The sun was setting when Alania made her way to the only temple in the town. Besides the town hall, the chapel was the biggest building in town. Located in the western corner of Quakeshire, its pristine white stone walls and colorful stained glass windows brought a beauty to the otherwise brown and grey surroundings. Its large double doors were wide open, and a warm light fell out into the street, hinting at a cozy interior awaiting all who set foot inside.
Alania had never been super religious, but she sent the odd prayer to the Mother when she really needed something to go a certain way. The Mother had never really listened, though, and it seemed poor Alania was on her own in that regard. But this time was different. She needed all the holy help she could get if there was a curse on the building. She walked up the cobblestone road and made a turn into the small courtyard in front of the pious building, dusting her clothes and boots off before entering inside.
The inside was humble; a half dozen pews ran the length of the building, with a small altar stood in front on a raised platform. To the left was a blessing pool filled with holy water to bless and cure those who were hurt or injured in any way. There were a number of priestesses sitting in the pews, some with other people speaking in quiet voices, others with heads bowed in prayer. Awkwardly, Alania made her way to a human-looking woman sitting isolated near the back of the room. She sat herself by the woman and cleared her voice, her voice quiet, coming out strained.
"Excuse me, sister. I, um, need guidance. Do you have a moment?" The woman raised her head and looked down at Alania, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
"Of course, miss. How can the Mother help you?" She lowered her raised hands to her lap, folding one into the other and giving Alania her whole attention. Alania was silent for a moment, allowing her thoughts to form into intelligible speech, and spoke in a lowered voice.
"You see, sister, I bought the old abandoned shop on Lonestreet, and some people have told me I should... Well, that I should get the building blessed. This is my chance to make something of myself, and I have already paid for the building, so I was hoping you could... I don't know, bless it?" She ended lamely. The sister's smile only faltered for a moment, but it was still visible to Alania. Doubts began to trickle into her mind, poisoning her previous optimism. But the priestess hadn't answered yet, so she tried to push the feelings away. After some time, the priestess spoke, though it was in more hushed tones than before.
"The building you bought does seem to be cursed, but no matter what we do, it fights through our blessings. We cannot figure out what is causing the curse, and as such, we can't get rid of it completely. I can do a ritual to keep the curse at bay for a few months, but it fades, and the curse always comes back. It's also quite expensive, as it requires specific rare components to cast. I can get the supplies ready, if you would like, but long term, it will prove a strain on your coin purse."
Alania's heart fell into her stomach; this was not the answer she wanted. She figured it would be a one-time expense, a few days of priestly types chanting words at the corners of the shop, but this was completely different. Why didn't they tell me this when I bought the place?! She thought angrily. She knew the answer to that, though. They didn't tell her because she would have never bought it, and they obviously wanted her to take it off their hands. And pay one silver a month on top of that! She crossed her arms, falling into a cold despair.
"Not all is lost, love," the priestess carefully put her hand on Alania's arm. "I'm sure we can figure out where the curse is coming from. The previous owner did not permit us to search the property, but if you let us, we could call the royal investigators to investigate when they are available."
Alania's teary eyes looked up at the woman. She had a kind face, her straight brown hair framing her face like curtains, and her deep brown eyes were kind and honest. Alania felt a little flicker of hope come back to life in her chest.
"Of course! When would they be able to come by? I am available anytime. I just need to start renovating the shop. And in the meantime, I will pay for the ritual to keep it at bay." She uncrossed her arms and used them to push herself up to her feet, ready to go there right this moment and finish this whole curse business.
The priestess gave a sad smile. "I can do the ritual tomorrow night, but the team needed for the search has to come from the Capital in Seabrine. It could take a few months to a few years, as the team is specialized and is constantly traveling. I'm sorry to say this is not something that will go away quickly."
This up and down was starting to take its toll on the poor gnome. She didn't know how many times her heart could take being yo-yoed like this. But before she could say anything, the priestess put her hand up.
"I can promise you, it will be fine. The previous tenant in that building lived there for fifteen years before he died!" The priestess obviously meant this to be reassuring, but Alania was far from reassured. Finally, she sighed and gave in.
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"Okay. How much is this ritual?" She was burning through her savings already, and she had only just gotten there yesterday. She grabbed her coin purse with another heavy sigh, bracing herself for the number.
"Twelve silver. And it will need to be redone next summer. Plenty of time to save up, right?" Alania wanted to beat the smile off the priestess' face but instead pulled out a gold piece. "I'll get your change." The woman stood, then paused for a moment. "I'm Sister Rebba, by the by. I figure we should know each other since we will be working together."
"Alania," she replied, worn out from the conversation. Sister Rebba nodded and went into a back room. While she was gone, Alania took a closer look at the building. There were several beautiful paintings done of the different gods and goddesses, with the largest hanging behind the altar depicting the common visage of the Mother, goddess of all gods. She was painted in a beautiful white dress with long sleeves stitched with golden lace. It was a beautiful painting, almost lifelike. Alania could have sworn it winked at her as she turned to take her change from the now-returning Sister Rebba before making her exit.
She looked in her coin purse to judge the damage. She still had a good bit of gold in the pouch, interspersed with silver and copper. She should be fine; even with the new twelve silver tax, plenty of her savings was left to get her shop open and running. As long as the ritual worked, she should be fine. Everything was going to be fine. She tied her purse back onto her belt and turned to leave.
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Alania had so much to do she almost forgot all about the curse and the ritual. The next couple of days were a whirlwind of shopping, scheduling drop-offs, and cleaning as she got ready to start her life in Quakeshire. So when Sister Rebba came one morning with two other priestesses and a small cart full of items, Alania was taken aback at first. When it clicked in her brain what they were there for, her anxiety returned. At least this will keep the curse at bay for the time being. I can worry about everything else later.
She had the presence of mind to not schedule anything that day, so the priestesses had free reign of the space, and Alania decided to make herself scarce while they did the ritual. It's not like she could help at all; this was above her spiritual pay grade. Grabbing her worn cloak to break the cold autumn wind, she made her way into the town center, deciding to finally pick out her new bedroom furniture.
She walked down Lonestreet to the main marketplace towards a small shop she had seen in passing while picking up other bits and bobbles for the shop. A bell chimed as she passed through the threshold, her nose filling with the smell of fresh wood and sap as she ventured in farther. A tall man in a woodworking apron looked up from a workbench in the far left corner. He halted his work and turned to her, dusting off his hands.
"How can I help you, miss?" He queried, his voice deep and smooth like a calm river. His height gave him away as an elf; if that wasn't enough, his pointed ears certainly confirmed it. She smiled at the man, looking up into his handsome face.
"I need to commission some furniture for my new place—a bed, a chest of drawers, and a vanity, all sized for a gnome. I'll also need four big bookshelves. Am I in the right place?" From looking around, she could tell she was in the right place; the shop was filled with different woodworking staples. There were chairs, tables, stools, bars, and anything you could need that was made of wood it was here. He nodded and straightened to his full height before answering.
"Aye. I can have it done by Friarsday. Any specific designs you are looking for?" They spent the next 30 minutes hashing out the details of the builds, the elf taking notes on a small form. With her signature and a small down payment, she waved goodbye and left the sawdust-covered shop.
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The priestesses were still at Alania's new shop when she returned, looking a bit worse for wear. Alania approached Sister Rebba, concern darkening her face. Sister Rebba smiled wearily at her, turning to address her.
"We have finished the preparations but need you for the actual ritual. You left so quickly I wasn't able to tell you." Alania's cheeks flushed, turning her cheeks a darker blue.
"I didn't realize I was needed. Shall we go in now?" The sisters looked at each other and nodded, communicating something with a look.
"It is almost time. Come with us. We will explain what is needed from you." Following Sister Rebba into her shop, Alania saw nothing unusual. There were still boxes in the far corner; the books she ordered were all stowed away, awaiting their new home on the bookshelves she had ordered earlier that day. A new, smaller rung ladder led to the loft, and the new wooden stove was installed where the old one once stood. Nothing seemed disturbed or changed in any way.
"What do I have to do?" Alania asked, eyeing the woman with a bit of hesitancy. "I've never done a ritual before. You're not going to sacrifice me, are you?" The last part was a joke, but Sister Rebba gasped.
"Of course not! We simply need to include you in the protection spell so you will also be safe from the curse. Nothing like sacrifice is needed." Alania almost laughed in relief but instead took her queue from Sister Rebba, deciding only to nod slightly.
"So you don't need me to do anything? I can just sit here?" She began rubbing her hands together absentmindedly, picking at her fingernails. Her anxiety was coming back in waves, and she wasn't exactly on board with being an active participant in the ritual with her little knowledge of religious rites.
"You don't need to worry; we will do everything. You just stand here," There was a small circle drawn on the floorboards Alania hadn't noticed before, with runes in all the cardinal directions. Hesitantly, Alania stepped into the middle of the circle, waiting to feel something magical or a gust of air or something, but nothing happened. "And we will do the rest." Sister Rebba finished. "I'll be right back, and then we will start the ritual." Alania tried to smile, but the thought of sacrifice still hadn't entirely left her mind. Looking around, she took a deep breath.
"This better work. I need this to work." She took one last deep breath as the other priestesses followed Sister Rebba into the shop, their white dresses flowing over the wooden floorboards as if floating along, not touching the ground. Sister Rebba lit a candle, and all the others lit theirs off. Looking at Alania, Sister Sebba smiled.
"Let us begin."