You use the waiting time to chat with Vylorun.

Meanwhile, you lean towards Vylorun and whisper: “Now can you explain to me what is happening? Why did everyone in this settlement look at me like I was a piece of crap?”

Vylorun answers you in a whisper: “Chapel of Atonement is a settlement that has “special” traditions... In this place, everything is subordinated to faith in God. High Priest rules all aspects of life. Although, of course, it’s better not to say this in front of local residents. Any of them will answer with indignation that all aspects of life are subject to the requirements of the Holy Divine Book, and not to the orders of some person..."

You ask: “Is the Holy Divine Book some kind of ancient artifact?”

Vylorun nods: “This item is kept inside the Sacred Chapel. In the most secure room. Only High Priest has the right to read this book. He does this at daily evening sermons... Regarding the attitude towards us in this settlement, I can say that everything is quite expected... For the local residents, we are despicable and unrighteous.”

You ask in surprise: “But why? We didn't do anything wrong!”

Your friend answers: “Our very appearance already influences the perception of our persons. Your clothes and your appearance... You look like a young and beautiful woman, Jerome! A plump ass, growing breasts with sensitive nipples, a feminine face with large lips and beautiful fiery red hair below shoulder level. Do not get me wrong. Personally, I really like this. But local residents perceive all this differently. Their religious traditions require women to dress modestly and suppress outward displays of their beauty and sexuality. And your clothes do not meet these requirements in any way.”

You realize that the words of Vylorun are true. The local women you saw wore long skirts that reached the floor. Their clothes were extremely modest and dull and their clothes covered the maximum surface of their bodies. Each woman's hair was hidden under the fabric of scarves.

Against their background, your clothes and your appearance looked like something extremely free and sexually provocative.

Your makeshift “skirt” made from scraps of fabric and skins was quite short and barely covered your plump ass.

The flow of your fiery red long hair that flutters in the wind. Smooth hairless legs. Breasts with sensitive nipples, which for some reason have grown in size recently. Your nipples are constantly rubbing against the fabric of your tattered and dirty clothes, causing arousal in your body...

Now you realize that all these aspects of your appearance contrasted so strongly with the appearance standards of the local residents that their rejection of you seems quite logical.

They probably perceived you as some kind of embodiment of sinfulness and depravity.

You think with fear: “What could happen if they found out that between my legs is not a cunt, but a tiny cocklet?!”

Vylorun continues the explanation: “The triangle with a cross in the middle is a symbol of the god who is worshiped in the Chapel of Atonement. Their religion is Faith of the Triune Cross. The triangle symbolizes the trinity of the foundations of faith: the eternal guilt of humanity, the eternal mercy of God and the eternal torment of sinners. I can't tell you much about this deity...

His name is a secret known only to the High Priest. Ordinary believers refer to him only through metaphors - “Almighty”, “Merciful Lord”, “Creator of the Universe”... Local residents believe that in ancient times this god sent his incarnation to earth to atone for the sins of mankind. However, humanity betrayed God and rejected divine mercy. Therefore, the Great Nuclear Apocalypse occurred. These are the consequences of the sinfulness of humans. God punished humanity. But God's mercy allowed small groups of the righteous to survive. Residents of Chapel of Atonement believe that they are descendants of the righteous and that they must spend their entire lives atone for the sins of humanity and spread faith in God. It is important to understand that they believe that this god is the only true one, and all other gods are nothing more than vile demons. This is quite atypical. I have traveled and visited many other settlements where the worship of several deities is quite normal. To summarize the situation, I can say that we are lucky, Jerome...”

You say in surprise: “Lucky?!” Wow “luck”! These guys are just religious fanatics! They could do something dangerous at any moment!”

Vylorun looks warily at the guards and the ferryman.

Luckily, they are too busy to listen to your conversation.

Vylorun says: “Please be quiet! There's no point in provoking them... I mean, we're lucky they even let us into the Chapel of Atonement settlement. The current ruler, High Priest Zechariah, allows residents of the wastelands to visit the Chapel of Atonement for trade or to cross the river. When his father, High Priest Ezekiel, ruled, we would have had no chance of passing. They would just start shooting at us right away. High Priest Zechariah has intensified communications with surrounding communities. It encourages trade and proselytism. His subordinates are trying to spread Faith of the Triune Cross among other settlements of wastelands. However, they have little success.”

You ask: “What is the symbol on the side of the ferryboat and on the medallions of its two guards? A stylized eye inside a triangle, what does that mean?”

Vylorun looks around again in fear.

He then says, “I don’t know much about this. These are the signs of a privileged group of believers. This means that High Priest Zechariah honored these people with special trust and granted them special powers. I only heard the name "Servants of the Divine Eye". You better not try to chat about this topic, so as not to cause problems ... "

You are comprehending the words of Vylorun.

What you heard leaves in your mind a strong feeling that you were truly lucky that you quickly left the Chapel of Atonement settlement.