NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23 - Bury Your Past
Ixik scowl darkened her face as she scolded me. "You must repent and calm the flames that anger the gods. I will give you some seeds to repair what was lost. Practice some nurturing to understand the ways of the great god, Nitia. Follow me now."
She stood and walked to a nearby wall where small hemp bags sat on a larger dresser. She yanked opened each drawer, going row by row, collecting seeds that ranged in color and size. Some were as small as a gnat, others looked like three garlic bulbs stuck together ready to burst out. When the bag threatened to overflow, she secured it by tightening the strings. A few of the small feathery seeds floated out and dusted them to the ground. With the heel, she buried the seeds in the dirt beneath her with tints of magical sparks surrounding the seed.
"Good enough." She declared.
"You're looking more like a guardian there." I tried making a compliment to save grace.
Ixik cackled, but no hearts appeared above her head. She shoved the bag at my chest. "For repenting, you must bury these out in the forest."
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[A Quest! Bury your past for forgiveness.
Description: The head priestess Ixik believes you need repenting from causing something fiery and destroying her god's gift out in the world. By appeasing her, you will gain favor with her and the god Nitia as well.
Accept: Forced assignment.]
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This quest was separate from my Root and Seeds quest. It was a whole new quest on its own that lacked a timer. I took the seed and stuffed it into my inventory with zero plans about chasing after this side quest.
"Apostles!" Ixik shouted that the leaves of the building trembled, as if passing her message on an invisible wind. "Escort the young woman and this man out now."
Raising my hands, I retreated toward the entrance. "I'm sorry for any offense. I was only looking for a book or information on what the guardian did."
Ixik pointed to the open door and marched after me. Her face set in a scowl as she pointed to the outside. "You're welcome is gone vile destroyer of the forest."
Her tone made me panic, even though her marker remained white as we got out of the building. She was four times my level. I wouldn't be able to scratch her.
"Hey! I can walk on my own." Naiad's voice snapped at one of the Apostles dressed in dirt stained gardening clothes who grabbed her arm. She noticed me and pouted. "I see you offended someone again, Dad."
"I didn't!" I replied. At least my words didn't.
"Nurture." Ixik hissed next to me and then backed up.
They pushed us out of the gate, and I still had no answers about Lady Branchelot's actions. I begged for an answer again. "Then nurture me and give me guidance, like you are a gardener. Who did Lady Branchelot serve?"
Every apostle blocked our way back, with Ixik standing behind them. She crossed her arms as she replied. "If you do not know that yet, maybe the gods are sparing you, but which ones? Heaven, Hell, or Earth? I do not know what you took or why you ruined the guardian's home. Their rest will never be peaceful, for they have failed their duty because of your actions. Without them, the balance will shift and I suggest you restore it by planting those seeds."
She continued to blabber on, pulling out a vine and weaving it in a circle as a symbol of the scale and cycle of the world. "Everyone serves their part and if we change the balance, then the life we know will tilt and roll away. "
Flowers bloomed on the vine, and she just kept talking as if she was the only source of carbon dioxide for the plant in her hands.
Naiad acted extremely invested as the priestess rambled on. At last she finished, or at least took a breath, long enough for me to say. "Thanks for everything. We'll be on our way."
I was aware of Lady Branchelot's service to the god Chiliam, but I needed to find his realm without getting lectured and wasting more time on pointless areas like this. The holy district had multiple shrines, temples, and churches decorating in multiple styles, as if that was enough to declare the god they served. It would be a lot more helpful if they stuck a sign out front declaring it.
"That was a useless visit." I declared as we walked into the street.
"Not for me," Naiad declared merrily. "I found a secret that progressed my quest. It was nice not having to fight for it. It's called kinanom, I think?" She summoned out a rolled-up piece of brown bark.
The game called it a cinnamon stick. The game made us work on the quest, but the writing in here felt lack luster and annoying.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I pointed to it and said, "You're kidding. We're in a world of fantastical elements and the writers were too lazy to think up something more creative than cinnamon as the secret spice?"
"That's the interesting part. It's not a spice, but a branch. There's a difference between spices to herbs and roots. I grabbed a sapling and…oh I get it now." She sniffed the stick and her ears turned red with embarrassment. "This is the same stuff we put on hot cider… we use it for cinnamon buns."
"Yup. You should start reading the nutritional labels more often." I looked at the stream numbers and noticed a dip compared to yesterday's spike. We needed to do something more exciting than this. "Is that the herb you're going to give to the vulture?"
"Not anymore. I found one herb, there, but I want the other one." The dried bark vanished into her inventory.
I didn't pry into which herb she found, respecting her secretive choice and giving her time. "Hey, good work. I look forward to seeing what you do end up picking." I told her.
We walked further down the street, passing the next temple with smoke pouring out and darkening its once deep blue colors, but now coated in black. A believer stood by the gate, passing out papers.
Even without a sign, I could tell this wasn't the temple we wanted. There were no plants and Naiad didn't need the graveyard anymore now that she had her secret plant. Seemed most people avoided the temple and stayed on the other side of the street. I didn't care, I could ignore the person passing out papers.
The smell in the air was light, with incense that burned in the entrance nearby. It reminded me of something I couldn't place what. One person played the two large drums, each deep sounding next to the smaller sharp sound drum in the outer court. Together and then separate, and together again they hit the stretched leather. Our feet followed the beat as we walked along the wall toward the entrance, waiting our turn to line up. I wanted to grab the paper and learn more, to watch the drummers play. It wouldn't be out of our way, a simple distraction.
Right large drums, then the left smaller one. Feet together, we were suddenly standing at the gates, hands out waiting. The believer didn't pass me the paper. My hand shook as it reached for the purple paper from the middle-aged woman at the entrance, dressed in black.
The paper had a simple ink drawn design of a black circle with a triangle in the middle of it.
Why did I want the paper? This wasn't like me.
"Yes, come in. The goddess Leith takes in all souls." The man behind the wall called to us. He had a long gray beard, with a single white streak down the middle. "Tell her what it is you seek. Step closer if you wish to watch."
I was in awe as he struck the large drums.
The younger man nearby hit the smaller one. I moved with my right, and then my left. As I always had. Together and forward. Naiad did the same.
This wasn't my goal. I wanted something else. I stopped, grabbing the paper.
Through the fog, and my body's want, I paused and asked what was on my mind. "Do you know of the guardian in the woods? Lady Branchelot?" I needed to say the words out. The sooner I found the answer, the better everything would be. I would have guidance.
"I wish to understand nature's role in raising the dead." Naiad brought the cinnamon stick out again. "I need an answer about this."
The man smiled in a way that normally would have me turning and running the other way, but with the music, it seemed fun and, well, it made me smile back.
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[Unlucky Roll! You've leveled up your Will from 1 to 1.25!]
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Naiad's question could wait. I wanted to be first. "Answer mine first."
"Yes, Leith holds all those answers. Just heed her call. Feel it." The old man preached to us.
Left. Together. Right.
We were right at the gate. The black bricks of the gate arched above my head. I'd be in a safe place.
Naiad jumped over at me and smacked me in the face with the cinnamon stick.
"Dad, stop!" Her bow was out, and she drew an arrow right at the bearded man.
I stepped in front of the man to save him. "What are you doing? He is an apostle of Leith. She is the goddess we are looking for."
At that moment, I heard the cackles emitting from the temple. The cracking of wood burning. The threat of monsters just on the other side of the doors to the temple. All the noises that hid underneath the sounds of the drums.
"Bring me the stones." A woman's voice whispered in my ear. Something in my peripherals moved. I looked further around. I couldn't find anything as Naiad yanked me back to the street, further from the shadows of the arch.
"Don't go in there. You're being tricked in." Naiad said, sniffing her cinnamon stick.
The elder apostle of Leith hit the drums together and my feet locked up. He spoke to me, ignoring Naiad. "The goddess speaks to you. Heed her words and be blessed!"
The dream beat continued.
Right foot.
Left.
Naiad scrapped the cinnamon sticks across my face and threatened to jam them up my nose. Unlike when it was on my oatmeal, it had a strong smell.
Naiad yanked on my arm. "Get it together."
A creature chirped on the gate. It was so loud it caused me to jump back into the shadows of the gate. Again. This time, I heard the woman's voice. "Stay and you shall be blessed. Deliver the seed and I will lead you to great power."
Underneath her voice, I heard the chirping of the frog in time to the voice. It was louder than the annoying drums. I wanted them to stop making such a racket.
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[Lucky Roll! You've leveled up your Will from 1.25 to 2.25!]
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The smell of cinnamon overpowered the smell of fire from the temple. As strong as the scent hit me, so did the realization.
They were using smell and sound to draw me in. I stepped back as fast as I could and out into the street. The apostle of Leith stopped his drumming and crossed his arms. The chirping sound called out, and I located the tiniest dart frog sitting up on the gate's pillar.
"You have betrayed the goddess," the apostle proclaimed. "I won't forget this slight, but I'll forgive you if you do as she asks."
I shouted back, "Seriously? Do you mind control people into joining your prayer sessions?"
The chirps came louder and what I thought was black and blue frog changed into an orange. It hopped up and down, but never came near me.
I wasn't sure what to do, but the drama drove the streaming numbers up. This meant I was on the right track. I glanced at Naiad. "I got seeds I can give them."
"Don't go back!" She snapped. "It's creepy."
Both apostles were following us. The orange dart frog on the young man's shoulder. "Only a few may hear her song. You were chosen today, yet you still reject it. She was the one who told me to play the drums, she is the one telling me to bring you in. For Leith is death and song."
Both apostles stormed at us, pulling out rope, but on one side of the rope was a long dagger.
"Run!" I told Naiad. To buy her time to get away, I pulled out the hemp seed bag from the temple of Nita.