[Though a dragon of any kind might be an unusual companion for a person to have, Liem doesn’t think to be suspicious of Rudbeckia’s lack of explanation for how she came to have the company of such a creature. Granted, she does not look like any warrior or beast-tamer he’s ever met, but to his knowledge, even the lowliest of dragons has some degree of intelligence lurking behind its reptilian eyes. They are not mere animals, incapable of viewing people as anything but threats or prey.

And, in any case, dragons are known to be fond of young maidens.]

Refugees?

[As he neatens his own pile of containers, he observes the stubborn set of her chin with a curious eye; Liem had not previously considered that anyone would be of a mind to preserve any of Alenroux’s monsters from the wrath of those intent on making the island safe for inhabitants.

If Set knows of the refugee population around his shrine — and Liem assumes that he must — he wonders what use the god might have for such a thing: monsters living in the woods near his shrine, beyond the limits of Highstorm itself. More and more, the god’s presence in these woods seems like something that would put a sour expression on the face of Highstorm locals.

With a perfectly straight face, he says,] Well — better here than in Alenroux.

[The stacked containers are set aside, near the exit, for his departure. Given that he didn’t only visit to retrieve his wayward Tupperware, however, he is content to let them sit for now. He has an offering to make, and besides, he is in no hurry to say his goodbyes to… Set’s shrine maiden?]

I didn’t know he had such a thing, in this world. [The upward twitch of his eyebrows betrays his genuine surprise. Rudbeckia has not, to his cursory knowledge of her, seemed like someone whom he’d expect to devote herself to any Osirian Egyptian god, much less one of deserts and violence.] Was that your calling back home, as well?