“As the night drew near, the travelers grew weary. So the gods said to them ‘Come. Rest a moment. Our temple is open to all in need of a place to stay.’” Excerpt from The Tomes of Althalos and the Divines.

  The forest would have been a fine sight for the stroll if not for the oppressive reason for going through it. The bight green leaves, the colorful flowers, the sunlight, and the shadows all combined to create a unique portrait. But the pursuit of the soldiers made it feel like going through an occasionally colorful cage for the most part. Garassk resented having to move through without taking a look at the scenery.

  “So we’ve lost them for now,” he said to break the silence. “But how can we be sure they won’t follow us?”

  “No,” Rathorn grunted. “They almost certainly will.”

  “They don’t know where we’re headed,” Savrassa replied. “The forest is vast, and my people have likely gone in many directions in the past. They can only guess.”

  “That’s… slightly reassuring,” Garassk said. “But I feel like we could do more to lose our trail.”

  “Maybe we could,” Rathorn said. “But we don’t know, and we don’t have time to find out. All we can do is press forward.”

  All Garassk could do in response to that was grunt. Nobody said anything else on the subject. The conversation did nothing to ease the tension of the walk. At least, Garassk didn’t think so. On the bright side, the scent of the soldiers was almost gone.

  “Do we at least know of any safe spots to spend the night?” he asked.

  “All I know are some rumors of what’s ahead,” Savrassa answered.

  “Anything that might be useful for us?” Rathorn asked.

  “I’ve heard people say that there are abandoned temples up ahead,” she elaborated. “Or monasteries. People say a lot of different things are up ahead. I’ve never gone this way, so I don’t really know.”

  “Fair enough,” Garassk sighed. “I suppose the rumors will have to do for now.”

  He kept his eyes open for a place to stop, but all he saw for most of the trip was trees, rocks, grass, and more trees. The arrangement varied as they went along, but none of it would make for good shelter. The scent of animals was also present.

  “Blasted Drakkill,” he growled. “So much food around, and we have to keep walking!”

  “Not for long,” Rathorn said. “We’ve mostly lost them by now. We just need to be sure that we’ll be ready if we run into them again.”

  “You sound confident that we have, but past experience tells me that it’ll take awhile,” Garassk grumbled. Rathorn didn’t respond, but he knew what the old warrior would probably say. Better than being dead, or When I was your age I had to go twice as far to reach the latrines, and with less guarantee that I wouldn’t be attacked, or something to that effect. You never won when you tried to argue with Rathorn.

  They were still walking as the sun began to set. Garassk noticed Rathorn stop in his tracks, and went over to him.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Look,” the older varanian said, pointing forward.

  Beyond the trees lay a mass of bricks. A closer look indicated a temple or small castle. It clearly hadn’t been in use in a long time, but much of the structure stood intact.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Gods,” Garassk whispered. “We can use this.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking,” Rathorn rumbled.

  “What… what is that?” Savrassa asked, crawling up next to them.

  “Only one way to find out,” Garassk said, throwing himself forward. It wasn’t a large building, but he felt a sense of awe as he drew nearer. He noticed markings on the wall, but he couldn’t tell if they were faded remains of paintings, or some script that he couldn’t read. A few tongue-flicks gave no signs of danger, seen or unseen. He turned toward his companions and waved them over.

  “Come on!” he called out. Rathorn and Savrassa rose from their hiding places and came forward. They moved slowly, but once they got close, their faces lit up.

  “This looks perfect!” Savrassa cried.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Rathorn warned.

  “Always the cheerful one,” Garassk muttered.

  “Shall we go in?” Savrassa asked. Garassk didn’t know if she was aware that Rathorn had a cutting remark, but he nodded and went over the bridge. The temple grew more welcoming as they came nearer. At least, he thought so.

  Though the dust, grime, and empty echoes were clear signs of the emptiness of the building, it still felt nice to step inside. The three of them scattered around to take in their surroundings.

  “Looks roomy,” Garassk said, stepping through the main entrance. “We won’t be cramped for the night.”

  “Well-hidden too,” Rathorn added. “We may not even be found here.”

  “Also nice,” Garassk said.

  “Was this a castle?” Savrassa asked. “Or a temple? I’ve never seen a building like this before.”

  “There’s enough space for it to be either one,” Rathorn said. “It might even predate the Althalion Faith. Who knows?”

  “Whatever the case, we’d best take advantage of what it offers us,” Garassk added. “Find places to rest and prepare for an ambush. As long as no one else knows we’re here, that’s an advantage.”

  The three of them nodded, and wandered further into the ruins. The furniture still remained in the rooms, but none of the rooms had any obvious tells as to what their purpose was. It didn’t help that some of the wood was from furniture that had clearly fallen apart. They could have been tables, bookshelves, or something else entirely. Who could even tell at this point? Only a few stray beds clued them in on what some of the rooms were.

  “Everything is laid out so strangely here,” Garassk said. “Is there not a main hall? Or a temple?”

  “Somewhere around here, probably,” Rathorn said. “Either it’s lost, or this building was constructed like some sort of maze.”

  “Found it!” Savrassa called out. The other two varanians moved toward her voice. They found her standing near a gallery. Below that a massive table adorned a room on a lower floor.

  “There we are,” Garassk said. “A place to eat when we find food. Now we just need a temple.”

  “A temple?” Savrassa squawked. “Of all the things that we could be doing right now, you’re looking for a temple?”

  “Whatever gods dwell here, they deserve our respect,” Garassk said. “Travelers who don’t give the gods their due don’t tend to get very far.”

  “Fine,” Savrassa huffed. “But where is it?”

  “Probably not far,” Rathorn said. “It’ll be close to whatever’s most important in this building. Look for a statue.”

  “Over there,” Garassk said, pointing. A tone figure stooped behind a seat at the head of the table. Time had worn away most of its identifiable features, but there was no doubt that it was a statue of someone.

  “A good place to start,” Rathorn grunted, throwing himself over the gallery’s railing. Garassk and Savrassa leapt after him.

  “How do we know that it isn’t just for some king?” Savrassa asked.

  “The small altar beneath the statue,” Rathorn said, nodding toward a small bowl. “Gods need that kind of tribute. Kings don’t.”

  “Also, you get a feeling of being watched in the presence of a god. It’s very different from what you get from a king,” Garassk added.

  Savrassa didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press the issue. The other two varanians went forward and knelt before the statue.

  “I don’t know who you are,” Garassk began. “Or if you can even hear us, but we seek your favor. We are weary travelers hiding from hostile soldiers. We seek refuge for the night, and safety should they come this way.”

  He felt something stir as he spoke. Whatever deity watched over this temple seemed to hear him. He thought he could hear vague whispering inside his head, but clear words were impossible to make out.

  “We have nothing to offer now,” he continued. “But we will give you some of our first hunt. I swear on this idol. Just protect us.”

  The stirring feeling continued. Eventually the whispering ended. Garassk took that to mean that there was nothing left to say. He eventually moved away, as close as he could get to certain that they had sanctuary for the night.