RFC-Mini Arc: The Temple-Part 04 (Patreon)

The argument guides me away from the barns and out into the fields, the green sea divided by wooden fences, triangular-tipped planks hardly imposing before the monsters they’re meant to corral. There is a small herd of Gallahorns grazing but they pay me no mind as I jog past.

Standing by one of the fences, a man is shouting without a care. I stop, slightly crouching to hide behind one of the posts, and change my eyes to those of the dusk hawk. The blurry figure sharpens in detail and I make out an older man with a full head of silver hair. His deep frown makes the wrinkles of his face more prominent but the otherwise grandfatherly appearance is disturbed by a ripped physique to match any Foundation instructor.

Across from him stands a younger man, though his placid features make him look older. Rather than the sun-kissed skin of the man verbally abusing him, he has the natural golden skin I’ve seen from traders hailing from the south of the continent.

His sleeveless black shirt shows off a variety of tattoos, the only ones I can make out being the three black bands over his wrist and around his neck. His unkempt, long black mane is at odds with his poise, the man a bulwark in the face of the older man’s anger.

“The world has changed! There are rules, regulations. You have to work with people. In fact, we work for people. Do what you want to inside these walls, I’ve long given up hope of civilizing you people, but I won’t have you ruining the reputation of the Sanctuary!”

The tattooed man scoffs. “There is only one law in the Sanctuary and that is the Law of Beasts. We understand that someone must be the face and we have left this to you, as long as you respected the original purpose for these walls.” His voice finally gains some inflection, a hint of anger. “You’ve been blinded by profit and we will not let you desecrate our home further.”

“It’s called progress, you—”

The older man lets out an explosive sigh. “I’m wasting my breath. You’re dreaming with the saints if you think the grand tamer is going to let one of you maniacs run this place.”

“Once you again, you prove your ignorance. Just as the Temple was built for the Sanctuary, the Sanctuary was built around the Temple. If you believed your words, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Sky—”

“I see no more reason to humor you, Jameson.”

I crouch lower as the other man walks away, one step away from crawling as I sneak alongside the fence for cover. A whole lot of information that tells me nothing. Well, not exactly true. It tells me enough to stay away from it. I don’t know about this Temple or whatever, but I know what two people jostling for power look like, what they sound like. And I want nothing to do with it.

[Perhaps you should ask the elf for context. Just to make sure.]

My lips twist in distaste. Damn succubi.

-

“The Temple?”

We’re seated on our balcony, enjoying a late drink, when I reluctantly bring up the conversation from earlier. “Two guys were arguing about the Sanctuary. Something something beasts something reputation something something Temple.”

Kierra chuckles, setting down her cup. “Yes, I understand perfectly.”

“Well, it didn’t make much sense. And you can’t expect me to remember it word from word.”

“Coo!” Bell makes herself known as she wanders over. I gently brush her aside with a foot, lips twitching at her little whine. You be quiet. I don’t need you making me look bad.

“Hm. The Sanctuary is quite the interesting place. As you know, they corral, tame, domesticate, and raise manabeasts. An ambitious endeavor. It takes suitably ambitious minds.”

“You mean crazy people.”

Her smile widens. “Some would call me crazy.”

And they would be completely right. “Never.”

Her eyes tell me I’m not fooling her. “Their caretakers are divided into two factions. The Breeder Faction that focuses on the farms and the Temple who tame and study wild manabeasts.

“The Breeders are the profiteers. They harvest the valuable parts off the creatures, organize the hunts for acolytes and hunters, and promote the Sanctuary, drawing in valuable investors. The Temple is secular. They follow the old traditions from the original tamers. I still don’t quite understand them but I do know that they have history. You should know how powerful that is in this kingdom.”

I nod. For nobility, legacy is everything.

“Just like the grandmaster, the grand tamer, the head of the Sanctuary, is an elected position. Someone of sufficient rank with three recommendations can apply for the position. Then a vote is held from the senior members. For the Breeder Faction, that’s the head of the ranches. For the Temple, it’s the tamers.

“The key is that while there are a limited number of ranchers, as there is a limited number of farms, there can be any number of tamers.”

“The Temple will always have more votes in an election,” I muse, realization dawning on me. That conversation is starting to make more sense. “Isn’t that unfair?”

“They created the rules, dedia. Why make them fair? However, the grand tamer seat has been held by the Breeder Faction for several years. Those of the Temple…shall we say they are more suited to dealing with beasts than people. It seems that’s changed.”

“So, the Temple, for some reason, is going to snatch control of the Sanctuary from the Breeders, the group that handles the money. Most likely interfering with said money—”

“I feel I should point out that they have legitimate reason to be concerned about a Temple administrator,” Kierra says, raising her cup to take a drink. “Before, there used to be ritual sacrifices on nights of the full moon to appease the old gods and to ask for the blessings of the Beast Lords.”

“Beast Lords?”

“I do not know everything, Lou.”

Ritual sacrifice does sound a little worrying. Still not my problem. Should do my best to stay away from those Temple people. They remind me of my wife and that is a terrifying thought. “Just to be clear, the one with the tattoos should be the one from the Temple.”

Kierra raises her brows. “You did not meet any member of the Temple. You met one of its devotees, a breaker. Before you ask, they are the beast breakers, the ones who bring the wild to heel. If they are making moves, perhaps I should look into this a little.”

She gives me a look that makes me shift away from her. “No.”

“All you would have to do is keep your ears out. And what fantastic ears they are.” I shiver as she reaches out a finger to trace said appendage.

“No way, Kii.” I shift again, putting me out of her range. “The reason I’m shoveling actual cow shit in that place is because I stuck my nose somewhere I didn’t need to. I’m not doing it again.”

The cup is put down and she swings her legs onto the couch before crawling toward me. I swallow nervously as her hands go on either side of my waist. Woman hasn’t spoken another word and my willpower is already crumbling.

“Not even for me?” she purrs, lips dangerously close to the ear still burning from her touch. “I promise, if you get into trouble again, I’ll save you before you make a fool of yourself.”

Hey! That kind of hurts…

She quickly smothers my offense with a kiss. My legs come up as she pushes me down, my wife briefly pulling away to settle between them. She lets out a contented hum as we lay entangled. “Just keep an eye on things, hm? I’d be…very happy.”

My reluctance is already at its breaking point when she makes her final plea in a breathy, moaning voice that makes my insides twist and my resistance crumble. “Okay…” I say slowly, trying not to feel like carpet as I hear her chuckle.