When the silhouette of a red roof whose curvature reminded Nem of east Asia appeared atop the thin trees, the sun was already high in the sky. Now, the boy was not only starving, but also really thirsty.
"Any chance we can eat before talking to them ?" Nem was never one to be overly respectful.
He was rewarded by a simple silence. Glancing over to his partner, he found him a bit more stiff and focused than usual.
'Looks like I'll need to tread carefully, it's true that religious people can really be quite dangerous.'
As they continued, Nem started to notice more signs of human activity. A fence even smaller than himself, a small paved road leading to a gate just ahead... He didn't feel comforted thought, for Nem, fewer people meant fewer problems and he would really consider running away for such a shady place if he wasn't so hungry.
After passing the gate, there were finally no more trees hiding the building from their eyes. It looked more like a Buddhist temple than a European monastery in terms of architecture, and it was clearly big enough for a lot of people to live in. Two small fountains surrounded the entrance, exuding an atmosphere of peace. Nem almost expected bamboos, but they weren't any. This was the sydaian mountains after all, no such things grew anywhere close to this place.
An old man of average height wearing yellow, self-made clothes was waiting for them by the door. He looked a bit fat, but his posture was straight and confident as a humble smile gradually appeared on his face. He looked just like a good-natured monk, expecting them for a social visit. His eyes seemed to wander on Nem like he was looking at some unimportant detail. Then they became more focused, even showing a bit of surprise.
The old man quickly recovered and his attention was then entirely on Sarth. His expression seemed a bit quizzical.
'Is there something weird with my face, after all ?' It made Nem a bit nervous. The fact that he referred to it as his face was also quite strange for him. Still, he needed to get used to it.
No one spoke until everyone arrived in front of the door, where the two men nodded at each other. The monk pushed open the door and entered a small room containing a few chairs and a medium-sized wooden table only. The room seemed to serve as a guest's room and an intersecting point to the corridors in the monastery. Nem felt a bit unsafe, but since all the corridors were equipped with a shut door, he relaxed and stepped in, following the two men. As he made that step, he noticed the atmosphere was a bit weird. They were both looking at him as if waiting for something.
'Let's just ignore this.' Nem thought it was a good way to feel less creeped out.
Nem sat on a random chair and noticed that it didn't influence his height at all. 'What a great chair.' He glanced at the old monk who gestured Sarth to sit without a word. He seemed a bit more relaxed than before. Once all were finally comfortable, the old man finally opened his mouth :
"Welcome, Mr Robinson, it's always pleasant to be in your company... Can I interest you in a cup of tea from our personal garden by any chance ?"
"That won't be necessary, Father Okof. I'd like to call Mr Clark first, I'm sure you can understand."
They both stared at Nem for a bit, which made him uncomfortable. At this moment, his stomach happened to growl. Gathering his courage, he said :
"Uh, Father Okof, do you think it's possible to eat first ? Um, maybe."
He concluded his question by of his 'innocent' smile, showing his teeth and the two adult men exchanged a look again. His question was left unanswered, and Okof the monk stood up and went into one of the corridors. Nem's expression twitched in annoyance but he was too tense to really take offense.
Soon, the same door opened and two men stepped out. One was the old Okof and the other a well-dressed and glasses-wearing middle-aged man with his brown hair pulled back from his forehead. Nem instantly assumed he was Mr. Clark, and he wondered if this man was also from the same organization as Sarth, considering they both wore clothes unadapted for the situation.
'This is a monastery not a damn fancy restaurant, can't you relax a bit with the fancy shirts ?'
The new arrival sat facing Nem, to the left of the monk, and nodded a greeting to Sarth.
"Test for any existing Curse or Blessings and then for the Forsaken characteristic of a Vampire." Those words left the monks' mouth naturally, leaving Nem stunned.
'Did he just say Vampire ?! Now that I think about it, they seem to be part of the legends of this world as well. Fortunately, they neither fall in love with angsty teenage girls nor glow like a disco ball. Truly fantastic !'
Mr. Clark nodded and said to him, with a gravelly voice :
"Give me your hand, don't worry there is no danger for you."
Nem swallowed his own saliva and extended his arm over the table. His palm was a bit moist as it was put in between the stern man's own palms in a gesture reminiscing of a prayer. It was cool and peaceful in the monastery but the boy was sweating far more than when he was hiking outside for an entire morning.
In the silence, Nem suddenly had the intense feeling that he was watched. He was feeling the same way as when half of the braindead high-school students in the city watched him in the top student speech he was forced to give in his second year. Extremely uncomfortable. The sensation quickly eased as the man declared :
"Negative."
Nobody looked surprised as they simply for Mr Clark to continue.
The myriad of eyes sent chills down Nem's spine once again. It lasted longer this time, and he felt the look of the man in front of him stab in his forehead through his glasses. The pressure didn't ease as he felt more eyes sending a piercing gaze towards his head. Nem felt as if his brain was sinking towards the back of his skull and his skin started to itch. He wanted to use his other hand to scratch it but felt like it was filled with lead.
The itch intensified and when Nem blinked, he suddenly saw that the man in front of him had morphed into a terrifying creature. It was a sort of huge vaguely humanoid ball off which extended numerous tentacles. Every centimeter of the creature was filled with eyes. They were everywhere, blood-shot, clear, black, white, red, blue... their forms differed as well. Even the hands holding his palm had morphed into tentacles and he could a disgusting spongy sensation reminding him of when he touched a fished eyeballs.
Now, the itch was so strong he wanted to tear his own face off with his claws. As Nem's thought grew sluggish under fear, this sensation reminded him of what he felt right when he first woke up in this world. He could hear faint whisper...
"... Nartolem."
Every muscle on his body contracted and Nem took a deep breath, like a drowned victim coming back to life. He suddenly realized the horrifying creature was gone, replaced by the man with the glasses once again.
Nem was holding both his hands against his chest, out of breath, and had apparently stood up from his chair. His eyes were opened wide with fear towards Mr. Clark, and he shouted :
"What the hell are you ?! What did you do to me ?"
His small, child-like voice had cracked a bit and made the shout quite pathetic. However, Nem didn't notice because of the shock and fear he felt just now. His heart was beating wildly against his chest and his head hurt.
Mr Clark seemed surprised and even quite confused. He glanced at the monk and declared in a professional tone :
"Negative. I tested for all the characteristics I know and didn't find anything. If not for this reaction and his red eyes, I would say he is just a normal kid. I got a sensation before he pulled his hands back, so he is probably a mix of Forsaken characteristics. Unfortunately, it's probably all there is to him."
"Hold on, aren't you a Blessed of the Church of Sight ? Why is the boy so scared like he saw a monster ? You don't even have a True Form to see." Sarth asked with curiosity.
"I don't know, he probably felt something strange and unnatural and got scared. His reaction is definitely not fake, and it's not strange for a Forsaken child with good instinct to react with fear to some powers."
Okof nodded and didn't even ask Nem his opinion. He simply said while exchanging a disappointed look with Sarth :
"Give him something to eat and ask little Ivan to clear him for the orphanage please, Mr. Clark."
"I have no objections." Said Sarth with a cold expression. "Let's get to the important discussion then... Ah, I almost forgot, a promise is a promise after all." He stood up and gave a small roll of parchment to Nem, who still wasn't recovered. "The general method of meditation, although it seems it won't be very useful for you..."
He sighed and sat back on the chair, signaling Mr Clark to leave. The man tried to grab the boy's arm to lead towards a corridor, but Nem dodged and took a step back in caution. His red eyes became calmer and focused as he said in a cold juvenile voice : "No need to bother, I'll follow you."
'Looks like the danger passed for now, but I can't afford to relax as long as I am not "cleared". About what I saw... it might have been a hallucination. I don't really understand what they said but that man probably used a superpower from the Church of Sight on me. But why would he be in a temple of the Church of Peace ?'
Also, they were searching for superpowers on me ? I don't understand...
I need to remember those terms, Blessed, Cursed and Forsaken... Also, there is "True form" which seems quite ominous...
As Nem's brain furiously tried to analyze the previous events, he was led to a large room filled with benches and tables. There was still nobody here but a lot of food was already ready on the tables.
'This is probably the canteen for the kids of the orphanage. At least I don't have to worry about being drugged.'
Without waiting for Mr Clark's permission, he sat close to the richest food, grabbed a wooden fork and started to eat without a plate.
A content smile gradually appeared on his face, even as his cheeks were stuffed with warm meat.
'Coming here really was worth it after all. May the food church prosper !'