Acolyte of the Pleasure Goddess Ch. 07

He smiled, and Delyssa hesitated in her step towards the paladin. He had no idea what they talked about in his absence, no knowledge of the extent of her care for him. She took the bundle silently, her heart too close to breaking to speak. His smile faltered.

She unfurled the bundle. It was a long white skirt made of a light fabric, hemmed with an intricate pattern of golden thread.

Vael cleared his throat. "I thought it would go well with your new adornments," he said.

She set her staff on the ground stepped out of her ragged garb in front of him, letting them crumple at her feet as she tied the new skirt about her waist. Vael watched placidly. Delyssa examined herself and did a quick twirl.

"Well?" She said. "Do I look like a seasoned adventurer?"

"No," said Vael, laughing.

"Not even a little bit," said Bryn. "You look like someone I'd toss a silver piece to for dancing at a seedy tavern. You know, there are some insane campaigners who wear armor that's not really armor at all, just metal cups over their most sensitive bits. You don't even have that, you're just tits-out naked from the waist up and a thin skirt below."

"Are you complaining, warrior?" Delyssa said. Vael was beginning to blush, a darkening of his cheeks only faintly visible in the lantern-light.

"Gods no," said Bryn. "It's fucking incredible. I just can't believe you went through a whole dungeon without getting hurt."

"I have good protectors," said Delyssa.

Vael cleared his throat. "If we intend to return to Ankreot before morning, we should leave now. The night is still young, but it is still a long trek and the mounts will be further laden with our treasure."

"Well then, let's march," said Cenhera, already fastening a bag of treasure to her pony. "I'm pretty firmly committed to sleeping in an actual bed this night."

The next few moments were spent securing the weighty bags of treasure to beleaguered animals, who stamped and huffed as they were saddled. Red-eyed, they turned around and began the march back in the direction from which they just arrived.

Delyssa carried a spare pack, half-filled with the items she identified as those she would bring back as the Guild tithe to the Temple: the rolled-up tapestries from the treasure room, small religious carvings. The little things she picked out from the pile and thought that Mother Corporeal or Brother Kruit would appreciate.

She fell into step next to Vael, keeping a respectful distance from Dereac, the warhorse somehow managing to look resentful of the un-equinimity of being a beast of burden. While she tried to think of what say, Vael glanced over at her.

"We will be staying at the Daft Dragon Inn when we return to the village. It is large for a settlement of this size, and was unusually crowded when I left. I think perhaps a large band of campaigners is passing through. Hopefully there are still rooms available tonight."

"I'm sure we can find somewhere comfortable enough," Delyssa said reassuringly.

Vael shrugged. "I am sure you can find a bed easily enough." He straightened, realizing what he said, and stared at her, an apology already twisting in his mouth.

Delyssa looked him over and kept pace. "Those barbs don't bother me, Vael. I've had my fingers cut by thorns before, and I've never held it against the flower."

He grimaced. "Still, such cuts shame me. Please forgive me."

They were talking slowly, sentences passed between one another as they picked their way through the dark trail.

"Sometimes," Vael continued as they approached the base of the next hill. "I think of what Bryn might say. He always can get straight to what he wants. But even if I get the words right, the japes sour when uttered by my tongue. I do not want to be as grim and heavy-hearted as I am. My... tendencies are hard to escape, and I poison words meant with levity."

They walked side-by-side. Silently, Vael helped her climb up a thick ledge. Stones scattered and slid downwards beneath Dereac's hooves.

"I understand," Delyssa said. "I understand what you mean, about not wanting to be as you are. And I think I understand you."

"You do?" he said, his voice flat.

"I'm not going to pretend to know your past, but I think I've glimpsed a little of your heart, and sensed something of the troubles there," she said. Beside her, Vael stiffened in his armor. "I know you're afraid of yourself. Of what you were before you were sworn to your order. Afraid of becoming that man again."

He was silent, a heavy quiet that heightened the crunch of feet and hooves over the ground, of rustling packs, of the rasping breath of Dereac. She pressed on. There was an opening, and all she could do was try to cut through to the bone. To the heart.

"And I think I know how you see me, too. Our worlds are so different from one another. Me, this girl, only really here for my healing prayers, from the temple of a goddess whose cult is so free of all the qualities of your order. We love freely, worship joy and pleasure with our bodies. The only blood we know is the kind born from life, not death or war. And I grew close to your companions, your friends, so soon and in such a way that you don't think you could. I don't resent your jests when they cut, Vael."

She took a deep breath, readying herself for what came next. "When I spoke to Saint Mesembre, she told me she saw into our hearts. She said that you don't lust for me, but you love me."

Vael stopped. About twenty paces behind them, Bryn and Cenhera led their own animals. They halted when Vael did and stood, watching.

"I told you how easily love finds me," she said. "I mean it. I find so much to love about my friends. There's much to love about you, too. You may fear yourself, but I don't fear you. You search for a meaning to the life you once had, and I hope you find it. I truly do. But if you don't, I'll still love you. We all will," she said, glancing back at their two other companions.

Vael was crying. So was she, she realized. It is impossible to empty only the heart, to excise and extract the deepest emotions and put them before you without tearing a little of yourself away in the process. She saw his tears glitter, orange stains in the lantern-light.

"You don't need to love like we do, if you don't want to," she said. Her throat felt raw. "The way I love, with my whole body, you don't need to love the same way. But whatever you offer, I'll accept. Even if it's the occasional sting."

The paladin started to sob, his shoulders shaking beneath his armor. He sank down unsteadily to the ground, and Delyssa knelt beside him. He wiped his eyes with his knuckles. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

"Why," he croaked. "Why..." He couldn't manage the question. Delyssa pulled him towards her and tucked her chin over his head, holding his face against her chest.

"Why do I love you? There are a host of reasons," she murmured. "You're brave, generous and gentle. You're strong and clever and beautiful and funny despite how grave you seem. But mostly: how could I not? I think it's my nature to love. I love you on instinct.

"Why do I say such things? Because you need to hear them, Vael, and I think that nobody has ever said them to you before. I'm your healer. And this night is as good as any I think." She held him for a long while. Bryn and Cenhera cautiously approached. Cenhera put her arms around Vael's shoulder, and Bryn drew all three of them into hug.

It was clammy in that embrace, and all four of them smelled of dust and sweat. Delyssa could feel Vael's tears, wet against her breast.

Eventually, he pulled away and sat back, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. He took in shaking, quiet gasps of breath to steady himself. The group rose with him as he stood, still clasped together.

"Forgive me," he said, his voice still wavering. "I am acting indecorously."

"Look at me," Bryn said. He grabbed Vael by the chin and gently turned the paladin towards him. "You don't need to put your guard up around us." Bryn leaned over the heads of Delyssa and Cenhera and kissed Vael hard on the mouth. He half-jolted back in surprise, but Bryn held him close for two more heartbeats before pulling away. "We fought a monster naked together, Vael. This is nothing."

Vael was breathless, stunned, while Cenhera looked up in awe. Bryn looked down towards Delyssa and winked. "You gotta learn to take the initiative, Del," he said, before turning Vael towards her. The paladin wore a familiar expression, she realized. It nearly the same as the look of wonder that occupied Bryn's face for the past few days. She wondered if she held that same look when leaving Gra'tan for the first time. It was just a few weeks past, but felt a lifetime ago.

That sense of timelessness pulled between her and Vael. She reached up, her arms around his shoulders and neck. One of his hands found its way to wrap around her waist, the other still held down at his side by Bryn and Cenhera. How long did they look into one another? She couldn't count the heartbeats.

Hesitantly, timidly, he lowered his head towards her. She closed her eyes and waited until his lips met hers. They kissed. It was a chaste kiss still, but sweet. She felt the prickle of his beard against her chin, felt his mouth twitch against hers. For a moment she thought she could stay like that forever, intertwined with him there. That Bryn and Cenhera could breathe for them both. Then Vael pulled back, and she could tell that he was struggling not to glance away from her, his hazel eyes soft and sore from crying. He smiled. It was the first smile of his Delyssa saw that was not stained with sadness. She noted something in his eyes, an emotion alien to his usual demeanor. Fear? No, she realized, with a swelling warmth in her chest. It was hope.

"Alright, where's my kiss?" Cenhera said, grasping up towards the paladin, her hands reaching to about his mid-torso. Vael leaned down and kissed the top of her head, allowing Bryn and Delyssa to share a glance. The fighter was beaming, and she noted the glimmer of tears at the corners of his eyes.

Vael ended his kiss and stood once more. "Well, alright," Cenhera said, sounding a little disappointed.

The paladin straightened and turned back west, blinking. "We're losing the last of the dusk. It will be well into night by the time we reach Ankreot unless we hurry."

He sighed and picked up Dereac's reins once more, and the horse sidled a step closer to him. The rest of the group stood together for a few more uncertain moments until Bryn nudged Cenhera, and the two returned to their own animals. Delyssa walked next to Vael and waited. He glanced at her, smiled, then looked back to the path before them. He seemed lost in thought. Then, he reached out his hand towards her, and when she clasped it, intertwining her fingers with his, he pulled her close. Hand in hand, they began to walk along the rocky path towards town. In front of them, the sunset was little more than an orange smear across the horizon, but what little light reached them glittered off the metal hoops of the Wings of Amity, wrapped around each of Delyssa's breasts. They felt warm against her skin. As they walked, she thought of Saint Mesembre, and of her words concerning Vael. Perhaps she could not heal Vael of his grief. Not alone. She glanced over her shoulder, and even in the growing darkness could make o

ut the exultant smiles of her companions. But perhaps the four of them, together...

They held each other close into the night.

#

There were, Delyssa learned, two taverns in the small village of Ankreot: an unnamed one, calm and quiet, where the locals gathered to share drinks, and the Daft Dragon Inn. Perhaps wisely, the latter tavern was separate from the rest of the town, a beacon of torches and flaming lanterns, the echoing cries of carousal that spilled over the rest of the night. It was a square, two-story building with broad, tiled eaves that splayed out from each side. The open windows each had a small candle burning low onto the sill, and the silhouettes of patrons were visible shifting in the rooms within.

As they approached, Vael began to pull away from the rest of the group, looping Dereac's reins around his wrist. "I think I shall see to the horses, get them stabled and rested. I will meet you inside."

A quick glance between Bryn, Cenhera and herself confirmed Delyssa's intuition. She tugged on Vael's arm, leaning forward to pull him towards the entrance to the tavern.

After a brief protest by Vael and rejoinder from Bryn, the fighter led the animals away, while Cenhera assured the paladin that she could take care of moving their treasure to their rooms. Eventually, Vael relented. They stood for a moment before the door to the tavern, hearing the muffled chorus of talk and singing reverberate from within. Delyssa watched Vael square his shoulders and take a deep breath, as if he was going into battle. He pushed open the door and she followed him inside.

Delyssa stood blinking in the threshold. After a night's tiring walk through the dark hills towards Ankreot, the bright lantern-light of the Daft Dragon Inn was nearly blinding. While her eyes adjusted, her other senses were hammered: the scent of strong ales, countless travelers, and fresh, hot meals that made her stomach -- too used to dry trail rations -- leap in anticipation. The bustling din of the tavern-room was of pleasing melange conversations spoken in a dozen tongues, music played from a small band in the corner that persisted despite the overbearing crowd, and shouts and curses that echoed out from the kitchen, from which barmaids scurried in and out.

A couple nearby patrons eyed them both, especially Delyssa's naked chest, though she suspected that a couple of them were more focused on the golden Wings of Amity that encircled her breasts. She shivered in delight at the attention of these strangers, realizing that it had been some weeks since she felt the desire of someone new -- the longest stretch of time in her adult life. She stood straight and sidled a little closer to Vael, hoping she somehow looked like a confident adventurer.

"This place is so crowded," she yelled into his ear. "Where are we going to sit?"

Vael, taller than her by a head, scanned the corners of the tavern. He pointed diagonally across the room, to a darkened corner where a mostly-empty table sat occupied by two armored men. "That might be our best chance," he said, his voice barely audible over the cacophony. "Let us see if they are open to sharing their table."

Content to let the paladin push his way through the crowd, Delyssa followed Vael's lead. She found herself reminded of the crowd outside of the Campaigner's Guild Hall in Gra'tan. Folk of all kinds surrounded her. Humans of all shapes, colors and sizes sat amidst people whose kinds she had only ever heard stories about, and some others she had never imagined.

She walked by a table where a furred, cat-headed woman wearing a complicated corset smoked from a long pipe, casually arguing in some foreign language with her human companions. Across from them, two goblins wrestled on the table-top as shouting adventurers bet on the outcomes. Delyssa walked by a stool that appeared at first to be unattended, but after peering closer realized that the mug of beer perched atop it held three small fairies, their leaf-like clothes carefully folded over the rim of the cup.

Seated at the bar was an elf, their long pointed ears drooping low over their shoulders, wearing a green embroidered tunic that was startlingly clear of the grime that covered the clothing of every other traveler in the room. Delyssa craned her neck to continue staring at the elf as she passed, more than a little entranced by the sharp angles of their face and inhuman, otherworldly beauty.

They arrived at the mostly-empty table. The two men were seated facing towards them, but turned inwards toward one another and too immersed in their conversation to notice their approach. Vael coughed politely and rapped his knuckles against the edge of the table. Their heads snapped up, and Delyssa suppressed a smile as she saw their gaze shift immediately from Vael to her chest, each man focusing on one of her exposed breasts.

"Hmm?" One said after a beat.

"I asked if we could join your company, for want of refuge elsewhere," Vael said delicately.

"Oh, sure," the other said, waving his hand at the paladin. "As long as your friend here will join us."

"That was the idea," said Delyssa, sliding into a seat between the one on the right and Vael, who sat a little more cautiously as he eyed the pair. "We're waiting for two more of our friends," she added, trying to seem casual. The one closer to her -- a tall, lean man with a trimmed beard around his chin -- cleared his throat and finally looked at her face.

"Apologies, apologies," he muttered. "It's just that you're incredibly brave coming in here like that."

"Why's that?" she said, a little hotly. "It's not unusual. Women work nude above the waist all around."

The other man -- shorter and rounder than his companion, bald with a wide mustache (the two made an entirely complementary pair, Delyssa realized) -- raised his bushy eyebrows. "It's your dress, not your undress, that we're referring to. Those metal bands are invested, are they not? There's many a rogue around here that would mark such treasures."

"I'm not afraid of would-be thieves," Delyssa said. "And these are the Wings of Amity, and they can't be removed without my permission."

"Ah," said the lean one. "Powerfully enchanted, then. Still, what a rogue cannot pry, a wizard will soon scry." The other nodded appreciatively at this new axiom.

"Thank you for your concern," Delyssa said, still a little unsure of the two. They glanced at one another, and seemed to share an unspoken communication.

"I am Tulp," said the lean one, smiling. "And this is my companion, Macarh." Macarh bowed low in his seat, his forehead almost tapping against the mug of ale before him. "Are we correct in presuming that you are a servant of the kind Goddess Shevlana?"

She smiled and nodded. "I am Delyssa, an acolyte of the Goddess Shevlana. And this is my companion Vael, a knight of the Order of Saint Barassa," she said. Vael nodded at the two. "We just came back from delving the ruins near here."

Tulp stroked his beard. "Then we are your neighbors. We are both Stormcatchers of Amnastra, back from a long way north to the Riversea, carrying clouds and rain back to the desert." He patted a heavy satchel slung around his shoulder, emblazoned with the storm-god's symbol.

Vael glanced at her. "The Amnastrans are the temple right next to ours," Delyssa explained. "There's plenty of goodwill between the two. We even share some holidays."

"Ah," said the paladin. Delyssa couldn't help but notice that Vael was looking more lost as the conversation with the two men became friendlier.

"Of course, we've shared more than holidays with the Shevlanans," Macarh chuckled, winking at Vael.

"Oh, yes," said Tulp. "In fact, when I was a boy, I had the only room in the temple with a window that overlooked the wall into your garden. I learned a lot from spying on you all as a young man." He had a far-off expression on his face as he spoke.

"We were more than voyeurs, if you'll recall," said Macarh.

"I could never forget! There was a time when Macarh and I would climb down to make nightly visitations to some of your gracious acolytes."

Delyssa laughed. "You know, you could have just walked in through the front door and met with an acolyte. Or would Amnastra have punished you for so overtly dividing your worship?"

"It was more out of a want for secrecy from our peers. We didn't want to be seen strolling over."

"And, I think that there was this sense of adventure that came with climbing down out the window," said Macarh.