Sara decided to wait in front of the statue in the glade. Maybe that was showing off a little. Honestly she felt a little excited to see Mirielle again. It might be a discriminatory thought, but having a conversation with a person felt different from talking to a mob.
Now if only they could have an actual conversation... could the Tree Form talk, maybe? Probably not... at least not so long as she wasn't able to do so herself. At least that was what made sense to her, but she could test it out later.
Mirielle's familiar mana signature was going sideways, and then turned to head right towards Sara. That was probably where the entry to the path was.
My tail isn't wagging, is it? No. Good.
It occurred to her that Mirielle was moving pretty quickly, and sure enough, when she came into sight she was running again. Though she wasn't sprinting this time, more like a jog. She wondered if working out had any benefit in this world. Like, just working out for the sake of working out, not to raise a skill, or anything. It didn't seem like you got bonus stats just from doing strenuous things, but there might be a difference between how many Stamina Points you had, and what your actual stamina was like. It hadn't affected Sara much so far, but that could be because she had the body of a mob.
"Good morning, Sara!" Mirielle sounded a bit winded.
Sara was about to write an answer, until she saw the ground around her. The entire glade was covered in grass, and pretty white flowers. There was nowhere to write.
Ugh... I should have gone to meet her on the road.
"Did I keep you waiting?" Mirielle asked.
Sara shook her head.
"Did you talk to the wolves?"
She nodded.
"What did they say?"
Finally a question she couldn't answer with body language. Her posture sagged a little.
"D-did they turn you down?" Mirielle sounded worried, and then suddenly went "Whoa!" before quickly clasping her hand over her mouth.
Sara gave her a curious look, but then just started walking past Mirielle, towards the road, trying to signal for the elf to come along.
"You want me to follow you?"
She nodded, and walked a little faster. Not too fast, she didn't want to tire the elf out since she might still be catching her breath. Once they finally reached some dirt on the path, she quickly wrote:
"Can't write on grass. Have to go to road."
"Oh! Right!" Mirielle understood, and they headed out on the road proper.
"That was awkward," Sara wrote. "I didn't think far enough ahead."
"That's okay," Mirielle assured her. "Not being able to speak has to be inconvenient."
"Yes." Sara sighed. "I do have an idea, if it would be possible for you to bring something to write with, and write on next time. Do you know what a chalkboard is?"
"Yes, we have them in the school. But how do you know what a chalkboard is?" A valid question.
"It's something I know from my previous life, but that's not important right now," Sara answered nonchalantly. "If you have a portable one that I can write, and erase on, then I'll be able to write wherever."
"Okay." Mirielle looked like she wanted to ask questions, but instead said: "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you. You asked about the wolves," Sara wrote. "They are willing to stop attacking your people, though we have some conditions. I sort of ended up becoming their boss."
"Yes, I... uh..."
"You saw my Status?"
"Er... yes..." Mirielle said awkwardly. "I didn't know you were aware what that is..."
"My saviour, and creator gave me some gifts when they placed me in this world. Being able to use Identify is one of them. Though you wouldn't be able to see that, since I am also able to hide my abilities, but we should talk more about that later."
"You know your creator? And it's not the Moon Goddess?" Mirielle couldn't stop herself from asking.
Sara thought it was a good opportunity to spread the word a little. "No. My god is named Norax. They are the god of good fortune." She wasn't lying, but she was withholding a few things. She was trying to tailor the narrative a little, and not bring up Aina. "I do not know if they are connected to the Moon Goddess, but they told me there are several gods in this world."
"Um... yes, that is correct," Mirielle confirmed. Even if she was with one Temple, it was probably impossible to not be aware that each nation had their own.
"I was given permission to talk to you more about my gifts, but I want to get the negotiation out of the way first. The wolves agree to not attack your people, so long as you also do not attack us. But you are not the only ones who come into this forest. The Adventurers also come, and we cannot know at a glance who are coming to attack us, and who are not. So we would like there to be some symbol you can wear if you have friendly intent. Preferably something that is both easy to see, and has a clear scent." Sara had given the matter more thought while she waited, and concluded that it having a recognisable scent was also important.
"Ah, yes. I can see why you would want that," Mirielle said with a nod.
"If we can get that sorted, then the wolves are willing to not attack anyone wearing the symbol. I have also asked them to help out if you are attacked by other mobs, but that is up to them. If they don't want to, I won't force them." Sara didn't want to promise anything she couldn't keep. "Anyone without the symbol will be treated with suspicion, and we will take action as we deem necessary. Also, if anyone wears the symbol, but attacks us anyway, we will not take kindly to that. Trust has to go both ways, so if they are not punished harshly, we will have to reconsider our arrangement."
"Of course. We would not take kindly to anyone threatening our alliance either. Er... though to be totally honest I haven't spoken to the others yet... I wanted to get your response first." Mirielle blushed a little. "But, um, do you have anything in mind for what the symbol should be?"
Sara figured it wouldn't be that easy. "Some sort of accessory you can pin to your chest, or somewhere else easily visible would be ideal. It would work better if it was also easy to smell." But how should they handle that? Maybe it was possible to treat them with magical incense or something. Or... "Would it be possible to magically preserve a flower with a clear scent, perhaps? Something with a colour that stands out in the forest, like white, or blue, or red." That didn't seem like too much of a stretch in a magical world.
"Yes, we have someone able to provide such blessings. And the Temple has a flower garden. I can look for suitable candidates there," Mirielle said.
Sara nodded. "I got the idea from the the white flowers in the glade. They have a very nice scent. But I think it would be hard for you to harvest enough of them."
"Oh! I will take one of them with me, to see if we already have it," Mirielle said. "Or at least find one that's similar."
"Good. After we get that sorted, we can talk about the next step." Sara had made sure to erase the writing bit by bit this time, and had already gained a Life Magic level. It was a lot easier to write with Dig maxed too.
"Alright. But... I'm sorry, but I'm dying to know. Your Status says Guardian Beast now, is that what you were hiding before?" There was a glint in Mirielle's eye.
Sara considered just rolling with that interpretation, but she didn't like the idea of being that dishonest with Mirielle. She was willing to fool anyone else into thinking she was truly the Guardian Beast, but this priestess was her first Resident friend.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I am actually a Mystic Wolf. Just not an ordinary one. I have a way to gain more skills than other mobs are able to. So what that in mind, I think acting as the Guardian Beast is more useful. It would hopefully make people ask less questions if they see my skills. It's not like there's anyone who can prove otherwise as far I know, and I was sent to this world by a god, so perhaps that's all that matters. I imagine it would be helpful for our alliance if you spread that story as well. Norax would appreciate if it was possible to give them a little credit for this, but I do not know what rules your religion has for such things. I am sure they would be willing to ally with the Moon Goddess should I ask them." She wasn't actually sure if that would work, since they didn't know much about the Moon Goddess in the first place, or how the gods interacted, but she was still trying to create a narrative that benefited her without outright lying.
"That might be difficult," Mirielle said with some apprehension. "But at the very least I will make sure to thank them in private."
Sara nodded. It was better than nothing. "I also wanted to consult with you about my skills. I am not sure if I have revealed too much, or too little. I got a little carried away when thinking about what a boss should, and shouldn't have. If we get raided, I want to fight with all my might."
Mirielle's eyes went wide. "You have even more than this?"
"Yes. I have collected quite a few, though several of them I use very little," Sara admitted. "My current display is a mix of what I think would make sense for me to have, and the skills I use enough that people would probably notice me using them. But since I have never seen another Mystic Wolf, or a Guardian Beast, I don't actually know if this makes sense."
"W-well, what stuck out to me last time was Leech. I have never heard of a mob having that," Mirielle said. "I have also never heard of a mob with shapeshifting abilities, but those might make sense for the Guardian Beast. You have an impressive variety of attack magic, and if you intend to use all of them, then having them shown is probably for the best, yes. I am very curious how you got all of these."
"The most powerful gift Norax gave me is the ability to gain skills from mobs and Residents I defeat. It doesn't happen every time, and I can't control which skill I get, but it's helped me out a lot," Sara wrote.
"I see... that it quite the power indeed," Mirielle said. She didn't question it, probably since the evidence was right in front of her. "Wait... from Residents too? Did you get something from me?"
Sara hesitated, but after a moment she wrote: "Yes."
"What did you get?"
Sara wasn't sure if Mirielle was upset, or just genuinely curious. "I learned the elf language," she wrote.
"Oh... I guess we wouldn't be able to talk otherwise..."
"I'm very sorry. But I guess that is the silver lining."
"Anything else?" Mirielle asked. She seemed a little anxious.
"Two more. Intuition, and Decryption."
Mirielle blinked, and then burst out laughing. Sara could only watch in bewilderment.
"Ahaha... sorry," Mirielle said after composing herself a little. "I just had the mental image of a wolf reading ancient tomes, and scrolls. Maybe with a hat, and glasses on. Haha. Haa..." She deflated. "It is a little depressing considering how much I paid to get those two skills, and you just stole... er, I guess you copied them, just like that."
"I'm sorry," Sara wrote again.
"Don't be. Actually, consider your apology accepted, and don't worry anymore about it," Mirielle said with a smile. "If this works out, then such a sacrifice was more than worth it. Since I met you, I've come to realise that the world works in strange ways." She cleared her throat. "A-anyway. Taking off Leech is my best suggestion. What do you have that you might consider revealing?"
"Not much. The rest either makes too little sense, or I just don't use enough for it to be necessary," Sara said. A lot of these weren't useful for the way she fought. "It still leaves me with quite a lot of Active skills. The Warg in the south didn't have this many."
"You've met it?"
"Yes. He thought I was coming to take his territory, and told me to go up here instead, since these wolves had no leader," Sara briefly explained.
"I see..." Mirielle tapped her cheek for a bit as if she was thinking about something. "Your passives look fine. Leadership is more proof that you have genuinely taken over as the boss. I haven't seen All Attributes Up before though."
"When I got all eight attribute up skills, I was asked whether I wanted to merge them into one. So I did."
"I haven't heard of anyone learning all eight before. People usually just learn the ones useful to them. They aren't super expensive on their own, but to get all eight would be a significant cost. Then again I guess your circumstances are special." Mirielle paused for a moment. "Would you mind if I shared that information? I'm still not sure if anyone would want to do it, but it would be helpful to have it on record at least. Am I correct in assuming it increases Luck as well?"
"Yes. It was added as a bonus after I merged them. And I don't mind." In fact Sara liked the idea of it being public knowledge.
"Thank you." Mirielle smiled. "There aren't a lot of ways to increase Luck, so I'm sure there are those who would be tempted. All your skills are maxed too, but I guess that's how it is for boss mobs."
"Ah. Actually, they're not," Sara admitted. "I just set them to display as such because I felt like it was proper for a boss. Another gift I was given is being able to level up myself, and my skills in the same way Wanderers and Residents can. I actually started at level 1. A weak little wolf in a starting area. Since then I've been working on becoming stronger, and I hope to get my spells evolved soon. The only other boss I've seen is the Warg, and he had all his attack skills upgraded."
Mirielle laughed a little. "A mob that can level up... you keep surprising me, Sara. Well, I had a suspicion that might be the case, but I haven't heard of any other mob being able to do so, so I wasn't sure. Your god seems pretty amazing."
"Everyone has different things they are good at, and I believe the same is true for gods. Norax just happened to have the right skillset to create an existence like this for me in this world. Maybe the Moon Goddess would be able to do the same, if she wished to," Sara said.
"I have never talked to her directly, as you seem to have with Norax, but I would love to ask," Mirielle said. "It would be a weird thing to add to a prayer, though."
"I haven't talked to them either, but they send me messages sometimes," Sara admitted. "What they have told me indicates that the gods are grateful for any prayer, no matter what it's about. So I'm sure the Moon Goddess wouldn't mind you asking. Whether she will answer is a different matter."
Mirielle chuckled. "Maybe you are right." She sighed. "I should get back to the city. It's my day off, but I think that's all the more reason to not waste time. I want to return to you today to finalise the alliance symbol, and I should talk to someone else at the Temple. I can't do this all alone, after all. It is possible they might want to meet you themselves. Would that be okay?"
"Yes. I'll do my best to impress them." Sara smiled. "That does hit another snag. I have some things to do, so I won't be able to just wait around here. I was actually thinking in general what to do if anyone wished to speak with me, not just you. The other wolves can't understand what you say like I can, so it would be hard for them to know to get me."
"Ah... yeah... that is a problem," Mirielle agreed. "Maybe we can think of another type of symbol for if someone wants to contact you?"
"That might a good idea." Sara paused for a moment, then remembered the chatty birds from earlier. "For today I can ask the ravens to keep an eye out for you specifically. They are good at getting the word around quickly, and have good memories. If I at least stay in the vicinity, they can tell me when you return to Nyolund, and I can quickly head over."
"Pardon?" Mirielle stared. "You command the ravens too?"
"Ah, no. Command is too strong a word," Sara said with complete honesty. "But I have Commune With Animals as one of my hidden skills, and the ravens seem to like me for some reason. So they said they want to help out. Though I suspect they only want to help because they find it entertaining, so if they get bored of the arrangement, they might give up on it. But for now they're willing to cooperate."
"A-alright, I guess that would work," Mirielle said, though she still seemed a little shocked. "Commune With Animals... then bringing along a Druid to ask for you would be another option?"
"Yes, that should also work." Sara hadn't thought of that. It was a good thing they both had input on this. "Maybe that is the best solution. If a Druid asks the wolves to see their boss, they should understand that. They like to use the word boss for some reason. The ravens should understand too. Remember to bring the chalkboard, and some chalk when you return. That should enable us to meet in the glade."
"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Sara decided to wait in front of the statue in the glade. Maybe that was showing off a little. Honestly she felt a little excited to see Mirielle again. It might be a discriminatory thought, but having a conversation with a person felt different from talking to a mob.
Now if only they could have an actual conversation... could the Tree Form talk, maybe? Probably not... at least not so long as she wasn't able to do so herself. At least that was what made sense to her, but she could test it out later.
Mirielle's familiar mana signature was going sideways, and then turned to head right towards Sara. That was probably where the entry to the path was.
My tail isn't wagging, is it? No. Good.
It occurred to her that Mirielle was moving pretty quickly, and sure enough, when she came into sight she was running again. Though she wasn't sprinting this time, more like a jog. She wondered if working out had any benefit in this world. Like, just working out for the sake of working out, not to raise a skill, or anything. It didn't seem like you got bonus stats just from doing strenuous things, but there might be a difference between how many Stamina Points you had, and what your actual stamina was like. It hadn't affected Sara much so far, but that could be because she had the body of a mob.
"Good morning, Sara!" Mirielle sounded a bit winded.
Sara was about to write an answer, until she saw the ground around her. The entire glade was covered in grass, and pretty white flowers. There was nowhere to write.
Ugh... I should have gone to meet her on the road.
"Did I keep you waiting?" Mirielle asked.
Sara shook her head.
"Did you talk to the wolves?"
She nodded.
"What did they say?"
Finally a question she couldn't answer with body language. Her posture sagged a little.
"D-did they turn you down?" Mirielle sounded worried, and then suddenly went "Whoa!" before quickly clasping her hand over her mouth.
Sara gave her a curious look, but then just started walking past Mirielle, towards the road, trying to signal for the elf to come along.
"You want me to follow you?"
She nodded, and walked a little faster. Not too fast, she didn't want to tire the elf out since she might still be catching her breath. Once they finally reached some dirt on the path, she quickly wrote:
"Can't write on grass. Have to go to road."
"Oh! Right!" Mirielle understood, and they headed out on the road proper.
"That was awkward," Sara wrote. "I didn't think far enough ahead."
"That's okay," Mirielle assured her. "Not being able to speak has to be inconvenient."
"Yes." Sara sighed. "I do have an idea, if it would be possible for you to bring something to write with, and write on next time. Do you know what a chalkboard is?"
"Yes, we have them in the school. But how do you know what a chalkboard is?" A valid question.
"It's something I know from my previous life, but that's not important right now," Sara answered nonchalantly. "If you have a portable one that I can write, and erase on, then I'll be able to write wherever."
"Okay." Mirielle looked like she wanted to ask questions, but instead said: "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you. You asked about the wolves," Sara wrote. "They are willing to stop attacking your people, though we have some conditions. I sort of ended up becoming their boss."
"Yes, I... uh..."
"You saw my Status?"
"Er... yes..." Mirielle said awkwardly. "I didn't know you were aware what that is..."
"My saviour, and creator gave me some gifts when they placed me in this world. Being able to use Identify is one of them. Though you wouldn't be able to see that, since I am also able to hide my abilities, but we should talk more about that later."
"You know your creator? And it's not the Moon Goddess?" Mirielle couldn't stop herself from asking.
Sara thought it was a good opportunity to spread the word a little. "No. My god is named Norax. They are the god of good fortune." She wasn't lying, but she was withholding a few things. She was trying to tailor the narrative a little, and not bring up Aina. "I do not know if they are connected to the Moon Goddess, but they told me there are several gods in this world."
"Um... yes, that is correct," Mirielle confirmed. Even if she was with one Temple, it was probably impossible to not be aware that each nation had their own.
"I was given permission to talk to you more about my gifts, but I want to get the negotiation out of the way first. The wolves agree to not attack your people, so long as you also do not attack us. But you are not the only ones who come into this forest. The Adventurers also come, and we cannot know at a glance who are coming to attack us, and who are not. So we would like there to be some symbol you can wear if you have friendly intent. Preferably something that is both easy to see, and has a clear scent." Sara had given the matter more thought while she waited, and concluded that it having a recognisable scent was also important.
"Ah, yes. I can see why you would want that," Mirielle said with a nod.
"If we can get that sorted, then the wolves are willing to not attack anyone wearing the symbol. I have also asked them to help out if you are attacked by other mobs, but that is up to them. If they don't want to, I won't force them." Sara didn't want to promise anything she couldn't keep. "Anyone without the symbol will be treated with suspicion, and we will take action as we deem necessary. Also, if anyone wears the symbol, but attacks us anyway, we will not take kindly to that. Trust has to go both ways, so if they are not punished harshly, we will have to reconsider our arrangement."
"Of course. We would not take kindly to anyone threatening our alliance either. Er... though to be totally honest I haven't spoken to the others yet... I wanted to get your response first." Mirielle blushed a little. "But, um, do you have anything in mind for what the symbol should be?"
Sara figured it wouldn't be that easy. "Some sort of accessory you can pin to your chest, or somewhere else easily visible would be ideal. It would work better if it was also easy to smell." But how should they handle that? Maybe it was possible to treat them with magical incense or something. Or... "Would it be possible to magically preserve a flower with a clear scent, perhaps? Something with a colour that stands out in the forest, like white, or blue, or red." That didn't seem like too much of a stretch in a magical world.
"Yes, we have someone able to provide such blessings. And the Temple has a flower garden. I can look for suitable candidates there," Mirielle said.
Sara nodded. "I got the idea from the the white flowers in the glade. They have a very nice scent. But I think it would be hard for you to harvest enough of them."
"Oh! I will take one of them with me, to see if we already have it," Mirielle said. "Or at least find one that's similar."
"Good. After we get that sorted, we can talk about the next step." Sara had made sure to erase the writing bit by bit this time, and had already gained a Life Magic level. It was a lot easier to write with Dig maxed too.
"Alright. But... I'm sorry, but I'm dying to know. Your Status says Guardian Beast now, is that what you were hiding before?" There was a glint in Mirielle's eye.
Sara considered just rolling with that interpretation, but she didn't like the idea of being that dishonest with Mirielle. She was willing to fool anyone else into thinking she was truly the Guardian Beast, but this priestess was her first Resident friend.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I am actually a Mystic Wolf. Just not an ordinary one. I have a way to gain more skills than other mobs are able to. So what that in mind, I think acting as the Guardian Beast is more useful. It would hopefully make people ask less questions if they see my skills. It's not like there's anyone who can prove otherwise as far I know, and I was sent to this world by a god, so perhaps that's all that matters. I imagine it would be helpful for our alliance if you spread that story as well. Norax would appreciate if it was possible to give them a little credit for this, but I do not know what rules your religion has for such things. I am sure they would be willing to ally with the Moon Goddess should I ask them." She wasn't actually sure if that would work, since they didn't know much about the Moon Goddess in the first place, or how the gods interacted, but she was still trying to create a narrative that benefited her without outright lying.
"That might be difficult," Mirielle said with some apprehension. "But at the very least I will make sure to thank them in private."
Sara nodded. It was better than nothing. "I also wanted to consult with you about my skills. I am not sure if I have revealed too much, or too little. I got a little carried away when thinking about what a boss should, and shouldn't have. If we get raided, I want to fight with all my might."
Mirielle's eyes went wide. "You have even more than this?"
"Yes. I have collected quite a few, though several of them I use very little," Sara admitted. "My current display is a mix of what I think would make sense for me to have, and the skills I use enough that people would probably notice me using them. But since I have never seen another Mystic Wolf, or a Guardian Beast, I don't actually know if this makes sense."
"W-well, what stuck out to me last time was Leech. I have never heard of a mob having that," Mirielle said. "I have also never heard of a mob with shapeshifting abilities, but those might make sense for the Guardian Beast. You have an impressive variety of attack magic, and if you intend to use all of them, then having them shown is probably for the best, yes. I am very curious how you got all of these."
"The most powerful gift Norax gave me is the ability to gain skills from mobs and Residents I defeat. It doesn't happen every time, and I can't control which skill I get, but it's helped me out a lot," Sara wrote.
"I see... that it quite the power indeed," Mirielle said. She didn't question it, probably since the evidence was right in front of her. "Wait... from Residents too? Did you get something from me?"
Sara hesitated, but after a moment she wrote: "Yes."
"What did you get?"
Sara wasn't sure if Mirielle was upset, or just genuinely curious. "I learned the elf language," she wrote.
"Oh... I guess we wouldn't be able to talk otherwise..."
"I'm very sorry. But I guess that is the silver lining."
"Anything else?" Mirielle asked. She seemed a little anxious.
"Two more. Intuition, and Decryption."
Mirielle blinked, and then burst out laughing. Sara could only watch in bewilderment.
"Ahaha... sorry," Mirielle said after composing herself a little. "I just had the mental image of a wolf reading ancient tomes, and scrolls. Maybe with a hat, and glasses on. Haha. Haa..." She deflated. "It is a little depressing considering how much I paid to get those two skills, and you just stole... er, I guess you copied them, just like that."
"I'm sorry," Sara wrote again.
"Don't be. Actually, consider your apology accepted, and don't worry anymore about it," Mirielle said with a smile. "If this works out, then such a sacrifice was more than worth it. Since I met you, I've come to realise that the world works in strange ways." She cleared her throat. "A-anyway. Taking off Leech is my best suggestion. What do you have that you might consider revealing?"
"Not much. The rest either makes too little sense, or I just don't use enough for it to be necessary," Sara said. A lot of these weren't useful for the way she fought. "It still leaves me with quite a lot of Active skills. The Warg in the south didn't have this many."
"You've met it?"
"Yes. He thought I was coming to take his territory, and told me to go up here instead, since these wolves had no leader," Sara briefly explained.
"I see..." Mirielle tapped her cheek for a bit as if she was thinking about something. "Your passives look fine. Leadership is more proof that you have genuinely taken over as the boss. I haven't seen All Attributes Up before though."
"When I got all eight attribute up skills, I was asked whether I wanted to merge them into one. So I did."
"I haven't heard of anyone learning all eight before. People usually just learn the ones useful to them. They aren't super expensive on their own, but to get all eight would be a significant cost. Then again I guess your circumstances are special." Mirielle paused for a moment. "Would you mind if I shared that information? I'm still not sure if anyone would want to do it, but it would be helpful to have it on record at least. Am I correct in assuming it increases Luck as well?"
"Yes. It was added as a bonus after I merged them. And I don't mind." In fact Sara liked the idea of it being public knowledge.
"Thank you." Mirielle smiled. "There aren't a lot of ways to increase Luck, so I'm sure there are those who would be tempted. All your skills are maxed too, but I guess that's how it is for boss mobs."
"Ah. Actually, they're not," Sara admitted. "I just set them to display as such because I felt like it was proper for a boss. Another gift I was given is being able to level up myself, and my skills in the same way Wanderers and Residents can. I actually started at level 1. A weak little wolf in a starting area. Since then I've been working on becoming stronger, and I hope to get my spells evolved soon. The only other boss I've seen is the Warg, and he had all his attack skills upgraded."
Mirielle laughed a little. "A mob that can level up... you keep surprising me, Sara. Well, I had a suspicion that might be the case, but I haven't heard of any other mob being able to do so, so I wasn't sure. Your god seems pretty amazing."
"Everyone has different things they are good at, and I believe the same is true for gods. Norax just happened to have the right skillset to create an existence like this for me in this world. Maybe the Moon Goddess would be able to do the same, if she wished to," Sara said.
"I have never talked to her directly, as you seem to have with Norax, but I would love to ask," Mirielle said. "It would be a weird thing to add to a prayer, though."
"I haven't talked to them either, but they send me messages sometimes," Sara admitted. "What they have told me indicates that the gods are grateful for any prayer, no matter what it's about. So I'm sure the Moon Goddess wouldn't mind you asking. Whether she will answer is a different matter."
Mirielle chuckled. "Maybe you are right." She sighed. "I should get back to the city. It's my day off, but I think that's all the more reason to not waste time. I want to return to you today to finalise the alliance symbol, and I should talk to someone else at the Temple. I can't do this all alone, after all. It is possible they might want to meet you themselves. Would that be okay?"
"Yes. I'll do my best to impress them." Sara smiled. "That does hit another snag. I have some things to do, so I won't be able to just wait around here. I was actually thinking in general what to do if anyone wished to speak with me, not just you. The other wolves can't understand what you say like I can, so it would be hard for them to know to get me."
"Ah... yeah... that is a problem," Mirielle agreed. "Maybe we can think of another type of symbol for if someone wants to contact you?"
"That might a good idea." Sara paused for a moment, then remembered the chatty birds from earlier. "For today I can ask the ravens to keep an eye out for you specifically. They are good at getting the word around quickly, and have good memories. If I at least stay in the vicinity, they can tell me when you return to Nyolund, and I can quickly head over."
"Pardon?" Mirielle stared. "You command the ravens too?"
"Ah, no. Command is too strong a word," Sara said with complete honesty. "But I have Commune With Animals as one of my hidden skills, and the ravens seem to like me for some reason. So they said they want to help out. Though I suspect they only want to help because they find it entertaining, so if they get bored of the arrangement, they might give up on it. But for now they're willing to cooperate."
"A-alright, I guess that would work," Mirielle said, though she still seemed a little shocked. "Commune With Animals... then bringing along a Druid to ask for you would be another option?"
"Yes, that should also work." Sara hadn't thought of that. It was a good thing they both had input on this. "Maybe that is the best solution. If a Druid asks the wolves to see their boss, they should understand that. They like to use the word boss for some reason. The ravens should understand too. Remember to bring the chalkboard, and some chalk when you return. That should enable us to meet in the glade."
"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."
