Rosalyn wasn’t sure what was going to happen now. First she had lost Mama and her baby brothers and now Papa wasn’t coming home. She stared up at the wrinkled old woman who was her last living relative in the world. A person that was about to abandon her to the life of an orphan in the care of the Temple. Rosalyn clutched her satchel tightly and fought back the tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of great aunt Florence again, every time the old lady just laughed at her misfortune and told her to quiet down before she was given a real reason to cry. She had very mixed feelings about what was happening.
On the one hand her last remaining bit of family was abandoning her and on the other she was a little afraid of what would come of her if she stayed with great aunt Florence.
As if sensing her thoughts Florence looked at Rosalyn and cackled. “Hehehehehe. You know what brat? You are incredibly lucky. The Temple takes very good care of its orphans and gives them all a basic education. Personally, I think that is too good a fate for a bunch of leeches like you, but unfortunately slavery is illegal in the Kingdom. I suppose I could just slit your throat and be done with you, but the risks are too great for that. Be very thankful indeed.” Florence said with a malicious grin. “Ahh, if only I still lived in the Elf lands. Then I could make some real coin off of you. Unfortunately, I do not have the same contacts here in Kingdom lands. PIty for me, lucky for you.”
Rosalyn may have been conflicted before, but now she was downright terrified of staying with Florence. This woman was not her family. This woman was a danger to her well being. Something deep down told her that if she stayed with Florence it would end in her death or worse. Thankfully, before she could dwell on the implications of what would be worse than death they arrived at the temple. Almost instantly Florence’s demeanor shifted. Her proud straight back hunched over and her long strides became almost shuffling as she leaned heavily on her cane.
Rosalyn was very surprised by the sudden shift in Florence, but before she could say anything a tall woman wearing the habit of a SIster of the Divine walked up and greeted them, “Hello Pilgrims, how may this humble servant of the Divine help you today?” The nun smiled warmly as she waited for an answer.
Florence coughed and wheezed theatrically in front of the Sister, startling her young tagalong. Rosalyn was briefly hopeful that the old woman would keel over so she could escape, but Florence stopped the act when the nun rushed over to her and laid a glowing hand on her chest. “Thank you dearie, but I am afraid that it is my time. I have lived a long and full life. My one regret is this little one, Rosalyn. My dearest treasure and the light of my life, I have to make sure that she is taken care of before I go. I would like to leave her in the the care of a Temple before I lay down for my final rest.” Rosalyn did a double take at Florence’s words and made a sour face. Fortunately for Florence’s act the Sister was preoccupied with soothing Florence’s “sickness” and did not see her.
The nun’s face turned very grave and she nodded, “We normally do not do such things, but I can tell that you are in a bad way and I am sure the Mother will be sympathetic. Please follow me and we can discuss guardianship of the child. The child can wait outside the Mother’s office while we discuss the matter.”
Grabbing the “sick” old woman under the arm, she helped her up the Temple steps and into the building. Taking a right and carefully leading Florence down the red plush carpets of the hall they stopped in front of a large dark door made of some exotic hardwood. There were depictions of Sisters battling with dragons and undead carved into the frame and around the edges of the door. Making to follow inside with the older pair, the nun put a hand on her shoulder and motioned to a small bench on the other side of the hall. “Please child. Sit there and wait. We will call you in shortly.”
So Rosalyn sat and waited in silence. She could make out the faint sounds of students reciting some lesson in the distance and she wondered what school was like. She was supposed to start her education around the same time her Papa had been conscripted, but his departure had prevented him from enrolling her in a class and Florence didn’t bother enrolling her in one because it would have inconvenienced her to do so.
After an hour of waiting the large ornate door leading to the Mother’s office opened and Florence exited. She smiled wickedly at Rosalyn, but the voice that came out was theatrically pitiful “OH my dear. I am so sorry to leave you here, but it is for the best! I am much too ill to take proper care of a growing child such as you. Farewell!” Winking one last time at the very confused child, Florence hobbled out of the Temple and Rosalyn’s life.
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The nun that led them into the Temple stepped out next, “What a wonderful lady she was. Tis a shame that she is so ill. It will be a tragedy when her time is up. Hopefully the coin I gave her will help her afford some medicine to ease her suffering.” She then fixed her gaze onto Rosalyn and motioned for her to stand, “Come child. We have to find a place to temporarily bed you. Unfortunately, our facilities here are currently full and we are not allowed to take on new wards. However, it won’t be a long wait. Our next caravan is scheduled for only six weeks from now and you can be on your way to your new home!”
“Ahh! SIster Mez. I will take the girl. I have finished my final lesson and was about to pack up for the journey to Koln.” A small, but firm voice echoed from down the hall. A halfling dressed in the traditional habit of a SIster stepped out of the room the lesson that Rosalyn was eavesdropping on came from.
“Well, I see no problem with that Cham, if the Mother agrees of course! If you come quickly we can even have you sign her paperwork. I imagine it will save you quite a lot of headache to not have to fill out the normal transfer paperwork for the girl.” The SIster named Mez replied as she stepped back into the Mother’s office.
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“Alright class, settle down. I said settle down!” Sister Cham bellowed. She stood proudly at her podium. “This may be the last class we have together, but that doesn’t mean we are going to take it easy today!”
Surveying the students that she had been responsible for the last year the nun felt a tinge of pride in her chest. They were such smart kids, and she would miss them. Maybe some of them would be transferred her way in the near future? Pushing aside thoughts of her new assignment she started the lesson. Today they were doing more geography.
Near the end of the lesson Sister Cham decided that she should test them one last time, “Let’s have a bit of a verbal test before we call it for the day. Jenefer! How did Wizard’s Folly come to be?”
Standing at attention the stocky young gnome stood up on her chair and replied in a squeaky voice “Ma’am, the Magocracy tried to use a massive ritual offensive spell on the high lich and the forces he had entrenched in the area. While it did wipe out a large part of the enemy forces it did something to the ambient mana in the land, causing a kind of magical radiation that turned the whole area into a giant monster pit. Only adventurers or the most desperate people live there now due to the incredibly dangerous flora and fauna. In fact there is only one large city in the entire area, Folly’s Spite, and it is located on the coast.”
“Good answer! Now George. What is the main danger that Wizard’s Folly poses to the rest of the continent?”
George, one of the older kids in the class shook his head and shrugged “It brings down the property value of its neighbors?” Giggles sprang from several of the older kids who got the joke, but Sister Cham was not amused. She flicked a bit of Divine power from her finger and struck George on the forehead.
“No child, that is not the answer. A simple 'I do not know, ma’am' would have sufficed. The reason that Wizard’s Folly is so dangerous to the rest of the continent is that it is spreading.”
After a few more questions Sister Cham looked out the window and checked the position of the sun. Shaking her head, Sister Cham dismissed her class for the final time. Taking a few minutes to look around the classroom that she had worked in for the last full year she smiled and grabbed her transfer paperwork. As she was getting close to the Mother's office to get her orders of transfer signed she saw an old woman with an evil grin exit the office. Stopping and frowning, Sister Cham took an instant dislike to the old lady. Her gut just screamed that she wasn’t trustworthy. To the side on a bench sat the most intensely unhappy girl she had ever seen. She was clutching a worn messenger satchel and looked to be on the verge of tears. A new arrival? The nun made an instant decision. She wouldn’t let this girl sleep on the floor for six weeks waiting for a Temple sponsored caravan to bring her to another orphanage.
That was when Sister Mez stepped out of the Mother’s office, “What a wonderful lady she was. Tis a shame that she is so ill. It will be a tragedy when her time is up. Hopefully the coin I gave her will help her afford some medicine to ease her suffering.” Sister Cham shook her head, Sister Mez was such a sweetheart, but was an incredibly poor judge of character. “Come child. We have to find a place to temporarily bed you. Unfortunately, our facilities here are currently full and we are not allowed to take on new wards. However, it won’t be a long wait. Our next caravan is scheduled for only six weeks from now and you can be on your way to your new home!” Sister Cham perked up at this, this was the perfect chance to butt in.
“Ahh! SIster Mez. I will take the girl. I have finished my final lesson and was about to pack up for the journey to Koln.”