The Old Church

As Lilith entered the old church, she realized why nobody used it anymore. Even when it was just-built, it wasn’t that impressive. Just a few rows of wooden benches facing a simple podium at the front, with what Lilith assumed was the symbol of Claria on the back wall; a stylized eye with a large teardrop beneath it.

As it was now, it looked even worse. Most benches had rotted or broken, the dirt floor was sprouting weeds, and there were numerous holes in the roof where the afternoon sun shone through in lines. The only thing that interested Lilith much were the two doors in the back of the room, one on either side.

“Where do those doors lead?”

“Not sure, I never bothered to check. There’s a small tower that I assume one of them leads to, but the other one’s a mystery.”

“Huh.”

Making her way towards the podium, stepping over a fallen roof-beam, she opened the left door and walked through.

On the other side was a small room, about the size of Amelia’s bedroom, although with far less furniture. Instead of a bed or closet, the room was filled with broken pots and empty crates lining barren shelves.

“Guess this used to be a storeroom.” Looking around and not finding any way to reach a hypothetical upper level, Lilith concluded the tower was through the other door. Going back out to the main area, she turned to Amelia, who was gingerly sitting on one of the more intact benches.

“You want to come see what’s through the other door? I’m pretty sure that one’s the tower.”

“Sure. I was always a little curious what was up there as a child.”

“In that case, after you,” Lilith said, motioning to the right door.

After opening the door, Amelia took a look around the tower’s bottom floor. It was mostly empty, with the only notable feature being the stairs against one wall. Unfortunately, the stairs had rotted through to the point that they were most likely unusable.

“The stairs are damaged,” she called to Lilith, who let out a sigh.

“That’s unfortunate. Guess we’ll have to get a ladder or something.”

“I guess. What does Medenta think of the place? You said that she was the one who wanted to come here.”

“Let me ask her.” Going back into the main room and sitting on one of the more stable benches, Lilith reached out to Medenta to ask the goddess’s opinion on the dilapidated structure.

Looks like any renovations we wanted to do would take a while. The benches are rotting, the stairs are broken, and the roof’s fallen in a bit.

<Minor setbacks- especially once I have more power.>

What do you mean?

<I am a goddess, you know. If we go by how many people could fit in this church, there’s most likely a little over a hundred villagers here- which should provide enough power for a small miracle.>

You can just magic the place better?

<I sent you across dimensions and gave you that skill system, of course I can do a bit of redecorating. I’m not planning to make a habit of it, though, so I won’t do too much- just repair everything, replace the symbols, and maybe a little extra. Besides, it’s a good investment- show off a little to my new followers, and get a place of worship set up for the future.>

Good point. Hey, can you see what’s around me, or just what I can see?

<Why?>

Well, I was wondering if you could see what was on the higher floors of the tower, even if I couldn’t.

<In my current, ‘low-power’ state, I can only see a few feet around you- or look through your eyes. That can change, though.>

Huh. Well, if the next few hours go well, then that’ll change pretty soon.

<Speaking of that, Kassander has re-entered the range of your telepathy.>

Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll see how he’s doing in a moment.

Feeling Medenta’s presence leave her mind, Lilith reached out to Kass.

- - -

As the villagers made their way home, Kass felt a familiar presence in his mind.

Hey, you there?

Hi, Lilith. What’s the occasion.

Just telling you that you’re almost there- you just got in range of my [Telepathy] skill.

Good to know. Mind if I tell everyone else?

Not at all.

“We’re almost there!” as the group heard Kass’s call, they sped up a bit, eager to return home.

One of the knights- Seth, from Kass’s recollection- came up to him.“How do you know that?”

“Magic.”

“What sort of magic?”

“The magical kind,” Kass replied, imagining the knight’s annoyed face underneath their helmet.

Realizing that he wouldn’t be getting any actual answers, the knight who was probably Seth returned to the other two knights.

As the villagers walked, they soon saw their home appear in the distance, with a person on either side of the gate.