Sneaking up was the order of the day! Also, I apologize if the quality of today's (and yesterday's) offerings is lower than normal, but I am currently suffering through a nasty cold, which is totally to blame for everything wrong with the post below, and never you think otherwise.
1.3 Hermitage
Guided by the sound of the prayer and careful not to make a sound, you approached through the woods and dry brushes, until between two trees, you a clearing and a man standing on it. His hands were spread wide and turned up towards the sky, and he sung the praise of the Saints that they willed it so that he would see another day rise. He seemed elder to you, and his vestments were plain and ragged, and a long beard descended from his chin almost to his belt, as grey as the cloth he worse. With that, you concluded that he must be a hermit of sorts, one of those pious men who abandon the world of the living and seek refuge from it in the wilds, all the better to venerate and worship the Saints, and seek perhaps a way to learn the name of the God in the solitude that surrounds them, so that they too can be counted in the holy host when the time finally comes for them to abandon the temporal. You found it a clear sign; Saint Odo to whom your pilgrimage was devoted did to spend long years in the shelter of the woods, away from things of the world. Therefore, that you managed in all the vastness of the forest to find such a man must had been a work of the Saint watching over you.
Thus, believing you have nothing to fear, you stepped from between the trees and into the light, so that the eremite could see you. And he noticed you, but did not address you, instead continuing his prayer until he finally spoke the final sacred name, and lowered his hand and whispered "so may it be" in the language of White Wall, and only then did he turn to you and said:
"Wanderer, it is cold out here and my bones are old, so please let me offer you the hospitality of my humblest of abodes, where whatever you brought to me can be discussed freely."
His voice was a quaint one, and he spoke the words as if his tongue was no longer used to them. But his offer was a kind one and you could not deny it to him. And so you agreed, and he led you through a trail that was a very faint one to a small hut, similar in shape to the shacks raised by shepherds, and of likewise modest size. He removed the plank from the door and let you in, soon setting putting on fire in the fire-pit. You crouched by it and put your hands near the flames, and enjoyed the warmth slowly returning to your limbs, while the hermit busied himself, paying little attention to you.
Eventually, he sat across you, and after speaking a short prayer over them, offered you a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water, and still in silence, you ate and drank, and by the fire warmly crackling, the tribulations of the night felt distant to you and your resolve was renewed.
And it was only after you both sated yourselves and quenched your thirst, that the hermit spoke, and he said:
"I will say in the name of the Saints that I thought you at first a visage sent by the malefactors to tempt me and lead to the sin of lustful thoughts. But you listened to the prayer and it did not scare you, and you ate bread and drank water that were both sanctified by prayer, and from that I must conclude you are not a vile spirit come to test me, but rather a woman of piety that by some miracle managed to find me in the vastness of the woods."
Having said that, he grew silent again, and retrieved a log of wood that he threw into the fire, and you did not speak more for some time after that, instead sharing the warmth. And the hermit looked lost in his thoughts and you did not disturb him, quietly grateful for the hospitality that he so graciously gave to you.
It was around the time of noon that he chose to address you again.
"And who are you that found me, and what brought you to the heart of the forest, where I thought no man nor woman should ever be able to track me, and where I thought that only the wild wolf and savage boar would keep me company?"
Recognizing that there would be no wisdom in too quick of an answer, you spent some time considering how to respond. Finally, you replied:
"I was lost in the woods, and to Saint Odo's grace I owe finding you."
And you explained to him your task and purpose, of how you were intent on making way through the entire world to where the holy city of Step was, so that you could too receive a miracle and deliver your clan. And he listened to you carefully, and seemed greatly impressed by your courage and the zeal of your labours. Then he voiced his concern for malign influences that might had been besetting you, for in the fact that you had lost your way, he clearly saw the hand of the malefactors who, angered by devotion, thought to move you to despair, so that you would renounce, in the dark night of your soul, the name of the Saints and curse your task. And he explained to you that it was no idle concern, for it was a fact of life that in his time, he had heard of many bishops who forbade women from making pilgrimages, for being of naturally softer character and weaker soul, they would often succumb to temptations that await each pilgrim on his way and end up as whores or worse, the names of the Saints alien to them. Against that, he cautioned you thrice, by the name of Saint Marga, Saint Ortys and Saint Ivar. Finally, he told you that although he did not know how to find the paved road to the city of Grace, he could lead you to a village that was nearby, where you could ask for a way and be returned to the rightful track. However, he warned you as well against entering the city walls, for cities, he claimed, are festering pits of villainy and injustice, and even though the city of Grace was a bishopric, it would certainly pose many dangers to a pilgrim such as you. Instead, he suggested that you should perhaps head in another direction altogether – that he could lead you to a path that would take you to a monastery of Saint Odo, where the pious monks would host you (as it was their duty to tend to pilgrims and wanderers) and certainly would explain to you a way to the holy city of Step that would allow you to avoid the mortal threats to the soul that awaited in cities of men.
You considered his offer, and asked him…
[ ] To lead you to the village, where you would as for a route to the city of Grace.
[ ] To lead you to the road to the monastery, so that you could avoid the city of Grace.