Intermission: An Eavesdropper Takes Advantage!

Sisters Vera and Eirlys weren't alone in the library that afternoon. Though they weren't in any danger, they had piqued the interest of the recent convert now calling herself Sister Lithiel. The Abbey had given her a home after the grove her people lived in was razed to the ground. With no home to turn to, many of the wood elves left the region. Her olive-toned skin and white hair set her apart from the other, mostly human residents. Though this was highly exacerbated by her inappropriate demeanor and penchant for practical jokes.

Namely, creeping up behind Sister Eirlys once "Barefoot Vera" had left the room. "Heeee-llo!" She exclaimed, prodding Eirlys in the sides with her index fingers.

"Eeeee-" Eirlys clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her full squeal from echoing throughout the library. "S-s-sister Lithiel, please. Not in the library... or, anywhere, for that matter!"

"Kehehe. You're jumpier than usual, Eiry." As usual, Lithiel didn't seem to acknowledge her actions. "Anyway, did I hear you correctly? The Supreme Priestess is sending you to that Labyrinth? She clearly hasn't tried meditating next to you."

"I assure you my prayers are quite silent when I'm not being assailed by your fingernails." Eirlys could rarely catch her ticklers in the act, remaining devoted to her daily prayers, but no one could retreat as swiftly as the wood elf standing before her. She let out a small sigh. "But, yes, that is my task. I have a couple of weeks to prepare."

"Prepare?" A wicked smirk began to form upon Lithiel's face. "Well, I don't know about you, but I can think of a much better way to prepare for a Laughter Labyrinth."

"Indeed." Eirlys replied nervously. "The Supreme Priestess had a feeling there would be volunteers in that department." She was being put in a terribly awkward position. As ulterior as Lithiel's motives were, it would still accomplish one of the goals set out to her. "But I must insist on it just being you and I."

Lithiel licked her lips with glee, though she quickly composed herself. "You drive a hard bargain, Sister Eirlys, but I humbly accept. We'll make a little game of it..." An evening alone with Eirlys, and it wasn't even her birthday!

The only person that could have protected her was Sister Vera, but she was nowhere to be found. Against her better judgment, Eirlys chose to pass the time by taking Sister Lithiel up on her peculiar offer. To her credit, she was as good as her word. Eirlys would find Lithiel waiting outside her dormitory room, alone, bouncing back and forth on her toes as she waited. "It's about time! I can't believe you've never invited me over to your room, by the way." Lithiel faked a pout for as long as she could without laughing.

"Our rooms all look the same, Sister Lithiel. But I am happy to invite you over more often." Eirlys answered diplomatically, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The Sisters were each given quite humble accommodations, consisting of a room the size of two closets. There was enough room for a cot and a few footlockers for storing clothes and a small number of personal effects. An important tenant of their faith was learning to live with little. Not out of necessity, but out of devotion. In practice, this rule was relaxed in most places. Though Eirlys took this quite literally, her room being on the sparse end.

"Goodness, Eiry. It's... you're right, these rooms do look identical." Lithiel admitted, slipping in behind her and closing the door. "Well, as promised, it's just me. Are you ready to train?"

"What do you propose we do, exactly? I won't decline your help, Sister Lithiel, but I will insist that we have some kind of structure." Giving the elven cleric an open invitation to torment her was crucial here.

"Way ahead of you, Eiry. Go on, sit." Lithiel agreed, ushering her to sit down on the bed. When she did so, the elf knelt down and started to pitch her very well thought out idea that had actually occurred to her five minutes ago. "So, this dungeon's going to test you physically as well as mentally, yeah?" Eirlys nodded affirmatively, removing her shoes and resting her socked feet upon the floor. Lithiel lifted the left foot into her lap. "The only way to know what your limits are..." She wriggled her index fingernail into the socked arch. "...is to reach them. Makes sense, right?"

"I s-suh-suppose it d-does." Eirlys replied. The teasing was arguably worse than the tickling itself! "Do you inte-heend to...?"

"...make you laugh like crazy? Maybe... but right now, focus on not laughing. Some of the veterans say that not giving the Labyrinth its namesake can help." Lithiel suggested, now skittering two fingers up and down the sole. "As tempting as that is, I do want to help you." She insisted, though her expression spoke the truth. Sister Lithiel was taking full advantage of this opportunity. "We must resist our temptations, that they might not overwhelm us. That's how the scripture goes, I think." She lifted the second foot into her lap, assailing the socked arches with a pair of fingers each. "Kitchy-kitchy~"

"Mmmm... Mmmhmhmhmhm!!" Eirlys took a fistful of bed sheet in each hand, bowing her head down as her arches were set alight with tingling. Lithiel's even-toned teasing in tandem with her ticklish digits already had the healer bouncing in place. "We m-must... rehehehesist our tehehehemtations..." She futilely tried to repeat the words of the divine. They weren't the right words for what Eirlys needed to resist, but at the moment she could hardly recall her own name! "We m-muhust..."

"We must tell Lithiel that she's the prettiest of all the Sisters..." The wood elf chimed in, raking the sock vigorously with her fingernails. "We must let Lithiel hear that adorable laugh of yours..."

"Eeeehehehee.... Mmmhmhmhmph!" Eirlys bubbled forth, unable to keep her foot still as Lithiel had begun clawing at her sock. She was going to tear it! "Please d-duh-don't t-tear my s-s-sahahahahahock!" She pleaded. "Geehehehehehehehehe!!" It had only taken a minute or so before poor Eirlys was unable to suppress the giggles.

Lithiel let out an exaggerated huff. "Well, that's you trapped in the Tickle Dungeon forever and ever. The End!" She concluded, smoothing out the socked arches with her thumbs. "But, seriously Eiry. Let's try again. I'm going to do something different, and you're going to hold in that laugh for as long as possible."

Sister Eirlys composed herself. Up to now, Lithiel had been on surprisingly good behavior, all things considered. She could have invited their mutual friends to join in on the fun, but she had actually come alone. Deciding to put more trust in her fellow Sister, she gently removed her socks, folding them into a neat pile and laying her bared feet in Lithiel's lap with a defeated groan. "Th-then we must assume the worst, and that I will... lose my footwear at some point." This admission made her extremely nervous, and only seemed to amuse the wood elf cleric further. It seemed the fun was only beginning!