep busy. Behind them an honor guard of ten spearmen approached, flanking a group of colorful nobles.

Ruyo curtseyed to the dock men and said, "Thank all of you for your hard work. Before we get pulled away, is anyone hungry?"

One of them laughed bitterly. "Who isn't?"

Ruyo conjured a cloth, had someone hold it, and filled it with bread. The workers looked quietly impressed, but now the nobles were arriving and the spearmen brushed them aside. The sailor dumped the medicine boxes on the dock and started back to the ship.

At the delegation's head was a sharp-faced man in scarlet, with a gold chain holding his cloak on. Before he'd opened his mouth Ruyo marked him as a relative of the cult leader, from the "university" that had been kidnapping and burning and --

Elly put a hand on Ruyo's shoulder, breaking her train of thought.

The nobleman bowed. "I am Vincent Mendrettos, and I'm honored by your presence. You must be Lady Ruyo, Goddess of Water, and Lady Elinor, Goddess of Night." The people beside him looked uncomfortable at how directly he granted the titles.

Ruyo gave them a slight bow in return. "Yes. With me is my friend Nusina, the Sage of Ancient Seas." She gave the spirit a mental poke.

Nusina rose from the harbor in a cloud of water and splintered wood, shaking it off in a dramatic display. She flared visibly in blue-green and moved to hover beside Ruyo. "At the service of all good people of the southlands."

Vincent's eyebrow twitched. The spirit had been directly involved in the ruin of his family's reputation. And now Ruyo recognized the man at his right, a younger brother of the cult leader. That one had violently raided the ship carrying the leader and his two worst accomplices north for trial. Ruyo had driven him off and witnessed the hanging of the three prisoners.

The younger man spoke carefully, rehearsed. "Lady Ruyo. I apologize for my past conduct. I can't fault what you did. I hope that you can put our family's actions aside for the sake of our city, because we need your help. I... I'm Octavo, by the way."

Ruyo was thinking that she didn't know the names of everyone who'd been mauled or killed over the Inheritors' actions. Nusina didn't need to skim Ruyo's thoughts to guess that. Ruyo got a mental rap on the knuckles. "Milady."

Ruyo nodded and took a deep breath, reminded to be civil. "Yes. I hope we can work together." She glanced toward Elly.

Elly stammered and coughed. "I'm pleased to be here. I had an exciting time helping Lady Ruyo with... recent events. Great training."

Nusina silently sighed. "I'm going to need to coach her too."

Ruyo said, "So. I'm sorry not to have come sooner. How can I help?"

Vincent's posture relaxed slightly. "As you must've seen, the harbor is choked by debris. We pray to have that dealt with. Speaking of which, we've built you a simple temple after consultation with our sister cities. Would you like to activate it? Third, we've lost a lot of crops and our mining operations have been disrupted. Anything you can do to keep us afloat while we rebuild would help."

Ruyo was impressed. The noble had made sure Ruyo wasn't the one to bring up the subject of demanding worship, and he'd acted as though the harbor problem weren't painfully obvious to the water goddess arriving by sea -- thus telling the elite crowd around him that the job was by his request, and worth "paying" for.

The Witch Hunter guards were coming, sped along by magic too. Ruyo spared them a glance and said, "Let's get started then. But we have a few companions along. Is there someplace for them to stay?"

"I can make room at my manor, or if you prefer, any of the other families would be happy to take you in."

One of the other nobles wore the usual blue of a water mage. "Hello, Lady Ruyo. I'd love to offer you space, especially if we can talk about magic. I'd like to meet you too, miss spirit."

"Staying at your place might be best," Ruyo said.

#

The city-state of Port Desire was a jack of all trades. A military outpost, a port, a mining region due to being near the Summer Mountains on the border, and farmland. All of these had suffered in the short war. Where Ruyo had helped out one village in the hinterland of Trueharbor, there were several here that'd been razed or looted before the southlander troops had driven the enemy off.

"It's a mess," murmured Elly, looking shaken by the thin look of the townsfolk. Some were refugees from the villages, crowding the slums and plazas with little to do. Elly's guards gave everyone suspicious looks.

"Ssh. We'll work on it."

The Temple of Ruyo, as their noble escorts called it, was brand new. It stood on the still-charred site of a former warehouse on the shore: a three-story structure of magically worked concrete, painted in blue waves. Its profile was a simple rectangular tower, with slitted windows and with the city's scarlet and grey flag on top.

The blue-clad nobleman was elderly, but sounded young when he spoke. "We'd heard there was some benefit to building it next to water, but we also wanted to save shore space, so that led to the tall design. Designing a building to channel magic is a new field, and a fascinating one."

Ruyo gave him a smile. "My very first shrine has a vertical layout. Let's see inside."

The temple was built with the skill and luxury of military engineers. The walls stood straight and strong. The ground floor held a wave-wrapped altar column with a sort of moat built around it. The ceiling was a single arched vault, and a locked door led to a wooden staircase. The second and top floors were bare, with a smell of dust mingled with the harbor air. The architect guide said, "I assume you'll use these for office space and living quarters. Please forgive the simplicity."

"You built this while trying to recover from a battle. Did someone do a consecration ritual?"

"I did, Lady."

Elly said, "Echo, echo!" and heard her voice bounce off the walls.

Ruyo said to Nusina, "It's fine by me. Any spy devices or other comments?"

Nusina faded from mortal sight and went exploring. "I don't see any problems, and like you said, they didn't have time for anything fancy. I would like to see your followers break the minimalist trend once things settle down, though."

Ruyo walked down to the altar and laid hands on it. "I accept this."

The building shook gently and shimmered in blue-white, startling their escorts. Elly's eyes widened too. "It's interesting to see the startup process done by someone else."

"I learned a bit from watching you do your magic-granting. First time I'd seen anybody else do that."

The water mage clapped his hands. "Excellent. So we can offer prayers here now and they'll have a useful effect? I'm eager to have my household get your powers. If you'll allow it."

Ruyo said, "You're eager to have commoners using magic like you? That's a little surprising."

"The world is changing, Lady. People like me have monopolized magic talent largely by luck. That can't go on. So, I want the people loyal to me to also be powerful."

"Fair enough. I can demonstrate right away if you want firsthand proof. And don't ignore Elly. For a lot less effort than you put in for me, you can get started with a whole new magic element."

The noble nodded politely to Elly. "Maybe soon."