Enlightenment Through BDSM

Kalia wasn’t super excited about going out right now, but I didn’t want to wait. We didn’t really have anything to do other than wait for Dreck, and Kalia admitted herself that she had no idea when he’d be back anyway.

And so we were off towards the outskirts again, the southern edge of the town this time though. It was still surprising how neat and clean all the streets were, how picture perfect everything looked right up until you exit out into the open fields again. Inside the valley there were smaller, rolling hills cut apart by the river and littered with standalone buildings, farmhouses, guard stations, and one building right upon the river that was made almost entirely of stone, standing out both from the regular architecture I’d seen so far and drawing my attention even before I realized it was the monastery we were looking for.

“Remember, this is sort of the equivalent of a church,” Kalia said. “So… be respectful, I guess?”

“I wouldn’t be anything else,” I replied, still taken in by the structure. There was something vaguely familiar about it, but I couldn’t put my finger on it quite yet.

We weren’t the only people visiting the monastery, obviously, but it wasn’t exactly bustling either. There was one cart that someone was unloading sacks from and a couple of other people that looked like visitors, but the majority of people there were all in plain brown robes, looking not too dissimilar from the makeshift dress I’d been wearing earlier in the day, tending to the small vegetable garden that surrounded the courtyard, lugging stones around for some reason, some even just meditating.

“Should we ask for help from one of them?” 

“No,” Kalia said. “They’re all busy, but inside the temple itself there should be someone to help. May need to wait a bit.” I was pretty happy with that answer, considering most of them did look quite engaged with whatever they were doing, even if that something was nothing for some of them. 

We carried on into the building itself, passing under a stone archway with no door into a room that reminded me of a small church I’d been to once for a funeral, long halls with dirty looking carpets, pew-like benches, a stone stand at the far end. We didn’t go there though, instead going down a winding hall that I hoped Kalia knew the purpose of.

Despite what should have been excellent ventilation with the open windows and lack of a door, the inside of the temple still seemed musty, a cloud of dust in the air wherever we went. Maybe it was just the winding tunnel-hall we were trapped in, but my nose was having a hard time breathing through the crusty air.

Eventually though, we did find what I assumed Kalia was a looking for, a half-rotted, falling apart wooden door with a small line of people waiting next to it. We joined the line, and it wasn’t long before a man came out of it and a voice called, “next visitor, please.” 

We didn’t even have to wait for the door to open again before the voice called out again, asking for another visitor once again. “What happened to the other girl?” I asked Kalia as the man in front went inside. 

“I don’t know,” Kalia whispered back. “People come here with all sorts of needs. She could be staying the night.”

I both did and didn’t want to know what “all sorts of needs” meant. My heart began pounding, tail twitching as yet another person was called back, still without another person coming out. And then someone who I’d never even seen came out without them calling another person back! What was going on behind that door? 

I was ready to bolt at any sign of movement before I realized I’d be finding out soon enough. I’d thought there was another person in front of me, that I had a little more time, but when the next call came, both people in front of me went in. I know that I was also there with someone else, but my nerves thought it was really unfair for them to not at least tell me I was going to be next!

It was only seconds later that the door swung open, the first girl that I’d seen enter coming back out. I hadn’t gotten a good look at her face before, but she didn’t look good now, cheeks red and puffy, eyes watering…

“Next visitor!” the voice called. It wasn’t one I’d heard yet, actually, and the shock of it froze me stiff. 

“Come on,” Kalia said, grabbing my hand and leading me in as the door closed. 

I still wasn’t sure what exactly I was scared of, but the interior of this new room didn’t quell those fears. It was a library of some sort, the kind you’d see in a horror movie or Twilight Zone rerun, but older and only lit by a couple of candles. The bookshelves all looked beyond repair, like they’d fall over any moment, and the handful of people that were in there were sat at equally unrepaired desks.

“Over here,” the voice said. I turned to my left, finding a woman in those same brown robes sat at a desk. I’d seen many types of people up until this point, so I wasn’t exactly in disbelief to find someone with purple hair braided back, slinking around rabbit ears, a round face and shining purple eyes, but I did let out a gasp regardless. As I jumped back, she also let out a small gasp, nearly falling off her stool before waving her arms and catching her balance.

“Sorry,” I said, trying to regain my composure, feeling my ears flop down at the attention the room was giving me. “I just, uhm, you startled me.”

“No, I’m sorry,” the girl said bowing and laying her self across the table. “I know my appearance is frightening. I should take more care, especially with rabbits roaming around…”

“Not anymore,” Kalia said, leading me over to the table as the other people resumed their own conversations. “We cleared them out a couple hours ago, actually.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” the girl said, lifting her head up and revealing eyes wide with wonder. “So you’re adventurers?” she asked me.

“I think so?” I said.

“Oh, pardon, me,” the girl said, bowing again. “Welcome to the holy temple of our goddess Altris. I am Edelin. How may I serve you today?”

“Altris?” I said. 

“Yes, the goddess of service,” she said. “Are you familiar with her?”

“She’s, well…” I looked to Kalia, trying to piece together what was okay and what wasn’t, but she didn’t seem to understand my plight. “I think she’s the one who brought me back to life?”

There wasn’t complete silence, as the people at other tables were still talking, but both Kalia and Edelin froze, Kalia with a look of horror that I suspected was quite similar to my own upon entering the room, and Edelin just with bewilderment.

“Oh, are you a Reborn monk?” Edelin finally asked. “In service of Altris?”

“Yes,” I said, seeing Kalia visibly relax next to me. “Uhm, I have really bad amnesia though. Like, really bad.”

“The worst case I’ve ever heard of,” Kalia said. “And I’m Reborn myself, level two.”

“Oh, a pleasure to meet you both!” Edelin said with a smile, round face tilting to the side as she looked us over. “Well, was there something I can help you with here? We have information services, probably the most you’ll find on Altris anywhere. I can also offer clerical assistance if you’re having trouble integrating into Valleytown or the Guild.”

“It really is like a library,” I muttered.

“Of course!” Edelin said, giggling. “That’s what this room is after all.”

“Well, we’re kind of looking for education. Mai, show her your skill?”

“Right here?” I said.

“On the card.”

“Oh!” I placed my hand out, conjuring the card with the intent that Edelin could read Soul Strike. That’s all I had to do, right, just think that she could read that one?

She took the card from me, eyes scanning is as I braced for judgment. But the judgment never came, just another tilt of the head and a small look of confusion. “Never heard of a class like that before. Do you remember much from your time in service the monastery?”

“No, nothing at all,” I said. Kind of the truth, if you ignored the fact that I was very sure I’d never done such a thing at all.

“Hmm. Well, if I had to guess you were likely not at a temple specifically, but in service to a specific noble family. That was more common back then, before adventurers became a bigger thing among people with monk Jobs. Anyway, you’re having a problem with this skill?”

“Yeah, uhm, it kind of works? But not really consistently. Sometimes it seems to affect me more than whatever I’m using it on, or the energy just gets wasted into the air, if that makes sense?”

“Oh, I probably know what the problem is then,” she said, handing back the card and standing up. “Come on ahead to the back, and I’ll show you.