Getting there's the easy part

It was amazing the clarity that desperation got you. Jeremy found a map to identify the location of the access point to the shrine to Huraine the vestment was in, and then he went out to trigger the fire alarm to spare Nicole another attempt at a naked run to do so.

She'd curled up in the back of his car, keeping on the floor behind the seats and riding out the juddering rather than have even the slightest part of her in view. After a few awkward minutes, they made their way out. Jeremy parked on a relatively desolate road with a large hill a few steps away.

"This the place?" Nicole said.

"Apparently," he said. "So do you want me to come with or..."

"No!" Nicole yelped. No way was she going to go traipse through a cave naked with someone looking over her shoulder.

It was bad enough that she had to get out the car. Blushing, she ran rather than walked to the vaguely outlined wooden entrance. Rocks had fallen over the years, making her pause for a second, trying to work out the best way. Then she took a deep breath and squeezed in sideways, sidestepping through the narrow crack that remained and hoping it would open out after a little.

She refused to turn and look back, not wanting to remind herself that Jeremy was still there.

"If I'm not back in a couple of hours," Nicole shouted. She hesitated. "Call Waverly."

Better the Earp sisters than Black Badge catching her like this.

She held her breath to take up as little space as she could, the stone a tight squeeze in front of and behind her, digging into her bare skin in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

She gasped in relief as she pulled out of the narrow squeeze into a dark, but more open chamber. She took a tentative step forward, blind.

And then stepped back as a flame whooshed to life. A wooden torch lay on an altar, alight with an odd, soft pink fire. Magic cult. Right. Nicole took a deep breath and stepped closer to it, grateful for the light.

A stone tablet was carved into the wall just over the flame. She squinted, nose picking up an odd, chocolatey smell from the fire. That was part of Huraine's whole deal apparently.

"Follower of Huraine, yeah, yeah," Nicole muttered, reading the tablet. "Show your devotion to our goddess to gain entry to the inner sanctum, by... three trials?! Jeremy never mentioned trials. Fuck."

Of course it wouldn't be as easy as just walking in and picking up the one item of clothing she could actually wear. Nervously, Nicole began to look around.