A/N: Iermath of losing their transportation and supplies, Oren and Sophia o stop in aown...

  -x-X-x-

  “We’ll stop here for the night. Sleep in real beds for once.”

  Sophia jolts at Oren’s gruff words. It’s the first thing he says when they e into view of the own along the road. Not to say they did so swiftly or anything like that. Actually, it’s been days sihe Hill Giant attack. Days where Sophia had to admit… she’s began to grow rather weary hing it’.

  With so much of their supplies ruihey’d had to make do with what they had. Oren could hunt with the best of them thanks to his enhanced physicality and Otherworlder status, so they hadn’t gone hungry or anything like that… but it was still frustrating, especially with how low Sophia’s divine power was at this point.

  If she could just find a fortable pce to rest, say her refuge where she had all sorts of protes and knew she’d be safe from the God Hunters, then Sophia was fident she could regain her full power within a few days… a week at most! The issue was, they hadn’t really had that yet. It was just ohing after another, and trying to recharge anywhere but her refuge would likely just end with her drawing the God Hunters right to them.

  It was a bad situation that ultimately left her entirely reliant on Oren for… everything. She’d bee even more of a burden thahey’d first set out at this point, and she wasn’t ignorant of that fact either.

  As a Minoddess of Equity, Sophia felt it tearing at her very being to be using Oren in such a manner, knowing that no matter what small tris she might have for him at her refuge, she was ultimately going to e up short of all that she owed him at this point. A, as a Minoddess of Wisdom, Sophia knew full well that dismissing him from her service would only lead to her death. Her two domains tore her in opposite dires. Wisdom said she needed Oren to live… but she could never make their retionship equitable, not in a million years.

  That was all to say, as they approach the town of Oakvale, a slightly rger settlement than Amberwell had been, Sophia knows she should tell Oren they don’t o stop for the night here. She should tell him that they just resupply and then keep going, because deep down the goddess knows that he’s only stopping for her sake.

  After all, Oren isn’t eveely tired from their multi-day trek and their sleepless nights. The Otherworlder is as hale ay as ever. No, the only reason he’s stopping here… is for Sophia.

  By now, she’s realized Ore wao like him for some reason. It’d taken her far lohan it should have taken a Goddess of Wisdom to figure it out, but eventually it had clicked. He was a good maherworlder bodyguard. He was a good man with a good heart and a strong moral pass. A, for whatever reason, he wao push her away. He wanted her to despise him.

  Unfortunately for him, his heart kept flig with his mind. He would be short and gruff with her for hours, sometimes even days at a time, but in the end there would always be another moment of kindness, of , of empathy. Like this one.

  In the end, Sophia is weak. She doesn’t say a word as they approach Oakvale, instead giviacit approval of his pns. The idea of spending tonight in a real bed with a roof over their heads… it sounds fantastic.

  As, they barely make it into town itself before Sophia’s pns e crashing down around her head. The side of Oakvale that they’ve entered from is a marketpce of sorts and just as she’s envisioning a tavern-cooked meal with actual herbs and spices instead of more deer meat burnt haphazardly over a campfire… a voice rings out, cutting through her thoughts.

  “Oi! What do we have here? Religious iography?!”

  Both Sophia and Oren e to a stop as their heads whip in the dire of the falsely jovial tone. Fortunately, they aren’t the only ones who pause at the raised voice. A hush goes over the entire marketpce as everyourns towards the brewing altercation.

  God Hunters. Sophia b the sight of them. A group of men, armed and armored, crowd around one mert’s stall in particur. Most of them are fag outward, wearing openly hostile gres on their faces like they’re just daring ao try to intervene. One of them though… he’s fag inward and has his arm stretched over the ter and into the stall. From what Sophia see, he’s holding a neckce from around the stall owner’s neck, f the poor paling man to lean forward in order to avoid being choked.

  “N-No sir! It’s n-nothing! Just a little whittling my grandpa did ba the day! It’s a family heirloom Sir Hunter! Nothing more!”

  The God Hunter chuckles darkly, pulling the neckce up higher to study the carving in the sunlight. This iently gives Sophia a better look at it as well. It does indeed look man-made, far too imperfect to be anything but crafted by mortal hands. However, it also looks a lot like a Symbol of Power.

  Sophia had read about Symbols of Power up in the Heavens. They were often used by deities of the Mortal Pnes as ways for their followers to spread their influence. Either they hahem out to their followers… or they instructed their followers on how to make them.

  “Just a little whittling, huh? Nothing more, is that right?”

  “Y-Yes sir!”

  “Mhm… and tell me, what was the name of the God of the Forest near here again? What did you lot call him?”

  Sophia grimaces, immediately reizing the trap for what it is. Unfortunately for the mert, he’s in a deep, deep panic. He’s answering quickly without thinking, hoping that by ag the part of a toady, he make the God Hunters go away.

  “B-Bormus, sir!”

  The already quiet marketpce gets even quieter. Eveall owner freezes up, realizing he’s fucked up. A cruel, wicked grin spreads across the God Hunter’s face. It’s… flimsy at best. Absurdly so. If there had been a God of the Forest near here, then everyone would know his name, not just its worshippers. Even if the God Hunters had killed him, his name would still live on in the memories of Oakvale.

  But the God Hunters don’t operate on logic or reason. Sophia tenses up, expeg to see a man die any moment. The God Hunter will use his knowledge of the god’s name as a sign of guilt and will strike him dht here and right now. She doesn’t see another way this ends. Except… that doesn’t happen. After a long silent pause, the God Hunter chuckles and eves go of the man and his neckce.

  “Well. Just a family heirloom then. No harm, no foul.”

  The mert looks like he barely believe his luck. His hand goes to the carving around his neck, even as he swallows nervously and nods hurriedly.

  “Y-Yes sir. Nothing m-more than that. Thank you s-si-!”

  “Burn it.”

  The God Hunter’s harsh voice cuts the other man off on the spot. For a moment, the stall owner looks like he doesn’t uand.

  “I… I beg y-your pardon sir?”

  Stepping back from the market stall, the God Hunter points to the ground at his feet.

  “e out here, pce it on the ground, and burn it.”

  Wheher maates, the God Hunter drops his hand to the pommel of the sword at his side.

  “Now.”

  Slowly, shaking, the mert es out from behind his stall. He clutches at the neckce like a lifeline.

  “A-Ah… p-please sir… it’s just a simple carving. I-!”

  “It is religious iography carved in worship to the dead god Bormus. Such things are illegal in Oakvale. Now, judging by ye, yrandfather has long passed, so no judgment be rendered upon him. And if what you say is true, you did not know… so no judgment will be rendered upon you either. All you must do is prove yourself. By burning the religious iography.”

  Such base cruelty. Sophia trembles with emotion as she watches the stall owner slowly pull off the neckd set it down on the grouween him and the God Hunter.

  “I… I do not have a way to start a fire, Sir Hunter.”

  With a wide smile on his face, the God Hunter pulls a flint and steel from one of the pouches at his waist.

  “That’s alright my good man! I have them right here.”

  Everyone in the market watches as the mert, trying not to cry, kneels down with the flint and steel and carefully lights the wooden carving on fire. It takes a few tries, but when the God Hunter looming over him makes a noise of impatien the back of his throat, the man hurries up and quickly gets it done.

  The God Hunter lets the small bze burn away at the carving for a couple minutes before bringing his boot down hard. Snuffing out both the fme and crushing the weakened wooden Symbol of Power under his boot, he shifts his foot bad forth a few times before letting out a boisterous ugh and yanking the mert up from his knees by his shoulders.

  “There we are! Good man! A good, prod-hating man! Well done! Well done!”

  The God Huakes his flint and steel back, and then he and his patriots walk away. Slowly, movement in the marketpce picks up again and while some tinue shooting pitying looks over at the despo stall owner, most just go back to their business. Almost like this was a daily occurrence for them.

  It strikes Sophia then that it probably was. Oakvale was bigger than Amberwell. Not big enough to have its own fighting pit… but perhaps big enough to have its own squad of God Huationed here.

  Turning to Oren, she grabs him by the arm, leaning in close to whisper to him.

  "W-We ’t stay the night… they’ll surely discover us. We have to keep going.”

  Oreates for a moment, staring at the sm remnants of the neck the ground. Then, he shakes his head.

  “No. We’ll just keep our heads down. The we got in Amberwell was one of the things we didn’t lose iack, so we don’t have to draw attention to ourselves earning anymore. We’ll simply resupply, get a room in a tavern, and hunker down for the night. They’ll never knoere here.”

  Sophia shivers. He sounds so fident and really, she wants to believe him. Especially because of all the aforementioned reasons for not wanting to spend anht uhe stars. But… she has a premonition about all of this. Something is going to g. She just knows it.

  In the end though, Sophia just bites down on her words and slowly nods her head in agreement. Together, they move to buy new bags and fill them with the things they need. Sophia lets Oren do the talking, afraid to draw any attention to herself at this point. Better to be as much of a wallfloossible ahe ugly brown garments that Oren picked out for her ba Amberwell do the heavy lifting.

  Before long, they find themselves entering a tavern without i. Oren had been smart enough to ask some subtle questions about the God Hunters. Sophia’s assumption was right, they were staying in town and operating out of the mayor’s house. The mayor, who was now dead and who’s entire family had been killed for worshipping the God of the Forest.

  It sent a shiver down Sophia’s spine, but there didn’t seem to be anything they could do about it. Oren agreed too, because he’d picked out the tavern further from the mayor’s house. Withiy mihey had a room and even had permission to eat in private, taking bowls of a delicious smelling soup upstairs and log themselves away in the process.

  “Are we getting close?”

  Sophia blinks as Oren finally breaks the silence just as she’s bringing a spoon full of soup to her lips. She quickly slurps it down, swallowing thickly before responding.

  “What… uh, what do you mean?”

  ives her a look.

  “Your hideaway. Are we almost there? You said it would take only a week to reach it.”

  Sophia does her best not to flinch at that. She may have been fibbing ever so slightly back when she gave that time frame. Funnily enough though, Oren has made something of an ho woman of her. Between the horse and the blistering pace he’s set, they’re actually a lot closer than Sophia would have expected to be at this point.

  “… Still f-four days on foot… faster if we get another horse. Its North of here. The st time I was on the Mortal Phe road ended a couple days North and there was a great big boulder about thirty minutes past the road’s end. We tur at the boulder and walk for ahirty minutes and we’ll be at the cave I hid with my divine power and made into my little home away from home.”

  She falls quiet at this, hoping that he won’t ask her about the reward she’d promised him. By her father, she hopes he doesn’t ask about that. She has things to offer him of course, she wasn’t being pletely disho… but they’re baubles at best.

  ives her a long look, ohat Sophia avoids. Finally…

  “Alright the up a well. We’ll depart at first light.”

  Sophia nods and focuses on her meaty soup. First light robably prudent, given there were God Hunters in town. Fortunately it seemed like Oren had been right. Keeping their heads low and not drawing any attention to themselves was w just fine. So far they were just a pair of travelers passing through. No more, no less.

  The soup is amazing. The bed even more so. Sure, it doesn’t hold a dle to her aodations up in the Heavens, but with each passing day those feel like more and more of a faded memory, or maybe a very good dream she once had. This bed, for all its lumps and hard spots, was the best bed she’d had in days.

  As she drifts off to sleep, a small smile spreads across Sophia’s face. Maybe… maybe everything was going to be alright after all.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Damn it Sophia, you just had to go and jinx it didn't you?

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