"And what does that mean…?" I ask nervously, cracking my knuckles as Thorn burrows her way up from the ground, it had taken her a minute to catch up, after her metaphorical dirt nap. Thorn curls around my form and looks at the Priestess before huffing and turning.
"T-Thorn!" Geline admonishes her, looking between my familiar and the snail woman.
"It's quite alright Geline, the Needlekin species aren't one for niceties." Esna laughs smally, but casts a wistful glance at Thorn's fur.
"A-Anyways, miss high priestess, what were you saying…?"
"You are the key to all of this of course."
"Oh okay for sure." That helped me a whopping total of zero percent.
"You will understand in time. For now, let us head to one of the Sul temples. There should be one just below the mountains I climbed over." She points about a mile off from our current location. I hadn't realized how close we had gotten to the mountains in all our excitement.
"Of course your high- I mean High Priestess. Blobert! Assume carriage form!" Geline commands, and Blobert immediately turns into a carriage with a orb-like body atop jelly wheels.
"Thank you young Blobert." Esna says as Geline helps her into the carriage.
Well at least Geline and Blobert seemed to have put their differences aside. I hop atop the front of the carriage where the driver would sit, and Blobert pops his face into the seat beside me.
"Thanks for the company Blobby." I pat the top of his cushion head as we roll towards the Kessler mountains.
We arrive at the base of the Kessler mountains, and like most things, it's even bigger up close. The iron-black mountains reach high up into the clouds. I find myself wishing Esna would transform back into a massive snap and carry us over, but I can already tell that's out of the question.
The temple of Sul is equally impressive, large, pale green columns and high, rounded arches cover the entrance. Some moss and weeds have wound their way through the cracks in the cobbled green floors.
A few small, low level creatures scatter towards the darker parts of the temple as we head through the entrance. The central room is massive, with many rows of pews and what look sort of like confessionals on either side. Geline helps Esna to a room off the main hall, probably some sort of prep room for the priestesses.
I take a seat on one of the pews, Blobert is a bit too big for the entrance and stands outside watching guard. Meanwhile Thorn climbs up high into the rafters, and seems to take a nap.
In my solitude I try to call out to any of the Alices but receive nothing, not even a bitchy comment from Red. Trying to pull up my stat screen creates the same result. I close my eyes and do my best approximation of resting as a tree.
"Cedar." Says Geline, shaking me out of my haze.
"Y-Yeah? Sorry. What's up? Something wrong with the priestess?" I asks, standing up and going through the motions of cracking my back, which doesn't feel anywhere near as good as it does in a human body.
"She will speak with you now, but… Cedar…" She looks down into my face, tears in her eyes. "You must tell her no."
That shocked me more than anything, from the moment she saw her Geline had been worshipping the ground that snail woman walked on.
"Tell her no…? But Geline-"
"Just… I won't interfere with the priestesses wishes anymore, but just… Don't agree." Geline takes my hand and I'm starting to get a little nervous again.
"So she wants to see me then?"
Geline only nods. I reluctantly pull my hand back towards myself and head into the side room.
Esna is lounging atop a large pil of furs, incense burning in the corner, There's large flowers in two-foot-tall spikes with tubular flowers of a wide range of colors. She's changed into a comfortable, soft looking robe probably meant for sleep.
"Do you like flowers, Cedar?" Esna says, watering a few of them.
"Uh…They're nice." Bit of a weird question to ask a tree person.
"You may be bark now, but you were once a human weren't you, one with needs?" She says as she advances towards me, an unreadable expression on her face as she starts to slowly open her robe.
"Uh miss priestess." I put up my hands defensively, keeping her out of my personal space. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, does this form not suit you, I could become more masculine if you like.." As she says tha her facial structure changes slightly, adding more angles and hard lines.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" If I had a heart it would beat right out of my wooden chest.
"I'm talking about what you desire, dear tree spirit." Esna says, cupping my chin. I step back again.
"S-Stop just tell me what you want… Please."
Esna frowns, her features shifting back to their original shape. She huffs slightly, and turns.
"You know anyone else would probably jump at the chance.." She grumbles, fixing her robe. "But if you just want to know the details I suppose that works too."
"Y-Yes, thank you." I stammer, once again glad I can't blush.
"I need you to be my Champion." She says flatly.
"C-Champion…?" I tilt my head.
"Yes, I need a Champion for the Centennial Demon Tournament. And it's in your best interest too. Geline informed me you wish to challenge The Demon King to some degree. This will let you get close. The Champion of the tournament becomes a personal bodyguard to the King, and their sponsor is granted the title of advisor." Esna says, picking at her nails.
She's beginning to look less and less regal to me by the minute in my eyes. It isn't a bad plan, though, considering how scary this priestess had been in her rampaging form I'm exactly eager to take on an entire fortress full of equally or more powerful beings.
"Why not Geline? She's much powerful than I am and-"
"The Demon King and his advisors are undoubtedly already aware of Geline and I's long-term connection."
"But if you sponsor me isn't that the same thing?"
"Haha. That's the point, though. You see, no one's ever seen anything like you before. You're totally new." She smiles widely. "Your species, Bark Knight, didn't exist before you. At least not since before any of our recorded history. Treechildren are a final stage, they don't evolve further. But you… You did." She circles around me, a glint in her eyes that I'm not fond of.
"They'll have no choice, you're simply just too interesting and novel." Esna says with a hint of glee, stopping to stare at me.
"Uh huh… " What a knowledge bomb, it isn't as bad as getting ten levels all at once but my head is definitely starting to hurt.
"So you will, won't you, be my Champion?"
On one hand, it's a good plan. I'm not too sure of my own fighting capabilities yet, but a friendly tournament would be a great place to learn. In addition to that, it would allow me to get closer to the Demon King and maybe gather information before enacting a plan.
On the other hand Geline was really against it, and her and Blobert are kinda my only friends. I make a decision I hope I don't come to regret.
"I'll be your Champion." I cross my arms. "But conditionally, if I don't like how things are going I'm leaving."
Esna smiles widely. "Of course, of course. Now let me grace you with a new Title."
"Another name, but I already have one why would I-"
"I, Esna the High Priestess of Sul, declare Cedar to be the new Champion Of Sul."
Before I can finish processing, a pale green light envelopes me and leaves a green vine-like mark on my chest that curls upwards towards my chin.
I feel a wealth of power flow through me, if I was able to check my stats I was sure it would tell me they had gotten a boost.
"Now my Champion, we are bonded."
Uh oh, I'm not too big a fan of that. Something tells me I won't be able to take it back though.
"So when's the tournament?" Hopefully I'll at least be able to get some training in with Geline and Blobert.
"In four days time."
Well fuck me.