Alex Fufi and Ekta stood quiet, looking at each other awkwardly in the temple library.  It was one of those standoff moments where one side wasn’t sure how to best respond to the other side.

“Sorry, we’ll keep our voices down.” Fufi tried to act normal. But her ruffled feathers gave away her true feelings.

Alex gave the flamingo a look and squeezed the hero plushy in annoyance..  “Apparently we are terrible at being discrete.”

Ekta coughed. “I suspected you were not Yuti but now I’m sure.  She hates the hero so the only reason she’d have a hero doll would be to dispose of it.  When you came back with it after going to the garbage area that was highly suspect.  Also, your flamingo is not a normal animal.  If you were a witch before and Fufi was your familiar then losing your class would ruin your bond.  A beast tamer might keep their tamed beast, well depending on the animal but someone with a familiar that would really ruin things.”

Alex put her hands on her hips. “She’s got a name.  It’s Fufi.”

“Ah, sorry I didn’t mean to be rude.  Times like this remind me that I’m not the original Ekta,” Ekta said.

“See, I told you that it was a flawed immortality technique.” Fufi pointed out.

“Well, regardless, you and your cult have a lot to answer for.  Why are you preying on people?  Just because they got transformed against their will doesn’t make it right to do whatever you want to them.  I thought Catalina was supposed to stand for purity.  I don’t see how anyone who stands for purity would be borrowing demonic rituals  Also, how do I turn back?  I don’t think anyone will recognize me anymore.” Alex waved the hero doll around.

“I would say entreat Catalina directly but she hasn’t even responded to anyone’s request for a class in generations.  I don’t remember all the details but that was the start of this slippery slope,” Ekta said.

“I don’t see how trying to save the harpies by cloning yourself over them with a demonic ritual can be okay.” Alex glared at the librarian.

“Wait, so you are not going to attack us? I figured everyone was a powerful priest of Catalina here. How do you keep demons from invading?  I’m confused.” Fufi tilted her beaked head.

“Yes, you are right.  There shouldn’t be a need to attack you.  Things have gotten worse as the newer Ektas and Yutis come into existence.  There were more than just the two of us originally.  But the lesser clergy didn’t last more than a handful of instances away from the original.  Eventually, one copy would become mute and just go through the motions and after that they would be catatonic.” Ekta said grimly.  “But we have done you wrong. When we first started this we only would use the ritual on harpies that were completely gone.  It is written down in the journals but the later iterations of the two of us don’t seem to care.  They’ve started to just go through the motions.  It is a sign that our time is almost up.”

“Wait, so you thought they would just leave me as a harpy and that would be better?” Alex still didn’t get it.

“That is what I would have done.  The ritual seeks to erase the recipient.  It is just, I’m tired. We have been trying to hold the faith after so much loss and made some difficult decisions.  Catalina had been the pillar of morality, one of the major faiths in the realm.  Then after the hero betrayed us, we thought he’d be struck down but that didn’t happen.  Instead the hero lived and no one could get a class from Catalina.  Years went by, the fight with the demons kept getting worse and worse.  It was bad news all around.  I don’t remember exactly everything that went into doing this but keeping Catalina’s flame alive by having priests and priestesses for when she made her return seemed worth any cost.”Ekta hung his head sadly.

“I heard something about this.  Luna was friends with Catalina and when Hiroshi betrayed everyone she wanted to have him killed or at least banished from this world.  Normally what happens in a deities’ flock is their own business but the dark gods interceded on the hero’s behalf.  They said that stealing their trophy would give them permission to do something equally as abrupt to their remaining forces.” Fufi tried to recall the rumors.

Ekta listened intently. “Do you know any more?  We haven’t had any news.”

Fufi paused and thought. “I don’t know but having her champion’s shameful status brought up repeatedly would be unbearable. She might have given up on this world.  Other gods have done so before.  I don’t know for sure though.” Fufi speculated.

“Has the hero died?  If he is gone then maybe Catalina will come back.” Ekta sounded desperate for any shred of hope.

“I don’t know, he’s got children but there is no news coming out of that island.  He’s got to be over 100 years old if he’s still alive.” Fufi took a step back, a little intimidated by the sudden interrogation.

“Look, we can't help you with your problem.  Please stop yelling at Fufi.” Alex placed a hand on the pink bird.

Ekta deflated. “You are right.  I’m acting shameful.  I just wanted to explain that things didn’t go how we would have liked. Having everything slowly go away with no chance to make it stop.  I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.  The fact is that we have wronged you and there is no way to fix it.  There isn’t a ritual to turn someone back.  It is stolen from demons from when the fight was going well against them.  I wish we never would have found it.” The librarian seemed almost in tears.

“So, is it okay if we go?  I mean not right now, maybe in the morning?  It is almost night and I don’t want to walk through the ice in the dark.” Alex hoped for a peaceful escape.

“Yes, that is the least we can do. I know you can’t forgive what we almost did but I would like things to not be any worse than they already are. Feel free to find any place to rest.  There are many empty dorms.” Ekta said.

Alex and Fufi left the broken priest and found a place outside, away from that necropolis of a temple.  They slept in a barn with some goats and sheep.  Of course the place needed to be cleaned.  When all the animals were groomed, the poop shoveled and a bed of straw was made in the rafters a priest came in to check on the animals.  The interaction was almost robotic.  

The priest greeted Alex, addressing her as Tika and they emotionally exchanged pleasantries and a few praises of Catalina before he left.  

When they awoke the next day the pair bee-lined it to the gate.  

Ekta and Tika were standing on the battlements keeping watch.

“Hello Tika,” the priest said.

“Hello Ekta and Tika,” Alex replied, trying to sound the same. The fact that her voice matched Tika’s was a little unnerving. 

“Why are you at the gate?  We must prepare for Catalina’s return.” The male priest tilted his head.

“Ekta, there is a carriage outside several miles away.  I must go and collect it.” Alex pointed past the wall.

“Allright, but be careful.  We haven’t seen anything but the occasional harpy for months but demons do lurk in the ice.  Be wary of an ambush.” Tika pulled a lever and opened the gate.

Alex and Fufi headed out and when they passed the threshold out of the complex the temperature dropped dramatically. Alex quickly donned the fir dress over the priest's robes and pulled the hood tight over her head.  When they were fully outside the gates slowly shut behind them.

The two clergy gave a farewell and Alex returned it.

It took hours of trudging through packed snow and biting winds to get back.  Alex really was missing being able to fly.  Getting down from the mountain range without flight was going to be a huge pain.

Some smoke from the carriage helped direct their path.  It would have been really easy to get lost.  Everything was white and the sun made it hard to see.

At the area where they had set up the carriage several more pipes that went nowhere had appeared.  “Looks like Merumeru has been busy. I wonder what she is trying to accomplish or if this is just something she does for fun.”

“I’m not sure.  But they look really good, almost identical.  She’s consistent if nothing else.” Fufi pecked at a stone pipe.  It seemed solid enough.

After a peck at the carriage door, a little slime girl opened and gave them a big smile.  “Meru!” 

But then she looked at Alex and didn’t seem nearly as friendly as she was to the flamingo.  She stuck her head out and looked around seeing if someone else was around.

“It’s me Alex.” Alex pointed to herself.

Merumeru gave her a skeptical look.

“It really is Merumeru.  The clergy at that place are crazy.  They tried to turn Alex into a copy of one of them.  It kinda worked but Alex is still there on the inside.” Fufi flapped her wings.

Merumeru hummed, nodded, then smiled.  “Meru me me.” 

“Well, that went smoothly.  I’d be worried if someone came in looking completely different and claiming to be Fufi.” Alex went inside to get out of the cold.  Fufi followed.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve been transformed into something else.  I think she’s used to it by now,” Fufi matter-of-factly proclaimed.

“Well let's get something to eat and drink and head back.  I don’t want to stay up here longer than we have to.  Also, if we run out of coal and firewood the nights are going to be really rough.” Alex took off the dress, then the robe and put on the pink fleece robe. The priest’s robe was folded and stashed in with the rest of the outfits.  Alex never wanted to wear that thing again.  Alex threw a pot of water on the stove and looked through the wardrobe.

“Oh, the shoes.  I bet I can wear them now that I have feet again.” Alex took the shoes out and sat down in the carriage benches with everyone else.

Alex set the hero doll down and Merumeru grabbed it immediately. 

“If you pull on this thing it talks.” Fufi pointed to the ring on a chain at the back of the Hero doll.

“No, don’t tell her that.  It is annoying.” Alex groaned.

Merumeru pulled the ring.

The doll made another sound like a recording. “Your evil stands no chance against my blade of justice!”

Alex facepalmed.

Merumeru giggled and pulled the ring again. “Believe in yourself!”

Alex sunk into the bench.

Merumeru reached to do it again but Alex stopped her.  “Please no more.”

Alex tried on the shoes and checked her status sheet on her phone.  It turned out that the shoes from the dungeon gave +1 to dancing.  It wasn’t a big surprise but a bonus to dancing would be a help. Every little bit adds up.