Nay was beginning to suspect if her mysterious Quest Giver in the sky was Jezabelle Childe.

If she was the one who lured Nay here to this world, or perhaps saw an opportunity with her arrival, then it would make sense that she was maybe the one guiding her along and making sure she was getting enough vigama, loot and boons to stay alive and advance on this strange path she found herself on.

If it was someone or something else, she was sure curious about their motive.

With Jezabelle C., she could see maybe why she was somehow magically sponsoring an Elseworlder who had Epicurist abilities. Nay was a symbol of her beliefs, that cooking Delicacies and Marrow should be available to everyone.

If this was the case, on one hand, Nay felt flattered. And on the other, hadn’t Jezabelle C. essentially put a target on her back?

Good thing she was up here at the edge of the world where she didn’t have to worry about the politics of the Peninsula. She craved somewhere warm, but she could live with the constant cold if it meant staying out of the blistering heat.

She had planted the black rose from the mysterious stranger in a clay pot that she kept on the windowsill in her room. She wasn’t sure if it would grow as a single stem, but she would sprinkle water on it and kept a glass jar over the rose to protect it.

Nom had wanted to hear everything about her journey and the trials, and she did not omit the part with the strangely attractive man.

She hadn’t said a word about him to Quincy or Ilyawraith, and although it made her feel guilty, she thought there were some things she should be able to keep to herself.

She didn’t want to give them reason for alarm. She didn’t think he meant her harm, but she was intrigued that he seemed to know about her. And the rose. She liked the rose and she liked taking care of it.

She didn’t tell Nom because she thought they could keep secrets between themselves, but she feared he would discover it anyways because of his access to her memories during his Mind Meld spell.

Plus, she needed to talk about him to someone.

And it wouldn’t have been an appropriate topic of conversation with any of her other girlfriends here, because well, reasons.

“You should probably eventually tell Quincy about him,” Nom had said. “He has all the signs.”

“All the signs of what?”

“Being a total freak.”

Nay had scoffed at that. “I don’t think so. Really? No. He was just a weirdo like all the magical people are here. He was more…eccentric…and mysterious than anything.”

It had been Nom’s turn to scoff. “You need to take off your horny-lensed glasses –“

“Horny?!”

“You have the hots for the guy, I can smell the pheromones coming out of your pores. It smells like a sushi bar in a grocery store.”

“Nom!”

“I’m kidding. It’s more of an escargot in butter smell –“

“Jesus please stop.”

“Okay okay! I’m sorry, alright? But it’s possible the guy is bad news. He appears out of nowhere, seems to know things about you, presents you a weird offer and then he just gives you a rose and disappears when you decline? Does all of that not seem like a red flag to you?”

“To be fair, both of us appeared in this world out of nowhere. And look at us! We’re trustworthy people, right?”

“Trustworthy? Sure. But are we good people? We both have our secrets and we’ve done enough questionable things here where I think we might be toeing the line.”

“Oh come on. We’re not keeping secrets…we’re just…delaying information until the time is right.”

“Well, don’t wait too long.”

“Like you did with your little adventures in poisoning assholes in bordellos?”

“Hey, I told you right away when that happened.”

“Yeah, but how long were you experimenting with poisons before you told me?”

“It was the right time.”

“So, same thing with the guy I met in the Frozen Vale.”

“Alright,” Nom had said. “Suit yourself. But I’m gonna keep an eye on that black rose. If it starts growing strange attachments like venus fly traps or poisonous spores, I’m setting it on fire.”

/////////

While she had told Nom everything about her trip, he had told her everything that had transpired at the Lodge during her absence.

That the dinner services had run smoothly without any issue, unless one considered the townsfolk’s addiction to white wine and butter based-sauces an issue.

Nay didn’t dislike French cuisine, and while she recognized it as a bedrock of foundational knowledge for a chef, it wasn’t the end-all be-all of great cuisine.

She appreciated the French more for their Brigade de cuisine contributions to kitchen organizational and hierarchal structure than their affinity for everything being cooked in butter.

She couldn’t diss them too much, as she grew up in Louisiana and the very first dishes she ever learned wouldn’t exist if not for the French.

Chicken fricassee and crawfish etouffee were not only some of her first dishes, but some of her favorite.

Regardless, she was anxious to introduce the townsfolk to other flavors.

Nom had told her about how he suspected that Mishell, the fishmonger’s daughter, was still alive, and she had asked him why he thought that.

He told her that it was more of a premonition he had, and emphasized that they should be on guard.

She wasn’t too worried about it.

Now that she was Iron Rank, she was no longer afraid of the prospect of Mishell showing her face again.

She was certain if they had a rematch, it wouldn’t even be an even match.

/////////

When Nay reached the Veritax chapel, which was near the edge of Lac Coinescar but on the other side of Lucerna’s End from the Lodge, she stopped to observe the architecture.

Most chapels back home, especially the old ones, adhered to a cruciform floor plan and structure.

The Lucerna’s End Chapel of the Veritax adhered to a hexagonal floor plan. It was made from cut stone, which made the place seem more like a mini-cathedral than some hastily-constructed wooden structure, which was what Nay had been expecting.

At the top of the stone structure was that symbol Alric had branded on him, the eye within the hexagon. This was made out of metal and the eye rotated within, turning three-hundred and sixty degrees throughout the day in alignment with the sun.

Alric had described it as a symbol truth, but to Nay it just gave her the vibe that this deity was always watching. There was something accusatory about it that made her feel uneasy.

Maybe it was her dislike of most religions, and nothing more. But in her experience whenever she walked into a place with holy symbols, negative shit had always followed.

From being judged by the other girls in her youth group during that short stint when she was a teen when her mother decided to become a Christian, to literally being attacked by a rift spider inside of that Korean church, she couldn’t help but expect some unfortunate or regrettable consequences.

Yet, she stepped through the doors anyways, because she wanted to give Alric a visit.

It had been too long.

/////////

The doorway entered into one of the six arms of the chapel. This atrium was like a foyer, lit by a torch. In the center of the arm, situated across from the veils leading into the interior of the chapel, was a statue of Verity herself.

She seemed to be made of bronze.

In one hand she was holding a mirror; the other hand held a horned head. The head seemed to be a grotesque union of a man and a goat. Whatever it was, it was old and had a huge beard.

Nay stared at it for a moment and mouthed, What the fuck?

She had so many questions but she continued through the veil.

Four of the six arms of the hexagon served as naves. There were chairs arranged in rows in each of the arms and the outer ring of the center of the hexagon served as an aisle.

The altar was located in the very center of the structure, where there was a raised dais someone could speak on. That was where Alric probably pontificated from.

Torches lined the walls and the ceiling was domed and was painted with a mural of Verity holding up a giant mirror, showing a mass of people their reflection.

The arm opposite the foyer had a strange wooden booth at the end of it.

One portioned opened and an elderly stitchgal emerged from it like it was a confessional.

She looked relieved about something, as if she was walking with a little lighter step than before going in there.

As she passed Nay she smiled.

She made Nay think of a grandma who had just received some good news about something that was previously making her nervous.

Nay looked back at the box and she had a pretty good idea that Alric was in the other compartment.

She walked up to it and entered the compartment the elderly stitchgal just got out of.

She sat down inside.

Instead of a screen divider wherein she could see Alric sitting behind in shadow, there was a mirror.

Yet he somehow saw her.

“Nay!” It was Alric’s voice. “What a pleasant surprise! I thought you were still on your excursion with Quincy.”

“You knew about that?” Nay said.

“Sure,” Alric said. “I went to the Lodge a couple nights ago to eat, and Ulla told me you and Quincy had gone on a trip. May I ask where to?”

“So, is this like a confessional?”

“Confessional?”

“You know, where I confess to my sins and you listen and then absolve me of them.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“So what is this?”

“You tell me about an event or happening that confuses you. And then I tell you the truth about the matter. As a servant of Verity, with one ear turned towards you, and the other towards her.”

“I see. The truth, eh?”

“Want to give it a go?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Can we talk normal? I brought you some food.”

“Food?”

She pulled a burrito out of her inventory. “It’s a carnitas burrito. Nay and Nom’s carnitas bombs. It’s pork. You can eat pork, right?”

“Sure I can eat pork. Why wouldn’t I?

“In some religions in my world, the practitioners aren’t supposed to eat pork. It’s considered an unclean animal. Pigs wallowing in mud and all that.”

“I happen to enjoy pork. I couldn’t imagine going without bacon.”

“One of the reasons why I’m an agnostic, bro.”

“What’s an agnostic?”

“Eh, someone who doesn’t really believe in gods but isn’t completely opposed to the idea of it, per se.”

“I see. Well, I’m excited about trying your pork pie!”

Nay cringed.

She composed herself. “Burrito. It’s called a burrito.”

“Apologies. I can’t wait to try this burrito, then!”

“Alright, so I’ll see you on the outside?”

Alric didn’t answer her at first. Instead his voice got a little more quiet. “Come on, go ahead. There’s gotta be something you want to know the truth about.”

Nay could see that he really wanted to demonstrate the power of his deity. And she had to admit, she was a little curious.

“Sure,” she said. “Why not?”

“Splendid!” Alric said. “You can take your time, think of the scenario you want me to hear.”

Nay thought for a moment. Then she made up her mind. “So, when I was gone with Quincy, I met this person.”

“Yes? Who were they?”

“Well, that’s what I’d like to know. Maybe Verity knows.”

“Go on…”

“They seemingly appeared out of nowhere. This person, I didn’t know them. But they seemed to know me. And, they wanted to offer me something.”

“Which was?”

“They were talking about paths, the paths people were on, and he mentioned that I had another choice concerning my path. A different way than the one I’m currently on.”

There was silence for a long and uncomfortable moment. She thought she heard Alric whispering.

“Alric?” Nay said. “You still there?”

The whispering noise stopped.

“Verity can’t tell you who the man is,” Alric said, “but she knows where he’s from. And she knows that you’re confused about whether or not you can trust him.”

Nay was taken aback a little. She wasn’t really expecting an answer. “Can I…trust him?”

“No one from the Phantomhead Empire is to be trusted.”