The Temple of Distress
© 2021 by Walter Reimer


Thumbnail art by  dragonmelde, color and composition by  marmelmm



The ceasefire was still holding, and the captains were all being briefed on the status of the talks going on between what was left of the Confederacy and the Empire. Ships were still sent out on patrol, to remind the Terrans that the Kashlani were still taking a keen interest in what they might be up to.

The captains and Command-Seconds were also receiving intelligence briefings based on data acquired by clandestine forays across the arbitrary line in space. Terran capital ships were being withdrawn from neighboring space and were observed headed further Coreward. Threats and Assessments Section held the opinion that the heaviest weight of the Terran Fleet was being positioned to maintain public order after their “emperor” submitted to the Sovereign’s demand.

In her office aboard the Bōank, Varan sat back and sighed. Patrol duty was a bit boring, and with the added stress of being on alert while patrolling the crew was spending quite a lot of their off-duty time at Point Mu’s recreation centers. The Support Department’s mobile stations were also seeing a great deal of use.

Aka, a commander had the same opportunities, and she’d just finished the last of her reports. She smiled, checking her messages and seeing that there was a game module waiting for her, along with a note from Meredith:

My love,
You may find that time is important for this part of the game.

Varan frowned at that. What were those perverse, mentally deficient game designers making her and the mare’s players do? she wondered as she accessed the module and watched the previous save unfold before her, pleased that she and Meredith knew each other’s players well enough that each could play as the other with no discrepancies.

A conundrum: There was a temple in the elephant village, likely harboring something important, but they had to get in, retrieve it, and get out with enough time to perform a purification ritual. As a mage, the vir’s character could simply burn her corruption, using it as another source of mana; Meredith’s paladin, on the other hand, could be in trouble.

And the shapeshifting talisman in the paladin’s anus was already causing her problems.

She set aside part of the day, reserving time in one of the station’s simulators, and arranging to bring a small basket of refreshments with her. With those arrangements concluded, the vir went to her quarters to read the rest of Meredith’s message.

It would be unseemly for the captain to be caught masturbating in her office.

After she got cleaned up, she collected her basket and took a shuttle to the station. The module loaded, and she entered when it announced that the game was in progress.


***


“Are you all right?” mouse-Varan said as the pair made their way down the trail that led to the village. The transformed paladin, usually quite sure-hoofed, had stumbled a few times clambering over rocks.

“Not used to this form,” mouse-Meredith grumbled.

“Are you still feeling itchy back there?”

The mare paused and thought for a moment, her ears swiveling. “Sort of – throbbing? Like it’s changing shape inside me, but slowly,” Meredith said. “The faster we get this done, the faster I can get this out of me.”

“True. And the faster I can cleanse the corruption from you.”

The trail opened out to a road leading into the village, with a few elephants out on the road. None of them challenged the two transformed adventurers, indicating that the talismans were working. The village was laid out in a fairly similar manner to other places they’d visited throughout the course of the game, with the Temple of Distress facing the main square.

Two cow elephants in armor stood on either side of the door, and gave the disguised pair a courteous nod as they went inside, pausing to let their eyes adjust to the light. “So far, so good,” Meredith muttered.

The nave of the Temple of Distress was built to the scale of the village’s inhabitants. The ceiling loomed ten meters over their heads, and the nave of the building stretched fifty meters across. At the far end of the sanctuary stood a small hearth in front of a tall statue of a very idealized elephant femme.

Flanking the statue were a variety of small cages, in which several small, flat, hairy creatures moved about. “Varan?”

“Yes, Meredith?”

“I get the feeling that those things are looking at us.”

“I think you’re right.”

A relatively short bull elephant dressed in robes walked up to them. “May I help you mice?”

“Can you tell us about this place?” Varan asked. “This is our first time here.”

The bull beamed. “Of course. This is the Temple of the Divine Tress,” and he waved a meaty paw at the bald statue before looking concerned as Meredith clapped a paw to her forehead. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” she muttered. “’Temple of Distress,’ he called it. ‘Di’s Tress.’” She shook her head. “Fucking game designers.”