In Search Of The Goddess

Log Five

We're finally on the Aklay side! We've finally gotten here! I'm so excited. I'm bouncing on my toes. Elizabeth notices and squints at me. She then goes back to playing with the one tiny, dull knife I let her carry.

A guard stops us at the gate and is very suspicious, but he leads us to the church. He looks at us quizzically out of the corner of his eye every time we mention the church. 

We finally stop outside of a large older building. It's very well kept. 

"You can't bring her in there," the guard says gruffly and gestures at Elizabeth. She sticks her tongue out at him when he looks away. 

"Why not," I demand.

"You don't want to bring kids in there," the guard says, giving me a look that I don't understand. "I'll watch her while you're in there."

I glared at him but ultimately, I don't think I have much choice, so I agree. 

The guard chuckles as Nik and I walk in together and I don't understand why.

Two women in the traditional garb of a follower of the Goddess greet us. Their clothes are more ornate than any follower I have ever seen. But, to be fair, I've only seen the diagrams.

"As-salamu 'alaykum," I clasp my hands and bow my head. They return my greeting with surprise.

"Welcome to the place where the Goddess rests. Do you wish to see the Goddess, rest with the Goddess, or exercise?"

I glance at Nik and shrug. He shrugs too. We have no idea what this means. My monastery never covered this.

"See the Goddess," I say as confidently as I can. The followers give me a discount for my faith, but it's still incredibly pricey.  The follower on the left gets up and takes us through the heavy curtains behind them. She leads us through a high ceilinged room. Heavy drapes hang from the ceiling that partition off some corners. There are a lot of thick, heavy cushions. And people on the cushions. Several people. All together. Moving together.

I quickly look away, my cheeks burning. I know about sex. I know how it works. I had never seen it happen in real life. And never like this. Never with so many people. Not all at once. 

The woman leads us through more heavy, ornate drapes and I'm a little nervous to see what's in the next room. 

More curtains and heavy fabrics. More plush cushions. More people, but these are all clothed. They lay on cushions by themselves, staring up at the ceiling with glassy eyes and slack expressions. Smoke hangs heavy around the room and it smells like sage and tobacco. 

There's another curtain and we go through it. There are fewer people here. Maybe six. There's cushions here too. Everyone is mostly nude, only small amounts of clothing and all their exposed skin is shiny. Are they sweating? I'm not sure. 

The woman hands Nik a bottle and tells him to coat my skin in it. She leaves before we can process what she's said or ask any questions. I shift nervously from foot to foot. I glance at Nik. His eyes are wide and he looks confused.

"Well. Do you mind," I ask and shrug out of my outer most layer.