Pantheon

Lowa

They arrive on Lowa two feet above a pool of oil swamp.

Moa falls in up to her knees, loses her balance, and trips backwards, splattering herself and the others in oily blue swamp mud. She splashes upright, sputtering. "Do you, like, plan these things, Thess? Just, out of curiosity."

"Nnnno," Thess replies crossly, pulling themself free of the mud and into the air. "I never have any idea what I'm doing. This shouldn't come as a surprise."

Aur slides down into the mud, leaving only the circle of her face free. "Universal providence, Moa. Hah."

"I mean. Okay?? I don't know why the universe would want us here, though. We're nowhere near actual people." It's not really a surprise on Lowa, though. Human settlements are tiny, and really spread out. They can afford to be isolated because of the treedwelling Upsides and cavedwelling Downsides, stubby little primitive nonhumans capable of communicating over great distances with their interwoven, hivelike minds. They like humans, it's not hard to stay on their good sides, and they'll relay messages anywhere on the planet if asked nicely.

"So, can we just, go again? I don't think there's anything I can really do here," says Thess.

"Uh, no. I would not," says Aur hastily.

"How come, Aur?" Moa asks.

"The theory. Remember? I'll tell you the theory later."

Oh yeah, the mysterious theory. "Good a reason as any. Should we find a town? There's one a little way over there." Moa gestures into the swamp.

Thess shrugs, and they're all pretending Thess is the leader right now, so that's close enough to a yes to work.

They slosh off in the direction that Moa pointed, only it's just Aur that's sloshing, because Thess is floating above the marsh and Moa turned into a skink that's sitting in Aur's hair. Aur could turn into a bird, or an Upside, or something that doesn't need to slosh through knee-high swamp mud, but knowing Aur she won't.

Soon the village comes into sight, just a scattered cluster of small huts with stilts and high, pointed roofs. Aur sloshes up onto the dark blue wooden boardwalk resting on top of the swamp, and Thess lands. The cyan crystals attached to posts on the sides light up as they approach.

"Kinda quiet," Moa observes, still nestled in Aur's hair. There's nobody at all in sight, except for a small, pale child playing on the boardwalk outside one of the houses.

"Maybe everyone died," says Aur with no emotion. "We're too late, Thess."

"What?

"Aur, don't do that."

The slam of a door behind them rings loud in the damp air. Moa turns and sees that the kid has fled into their house.

"Okay. That's not weird at all."

"No hey, look," says Aur. The kid's coming back out, pulling an equally small, pale man out behind them. The two of them hurry over, the child quickly letting the man take the lead and trailing close behind.

"Are you Called?" asks the man without preamble as he stops in front of them. His voice is small and wispy, like he is, and his blond hair hangs lank and stringy around his face.

"Um," says Moa.

"Yeah," says Aur. "That's us. Yep."

"Then you have magic?" he says, almost impatiently.

"I guess?" says Thess.

"Then you will be able to fix our distillery. Come with me." The man turns sharply and walks away.

"Wait – no way," calls Moa, trotting to catch up with him. "Your distillery broke?"

He eyes her as if he's a schoolteacher and she asked a question he's just finished explaining in detail. "Not long ago. Our water supplies are low, and will not last to the next temple. Rationing it has become hazardous to our community's health."

"Have you prayed to Torrenix?" Thess asks, falling into step beside him. "This would fall under her domain of the physical Realms, I think."

"Of course." The man gives them a fleeting glare, dripping who do you think you are? It's the first time he's shown actual anger. Moa cringes.

"How's it broke?" asks Aur, surprisingly helpfully, for once.

"We cannot tell. We put the swamp oil into the top, just as usual, and do the rituals, just as usual, but the magic does not start. Water does not pour from the bottom."

"Huh. Weird." Thanks, Aur.

"Where are the others?" asks Moa.

"The others?"

"Rest of the village," says Thess.

"The rest of...out in the fields."

"Oh. Oh, right." Right, that's what people do during the day on Lowa. "So why were you at home?"

The man winces. "My grandfather...Some of the stored water is contaminated by the oil."

Oh. "I'm sorry."

The water distillery is in a small shed off the center of the boardwalk. Moa has seen one of these before, of course, with its weird intimidating steampipes and slick, oily rivets. She can't see anything visibly wrong with this one.

"Well, it doesn't look broke," says Aur.

"Of course it doesn't. Would you like a demonstration?" asks the man, half sarcastic.

"No, hey – " says Thess. "Let me...let me try something?"

The man doesn't stop them, so they walk up and place their hand on the distiller. They run their other hand over its strange expanse, fingers ghosting over the pipes, scrubbing at the oil and wiping it on their pants.

Then they shove the distiller, hard, and it makes a startling clunk and rattles to life and promptly spews a tiny tidal wave of water over the floor. And Moa is not really even surprised.

"Yeah, see," Aur nods. "About my theory."

"I just - it's an invention, right?" explains Thess sheepishly, half to the shellshocked Lowan and half to Aur.

"What about it?" Moa asks over them.

Aur leans over and whispers in Moa's ear.

Thess giggles with relief, and the man nearly cracks a smile, racing out of the shed and returning with as many buckets as he and his child can carry. Thess swishes their boots through the water, grinning, and then starts jumping up and down to make a splash.

Moa looks at them, stunned, frozen, staring through new eyes.