"Hmm..." Gale motioned her to follow him out of the door, into the sunlight. The court was near the massive Mithril Golem's right leg, while the temple of Corean was built closer to the left.

From this close the damage Kadum's fury had caused to the massive construct was clearly visible. The right shoulder had been almost completely crushed, the jaw was off to one side, and several dents from Kadum's fists were imprinted on the Golem's chest.

However, Mira had little time to look as Gale led her into the Temple of Corean. It resembled a military fort more than a temple on the outside, built with high walls and fortified battlements. A steel portcullis bared entry, but through it one could see within the walls several multi-story compounds, all made of the same granite as the walls, along with a large open area planted with grass.

Inside many people could be seen, some in full plate armor walking the battlements and walls, others in lighter armor like Gale. One was standing in front of a group of teenagers, all of whom wore a simple brown shirt and leggings.

Gale pressed his hand to the side of the portcullis, and in moments the huge steel object arose as if it were light as a feather.

"Shall we go?" He asked Mira.

Mari shuddered. Her burning eyes narrowed at Gale’s dismissive response to her complaint - like he didn’t believe her. With a sigh, they crossed underneath the stone golem’s massive body, lingering over her like it could come to life at any minute. The damned thing had always been a nuisance to Mari - as if she hadn’t had enough overbearing patriarchs for one life time. And now she had another to escape from. It wasn’t a long walk, but every minute of it was plagued with doubt while she had to consider what this kind of life would entail, even if it only lasted a day, or a week, or a month at most.

Try as she might, though, that damned word - spanking - kept scratching at the back of her mind. Insufferable prep that this knight was.

She wasn’t impressed by stories and stories of training warriors, if anything, merely happy to see there were more teens her age amongst the ranks. At least she could be thankful not everyone was going to look down on her in this cult of his… Her eyes followed the door as it raised itself, revealing the fortress within. Mari took another deep breath while she looked it over, recognizing this as the place she’d be ‘trapped’ for the next while…

After a long enough look, she sighed “Sure.” and crossed her arms over her chest in waiting. “Where are we going first…?”

Gale shrugged. "Well, that depends on you. Do you want to see your quarters, maybe take a bath first? Or are you hungry? If so, then we can visit the kitchen and dining room."

He knew that the girl would probably want to eat first, but felt like giving her the choice would take away at least some of her resentment. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel trapped; even though she had been sentenced to be his apprentice by the court. Which was also why he had not yet spanked her for her rudeness.

Of course, her bare behind would still answer for all of her attitude and misdeeds later on...

“I don’t need a bath.” Marianna was quick to mouth him back, though the thin coating of coal dust still accenting her cheeks and hands said otherwise. Not to mention her ragged clothes and unkempt hair; perhaps a fairer statement would be to say she didn’t want a bath. If there was anything Mari hated more than guards, judges or merchants, it was water. That left seeing where she’d be staying, and having just escaped from one cell, she didn’t have much interest in quickly jumping to another one. The final option presented itself.

As if on cue, Mari’s stomach shriveled up like a hollow reminder of how long it had been since she had eaten anything substantial. The last time she felt like that, she had gotten caught with her hand on a merchant’s apple and that was what landed her in this mess in the first place. Crossing her arms over her eager stomach, Mari reluctantly answered “Let’s… eat first, or something…” Eyes still open and out like a hawk while she surveyed their surroundings.

"Mind your tone." Gale warned her. "You are part of a holy order now and represent all of us in public." He led her into a large building nearby that several people were constantly coming and going from.

The temple of Corean was much more well-lit that the jail, and it had paintings on the walls of knights and clerics slaying monsters or rescuing civilians. Some of the knights had names written over them, along with dates.

Gale led Mira past several men in armor, who gave her a quick look before deciding she must be a new recruit, then into a large room with about ten rows of tables and a large fire burning in the hearth. "I hope you like mutton stew." He said.

‘Mind your tone.’ Mari mockingly repeated to herself in thought alone, otherwise letting Gail’s warning slide without complaint. She didn’t take it to heart, of course, this dumb old knight still seemed to have the impression that he got to decide what she does. One week in this establishment and he’d learn she’s not his dog; and hopefully, be well underway of an escape plan that far into the future as well.

Even in her sullenness, though, Mari had to act like she wasn’t impressed when the dining hall was opened up for her viewing. She had never had a proper dining room, much less something as exquisite and rich as the table in front of her… she walked right past the waiting knights, eyes circling around the high ceiling.

“...hm.” She muttered. “I haven’t had it.” Walking right past Gail, Marianna helped herself, walking past countless paintings and nine chairs until she had reached the end of the table where a flickering fireplace awaited. She pulled out the nearest seat and angled it towards the fire, then dragging it a little closer, before she helped herself up and curled her legs up to her body, her feet on the chair.

Even in a world as unfamiliar to her as this one, fire was a constant. It was warm. It reminded her of her actual home. So she flocked to it like a moth, closing her eyes wholey expecting Gail to bring her food to her.

Gale got a bowl and used a ladle to scoop out some of the stew, then set the steaming bowl in front of her and pulled up a chair.

"Do you enjoy the fire?" He asked her. "I...tend to stay away from it. Fire is how I joined this order after all." He shuddered, then continued.

"We're not so different. I was a young thief once too, and just like you I got caught and was given a choice. I made the same decision as you."

Of course he stays away from fire, Mari reckoned. This man really was trying to be her opposite in every predictable way. Still, it was a pleasant surprise to her to hear the tinkering of bowls and spoons while a hot bowl of broth was pushed her way. The scent wafting from the wholesome meal got Mari’s nose quivering quick. Though she tried to fake disinterest, she couldn’t help herself - her eyes darted between the fire and the bowl time and time again.

‘Fire is how he joined the order.’ A boring story, she bet. And of course, this new origin story only raised more questions for her… like, was he also picked up by a bully who threatened to spank him? Maybe that’d explain why he is the way he is. Not a question Mari was interested in asking though, she was more than content to simply assume. So she rolled her neck back and perked up a brow at Gail, still pretending to not be interested in her soup.

She didn’t respond at first. Her gaze with the man broke fast and she looked away, back to the safety of the fire. Her fingers tapped along the end of her chair… and the charade couldn’t last forever. Indignantly, she grabbed her soup and brought it over to her lap and off the table, the warmth of the hot meal only helping her feel safer.

After a troubled second, she muttered “Fire… keeps me safe.” As a simple response to his previous question. Then after, she paused, to hold her spoon up to her lips - she took a sip of the beefy broth, swallowing it harshly down a dry throat. It sat well in her stomach, a welcome change from her usual meal of stolen apples and old cheese or, if she was lucky, the occasional, unlucky rabbit. “What happened to you?” She asked after. Then, taking another sip.

Spoons were so ineffective. Marianna moved hers to the side and instead took another sip of the stew with both hands like she were drinking from a glass. She lowered the bowl with a little ring of soup left around her lips, which she cleaned most of up with a forked tongue.

Gale grinned a little at Mari's poor table manners. He would have to work on that with her later. Once she had been sufficiently tamed to listen to him.

"I was apprenticed to a knight of the silver order at first." Gale explained to her. "They are another order of Corean's knight, though unlike our gold order they are assigned to scout and spy upon evil and threats to the church." He shrugged. "The judge thought my abilities as a thief would come in handy in that line of work."

The knight leaned back. "One day my master and I were on the trail of a cultist of Mormo, titan of serpents and witches. Unfortunately, she set an ambush and I fell for it. She cast a fireball spell at us, and my master tried to push me out of the way, but it was too late."

He paused. "That fireball burned most of the skin from my body. The next one though, that was the one that killed me."

In her haste to sip down her delicious soup, Mari had already gotten ahead of herself and the hot broth quickly burned her tongue. She pulled back with a quiet whimper, glaring at her own soup with a look of betrayal while Gale told his story. Truth be told, she couldn’t be less interested in the old man’s origin at first; but she began to pick up bits and pieces from the little she was listening.

She went in for another sip of soup, but this time held back a little, quiet enough to hear Gale’s voice over her own slurps. Hm. So the old man wasn’t so boring after all. Mari wasn’t about to give him the pleasure of knowing she thought as much, though, so she turned to her bowl again while the last of her soup was taken down in one big, long, final sip.

Pulling back from her bowl, she put it on the table, wiping off the residue left on her lips with her sleeve. Marianna stared into the fire while thinking of a proper response… she had heard tales of magic before, of course. Magic that burns; magic that freezes; magic that kills, and magic that raises the dead. She never thought to bother with it. Her heritage gave her the slightest control over flames, and that was more than she needed.

“It wouldn’t have killed me.” She blurted out first. Then thinking on that, decided it was smart to elaborate. “Fire is nice to me. It doesn’t hurt.” Marianna… rather insensitively boasted. “So I guess that makes you a zombie, then.”