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[attr="class","skullbody"]Nairn was a lovely town near the center of the country, which was a large part of what made it so useful for the Church as well as the Magic Knights. Zahir heard that the Azure Deer had their headquarters somewhere in the city. He had never personally visited the Azure Deer Headquarters, having no reason to do so. But on his walk into the city he saw a number of messengers and Magic Knights moving about bearing the trademark insignia of the Azure Deer. He nodded to each in passing, just as he nodded to any citizens he happened to pass. One never really knew just what was going on in the lives of the people they encountered every day, a kind word and a smile might just be enough to turn someone’s day around and it cost you nothing to offer it. The path to the Church itself was something Zahir could probably walk in his sleep at this point; he had visited it numerous times since his promotion to Deacon. Although he had officially joined the Church as an Attendant of Undine and Nairn’s Church was dedicated to the Gnome, all were welcome within the Church’s embrace. Besides he had something of a fondness for the Gnome if he was honest, if Undine’s message of healing and love had not spoken to him so powerfully he likely would have become a devotee of the Gnome. Afterall, though life flourished only with all four of the Spirit’s elements present, the natural plants he so loved did rather depend more on Water and Earth than any other elements. Wiping a bit of sweat off his brow he finally made his way to the doors of the Church of Nairn.


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Once inside he sought out one of the other volunteers, not feeling the need to bother a Deacon or Priest when anyone familiar with the tasks of the day could likely point him in the right direction. Finding a young man who didn’t look too harried as he consulted a clip board and pointed a fellow volunteer towards some task, Zahir waved as he approached, “Greetings brother, I am Deacon Zahir, Attendant of Undine. I’ve only recently arrived from Raque after getting a message that the Nairn Church was planning a big event and in need of any available hands. Might I inquire where my assistance would be of most use?”


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The man greeted him with a warm smile, thanking him for traveling all this way to do good work in the name of the Spirits. After briefly consulting his clipboard the young man gave him a couple of options, “The soup kitchen could use some extra hands, there’s always bellies waiting to be filled. Or if you’d prefer some of the donated clothing is being looked over and mended when possible to be handed out later.”


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Zahir considered, he would be perfectly happy doing either task but given the two options and needing to make a decision he chose the one he’d enjoy slightly more, “In that case I will make my way to the kitchens. I know the way. Thank you brother and may Undine grant you smooth sailing in your endeavors.”


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Destination in mind he moved off towards the street-facing side of the Church. Their kitchens were humble but lovingly maintained and extremely well used. He had helped out in them before, even before becoming a Deacon when his mother brought him here to visit some family friends in his youth. The old woman who ran the kitchens had a no nonsense attitude that Zahir couldn’t help but grin at. Because he knew that though she would shout and scowl and shake her spoon at any chefs who were dilly dallying in her kitchen, she also worked harder than almost anyone else he had met. As far as he knew she never took a day off, getting here before sunrise every morning to begin setting up. And anytime he had ever seen her she was one of the last people to leave for the day. Frankly he wasn't entirely sure when the woman actually slept. She nodded sharply to him when he entered the kitchen and gestured towards an open spot in the prep line. He smiled and called out, “Happy to be back Rose. I told you I couldn't stay away from my favorite flower for long!”


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She glared and almost threw her spoon at him, he smiled and hurried to his workstation to begin prepping. He knew that there would be a list of ingredients needed posted near the end of the table for newer volunteers who wanted to help but didn’t know what to work on. Zahir loved to cook, especially when it was for other people to enjoy and he had been here enough times to know that the big pots sitting out meant that it was going to be a stew night. That means lots of potatoes, carrots and other veggies. He started with peeling potatoes, working quickly and offering pointers to the woman beside him when she seemed a little out of sorts. He hummed under his breath and let the knowledge that he was using his time well for others carry him through the next few hours of prep work. After the potatoes were peels he diced them into decent sized chunks and moved onto peeling and cutting carrots. He went to pick out some herbs, touching them and reaching out with his mana to bring out just a tiny bit more of their freshness. That was a simple use of mana that most children who had a plant affinity could manage if taught. He had learned it early on and had always glowed at his mother’s praise when he used it to help around their own family events or church drives. He left filling the actual pots to someone else. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but hauling the massive stew pots around made it hard for him to see where he was moving and that was dangerous in a kitchen where there were a lot of strangers and volunteers with less than stellar situational awareness. Once the prep was done and he had set up his first actual stew pot he looked to Rose, “Rose, unless there is something particular I can do here I think I’m going to go help out with the clothing darning for a bit.”


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The older woman looked around his station, as if looking for something to scold him over. But he had been prepared for her critical examination and his station was cleaner when he left it than when he arrived. He offered her a beaming smile as she reluctantly admitted that he’d been helpful and there was nothing else she and the other full time cooks couldn’t handle. On his way out she told him to make sure he came to grab a bowl to eat before he headed out for the day. Zahir laughed and assured her that he would, no one was going to leave this place hungry if she had anything to say about it. Zahir moved towards the back of the Church where he knew they kept and sorted through various donated goods. The Church relied a great deal on donations and it was always an effort to sort through it and ensure everything was being sent where it could be best utilized. Apparently today they were sorting through clothing. When he reached the storage room he met the man in charge of organizing volunteers and asked what he should be focusing on. He was less familiar with this set up than the kitchen so he listened attentively to the man’s explanation. All of the clothing was sorted into one of four piles based on who the clothing was for. Then those piles were combed through for anything that was too stained to be cleared or too damaged to be repaired. If it was damaged but clean it was set aside to use as patch material. Zahir could sew a little bit, patching and darning his own clothing was well within his abilities. But since it seemed there were several sister’s of the Church already doing that work he decided to simply help out with the sorting. The quality of most of the clothing was really quite decent. He was pleased to see that the majority of what was donated was in good condition, perhaps just things families had outgrown. Some of it looked nearly new which wasn’t actually that surprising. A number of noble families, like his own for instance, donated clothing fairly regularly. When a family with ties to merchants or clothiers was the one doing the donating they would often part with anything that happened to be going out of style. Zahir could appreciate that they didn’t simply throw the clothing out and waste it. Not when so many people would be thankful for anything that kept them warm overnight. Since he wasn’t having to pay attention to knife work he was able to chat a bit more while helping sort clothes and got to talk to some of the other volunteers. He thanked them for coming in and spending their free time giving back to others. He emphasized the importance of doing what you could to support those who were not as well off as oneself.


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It was nearing sunset when they had sorted through and patched whatever clothing they could from that set of donations. With that in mind he headed back to the kitchen to begin spooning out the stew to people. The kitchen was on the side of the building because they would serve it at tables just outside on clear days, or bring people in and have them eat seated among the pews if the weather was poor. Luckily it was a beautiful day so they were able to serve the homeless, poor and forlorn out in the fading sunlight, small lanterns being brought out to light up the area. Only when everyone who had shown up for food had arrived did several of the Priests offer up a simple sermon on the importance of everyone who had come together to make days like this possible. One of them indicated Zahir and a number of others who had traveled from Churches in other areas to help out today. Each was offered a chance to say something. Zahir didn’t want to keep the people from their food long but did offer up a simple prayer, “All the Spirits sustain us, as this food fills your bellies and sustains you today. Whether you pray here at the Church of the Gnome or any other Church, or whether you are here simply for the food and companionship, please know that you are welcome and loved. Undine calms even the most troubled waters, may her grace and love calm you all this day as you eat.”


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With that he passed the speaking onto a worshiper of Salamander who had traveled here all the way from Sosshi. He talked of the difficulties that Sosshi faced and how it was only through the cooperation of the people and Church were they able to bring light into the drought darkness of the Forsaken Regions. It was fascinating to hear his perspective and Zahir decided that he should like to see more of the Forsaken Region if he was able. It was certainly hard to travel out that way but it seemed as though there were plenty of towns and villages that could use the loving embrace of the Church there. Only once the various speeches and prayers were done did the actual Church members grab bowls of stew themselves then went out to sit among their people and share words of encouragement and camaraderie. Zahir found himself talking to a man who had been a merchant once but had fallen on hard times due to gambling debts. Zahir spoke to him throughout dinner and learned that his name was Vaughn. After learning a little about Vaughn, Zahir gave him the name of a caravan merchant he knew in the area named Hari. He warned Vaughn that his family’s friend had no patience for slackers or people who weren’t willing to throw themselves into their work. But Hari was always looking for people to work on his caravan if they were willing to deal with long days on the road. Vaughn had tears in his eyes as he thanked Zahir but the young Dwarf just laughed and said, “It is the least I can do. The tides of fate brought us together today and I have learned to trust Undine when she sets someone in front of me. I hope you use this chance to grow and leave the gambling behind you. If things work out perhaps I’ll see you when next I visit Hari.”


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The rest of the evening was spent eating and talking of lighter things. He slept on a small pallet in the Church and said goodbye to Rose and the other members of the Church the next morning before setting out for his walk back to Raque. It would be a rather long walk, but the day was beautiful and the countryside was welcoming and green. There were worse ways to spend a day or two.

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