Evening was well underway by the time I got a good look at Palomir’s temple. The structure was perched on a hill and stood smaller than I’d expected, with only one story.

Stone steps led up to the entrance, which was flanked by columns. A statue of an elegant woman stood in the center, facing outward with her hands behind her back. As I approached, I became more impressed by the statue’s detail. She wore an immaculate white robe with sandals, and her shoulder-length hair had been painted yellow and light brown. If she hadn’t been standing as still as the columns around her, I would have guessed she was a real woman.

Without making a sound, I ascended the steps to get a better look. The statue’s eyes were serene and her red lips were curved into a smile. I began to suspect that the figure wasn’t a statue at all but a person who had been frozen or petrified. But I couldn't do anything about it—all I had was a Remove Curse spell, which only affected cursed items.

I looked into the temple, yet there was no one inside. No altar and no places to sit. Strange. The only decorations were paintings hanging on the walls.

I looked back at the statue and gasped. Her head hadn’t turned and her expression hadn’t changed, but her eyes had moved. The statue was looking directly at me.

“H-hello?” I asked.

“Hello!” The woman spun to face me, her hands clasped together. “My name is Kolien and I welcome you to the Temple of Theris! We’re always happy to receive visitors.”

If Kolien hadn’t been in a game, I would have guessed that she'd been drugged. Her pupils were so distended that I could only see fringes of white, and she smiled as though she was about to burst into shrieks of laughter.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ve always been an admirer of Theris, and I’ve heard so much about Palomir the Just! He wouldn’t be in the temple this evening, would he?”

Kolien’s eyes twinkled. “He certainly is! And he’s always happy to meet new worshipers. Do come in!”

She extended a flawless hand toward me. I trembled as I took the next few steps, and when I clasped her hand, it was hot and moist with perspiration. Her grip was impossibly firm, and I had no doubt that she could have crushed my hand without making an effort.

The two of us walked through the entryway, and I nearly gagged as an acrid scent assaulted my nostrils. It was like a high school locker room after a football game, but the foul haze was thicker than sweat. After I wiped the tears from my eyes, I got a better look at the paintings, which didn’t depict people or scenes—just swirls of strange, dark colors that spiraled into darkness.

“Lovely paintings,” I said.

“Aren’t they? Everything used to be so dull, with portraits of rangers and priests. But now everything's much more… visceral.”

“Do you still provide healing for the sick? Or aid to weary travelers?”

Kolien giggled. “We don’t do any of that anymore. This is a place of worship, and we worship. No healing, no sermons, no laying on hands. Just worship.”

As we walked farther into the temple, I got a better look at the paintings, which had odd shades of crimson and dark brown in addition to black. I was about to ask about them, but then it struck me. Blood. Someone had hung paintings of swirled blood in the temple, and the stench all around me was that of blood. I had to get out. Now.

I slipped my hand out of Kolien’s and turned to sprint toward the entrance. But before I could take two steps, she grabbed my forearm. Despite her slender frame, her clasp was so unyielding that I felt like a small child being reprimanded by his mother.

“You mustn’t leave! I know the new décor takes some getting used to, but there’s so much more to see! And you simply have to meet Palomir. Don’t let his reputation intimidate you. I’m sure the two of you will get along famously.”

A deep sense of dread took hold of me. Kolien was much stronger than I was, and I didn’t resist her as she led me through the temple atrium and down a flight of narrow stone steps. The scent of blood became thicker, and while I couldn’t help but cough, Kolien didn’t seem affected. Her smile never wavered as we entered a corridor flanked by statues.

“This used to be our Gallery of the Faithful,” Kolien explained, keeping her grasp on my forearm. “It used to have boring sculptures of Theris and her precious paladins. But we’ve redecorated.”

I looked closer, and as I’d expected, the motionless figures weren’t statues at all. They were humans, dwarves, and elves hung on nooses. Each face was contorted in agony and despair.

“What do you think?” Kolien asked excitedly.

I was trapped in a nightmare. As we walked, my blood froze as I read the placards affixed to the figures. One said FARMER, another said MERCHANT, and a third said PEASANT. One placard simply read WIFE.

“I’m… speechless,” I whispered.

“Art has the same effect on me! It transports us to a higher plane while deepening our connection to the world around us.”

After we passed through the gallery, the corridor led to what looked like a refectory. I couldn’t see clearly, but I counted three figures seated at a dinner table.

“We’re just about to have dinner, so I hope you’ve brought your appetite. We’re having Palomir’s favorite!”

⚔

The refectory was dominated by a square oak table bearing empty plates and half-full goblets of wine. A tall male elf sat at the far end, with a blonde female half-elf seated on the left and a red-haired male dwarf seated on the right. The three were having an animated conversation.

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Kolien cleared her throat as we entered. “Palomir, I’ve brought a dinner guest! Dylan seeks to follow the path of Theris.”

Kolien’s friends stopped talking. They looked at me with bloodshot eyes and smiled with face-splitting grins as maniacal as Kolien’s. I struggled to free myself, but Kolien's hand tightened around my upper arm like a vise.

The elf, who I presumed to be Palomir, stood and looked me over. He had black, shoulder-length hair streaked with white, and he was the most muscular elf I’d ever seen, sinews rippling beneath his dark velvet suit. His face was lean and handsome, but his head trembled and his eyes were surrounded by large, dark rings. He reminded me of a subject of a psychology experiment who went without sleep for a week.

“Welcome to our temple, Dylan,” Palomir spoke in a slow, aristocratic tone. “Allow me to make introductions. I'm Palomir, and you’ve already met Kolien. Vahanna sits to my right and Berthar is to my left.”

I took a deep breath. “I come from Raven’s Rest, where I've been working with Captain Farrow and Lieutenant Tarlest. They hold you in very high esteem.”

Palomir’s eyebrow raised. “I’m glad to hear it… but you don’t look like a soldier of the King’s Guard.”

I didn’t know why the four were acting so strangely, but none of them seemed hostile. This calls for diplomacy.

“I don’t have that honor, but I have been working on missions for the officers. They sent me to stop Nalkak and his gnolls from robbing travelers, and to find out why nagas attacked iron shipments headed for Encelas.”

The half-elf, Vahanna, whistled, while Berthar the dwarf snorted and pounded a meaty fist on the table.

“The officers at Raven’s Rest must be fools!” Berthar said. “Such missions require a full party of adventurers, and are well beyond the ability of a single rogue.”

Palomir ignored the dwarf’s outburst. “And how have you fared with these missions?”

“I killed the gnolls as well as the dire wolves they used as mounts.”

Vahanna laughed. “You overpowered a clan of gnolls with a dagger and a crossbow? Rubbish.”

“In the chief’s tent, I found a letter addressed to Nalkak ordering him to continue his robbery. It appeared to be written by you, Palomir, but Captain Farrow assured me that such a thing was impossible.”

Vahanna and Berthar stopped smiling and looked at Palomir, but the elf didn’t seem bothered. He sat at the table and spoke in a whisper, “And the nagas? Did you find out anything about them?”

“I learned that Queen Odriana was ordering her subjects to prepare for war, and that she’d been working with a necromancer named Zuvil to create an army of undead nagas. However, the queen has had a change of heart, and now she seeks peace.”

“Peace?” Palomir spat the word as a curse. “Are you sure?”

“Quite sure. She and the king are sending a delegation to the lizardfolk to repair relations.”

Palomir gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but then mastered himself.

“Delightful. I hope the nagas prosper as a result of Odriana’s… change of heart.”

I nodded. “It’s funny how people change, isn’t it? When I came here, I expected to see gardens and fountains and libraries. But I never expected… all of this.”

Palomir fixed me with a glowering look. “I suppose you’d like to know what happened?”

I did my best to keep my fear out of my voice. “I certainly would.”

“Not a happy story, I’m afraid.” Palomir sighed. “Next fall, I'll celebrate my 219th year of life…”

“Hooray!” Kolien shouted.

“…and I have spent most of my years in the service of Theris. I’ve fought countless monsters, vanquished necromancers, and protected nature’s beauty. I took no coin, subsisted on berries and nuts, and through it all, I said that virtue was its own reward. And I believed that.”

Palomir pressed his eyes shut.

“But one day, I had a… a change of heart. A year ago, I defeated Agranaus the Unholy and stopped his draconian hordes from laying waste to Encelas. Theris visited me after the battle, expecting that we’d have our usual conversation. But I’d been wounded, and in my fevered state, I asked for more than kind words. I asked Theris for a kiss.”

I gasped. “You asked the goddess of purity for a kiss?”

“Just one, you understand. I wanted something I could touch. Something I could taste besides the fruits of nature. I wanted flesh.”

“FLESH!” Kolien, Vahanna, and Berthar cried out.

“I bet she didn’t take that well,” I said.

“That’s a bet you’d win,” Palomir said. “But Theris didn’t just refuse my request. She excommunicated me. In an instant, all my ranger abilities vanished. I’d spent nearly two centuries speaking with animals, healing the sick, and communing with nature. But that life was gone. I became a penniless, godless elf.”

“BOO!” Kolien, Vahanna, and Berthar shouted.

“I was distraught," Palomir continued. "After all, I hadn’t asked to copulate with the goddess. I just wanted a token of physical affection—just a sliver of what every mortal takes for granted. But that was too much to ask, wasn’t it?”

I was going to point out that Palomir probably would have succeeded with anyone but the goddess of purity. Then Kolien, Vahanna, and Berthar roared.

“DOWN WITH THERIS!”

Palomir sighed. “I begged for forgiveness, but the Lady of Virtue ignored me. In my despair, I turned to the goddess who hates Theris the most. I poured out my heart, with all its longing and pain, and she responded.”

“Venabel,” I whispered.

“HAIL VENABEL!” Kolien, Vahanna, and Berthar raised their fists. “ALL GLORY TO THE LADY OF MURDER!”

Now I understood. There had been no slander, and Palomir and his followers hadn’t been possessed by demons. They’d switched their allegiance from Theris to Venabel, and had become immensely strong. And crazy.

The time for diplomacy had passed, and I decided that if I was going to die, I wanted to die fighting. I wrenched my arm free from Kolien’s grasp, unstrapped my crossbow, and fired a bolt of acid at Palomir’s chest. I would have hit, but the elf’s right hand plucked the bolt from mid-air. He examined my missile and smiled.

“A bolt of acid. Rather expensive, as I recall. I’m flattered.”

“Rude!” Kolien whispered in my ear.

Kolien tore the crossbow out of my hands, ripped off the drawstring, and snapped the barrel in half. Then she snapped it again, as though it was a child’s toy. I watched in shock as she threw the pieces of what had been my beloved weapon to the floor.

“Venabel heard me,” Palomir said, “and she did more than listen. She came to me in the form of a dire wolf, and for the first time in my life, I knew love. Not the bloodless love of virtue, but the brutal, passionate love known to all creatures of flesh. She tore away my ignorance and gave me her great gift, a gift that I have bestowed upon my friends.”

“ALL HAIL VENABEL! ALL PRAISE HER DIVINE GIFT!”

I was about to ask what the gift was, but then the four priests stood from the table, arms outstretched, and looked upward, beaming with joy. Each grew two heads taller, and their clothes fell away as their muscles enlarged. I watched, paralyzed and slack-jawed, as the curve of their backs jutted upward, and their faces changed shape to form long mouths with fangs. Palomir and his minions had transformed into dire wolves that walked on their rear legs.

Venabel’s gift is lycanthropy. The Goddess of Murder turns her followers into werewolves.

I tried to swallow my terror and think of an escape plan, but I was too paralyzed with fear.

Palomir turned toward me, and I was surprised to see that he wasn’t trembling anymore. In fact, as I looked around the table, the madness had left everyone’s eyes. The four smiled as though they'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Any other questions?” Palomir asked, his voice now two octaves lower. “Surely, you must wonder why there’s nothing on our plates.”

“I figured that out,” I said. “I’m dinner.”

All four werewolves howled with glee.