A Warm Meal

It took a little bit for the two of them to reach the village proper, but insulated from the cold as they were, it wasn't too much of a hassle. If anything, the greatest difficulty was in trying to keep things as not-awkward as possible as they approached their destination, what with the way that he'd almost been killed. Or at least, that's what Elias believed, and "Andrew" was inclined to keep it that way. In any case, it wasn't long before they came across the village in question.

"Alright, we're here! Welcome to Vireth. It's not much, but it's where we make our lives, and it's the safest place in the mountain range for miles, which counts for something, I think. What do you think?"

The first thing that Anterion noticed was the fact that the area here was a little warmer. The fires and torches around the border were definitely major contributing factors, but they weren't the only things noticeable. At the four corners of what he assumed to be the demarcation of the village's boundaries, statues were placed accordingly and faced inwards. Notably, Anterion could have sworn he saw some sort of glow in their eyes.

"This place doesn't feel so cold, at least not compared to the outdoors. That's got to be some impressive magic you have here. Can't say I'm not a little jealous, but it's definitely pretty cool."

"Really? Heh, I was kind of hoping you'd say it wasn't all that… but I'm glad you like it though! I was curious what you'd think, being from the outside and all. It's really not all that complex though, I'd be happy to tell you more about it. Let's go inside though, I'm starving!"

Elias motioned for Andrew to follow him, the inquisitive deity following close behind to get a closer look at the area. Pretty quickly, the two of them found themselves in front of what seemed to be a standard fantasy inn. Anterion did note, however, the presence of green stones fitted into various sections of the building, which seemed to glow in the same way as the statues at the border.

"Here it is, the finest place to eat this side of Ivanthrel!"

"Well, now you've got my expectations high. Hopefully you're not wrong…"

The two entered the tavern to find a mix of clientele, all eating and drinking without a care in the world. For the most part, that includes ignorance of the two new entrants into the room; However, a couple of patrons near the front gave nervous glances as the two walked in. At the front counter, a large, very broad woman with a well-defined musculature, likely the owner of the establishment, was busy writing down some sort of notation with a quill. However, her attention was captured by the ringing of the bell on the door as they walked in, and her expression quickly became as negative as that of her patrons.

"Eli… Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it. Are you looking to cause problems?"

"Huh, what? I have no idea what you're talking about, seriously."

Elias proceeded to remove his furry, insulating hat at the door, and Anterion couldn't help but smirk; Underneath the teen's hat was a head of spiky black hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. It was so reminiscent of the protagonist of low-quality anime that he almost had to laugh, leaving him with an amused expression that earned him a glare from the innkeeper.

"I'm talking about the guy you picked up, he's literally acting suspicious right now! You can't just bring in outsiders without warning, and especially not redheads. You never know who could be a Rittheran spy."

[Rittheran… I'll need to make note of that for later…]

"Oh, come off it, Lisa. He's perfectly harmless, and besides, it's my fault. I almost zapped him with my latest invention, treating him to a meal is the least I could do. Besides, he's not Rittheran. I mean, I don't think you are, right Andrew?"

"Uh… not as far as I know?"

The woman (evidently Lisa) looked up towards the sky, as if asking the heavens to grant her the patience to deal with the youth. The joke was on her though, as God was currently standing in front of her. Nonetheless, after a moment of what was evidently difficult contemplation for her, Lisa let out a sigh of exasperation, before gesturing at a table nearby.

"Just go sit over there. Elias, try not to zap anyone else. The less favors you owe, the better. I'll be with you two in a minute."

"Thanks Lisa, you're the absolute best."

"Anyone else would have thrown you into the streets after all."

"If you say so."

Eli sat down at the table requested, a small section clearly meant for only two people, and one that was on the other side of the area, far away from any other tables. Anterion had to admit he felt a little miffed, but there was nothing to be done, and so, after a moment of reluctance, he simply sat down in the requested seat as well.

"So, that's your mom then?"

"Oh, Lisa you mean?"

Eli rubbed his head, a look of embarrassment creeping across his face. After a moment of what seemed to be doing and uncertainty, Eli shook his head, not meeting Andrew's gaze as he traced his finger across the grain of the wood.

"I wouldn't call her that. Don't think she'd appreciate it either. She's actually my aunt, she's been taking care of me for around half a decade now since my parents kicked the bucket. She'd probably get mad, say I'm disrespecting her sister if I call her mom, you know?"

Elias frowned, lost in thought for a moment. The silence that filled the air was so pervasive that Anterion felt the need to clear his throat, bringing the would-be inventor back to reality.

"Oh, sorry about that, didn't mean to trauma dump on you and all. I'm sure you have things you want to ask about right? You said you were studying the area to make maps right? You must be from pretty far away then!"

"Ah…"

Out of the frying pan and into the fire… Despite it all, Anterion hasn't actually come up with a good enough cover story to explain his origin. With no other option available, the deity decided that the best course of action was ultimately to simply improvise, hoping that everything was believable.

"Yeah, I'm from really far away. It's not a place you would have heard of, just this small community. It's barely a couple dozen strong and it's entirely in the forest. I'm only out here because my family has a history of being good at tracking, which apparently translates over well to cartography. My parents thought it'd be a good experience to send me out here so… here I am."

"Ah, sounds rough. I assume things were getting scarce right, you needed money for food and all that?"

"Yeah, that's right. Otherwise, I wouldn't be out here right now. I'm really not a map guy at heart, as much as my family tries to push it on me. I'm more of an anthropology guy. I'm into history, ancient ruins, all that stuff, you know?"

Eli nodded, a sympathetic expression on his face. Anterion's instincts were right on the money, and leaning back in his chair, Eli seemed more focused on the difficulty of his described family dynamics than anything else. Evidently, something struck a chord with him.

"Yeah, I feel that. I kind of wish Lisa wasn't so dismissive of what I want to do too… if it wasn't-"

"Alright, here's the beef stew. Sorry for the wait!"

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Lisa came by, carrying two bowls of the alleged "beef stew" in her hands. Frowning at the interruption, Eli sighed.

"That was all you had huh? Can't you throw in some of your black pudding at least?"

"Don't be picky, you're getting it for free already. Or did you forget what they say about biting the hand that feeds you."

"Alright, alright. Thanks Lisa."

With a grunt of approval, Lisa took her leave, though not before throwing another glare Andrew's way. His mind, however, was more curious about the conversation that had been interrupted. Elias, if nothing else, seemed to be bright, and as reckless as he was.. he was a good kid. The least Anterion could do was listen to him, since he did need information on the world in any case.

"Right… well, anyway, what were you going to say? Something about what you wanted to do as a job right?"

"Ah, well… Yeah. Lisa doesn't approve of spellcraft, or at least, not the part about leaving the village to go study. But…"

Elias cracked a small smile, equal parts mischievous and confident. In all honesty, it reminded Anterion of his younger days, and brought back some feelings he wasn't sure how to describe.

"Whether she approves or not, I'm completing my dream. Put money on it if you want: I'm going to be the greatest mage the world has ever seen!

[…You know what, checks out]