26 Church of Artemia

The church as Noah had come to learn the following morning, was not in Alder—the village which Noah had met Caina in—instead, it was in a neighbouring, much larger village of Redle. Which actually had something of a wall to block out the outer world from them. Hanging from the arches were banisters with an intricate woman firing a bow.

The insignia he had learned was the sign of Artemia, the goddess of chastity and the hunt as well as being the goddess which made up the largest church across all of Minas' continents. Especially in Parlight, in which is was practically the only thing in control of the kingship there.

Noah had never really been one for religion. To him it was a bunch of nothing about foreign aspects of the world that no one could prove. Though, now within this world he was beginning to realize that perhaps those divine beings weren't so fictitious at all.

Or they were in his old world and weren't here. He couldn't tell and would never know considering he was currently and permanently not on earth.

To get to Redle they had caught a ride on one of Alder's mercantile carraiges that often made the hour-long journey out there to collect up enough food they could sell back home over the coming days.

"I'll be leaving round the third bell, so if you want a ride back, be here," the merchant said.

"Thank you, but we'll be staying here until tomorrow," Liora told him.

She was dressed in a pleasant dress and tunic that covered the straps over her arm. Caina having inspected them during their ride back finding nothing wrong with the wound bar the expected uncomfortability and and heat constantly radiating off the scarring line.

"Understood, take care," the merchant nodded to the three of us and struck his reigns getting the large, heavily muscled horses to start trotting off down the street.

With him gone, Liora turned to me and Caina with a smile. "So, welcome to Redle. Shall we head to the church first and get Noah cleansed first before heading to the market?" she asked getting a quick nod and affirmation from both me and Caina. Liora taking the lead as she led us through the village pointing out the odd bakery or tannery where certain people lived.

When he probed how she knew so much, she told him she was born in Redle itself. Moving out to the farm with Harv after they had met one fine evening not long after her father was cremated and had his ashes spread.

It wasn't quite a bustling village, the streets were relatively empty bar the odd woman wandering about between the buildings. Noah noting how few men were actually around, less so than in Alder itself and even then, there weren't many. 'Now that I think about it, they all looked like travellers or merchants. Weird?'

"Something wrong?" Caina had asked from his side.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm just noticing there's not a lot of men around." Her brow raised at him.

"Considering most of them are on the frontlines keeping Kanyon from killing us all, that makes perfect sense."

"Oh," he uttered, 'they're all enlisted in the war. Makes sense.' He just hoped they offered themselves and weren't forcefully dragged into it like had been a habit back in his old world.

"Glad I'm not there," he awkwardly chuckled.

"I doubt they would even want you considering you look like a skeleton," Caina snorted. Her stride halting in tandem with Liora's who had come to stand right at the bottom of the steps leading up to a large church building.

'glad to see architecture hasn't changed,' Noah quipped staring up at the large bell tower raising high over the skyline.

"This is the church," Liora explained the obvious and began to ascend the steps with the two following just a step behind. Quite literally considering he was a stair step behind her.

We didn't say much else as we arrive by the wooden doorway which Liora grabbed the ring handle of and began to push open with a loud, reverberating creak. Letting Noah and Caina enter first.

The hall was large and open with a regal red carpet running across the entire centrefold of the room and right up to the steps leading to a platform of a large stone statue of a woman. Though lacking in colour, the statue had beautiful, almost entrancing features with soft, plump lips curled into a smile and bright eyes that almost glistened in acceptance of all of Noah's sins. The breasts were large, though not to the degree of Liora or the Kanyon wolf woman. Her hips wide and though he couldn't see it from where he stood, he could tell her bottom was just as luscious as Liora's looked when he ogled her. Her dress he had found to stick close to her body leaving most of her thighs open and one breast hanging out with a slight raised point denoting her nipple.

'Artemia I'm guessing,' he guessed correctly.

Pulling his eyes off the statue, he looked around the pew less hall. Light beaming in from up high in the room where large and intricate stained glass windows. Lining the walls of the hall were several confessional booths. One of which opened and a man dressed like a mercenary stepped out with a smile on his face fiddling with his belt.

'I hope that's not what I think that means,' Noah's cheek quirked, hearing a new voice speak up.

"Liora, it has been too long." A large busted woman stepped towards us. The woman was tall and dressed in a black and white nun's garb that clung to every piece of her more than abundant body. Accentuating the crevice of her bust and the knifepoint nipples poking through the garb. Her pale hands were pressed together above her chest, fingers interlocking. Her expression of softly shut eyes and curled plump lips beneath which was a small beauty mark on one side. All together putting a single thought through Noah's mind.

'a milf nun… Why do I feel like I should have slept for longer?' a shiver of premonition coursed its way through him.

"Mother Camilia," Liora pressed her hands together in a similar manner to the now named mother Camilia, adding a small bow of her head as well. "It really has. Things have been difficult these past few months since Harv's passing so I haven't been able to come as much as I would have liked."

"Oh that is perfectly alright my dear." The aged nun smiled as Liora lifted her head and unlocked her hands. The nun keeping herse perfectly still and locked together, "I had heard of young Harv's passing through the grapevine. It saddened me to hear of such a man's passing. Though, I can't help but feel it was expected due to his frequent thoughts of monsters."

Liora twitched, "Harv had always been careful mother."

Mother Camilia frowned, her brows angling to a downwards angle, "perhaps, but it does not change the fact that he is an example of why you should not consort with monsters Liora. I advise you to leave that farmstead Liora. Escape that monstrous forest before they invade and you can no longer escape as a pure human."

Noah could see Liora's hand clench slightly, "I understand mother, I will think about it." she had no real need to think about it as she still had that ridiculous sum to pay in months or she face eviction.

"That is all I ask. Now, what may mother Artemia's teachings do for you and your… companions," she eyed Caina for a split second before latching onto Noah at which she licked her lips hungrily with an expression Noah could only surmount to being reminiscent of the Kanyon wolf he'd encountered.

"Oh yes, I have a confession I want to make and Noah here needs to be purified, he ran into a Kanyon wolf out in the forests." Liora explained reaching out to grab Noah's shoulder and pull him forwards.

Mother Camilia's eyes widened showing off her rose diamond irises. A pleased expression taken to her.

"I see, we would be more than delighted to offer our services to such a fine young man," Mother Camilia bowed her head to Noah.

"Thank you."

"No need for thanks my dear, it is our sworn duty to heal those afflicted by the toxic monster scourge. Sister Marlin, please take Liora to a confessional. Sister Tyli, please guide Sir Noah to the purification chambers. Hmm..." She turned to look at Caina as two similarly dressed girls appeared from side rooms. The only difference being they had veils covering their lower faces but seemed to eternally be smiling.

"And what about you dear? Do you require our services?"

"No, thanks. I'm doing perfectly fine," Caina strained a smile.

"Then please wait out here while these two are taken care of."

Saying that the shortest of the two girls approached Noah, gazing up at him with the same rose diamond eyes that mother Camilia had. Holding her hand out as if to say 'follow me' and began to walk towards a back room while Liora was taken to one of the confessionals along the walls.

Glancing back as they walked away, Noah felt his ominous premonition only growing stronger and stronger.

'Please god, don't let this be what I think it is…'