A scent filled the air, a mixture of herbs and sweetness like freshly baked puff pastry and honey.
Quincy slowly opened his eyes, looking to the side as he did so. He was still feeling disoriented, struggling to make sense of his surroundings. Shadows of figures were moving about, engaged in a lively discussion. He wasn't sure how many people were there, perhaps two, perhaps three, perhaps more. Despite the confusion, his curiosity got the best of him and he wanted to get up from the bed he was lying on, despite the voice in his head warning him to stay put.
He propped himself up on his arms, trying to sit up and gain an upright position, but the moment he did so, he was hit with a dull ache that ran through his body. Despite the pain, he couldn't even make a sound, his mouth was too dry to form any words. Nonetheless, the shadows noticed his movements and started to approach him.
"Well, look who's awake," said a deep, teasing voice, followed by a grunt of "Ouch! Stop that."
A female voice scolded the speaker, "Don't be so rude to our guest, Adán. He must be in terrible pain."
Turning her attention to Quincy, she asked with concern, "And? How are you?"
Without waiting for an answer, which she wouldn't have received at that moment anyway, she walked over to a small wooden table and picked up a terracotta drinking vessel filled with water.
"Here, drink this. It will make you feel better," she said in a reassuring tone.
Quincy took the vessel and took a sip, but was surprised by the bitter taste.
"That's medicine," she added with a warm smile.
With each sip he took, Quincy felt his senses become clearer and his vision improved. Eventually, everything came into focus.
"Thank you," Quincy said in a still slightly weakened voice and handed the empty vessel back to Yasmin, who he just realized he did not know the name of. "Who are you?"
"Oh?" she chuckled. "I am Yasmin. And you must be Quincy."
Quincy was taken aback by Yasmin's knowledge of his name and the familiarity of her voice. He stared at her in silence, his left eyebrow raised in curiosity. He was about to ask another question but decided against it and turned his gaze away.
Yasmin noticed Quincy's behavior and, as if she could read his mind, she answered his unspoken question: "You heard me speaking near the market square today. I am the seven hundredth Oracle of Goltan. And you received my prophecy a few weeks ago."
A few weeks earlier? Damn how long have I been sleeping and... are you really the Oracle? Where am I then? Why did you take me in?" Quincy was overwhelmed with questions that just kept pouring out of him.
Again, Yasmin laughed: "Yes, Quincy, I am really the Oracle and you have slept exactly 5 weeks. We took care of you here at the temple because I know that you are the only one in recent times who can receive the prophecy of the Oracle, even though I don't know what you saw or where I even know that. Just call it a hunch."
She cleared her throat and was about to continue speaking when a loud noise suddenly sounded from outside.
KABOOM!
Loud screams were heard afterwards. Quincy heard footsteps from outside the room he was in and Yasmin and Adán exchanged worried looks. Then Adán briefly lifted his hand and Yasmin nodded in agreement.
As a result of Yasmin's agreement, Adán went to an old cabinet with silver decorations, opened it and took out a golden dagger.
There was a knock on the door, at the same time a bird flew towards the window and - as houses in Goltan and the temple have metal grates instead of glass for windows - it flew inside the building.
The bird looked around confusedly, found some kernels on the floor and picked them up happily.
'What the....?' Quincy thought about the strange sight.
A voice from outside the door sounded: 'Valued Oracle. Are you in here? You must be taken to safety.'