To go to the temple.

Shairi decided the chance for magical power and the breaking of Meritheir’s spell was too good to turn down. She set off to the temple.

It was about an hour’s journey away. The architecture was elven, and the ruins were ancient, their delicate structures broken and tumbled and overgrown by the forest. At first, Shairi wasn’t sure what to do, but then she found a set of marble steps leading down into an underground portion of the structure. That had to be the way to go.

Nervously, she summoned an orb or witch light and descended into the passage. The walls were intricately carved, and Shairi held the light closer to examine them. What she saw brought a smile to her face. This was clearly an old elven temple worshiping nature, and the beautifully carved reliefs showed their sacred rites.

And what rites they were! Elven priestesses, dressed in scanty ritual outfits or entirely nude, performed lustful rituals in honour of their Earth Mother – alone, with each other, with strapping elven warriors, but most especially with manifestations of nature. They gave their bodies to the beasts of the forest to despoil, and rode trees whose living wood had been carved into the likeness of cocks. Shairi felt herself growing wet at the sight of the scenes.

“This is the kind of religion I could grow to like,” she murmured to Queiss. Then she realised that the cat wasn’t walking beside her as usual – she was holding back at the entrance.

“What’s the matter?” Shairi asked. “I thought you’d like a place like this.”

“It may be devoted to sex, but it’s still a holy place,” Queiss replied. “Not good for a demon like me. Besides, it smells of dog.”

Shairi shrugged. “Wait there, then.”