A long sigh escaped my lips as I watched my fellow priests and priestess go about their work, looking like a nest of startled ants as they did so. From everywhere around me I could hear calls, shouts, and loud conversations, adding to the chaos and causing me quite a headache.
Just bare hours ago, the part of the temple dedicated to Cilia had looked pretty much abandoned, as only me and Magret, a fellow priestess of mine, were here to take care of it. Now it easily was the busiest place of the whole building complex, with pretty much everyone I knew and not knew being on their feet.
The head priest was trying to lead all of this chaos, selecting random passersby to do sometimes important, sometimes utterly useless, or odd jobs for them to fulfill. But despite him looking rather overwhelmed, it somehow all worked out.
The simple stone stele itself had not changed all too much, with as plain it was. Sure, it was easily as tall as me and had letters of pure gold mentioning Cilia’s names and titles, but it was honestly a far shot from the dedication Kiomi had dared to build. Still, countless hands were busy making it shine by polishing its surface, decorating it with colorful flowers and even gathering small earthen bottles and pots filled with wine and other valuable goods for them to be sacrificed to the long-lost goddess.
Contrary to the statue in the dungeon, the stele was in no way going to absorb any of these things. The carefully selected flowers would simply wither away and would need to be exchanged from time to time, with only the wine, spices, and offerings of coins and gems staying till the end of time - or waiting until someone got too greedy and tried to make their run with them. Then there was a golden plate of dried meat as well, since both legends and ancient scriptures were claiming the goddess liked it a lot despite being the origin of life herself.
The sole thing that seemed to be missing was a serving of fried tofu, a common dish in some faraway lands. I had never seen or tasted the thing as I was basically living off whatever was donated to the temple, which was mostly locally grown and raised vegetables, fruits, and meat, but if a goddess is said to enjoy that foreign dish, it would surely taste divine.
I shook my head and went back to watching all the strange things happening around me, trying to force myself to not jump at the first chance to help my friends and colleagues. The head priest himself had been very direct with the single demand he dared to give me, which was for me to not lower myself by doing the work I had done half of my life.
Obviously, that was going to need some time to get used to, but there was simply no way of going back: I would never again be a priestess. Instead, I was someone of much higher standing now. Sure, I was still going to have a bed and home at Abervale’s temple - or any temple of my desire, essentially - and could go in and out as I pleased, but other than that, everything had changed.
Then there was even the chance that the king himself would step in and offer me wealth and a permanent home, just to somehow bind me to his kingdom without using force. It was only a matter of time before word of my recent ‘promotion’ would reach his ears after all, and every single champion, even the weakest ones, was a valuable asset if not for prestige alone. Just having me here would also solidify his reign over the kingdom, as a deity itself would watch it grow and develop for decades to come.
I could only sigh as I pushed this matter to my future self. Dealing with people in power has always been a topic of fear for me, so knowing that the top of the so-called food chain was soon to reach out to me was leaving me more than just a little uncomfortable. I felt the same even about the head priest, albeit having lived under him for half of my life had helped me get used to him somehow.
With nothing better to do, I left this matter behind, instead making my way toward the living quarters that had been my home for all of these years. Judging by how busy the temple itself was right now, it was likely for there to be only a single soul to be found in the woman’s quarters: Fren. The ratkin was likely getting some well-deserved sleep in these very moments.
Of course, I didn’t like the idea of waking her up just yet. It had only been a few hours after we had arrived, after all, having wasted most of the night traversing the treacherous Abervale Forest. It was obvious she was exhausted, and the way she had almost hugged my bed was more than proof of the fact that mere furs hadn’t been enough to get her comfortable.
It took me quite some time to reach my room, especially since I was frequently stopped by my former colleagues who seemed very eager to have a chat with me right now. This was quite the contrary to the past years which had left me as little more than an outcast, as I served Cilia of all deities possible, a goddess who hadn’t shown any interest in the world for thousands of years.
There was basically nothing to be gained from befriending someone taking care of a mere stone pillar and sweeping the floor surrounding it. So it went without a surprise that I had barely a handful of friends, almost all of them being paladins rather than priests and priestesses, as the latter of the two had no need for my healing magic. Patching people up was a great way to make friends, after all.
When I finally reached my room, I hesitantly knocked on the door still separating me from the newest addition to my small circle of friends. Fren took a while to answer, but she soon invited me in. Before I knew it, she was already staring at me with her big eyes, seemingly searching for any signs of the news she was sure I was here to give her.
“Nothing new,” I told her. “Just pure and utter chaos out there.”
“I can see that happening…”
“Want to see what the town is like? Maybe check on Alfred or grab a drink? I think I need some fresh air right now.”
The ratkin immediately jumped from my bed before hastily patting down her wrinkly robes. “Gladly!”
I could only laugh at Fren’s reaction. It was clear she had grown sick of being in the temple after mere hours of being here. The meeting with the head priest and his closest aides alone had already ended with an interrogation rather than a discussion or a nice talk. The fact that the ratkin had lived in the dungeon for several days had already been enough to put her into the spotlight for the larger part of an hour - it was only when I rather unwillingly revealed that I had been chosen as Cilia’s champion that she was finally let go and could find some kind of relief.
Naturally, saying that much had pushed all the trouble and questions onto me instead. Only Alfred alone was free from the head priest's grasp, as he simply avoided the discussion altogether by - rightfully - claiming the paladins now had to prepare for far more important tasks.
Not only was there a large team of them to be sent out to secure Cilia’s dungeon but there was also a group of criminals waiting to be chased down that had not only dared to lay hand on a god’s property, a crime that was further worsened by the goddess favoring it so much as to even select it as her chosen dungeon soon afterward but had also tried to involve said property into a blood magic ritual. Kiomi’s father could consider himself lucky if he died a fast death should they catch him. There were more than enough paladins and devout believers willing to enact the much-needed punishment and revenge in their god’s stead.
I shove the matter aside for Alfred and his comrades to deal with, instead deciding to watch the paladins preparing for their various tasks. After that, we could still grab a drink at the local adventurers’ tavern and listen in on what exactly these men and women thought about the news. It certainly had made its way into most of their ears by now, as the temple was by no means closed for business even on this chaotic day.
After leaving our room, we made our way down the hallway and out of the quarters. We avoided walking into the main building, as it basically screamed trouble right now, instead deciding to make our way through the gardens. It was only after a few minutes and after having made it most the way past the carefully maintained beds of flowers, weekly trimmed hedges, and arrangements of exotic trees and inscribed boulders that I noticed a tiny flaw my escape route had: it led us directly into the arms of the choir that used the gardens to practice. I could already hear the dozens of voices of nuns, priestesses, and young girls planning on becoming either of the two.
I could only sigh before leading Fren right past the group, who even stopped singing after spotting us. With my new ears and tail I was easy to make out even with a small number of other beast kin being among the clergy, and the fact that most of them knew me at least from seeing me work in the temple, they were guaranteed to recognize me even after my change. It was only when we were halfway past them that I thought better of it and nodded in their direction as to voicelessly greet them - another one of the head priests demands: I was never to bow again.
When the barracks finally came into view, I couldn’t help but let out a deep breath of relief. We had managed to find our way here without a major incident. Even the two paladins selected to be on guard duty today did little to stop us. Both of them bowed to me in a greeting, to then go back to their task, desperately struggling to keep their eyes away from my newly-gained foxy aspects.
I could only chuckle at their reactions, as it was very likely I would be the same as them should one of them suddenly decide to show up with a fluffy tail and fox ears without prior warning. Knowing the two of them, they would likely try to best to hide it as long as they can, fearing their comrades' playful mockery.
As I passed the two of them, the prankster in me forced me to ‘accidentally’ touch one of them with my tail, giving the poor guy much more to think about.
Soon, we were inside the building, where a wide floor awaited us. Every few meters there was a door leading to the main facilities of the barracks, with small signs revealing exactly what one would find upon opening them, but I didn’t pay those any mind, as the double-winged door at the end of the corridor was already waiting for us. It led to the inner courtyard, where the knights were spending most of their time training and working odd jobs. I could already hear them being busy doing all sorts of things.
I happily pushed the door open, feeling much more at home in this place compared to the temple itself. And indeed, nearly all of my friends were already here, preparing for the things to come. I could see five carriages being prepared and loaded for travel, with dozens of wooden crates and countless weapons being loaded into each of them. Paladins, squires, and even the helpers usually working the kitchen, the warehouse, or the stables were now busy as ants carrying around various goods.
Alfred himself was in the middle of all of this chaos, currently carrying a crate full of axes to one of the wagons. I happily walked over to him, not minding my tail that was very openly showing how I thought about finally getting to talk to someone who wasn’t treating me any different due to my changed status. Fren chased after me, her big eyes darting from one man to the other, all of them foreign faces to her. Still, she didn’t seem to be all too bothered being here, as places like the adventurer’s tavern could easily get more chaotic than even this, with bar fights being a not-too-common sight. A water mage could easily make quite a few free drinks on days like that, a fact Fren happily talked about.
“I knew you would make a great lumberman, Alfred,” I called out for him, “Show those damn trees who is the boss!”
The paladin immediately turned around, greeting me with a smile. “They finally let you go,” he asked.
“Nothing for me to do there.”
Alfred gently placed down his crate before facing me once again. “I can see that happening. Nobody would dare to tell a champion what to do.”
“Not you as well!”
“Never,” he answered with a laugh. “Well… what brings you here?”
“We just want to catch some fresh air, maybe take a stroll through the town?”
“I see…”
“I thought maybe I would find a strong, gentlemanly warrior here willing to protect us should we accidentally stumble into some rowdy tavern.”
“A gentlemanly warrior…” Alfred answered with a laugh. “I guess we have those here. What about Sebar?” He asked before pointing at a nearby comrade. “Maybe you could ask Collin as well!”
“Oh stop it, you!”
“I have to talk to the leader,” the paladin answered with a shrug, “but I guess he will give me a few hours if it is for accompanying you. We are only to set out after midday, after all.”
“I am sure he will forgive you for being late on your war against those evil trees.”
“Not if I sell it to him like that.”
Alfred laughed one last time, before lifting his crate once again and carrying it over to one of the carriages. He then made his way over to his leader, who was more or less busy overviewing all of the work surrounding him. After a few exchanged lines and nods, he was already on his way back to us, a happy smile to be seen on his face. I could barely wait to get out of here…
A long sigh escaped my lips as I watched my fellow priests and priestess go about their work, looking like a nest of startled ants as they did so. From everywhere around me I could hear calls, shouts, and loud conversations, adding to the chaos and causing me quite a headache.
Just bare hours ago, the part of the temple dedicated to Cilia had looked pretty much abandoned, as only me and Magret, a fellow priestess of mine, were here to take care of it. Now it easily was the busiest place of the whole building complex, with pretty much everyone I knew and not knew being on their feet.
The head priest was trying to lead all of this chaos, selecting random passersby to do sometimes important, sometimes utterly useless, or odd jobs for them to fulfill. But despite him looking rather overwhelmed, it somehow all worked out.
The simple stone stele itself had not changed all too much, with as plain it was. Sure, it was easily as tall as me and had letters of pure gold mentioning Cilia’s names and titles, but it was honestly a far shot from the dedication Kiomi had dared to build. Still, countless hands were busy making it shine by polishing its surface, decorating it with colorful flowers and even gathering small earthen bottles and pots filled with wine and other valuable goods for them to be sacrificed to the long-lost goddess.
Contrary to the statue in the dungeon, the stele was in no way going to absorb any of these things. The carefully selected flowers would simply wither away and would need to be exchanged from time to time, with only the wine, spices, and offerings of coins and gems staying till the end of time - or waiting until someone got too greedy and tried to make their run with them. Then there was a golden plate of dried meat as well, since both legends and ancient scriptures were claiming the goddess liked it a lot despite being the origin of life herself.
The sole thing that seemed to be missing was a serving of fried tofu, a common dish in some faraway lands. I had never seen or tasted the thing as I was basically living off whatever was donated to the temple, which was mostly locally grown and raised vegetables, fruits, and meat, but if a goddess is said to enjoy that foreign dish, it would surely taste divine.
I shook my head and went back to watching all the strange things happening around me, trying to force myself to not jump at the first chance to help my friends and colleagues. The head priest himself had been very direct with the single demand he dared to give me, which was for me to not lower myself by doing the work I had done half of my life.
Obviously, that was going to need some time to get used to, but there was simply no way of going back: I would never again be a priestess. Instead, I was someone of much higher standing now. Sure, I was still going to have a bed and home at Abervale’s temple - or any temple of my desire, essentially - and could go in and out as I pleased, but other than that, everything had changed.
Then there was even the chance that the king himself would step in and offer me wealth and a permanent home, just to somehow bind me to his kingdom without using force. It was only a matter of time before word of my recent ‘promotion’ would reach his ears after all, and every single champion, even the weakest ones, was a valuable asset if not for prestige alone. Just having me here would also solidify his reign over the kingdom, as a deity itself would watch it grow and develop for decades to come.
I could only sigh as I pushed this matter to my future self. Dealing with people in power has always been a topic of fear for me, so knowing that the top of the so-called food chain was soon to reach out to me was leaving me more than just a little uncomfortable. I felt the same even about the head priest, albeit having lived under him for half of my life had helped me get used to him somehow.
With nothing better to do, I left this matter behind, instead making my way toward the living quarters that had been my home for all of these years. Judging by how busy the temple itself was right now, it was likely for there to be only a single soul to be found in the woman’s quarters: Fren. The ratkin was likely getting some well-deserved sleep in these very moments.
Of course, I didn’t like the idea of waking her up just yet. It had only been a few hours after we had arrived, after all, having wasted most of the night traversing the treacherous Abervale Forest. It was obvious she was exhausted, and the way she had almost hugged my bed was more than proof of the fact that mere furs hadn’t been enough to get her comfortable.
It took me quite some time to reach my room, especially since I was frequently stopped by my former colleagues who seemed very eager to have a chat with me right now. This was quite the contrary to the past years which had left me as little more than an outcast, as I served Cilia of all deities possible, a goddess who hadn’t shown any interest in the world for thousands of years.
There was basically nothing to be gained from befriending someone taking care of a mere stone pillar and sweeping the floor surrounding it. So it went without a surprise that I had barely a handful of friends, almost all of them being paladins rather than priests and priestesses, as the latter of the two had no need for my healing magic. Patching people up was a great way to make friends, after all.
When I finally reached my room, I hesitantly knocked on the door still separating me from the newest addition to my small circle of friends. Fren took a while to answer, but she soon invited me in. Before I knew it, she was already staring at me with her big eyes, seemingly searching for any signs of the news she was sure I was here to give her.
“Nothing new,” I told her. “Just pure and utter chaos out there.”
“I can see that happening…”
“Want to see what the town is like? Maybe check on Alfred or grab a drink? I think I need some fresh air right now.”
The ratkin immediately jumped from my bed before hastily patting down her wrinkly robes. “Gladly!”
I could only laugh at Fren’s reaction. It was clear she had grown sick of being in the temple after mere hours of being here. The meeting with the head priest and his closest aides alone had already ended with an interrogation rather than a discussion or a nice talk. The fact that the ratkin had lived in the dungeon for several days had already been enough to put her into the spotlight for the larger part of an hour - it was only when I rather unwillingly revealed that I had been chosen as Cilia’s champion that she was finally let go and could find some kind of relief.
Naturally, saying that much had pushed all the trouble and questions onto me instead. Only Alfred alone was free from the head priest's grasp, as he simply avoided the discussion altogether by - rightfully - claiming the paladins now had to prepare for far more important tasks.
Not only was there a large team of them to be sent out to secure Cilia’s dungeon but there was also a group of criminals waiting to be chased down that had not only dared to lay hand on a god’s property, a crime that was further worsened by the goddess favoring it so much as to even select it as her chosen dungeon soon afterward but had also tried to involve said property into a blood magic ritual. Kiomi’s father could consider himself lucky if he died a fast death should they catch him. There were more than enough paladins and devout believers willing to enact the much-needed punishment and revenge in their god’s stead.
I shove the matter aside for Alfred and his comrades to deal with, instead deciding to watch the paladins preparing for their various tasks. After that, we could still grab a drink at the local adventurers’ tavern and listen in on what exactly these men and women thought about the news. It certainly had made its way into most of their ears by now, as the temple was by no means closed for business even on this chaotic day.
After leaving our room, we made our way down the hallway and out of the quarters. We avoided walking into the main building, as it basically screamed trouble right now, instead deciding to make our way through the gardens. It was only after a few minutes and after having made it most the way past the carefully maintained beds of flowers, weekly trimmed hedges, and arrangements of exotic trees and inscribed boulders that I noticed a tiny flaw my escape route had: it led us directly into the arms of the choir that used the gardens to practice. I could already hear the dozens of voices of nuns, priestesses, and young girls planning on becoming either of the two.
I could only sigh before leading Fren right past the group, who even stopped singing after spotting us. With my new ears and tail I was easy to make out even with a small number of other beast kin being among the clergy, and the fact that most of them knew me at least from seeing me work in the temple, they were guaranteed to recognize me even after my change. It was only when we were halfway past them that I thought better of it and nodded in their direction as to voicelessly greet them - another one of the head priests demands: I was never to bow again.
When the barracks finally came into view, I couldn’t help but let out a deep breath of relief. We had managed to find our way here without a major incident. Even the two paladins selected to be on guard duty today did little to stop us. Both of them bowed to me in a greeting, to then go back to their task, desperately struggling to keep their eyes away from my newly-gained foxy aspects.
I could only chuckle at their reactions, as it was very likely I would be the same as them should one of them suddenly decide to show up with a fluffy tail and fox ears without prior warning. Knowing the two of them, they would likely try to best to hide it as long as they can, fearing their comrades' playful mockery.
As I passed the two of them, the prankster in me forced me to ‘accidentally’ touch one of them with my tail, giving the poor guy much more to think about.
Soon, we were inside the building, where a wide floor awaited us. Every few meters there was a door leading to the main facilities of the barracks, with small signs revealing exactly what one would find upon opening them, but I didn’t pay those any mind, as the double-winged door at the end of the corridor was already waiting for us. It led to the inner courtyard, where the knights were spending most of their time training and working odd jobs. I could already hear them being busy doing all sorts of things.
I happily pushed the door open, feeling much more at home in this place compared to the temple itself. And indeed, nearly all of my friends were already here, preparing for the things to come. I could see five carriages being prepared and loaded for travel, with dozens of wooden crates and countless weapons being loaded into each of them. Paladins, squires, and even the helpers usually working the kitchen, the warehouse, or the stables were now busy as ants carrying around various goods.
Alfred himself was in the middle of all of this chaos, currently carrying a crate full of axes to one of the wagons. I happily walked over to him, not minding my tail that was very openly showing how I thought about finally getting to talk to someone who wasn’t treating me any different due to my changed status. Fren chased after me, her big eyes darting from one man to the other, all of them foreign faces to her. Still, she didn’t seem to be all too bothered being here, as places like the adventurer’s tavern could easily get more chaotic than even this, with bar fights being a not-too-common sight. A water mage could easily make quite a few free drinks on days like that, a fact Fren happily talked about.
“I knew you would make a great lumberman, Alfred,” I called out for him, “Show those damn trees who is the boss!”
The paladin immediately turned around, greeting me with a smile. “They finally let you go,” he asked.
“Nothing for me to do there.”
Alfred gently placed down his crate before facing me once again. “I can see that happening. Nobody would dare to tell a champion what to do.”
“Not you as well!”
“Never,” he answered with a laugh. “Well… what brings you here?”
“We just want to catch some fresh air, maybe take a stroll through the town?”
“I see…”
“I thought maybe I would find a strong, gentlemanly warrior here willing to protect us should we accidentally stumble into some rowdy tavern.”
“A gentlemanly warrior…” Alfred answered with a laugh. “I guess we have those here. What about Sebar?” He asked before pointing at a nearby comrade. “Maybe you could ask Collin as well!”
“Oh stop it, you!”
“I have to talk to the leader,” the paladin answered with a shrug, “but I guess he will give me a few hours if it is for accompanying you. We are only to set out after midday, after all.”
“I am sure he will forgive you for being late on your war against those evil trees.”
“Not if I sell it to him like that.”
Alfred laughed one last time, before lifting his crate once again and carrying it over to one of the carriages. He then made his way over to his leader, who was more or less busy overviewing all of the work surrounding him. After a few exchanged lines and nods, he was already on his way back to us, a happy smile to be seen on his face. I could barely wait to get out of here…
