Flow

XVI.

The night arrived quick, and the temperatures dropped alongside it. It was a starry sky above them, utterly cloudless. Their unprompted dash made them lose track of the cave they were going to use as shelter for the night, so they decided to push themselves towards the nearest village instead.

The place was much cleaner and quieter than the one they had visited just before heading to Inara's place. Some men walked around, lighting up the street lamps, as some women exited a small chapel with a symbol of eight leafy branches crossing each other drawn above the door – it was a temple to Faylen, the goddess of forests. Given their geographical location, it was probably wise to raise a building in her name.

The tavern was lively, and a couple of bards sung and played violins as couples danced around, and gentlemen hit their tankards together, a booming laughter echoing through the place. There weren't many houses, and the limits of the village didn't stretch for much further – from where they stood, in the center of the plaza, they could see the end of it.

"Do you see an inn?"

"I don't... Think so?"

The trio stood in place, their gaze all over their surroundings, trying to identify anything that would resemble a good place to at least set camp, when a honeyed voice came from behind them.

"Pardon me, are you lost?"

The young man that stood in front of them was a slender individual of tawny skin and a green eye – the other one was covered by an eyepatch. His hair was brown and long, the top of it pulled back into a bun while the rest draped over his narrow shoulders from which an amulet hung. He wore a dark green vest on top of a brown long-sleeved shirt, and dark grey trousers. He had no shoes on – instead, his feet were partially wrapped in fabric bandages in the same shade as his vest. By any standards, he was a very attractive man.

"I think we might be."

"Well, we are where we hoped we would be, but we see no inns around. Is there one you might know of?"

The man chuckled – he wasn't much older than the trio, but he had a wise semblance to him. He examined the group for a moment.

"We don't have inns here in Martendell, I'm afraid. It is not common for us to receive visitors. Most people who end up here come to visit someone they know in town, so they usually stay at their place," he placed his hands on his waist, and tilted his head a bit, "you folks look like hell. Would you like to accompany me to a place where I can provide you with warm food, and a place to bathe?"

The trio nodded, too exhausted to consider any other possibility. Following the strange man felt reasonable enough for their circumstances, so they just walked behind him, as the watchful eyes of the waking townsfolk accompanied their movements. To their surprise, the man made way to the emptied temple, doing a religious hand gesture as he entered it.

When they gathered in the navel, he closed the big mahogany doors behind them, and marched towards a fountain at the end of the place. Around the fountain, several round mats were displaced in circles. The trio noticed the place had been built without an artificial floor: instead, they were stepping on freshly cut grass. Vines and flowers hung from the walls, and there were big windows on the roof, from where they could perfectly see the night sky.

Klaus was certain that that was a temple dedicated to Faylen, but he hadn't had any experiences with her followers before. He knew she was a kind deity, very accessible and responsive, too. The books depicted her with a deer head, and four arms, each of them holding an aspect of nature – fruits, small animals, orbs of water, gems. Her horns were made of branches, and according to the legends, every hundred years a small golden fruit would sprout from them, granting eternal bliss to whomever consumed it. She aided lost travelers, protected the forest from any threats, and looked after the delicate balance of the circle of life. Perhaps they would do well to greet her and leave an offering in her honor before departing.