Escaping the temple.

After walking through the tunnel for what seems like hours, you finally stop in front of a brick wall.
“A dead end...” you murmur in disapointment, but then remembering how Adonia had opened the secret room in the temple you put the brass lantern down and move your hands along the brick wall. You take much longer than Adonia, but as you push against a brick in the lower right hand edge the wall suddenly shifts with a rumbling sound. Your fingers easily fit into the gap that exists where none had been before and you are able to slide the wall open. You grab your lantern and step into a hallway that looks nothing like the warehouse you were expecting to see.

“The catacombs...” you groan in a combination of dread and wonder. As you raise your lantern to better see the passagway ahead you are put a little at ease, there were wards placed in the tunnel to keep whoever used it safe.

“Wards or not, this place still creeps me out.” you mumble as you remember the stories your mother used to tell before she passed away. You follow the rough tunnel for a while, jumping at almost every noise until you end up in a room very different than the dirty passageway.

Unlike the rest of the catacombs this place was not covered by layers of dust and debris, the polished stone floor was as clean as the floor in your mistress' great hall, and the room was artificially lit with thousands of tiny bluelights set into the high domed cieling. The bluelights were arranged in constellations which made it look like a starry heaven was above you instead of a ceiling of stone.

The center of the circular room was dominated by an alter cut from a perfect circle of black stone polished so smooth he could see the reflection of his light gleaming back at him. Contrasting with the dark stone was a white cloth that was draped over a human form.

As you aproach the altar you are greeted by a truly unpleasant sight, a dead body bloated from several days of decay. Trying not to vomit or run like you were chased by Hades himself, you inspect the body noting the bound hands and feet and the gash that cut the slender white neck of the woman's throat from ear to ear. Her face is swollen, but you recognise her immediately.

“Adonia...” you gasp in horror “But how can that be? She was with me yesterday, this woman can't be her.”

“It is.” as you turn to see the source of the voice you see, Adonia as beautiful as you remember...

“Adonia? But...How?” you ask.

“In order to keep this passage safe, and to keep herself looking young the High Priestess of Aphrodite made a deal with a demon hundreds of years ago.” Adonia explained “All the other priestesses thought that she was blessed by Aphrodite with eternal youth, but the truth is that she sacrificed a novice priestesses of Aphrodite in this room every year.”

“But you're still alive!” you protest.

“No, this body is temporary.” Adonia explains gently “Since I was the only one that knew of this escape route, Aphrodite gave me this temporary body to help you escape.”

“But why? I'm no one special.” you manage to say.

“I don't know, she might have plans for you.” Adonia replies “Or maybe she just likes you.” she adds with a chuckle. You laugh at the idea of Aphrodite having a thing for you, and then your face turns serious again.

“How do I get out of here?” you ask Adonia.
“I can help you with that.” Adonia snaps her fingers and a pale blue ball of light appears in front of her. “When you leave this room, this will lead you to the exit.” she explains.

“Just one more question.” You plead and Adonia nods her permission “Was everything you told me true?”

“Yes...When the High Priestess sacrificed me, Aphrodite comforted me and sent me back in this temporary body. The High Priestess had already fled the temple, and I tried to save my sister priestesses but they could neither hear nor see me to follow me to safety.” Adonia's face crumbles at the memory then brightens as her eyes meet yours.

“Leto, I'm glad you were my last...”

"So am I" you murmur as you gather her into your arms and press your lips against Adonia's. You are startled by her tears as your lips touch hers.

“Come on, I'm not that bad at kissing am I?” you tease trying to brighten her mood.

“No...” she sobs “But I have to go to the realm of the dead now, I'm scared.”
You didn't have a response to that, but then you think of something.

“Aphrodite used you to help me right?” you ask and Adonia nods “Well maybe she has other plans for you.” you say hoping that you were right. Adonia's face brightens a little bit at this. She presses her lips against yours again and after she breakes the passionate kiss, a bright flash fills the room and she is gone.

Before leaving the grim chamber, you pull Adonia's body from the bloody alter and untie the ropes that bound her so cruelly in the last moments of her short life. You say a quick prayer to all the gods begging them to help Adonia, and place two heavy silver coins on the eyes of her cold corpse. When you turn to leave the room Adonia's ball of light shoots out before you.

After following the ball of light for what seems like hours, it finally stops at the foot of a stairwell. You quickly climb the stairs eager to be out of the the catacombs, and enter a large basement filled with familliar looking crates and bundles and amphorea.

“Looks like I'm in the warehouse Adonia was talking about.” You think out loud, trying to forget the corpse you saw in the sacrificial chamber. “Let's see if there is some food in these crates.” You mutter softly as you opened a crate nearby.

Opening the crate you find it filled with red apples. “Better than nothing I guess.” you say as you take a bite out of one of the tempting apples suddenly aware of how hungry you really are. After you finished two more apples the rumbling in your stomach eases and you become conscious of how tired you feel. It takes oppening several more crates but you find a crate filled with rolls of silk.

You use an entire bolt of the expensive fabric to make a nest on the hard floor and wrap a second sheet of silk around you like a blanket. You wonder if you will ever be able to sleep as you try to forget everything that happened today, but sooner than you thought you drift into a deep sleep.

[Contains notes.]