Silence and quiet was a new experience for Deylia. Certainly, life in the 'leisure class' of a noble ca with quite a bit more downti than it did for the working classes, with ti to read, walk through the gardens, or co up with sches for seducing other well-off nobles who were probably not cousins. That leisure ti only ca however thanks to the behind-the-scenes efforts of at least a dozen various servants - maids, gardeners, house spymasters, and so on. Deylia may have held a particularly high rank among the maids of Sansie's household thanks to her close relationship with her mistress, but that didn't excuse her from the work her duties required. So all in all, being left to her own devices for a long period of ti was a fairly new developnt for the woman.
The first day Deylia was 'grounded', supposedly for the purpose of getting to work on her ditation exercises, was not particularly productive. Although she attempted to display a calm surface appearance, knowing that Xenia could be watching her at literally any mont, inside her mind the trainee Priestess was wracked with grief. Grief that she had hard House Perlin's goals rather than aided them. Sha that she had abused Xenia's trust, despite the opportunities the woman had granted her. Even fear, perhaps, that she could have inadvertently triggered events that would cause Kahlia to beco wrathful with her, should she fail to uphold her efforts to beco a high-ranking priestess of fertility.
She did at least manage to go through the motions of ditation, practicing the breathing exercises Xenia had taught her, but it was safe to say that she didn't co anywhere close to forming any sort of divine connection her first day.
The second day - or the first full day of her punishnt - was at least a little more stabilizing. Her emotions had had ti to calm sowhat, and Xenia ca by to lay down the precise details of her grounding. She was allowed two one-hour breaks a day, which she would be able to use to leave her apartnt and visit the forest on Floor Four or the new shrine on Floor Five, provided she didn't interact with any of the Challengers should they be in the area. Nor did she have many opportunities to interact with other mbers of the dungeon, aside from her two acolytes Fay and Lin. She was also provided with a bit of food and drink - not because she actually needed it, as a dungeon monster, but more because the act of eating was a hard habit for the reincarnated bosses to break after a lifeti of doing so several tis a day. Having at least one al a day had proved to be sothing of a relaxing experience for many of the dungeon's guardians, and Deylia was still more than a little high-strung following the events of the previous day.
Her ditation progress was still fairly limited her second day.
The third day was when things began to fully settle into their new routine. It was quiet indeed, with her only contact being an hour spent with her acolytes, who to be honest had little to talk about beyond a few bits of gossip that had been going around the inn. It was that afternoon that Deylia actually began to feel herself 'entering the zone' as Xenia had put it, the calm state of ditation taking her away from her worries, and causing her to briefly lose track of the flow of ti around her. She perhaps only managed an hour or so of that state throughout the day, but the excitent of experiencing success did lift her mood quite a bit.
Day four was even more successful. Now that she knew what she was attempting to achieve, she found the ditative state easier to access, and was able to spend perhaps three hours or so during the day in a state of true calm. She still didn't feel any divine connection with Kahlia, exactly - but she did begin to get the glimrs of there being...sothing beyond her mundane senses, sothing close yet hard to reach. That success excited her even further, but now that she needed to waste less ti on failed attempts to ditate, Deylia did start to realize she had a new problem.
Deylia...had no hobbies.
Oh, certainly, she had skills. She knew how to nd, wash, and even create articles of clothing. She knew every possible way of serving tea. She knew how to gather herbs that could be used for either cooking, dicine, or both. But now that she was truly on her own, it occurred to Deylia that her pastis were Sansie's pastis. Oh, her old mistress wasn't a selfish woman - she'd often ask for Deylia's input on what they ought to do on any given day when they had a bit of free ti. But Deylia had almost always responded with whatever activity she thought Sansie would have enjoyed the most. Now that she was truly on her own - and confined to her room - she was starting to feel a bit at a loss when it ca to figuring out what to do with the rest of her day.
It wasn't even her punishnt that was the problem, or at least not entirely. Xenia wanted to punish the woman, not torture her, and had offered Deylia the ans of practicing various creative hobbies if she wished it. She could have wood if she wished to carve like Trush, or paper and ink if she wished to write like Sincere. She could even have limited access to the dungeon's small library of books, if she asked for it. And she did ask for so of those items, if only to give them a try. She started on three different letters to Sansie or Raylin, before giving up on them halfway through. She did start on reading one of Sincere's moirs, but felt more inclined to spend the ti editing his writing choices rather than actually enjoying the work.
Despite her growing boredom, on day six Deylia did experience a breakthrough. While ditating, she felt for the first ti Kahlia's divine presence in her mind. It felt much like her ti in the Eternal Forest had - the warmth of the sun shining on her, the sll of flowers, the distant chirping of birds. She didn't feel anything along the lines of direct communication, or a lesson in giving blessings, but she was close now, she could almost taste it.
On day seven, she gave up on writing editorial suggestions for Sincere and attempted to spend her afternoon masturbating. She stopped at the second round, when a giant stone eye suddenly carved itself into the ceiling above her bed. Deylia wasn't sure if this was part of her punishnt or if Xenia was simply pranking her, but the embarrassed Priestress quickly pulled her clothes back on and attempted to do another session of ditations instead, to mixed success. She did manage once again to feel Kahlia's divine presence by the late evening, but by that point she was too ntally tired out by the long process to stay in it for long.
On her eighth day, Deylia learned her first blessing. It was perhaps the most minor blessing granted to servants of Kahlia, a Lesser Blessing of Fertility. Its effectiveness was perhaps equivalent to an enchanted item crafted by an Initiate-class Enchanter, an improvent so small that such an item would be hard to distinguish from a charlatan's good luck charm. Even so, it still marked a rather significant milestone for the Priestess, and when she announced her revelation to the walls Xenia did make an appearance to briefly congratulate her. Deylia even got a small cake that evening with a ssage written on top saying 'Blessings Be Upon You'.
Xenia also made a side comnt that Deylia had earned back her masturbation privileges, although given the smirk she was wearing at the ti, Deylia still wasn't sure if she was being pranked on that matter.
The next few days passed in a rather relaxing routine. No more blessings were imdiately forthcoming, but it had beco easier than ever to tap into Kahlia's divine connection, and hours began to blur away with the sensation of simply enjoying the comforts of being in a peaceful forest. The only downside Deylia discovered was that the longer she spent in that state, the more she began to feel as if she was herself pregnant. It wasn't uncomfortable, just strange, at least until one day when she would swear she felt a kick at her stomach, which was surprising enough that it managed to eject her from her ditative state imdiately. The sensations did fade after an hour or so though, so it just beca another part of her new routine for her to deal with.
It was the eleventh day of her grounding that Deylia finally got her first proper visitor. Sitting at a desk in her main living room, the Priestess is interrupted in her work of providing further edits to Sincere's written Rainlander when she's surprised by the sound of a woman's voice. "Hello? Priestess Niyen? I hope I'm not interrupting anything, I was told you were available?"
Standing up and walking over to her entryway - a simple alcove containing a portal - Deylia finds another Priestess standing there. "Ah, Priestess Fullblossom! I am available, yes, although I'm rather surprised to see you here. I, ah...was under the impression that I wasn't being allowed guests at the mont."
The elf gives an awkward smile as she nods. "Ah, yes, I've heard a little sothing about your current...ah, situation. Not the details, as the dungeon seems to wish to keep it private, but I won't pry if it's sothing you'd rather not talk about, yourself."
"I'll admit to my situation being entirely my own fault, but yes, if you're here to discuss sothing else, I'd be more interested in hearing about that! Co in, have a seat...I think I have the materials required for so tea here in my kitchen, Xenia has granted that much, at least."
"Thank you." Lilly makes her own way to the apartnt dining room and finds a seat at the table, being rather familiar by now with the standard dungeon apartnt layout thanks to her visits with various other guardians. She does take a mont to complint Deylia's handful of personal touches though, and once Deylia's passed around her available refreshnts and taken a seat herself, the Verdant Priestess gets down to business.
"So, we have a few things to discuss today, I believe. First off, I've been inford that you've actually received knowledge of a blessing from Kahlia! Is that true?"
Deylia smiles, happy that the eting has started off on a good note, at least. "I have! A minor one, but actually being able to connect to Kahlia's divinity during my ditations...I was never particularly religious before, but now I think I would be even were it not my role within the dungeon. I wonder, is that anything like how you learn yours?"
Lilly shakes her head. "In most churches, only the highest ranking clerics tend to gain such a personal connection to their patron deity. Then it generally filters down from there, generally through the process of special rituals or ceremonies. I have personally felt a connection with Palain perhaps a few tis in my life...but it was always a very subtle, short-lived thing. I rather envy the connection you seem to have with Kahlia, I suppose."
The rabbit-woman's smile fades slightly as she responds. "I'm glad for it, but I can feel how much of a responsibility it is, as well. There's been many expectations laid upon ...and I fear I have much to do to prove myself worthy of them. Ah, did you wish to continue our lessons on how I ought to perform my clerical duties? Now that I can include the usage of a blessing in the mix? Not that I believe I'll be hosting services anyti soon...even aside from my current confinent, I'm not sure a single minor blessing is sufficient for opening the shrine to the general public."
The Priestess of Palain considers it, but shakes her head again. "We should do that at so point, yes...and if you're starved for company, I wouldn't mind doing that tomorrow, perhaps - I'll likely be staying the night in the dungeon in any case. There's a different topic I wanted to cover for today, though. You see, ah...the dungeon's latest applicant has finally arrived. In Grassbrook that is, and they'll be coming up to the mountain tomorrow. Xenia did make it clear that she wanted a bit more warning on these things, after all."
Deylia's eyes grow wide. "An applicant? You an that one Xenia's been attempting to recruit for the purposes of Kahlia's divine quest? That's wonderful! Assuming they're a fitting candidate, that is. But what's my role in this? I don't know what I can offer to the...recruitnt process, given my current situation..."
"Xenia wants you involved when he and his wife arrive, actually. For one, it will be required that he use one of your rabbit-folk bodies, at least temporarily, and I've been inford that she wants you and Trush to be present to answer any questions that may co up involving that. Secondly...well, this will be a pivotal mont in two people's lives, a significant change they make for the sake of their family. Bountiful Mother Hamrdown feels, and I agree, that this is an important mont for you to witness. Given the unusual features of this dungeon, it's entirely possible you might be overseeing future such events yourself."
The woman swallows, taking a mont to consider how serious the responsibility is. While Deylia did sacrifice her own life for another, it's an entirely different kind of sacrifice than the one the new stranger is making - hers was instinctual, unplanned, and ssy in more ways than one. Guiding soone making such a sacrifice with full understanding and intent...Deylia has to agree, it's sothing she'll need to see for herself. Nodding, she gives her agreent. "I think you're right. Especially if this is at least partly in service to Kahlia...I ought to be there."
Lilly smiles as she leans in. "Excellent. So, in the anwhile...let tell you a little about your new colleague, Parker Reeves..."
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