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<p><span class="tag">writing</span> <span class="tag">fiction</span> <span class="tag">short-story</span> <span class="tag">horror</span> <span class="tag">fantasy</span> <span class="tag">furry</span> <span class="tag">dnd</span></p>
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<p>“Every five years we must take down every scroll, stack by stack, and replace the rugs beneath them. We must also unroll the scroll and make note of its condition,” the monk rasped. “The latter will not be your responsibility, young one, but we are happy to provide you with a cot in the dormitory, and you will be welcome at the refectory during your stay here. Can you eat our food?”</p>
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<p>“Every five years we must take down every scroll, stack by stack, and clean the rugs beneath them, replacing those which are too worn to use. We must also unroll the scroll and make note of its condition,” the old monk rasped. “The latter will not be your responsibility, young one, but we are happy to provide you with a cot in the dormitory, and you will be welcome at the refectory during your stay here. Can you eat our food?”</p>
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<p>Belek bowed politely to the monk. “I will eat what I am able, grandfather, and I will work.”</p>
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<p>The monk smiled faintly at the honorific and gave a subtle nod in return. “We do not interact much with the cat people. Too stationary for your kind, perhaps. The khiidiin nomyn san does not move, after all. We will do what we can to provide for you in exchange for your labor within the limits of our strictures. On completion of the task, we will be able to pay you for your time here, though you must understand that the monastery is not wealthy.”</p>
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<p><em>Within the limits of their strictures</em> proved to be plenty within Belek’s. While they could not eat the monks’ tsampa during lunch, they would take butter in their tea and fill up with steamed balls of the filling the monks had within their momo at dinner.</p>
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<p>They kept to themself, bowed at anyone in a robe, and worked quietly. In the morning, they would let the younger monks lade a frame pack with scrolls and books and move them to the hall where the older monks toiled, checking for silverfish and signs of rot. In the afternoon, they would roll up the rugs and take them to a patio where they would be inspected and cleaned and repaired if possible, or set out for the beggars if they were too worn.</p>
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<p>The monk smiled faintly at the honorific and gave a subtle nod in return. “We do not interact much with the cat folk. Too stationary for your kind, perhaps. The khiidiin nomyn san does not move, after all. We will do what we can to provide for you in exchange for your labor within the limits of our strictures. On completion of the task, we will be able to pay you for your time here, though you must understand that the monastery is not wealthy.”</p>
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<p><em>Within the limits of our strictures</em> proved to be plenty within Belek’s. While they could not eat the monks’ tsampa during lunch, they would take butter in their tea, and then they would fill up with steamed balls of the filling the monks had within their momo at dinner.</p>
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<p>They kept to themself, bowed at anyone in a robe, and worked quietly. In the morning, they would let the younger monks lade a frame pack with scrolls and books and move them to the hall where the older monks toiled, checking for silverfish and signs of rot. In the afternoon, they would roll up the rugs and take them to a patio where they would be inspected, cleaned, and repaired if possible, or set out for the beggars if they were too worn.</p>
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<p>And at night, they would run through the list of items they had carried throughout the day and consider which would be a more appropriate payment than simple coin.</p>
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<hr />
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<p>When Belek worked - and work they did! - they would search for jobs offered by those with big hearts.</p>
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<p>The empire was not fond of cat people, and their family moved often enough with the others of their tribe when they were young, so they were used to finding work where they could and drifting from town to town, job to job, never staying anywhere long enough to raise suspicions.</p>
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<p>When Belek worked — and work they did! — they would search for jobs offered by those with big hearts.</p>
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<p>The empire was not fond of cat folk. Their family moved often enough with the others of their tribe when they were young, so they were used to finding work where they could and drifting from town to town, job to job, never staying anywhere long enough to raise suspicions.</p>
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<p>As it was, they were unfailingly polite and always appeared to work within law and custom.</p>
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<p>They had worked during shearing season with a small family for a spot on the floor and food for two weeks, and had come away with a small official payment, and a larger unofficial one of an entire sheep slain in the quiet of the night and expertly skinned, the dried meat and hide folded away into a pack they had hidden in the rocks, collected on the way to the next job.</p>
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<p>They had worked as a midwife, helping to brew the groaning beer and ferry hot water before purring gentle reassurances into the lady’s ear as she screamed and cried. They had curtsied to the men and averted their eyes, and come away with a handsome sum in coins, a glowing recommendation, and two small jade statues.</p>
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<p>They had walked the streets of the city with a family as a porter and made a pittance for their labor, and a far larger sum for pickpocketing both the crowds around them as well as the father.</p>
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<p>They had worked during shearing season with a small family for a spot on the floor and food for two weeks, and had come away with a small payment of a few coins — and a larger, unofficial payment of an entire sheep, slain in the quiet of the night and expertly skinned, the dried meat and hide folded away into a pack they had hidden in the rocks, collected on the way to the next job.</p>
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<p>They had worked as a midwife, helping to brew the groaning beer and ferry hot water before purring gentle reassurances into the lady’s ear as she screamed and cried. They had curtsied to the men and averted their eyes, and come away with a handsome sum in coins and a glowing recommendation — and two small jade statues.</p>
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<p>They had walked the streets of the city with a family as a porter and made a pittance for their labor — and a far larger sum for pickpocketing the crowds around them as well, as the father.</p>
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<p>They were always careful. They were never caught.</p>
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<p>They were always Belek, or mister or miss Oorzhak, the polite young cat with no family or friends, the one who was slight and feminine enough to be a midwife, and boyish enough, deceptively strong beneath that gray fur, to be of help with the men. They were hard working, and quiet on the job, but friendly to their employers during downtime, really opening up and telling stories of their adventures, never wholly true, but never, ever false.</p>
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<p>Somehow, one of two things would happen before they left. Either something terrible would happen - a sheep would go missing, howls in the night and blood on the grass; a poor father pickpocketed while in the market, the porter hunched under his load - or the employer would find themselves entranced by this worldly feline - here, take these figures with our blessings, may they bring you good fortune, my dear Oorzhak.</p>
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<p>They were always Belek, or mister or miss Oorzhak, the polite young cat with no family or friends, the one who was slight and feminine enough to be a midwife, and boyish enough, deceptively strong beneath that gray fur, to be of help with the men. They were hard working, and quiet on the job, but friendly to their employers during downtime, often opening up and telling stories of their adventures; never wholly true, but never, ever false.</p>
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<p>Somehow, one of two things would happen before they left. Either something terrible would happen — a sheep would go missing, howls in the night and blood on the grass; a poor father pickpocketed while in the market, the porter hunched under his load — or the employer would find themselves entranced by this worldly feline — here, take these figures with our blessings, may they bring you good fortune, my dear Oorzhak.</p>
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<p>The size of their employers’ hearts would cover any payment beyond mere coin.</p>
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<p>And then they were off to the next city, with a kind wave or a sad bow, to sell their was real gains at market and look for the next big-hearted rube.</p>
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<p>And then they were off to the next city, with a kind wave or a sad bow, to sell their <em>real</em> gains at market and look for the next big-hearted rube.</p>
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<hr />
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<p>“Grandfather, I thank you for your kindness,” Belek said. They had introduced themself as male for the monastery job by necessity, but found that some aspect of feminine grace and vocal mannerisms went quite a ways with the old monk. “May I eat with you?”</p>
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<p>The skin around the monk’s eyes crinkled in a smile and he patted the mat next to him. “Please, young one, sit.”</p>
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<p>The skin around the old monk’s eyes crinkled in a smile and he patted the mat next to him. “Please, young one, sit.”</p>
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<p>The cat did so, settling down cross-legged with their bowl of steamed dumpling-filling and buttered tea. They smoothed out their deel, removed their cap, and popped a meatball into their mouth, chewing thoughtfully and waiting for the monk to begin talking as he always did.</p>
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<p>“Tell me, Belek, where will you head next?”</p>
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<p>They swallowed their mouthful before giving a noncommittal shrug. “Perhaps I will head North. I once worked for an empire wheelwright for a month. They are very skilled, and usually one must apprentice for years before working as one, but this man’s apprentice was a, well,” the cat leaned in conspiratorially. “He was one of the men who shifted.”</p>
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<p>“Tell me, Belek, where will you travel next?”</p>
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<p>They swallowed their mouthful before giving a noncommittal shrug. “Perhaps I will head North. I once worked for an empire wheelwright for a month. They are very skilled, and usually one must apprentice for years before working as one, but this man’s apprentice was a– well,” the cat leaned in conspiratorially. “He was one of the men who shifted.”</p>
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<p>The monk nodded solemnly. “I know of these only through tales. Was he as dreadful as they say, young Oorzhak?”</p>
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<p>Belek’s tail tick-tocked in amusement before adding in the more human smile. “Very few of them are terrible, grandfather, but sometimes they do not shift well and wind up mad with rage or stuck in agony. This young apprentice wound up in the latter, so he begged a sword from a friend and fell on it.”</p>
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<p>The monk covered his mouth, aghast. “His soul! His soul will wander forever.”</p>
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<p>“He could not pay me much, but he gifted me a fine awl. It was well worn, of course, and he had taken delivery of a much finer replacement during my stay, but he was a generous man. Perhaps I shall find such generosity up there again.” The seed was planted. Before the monk could respond, however, Belek, pulled the conversation suddenly in another direction. “You said ‘his soul will wander,’ grandfather. What did you mean?”</p>
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<p>The monk chewed thoughtfully, then washed the tsampa down with water. “Some walk in dream even while awake. When they die, we say their soul will walk still in dreams. Some, however, walk in unceasing nightmare. Perhaps, when they die, that is when they wake up, but should they take their own lives, their soul cannot awake, and will continue to wander forever, living in a nightmare. They become demons or wicked spirits.”</p>
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<hr />
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<p>After a week of work, the direction of scrolls, books, and manuscripts began to reverse. The cataloging complete, Belek began hauling loads of materials back into the library, helping the younger monks to place them back on their shelves according to some system the old monk - the cat supposed he must be the librarian - held within his head. There was a small celebration when the last of the shelves was emptied, and the monks pulled out thin beer, sparing a small lump of sugar for Belek to add to their tea in lieu. From then on, it was a task of re-loading the library and finishing the last mending of mats.</p>
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<p>After a week of work, the direction of scrolls, books, and manuscripts began to reverse. The cataloging complete, Belek began hauling loads of materials back into the library, helping the younger monks to place them back on their shelves according to some system the old monk - the cat supposed he must be the librarian - held within his head. There was a small celebration when the last of the shelves was emptied, and the monks pulled out thin beer, sparing a small lump of sugar for Belek to add to their tea in lieu. From then on, it was a task of re-loading the library and finishing the last mending of mats.</p>
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<p>Three days later, and the work was finished.</p>
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<p>“Grandfather, I thank you again for the kindness you have showed, and for the chance to work here,” Belek said while fingering the spines of a few books. “I have never been surrounded by such knowledge in my life”</p>
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<p>The old monk nodded absently as he worked on filling in some final notes. “Thank you, young Oorzhak. You have shortened our labor by days.”</p>
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<p>“The deal has been made,” the presence between the pages purred. “And now you will go North.”</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2020-06-24</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2023-04-10</p>
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