Another Meeting Between Yuri and the Arrivals

Yuri was asked to meet Inoshana and Malza without his usual entourage; he knew his status as what he was would mean they really couldn’t try anything too drastic or crazy in the town, especially with all the security measures Selvina had insisted on after her discussion about safety for infants she had with Yuri and various other individuals. Like any good expecting parent, Selvina went a little overboard in some places, which turned out good for the town’s overall security, so she got a bit of a pass on that. Regardless, Yuri insisted on more neutral ground for their meeting spot, which the two took as a reasonable request. So, now they were in a booth in the corner at the diner.

“I take it there is more you wish to discuss,” said Yuri casually as he sat across from the two religious women; the three of them had just recently put in their orders for drinks.

“Yes,” said Inoshana, “as you may have guessed, Mistress Nocturia brought you here for a few different reasons, with one of the primary ones being an impact on declining birthrates for almost every demographic in our world.” Yuri nodded and gestured for them to continue, “But her initial plan got considerably interfered with by multiple parties; that’s how you ended up in this town.”

“Just shy of its edges, actually,” corrected Yuri, “they said it was a small miracle monsters didn’t attack me on my way to the town.”

The priestess and paladin blinked a bit in surprise, trying to reorganize their thoughts at that revelation; the records that were managed to get gathered on Yuri didn’t mention anything to suggest that. After rectifying the lack of knowledge that was brought to their attention, Inoshana continued, “And a growing corruption in the central church organization also contributed to the issue; I was intended to be within reach of you much sooner than my arrival indicated, church officials playing politics in places they shouldn’t and all that, which unfortunately included within the church itself. Higher ranked church officials actually went out of their way to hinder my goddess’s candidate selection process.”

“And,” said Malza, “to make matters worse, they dragged their feet on granting us access to the necessary information for the assignment. I was also hindered in my training by superiors playing politics. It’s mostly because there is a fairly low opinion of individuals of or our heritages in the positions we occupy.”

“They’re also worried that being assigned to someone like yourself could result in some ranking elevations they are not too happy about,” said Inoshana, “there was a time when my kith occupied much greater religious positions than what I do now, but then an event that I am not permitted to learn about for some inane reason put an end to all that.”

“While my people weren’t particularly religious, most of the time,” said Malza, “there was a time when we were known for our diligence and dedication to whatever vocation we applied ourselves to; in those days, paladin orders were happy to have us, but then one day it all flipped, and we were known more for our wild parties and debaucherous activities.”

“Sounds like someone with considerable socio-political pull decided to perpetuate some pretty menacing stereotypes,” said Yuri. “But I think we’re getting off topic a bit.”

“Yes, of course,” said Inoshana, “my goddess would actually like to bring my people’s religious prominence back to the forefront, which is one of the main reasons I was selected as a candidate. I am also intended as one of your nightly partners, as is my guardian.”

“Much to my amusement,” said Malza.

“So we need to work out a time for each of you to literally fuck with me,” said Yuri.

Both women cocked their heads to the side in confusion, as if trying to make sense of something, before Inoshana said, “We are unfamiliar with that term; what does ‘fuck’ mean?

“A few different things where I’m from,” said Yuri, “and context doesn’t always help with its placement. The term is an expressive expletive to outwardly express disdain about something in a vehement fashion, but it’s also used as a quick statement for expressing a sense of messing with someone or being messed with by someone, and it also is used as a shorthand for sexual encounters. And context only clarifies which meaning maybe half the time, if you’re lucky.”

“Well, yes,” said Inoshana, “we do want to set a time for when we will have sex with you. But there is another reason we called this private meeting; Mistress Nocturia told me she has made arrangements to bring something else from your world as a means of apology and help make you feel a bit more comfortable.”

A moment later, their waitress, a busty orc woman with green-gray skin, returned with a perturbed face and said in a cordial voice laced with annoyance, “The guild master has requested the three of you at her office effective immediately, something about coordinated scouting information.”

“Right,” said Yuri as he got up from the table, “Sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” he turned his attention to the two women he had been sharing a table with, “I have a feeling this might have something to do with what you mentioned a moment ago, but we should see what the guild master has to tell us, just in case.”

The two women nodded, and they all got up from their table, Malza dropping a pair of gold coins in the waitress’s hand as she passed her by; it always paid to be respectful to the working class.