Dawn- An age of Darkness

Chapter 42 - The Devout Are The Same Everywhere

Wham! It was a large-broad man; he entered through the door with style. The word 'barbaric' might be a fit. He came in with a wicked smile and the shop shook as he walked; no one was afraid. He was wearing some sort of armor that looked more like a lion's skin. The guy was big but looked fairly healthy and his muscles made me jealous. "Hey, women! Give me a barrel!"

A waitress rushed to his side. "Right away, sir!"

Maybe he's some hotshot, famous adventurer? The guy quieted down as he engulfed the whole barrel of ale right in front of me. I stared with wonder; what an amazing drinker he was! He wasn't fully sober afterward but he was still sane. I suppose there are all sorts of people in this world.

I finished my meal, paid for it, and headed to my next destination- the church.

The church was easy to locate. It was very close to the inn and I could see its peak from far.

There was a magnificent dome inside the church. It was a pretty sight. Windows were heavily decorated by some form of art and so were the walls. The church itself was rather large. The graffiti work was all over the place: from a dragon eating the moon to a snake killing a lion. Rather weird if you asked me.

There were people inside and lots of priests and priestesses were listening to their plea. I grinned and had a mocking smile. You pray to god while he relaxes in heaven, while you suffer? I couldn't really believe these people. And here I was, seeking help. I no longer doubted God's existence, but honestly, I didn't like him one bit. It really was hypocritical.

I went to a priest and asked about sister Ashlyne. He looked like he was in charge. "Ashlyne? Don't worry about her. Just tell me your problem and let us embrace Silisesta together!" He was enthusiastic, maybe a bit too enthusiastic.

"Selisesta?"

The priest was clothed in fancy robes. If not for his wrinkled face and rather aged voice, it would have been hard to tell that he was in fact pretty old- close to seventies. "You're telling me you haven't heard about it!"

Don't look at me like that. What the hell are you expecting? "I'm actually not from here." I tried to be honest. I didn't want to make a scene. But I could tell it wasn't working.

"That's no excuse. What god do you pray to?" His eyes were sharp. I got the feeling he'd throw me out, if I said something weird.

Even I don't know that. Didn't Milai say something about a Zelon or something? "I pray to Zelo-"

"Preposterous!" His voice rose significantly. I couldn't maintain my smile anymore. "How could you pray to him! Pray to Selis instead. She is the greatest of all the gods! Pray to her! The goddess of fertility and oceans!"

Does this guy have a screw loose? And there's a goddess of fertility? "Can you just tell me where I can find sister Ashlyne?" I was in a rather bad mood now. I was about to snap. Something about this town disgusted me. People outside the walls were going through hell and this guy was preaching to me about fertility.

A nun from behind him pointed me in the right direction. "Head to that room by the alter." Her black and white dress kind of put me at ease. Instead of traditional cross, she had a different one hanging on her neck. It looked like a dragon more than a cross. Ominous but effective. But at least she was sane.

The eccentric priest looked somewhat defeated but I didn't care. I didn't have the luxury to care about gods anyway.. "Alright, thank you."