As I stepped into the main square on my “own” two feet for the first time, I looked around and noticed a suspicious lack of guard activity. There were a lot of people up and about, but every time I had been around these parts with Tomar in the past, you could always see at least a couple of guards. Instead, I felt like there were a few more priests around than normal. I would have to ask Lilana about this later.

I started walking eastwards, in the direction of the office district. Not only was it the area of town I was most familiar with, my destination was in the south-east and I wanted to avoid the main street.

My primary goal for the moment would be to find Tomar and the others. I had last seen them in Cerus, but that had been two weeks ago, and I had no idea what they decided to do after I had been exorcized. They might have stayed there and kept working with the mayor, but it was also possible that they went with my plan to go back to Alarna. If they had come back, I had to assume that Riala would want to see her sister, and that Tomar would agree to it, even if it might not be the best idea. Both Zara’s and Tomar’s house were potential hiding places for them, and if there was no sign of them having been at either place, I could assume that they weren’t here.

I headed down familiar side paths in the eastern part of town, and when no more people were in sight, I started talking to Lilana again.

“What’s with the lack of guards? There was like one in the main square. When I was last here, there were always a few more than that.”

‘A lot of Fighters left to hunt a few criminals a while ago, but I don’t know the details.’

So the king is still after them... No, of course he would be. After the temple announced the existence of Hope, the king would be even more desperate.

“Hm. And they aren’t back yet? That seems weird.”

‘Why?’

“Well, let’s say they went as far as Cerus, then they would need six days roundtrip. Maybe seven or eight. But two weeks is a long time.”

‘Wouldn’t they just keep looking for them?’

“Yea, maybe.”

Lilana didn’t know that I was kind of part of the criminals, so she had no idea that I had some insight into what was going on. The soldiers not being back yet could have several reasons, but since I knew their destination and where their targets had been, I could draw some conclusions.

If Tomar and the others would’ve been caught in Cerus, the soldiers would almost certainly be back by now, even if they had to turn the entire town upside down. Being able to rule that possibility out was a good start.

However, since the soldiers weren’t back yet, they were presumably still searching, and that could mean that the others had fled somewhere and the soldiers had given chase. That possibility was less great, though I didn’t know how likely it really was. I would’ve expected Tomar and Berla to go back in the direction of Alarna, because that’s all they knew. Even if they weren’t going with my revolution idea, this area was relatively safe and they knew what they would be dealing with. If that was the case, the soldiers would surely return to Alarna, at least in part, as their homebase.

Assuming that my theories were right, the only possibility left for why the soldiers hadn’t returned yet, was that something unexpected had happened. Whatever the case, I still had high hopes to find Tomar and the others soon.

We arrived at the square of the former chained water source, and to my surprise, there was a new water source there. Not a portable one, however, but a normal one. There were quite a few people here, getting water or doing their laundry.

I walked along the outer edge of the square, away from the people, and kept talking to Lilana while looking away from them. “How is there a new water source here? Wasn’t the previous one destroyed?”

‘Uhm... Well, the High Priest kept praying to the gods when he heard about the lack of a water source in this area. Thanks to that, they created a new one.’

That did not sound convincing.

“And what happened really?”

‘I can’t say.’

“Hm.”

I guessed that this was the official story, but it clearly wasn’t the truth. The High Priest was trying to increase his influence, however, and he had apparently managed to get a water source here somehow. I had been under the impression that it wasn’t possible for these people to transport a normal water source, but maybe they had found a way. That’s good PR for them.

As I kept walking, I noticed a few people looking in my direction curiously. Glancing down at myself, I wondered if it would be unusual for a priest to be here. A comment from Lilana quickly confirmed my suspicion. ‘There are so many people here,’ she marveled. ‘I’ve never been at a public water source before.’

“Does the temple have one of their own?”

‘Yes, it’s in the garden. It would be really inconvenient to have to go to a public one, they’re so far away.’

“That’s what it’s like for the people who live near the temple though. They don’t have water sources in their backyards and have to go somewhere else to get their water.”

‘Hum. You’re right. That’s very unfortunate for them.’

It was good that she felt bad for the people, though there wasn’t a lot of regret in her voice. It was normal for her to have a water source close by, and I couldn’t really blame her for never having thought about how some people weren’t so lucky.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The fact that priestesses didn’t usually walk around this part of town was potentially a problem, however, and I headed down another familiar side path as soon as possible, to get away from curious onlookers. Finding us should ideally not be as simple as just asking where the girl in the robe had gone. We’ll have to “borrow” some clothes from Zara.

It was well after noon when I passed the other water source square. Shortly after, I could see Zara’s and Riala’s house. At this time of day, Zara should be at work, so nobody would be home under normal circumstances. I snuck around the back and entered the kitchen.

‘Who’s house is this...? This isn’t a break-in, is it?’

“Technically we didn’t break in, the door was open.”

‘It’s still a crime!’

“Hm, maybe. I know the person who lives here, but she doesn’t know you, so it’s kind of hard to say. Although, it’s not me she knows either, but my previous host... Yea, I guess it is a crime then. Don’t worry, we’ll leave again in a moment.”

I checked all the rooms first, but we seemed to be alone. The house looked a little untidy, presumably because Zara was living alone here at the moment, and there was nobody else to do the housework. It didn’t seem like anybody else had been here either, so I went into the girls’ bedroom and started plundering the dresser, getting a shirt and pants. Holding them in front of me, it seemed like they should fit.

‘What are you doing...?’

“Oh, uhm... I want to change clothes, is that alright?”

‘You weren’t even planning to ask, were you!?’

“Sorry, I’m not used to this yet. But we’ll stick out with the robe, and moving is easier with pants.”

‘Ugh...’

She didn’t seem to like the idea of me changing her clothes, but she had to realize that switching control wouldn’t do much either, since you would inevitably see everything from the backseat as well. You weren’t able to look away even if you wanted to.

‘Okay, do it... but try not to look...’

Fair enough, I thought and closed my eyes while I pulled the robe over my head and put on the shirt and pants. I only opened one eye occasionally to grab the next piece. It was kind of unfortunate that she didn’t want me to see, because I had been curious what this bra-like thing I was apparently wearing would look like in this world, but alas.

After hiding the robe and grabbing a few pieces of dried meat from the kitchen, I left the house again through the backdoor. I didn’t want to steal too much from Riala’s sister, and my next destination would be Tomar’s home, where I could hopefully find a bag and writing utensils.

When I arrived at the house a minute later, I saw that the entrances to the property had been closed off with ropes. These hadn’t been here before, so maybe they were a sign that nobody was living here. It would make sense to put the house of a criminal back on the market.

After checking my surroundings, I hopped over the rope and glanced through the windows, but I didn’t see anyone, so I entered the house.

‘Another break-in...’

“Well... Meh, whatever. Yea, another break-in. Though I know the person who owns this house pretty well, he wouldn’t mind.”

Luckily, it didn’t seem like the house had been cleared out yet. I didn’t know what the protocol would be in such a case, when a house’s owner died or disappeared, but when I saw the ropes, I had almost expected everything to be gone. The quill and the ink were exactly where Tomar had left them, however, and I quickly found a bag and some blue stones as well. Even though I would technically not need them right now, it couldn’t hurt to have some on hand.

Unfortunately I didn’t find any money in the drawer where it should’ve been, which would've been nice to have if I had to go to Cerus. However, based on what I found instead, that would apparently not be necessary.

A smirk creeped onto my face as I picked up a piece of paper with a script on it.

***

When Aelene arrived at the temple’s isolation rooms, she was surprised to not see anyone around. Oryn was supposed to be here, together with agents guarding yet another young adult with an unusual Calling. Both he and Aelene had been called to examine the young woman, but Aelene instructed Oryn to go ahead without her. He was the researcher, and if her presence wasn’t absolutely necessary, she would rather keep reading. When he hadn't come back, however, she headed there after all.

Since these rooms didn’t open from the inside, they couldn’t all be inside with the girl, so something else must’ve been going on. Thinking that the others would have to be back soon, Aelene leaned against a wall and went back to reading her book.

Only a few minutes passed until she could suddenly hear someone banging on the door of the first room. Thinking that person to be the suspect, she ignored it, until she could hear a muffled “Hello!?” from inside as well. With the voice in question being male, it couldn't be the girl, and Aelene went closer to the door.

“Hello?” she asked as she knocked on the door.

“The suspect escaped! Get us out of here!” came another muffled shout from inside.

Aelene knew that the young woman was supposed to be the only one in these rooms at the moment, so she carefully slided the heavy bar that held the door closed to the side and opened it, to find an unconscious Oryn and two agents bound together by strings of cloth, all of them drenched in water. One of the agents had managed to get his feet and mouth free to kick the door and shout.

Aelene quickly went inside to untie them properly. “What happened!?” she asked worriedly.

“Hope! Of course the gods would send you to our help!” the agent said.

Ugh... I was told to come here, you know? Aelene thought.

“We aren’t sure what happened yet,” he continued. “Lilana called for help. When we opened the door, we saw Oryn on the ground, unconscious. Then she did something with her hands and suddenly we were thrown against the wall.”

Even if the agents didn’t know what this meant, Aelene had some ideas. Throwing people into walls was something Oryn had gone on and on about, because it had been the weapon of choice of the boy and the girl, who he was so obsessed with. The only ones in this world who seemed to truly understand the sigils, aside from the gods. However, the person in question wasn’t them.

“Did you say Lilana? I didn’t know that it was her ritual that failed,” she said.

“Unfortunately, yes,” the second agent said, now free from his bounds. “Please forgive us, Hope, but we have to report this to the High Priest immediately. We’ll also call the physician. Would you look after him until then?”

Aelene nodded and the two agents hurried out of the room, while she continued to untie the one person remaining, Oryn. Something was happening, but she didn’t know what. It sounded kind of like Lilana had received the same energy as her, and Oryn had presumably brought the writing utensils and maybe a few blue stones, but he wouldn’t be crazy enough to show a suspect dangerous sigils. And even if he had, drawing and using them took a little bit of practice, as she knew from personal experience. Either she was completely wrong, or there was more to this.

She looked down at Oryn with a worried expression. He didn’t seem to be hurt physically, but he was yet to regain consciousness. Since she could do nothing else, she sat down at the edge of the bed, to watch over him. Even though she hadn’t been his biggest fan in the past, he was becoming something of a friend to her through their new work.

You’re going to wake up again, right? she thought.