Diran's focus strayed to Linai to see how she was getting along without a fire.  Finding her sleeping, he let himself watch over her a little longer, more thankful then ever to have company.  It still surprised him how well they got along despite how different they were.  Remembering the little quip he made about her being, "good, for a woman," he wondered (with a slight grin) how it had ever ended up this way.  The plan had been for him to keep a good distance between himself and his mercenary, but now it seemed he cared about her comfort.<br/><br/>Morning came.  Diran felt tired, but with a god at his core he wasn't as drained as he looked.  That is, except for his biting hunger. Diran was suddenly aware of it when he laid eyes on the meat. He accepted it without much thought, savoring the piece before remembering a gracious, "thank you."<br/><br/>The man nodded and glanced at the village with none of the thoughtfulness of before, just apathy. "He has given me a clear direction now. There are people down there who I need to convince of The Beast's power, to inspire their faith in him so he can be strong again.  If they don't believe, he'll be forced to show himself.  If they believe but refuse to follow, you have to kill them."   For once he didn't try to soften or sugar-coat anything.  Killing strangers probably wasn't anything new to her, and he had already warned her that people would die.  "I think we should arrive separately. That way you can have the element of surprise when the time comes and be able to watch my back meanwhile. I don't know how these people will react to someone like me."<br/><br/>Diran paused there to let her get a word in about the plan. She was the mercenary, after all. He knew little of this sort of thing. "What do you think?"