As Aldrig stepped out of the temple, he sighed slightly. There was no doubt, now that they were away from his presence, that "sense" would soon be returning to those four who were, most likely, the current leaders of this temple. Soon enough, they would come up with reasons to doubt what had just happened, reasons to proclaim that he was an impostor, a villain. They would reassert their control over the Quintopolis, as they had called it, and reaffirm their divine connection with the heavenly Aldrig. Perhaps most ironic was the fact that they would likely discredit their own god in the process.
Once, he would have found it highly amusing, and would have likely tampered with the whole process. This was not the first time that people had decided to push their own importance and, in doing so, distance themselves from their real god, while raising an image of a false version of one of the true gods. During the time before the blight, he and the other gods had always punished those who had taken it too far. It was odd to see how such a thing now allowed those who simply proclaimed their power to rule unchallenged, simply from the fact that the god did not smite them down.
Not that Aldrig intended to do any smiting. At this point, he was ready to simply go see what had happened to his family. Once, of course, he paid his debt to the little fox. He turned to glance at her, wide eyed and gape jawed, as she spoke. She reminded him so much of Verdini it was almost impossible to bear. He had looked at Aldrig like that sometimes. Minus the distrust, of course.
Now that he no longer needed to keep the Oracles and guards under his control, the presence of power faded from around him. The unearthly glow left his eyes, and the faint static that had filled his hair faded completely, leaving nothing but a straight, glossy black mane that nearly touched the middle of his back. He smiled at her, and the trace of amusement never left his grin. But, rather than the mocking amusement he had directed at the oracles, this was a warm amusement at a friend who hadn't quite gotten the joke yet. In that moment, it might have been almost possible to mistake him for some street entertainer in formal costume.
"You too?" Aldrig asked, the corners of his eyes wrinkled in good humor. "I would have thought you, at the very least, would have recognized me, after all the time you spent sitting on my head. Or perhaps I need to swallow you again before you'll remember me?" He chuckled slightly, before holding his hand out in front of her. A point of light began to float in front of him, while the air was drawn towards the point. A sticky bun formed in his hand a moment later.
"I believe I owe you one of these?" he asked, offering the bun to Nym. If anything, the god seemed even more amused now than he had only a moment before. "Hopefully the real honey will make up for the fact that I stole your first ones."
Back in the temple, Aldrig's prediction was coming true with near alarming rapidity. Dagor pulled himself huffily to his feet, before staring after the figures that had vanished through the doorway. Every basic instinct inside of him screamed at what that man had been, but his conscious mind dismissed it. No. Impossible. He and his sisters were Aldrig's chosen, fated to rule over this city. They had heard his divine voice, and had ruled this city for him. There was no way that the things that monster had said were true. He was but a demon, trying to whisper corrupting words and destroy everything they had built.
Of course. That was it.
Dagor straightened his back momentarily, before turning to his sisters, who had likewise brought themselves back to their feet and were gathered together into a group. He met Ada's eyes for a brief moment, before bowing in front of his sisters. "Please, sisters of mine, forgive me for my mistake."
Bryne hurried forward, rapidly pulling Dagor up from his bow. "Dagor!" she proclaimed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Dagor quickly straightened concealing his grimace. He had experienced more than enough bowing for today, but this was necessary. He had to fix this immediately. "Forgive me, for I misguided you. In the haste of the moment, I thought that creature that stood before us an avatar of Aldrig."
"You mean he wasn't?" Ceris asked.
"No. His power might have felt like our Divine Master, but his words betrayed him. That was no avatar of the divine, but a demon, a monster of the mist risen to destroy our city and feast in the chaos."
Bryne gasped. Ada met Dagor's eyes, before glancing at the guards. The men and women who had scattered around the room as the temple had been restored now stood, gathered together in huddles, watching the Oracles speak.
"Of course," Ada replied, her nostrils flaring in fury. She turned to face the room at large, and, in particular, the guards. The most important thing at the moment was making sure that word of this incident did not spread beyond this room. There were already too many witnesses. "Even now, witness how the demon's corruption begins to spread. Observe how our once faithful guards look at us, like we were the monsters. Us, who have led this city in eternal faith to Aldrig's wishes. Us, who have never wished ill will upon any. Only a few words from that possessed monster of the mist, and already they begin to doubt us. O, merciful Aldrig, grant these poor men the power to see through the corruption that has clouded their vision, and do not judge them too harshly for their mistake."
The guards had frozen, eyes wide. Many were bowing now. More flung themselves upon the floor, reciting one of the holy litanies, begging for strength. None saw Ada's brief smile as she stepped forward. "Nay, my children, rise. All is forgiven."
"All is forgiven," Dagor, Ceris, and Bryne repeated in the background.
"It grants me great joy," Ada began, lifting one of the nearby guards to her feet. "To see that the monster's power is not so great that honest words of the faithful could not shatter his dark spell. I am so sorry, my children, that in your loyal duty to this temple and to the Great God Aldrig that you became exposed to such a heinous curse that could so beguile the mind. The efforts of myself and my siblings has helped in lifting the curse, but still I sense that it lingers on within your minds."
At this moment, Dagor stepped forward, drawing his two other sisters with him. "Do not fear, sons and daughters. Your loyalty to Aldrig will grant you the power to continue to resist this curse, no matter how insidiously it may try to wind into your mind. However, you must act with great care. There is no telling how easily this curse may now spread. It is possible that the seed, once planted, no longer needs the planter's tending to spread noxious weeds of unfaithful thought over this city. It is possible, nay probable, that even speaking of this event to others could pass this curse on, for such is the guile and great power of the monsters of the mist."
Bryne's face was ashen, but there was no quaver in her voice when she finally spoke, only deep concern. "We were here to grant you absolution, but were you to accidentally curse one of your own comrades when a priest of Aldrig was not there to intervene and restore his or her faith... Were that curse to then spread further from that one slip of the tongue." Bryne's face, already ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale. "Oh, I fear what would come of our poor city!"
"We shan't say a word, my lady," one of the guards swore. The others quickly murmured their assent.
"Thank you for your faith." Dagor said. "My sisters and I must now retreat to the Hall of Communion. We shall consult with Aldrig, and gain His guidance in how to approach this matter. Remain vigilant, faithful, and keep eye on your thoughts, lest the curse start to spread again. Should you begin to sense the traces of its return, find a priest and have yourself once more purified. May his power grant you the strength to overcome this dark trial."
"May his power grant us strength," the guards repeated, as Dagor, Ada, Bryne, and Ceris turned and left the room.