Chapter 9: Underneath The Chapel

Most villages had a chapel where anyone could come to pray to whatever god they wished, but most such chapels were dedicated to one god in particular that the village priest or priestess was devoted to. In the case of Lycia the god in question was Demeter, Olympian goddess of the harvest, which made sense considering Lycia and the surrounding villages all had acres and acres of farmland surrounding them. The chapel building itself was small, with rows of pews oriented towards the far end of the chapel, where a mural on the wall depicted most of the Olympians as well as a few major gods of the Aesir and the Tuatha, with Demeter herself taking center stage right behind a small altar. On this altar people who felt the need could make their sacrifices while the pews were for praying and worshiping. In the far left corner a door presumably led to the priest's private chambers.

When we entered, the chapel was empty except for the priestess, who was busy dusting the candle holders dotted around the room. She was a pretty twenty-something with brown hair and a cute girl-next-door face, wearing a soft yellow tunic with a green sash with her goddess' symbol embroidered onto it. She noticed us outsiders immediately and came to greet us.

“Welcome, travelers”, she said, then her eyes went from me to Selene and she said “oh, a Chosen One, how may I help you?” Then her eyes went to Alisha and she added: “Ah, and a fellow traveler, I greet you.”

Alisha replied: “I greet you as well, fellow traveler. I am Alisha, and these are Felix and Selene.”

The priestess smiled and told us: “Pleased to meet you all. I am Thea, priestess of Demeter of the Olympians.” We inclined our heads. “But again, how may I help a Chosen One and her companions?”

Selene looked confused and asked: “Traveler? But you are the village priestess, aren't you?”

The priestess frowned in confusion and I explained: “She hasn't been out of her village much.”

“Ah”, the priestess said and Alisha took over explaining.

“We refer to each other as travelers. You see us as worshipers of gods with a bit more authority than average but we see ourselves as being on a spiritual journey. It's a different journey depending on the deity and even depending on the cleric, but it is a journey towards faith and enlightenment for all of us. Put more bluntly, if you've never tested your faith you've never had faith.”

“Ah, that makes more sense, thank you”, Selene said, then turned toward Thea and asked, finally getting to the point: “May I ask if your Sense Evil skill has told you anything lately?”

“That is a very specific question”, Thea said. “And given that you are a Chosen One and have a priestess with you, you must have access to that skill as well. To answer your question, I haven't noticed it activating, no.”

Alisha frowned.

As she saw her expression Thea asked: “But you two have?”

All three of us nodded.

“Are you sure it has to do with the village?”, she asked.

“It activated when we entered the gates and has been ringing constantly, yes”, Alisha told her.

“Hmm”, Thea said.

“Maybe...”, I said and they all turned to look at me, “that thing that is pinging their Sense Evil ability has been here for so long and has grown so gradually that you never noticed it?”

“Possible”, Thea and Alisha said simultaneously.

“Then maybe if you stepped out of the village and back in again you could feel it?”, I asked.

“Worth a try”, Thea replied. “If Sense Evil is indeed affecting this village then I need to know about it.”

So, she followed us out of the gate and then stepped right back in again, at which point she sucked in a breath.

“This is...” she trailed off.

“Yes”, Alisha agreed.

“Do you have any idea of what could have caused this?”, Thea asked.

“Well, we had three ideas”, I told her. “We hoped you could help us with debunking two of them.”

“Go on”, she said.

“Did you notice children going missing?”, I asked.

Her eyes snapped up to me. We told her everything we managed to find out about the song and the fact that we were pretty sure a child had gone missing and nobody remembered. We even demonstrated how the sound we couldn't hear drowned out other sounds.

She kept nodding and finally she asked: “So, have you thought of any theories as to what is causing it?”

“First, we thought there might be an evil cult in this town. Nothing points towards it but maybe you know something?”, I asked.

She shook her head. “No. A priest of Hel came here on a recruiting drive a few months back and the villagers drove him out with extreme prejudice. They want nothing to do with any evil gods.”

“Good”, I said and continued: “The second idea we've had was that there's something hidden underneath the village”, her eyes went wide before she schooled her face, “something evil that has been sealed away maybe.”

She relaxed and shook her head again. “No, there's nothing evil sealed away here”, she told us.

“But there is something, isn't there?”, Selene asked.

“What do you mean?”, Thea asked.

“You reacted when Felix wondered if there was something hidden here”, Selene said. I was impressed with her observation skills.

“I...” Thea looked between us and was about to wall herself off when Alisha said:

“It's something you can't tell the villagers, isn't it?” Thea shifted uncomfortably and Alisha told her: “If it's nothing evil we won't have a problem with it, I promise.”

She relaxed a bit. “Alright, I will trust a fellow traveler. Did you have another theory?”

I nodded and said: “The last theory is that there is something in this village that eats children and then makes people forget about them. A predatory monster or an evil witch or something. Which seems to be most likely after you shot down our other theories.” She nodded and I added: “And so we were hoping if you could help us find it.”

She chewed her lower lip, lost in thought, then she said: “So it's something that is hard to find and that can mess with memories to cover up the disappearances?”

“That's our theory so far”, I agreed.

“And this song, have you tested out how far it spreads?”, she asked.

“A bit”, I said.

“Would it penetrate deep into someone's basement?”

I thought about it. It barely reached beyond the walls of the village. Finally I said: “Probably not.”

She thought for a minute, then made up her mind. “Alright, I will show you what's hidden in my basement.” She paused, then added: “If you promise to come and go in peace.”

I hesitated for a moment, then said: “We promise.”

**

The private chambers of the chapel were tiny, barely more than a desk to write on and a few shelves full of documents and books. Beyond it a stairway led down into the basement. And down. And down. And then down some more.

As we almost reached the bottom of the stairs a woman's voice called out: “Thea? Are you already done for the day?”

Thea replied: “Not quite. I've brought some friends.” The other woman hissed and Thea hastened to add: “They promised to come in peace. They've brought some disturbing news and I needed to bring them down here. Plus, I think you might be able to help.”

“Alright”, the woman said, dubiously.

Finally we came into a large chamber that had a little kitchen, a dinner table and a large bed as well as a few shelves full of books. A look at the ceiling told me that the grates outside of the chapel let fresh air and the tiniest bit of sunlight down here, though most of the lighting in the space came from the magic crystals affixed to the walls. In front of the bed sat a woman. At first I thought she was sitting on a large pile of green pillows until I realized what I was looking at.

A lamia. She had a human upper body and it was quite pretty. She was thin and pale and had long, flowing black hair that hung down to her bellybutton. Some people seemed to think that lamia had pointy ears but I have no idea where that idea came from. Her ears were rounded like a human's. Her outfit was gossamer-thin and covered only just enough to be modest. Less, really. It looked like lingerie. But beneath the waist she was a huge snake, easily thirty feet long, coiled up into a nest of shiny bright green scales and with a soft, cream-colored underbelly. I had seen lamia before, they weren't that rare, but Alisha and Selene apparently hadn't so of course they were gawking. None of us looked scared or disgusted though, which from the look on her face seemed to surprise the lamia.

“Alisha, Selene, Felix, meet my lover, Silvia. Silvia, meet Alisha, Selene and Felix.”

I recovered first and told her: “Pleased to meet you.” Then I turned to Thea and asked: “That's your big secret?”

“You seem to be taking this far better than I expected”, the cleric replied.

I cocked my head to one side. “What were you expecting? Torches and pitchforks? Your lover is a lamia, so what?”

Silvia cut in. “Considering what happened the last time other humans saw me torches and pitchforks were exactly what she was expecting, which is why I'm hiding away in her basement.” Despite what most people believed lamia didn't actually exaggerate their 's' sounds when they spoke. They had a tendency to hiss when agitated but their speech was entirely normal.

“I'm sorry. I didn't know people around here were this bothered by it.” She shrugged. “So, if people here don't accept you, why even stay here?”

Thea replied: “That's my fault. I have to work in this area during this stage of my journey. Once I become a Minor Saint we can move away and can go to a place where people don't have a problem with a lamia.”

“It's not your fault”, Silvia told her, and from her tone they'd had this argument before, probably many times. I also suddenly noticed that she was chewing something whenever she wasn't speaking.

“Enough about us for now”, Thea said. “Sit down and tell us about what you've found. First of all, what about that sound? Is it still there?”

We sat down at the table and Thea and Silvia sat down next to each other on the bed. And by that I mean Thea sat down on the bed and Silvia coiled up in front of the her, leaning her back against her lover.

“Right”, I said and drummed my fingers on the table and everyone could hear it.

“Good. That might mean Silvia wasn't exposed to this sound at all”, Thea said and I almost smacked my forehead. Of course, if she had been down here in the basement all the time she would never have heard the sound, which would mean she was never exposed to the mind-altering properties.

So I asked her directly: “Silvia, do you know how many children are in this village?”

She frowned and we told her the whole story, everything we'd deduced so far. She listened to everything and then answered my question from before: “I've never been up there when people were around and Thea had little reason to talk to me about this but from what she told me along the way I'm pretty sure there were at least a dozen children, maybe two dozen.”

“Well, that settles it”, I said. “Right now, there are two children left in Lycia. All the others have already fallen prey to whatever is hiding here.”

“Oh goddess preserve us”, Thea said and I shared the sentiment. Whatever it was it had taken at least ten children, maybe more than twenty.

“On the subject”, I continued, “what do you two know of the teacher?”

“Miss Mary?”, Thea asked. “She is so sweet. What about her?”

We told her what we had figured out.

“That can't be right”, she said. “She is so nice to the children, there is no way she could be faking that.”

“Are you sure?”, I asked.

“Well, your evidence is worrying, I admit.”

Suddenly Silvia leaned up and said: “How about some tea? I find tea helps with thinking. Or at least it helps Thea.” We all thanked her and she busied herself making some tea. Her snake body was so long that her tail was still near the bed while she was working in the little kitchenette.

“So”, Selene asked Thea, “how did you two meet?”

Thea blushed and told us: “Well, I found Silvia wounded and bloody in the forest. Some villagers a few towns over had tried to kill her because they're terrified of what they don't know and I healed her and nursed her back to good health. Along the way we started getting along better and better and eventually we decided to live together. If only we could find a place that doesn't react this way.”

“Easy”, I said. “Just move to the capital. One of my neighbors is a lamia and nobody bats an eye.”

Silvia's head snapped to us. “Seriously?”

“Sure. She gives candy to the children and dotes on her husband. She's the sweetest lady you've ever met. There is the occasional bigot who has a problem with her but the people in our district are rather protective of our own and so it never ends well for whoever tries to mess with her.”

“Well”, Thea said. “I guess now we know where to move once my goddess lets me leave here.”

I shrugged. “As I understand all of the major cities are like this. It's just when you get down into the smaller villages that you find many xenophobes like this.”

Just then, Silvia slithered over and handed us all mugs of tea. None of the mugs matched and I was pretty sure the one she took for herself was a small soup bowl. They really weren't equipped for visitors.

I thanked her, then asked: “Speaking of villages, what about the lamia village you came from, Silvia? I hear they take in the human mates of their clan members.”

She looked uncomfortable. “That would work if I wasn't a freak twice over.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Silvia sighed and told us: “It's really rare for lamia to be interested in women, much rarer than it is for human women. So that's bad enough, but they thought I was a freak long before that. I have... what did the doctor lady call it again?”

“Oral fixation”, Thea replied immediately.

“Right. So you see, we are part snake so we have a lot of snake mannerisms. One of them is that lamia have a penchant for swallowing their food whole. We can also taste the air like snakes so most of us don't really eat for pleasure since we can taste food from across the room. But my brain is wired all wrong and I need to suck or chew things or I get nervous. As a kid I kept sucking my thumb and now...”, she chewed what was in her mouth again for emphasis.

“What is that you're chewing there, anyway?”, Selene asked.

Silvia pulled it out of her mouth and showed a weird, wet beige lump. “It's called chewing gum. It's a new kind of candy the children are all over lately. It's a piece of gum that tastes like candy. You normally chew it until it loses the flavor and then you just spit it out but I like chewing it more than tasting it.”

Thea added: “I buy it for the children when they come to the chapel so nobody notices when I buy extra for Silvia.” Then she frowned. “Come to think of it, I've been buying the same amount for months but there's been more and more left over. How did I not notice that earlier? It's so obvious.”

Selene soothed her: “The song lives in your blind spot and makes you ignore incongruities. It takes something drastic to jolt you out of it and a surplus of candy isn't enough.”

“So”, Alisha said, getting back to Silvia, “they kicked you out of your tribe?”

Silvia shook her head. “They never cast me out but when I'm there they never ever let me forget how weird I am. So, in a way, Thea is my home”, she said.

Thea blushed scarlet, then told us: “She means that literally. When I use the Homeward miracle on her, it transports her right next to me.” That was actually really cute. I'd never even heard of Homeward keying to a person instead of a place.

Then Alisha got her sly smile and looked at the two of them meaningfully, then muttered: “Oral fixation, huh?”

This time Silvia blushed and Thea chuckled. “At night we read books together and she sucks my thumb. It relaxes her.”

“Anyway”, Silvia said, obviously trying to change the subject. “What about you three? You seem to be having an odd relationship as well.”

Now it was my turn to blush. Alisha leaned into my left side and told the snake woman: “It's a bit complicated for now.”

“It's not”, Selene said, surprising us. “The two of them are a couple, even if they don't call themselves that. They've asked me to join and if they ask that again I'm taking them up on the offer, so I guess I'm part of whatever it is they have.” Then she leaned into my right side.

“And you are sure you can handle both of them?”, Thea asked me.

My cheeks felt like they were on fire and it got even worse when Alisha replied: “Absolutely.”

The women chuckled at my discomfort until I cleared my throat and said: “People are dying, ladies.”

Alisha poked me in the ribs. “Spoilsport.”

I turned to Silvia and asked: “I heard lamia can sense tremors on the ground. Is that true?”

“Yes”, she said.

“During the last few months, have you felt anything weird?”, I asked.

“Weird how?”, she asked.

“Someone moving an odd way or at odd times or maybe more people moving out of the village than come back in again?”, I asked, then added: “Specifically last night?”

She chewed her bottom lip a bit. “Well... there was something that felt weird.”

“Yes?”, I asked.

“There is one signature that goes to the pond and comes back a bit later almost every night”, she said. “But last night there were two signatures going there instead. But only one returned.”

“So, whatever is taking the children, it's doing it at the pond. Was the returning signature heavier when it returned?” I asked, referring to our theory about Miss Mary's belly.

She frowned. “It's not an exact science, you know? If they're walking near here I could tell the weight but from that far away? I'm pretty sure the signature wasn't noticeably heavier though I can't be certain.”

Selene shrugged and said: “Well, so much for that theory. It might still be Miss Mary, though.”

I nodded and said: “Tonight I will sneak out and see who is going off to the pond. I'm almost certain it is Miss Mary but I want to see what she's doing there.”

“But”, Alisha said, “isn't it risky to go alone?”

I shook my head. “I have enough magic items to stay undetected. I promise I won't do anything reckless. Not without the two of you.”

“If we can help”, Thea offered, “please don't hesitate to tell us.”

“Thank you”, I told the two women. “But you have already done so much for us.”

Thea shook her head. “Nonsense. This is our problem as well. I am responsible for this town and apparently I've been doing a terrible job lately. So, can I rely on you to actually ask for help when you need it?”

I sighed and replied: “Yes, but only after I gather information.”

She nodded.

We thanked the two women and got out of the chapel to emerge into the noonday sun.

**

“So”, Alisha said, once we were back in our room, “you gave them a pretty interesting answer there, Selene.”

I heard Selene swallow, no doubt wondering if she'd been too presumptuous with her answer. “I-interesting how?”, she asked, unable to suppress the stutter entirely.

Alisha stalked up to her and placed her index finger on Selene's chest, right between her breasts. “Do you realize what joining us would entail?”, she asked.

In this position the difference in build between them was impossible to ignore. The two of them were of a height, Selene a bit taller than average for a human woman and Alisha a bit shorter than average for an elven woman, but Selene was all curves and broad shoulders while Alisha was thin and lithe. And yet it was Alisha who seemed more sure of herself in that situation.

“I was hoping you'd be willing to teach me when the time comes”, Selene replied.

Alisha moved her hand up and cupped Selene's cheek. “You see, I am fine with sharing Felix with you, but I will not be sidelined, will not just watch the two of you. That is my condition.”

Selene smirked and replied: “That's what I was hoping to hear.”

Alisha leaned forward and kissed Selene. It was slow and gentle and aside from her hand on Selene's cheek she wasn't holding or restraining her in any way, giving her ample room to move away if she so chose. But she didn't. If anything it was Selene who deepened the kiss and pulled Alisha into it, wrapping her arms around her thin body. I, meanwhile, could really only sit on the bed and watch them, intrigued where this would lead and quite simply unable to tear my eyes off the beautiful women mashing their lips together with increasing enthusiasm.

Then, step by step, Alisha walked Selene towards me and finally broke the kiss to ask me: “Enjoying the show?”

I smiled. “Tremendously.”

She grabbed Selene's arms off of her and turned her around so the blonde was facing me.

“Your turn then”, the elf said and then shoved Selene towards me.

She stumbled and I only just managed to catch her. She immediately started kissing me and I let my hands roam over her back, eventually coming to rest on her soft butt. Then suddenly her lips were yanked away from me and I saw Alisha holding Selene by the hair. She smirked at our expressions, shocked, disappointed and embarrassed, then planted a hot, rough kiss on my lips and another one on Selene's.

“This”, I finally said, panting, “might just work out.”

Selene slid off me to my right and Alisha pressed herself to my left and I had one arm around each of them.

“Ehm”, Selene began. Alisha and I both looked over to her.

“What is it?”, I asked.

She fidgeted. “Would it be alright if we waited until we've beaten the Dark Lord? I've never, I mean I...”

I smiled in understanding and gently stroked her cheek. “I won't rush you to do anything. We'll do it on our own time. And until then...” I smirked, “you can just watch Alisha and me.”

In response I could feel Alisha nibbling on my ear and Selene blushed, but nodded.

“Thank you.”