The Lilliad 33

They spent two days combing the mountainside, going up and down until Lilli’s thighs shuddered from over exertion. They gave up on the proper path and tramped all over the deer trails. All they found was a goat, which they promptly murdered and ate. They didn’t notice until far too late that it had a notched ear, indicating it belonged in someone’s flock.

Lilli made eye contact with Ser Alcuin, who looked uncomfortable. Then she looked at Benk, who was busily digging around for little bits of kindling. Arelt looked equally unrepentant.

“Probably a blessing from the God,” he said, when he caught her looking.

She frowned, uncertain. That didn’t feel right. But she didn’t know enough about gods to argue with him.

Their stomachs were finally full, and their thirst quenched from the well inside the temple. But it was a dejected group that trekked down the winding path with nothing to show for their venture.

“We fulfilled the letter of the request,” Lilli said sullenly. “It seems that the area is safe now. Why shouldn’t they pay us?”

“The implicit understanding is that we ought to come back with an answer of what happened,” Benk sighed. His armor clanked. “We did win a fight with some evil thing. Still, I doubt it was the source.”

“We scared whatever it was off,” Lilli agreed. She rubbed at her tired eyes, feeling flakes of sleep pull away from the inner corners of her eyes. Gross. “But if it wants in the temple, it’ll just come back. And it’s still a danger to whoever comes by.”

“...we could lie,” Igni suggested. “We will be long gone with our gold before anyone else attempts to climb the mountain.”

“Absolutely not,” Lilli and Arelt said at the same time.  She paused to let the older man gently explain.

“We would be responsible for anyone underprepared who died. Morally and legally. We’d be arrested eventually, and we would deserve it.”

Igni paused to digest this. “I suppose it was a selfish suggestion,” they said, sounding shamed.

Lilli reached up to pat her friend. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone needs to learn sometime.” She withdrew her hand just as quickly, because Igni was very cold. “Maybe we can see something on the way down. If not….” she trailed off.

If they didn’t get back soon, they might not even be able to say goodbye to Elathor.

Over 7 days had passed by the time they made it back to the city, dirty and tired. Lilli caught a glimpse of her arm and winced. The lavender of her complexion was looking grey, dulled by dry skin.

She wasn’t the only one who was worn down. Benk was quietly complaining to Arelt about a new hole in his boot. Lilli made a mental note that they needed to seek out a cobbler.

No one was optimistic. But they dutifully trekked to the temple where Ser Alcuin had gotten the work request. This time, Lilli silently followed the knight in, refusing to be left behind.

“You have returned.” An old woman saw them from across the room. The faintest smile crossed her lips. “Come here, good knight.”

“Yes, Milady,” Ser Alcuin agreed meekly. Lilli let herself fall a few steps behind and watched with dark eyes. She crossed her arms and let Ser Alcuin do the talking.

“Priestess, I can report that we returned without harm” Ser Alcuin bent their head respecfully. “As best as we can tell, whatever was preying on pilgrims has left the area.”

“Whatever was preying,” she repeated. The priestess let out a sigh. “Were there sign as to what is responsible?”

“Not that I understood,” the knight admitted. “We encountered a long-dead skeleton. It was used to ambush us. There was also a voice that echoed. It spoke a language none of us recognized.”

“A skeleton?” The priestess sounded mildly affronted, as if it was uncouth for bones to walk. “It was not one of the missing travelers?”

“Certainly not,” the knight assured. “It had been taken from the crypt, one of the old warriors buried inside the old shrine.”

“How bizarre,” she mused. “Old bodies used to attack the travelers?”

Ser Alcuin nodded agreement. “My companion here thinks that whoever it was had been unsuccessfully trying to get into the temple.”

Lilli gave her companion a dirty look for dragging her into it, but she quickly met the priestess’ eye and inclined her head. “After I prayed, I knew that. So whatever it is, it is too profane to enter.”

There was a silence slightly too long while the elderly priestess processed Lilli’s words.

“You knew after you prayed?” She repeated uncertainly.

“Yes,” Lilli said, impatient. “That’s how prayer works, ma’am. You appeal to a god and they communicate if they want to. The important thing is that he was certain the temple was safe. That narrows down the list of suspects to things that can’t enter holy ground. Isn’t that helpful?” She tilted her head, missing Elathor painfully. “I don’t know much about monsters, but I’m certain that we’ve found enough information for an expert to figure it out.”

The priestess gave her another odd look, but she inclined her head. “As you say,” she said politely. “If I could trouble you two for about an hour of your time, I’d like to make a detailed report to pass on to the College.”