The odd location gave Nicora some trouble at first, since she was expecting someplace more run down and abandoned looking. This particular plaza doesn't have much traffic though, and it isn't clear which doors are residences and which are shops - some have signs and other are unmarked. There's light escaping from the bottom of the door, however, showing that someone must be behind it.
Nicora rubs her forehead. She has a bad feeling about this. People are here, and the sigils. This is probably someone she is expected to punish in some fashion.
Nicora presses her ear to the door to listen first before knocking.
There are sounds from beyond the door as well; mostly muttered complaints. "Stop spilling so much stuffing, Junthaton!" a raspy voice squeaks from within.
"Yes, I believe I'm right about this," Nicora thinks, frowning. So, she reaches out and knocks on the door.
The door is opened by a wizened old bat with withered wings and a long wispy beard hanging from his chin. He looks Nicora up and down, and registers some surprise. "Well well.. an actual customer?" he rasps. One might expect him to actually exhale dust, but he doesn't.
"Not exactly. I am here on the Path," Nicora answers softly as she eyes the old man. "This is the fifth station for me."
"Fifth you say?" the old man asks. "Huh, one of Gorphat's then. Unexpected. Unexpected indeed," he notes, then opens the door to let Nicora in. "Best come in then. Yes, best indeed, I'm certain."
"What exactly is this place?" Nicora asks as she steps through the doorway. "And yes, I am being ... groomed by Mother Gorphat."
The main room of the Fifth Station is full of plush toys, of all things. Fnerfs, Eees, Chibix and others (even a long plush Naga) fill the wall-covering shelves, all grinning stupidly and looking down with shiny button eyes. A young Eeee works at a table covered in supplies, assembling a plush bug of some kind. "I am Master Parmillo," the old man tells Nicora. "Have you been given a name yet?"
"Given? I have a name, but I have not been given one, no," Nicora says, brow furrowed. "There isn't much help on this path, so I'm ... learning as I go."
"Mmmm," the old man goes. He picks up a lamp, and gestures for Nicora to follow him. "I will call you Acolyte then," he says. "I think that is the protocol. It has been awhile.."
"Am I expected to be renamed? Ah, by whom?" Nicora ends up asking, ears flicking as she looks around the weird shop, then follows after the old man.
"Dunno, not my department," Parmillo claims. "But Yodh's usually get new names. Stands to reason. New family, new name," he prattles, and takes Nicora down a narrow hall. They pass a door marked with the rune of Rephath, and then on the opposite wall is one for Gorphat. Parmillo hands over the lantern while he futzes with a key ring to find the one that unlocks the door.
"Now I wonder what I'll be called. Great. Something else to worry about," Nicora thinks. "What exactly is behind these doors?" she asks. They remind her of cells, but in a toy shop?
"Classrooms, I suppose," the old man says as he finds the right key. The door hinges creak horribly, but Nicora soon finds herself in a small room with a stool, a table, lots of bins and strange markings on the floor. Once she's inside, bottle of green goo hanging from the walls begin to glow.
Nicora steps through with her arms wrapped around herself protectively. "What do I do?" she asks, uncertain. She takes a few steps towards the bin and peers at them. A slidelong glance at the jars and she wonders if she is expected to coat herself in goo.
"Let's see," Parmillo says, taking a leather-bound book from a nearby shelf and blowing (or wheezing) the dust off of it before opening it up. "Mmmm.. yes.. ah.. hmm," he mutters. "You've gone through puberty, right?" he asks suddenly.
"Yes?" Nicora answers. She's a full adult, at least. She never went through a female's puberty, but maybe that doesn't matter.
"Oh, have a seat," the man notes. "The stool is for you. Now then.. ah.. okay, gone through that.. so this probably can be skipped over.. hmm. Aha! Have you currently got a blessing from Gorphat?"
Nicora sits on the stool and folds her hands in her lap. "I do. It's not active right now, but I do. She has made sure that it is .. difficult for me to enjoy sex," she admits.
"Okay then.. let's see.. 'go to page twenty-six'.." Parmillo mutters as he flips through the book. He clears his throat, and recites, "Now is the time for a budding Yodhgorphat to make her first curse fetish. During your life, you will likely make dozens or hundreds, but this first one is special and will be the easiest, making use of the Blessing you already possess."
Nicora blinks. "I'm not sure how to make a curse fetish. Particularly not representative of the blessing from my Mother," she admits and wrings her hands, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"I'm sure it's easy," Parmillo claims, and reads on. "In this room you will find all that you need to create the fetish. First, you must select a subject to inflict the Blessing upon. This must be someone you think will benefit from the lesson of the Blessing, or someone you just don't like very much or want to prank. Name the subject you have chosen!"
"Councilman Khanti," Nicora declares, "For his crimes against women and the citizens of Babel."
"Alright.. let's see.." Parmillo says, running a finger along the page. "You are to select the pieces of the fetish that will match your subject as closely as possible," he says, and then gestures to the bins.
Nicora rises from the stool and digs through the bin. She finds a weather-worn 'Eeee' wings, an armature for a doll, and even representations of gender and some fabric and fur. She also grabs what looks like leftover stuffing so that she can make the doll fatter, then also digs around and extracts some 'fancy' looking old doll clothes that'll look a bit too small on the figure. "I believe this will represent the old man quite well once it is made into a doll," she claims, going back to the stool and settling down.
"You do know how to use a needle and thread, I assume?" the old man asks.
"Yes," Nicora says. And it is true. The bat mended plenty of clothes in her time, after all.
It takes some time to get it looking just right, but eventually Nicora has a six-inch tall button-eyed, hunched, overweight doll with a scowl stitched into his face and a set of wooden wedding tackle that may or may not be life-sized.
Nicora isn't even sure how long it took; focus on threading and delicately stitching the doll together occupied all her thought. When she's done, she asks, "Do all Yodhgorphat carry a blessing from Her?"
Parmillo snorts and wakes up, having dozed off leaning against the wall. "What? Well, I would expect so. At least during the Path. Keeps the mind focused, or something. Usually the acolytes are younger girls, mind you.."
"Are you calling me old? I could change this fetish," Nicora warns.
"Eh, you don't go cursing other Yodh or Temple Servants, not until you've got seniority," the old man claims. "Hmm, ugly little man, isn't he?" he asks, leaning in too look closer at the fetish. He then consults the book again. "I think you're ready to inflict the Blessing now. According to this, you have to invoke it, then lick the fetish in the appropriate area after reciting, 'Gorphat, bless this Insert Victim Name Here with your grace, through me your vessel' ten times or so, until you see the spot glow."
Nicora gets a strange look on her face on what she has to lick. While she's learned how to ... do that with people she likes, this makes it rather ... gross. But ... she's here to do this part of the path, and she will. So, for the first part she closes her own eyes so she doesn't have to think about the old man being there, then reaches within her clothing to use her fingers to invoke Gorphat's blessing. The first part is, well, it always feels good and reminds her how much she's grown to like being female. But once the burst of pleasure passes and the cramp kicks in, she hates it! So, glowering and looking in pain, she lifts the ugly fetish and licks it with her long tongue over the representation of the Councilman's parts. "Gorphat, bless Khanti with your grace, through me, your vessel," she recites softly, but firmly. Again she licks the doll, and recites. One thing can be said for her blessing; it's painful to the point she's feeling vindictive herself!
This time the Blessing is extra painful - just as she requested from Gorphat. At least it distracts from the licking. It takes twelve licks, and on the last one she's sure she tastes flesh instead of wood, but then she notices a slight greenish glow. It doesn't illuminate anything else, so must be a spirit glow of some sort.
One more lick follows that, then Nicora tells the old man, "It is glowing now." She's also shifting about uncomfortably given the knot she feels in her loins.
"Huh?" Parmillo asks, startling awake again. "Oh, good. Or bad. For him. Probably. What's the Blessing do, if I might ask?"
"Well, for me my insides ... cramp badly whenever I feel pleasure from sexual acts," Nicora admits.
"Muscle cramp?" the man asks.
"Yes," Nicora says, "And burning."
"And the subject is a male, so.. huh, wonder how that will translate?" Parmillo muses.
"However it does, I hope he's very uncomfortable," Nicora remarks rather dryly.
"I'll have to listen to gossip again just to see if I hear anything," the old man says with a bit of a sinister leer. "Well, I supposed you've passed the test. Keep the fetish, of course. And come back when you're ready to learn the full art of making one from scratch."
"IS this all I had to do here?" Nicora asks, surprised. "The other trials were ... rougher."
"This is the practical education part of the Path now," Parmillo notes. "So you learn practical things a Yodhgorphat needs. Next one is bit more of a challenge, I believe."
Nicora's brow arches again, but then she rises and bows a bit painfully. "Thank you for your guidance. Am I to return to the temple now?" she asks.
"And only two more to go and I will be declared a Yodhgorphat," Nicora also thinks. Boy does her gut feel like it sinks.
"Well.. I suppose so," the old bat notes. "I mean you have to somewhere. I assume you live at the Temple anyway, don't you? Is anyone still there?"
"Just me generally," Nicora admits, "It gets lonely."
"Well, kidnap someone to entertain you," Parmillo suggests, setting the book back into place. "That's what all the other Yodh do, I think."
"You seem to be free," Nicora teases with a smirk.
"Someone has to keep beating Junthaton or he'll never learn his lessons," the old man claims. "Always overstuffing! He doesn't get that that will make the seams pop on the first squeeze!"
"Some people might like that," Nicora teases again then offers her arm to the older Eeee to escort him out (or him escort her). Or maybe as a test to see if he'll even touch her.
"Carry the lantern," the old man says, before taking Nicora's offered arm. The man may weigh next to nothing, but Nicora is having issues with walking at the moment, thanks to the Blessing making it seem like she's got a burning rock between her legs.
Nicora takes the lantern and as they leave the chanmber, she has a very strange gait indeed, one trying to minimize any sort of rubbing at all. Which .... is practically impossible for a female.
"You did ask for it," Nicora reminds herself in thought. "The horribs weren't at least oainful. Well, unless they hatched anyway."
Back in the main room, surrounded by stuffed toys, Nicora is ready to sit down again (or at least spread her legs out, or sit in a tub of ice). Young Junthaton is working on another doll already, this one of.. a horrib? Who would possibly want a stuffed horrib toy?
Apparently, Nicora because she goes over. "Oh! How long will this take to make?" she asks as she finds a place to sit and spread her legs some. "I would be happy if you made me one."
"Um.." Junthaton says, before looking to Master Parmillo for guidance. "Why are you making that horrible thing anyway? Let the crazy woman have it when you finish," the old man says.
"Crazy?" Nicora asks and eyes the old man. "Why do you call me such?"
"Because you want a stuffed toy horrib of course," Parmillo notes. "Can you honestly tell me a sane person would want that?"
"They can be helpful in punishing criminals," Nicora points out, "And are sacred to Gorphat."
"And I have grown fond of them," she adds.
"Hmmm," Parmillo says, looking not quite convinced. "In any case, I couldn't sell the thing."
"Uh.. miss.." Junthaton says quietly, "what color eyes do you want?"
Nicora absently rubs her stomach again; the experience with the horribs still fresh in her mind, as well as the strange urge to be re-laid, so to speak. "Green," she tells the boy, "For Gorphat."
Bright green buttons (six of them) go to make the eyes of the plushie. After the last few stitches, Junthaton presents it shyly to Nicora.
Nicora takes it, then actually leans in and kisses Junthaton's forehead. "Thank you," she murmurs to him. "I will treasure it."
Apparently the boy doesn't know about the Yodhgorphat, or he'd probably go run to wash his forehead after that. Instead he just smiles and goes back to work, pulling the next pattern from a pile.
"Particularly since I am not allowed to see the real one until the path is complete," Nicora thinks as she tucks the stuffie away and rises, ready to leave them to their work. "I will leave you now, thank you for your assistance."
Parmillo nods his head in a sort of bow. "Be safe on your Path. Don't eat anything that looks really runny, either. Watch out for glowing puddles. Don't wash the fetish or the plush, it will cause the stuffing to rot."
"Don't you know that everything a Yodhgorphat eats is runny and green," Nicora teases as she bows again, then slips out the door.
The Blessing, thankfully, did not hinder flying. Which also gave Nicora a chance to 'cool things off' with a good breeze. The Temple is the same cheerful ruin as always, at least.
Nicora lands and hobbles her way to her small 'room' at the temple where she deposits the fetsh on a table and places the stuffie on her 'bed'. Then it's back to the main altar, where she kneels down to pray. "/I have completed the fifth station of the Path, and will soon embark on the sixth,/" she prays, "/May I be strong enough to complete it and then the last, and bring you honor as your new Daughter."
"I'm pleased," the altar seems to respond, at lease in Nicora's head. "You have inflicted pain on another, in My name. This is an important step."
"Someone who deserved to be taught a lesson. Someone who seeks to corrupt BAbel and take it even farther from you," Nicora thinks, "And your blessing, which is supreme agony, was a boon in giving him this lesson."
"Remember, though, that everyone is worthy of my Blessing," Gorphat notes. "Do not use it solely on those who you feel deserve pain."
"I understand," Nicora thinks. "The old man said your daughters are given new names. Am I to be named as well?"
"You will receive a proper Yodhgorphat name when you have completed the Path," Gorphat replies.
"Is there anything you wish of me while I am here, Mother?" Nicora thinks, "Any way I may serve you?"
"The Sixth Station will require you to go out into the Undercity," Gorphat claims. "You will need to find an area ripe for cleansing. There is no reason you cannot locate this area beforehand."
"I see. I can use the maps here to locate areas to check. Thank you, Mother. I will go dress appropriately for your temple, then go to the map room," Nicora thinks.
The map room isn't exactly convenient to get to, but Nicora knows the way by heart now. After changing, she makes her way through the tunnels and caves to the miniature representation of Babel.
And occasionally scratching herself along the way. The green goo is not exactly soothing to her skin. Once she reaches the map room, she circles it slowly, making her way towards the 'domain' controlled by the bar Abbas family.
The bar Abbas holdings include several towers and plazas near the farthest edge of the city, with only the rim-wall mountains separating them from the Valley of Mists.. but not by much. The buildings aren't the tallest, but rather squat and sturdy, looking like fortresses if anything. A single 'road' connects the territory to the rest of the city.
Nicora leans in and looks for sections of undercity near it. It might motivate them to make a mistake of 'cleansing' was done there. But other options are there too, so she'll look over the map for alternate ideas.
Not too far from the bar Abbas holdings is a small, old plaza in the Undercity that has a tiny fountain and statues. The details aren't that great, but it could be the one mentioned by the orphans.
Nicora taps that statue. "I need to check this place. If it's the orphan's place, then maybe I can find their parents. Intact, hopefully," she muses.
The area doesn't seem that far from the Temple of Gorphat, at least on the scale of the map. It's further from the Sixth Station though.
"I guess I will be going out again today," Nicora remarks to herself as she straightens up. "And changing clothes. I can't go like this."
Nicora is perhaps the most active Yodhgorphat there has ever been. She has changed clothes twice today, and it involves scrubbing off the green goo this time and putting on typical citizens garb in preparation to head back out in the city. She also makes sure she had her dagger this time as the undercity can be dangerous. Very dangerous. And exploring near crazed cultists lairs probably borders on lunacy. But, what can she do? She has tasks to complete and she has to identify places to complete them at. So, after an hour of scrubbing, a normal-looking Eeee heads back out in the city to hunt for cultist coven, lair, hole, orgy-pile, or whatever it is they're calling it these days.