After he finished proselytizing to the men that had tried to rob him he made his way to the Human Stable. He stepped inside to find that while it was busier than it had been in the past, it wasn't so full that he was worried about getting a room. Perhaps he was lucky and the off-putting name of the inn and tavern had saved him the trouble. He didn't see Ollie, which didn't surprise him given the other man's plans at the Rose. He walked up to the aelven proprietor who smiled just a bit too wide as she looked at him with eyes a single shade off from black.

"Welcome human, are you looking for feed today or just a kennel to sleep in?"

Michael shook his head, this was the kind of thing he was sure a number of humans back on Earth would likely pay for.

"Both Aethersan, and can you drop the act? I healed your Aunt earlier today."

"You're no fun, but okay. Mutton, bread, and greenroot okay?"

"That would be great, thank you."

She nodded and slipped back to the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a freshly heated plate and a mug of ale that she didn't make him pay for. He tucked into his meal and watched as various people came in and out. A few times he was interrupted for a quick healing, but he didn't mind. He finished sealing a terrible sore on a man's leg and told him to thank the divine instead of him before getting a room key and heading up to get some early sleep.

Ollie stumbled into the room reeking of all things sinful a few hours later and fell asleep sprawled out across the well worn rug in the center of the room.

Michael left him there to sleep while he went into town for some breakfast and to pick up his equipment from Gurndan. After he returned, he found Ollie awake, clean, and ready to go, surprising him.

"I'm going to be honest, I was expecting to dunk cold water on you this morning."

"And you were probably looking forward to it too."

Michael smiled and shrugged, not hiding it.

"Couldn't sleep very well, got too used to being in a tent."

Michael nodded sympathetically. "I understand that. I was struggling with how soft the bed was a bit too."

They gathered their things and made their way out of Southwind.

"We're going to have to choose to go through Broan or try to slide around the border of the Lake of Beasts to get to Old Hume," said Michael.

"What's Broan's stance on takers?" asked Ollie, using his staff to scratch his back.

"Enslaved on sight according to what I was able to ask about over the last few days."

"Did you have time between the prayers and shilling the divine?"

"I somehow found some time."

"So the question is if we want to deal with people or monsters. Fuckin a."

"If we go around the lake we should be able to avoid having to bribe or talk our way through border crossings into both Broan and Old Hume. Broan's roads would probably be quicker though."

"What if you just walk across the lake?" asked Ollie.

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"What?"

"Come on, all the blessings you've gotten so far and you can't even walk on water yet? The gods are slacking."

Michael sighed.

"I could walk on water. Just a bit of magicka and some words, and bam I'm the second coming."

"You'd just have to figure out the small detail of getting back to Earth."

Ollie shrugged. "Just a minor roadblock."

They walked a bit longer.

"I think Broan would be better," said Ollie.

"Oh?"

"The Lake has only gotten more dangerous, and it wasn't safe to begin with. We don't have the others to trade watches with, or to watch out backs in the thick of the woods. We have nothing on the outside marking us as takers, so as long as we avoid diviners we should be able to travel safely. You can tell who a diviner is right?"

Michael nodded.

"Then as long as we stay on guard we should be able to travel the most safely that way. You can't exactly save the world if you're dead, eh?"

Michael nodded. "That makes sense to me… except for the fact that you're the one who said it."

"Hey, I'm a practical guy. I just usually let you and Marcus figure this shit out. It was easier to just go along for the ride."

"Broan it is then. I'd like to travel to the hidden village first though, let them know the new names of the gods that I've found and warn them of what I've learned."

"This is the village you and Pyotr visited? He told me some stories… I think we should definitely make it a priority to visit.

Michael laughed, he could guess exactly the stories that Pyotr had told him.

They stayed on the road they were on for a few days, it would divert toward the Hidden Village once they were closer to the lake. They had passed a few active Swandian patrols, some of which seemed to have been fortified by recruits from the villages that had so recently been evacuated.

They began to work their way into the brush halfway through the day. A lot of the foliage had grown back, but the signs of his and Pyotr's previous trek were still there. This time, with Ollie's magic, they were able to carve their way through the brush much more quickly. It was a little disconcerting watching branches and leaves just fall as they were invisibly cut from their path, but he'd much rather deal with the discomfort of that then cut through all of it himself.

Eventually they reached the small path into the village, but Michael hesitated. Something was wrong. He could see further across the path that one of the pitfalls had been triggered, but not restored. He carefully walked, keeping a look out for other traps as he made his way toward it, before peeking downward.

Inside he saw two dead horned men impaled on sharp stakes. He gestured for Ollie to take a look and once he did he began to grasp his staff in both hands and cycle his Magicka, keeping it ready for casting. They both cast a quick muffle spell on themselves before they started moving again.

They made their way further along the path and found several more traps that had been triggered. Lizardmen impaled by darts launched from the treeline, horned men crushed by falling logs, and mixtures of both that had tripped into yet more pitfall traps. As they got closer to the village the bodies looked to be peppered with crossbow bolts. A bit beyond that, they found their first human corpse.

Michael knelt beside it. It looked as if the body had been there for at least a couple of weeks. He placed a hand on her head, the stench and feel of it not affecting him so much as the death itself.

"I'm sure Bruntus has already rewarded your sacrifice, but I'll pray for you anyway." He stood and kept walking forward until he and Ollie reached the border of the village. They didn't hear any struggling, but Michael held up a hand anyway and they began carefully working their way around the perimeter. There were more corpses, of both rift monsters and villagers, but the human corpses were very few. In the center of the village, the beautifully wrought statue of Bruntus had been dragged down onto the ground and shattered.

Eventually they saw a group of ten or so horned men and three of the small lizardfolk. They were turning meat on the same spit that the villagers had made Michael barbecue on, and when he looked closer it became unmistakable that they were cooking one of the villagers corpses. He wasn't sure if they were cooking one of the old bodies, or a fresh one. If it was fresh that might mean they had the remaining living villagers corralled somewhere. The thought of that set Michael's teeth on edge. He reached a hand for his mace and readied his shield.

Ollie grabbed his shoulder and shook his head, holding up his hand.

Michael nodded, trusting him.

The Australian crouched low, which was a difficult thing for his height, and circled around a bit more before breaking out of the brush. He leapt up, and was gently carried up onto the roof of one of the buildings. He stayed low on the roof as he moved forward a few more feet, then he stayed still for a few moments. Michael guessed he was preparing a powerful spell.

His assumptions were proved correct when Ollie stood and pointed his staff at the gathered group of rift monsters. A fireball launched from its tip.

"Burn," was all Ollie said as he cast the spell.

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