Chapter 11: Visitations

To not show favoritism, I stayed on the north side of the street and headed west. I would visit each temple in the order that they came.

I wasn’t sure by who or why Bane’s temple was placed between Aune’s and Sune’s, but it was. Walking through Bane’s grounds, I silently heard the crushing of fallen leaves with each footstep. I couldn’t help but imagining a late fall day hiking through the forest. A strange, yet peaceful feeling. The grounds themselves were filled with gravel and mammoth trees full of life. The scene felt incongruous. I would definitely need to study each God in greater detail so as not to make a fool of myself.

Two cowled members of Bane were silently waiting for me. I had little clue of their status, since everyone belonging to this temple seemed to wear the exact same hooded cloak. Even the gender was difficult to differentiate if they were standing still, as the majority of their builds were similar.

Following their gesture, since neither priest spoke, they led me into the office of the ‘Father’, closing the door after I entered. Behind the desk stood a freckle-faced seemingly youth. Father Chester looked less than a handful of years older than me. When I entered, Belfast’s High Priest of Bane had just finished putting a scroll back in a tube, before returning it to its place on a lattice like shelf similar to a wine rack filled with other scrolls.

“Thank you for coming,” the High Priest said brightly. “I’m Chester.”

Completely off balance, it would be like meeting a happy go lucky twenty-one-year-old Mortician in my previous world, I shook his proffered hand. “Cynthia. It’s nice to meet you,” I smiled ruefully.

Today has been so odd.

“Thanks for sparring Carl. He should recover in a few months, hopefully he learns to choose his assignments with more care. Would you like lunch, you probably haven’t eaten yet. And I am starved.”

“Sure.” Oh Boy! Was he even sane?

Our talk throughout lunch were equally odd. No topic was taboo. When he asked how “I liked this kingdom so far?”, I choked on my lamb.

“I’m enjoying the people for the most part. There will always be some that, well...” He nodded sagely at what was left unsaid. At that time, I saw some unrevealed wisdom in his eyes, confirming that he was a great deal older than he appeared.

“Can you tell me what happened with Aune and Vennon?” Father Chester asked once Lunch was removed by an old woman.

“She lost her way,” I sighed, bringing me down from the enjoyable lunch. “My Lady sent a message through me to one of Aune’s elders. After the trial the Sisters blamed the messenger.” Choosing my words carefully, “Aune was not happy and punished the Sisters after I left ... I think. For any more details please ask them. It was a family affair and not my place to spread unpleasant details.”

The High Priest of Bane nodded as if it was expected. Maybe it was. I wasn’t involved with their community for the short time that I had been here and knew next to nothing about the interrelations between the churches.

“What are your plans now?” A serious question.

“Repair the temple, gather some prospects and spread Sune’s Name. Besides those, I have no ideas as of yet,” I self-mocked.

“Weglar brothers are the best masons in Belfast. I would start with them,” he offered.

“Thanks, that helps. Since I have been invited by everyone else, I should continue the rounds. May I stop back later?”

“Lady Cynthia, you are always welcome here. Your presence brightens my day.”

“Thank you, Father Chester. I hope to see you again soon.” I bowed and left the very, very strange man.

Very.

“I can wait, Cynthia, but will others? You are too naive, blood needs to flow. Will it be a river or an ocean?” The red-haired priest sat behind his desk, pondering the state of his homeland and how his recently exited guest would change it.

Bypassing my temple, I headed towards Tyr’s at the western end of the lane. At least that was my intention, until I saw a disgruntled Theresa with five of her closest friends guarding the hole in the wall I made on my exit.

“Unless someone is strong enough to lift the whole building, I don’t think it needs guarding.” Shaking my head, I laughed at their antics. Lars in particular was visibly uncomfortable. He had lost weight and looked tired. Poor guy.

“Cynthia, did you have to ... Sigh. Do you have a death wish?” worried my friend.

“Would you believe me if I said, ‘it’s not my fault’?”

“No,” “Nope.” “No way.” “No.” Four of the six responded aloud, the other two shook their heads in agreement with their fellow Guildies.

“Thanks, guys,” I made a face. “Come in and have a look around. It looks like the place has been sealed for centuries.”

Wrapping my arm around the big guy while going inside with the rest. “Looks like it’s been hard on you. Keep hanging in there, Lars. I’m rooting for you.” Bending over I plucked a yellow Lily from the ground and inserted it in a buckle on his chest. Being this short was annoying sometimes.

“This way.” I led them into the interior. “It’s a mess. Guildmaster, I will need repairs and supplies. Is the Guild willing to accept requests from little ole me?”

“Of course, we won’t even charge you extra.” The, now, young looking adventurer leader gave me the best response. I would have refused if she gave me a discount, and charging more would have led to tension.

“Cool. Can someone ask the Weglar brothers to meet me here at noon tomorrow? Rhonda, is there anyone from the mages Guild that can repair Statuary?

“I can, if all the pieces are present.”

“Talk to me later, after you figure out a price. I’ll also need cleaners. There is blood and dust everywhere. Oh, and if any of you know a likely lass or young man, whose personality might do well in this environment, please send them my way. I give referral bonuses.

“One last thing.” I raised my hand, and for the first time I actively, on my own, gave a blessing without guidance from Sune.

“May you find beauty in unexpected places.” From the palm of my outstretched hand a soft white light covered the six. The effect on Lars was the most noticeable in the straightening of shoulders and lessening of tension in his eyes. The pale, greenish white aura Sune’s blessing left around them was visible only to me, even after we departed later.

They toured the lower levels and offices with me. I asked Rhonda to see what she could do after offering me a price which was lower than expected. But still not cheap. I encouraged her to begin at her discretion. Theresa, I took aside and gave a breakdown of what happened at Aune’s, adding the two other names and their sentences, asking her to keep the three’s verdict to herself.

Theresa’s questions were pointed and concise to see if I could be held responsible for Aune’s temple debacle. After she was assured that I was as innocent as I could be, we talked about her new visage and rejuvenated body.

As much as she tried to repress it, she was ecstatic. Old injuries were gone along with aches and pains. Her range of movement had substantially increased. There was something else she wasn’t saying about her recovery. But I didn’t feel the need to press.

“I believe that was a thank you from Sune for bringing me to her. Accept it.”

I could tell she was worried about the fallout, both hers and mine.

Smacking my friend on the arm, “I said accept and enjoy. There is no use worrying about it.” Sighing, “I need to go. The rest of the temples sent invites and I need to see each sooner than later. Today would be best.”

Acknowledging her parting words of warning, I headed out to Tyr’s.

“Why didn’t you stop her?” complained Lars.

“It wouldn’t have done any good.”

“Will she be okay?”

“For now, yes. When the news starts spreading, I doubt it will be simple,” Theresa speculated.

“We’ll be lucky if a war hasn’t started by harvest,” she mumbled to herself after Lars went inside to look around, leaving Theresa alone with her thoughts.

Tyr’s grounds were different than the rest. Where the others so far had a definite layout, The God of the Hunt and Nature was an endless forest. I thought, without any certainty, that it had to be an illusion. I wasn’t certain at all. Minutes after wandering aimlessly, a late-twenties man, in leathers similar to Teresa’s, approached me with a smile. Instead of metal buckles, his were made of bone. A mid-sized hooked skinning knife was on one side of his belt and a wide ended machete hung from the other.

“Greeting Priestess. May Your Hunt be Successful.” The straightforward man saluted with his fist to his chest.

“Thank you, Warden is it? You can call me Cynthia.”

“Yup, it’s Warden. I’m Lester. Thanks for coming. I’m the only one here right now besides Petey. I’m not sure where he is hiding at. I think pretty girls make him even more nervous than hunting unicorns,” he laughed pleasantly.

“I thought he was cute when he delivered your message.” The stutter and blush from earlier were amusing.

“Game Keeper Quinn is out with the others and won’t be back for a tenday. I will let her know of your arrival on her return if she doesn’t already know. You will have to put up with me. Sorry.” His grin said he wasn’t sorry at all.

“That’s fine. Can you show me around and tell me about Tyr?” In the center of the forest was a small four room shack. Mostly for keeping records. The rest of the grounds were miles of natural woodland. We even passed a small family of white-tailed deer, which ran at my presence. Exactly as I was led to believe, Tyr’s clergy supported the kingdom by helping with foresting and game control. The most skilled rangers all were taught at or with the aid of The Hunt God’s assistance.

Lester was a good-natured man in his early thirties, a few years older than I thought. He even let it slip once or twice that he was looking for a wife and if I stumbled across a good one, to point him out. I laughingly agreed. And instantly, my bored Goddess flashed my quest icon. In a lull, I opened the queue, and sure enough: *’Find Lester a suitable wife’ was at the top of the list. Not that there was a second one. Yet.

Waving at my host, I left the forest and headed across the wide lane to Ola’s, Goddess of Harvest. A centered amphitheater, two large barns, and two grain silos were spaced to the left of the individual gardens. A man in coveralls, who was a dead-on image of Jed Clampett, including the worn gray wide brimmed hat, met me and introduced himself.

He was serious and worried. Aune’s issues shook him up. ‘Mighty’. We sat on the edge of the amphitheater and he listened to the exact same report that I gave Father Chester without interruption.

“Evil tidings,” replied Shepherd Meier. “Did your Lady have any messages for us?”

“None at all. I only suspected the purpose behind the one she sent Aune. I was just a messenger. That Judith included me in the hearing was also out of my expectations.”

Meier whistled with his two fingers after he turned his head away from me. Thankfully, he did or I would have been deafened otherwise. Two large, Lars large but leaner, men came trotting at his summons. Each dressed similarly but with their unique flavors, or their wives’ flavors, I thought.

“This is Lady Cynthia. Boys, treat her well. What I called you for was to deliver a cask of beer and a bag of flour to Sister Tracey and Curtis. They will be having rough times ahead.” Both replied, ‘Hi, Lady,’ and after listening to his instructions, trotted off.

“Looks like the community here is closer than I thought.” I never said a word about Sister Tracy to him.

“Some are, some aren’t. The lass had fallen on hard times and I would be a poor neighbor if I didn’t lend a hand.”

“Meier, you’re the best neighbor. I will be thrilled if you will be my friend too.” I warmly patted his arm.

“On 10-day, come dance with us. Bring your smith friend.”

“Deana? I can do that. What time?”

“Six. It’s potluck, leave room for dinner.”

“Ha, I know your type, you have a good man in mind for my friend. Good luck with that. I won’t spoil your plans. Don’t forget that you will have to get him past Richard’s guard.” I laughed while lightly tapping him on the arm. “I hear Warden Lester is also looking for a wife. I only met him once but he seems like a good man. Ever consider extending an invitation to Tyr’s men?”

“Lester said that to you, did he?” He slapped is leg in glee. “About time he gave in. I’ll send Ellie over to invite him. I’m sure she will thank you later.”

With a hopeless failure of an evil grin, I asked, “How many do you think we can set up this month?”

“Not enough lass, not enough...” he was dead serious. It looked like his profession should have been marriage director instead of farmer.

I giggled at that thought.

Giggled?...

I had never giggled before. EVER! Forcibly relaxing my muscles and face after the sudden chills, I forwarded the conversation, “Will you show me around, Meier? I should visit the rest and I still need to visit my smith friend.”

Shepherd Meier caught that something struck a wrong chord with me. He didn’t probe, agreeing to my request.

The silos each had a stone and mortar wall, bisecting the insides in half. A second silo was filled with wheat and the other held a good amount of corn and half with in something else, I didn’t ask or look closely, being distracted by the sheer amount of organization of staples and supplies under Meier’s watch.

The barns had cows and hay, the gardens that abounded were all taken care of by the wives. Unlike the other servants, both husband and wife were priests and priestesses of Ola. When the husband or wife married a Priest, the spouse automatically became one too.

I liked that setup - it kept the disparity between the sexes to a minimum and everyone felt like they had an equal role. The temple rotated their Servants around the countryside. Implying that a great deal more priests of Ola were working the lands and helping the nearby communities than the rest of the Gods’ servants combined.

“Tomorrow, I plan on being at the temple all day. I am sure that you know the people of this city better than I do. If you find any young lasses or boys that might fit with Sune’s teachings, please send them my way or let me know.

“I promise that I will honestly consider each and every applicant. Serving a Goddess of Beauty doesn’t mean one has to be beautiful. It means that you have to have an appreciation of beauty in all forms, not just pretty faces.” Meier nodded sagely and escorted me out of his grounds. He remained outside of his gates, watching me head east and through Sur’s gates for the second time today.

Forgemistress Amanda did not like my message at all. Not that she held it against me. But I think it would be a cold day before any of Aune’s people were openly welcomed at her Forge. We spoke briefly of my plans of restoration, she promised to send someone tomorrow.

On leaving Sur’s, that strange silver-leafed tree in the center of the road beckoned me. When I stepped beyond the sixteen-foot diameter stone circle, I clearly saw a silver aura surround the oak-like tree. Touching my fingertips to the rough bark stopped the world. Everything but me paused in place. The wind, the insects, the people, the birds and even sound.

Catching my breath, “I bid greetings to Tone,” I called out. Terrified! out of my wits.

Two eyes opened in the tree, revealing amber yellow orbs filled with sap. The mouth, a foot under those mysterious gel filled amber sockets and disproportionately large, spoke, “Do you Understand Time, Childe of Gods?”