Servant of the Serpent

Vipers that Cannot be Charmed

Sheppard leans back, wrinkled hands straightening the blood-red stole. "It's not necessarily a bad thing. Only, it's a bit concerning considering what he did to the last person who got too attached."

Eben scowled. "You mean Helia, right? Adder did nothing wrong, she asked him to do it!"

Sheppard nods, face mimicking a sorrowful expression. "Yes, did Adder explain why?"

At the shake of Eben's head, the priest continues. "Helia had been assigned as Adder's servant for her crime of practicing witchcraft. She was committed to redeeming herself to the church through her service."

The priest pauses just before a crack of thunder reverberates in the room, sending a chill down the half-elf's spine.

"However, she came to view Adder as more than just her duty. She began to see him as her son."

"So what? What's wrong with that?"

Sheppard grimaces, seemingly showing true emotion for once. "The issue is Adder isn't human. He wasn't her child, he is a monster. When she couldn't accept the fact I couldn't change that, she chose to end her life."

The priest's eyes burn into Eben's. "Don't forget; you are not here to be Adder's new toy. You are here to make sure he keeps Nǣdre Tor safe. Do not make the same mistake Helia did, or there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

Eben meets the priest's eyes, stubbornly refusing to respond.

"I said—" The priest snaps his fingers, causing the snake around Eben's throat to constrict. "Do you understand?"

Eben chokes, hands scrabbling at his neck as he finally gives in. "gkk— yes!"

The pressure releases. Eben coughs as he gasps for precious air.

Sheppard grins smugly. "Good."

The priest reaches over to the wall where Eben can see a set of servant bells on the wall. A few minutes after ringing, a set of nuns appear.

"Take this one to the infirmary. Inform Sister Daisy to report to me come morning."

The women nod demurely, picking up Eben by his armpits and roughly dragging him to his fate. Eben sighs, recognizing an eerie sense of deja vu. How many times can one man tolerate being manhandled by nuns?

The nuns carry Eben through a winding corridor lit only by the light of their lanterns. The pain in his side throbs with each jostle, and he bites his cheek to suppress a groan.

As they enter the infirmary, Eben takes a glance around the room. He observes that he is in a large, sparsely furnished room. There are quite a few cots that line the infirmary as if they were prepared at any moment to house a crowd of injured townsfolk.

A single oil lamp on a nearby table casts a dim glow around the room. Eben watches it as he turns over the night's occurrences in his mind. One of the women, a greying elder, begins to treat his wounds

"So is Fern really going to be punished? She was only protecting the town...she didn't attack any of the villagers."

The nun gives a quick tug of Eben's wrappings, causing the half-elf to gasp in pain. "It's not my place to say what will happen to Sister Fern, but she did break one of Father Sheppard's most important rules."

Eben's hand comes to rest over his injury, now wrapped securely under layers of gauze. He was definitely missing the vampire's impeccable bedside manners.

"What rule did she break?"

The other woman speaks up, eyes downcast. "She intentionally resisted suppressing her vampiric nature, and exposed the villagers to her darkness."