When their voices faded, the leader, the one dressed all in black, brought down his staff with a heavy thud onto the packed dirt. He raised his free hand in greeting.

“May the Holy Father and the Imperial Master’s light be upon you.” The man’s voice carried through the village. It was deep and resonant, but lacked warmth.

Arcas shifted in his place next to Priya, tightening his grip on the shaft of his spear.

The man smiled. “Fear not, children of God. We come in peace.”

Tohki, hobbled forward. “Welcome to our vale, servants of Eusou. I am sure your journey has been long. Come. Sit at our table. Share in our food. Drink from our spring.”

Gal and Anissa, taking the pitchers from the table, brought the spring water to the strangers. The man in black accepted the first cup, bowing his head in thanks. He took a long sip, sighing and smacking his lips in delight.

As Gal and Anissa offered the armed men cups of water, they cautiously lowered their weapons, accepting their hospitality.

Slowly, the other villagers began to bring offerings to the strangers. Cooked meat was sliced off the sizzling elk haunch and brought forward on wooden platters. The vegetable stew was dished into bowls.

The strangers accepted the food, relaxing in the hospitality of the vale. The stringed reeds were eventually put away, slung over their shoulders.

Kuji abandoned his spear, leaning it against the frame of a nearby house, and the other hunters did the same. All except Arcas. He kept guard next to Priya who fidgeted nervously, casting her eyes this way and that, like a cornered deer.

The man in black, once he had his fill, began to make his way through the village center. Thekla and Ami ran by him and he lifted his hand in blessing to them, smiling. As he grew closer to Priya, she began to see that as often as he smiled, his smile never fully reached his eyes. His eyes never shined or twinkled or the skin around them creased. His smiles always stopped short of allowing warmth to enter his expression.

When he reached Priya and Arcas, he paused to greet them. “May the blessings or our Lord Father, the all-powerful and ever-living God, be upon you.”

“And with you,” Priya intoned, her eyes not leaving his face.

He accepted her gaze, studying her while completely ignoring Arcas.

Arcas cleared his throat, drawing the man’s eyes toward him. “Where did you come from?”

“Why, we came across the mountain,” the man replied. “We came from a land flowing of milk and honey. The land sings. It nourishes us as we live our lives in servitude of the one true God.”

“Why did you come here?” Priya asked.

“To bring you the Good News.”

“And what is that?” Arcas questioned.

“That while we are sick and unclean and unworthy of God’s love, that his fountain of mercy waits for us. While we are blind to the radiance of his eternal light, he will wash away our defilement, bring the light to the blind, enrich us, and clothe our naked souls.”

“We are not unworthy of Eusou’s love,” Priya said.

The man leaned on his staff, bringing his head close to Priya’s. “Oh but you are, child. We are all unworthy of God’s love. We are sinners and our sins are many and great and we deserve every curse that God should rain down on us. You should tremble in fear and pray for his mercy. But I am here to bring you that mercy.” He held up his hand in blessing, intoning, “Merciful Father, take away this girl’s offenses and sins. Purify her in body and soul and make her worthy of the holy of holies. Wash away her guilt. End the evil of her evil thoughts. Aid her in the rebirth of her better instincts. So be it.”

He rested his hand on top of Priya’s head and she trembled in disgust.

Gripping his staff, the man in black left them.

Priya’s stomach churned and she ducked behind one of the houses to wretch in the bushes. Wiping her mouth, she sat down, her back against the house, watching the man in black make his way through the village, pausing to extolling his evil blessings.

Arcas sat next to her, resting his spear across his knees. “I do not like that man.”

“Me either,” Priya muttered. “There is something off about that man and the others with him. I believe we have let the wolves in.”

Acros nodded. “So, what do we do?”

“I do not know.”

Priya watched the man in black stand over Galia, offering her the same blessing he had just offered her. If blessing was the right word for it. Was it a blessing to be told that you were not worthy of Eusou’s love? What was this sin that the man told her she was full of? How could she be full of sin when she lived every day to be of service to the people of the vale, Eusou and The Mother?

Tohki was standing, laughing and talking to one of the armed strangers. With her walking stick, she tapped the man’s chest that was covered in a shiny material and it made a dull ringing sound, much like the pots they used for cooking.

“Why do they have those coverings on them?” Priya asked.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Protection,” Arcas said. “It could easily turn aside my spear.”

Priya pointed to the stringed reeds. “What do you think it is they wear around their shoulders?”

“It is a weapon of some kind. The hewn branches look like tiny spears. They are projectiles and somehow work together.”

“I do not trust them.”

“So I have gathered.”

Frustrated, Priya pulled the bind from her hair, shaking her hair loose. “Why is it that Tohki is welcoming them with open arms? Does she not see the risk? I can understand the childrens’ fascination with them, but is she as smitten as they are? Who pulled the wool over her eyes?”

“Tohki is wise and a trickster of a Crone,” Arcas said. “I am not so sure anyone has pulled wool over her eyes.”

Priya pushed herself to her feet. “I need to talk to her.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Priya shook her head. “Keep an eye on the strangers. If anyone leaves the village center, follow them.”

Arcas nodded in agreement. “I will.”

Tohki had moved closer to the fire, holding her hands out to it to warm herself. “Hello, Priya.”

Priya stepped beside her. “I do not like this.”

Tohki is quiet for a moment, turning slightly to the closest armed stranger who was turning over apples on the feast table, trying to find the juiciest one. When he found the one he desired he snatched it into his palm and bit into it, leaving to talk to one of his comrades.

“I do not like it either,” Tohki whispered. “But I do not know what to do. They are armed with weapons we do not have and their vulnerable areas are protected by metal. Even though we have welcomed them into our community, they have not laid down their weapons. If we move against them, some of us will die and it is not a risk I am willing to take.”

“What if we incapacitated them?”

“What do you mean?”

Priya pulled her satchel forward, opening it and drawing out a handful of the mushrooms she would give Arcas.

Tohki covered Priya’s hand with her own. “Put those away. You cannot use medicine as a weapon.”

Priya closed her satchel, hiding the medicine inside. “What if we waited until they slept?”

“I do not think we would be able to catch them unaware. And even if we did, then what? Slit their throats? Spear them through the chest? Gut them like a fish? Is that the way of Eusou? Is that how we show his love? While I do not trust them, I do not know they will cause us harm.”

Priya pointed towards the man in black. “What about him?”

“Cleric Ingolf?”

“Is that his name?”

Tohki nodded. “Aye. He considers himself a holy man.”

Priya sniffed. “Is he? He does not seem very holy to me.”

“His vision of Eusou is very different from ours.”

“How can it be? Doesn’t Eusou reveal himself the same to everyone?”

Tohki nodded. “Yes. But only if people are wise enough to see and witness his revealing. And even then, people can witness his revealing and decide that they want to believe differently. There were old stories passed down from Crone to Crone from the old world and how the clerics of old kept Eusou’s presence a secret. His love had to be earned and the only way you could earn it was by feeling that you were unworthy, less than, lowly. So that the clerics could forgive, bestow Eusou’s blessing, and raise you up. And it was always for a little price. Trade a small coin or a large coin and you would receive Eusou’s blessing.”

“The Cleric told me that I was a sinner.”

“Then he is cut from the same cloth as the clerics of old.”

“What did he mean by ‘sin?’”

“By their definition, a sin is whatever they want it to be. It’s a way of controlling and keeping people in line. Call it a sin, make someone a sinner, make them feel unworthy of Eusou’s love. But then for a trade of a coin and a prayer they would raise you up again. In Eusou’s eyes, a sin is that which pulls your focus away from Eusou. Nothing less. Nothing more.”

Priya watched Josif’s youngest daughters with Cleric Ingolf. They were touching the gnarled wood grain of his staff, pointing to the image of Eusou, hanging from the top of the staff with his hands bound above his head. “What happens if they teach others that they are no longer worthy of Eusou’s love.”

“Then we bring aid like we always do,” Tohki said softly. “It is just like when we heal a cough or bandage a wound. When the hurt is caused by words, sometimes it takes more time to heal. But we shall see.”

Clerif Ingolf banged his staff onto the packed earth again. Everyone turned to him, the conversations in the village center drawing to a close.

He cleared his throat, raising his free hand in blessing.. “On behalf of the Almighty Father and the Imperial Master, I thank you for your hospitality this evening. The blessings of God be with you. We hope to stay and learn from you and we hope that we can show you, in return, the Light of God, so that you might be saved from your sinful and pagan ways.” He gestured towards the House of Eusou. “May we stay in your holy house and rest for the night?”

Priya looked at Tohki, shaking her head, but Tohki was already nodding.

“Aye, you may,” Tohki said. “May Eusou bless you.”

Cleric Ingolf coughed into his hand. “God already has.”

“Tohki,” Priya whispered out of the side of her mouth. “The medicine.”

Tohki raised her hand, stopping the cleric in his tracks. “Let my apprentice ready the space for you.”

The cleric nodded and Priya walked as calming as she could to the House of Eusou. Lifting the flap, she ducked inside, going to the corner of the room where the medicine that had been prepared for Galia’s passage sat. She went to go pick it up, but paused. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt the presence of The Mother settle into her. Guiding her hand, The Mother opened Priya’s satchel and removed an empty tincture bottle. Dipping it into the vessel, Priya and The Mother filled it, before stoppering it and putting it back into Priya’s satchel.

And, just as suddenly as she had appeared, The Mother was gone again.

Lifting the medicine with both hands, Priya left the House of Eusou. She turned to go to Tohki’s hovel, but the cleric was there, along with two of the armed strangers, their hands resting on the long knives on their belts.

“What is this?” the cleric asked, pointing at the serving vessel in Priya’s hands.

“It is our medicine,” Priya answered.

Cleric Ingolf was silent, watching and studying her. Then, with a careful finger, he dipped it into the vessel, coating it with its contents. He raised the finger, covered in the medicine to his nose and sniffed it, his nose wrinkling at the acidic scent. Sticking the finger into his mouth, he tasted it, his eyebrows raising.

“Sacrilege,” he whispered. “Oh, you poor child. You poor sinner. You poor heathen.” Raising his voice, he turned to the rest of the village who stood watching. “You poor heathens! I have come to save you. To save you from your pagan ways. This medicine you drink poisons the mind and turns your eye from God. I am here to save you.”

Reaching out, he took the vessel from Priya. Priya looked at Tohki for direction, but Tohki shook her head.

Helpless, Priya watched as the cleric took the medicine to the fire and threw it into it.

“I have come to save you!” Cleric Ingolf cried out into the night. “I have come to save you!”