"Yeah, I'd agree to that, of course, but…" I sighed, "Guys… this is starting to stray out of sexy territory and into scary territory. Enslaving Chloe is starting to sound like a really bad idea."
I heard the town gate creak open, I turned to look over my shoulder, and saw an older man wearing a white robe walking towards us with a warm smile. Shit! We were out of time.
"We decide anything?" Ash asked nervously.
"Fuck…" I grumbled under my breath.
"Do it, enslave me, but protect me please, I'll be in your care," Chloe whispered.
"Kay," Ash muttered, and took a step forward, offering the priest a friendly smile.
I stepped next to Chloe, and put my hand on her neck possessively, to help sell the story that she was an obedient prisoner, rather than an equal. I grasped her hair firmly by the roots on the back of her head, hard enough to control her, but not enough to hurt unless I squeezed my hand. Chloe let out a faint squeak, and relaxed her body, relinquishing her control to me and leaning back against my bare chest ever so slightly.
"Hail stranger," the priest said, walking up to greet Ash.
Unlike the guards, he didn't seem suspicious or nervous of us at all. He had a friendly smile. That made me nervous. Ash would normally be an intimidating looking guy, even if he wasn't naked. Was this priest super high level or something? or did he know something we didn't?
"Hello," Ash said. "You wanted to do some kinda scan thing?"
"Yes, due to the…" the priest glanced down at Ash's shameless lack of pants. "…circumstances surrounding your visit, we naturally need to make sure you're not some sort of monster in disguise."
"Do those exist?" I gasped. Doppelganger rape monsters, spooky.
The priest ignored me and continued, "I'm going to use an ability called [Status Appraisal], and then another one called [Sense Taint], is that agreeable?"
"Sure, do what you gotta do…" Ash shrugged.
The priest's eyes flickered with the white-gold colour I recognized as belonging to holy magic. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Greater blessing of Vyreth?" he whispered nervously.
The priest looked at the rest of us. His eyes flickered with gold again whenever his gaze settled on one of us. When it was my turn, I felt a chill come over my body. It was uncomfortable, a deeply invasive feeling of being watched.
The priest turned back to Ash, "You all… came here together?"
"Uh… yeah?" Ash replied, a bit confused by what exactly the priest meant. "You know something about that, I guess?"
"I am a [High Priest] serving many gods, and Vyreth is one of them. I'm sure I don't know everything, but my Patron has given his most loyal followers some knowledge of your circumstances. Specifically, I know you are from Elsewhere, and you've been brought here through Lord Vyreth's miracles to help fight against the Taint."
"Ah, that's good to hear, you're absolutely right about that," Ash sighed in relief. "Say, can you Patron lend us some pants? We woke up in the woods this morning, butt naked."
"That is no problem, Trindon the Merciful teaches us to provide succor to those in need," he replied. "I can offer you some basic necessities to get you started, though I hope you won't take advantage of that generosity too much. This town, and my temple, has limited resources."
"Well, I'm planning to go hunt monsters as soon as I can find some pants and weapon. Is there any money in that? I'm sure the girls are planning the same…"
"Your aid is welcome, but the girls? Uuh…" the priest looked at us awkwardly. "You do know why there aren't any female adventurers, right?"
"You mean the forest full of rape monsters?" I asked with a wry smirk. "Not a very female friendly place."
"Well, yes… but that is not what I'm talking about. Many male adventurers meet that specific type of inglorious end as well. Monsters merely prefer females. No, the real issue is your scent. Monsters are able to smell female Untainted from miles away, and are inevitably drawn towards them in a rutting frenzy. An adventuring party allowing female member to join would be incredibly foolish. Men are the protectors; women are the protected. Caravans containing females must travel under a very heavy guard."
"Sounds like an efficient way to kill monsters, actually. Bait that can fight back," I said.
"You're really not from this world are you?"
The priest gave me a pitying glance. "Power greed is the second most common cause of corruption and death for adventurers, right after the monsters themselves. Those who kill too many, too quickly, in a lust for power, will find the Taint taking root in their hearts.
Though, I suppose with your greater blessings, Vyreth's teachings on power greed don't apply to you directly. But the rest of us don't have that luxury. You won't find any culling expeditions willing to take on a female adventurer."
"This is all wonderful information," Lysander said. "But perhaps we could continue this conversation somewhere indoors? While I dare not assume the others' opinions regarding casual nudism, I personally, would be much more comfortable wearing clothes in your presence."
"Yes of course, but ah… there is just one problem we need to solve first before I can invite you in," the Priest said, looking awkwardly at Chloe. "The elf."
"Yeah, what's the deal with the whole enslaving elves thing, anyway?" Maddie asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know this, perhaps elves are thought of differently in your world? In our world, elves are one of many species of what we call, demihumans. They are, by definition, something between monster and human.
There are many types, some more monstrous than others, but their kind are all Tainted by their very nature, too wild and destructive to be left to their own devices in a civilized society. But unlike full monsters, they need not be killed. They can instead be domesticated and put to good use."
"I don't think that applies to Chloe, given where she came from," I pointed out. "There's no Taint in our land, and she's as civilized as the rest of us."