Amara was excited as she dressed in her priestess robes. This set was rather generic, but she'd have to wait until after she contracted with her chosen deity and earned a new set of robes before she could wear anything else. Those who followed the God of Death tended to be given black, hooded robes with silver detailing and skull accessories. The Goddess of healing was more practical and provided a set of white clothes including: a tunic, robe, and an herbalist's satchel perfect for carrying herbs and potions with. Oftentimes, healers and members of the church would have to go out onto the battlefield as they tried to save as many lives as possible, so it was imperative they have something easy to move in and always remain clean to avoid spreading diseases.
Regardless, the attire was always tied back to the deity one served and Amara was excited as she daydreamed about what the Goddess of Love and Beauty might provide. Would she have to dress up in luxurious clothes with a well-kept appearance or would it be something more practical, but charming at the same time? While Amara did have a few concerns that the clothing might be too revealing for her tastes, she also felt that was unlikely since it wasn't a deity related to lustful activities. There was certainly a Goddess like that as it was very fitting for a dungeon run by a succubus, much like the one in the Rosefall Empire. So, hopefully, something different would be in store for her today.
"Are you nearly ready, dear? You said you wanted to get there before the dungeon gets too crowded and the sun is already rising."
Solas called out from the other room. Amara quickly opened the door, striding out, before replying
"Yes, we can go now."
It was a shame that they won't get to take a tour of the town today, but that can always wait until another time. They'd certainly have plenty of time to adjust to their new home thanks to their employment contract not having an expiration date. They owned the humble two-bedroom home they were now standing in and their yearly pay was minimal. However, they could continue to keep their jobs for as long as both they and Violet wished to continue the arrangement. While the friendly young Dungeon Master was already so friendly that she couldn't help but want to get to know her better, the desire to remain here was certainly even more motivation to befriend her.
"I wasn't actually told a specific time for when to train Violet, so I suppose I'll be free to remain with you until she comes to get me. The contract does say that we aren't to enter the dungeon core room and that she is free to not show up and accept training anytime she wants to."
Solas mused. Amara pursed her lips in response. They were rapidly approaching the dungeon as they walked at a brisk pace through the forest. However, both of them were certainly nervous about their first day. After a moment, she spoke up to say
"I honestly felt bad for the poor girl. I don't know what her previous mentor did, but she seemed genuinely upset. She wasn't acting out of an abundance of caution while being perfectly capable of defending herself. You know, like what we learned about in school. It was more like someone had taken advantage of her and she was afraid of getting hurt again."
Of course, by school, she meant the prestigious school she had gone to as a teenager. Basic schooling that everyone took focused less on the history of dungeons and how to interact with Dungeon Masters, should you get the rare opportunity to meet one, and more on basic dungeon safety. Solas chose not to comment on the matter, feeling he was far too out of his depth to say much on the matter. It wasn't their job to psychoanalyze Violet, whether they choose to befriend her or not.
Amara didn't push the matter and quietly made her way into the dungeon. Thanks to the torches and wall signs, it was easy to find the altar room. The stunning marble walls, golden carpets, and altar to the beautiful goddess was breathtaking. She had actually visited a number of dungeons and churches over the years and she could say with certainty that none of them were quite as extravagant as this. In fact, despite the fact that the dungeon could easily repair any damage done to the room, she felt afraid to touch anything. She didn't want to destroy such a sight by clumsily moving about.
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Her husband whistled as he said
"I think you made the right choice in taking this job. The lighting in here is nice, the pay is decent enough, and we even have a nice young woman for a boss. There isn't even any need to worry about you running into any stray [Monsters] on the way to the altar. Maybe I'll even see about taking on a few jobs with the guild since I don't have to worry about you too much."
Theodore had actually been quite generous in that regard. They weren't allowed to try to make money off of the dungeon or Violet in any way that wasn't standard behavior for adventurers. However, they could still collect resources and defeat dungeon [Monsters]. They could also freely take on quests from the adventurers' guild so long as they still showed up to the dungeon once a day to give Violet the chance to decide whether she wanted to accept training for the day. In order to ensure she had enough time to traverse the floors, they were expected to give a certain allotment of time based on the number of floors currently in the dungeon, but waiting around for a while was hardly a big deal when they, otherwise, had a significant amount of freedom.
Amara felt happy as she walked up the stairs to the altar. She opened the tribute chest in front of the statue of the Goddess of Love and Beauty and placed her prized childhood doll into it. Most of the time, leaving a tribute with some personal significance was required for a deity to even consider forming a contract. It showed you were serious about serving them since you were even willing to make such a sacrifice. This could even go to the extent of requiring one to sacrifice the lives of loved ones if you wanted to serve a more traditionally dark god like the Goddess of Chaos. That was something Amara was hopeful wouldn't be required here.
She knelt down to pray to the goddess and was immediately met with a system prompt.
Dear child, I appreciate your sincerity, but please choose something else for a tribute. As a Goddess that stands for love, it would not be right of me to take something so precious to you.
When Amara stood up, Solas looked confused. When she went to retrieve the rejected tribute, he was even more concerned as he asked
"What's going on? She didn't accept the tribute? Are we going to have to look for a different form of employment?"
Solas wasn't worried that his wife would suddenly turn on him and kill him, although he certainly might have with anyone else. He was in the right place at the right time, after all. When Amara turned around, she was also confused, but also looked rather happy as she said
"Actually, I think I just need to try a slightly different tribute. Just give me a bit."
After tucking the doll away into her bag, she removed the ribbon from her hair, causing it to cascade down around her. She quite enjoyed decorating her hair with such things as she always felt pretty with the nice pop of color they brought. However, the ribbon was easily replaceable, even if it was still a representation of something she enjoyed in life. Amara hoped this sort of tribute would suffice.
This time, the chest glowed as the tribute was accepted and a system prompt initiating a contract with the deity appeared. Amara carefully read through everything ensuring she understood what was expected of her. Seeing that nothing was amiss, she easily agreed and was immediately issued a set of attire.
Beautiful purple flower hair clips, an elegant white dress with purple details, and golden sandals appeared before her. It was interesting to see the color purple was used considering how the Dungeon Master's name was Violet. Even the flower hair clips seemed to utilize wild violets in their design, although other, larger ones were mixed in as well. It seemed a bit silly, but, perhaps, her new goddess wanted to show her appreciation to the only Dungeon Master who had chosen to make a contract with her. It certainly seemed fitting for such a compassionate and loving deity to do such a thing.