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It was a stupid dare. Spend a night in the abandoned temple's library as a way of proving she had what it took for the other adventurers to accept her into their ranks and send her on a mission where there was real danger. She'd found somewhere out of the way and away from the main entrance in case someone decided to prank her. There was a defensible corner in one of the shelving sections: good sight lines, plenty of exits, and no obvious windows to let the sun in, when it rose. If anyone came in, looking for something valuable, they would be disappointed by the empty shelves and leave. All she had to do was wait until sunrise and then return to the group with—
"Aw, shit," Siren said. "I forgot about the proof."
There was one additional requirement: as proof that she had spent the entire night there and hadn't been mauled by anything, she had to bring back a medal that was supposedly hidden in the library during the day. Where the medal was, she didn't know. What the medal looked like, she didn't know. To make it even more frustratingly difficult, there hadn't been any hints given as to where to look for it. So, instead of a night spent watching for threats, she would have to look for the medal, hope she found it early, and then spend the night watching for threats.
One of the first things Siren had learned was how to make sure no potential resource or hiding place escaped her notice. Any abandoned building, convoy, or place had to be examined carefully to see if it had inhabitants, then examined again to see if it had traps or signs of ownership. Once it was clear nobody as coming back to that place, then it would be methodically stripped of anything useful and the useful parts returned to the town, distributed according to whatever needed the most attention at the time. The adventurers were an essential part of ensuring that the town could not only survive with what it had, but have enough left over to support children and those who could teach others, even if they couldn't take a turn at the work themselves. Siren knew she had what it took to be an adventurer, but she still had to prove it to them.
Her sentry area was empty of anything that could have been taken by one person. The spaces adjacent to them were also empty. She was about to head into the tall shelves when someone else made themselves known to her.
"Can I help you with something?"
Siren managed not to scream. Barely. She turned to the source of the voice and saw another woman, a flameless lantern held aloft, the light gently filling the space.
"No." Siren said, and was proud that it come out firm, rather than wobbly.
"Liar," the woman said, an impish smile on her face. "My first trainee! I wonder which branch you are from." She raised the lantern a little higher, trying to get more light to fall on Siren's face and see her more clearly.
"Trainee?" Siren asked, before she could stop herself.
The other woman nodded. "My predecessor mentioned all the groups around here think spending a night in the library proves the trainees are brave enough to go outside. Just because we haven't had permission to connect with the main branch until now doesn't mean this is someone's scary ruins…" Realizing she was rambling, the other woman stopped. "What's your name?" she asked.
Siren kept her mouth shut. If this woman didn't know her name, she couldn't report back to the adventurers that Siren had failed at her task.
"I can tell you there's nothing here for you to find. What books we have are in a different part of the temple, so you were going to find me sooner rather than later," the woman said. "Whatever it is you're looking for, it's probably on the actual bookshelves." Nodding to Siren, the woman headed back into the tall shelves, the light from her lantern swallowed almost immediately by the structures around her.
Siren had never seen anyone near the temple in her lifetime, and neither had anyone else in the town. Yet this strange woman sounded it like it belonged to her, and the talk about the "main branch," whatever that meant, suggested this stranger had come from somewhere else than this town. The stories the adventurers told suggested there had been many more humans in the world, with their traps and ownership markers scattered around, but the adventurers had never mentioned meeting other humans in their travels. As far as anyone in the town knew, it was the only town in existence with humans.
Siren hurried after the other woman, suspending the hunt for proof in favor of possibly having some questions answered. In the main devotional space of the temple, the woman turned around to see her again.
"Siren," Siren said. "My name's Siren."
"Do you sing?" the other woman asked her.
Siren nodded. That seemed safe enough to admit to.
"Hmm," the other woman said. "I'm Astrid." Then, unprompted, Astrid sang a note that filled Siren's ears and the space of the devotional, lingering for some time after Astrid stopped providing the note.
"What…?" Siren said, dumbfounded at how a small woman filled a large space.
"The acoustics are always wonderful in a temple that expects singing," Astrid said, as if that explained anything. "Did you want to try?"
Siren shook her head. Astrid had probably made enough noise to attract anyone who had an interest in hurting young women out past dark. The best thing for them to do was go somewhere else, and quickly.
"All right," Astrid shrugged, and continued crossing the devotional space to the other side. After a little, she pushed on a door and it sung wide, revealing a living space outfitted with several strange objects, completely illuminated from another flameless lantern, this one embedded in the ceiling of the room.
"I'll admit, it was a trial getting the solar panels and batteries reconnected to the mains, but everything seems to be holding. After a few days, I think I'll have enough charge to bring the rest of the temple back on-line." Astrid did something to her handheld lantern, and the light stopped pouring from it. Setting it aside, she turned to Siren. "Would you like something to drink? It gets cold out there at night."
Siren nodded, not entirely trusting that words would work for her as she examined the living space. The things in here were of a crafting skill far beyond her understanding. The room was warm, but she could not see any fire. Astrid touched one of the objects, then scooped some dried leaves into two identical-looking cups. Tea, at least, she could understand, even if there had never been any cups in the town that looked that much the same. The potter rarely did anything the same way twice. It made it easy to know whose cup was whose when there were gatherings.
Astrid offered Siren a chair. "You look distressed," she said. "Can I answer questions while the water boils?"
Siren sat down. "Who are you?" she started with, since it seemed the easiest question to ask.
"Astrid Librum. I'm the Priestess-Caretaker of this branch of the temple. It looks like I don't get a support staff, though, so that's going to be an issue. I'm not entirely sure the engineers did everything they were supposed to, either, since they left the reconnection to me, rather than just letting me throw the switch. No matter."
"What does that any of that mean?" Siren asked. The device Astrid had touched earlier make a loud clacking sound, and Astrid poured water from it into the cups. Whatever Astrid had put in to make tea with smelled different than anything Siren had experienced.
"It'll be a little before it's ready," Astrid said, retaking her chair. "As for what it means, well, it means there's going to be a lot of change in town and around. Everyone is very excited to get to know all of you and write down what you remember."
"Everyone?" Siren said.
Astrid's eyebrows knitted in confusion for a moment, before straightening. "Oh. You don't know, do you?"
Siren shook her head.
"Right," Astrid said. "You know there's an entire world out there beyond your town, right?"
"Yes," Siren said, "but the adventurers have never found any sign of other people or towns."
"Ah, yes, you are fairly isolated from other towns. It takes a while to get here from the nearest place, and if you're just scavenging, rather than exploring, it makes sense that you haven't found somewhere else. That's what I'm here for: to oversee your town's reintegration into wider society."
"Why?"
Astrid delayed answering by going over to the cups and handing one of them, still warm, to Siren.
"Because isolation breeds fear and conflict," Astrid said. "Johanna, my predecessor, sent for me and said you were ready, well ahead of what she'd believed, when you helped Gareth on his way to somewhere else." She sipped her tea and smiled with contentment.
"Help's a strong word to use there," Siren said, watching to make sure nothing terrible happened to Astrid from the tea. "He stole much more from us than we gave him."
"You didn't kill him," Astrid said solemnly. "There are many places we're still watching that will, just for being different, much less for taking from them."
Siren thought about that, decided the tea was safe enough to drink, and then thought more.
"Joanna? Our healer? The one who died last year? She was a…whatever you are?"
"She was a Priestess of the Knowing, yes."
A crunching sound from outside the door turned both of their heads.
"Probably another trainee," Astrid said, getting up to retrieve her lantern. "Two in one night."
Siren shook her head. "Trainees are supposed to be quiet, and not seen or heard." There was a beat as Siren silently acknowledged her failure on that part.
"Hmm," Astrid said, picking up her lantern. "What do you think we should do, then?"
"I'll go and see," Siren said, immediately. Bravery was a required part of being an adventurer, and even if she wasn't going to succeed at being an adventurer tonight, this was familiar territory. "Can you turn the lantern off so they won't see me?"
Astrid nodded, and touched a spot on the wall. Siren opened the door a bit to look out into the main space, and saw two people she knew weren't from the town working on one of the stones in the floor.
"Got to be the place they're hiding treasures," one said quietly to another. "Loose stones are a giveaway."
Siren was used to loose stones in town as things that you had to be careful of, or you would trip on them. The thought that anyone would put in all the effort to hide something under a heavy stone, and then have to lift the stone again and again didn't make sense to her, except maybe as exercise to make yourself stronger. Or if some trainee had an idea about how to make it easier to lift stones.
Once she had a clearer look at them in the moonlight, she saw both of them were men, and they were not approaching the problem of getting the stone up with any kind of skill.
"What are you doing?" Siren said to them. They hadn't heard her coming, and they pointed their tools at her as if they were weapons.
"Oh," one of the men said. "Just a girl out past her bedtime. Looking for treasure, too, girlie?"
"No," Siren said. "There's nothing here. The shelves are empty."
"There's always treasure," the other man said. "And we're going to take it. Don't try to stop us."
"I'm not," Siren said. "But there's nothing here."
The two men looked at each other. "Or maybe you're the one who can lead us to it," the first man said.
"More like she is the treasure," the second man said. "We should take her back with us."
"That's…not a great idea," Siren said. Usually, being seen was enough to make someone who had ideas stop. These men weren't stopping. She hadn't believed people who didn't stop when asked existed.
This entire night was turning out to be full of things Siren hadn't believed existed.
The men advanced on Siren, who backed up toward the wall of the main space. She had been trained to deal with situations like this, but her training wasn't helping her at the moment, other than to tell her to find somewhere better than here to engage. She didn't know where Astrid's door was, and she didn't want to look behind her in case that was the moment the men decided to attack.
A flare of light from behind her focused on the two men, who blinked and shielded themselves from the sudden brightness.
"What are you doing in my temple?" Astrid's voice reverberated in the space, sounding far more like an angry goddess than the talkative priestess.
The two men backed up several steps, still shielding their eyes from the brightness that followed them.
"You are defiling my sacred space. Leave now, or suffer my wrath." Astrid's voice growled.
Convinced they were in a situation they could not control, the men fled from the temple. As soon as they had left, Astrid's lantern turned off, leaving only the moonlight and the shadows.
"I told you, the acoustics are lovely in here," Astrid said, laughing as she came up next to Siren. "Sometimes they're useful for more than singing."
"I—I couldn't—" Siren said, her mind still replaying what she had just experienced. "I…I guess I'm not cut out to be an adventurer."
"Would you like to be a Priestess of the Knowing, then?" Astrid asked smoothly. "I'm going to need smart and brave people like you to help get this temple running again, and to tell me when the time is right to introduce more of the outside world to this town."
"What?" Siren said, turning to Astrid. "You just saw I'm not brave, and I'm not smart."
"Someone who can absorb new things and not flee in terror is both smart and brave," Astrid said. "Also, I like you. You're pretty, and I think I will enjoy your company."
Johanna had said much the same thing to her, when she had tried to learn the names and the uses of the healing herbs and techniques for use while adventuring. She'd mentioned that sirens were beautiful in body as well as voice, and suggested that Siren would have no trouble catching the eye of the right person for her. Siren had been patiently waiting for someone in the town to notice her, but none of the other girls seemed to take the slightest interest. Johanna seemed to be the only person in the town who understood who Siren was waiting for, but the only thing she'd ever counseled was patience. Knowing what she knew now about Johanna, maybe Johanna had Astrid in mind when she was telling Siren to wait.
"Would you like to finish your cup of tea?" Astrid said. "I think it's just as good cooled as warmed, but if need be, we can add some heat back into it."
"Shouldn't we fix the stone?" Siren said, grasping for anything that could anchor her back from her mind trying to fly away.
"Do you want to wake up the stonemason in the middle of the night?" Astrid replied.
Siren shook her head. Astrid was right, there was no point in trying to fix things now.
"I should stay here. Those men might come back, and someone should be here to drive them off," she said. "I'll get my things and camp out here."
"Don't you need to find your trinket for the adventurers?" Astrid asked.
Siren shrugged. "I've already failed at becoming one of them. No point in looking for it now."
Astrid seemed to consider this, then picked up Siren's hands and kissed each one. "Thank you for protecting me," she said. "I'll make some more tea while you move your equipment."
Siren watched Astrid return to her living space and close the door before her body responded to the need to go get her supplies. Was it so obvious to Astrid (and to Johanna before her) what Siren wanted? And if so, why hadn't anyone else noticed in town? She couldn't possibly be the only person who was waiting for a girl.
Astrid was waiting for her when she returned, having set up a small table and some chairs to hold the tea and themselves.
"What does it take to be a Priestess of the Knowing?" Siren asked, sitting in the comfortable chair and sipping the tea.
"Officially, enough studies to perform all the rituals yourself." Astrid took a drink of her tea, smiling at the flavor. "Unofficially, it seems to be very useful to be someone who looks appreciatively at women more than men. Keeps you out of trouble when you're on assignment," she said, smiling at Siren.
"And…you are?" Siren said, not sure why she was asking.
"Yes," Astrid said brightly. "It can be lonely, though, looking at all the pretty girls and not knowing whether any of them will admit to themselves or to you that they think you're pretty."
"But you are," Siren said. "Pretty, that is. Everyone in town would be interested in you."
"Hrm," Astrid said, appearing to think on that. "I think you might be surprised." Siren's confusion must have been apparent, because Astrid continued. "I won't say that working with me will be easy. You're probably going to have to do a lot of talking on my behalf to the people in town, to get what we need to repair and restore the temple. And then a lot more talking on my behalf to try and get the town ready for reconnection. It's going to be scary. But I think you're brave enough and pretty enough to make it happen. What do you say? Would you like to sing your siren song for more than just me?"
Siren studied Astrid, with her bright smile and strange offers. She'd seen some of what Astrid had and could already do, and she didn't know what else would happen if she stayed with her. But she felt her heart tug at the possibility of creating a world where she wouldn't have to wait, where she could be like Astrid and make it okay for other girls to stop waiting and start finding other girls.
"Yes," Siren said.
Astrid's smile gave enough light to match the flameless lantern. "Oh, yay! I have someone to help. I could kiss you. Can I kiss you?"
Siren swallowed and nodded, and then Astrid's lips were on hers, energy and love and the feeling of belonging all wrapped up in that kiss. Astrid hugged her and kissed her, and when they broke, Siren knew that she was committed to see this through, because she wanted more of that feeling in her life.
"Good night, Siren. We have a busy day tomorrow," Astrid said, bounding up from the chair and heading back to her living space. "I'm looking forward to kissing you more, too," she added before closing the door.