“I was told you would have a token for me.” Neira stepped forward, putting a soothing hand on her perturbed protector.

“So I do, my lady.” The stranger reached into the pouch at his side and pulled out a small silver amulet.

Neira approached him, taking the amulet from his outstretched palm. Bright silver almost glowing against his skin of blackest ash.

“The amulet is a token of your contract for my assistance. So long as you have it,” He gave a small bow, grinning up at her. “I am at your service.”

Neira eyed the intricate design, fingering the long delicate chain.

“What happens if I don't have it?”

“Then I am no longer bound to you.” He straitened, the grin fading until the expression was almost impassive, like a beautiful obsidian carving.

Neira nodded, slipping the chain around her neck. Akua pulled something else from the pouch and crouched down, extending his hand to Tawny. She eyed the offering, picking at it before snapping it up.

With a satisfied awwk she trotted off into the surrounding rocks. Neira watched her traipsing about through the stones.

“Minar would be pleased with how you accomplished her task.”

Akua stepped forward, looking after the prancing creature with a small smile. He had eyes the color of hot embers, that were almost glowing in the dusky light.

"She always says that kindness is the greatest strength.”

Neira smiled, keeping her gaze on Tawny a moment longer before turning to Akua.

“Speaking of my tasks from the Goddesses, you were also supposed to have a map for me? To show me where to build the shrines.”

“Of course.” reaching into the pouch once more he brought forth a worn and folded parchment. Unfurling it, he indicated the first location in the city of Nopriat.

“The first, she wishes to be here, in the temple district of Nopriat. The second,” His fingers slid further west. “atop the peak of the Sikearse mountain. And finally, somewhere here in the central section of Eshiren.”

Neira hugged her arms across her chest, chewing the tip of her thumb. This request which had seemed the easiest of the three, was now looking to be the biggest challenge.

Building an altar on the mountaintop should be relatively straightforward, but the other two… They would present a number of obstacles.

Nopriat was under the rule of a devout Poranin government, followers of the gods Poran, Rishoth, and Vren. The worship of other deities was heavily regulated.

There were no restrictions on worship in Eshiren, but she would need a good deal of gold to purchase the land and materials. She took the map from Akua, looking it over with a furrowed brow.

“I guess we should probably start by heading to Nopriat.” She said “First though, I need a way to disguise myself.” She looked away, her hand finding its way up to the marred flesh of her shoulder. “Especially my slave brand.”

“That,” He said, pulling her hand away with a gentle smile. “will be a simple matter my lady.”

He cupped his hands together and filled them with a beautiful multicolored fire. The flames spread in a wide arc as he drew his hands high in the air and pulled them into a full circle. His hand reached through the center of the flames toward Neira.

“Take my hand and step through the circle my lady.”

She hesitated, her eyes darting from the flames to his outstretched hand. Squeezing her eyes shut she took his hand and stepped forward expecting to feel heat, perhaps even pain, but felt nothing. Hearing Akua chuckle she opened one eye.

His face was twisted up with mirth, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth.

“I find it odd for a fire dancer to be afraid of flames.” He teased “Do you close your eyes when you dance as well?”

Her face flushed and she yanked her hand back. “When I dance I am the one in control of the flames.” She snapped “I assume that was some sort of demon magic. So am I disguised now or not?”

Akua nodded, his face still pasted with a wide grin. “Of course my lady. Not a soul could recognize you through my glamor spell. Though you will find you still see yourself the way you look underneath.”

“Thank you.” She sniffed, still feeling a bit sour at him for his mocking. “I suppose we had better get moving then, before we run out of light.”

“As you wish my lady.”

The sky began to surrender its soft pink and orange hues as the sun sank below the horizon. With a final glance back at the labyrinth of tunnels Neira set off toward the ocean of sand.

Trotting up alongside them, Tawny let out a trill and nuzzled Neiras hand.

“Looks like she has grown somewhat attached to you.”

Neira smiled down at her new companion, burying her fingers in Tawnys dense coat.

“Well I have always liked animals.”

They walked on in silence for some time. Night descended, its great black wings ushering in a chill wind. Tawny slunk off into the darkness, eyes aglow. Neira shivered, hugging her arms around herself. Akua put a hand on her arm and stopped walking.

“Perhaps we should light a fire and rest for a few hours.”

She was exhausted after all that time trying to escape the caves. The cold was not something she relished dealing with, but it was not her first time fighting through exhaustion.

“That sounds lovely but we have nothing to burn. Since a fire is out of the question it will be best to keep moving so we stay warmer.”

Brushing his hand away she kept walking. He did not follow but stood there watching her retreating figure.

"That would be true if you were traveling with a human.” He smirked, conjuring up a mass of flames that hovered just above the sand. “Luckily for us, I am not a human.”

Neira turned, wide eyes fixed on the flames that licked at the cool night air. She looked up and met his eyes, eyes that glowed even more brightly than Tawnys had.

Her heart fluttered, a flush of warmth shooting through her body. Suddenly she felt quite grateful for the darkness and she dropped her gaze to the flames once more.

"Well, when you put it that way.” She mumbled, wandering over to soak up the heat and rest her burning eyes.

Sleep took her quickly, only releasing her when something small and damp flopped onto her exposed side. A series of bright chirrups told her that Tawny had returned.

She reached down, eyes still closed and grabbed at whatever had fallen on her. It was sticky, soft and somewhat warm. Bringing it into her feild of vision she saw the remains of what she could only assume had been a hare. Blood oozed out into her hand and she recoiled, dropping it into the sand. Laughter erupted from across the fire.

“Oh come now my lady, is that how you treat a gift?”

Neira scowled as Akua devolved into a fit of cackling.

“Well I'm not all that fond of gifts that bleed on me!”

Tawny padded forward, scooping up the mangled creature and settled in next to Neira to devour the remainder. Tearing a strip fom her pantleg, Neira scrubbed at the blood on her hands and side.

“I really can't wait until we get to somewhere that I can bathe.” She grumbled.

Akua extinguished the fire, still chuckling slightly and pulled something from the pouch at his hip. He popped it into his mouth and crouched down to ruffle Tawnys feathers. She had finished eating and was now licking her paws and beak clean with her long raspy tongue.

Neira pulled out some bread and a few dried fruits. She tore a hunk off for herself, holding the remainder out to Akua. He shook his head, rising again.

“That is very generous of you my lady, but there is no need. While I can eat human food, I will survive just fine on what I have here.” He patted the pouch. “It would be best if we saved the food for you. We still have quite the journey ahead.”

They set off once more, Neira nibbling at her meager meal. Her eyes were drawn to Akua as they walked, wandering across the strange landscape of his form.

“Can't take your eyes off me, eh?” He said with a smirk. “I have that effect on a lot of women.” He threw her a quick wink, his eyes linking up with hers.

Her face grew hot and she stared hard at the sand in front of her.

“What about water?” She peeked over at him once more. “Do you need it or would it…hurt you?”

He smiled at her, a hint of laughter in his voice as he responded.

“I do not need it, but it poses no threat to me.”

“I see.” She looked down at the sand again, her expression thoughtful.

“It seems you know very little of demons, my lady.”

She shrugged. “When I was young I was always taught that demons were servants of evil. Only appearing to spread death and misery.” Her eyes grew distant and hard. “It seems there were many things that I was taught incorrectly.”