When the morning came, Kallid was sleeping beside her and the pile was less roomy than it had been. She kicked him off it. He woke up groggily and she handed him one of the blankets from under her.

“Bed for you. This is my pile.”

Kallid turned his head to one side, not understanding.

“Oh, don’t give me that look Kallid. It’s probably a pregnancy thing. Don’t be upset. I still love you just as much. I just need a little space, okay?”

“Oh...kay,” he said, but the hurt look on his face was too much for her to leave it at that. She got up and leaned over him, putting a pillow under his head.

“Really, Kallid. Don’t feel like that. I just…”

“Need space,” he finished for her, then kissed her.

She nodded and kissed him back, then fluffed the pile back up again and lay back down on it.

She had almost gotten back to sleep despite the sun peeking through the window when the sounds of the city began. Then she heard the workmen come in and proceed upstairs Soon their incessant hammering began.

She looked at her swelling womb. Nothing like what she’d seen of pregnant human women. She knew a lot of her children’s development was going to happen in the egg at least sometime after she’d laid them, so it wasn’t going to be that bad. But she felt the day was fast approaching that she would be laying them. Probably why she had built her little blanket-nest.

She yawned and scratched herself, making sure Kallid wasn’t looking. They’d seen each other through a lot of bad times, but still it didn’t hurt to act at least a little ladylike when he was looking. She tried her bra on - then took it back off and loosened the strap a little. He might need to make her another one before this was over. For a moment she envied the generations of kobolds who lived underground and never grew boobs. But then she recalled the things she ate back then. Mushrooms, moss and spiders. Not exactly a wide variety diet. Now she was eating human food daily and her body was taking full advantage of that.

A smell wafted up from somewhere downstairs. Pork belly. Marge was cooking breakfast. Her stomach grumbled, so she got her nightgown on with her days’ clothes in hand and waddled down the stairs and out to the shower in the courtyard where she washed herself. Sigmundurr was waiting when she got out and handed her a towel. He’d seen her naked so many times now it didn’t even register.

“Getting pretty plump. Thinking of laying some eggs anytime soon?”

She took the towel and began to dry herself. “Probably, but I don’t really know Sig. Could be next week, could be this afternoon. I just don’t have any experience in these things!”

“Well don’t look at me,” he said as he entered the shower.

She suddenly realized that, as often as he’d seen her naked, she’d never actually seen him naked. She sincerely wished that were still true.

“You want me to come with you tomorrow?” he asked after he’d blessedly closed the shower curtain.

“If you don’t mind,” she said while putting on her fresh clothes. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to actually come to the service in the cathedral?”

“Now Kreet, you know I worship a different goddess,” he laughed, his voice booming over the sound of the shower water easily.

“Oh! Is that a new word for it? Worship?” she laughed. “But yeah. I know Kallid will insist on coming, and even though they know us well here in the slums by now, a couple kobolds wandering the streets alone might be a problem.”

“Well don’t worry about it. I’ll be there. Say, did Eilistraee say she would be coming back before you laid your eggs, or before they hatched?”

“I think before they hatched if I remember right. Why? You want to leave us so soon?”

“Oh Kreet, you know it’s not that. But I do miss her.”

“Well, I may not know anything much about kobold reproduction, but I’m sure it won’t be too much longer now.”

“It’s a three-stage process,” Kallid said, stepping out from the tavern to the courtyard to wait his turn. “And I can reliably say you passed stage one like an expert!”

Kreet had to laugh at that, though she gave his taii a pinch. “Alright, I’ll leave you two males out here to compare your fertility prowess. I’m going in to get some breakfast.”

*****************

The day passed relatively uneventfully till late that afternoon. The hammering had blessedly stopped and the tavern hadn’t opened yet, though June had come in to help prepare for the night. Then the laborers filed out from the stairway and the man Kreet knew as leader of the work-crew came over to speak with her.

“We’re done, Kreet. Six new rooms on the third floor, along with the repaired ones on the second floor. Of course, they’re still bare-bones. You’ll need to furnish them. But they should be back to working order now. Want to check them out?”

They all went upstairs. To Kreet’s eyes, they weren’t all that impressive since they were literally bare of any furnishings. The smell of fresh wood was strong, but they all seemed quite sturdy and all the rot and mold was gone. They would have to paint them, but most of the original bed frames were still intact in the basement. It shouldn’t take much longer to get them functional again.

“Thank you and your men for me too, will you?” Kreet said after inspecting them. “They all look… well… solid anyway. So what do I owe you now that you’re finished?”

“Actually the men and I have been talking it over. You know the Watch came back last night. They say it’s because of that killing, but we know better. You’ve improved the lot of every man on the crew more than a few more gold pieces. And we’re honestly glad to get this job done. We have more work now than we’ve ever had before! We have only one request.”

Kreet smiled, knowing that the expression on a kobold face may not read well to humans, but the foreman seemed to have gotten used to it. “And what’s your request?”

“When you get them done, one free night for each of us. What do you say?”

Kreet was about to reply, but Marge interrupted. “One night’s room. Not boarding. You eat, you drink, you pay.”

“Marge!” Kreet said, ashamed that she would be so petty considering the value they’d just given for free.

“No, it’s alright Kreet. Marge is just being a smart businesswoman. Fair enough. Just the room,” the foreman said and shook her hand. It felt odd, conducting business just like a human - right down to the handshake. Odd, but good.

“So, what’s next?” Kreet asked Marge as the foreman left the tavern.

“Best paint first. Then we go rummaging around in the basement and see what’s still serviceable for furniture. Do you have any preferences as far as colors for the rooms?”

June spoke up from behind the bar at that. “Oh! Let me pick! Marge will pick something dull and boring.”

“Pah! Dull and boring is safe, girly. People don’t complain about dull and boring.”

“I don’t know anything about such things. How about this, we’ll let June pick the colors for the third floor rooms, and Marge can choose those for the other rooms on the second?”

It was agreed on and both Marge and June headed out to buy paint, bickering all the way but in a way that only long acquaintance allows.

“Did you ask Marge about staying on?” Kallid asked.

“Yeah. She wants some time to consider it, but I can tell her heart isn’t ready to let go of the place yet. And we really do need her business sense. But I have to wonder if we’ll have any customers for the rooms. I mean, why would anyone want to stay down here in the slums anyway?”

“Same reason we did,” Sigmundurr spoke up. “It’s cheap!”

“Good point,” she agreed. “But we still need to make a profit. Can’t be too cheap or we’ll invite only vagabonds and thieves. Still, we should be able to undercut the other Inns in the city since our taxes will be so much lower. For awhile.”

*********************

The next day dawned rainy, but Kreet was still excited. Today she would be able to see the grand cathedral, not to mention finally visiting the archives. She had to temper her enthusiasm for that though. Even if she managed to find out where her old home was, she wasn’t going to be leaving the Royal City anytime soon regardless. With three new lives to take care of soon, she wasn’t sure if she ever would.

But she’d seen the cathedral. In sheer size the palace dwarfed it, but the palace was spread across acres of land while the cathedral rose like a giant homage to her god, seeming to reach for the sun itself with it’s spires and the massive tower that soared over the entire city.

By the time Sigmundurr and Kallid were ready, the rain had stopped and all three stepped out into an early morning mist - humid but cooler than the days had been. She was glad of that. She had her robe steamed and her badge of office displayed proudly over her left breast. While she probably couldn’t avoid getting the bottom of the robe a little damp from the streets, at least it wouldn’t be a soaking mess.

Outside though, she was met by a surprise. A hand-drawn cart sat out front and Sigmundurr ushered her and Kallid into it.

“Well, you don’t want to show up all tired out,” he smiled as he took up the twin poles. “Besides, it would take forever the way you waddle along these days!”

“Sig! That’s so thoughtful of you. I do believe you might become a gentleman yet!”

“Bah. You insult me. I’m a bull! But for now I’m a harnessed bull. Come on, let’s go.”

The ride to the cathedral was one of the highlights of Kreet’s life. Kallid too was beaming as they watched the city glide by. Fortunately it was still quite early and there weren’t many people out to stare at them. Of course the way was bumpy - but she didn’t let that bother her. She watched as merchants and deliverymen loaded stores into shops along the way, and as servants walked dogs and cleaned walkways as they left the merchant areas behind into the loftier realm of the nobles and wealthier citizens.

And then they passed the palace again. This time it’s outer gates were manned only by a couple of guards, who eyed them as they passed.

And then the trees parted and she saw the cathedral again. She’d not been this close to it before, and hadn’t seen the entire structure before. It was simply breathtaking. Built of dark stone, it looked as if it had been in place for hundreds of years. The palace looked like a new building compared to its imposing facade. She saw monks and laypeople milling around, waiting for the doors to open and for the morning service to begin. And she saw the yellow robes of three Clerics as well. Suddenly she felt chagrined and was going to tell Sigmundurr to stop, so that they could just walk up rather than pull up in a conveyance that would look badly out of place for a Cleric of Pelor.

But Kallid insisted - along with Sigmundurr - so they pulled right up to the front of the cathedral where all eyes were upon them. Sig set down the poles and Kallid hopped down, then both helped Kreet out. She brushed their hands away though.

“Now stop it. I’m not THAT helpless!”

“I’ll take the cart back,” Sig said as the two kobolds looked up at the church. “I’ll be back around sundown. If you need me before then, look for me in that park. I’ll probably hang out around here.”

“Thank’s Sig,” she said. “Really. It was… very special.”

Uncharacteristically, Sigmundurr just nodded and began walking the cart back the way they had come.

The two kobolds turned back and stared at the tower which rose impossibly high into the sky. Kallid pointed out some gargoyles near the roof line which looked suspiciously like kobolds.

“Well, maybe that means we scare away evil spirits!” Kreet said hopefully, trying to ignore the stares of the people around them. But the three Clerics were coming down the stairs towards them and Kreet bade Kallid to stay behind her.

Kreet bowed low to the three, but was happy to see they bowed back to her in an accepted sign of respect for equals.

“You would be Kreet, I assume,” said the oldest of the three. “I am Pern, the ranking Cleric here. Welcome to the Cathedral of Pelor. We’ve been expecting you.”

“And you must be Kallid,” said another, taking Kallid’s hand. “The service won’t begin for another hour, but we’ve been given the honor of showing you around. Would you like a brief private tour?”

Kallid couldn’t withhold his enthusiasm, and Kreet was happy to get out of the scrutiny of all the eyes on her.

The three led the way up the stairs towards the massive dark wooden doors. Kreet saw the carved figures engraved there and could have spent an hour just looking at those, but the doors swung open before they got close enough and in the center was the Bishop herself. It was an impressive display and answered a question Kreet hadn’t the courage to raise at their interview.

The Bishop was obviously a powerful wielder of Pelor’s grace herself.

“Kreet. You came! Welcome! Pern, please allow me to escort her husband and her. I find I have the time after all and am eager to show her myself if you’d be so kind.”

Pern bowed low, and Kreet and Kallid entered into the cathedral alone with the Bishop.

“Well,” Kreet thought as the doors closed behind her, “that should tell everyone in the crowd all they need to know about whether or not I’m really a Cleric of Pelor anyway.”

And then her eyes adjusted to the light within and she stared at the marvels revealed within. And this was just the Narthex! The walls were relatively free of adornments beyond the Eye of Pelor - a stylized sun with beams of light. But overhead were a myriad of tiles forming pictures that told of the beginning of the Pelorian Epic.

“Oh!” was all she could say, and Kallid squeezed her hand as they both craned their heads skyward.

The Bishop laughed as she looked to the ceiling too. “It is good to see this wonderful church through the eyes of newcomers. I’m afraid I’ve become far too used to it.”

“I could never get used to this,” Kreet said almost absent-mindedly.

“Well come along. There’s much to see before service begins and the monks will be coming in soon. After service we can climb the tower. The view of the city from the top is something you really must see. But first, let’s go inside.”

The Bishop motioned with her hand and the inner doors opened. But instead of a darkened, gloomy space she expected, the brilliance within almost blinded Kreet as she shielded her eyes from the glare. It was as if inside was bathed in pure sunlight - though the clouds outside made her wonder how that was possible. Yet as her eyes recovered, it wasn’t the light that drew her in. It was the feeling of her god’s presence. The building, impressive as it was, had been built by mortal hands, but there was something immortal within. She took Kallid’s hand and walked into the Lord of Light’s domain.