The first thing Ember did was take stock of her surroundings. She was in a bare room with a straw bed, a small table and chair, and a praying cushion. Besides Justine, there was no one else around. She wasn't shackled or otherwise bound. She sat up. She felt weak but not enough to keep in her in bed.

"Whoa there. You've been out of it for two days. Take your time."

Ember blinked. "Two days?" Her voice was hoarse and she rubbed at her throat.

Justine nodded and handed her a glass of water sitting on the table.

Ember took it and forced herself not to gulp it down and instead take small sips. After she finished, she set the glass on the floor besides the bed she was on.

"Where am I?"

"At the temple. The guards were searching houses and the temple was the safest. They don't have the balls to come storming in here." Justine crossed her arms. "Priest Octorin and I have been taking care of you."

Ember's lips twisted up. She had been trying to escape Goros and she was back here yet again. Still, she had no plans to stay here for long.

"What's your story?" Justine asked, peering at her with curious green eyes. "Were you the one who fucked up that creepy noble?"

Ember's lips tightened and she looked away. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Come on. I found you unconscious outside the manor when you should be on the road to Hekral with those knights. I heard Lord Felis got himself tortured and you just have a reason to do it."

Ember turned to meet the woman's eyes. "What could I have possibly done?"

"Tch," the woman said, pouting as she plopped down in her chair. "Then it was Welks after all."

Ember blinked. "Welks?"

Justine nodded, resting her elbows on her knees. "He's gone missing. He knocked out some guards and was last seen near Lord Felis's room. No one is sure why he done. Besides a few potions, they didn't find anything else missing. Though there is some debate that he might have been hired to rough the noble up by someone he pissed off."

Justine's eyes sparkled. "Did you hire him? Is that why you were there? Did he knock you out and leave you to take the blame?"

Ember stared at the woman. She really did have a big imagination. Ember shook her head. "No. Welks is more likely to kill me than help me."

Justine leaned back and crossed her arms. "Then why were you there?"

Ember considered keeping silent but, in the end, decided it would be better to give Justine some sort of excuse. While the woman's imagination was wild, she had originally figured out the truth. She didn't need her to start digging.

"I wanted to rescue my father," Ember said.

Justine raised an eyebrow. "And how were you planning to do that."

"I was going to sneak in and steal a key to sneak him out." She shrugged. "I wasn't really thinking straight." Technically all of what she said was true, she was just withholding a few details.

Justine snorted. "What an idiot! Were you wanting to get yourself killed?"

Ember scowled. "No."

"That's exactly what would have happen and probably your father along with you. That's if I hadn't found you first."

Ember was annoyed but she knew what the woman said was true which brought up another question. "How did you find me?"

At the question, Justine's expression grew strange. "I was taking a stroll and I came across you."

Right away, Ember knew she was lying. Why would she be taking a stroll to Lord Felis's manor. Then a new thought occurred to her. Was the woman working for Lord Felis? It would explain why she had been going in that direction and happened to come across her. There was also the possibility that she was doing a soft interrogation right now to see if she actually been involved in the attack on the manor. She needed to be careful.

"What happens now?" Ember asked, not bothering to question the woman further when she could be a spy.

"I'm not rightly sure," Justine said, looking awkward. "I was hoping you might know that."

Ember stared at the woman. "Why would I know that?"

Justine shrugged and then pushed herself up from the chair. "Well for now I should let Priest Octorin know you're awake. Then I guess we'll figure things out from there."

Ember nodded, leaning back into the bed and closing her eyes. She listened as the door was shut. She rolled to herself and waited. While she waited, she looked herself over. Though she felt weaker she thought she could move pretty well. Her magic was full and that was all she really needed.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Keeper.

Her book appeared and she scanned it quickly, looking to see the food she had within it was still there as well as the money and beast box. She started to shut Keeper when she glanced at the abilities she had and her eyes widened.

Two more abilities had unlocked - Mind Resistance and Soul Resistance. Mind Resistance was ridiculously weak currently and wouldn't hold up against anyone with a direct mind ability but it would work on those abilities that had secondary mind affects. Soul Resistance on the other hand was halfway to being as strong as it had been in her previous life. It looked like her curse had kicked it out of dormancy with a vengeance.

But it wasn't just that which had improved. Her illusion ability had grown stronger. Excitement rushed through her and she immediately called up an illusion.

"Hello," she whispered and her voice came out deep and husky. Sound illusions! She could do them now! She would have to practice to see how far the sound illusion held but it was a much needed evolution.

She quickly looked over the other skills. Fire, water, air had grown a little stronger but not by much. She would have to practice them a bit more. Earth hadn't changed and neither had Sleep. Stealth looked like it was on the edge of growing stronger but wasn't quite there yet.

Besides all those the only one to show significant growth was Soul Torture. Of course, it had grown stronger. Ember stared at the skill. It would corrupt her soul. She could release the skill but then there was a chance it would return to its original owner and she couldn't allow that. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to get rid of the skill. The drawbacks were...significant.

Honestly, passing out and being stuck reliving her memories for days was a major problem, especially if it could corrupt and spread her curse. But giving up such a powerful trump card seemed just as reckless. As long as she had access to someone who could do Cleanse then she didn't have to worry too much about the corruption as long as she was Cleansed in a reasonable amount of time.

Am I letting my greed for power rule me?

It was possible. A pensive expression covered her face. She needed to think on it. Whatever she decided, she would have to wait until she encountered the ability's original owner. There was no way she was going to let that sicko have that power again.

Decided, Ember stood. She took out a piece of bread from Keeper's Hold before closing it. Stuffing the food in her mouth, she made her way to the door. She opened it, peeking out and seeing a few acolytes walking by. There was no sign of Priest Octorin or Justine.

She closed the door and then swiftly put an illusion on herself. This time she dressed herself as a male acolyte. Stepping out of the room, she moved down the hall. She gathered she was on the staff side of the Temple. It was an area she had never been in so it took her a while to find an exit but she managed.

Once she was in the temple, she hurried to the exit and was relieved when no one stopped her. Once outside she moved to the sege houses and considered her next move. The problem was that she didn't have a horse. She wouldn't be able to catch up with the delegation by foot. She could steal a horse but that was likely to bring attention to her, especially since only the wealthy had horses.

She grimaced. Could she make it on foot alone? It wasn't ideal. There was an option to leave with tourists but then she would have to wait. Waiting meant that Justine might come searching. She stood divided on the options but her desire to not stay in Goros for another moment won out. She would see if any wagons might be leaving today and if not she would go by foot.

Decided, she made her way to the road that led to Hekral. She kept her eyes out for people loading their wagons but noticed right away that most of the tuorists seemed to have left already. It had been some time since the Choosing and there wasn't much in Goros to keep people around.

She saw one wagon loading up and changed her appearance to a woman with worn leather jerkins and a knapsack and bow. It made her look like a hunter who had came to look for game or even a budding monster hunter. From there she approached the wagon and managed to secure passage. The wagon wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow but that worked out fine for her.

From there she moved further away and changed her appearance back into a male acolyte. She then moved to the road. There she found several guards watching the road. Warily, she approached. The guards frowned.

She nodded at them. "I heard there were guards on the road. Is it blocked off entirely or may I pass?"

One of the guards squinted. "And why do you need to go out."

"I'm going to the temple in Hekral."

The guard gave her a suspicious look. "With no luggage or escort?"

She nodded. "It is a personal pilgrimage."

The guards exchanged looks. It wasn't uncommon for members of the Akashic Order to go on pilgrimages, either alone or with a group. It was the main reason she had worn the illusion of an acolyte. Still, it was risky to do so in the midst of a manhunt.

She stood there and waited patiently to see if the guards would let her pass. She could see they were still unsure. She turned over what she could say to convince them when a voice called out.

"Acolyte Em...ette!"

Ember recognized the voice and turned to see Justine hurrying towards her while holding the reigns to a horse. She had a wide grin on her face and Ember was completely sure the woman knew it was her though she had no idea how.

"You left too quickly. Priest Octorin wanted me to escort you."

Ember frowned. "There's no need. I'm fine on my own."

Justine nodded. "I know the pilgrimage is a way to show your faith but think of this as Akashic leading me to you."

The way Justine said the words made it sound like she had another meaning hidden in her words. She hesitated and looked at the guards. They were watching the pair thoughtfully and seemed to have relax a bit when they saw Justine. it seemed the woman's arrival lent authenticity to her story.

"I think it'll be best for us all if I come along," Justine said, her gaze darting to the guards.

Was she threatening her?

Ember frowned and then reluctantly nodded. "If Akashic wills it, who am I to say no."

Justine's grin widened.

Ember turned away from the woman and looked at the guards. "May I pass?"

"Of course, Acolyte," the guard said, stepping away to let her through. "Fortunate be with you on your pilgrimage."

Ember was surprised at the greeting. It looked like the guard might be a devout believer, something she didn't expect among the mercenary turned guards. She nodded her head and then began walking forward with Justine behind her. The woman paused to speak to the guards before continuing onwards.

Neither spoke as they continued moving. They moved further down the road where they ran into a few more guards but most waved them forward without a hassle. It wasn't until they had cleared Goros that Ember made her move.

Mally was still on her wrist. She stopped and moved to the horse as if she had grown tired and was preparing to ride it when she turned and raised her hand. Instantly, Mally became a sword in her hand and she put the blade to Justine's throat.

Ember narrowed her eyes. "You have one minute to explain yourself before I gut you."