Alex’s group flew down from the sky and nded in a rocky outcropping about a mile from the glimmering white temple. Summer didn’t apply to this pce. Cws sunk into the snow and ice. Fufi and Alex both felt the chill seep up through their legs. The fact that the air chilled their bodies during the flight didn’t help.

  Not wanting to turn into a popsicle, Alex pulled out the card and deployed it on some rocks sheltered by an overhang. The harpy dragged, filled with fatigue. Everyone piled into the bunny carriage to escape the subzero temperatures. Luckily, the stove was prepared beforehand. Some strikes of quartz on metal produced a fme. Alex used a cw to put the fire in the metal stove but dropped it.

  Luckily, the fire didn’t go out and Merumeru picked it up before anything bad could happen with the carpet. The slime girl pced the fming piece of wool into the stone and soon they had a fire going.

  “Phew, that was a close one. Merumeru saves the day,” Alex said.

  “Ruuu ru,” Merumeru cheerfully replied. She turned a valve next to the stove to pour some water in a kettle. She pced the water on top of the stove and pulled out some tea leaves from a cupboard. Eventually the fire in the stove caused the water to boil and everyone had some tea. Everyone rested and sipped some tea. Outside subzero winds blew but inside there was warmth and hot drinks.

  “It got cold at night the first few days when I got to Terre. I can’t imagine what this pce is like during the winter.” Alex sipped some tea.

  “Meru!” Merumeru said.

  “You only had a bathrobe and some sweat pants back then. Also, you didn’t have any feathers to keep you warm, or the fur robe you’ve been wearing. But yeah, we are really high up, are you feeling light headed?” Fufi asked.

  “A little, where my cabin was before was at a fairly high elevation so it is not like I spent my whole life living at sea level. The Rockies don’t go through Saskatchewan so there are not any super high peaks.” Alex said.

  “You have a nice cabin and horseless carriage. It is very well crafted. But I’m gd that you don’t feel too bad. We made it all the way to the ‘X’ on your map without having to stop because anyone was starting to bck out. Good job!” Fufi cheered.

  “Poor cabin, I wonder how it is doing? We’ve been here for two months and some change now? If I had reception on my phone it would probably be constantly ringing with svering bill collectors right now.” Alex said

  “You don’t have to worry about stuff like that. Luna has a team that takes care of magical girls’ home responsibilities while they are away questing. I’ve never met them but I’m sure they are very professional. Anyway, sorry to bring up the worry about your cabin. We should focus on the task at hand.” Fufi said.

  “Yeah, I should focus on the temple we are going to. Will someone pay my car payment and mortgage for me? Because that would be super helpful.” Alex chuckled.

  “I don’t know exactly how they work but I’m sure they’ll take care of things. Have a little faith. Anyway, that temple? How do we want to do this? It doesn’t look abandoned.” Fufi poked Alex with a wing.

  “The polite thing would be to knock first. I mean, it shouldn’t be full of demons right?” Alex said.

  “No, demons tend to trash things. They also don’t like holy pces. Hallowed ground tends to do bad things to them.” Fufi said.

  “I didn’t know that. Does the grotto count as hallowed ground? What would happen if a demon went in there?” Alex asked.

  “Depending on the type it could start smoldering, catch fire, or start melting.” Fufi tilted her beak. “Or something else, there are many types of demons.”

  “Well, maybe that expins why that ice demon we saw is staying away. Merumeru do you want to come with?” Alex looked at the slime girl.

  “Ru.” Merumeru shook her head.

  “Okay, you can stay here and hold down the fort. We should be back before nightfall.” Alex said.

  Fufi nodded. “That sounds like a pn.”

  Preparations included grabbing some food, water, the feather duster and creatively securing the dolls. Using some thread, two dolls were secured on each of Alex’s cws. They had their hands and feet looped together and hung like drop bears. Lily, being the longest ranged doll, sat between Fufi’s shoulders like the fmingo was some kind of exotic mount. The archer doll looked like something out of a children’s fantasy story. The cuteness factor was off the charts.

  After eating and finishing tea, the winged pair flew to the temple.

  Alex grabbed the iron knocker on the rge white gates with a cw and knocked. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

  A pair of humans in priestly robes peeked down at them from the battlements, one male and one female. They had the same bck hair and brown eyes. “Greeting travelers, welcome to unity chapel. Our goddess of purity welcomes anyone seeking to purify themselves here.” The male priest said.

  “Yes, it looks like you have been afflicted by bird flu. We pray for those that have had their purity vioted by that vile affliction to come to us so that they may be purified. If you seek your lost humanity we can help you find it again.” The female priest said, not missing a beat, completing the man’s sentence.

  “Can we come in? It is cold, windy and snowy out here.” Alex yelled, to be heard over the wind.

  “You may, the pgue has not consumed your mind so you will not need to be restrained.” The man said.

  The massive door swung open slowly, enough for the pair to enter into a courtyard beyond. As the pair entered, the change in temperature rushed over them. The inside felt comfortable, well above the bone-chilling cold from outside. Several men and women with bck hair and brown eyes in matching priest’s robes milled about the area. They tended to small farm plots. In fenced areas, chickens and sheep grazed about zily. In the center was the rge temple that they could see from the outside. It rose up many stories, and looked to be made of white marble.

  “What do you think of our little community?” The man walked down the stairs from the battlement.

  “Wow, it is impressive that something so grand exists in such a harsh pce.” Alex looked around in awe.

  “Where are my manners? I am Ekta, priest of Catalina, goddess of purity” The man bowed.

  Not missing a beat the woman continued. “And I am Yuti, priestess of Cataline, goddess of purity.”

  “I’m Alex. This is Fufi.” Alex gestured to the fmingo. “And my three little friends are Edelweiss, Lily and Rosa.” Alex pointed a wing at each of the dolls.

  “How may the goddesses’s servants be of service? Do you seek to undergo the ceremony of purification and return to being completely human? Almost all of the visitors we get are people who have been afflicted by bird flu and are looking to return to a pure form.” Cataline said.

  “Yes, I think I understand the map and the dance shoes now. It wasn’t just the dungeon messing with me. Being able to fly was really nice but to be honest I never really chose to be a harpy. Also, I miss having hands.” Alex said, lifting a cw to show them.

  They nodded in perfect unison. “Well then Alex, the next question we must ask is do you wish to undergo the ceremony of purification as a man or as a woman. There are two springs, one is in the convent and the other in the monastery.”

  There it was… the big question. Up until this point, every transformation was forced upon Alex. Alex rejected everything out of stubbornness. The harpy furrowed her brow in intense concentration.

  Fufi stared at Alex intently.

  The two clergy people waited patiently.

  Alex expected Fufi to answer that Alex was a magical girl so it should be obvious but she kept quiet.

  “I’m… um… not sure.” Alex slumped.

  Possibly taking Alex’s answer as some of the mental effects that bird flu gave at the ter staged Ekta gave a soft answer. “It seems like the curse has affected your memory. Perhaps some time to warm up and pray would help. Would you like to see the library? It contains records of the great works of Catalina.”

  “Sure, I’d like that.” Alex felt relief not having to give an answer then and there.

  They went to a side door of the big building that had the picture of an open book above it. Inside were bookshelves all over the pce. Several wooden tables and stools were pced around to facilitate readings. There were also a dozen angled stands to set books and read them while standing.

  Another dy waved from behind a desk when they entered. “Hello, welcome to the library.”

  “Is there anything that you would like to read about?” Yuti asked.

  “Well, anything about the demon queen or the hero.” Alex said.

  The receptionist smiled and retrieved a book. It was titled Bishop Ekta’s journal. “Here, this says some things about the hero’s first coming to this world.”

  “Huh, how about that. He’s got the same name as my new friend.” Alex eyed the title.

  The receptionist opened the book and set it on one of the pedestals.

  “Come and get us after you’ve cleared your mind enough to answer our question.” Yuti said. Ekta and Yuti exited the library, closing the door behind them. The receptionist went back to the desk.

  Alex noticed that she had the same bck hair and brown eyes as Yuti. Perhaps they were sisters?

  The start of the journal was a sonnet that praised Catalina. There were a lot of religious supplications and praises throughout the whole piece. Reading through the religiosity was difficult for Alex. There were some useful things to be gleaned through. This temple had a chamber of summoning deep inside. The demon queen started her conquest in a neighboring kingdom. She turned the king into her thrall and the king issued edicts to destroy temples and say the new religion of the nd was demon worship. She started out slowly building unrest here and using conflict to gain traction. Cults went unnoticed and with demons taking control of the entire nobility css it was too te. All of the anti-demon people were taken care of swiftly. Many of the clergy fleeing the new demon country came here and the leaders decided that the situation was dire enough to summon a hero to fight the demon queen. The hero was from a pce called Japan and was named ‘Hiroshi’ or ‘Hero’ for short.