Sister Margaret with Adam and the Oracle

"It's OK" Mika told her as Winlay looked in panic for where she could hide. "It's Sister Margaret with Adam and the Oracle." For some absurd reason, Winlay felt almost as much panic at knowing that Adam would soon be seeing her dressed only in this oversized shirt as she had originally felt when she thought the Templars might have found them. Scooting to the wooden workbench she turned her bare legs under the table and pulled the collar of the shirt a little tighter to minimize the view of her round curves where they peaked from the 'V' of the shirt.

Mika had none of these reservations; she ran to the door to meet Sister Margaret and Winlay saw most of her pale thigh when her shirt lifted in response to the sudden movement. Mika met Sister Margaret at the door and helped Adam carry the Oracle into the room placing him gently on the table directly in front of Winlay. The stench from the two men was overwhelming, Winlay knew that she and Mika must have smelled just as awful, but she had forgotten just how badly the passageways had reeked.

"Get those clothes off." If Sister Margaret had any hesitation about telling a handsome young Templar warrior and the head of the Church of Xelta to undress it wasn't reflected in her tone. "Sisters, you'll have to help The Oracle with his robes." She continued briskly "His fingers have been badly misused." Winlay was horrified when she saw the broken nails and swollen knuckles of the Oracle's hands. That much damage could only have been inflicted deliberately and Winlay felt both shame that she had failed to notice the damage earlier and outrage that someone had dared **** this man so cruelly. Thankfully the Oracle's head fell to the side in exhaustion, and he dropped into a state of fitful unconsciousness.

Focusing on removing the Oracle's soiled robes as gently as possible helped Winlay keep her mind from thinking about Adam. He was near the sink in the back of the workshop and she could hear the sound of his heavy armor being laid to the side. Under the Oracle's robes Winlay could see more signs of ****. Angry red welts from repeated lashings covered his torso, and some were festering with yellow green puss.

"Here you are, Sir Adam, use this salve to wash any open cuts." Margaret carried another of the shirts for the Templar, but the same shirt that Mika and Winlay wore as dresses would barely cover his broad frame. "Wear these for now, I'll have to get you larger ones before you leave." Winlay turned her head enough to catch a glimpse of Adam standing bare chested in front of the small sink. Quickly she turned back to the task of helping the Oracle but she saw Mika flash her a quick smile and she could feel a new blush coloring her cheeks. She had been worried about Adam spying on her and instead she was the one peeking at him.

The Oracle's loins were covered by a filthy pair of shorts, the undergarment had not been cleaned for weeks, and dried blood, urine and feces were all visible on the undergarment.

"We'll take those off too." Sister Margaret was by her side and before Winlay could even decide how to go about removing the filthy garment, Sister Margaret used a sharp pair of shears to snip away the stiff fabric. She covered him with a clean white towel draped across his hips and then pressed a pair of soft cloths and a earthenware bowl into their hands. "Start washing him Sisters, but be careful with those scabs. I'll look at his wounds once you get the worst of the grime off of him." It took Mika and Winlay almost 20 minutes and two more bowls of warm soapy water to wash the accumulated filth off the thin man's torso.

Without his priestly robes the Oracle looked even more frail than before. His ribs were clearly visible and more signs of his horific trial became evident. Each of the Oracle's joints were swollen and hot with inflammation, and there were several blistered spots where his skin had been burnt deliberately.

"In the name of the Seventh Lander, how was he ever able to hold on for as long he did?" Mika's words were hushed but the workroom was quiet enough that both Sister Margaret and Adam came to look at the frail body that lay nearly naked on the table. Adam said nothing, but Winlay could see his knuckles turning white as his fists clenched by his side.

The same oversized shirt that loosely covered the girls torso was stretched tight by Adam's shoulders, and the gap in the collar was deep enough for Winlay to see drops of water hanging like tiny gems from his fine chest hairs. But Sister Margaret answered Mika's quiet question with words of simple wisdom.

"He held on as long as he needed to because he is a tough man. Far stronger than any of the thugs that did this to him." Her words reminded all of them how precarious their position still was. They were trapped in one of the strongholds of the Church overlooked by the Templar tower and less than a mile from the Holy Palace and High Priest Beldan himself.