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Ashur approached the altar and stared at it with a vacant gaze. He was pale, his lips tightly pressed together, and his face resembled a stone mask. Wrinkles were clearly visible on his perspiring forehead; he looked as if he had aged ten years. With trembling hands, the man rummaged through his pockets but found no coins – all his money had remained with the bandits. Ramon, who had been unusually quiet during the conversation with Diref, stirred again, but this time, his master did not react.
— Avaritia, give me strength...,” he whispered barely audibly with stiff lips.
But instead of the altar, Diref’s face still loomed before his eyes, his cruel smile. Ashur lowered his head and closed his eyes. Words swirled in his mind, but no further sound escaped his lips.
“Goddess, today I saw the devil incarnate. Right here, in your sacred place. He is still here; I feel his poisonous presence, I feel his gaze on my back, devoid of conscience and morality. I was not afraid of the monkeys, nor the bandits, nor even the deaths of my comrades, but this man... He frightens me. Not so much by his evil words, skillfully masked as business communication, but... Goddess, I recognized myself in him. My future self, a version of what I could become. This temptation is truly terrible and... and so alluring... I cannot know whether the devil will retreat from me or drag me into the darkness. Even now, he is soothingly whispering in my head, telling me not to give in to fear and to make the right decision. He promises untold riches, unlimited power over captured souls. I can barely drown out his voice with these words. Avaritia, I beg you, help me to resist, protect me from sin, and lead me to the light. Save my soul, deliver me from the tentacles of the abyss that are reaching for my heart.”
Ashur took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked at his hands, which were convulsively gripping the altar. He was still trembling, but the horror had subsided. He knew for sure that he would never set foot in this temple again, defiled by the serpent that had settled within it.
He needed to calm down completely, and he knew how. In the darkest moments of his past travels, when anxiety and fear clouded his mind, he would take up his smith’s hammer and work on his wares. The methodical removal of chips, burrs, and other imperfections, the sharpening of blades, and the repair of straps. Physical labor restored not only order to his belongings but also to his mind. For the next few hours, Ashur spent improving the party’s equipment, and the mental anguish caused by today’s meeting gradually faded away.
leveling up crafting, improving equipment
— Avaritia, give me strength...,” he whispered barely audibly with stiff lips.
But instead of the altar, Diref’s face still loomed before his eyes, his cruel smile. Ashur lowered his head and closed his eyes. Words swirled in his mind, but no further sound escaped his lips.
“Goddess, today I saw the devil incarnate. Right here, in your sacred place. He is still here; I feel his poisonous presence, I feel his gaze on my back, devoid of conscience and morality. I was not afraid of the monkeys, nor the bandits, nor even the deaths of my comrades, but this man... He frightens me. Not so much by his evil words, skillfully masked as business communication, but... Goddess, I recognized myself in him. My future self, a version of what I could become. This temptation is truly terrible and... and so alluring... I cannot know whether the devil will retreat from me or drag me into the darkness. Even now, he is soothingly whispering in my head, telling me not to give in to fear and to make the right decision. He promises untold riches, unlimited power over captured souls. I can barely drown out his voice with these words. Avaritia, I beg you, help me to resist, protect me from sin, and lead me to the light. Save my soul, deliver me from the tentacles of the abyss that are reaching for my heart.”
Ashur took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked at his hands, which were convulsively gripping the altar. He was still trembling, but the horror had subsided. He knew for sure that he would never set foot in this temple again, defiled by the serpent that had settled within it.
He needed to calm down completely, and he knew how. In the darkest moments of his past travels, when anxiety and fear clouded his mind, he would take up his smith’s hammer and work on his wares. The methodical removal of chips, burrs, and other imperfections, the sharpening of blades, and the repair of straps. Physical labor restored not only order to his belongings but also to his mind. For the next few hours, Ashur spent improving the party’s equipment, and the mental anguish caused by today’s meeting gradually faded away.
leveling up crafting, improving equipment