Edvar suggested I go outside today. Hilda agreed, and recommended I keep my hood up.
The village is small. Smaller than I expected from inside the house. A cluster of buildings around two piers, one of which is visibly broken. The lake beyond is completely white. I could not tell where the ice ended and the sky began.
Hilda was right that I would attract attention. I do not blend in.
The people stared. I did not blame them.
I noticed the faces of the villagers. A good number of them shared the same misshapen ears, the same unusually sharp teeth. A priest learns not to show reaction to such things. I showed none.
Edvar stopped at a door and requested I wait outside while he spoke to whoever was within. I obliged.
After a short while he appeared in the doorway and waved me in.
Edvar’s warning, it seems, did not quite prepare Osbert for my actual appearance. The way his jaw dropped when he first saw me was rather comical. Despite that initial moment, he was very cordial. We talked for a long time.
He invited me to come back whenever I felt like it. He also mentioned he may be moving to Easthaven shortly, which I understand to be one of the other settlements in this area. I hope he does not leave too soon.
I saw no shrine on our walk. No offering. Nothing I recognised as sacred.
That troubled me more than the staring did. What exactly is powering me? What exactly brought me here?