Rite of Revealing

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the journey forward was rather uneventful. In fact, it seemed that there wasn't much to see of anything for a large stretch of the road, but even so, they continued to walk despite it all. Only after the sun had begun to set noticeably was there any change in the monotony; To be specific, Ander saw the beginnings of what looked to be a field, situated next to a house and some farming equipment, the first sign of civilization in what had to have been miles.

"Finally, Deerhaven! Man, I love this place. If I wasn't a wanted criminal, I'd try and hang out here more often, but I don't think an hour is going to be too much of a risk."

Ander didn't bother to answer on that one; It seemed she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else, so it was probably best to leave that be.

"Well, either way… you should stay right here for now. Don't want to make things more complicated than they are, you know?"

"Hey hold on a moment! I don't think we should be splitting up. Besides, it's not like the authorities have gotten far enough to spread the word about my escape, so I shouldn't be a liability at all here!"

"Hmmm…"

It took a moment, but ultimately, Philia sighed in defeat, before nodding in approval.

"You're right, you're right… just don't slow me down."

Ander shook his head, though he couldn't help but grin, before starting on the same path. Since the sun was starting to set, they had the advantage of not being easily noticed, so he wasn't worried at all.

However, his serene feeling began to dwindle as they entered into the town proper. At first, everything seemed to be in order, with the expected dressings of the fantasy setting that Ander had been mentally prepared to encounter. He also expected most people to be inside at about this time, since to his knowledge, most village work tended to end with the fall of the sun. That much made sense.

However, despite all this, numerous people seemed to still be out and about. Ander could have written this off as a simple oddity of the town, if not for the state of the people in question: all of them looked faint and haggard, with an expression on their face as if all the joy in their life had been sucked out of them, their eyes glossed over as if coated to avoid looking at their own suffering any longer, as each one did some odd job. Some were shoveling dung from the path, some seemed to simply be staring as if on lookout, but all looked totally miserable to be where they were.

If Philia noticed this, she said nothing. Instead, she continued to walk on, not paying the people around them a second look, as they did likewise and focused on their job. Suddenly, Philia raised her hand, grabbing Ander's attention:

"I'm going to need you to stay quiet while I talk to the priest, can you handle that?"

"I- I guess? I mean if he talks to me then I'll talk, but I get what you mean."

For the first time, Ander saw Philia crack a small grin.

"Glad to see you got something going on up there. Don't worry, it'll be quick."

With that, Philia walked up to the building that Ander assumed was the church in question. It hadn't looked any different from any other building, but now that she'd pointed it out, he did notice two of those strange people in front of its door, seemingly positioned as guards. Nonetheless, they allowed Philia to pass on unimpeded and knock lightly on the door.

"Hello! Is anyone here right now? I have an urgent question!"

After a few moments of silence, the Druid woman's question was finally met with the creaking of the door, opening to reveal a rather unassuming man. He didn't seem much like a priest of any type Ander knew, but it was probably best to throw away his assumptions for now.

"Pray tell, what is the reason for coming here at this hour? You don't seem to be from the village, what business could you possibly have with me?"

"Please sir, hear me out! I have an urgent issue I need to solve

Ander had to admit, the complete shift in demeanor was incredibly thorough. Everything about her acting was incredibly convincing, from her posture to her tone of voice; If he hadn't just seen her, he wouldn't believe that she was the same woman.

"My family is in dire need of a priest to perform the Rite of Revealing on our newborn sister, but unfortunately our own village's priest has recently passed, and no approved replacement has been found. My parents had me and my brother come here to ask for your blessing to perform the Rite on our own. We would be eternally grateful if you could lend us the proper tools to do so. Please sir, it's a matter of extreme religious importance!"

[Aren't you laying it on a bit thick?]

That said, it did seem to be working. The priest began stroking his chin thoughtfully, carefully considering what seemed to be the offer of a young girl desperate to please her god. Then, with a smile, he gave Philia a pat on the shoulder (and Ander could have sworn he saw her shiver in disgust).

"Of course, of course. I just need you to confirm your family name so that I can come and retrieve the item later. That shouldn't be an issue, correct?"

"Nope! I'm Lily Celica from Morarbor, feel free to stop by any time! We'd be honored to host a man such as yourself."

"Alright then, in that case… wait one moment."

The man returned inside, and Ander heard a little bit of rustling, before seeing the man return with what looked like a scepter. Its handle bore an ivory color, and at the top was something that looked to be an opaque crystal orb, making it look jarringly strange in comparison to its surroundings.

"I will come to collect this in three days. I hope you treat it well."

"Of course sir!"

Philia took the rod before giving a small bow, eliciting a small smile from the man. Feeling reassured, the priest extended two fingers outward toward her, in what Ander assumed to be this world's gesture of parting.

"Alright. I pray for your new sister to be granted a good occupation by the Great Goddess, and luck in all her endeavors. As for you, stay safe miss Lily."

With that, the priest gave one last smile and closed the door, prompting Philia to turn and give Ander a grin as she walked back to him, gesturing for him to follow her. Walking behind, the two of them began to move towards the outskirts of town, away from whatever prying eyes might be lurking.

"See? I told you I could handle it. These suckers won't know what hit them for a while. If only I could see Lily's face when the church comes asking for their dues… ah well, can't win them all."

"Ok but… what is it?"

"Ah, you really don't know huh?"

Ander had expected another one of her snide comments about his "amnesia", but instead, to his surprise, Philia's grin only seemed to grow larger.

"This is gonna tell me how to unlock your powers!"