A Day Off

"Can I help you my child?"
 
Calanthia just stood and stared. Looking out over the courtyard. Many Monks, doing what looked like to be a scripted dance. They flowed, they robes spinning in unison. It was stunning to watch the grace, the peace in their faces.
 
The Monk at the gate placed a hand on Calanthia's shoulder, "my child, are you okay"?
 
Calanthia must have been in a trance. She had never been so unaware of her surroundings. She quickly drew back, swinging an arm to knock the hand on her shoulder defensively. Pure Reaction.
 
The Monk, using his staff, deftly blocked her strike with nary a movement. "I am here to greet you my child, not harm you"
 
Calanthia collected herself, apologizing profusely. "I did not mean to be rude, I was just, I was...:
 
"My child, I understand. Please accept my apology for catching you off guard. Do you forgive my impudence?"
 
Calanthia smiled, no impudence sir, just the a world of pain pouring out in the reaction of this unworthy one....
 
The Monk squats and look Calanthia in her eyes. "Ah yes, I no longer see a child, but a grown woman with the burdens of her past. Forgive my misunderstanding, but also, let me repent my sin by taking you on a tour of our humble Monastery."
 
Calanthia's eyes moved from the Monk and she scanned the premises. She could only nod. The Monk held out his hand. Calanthia, without hesitation, without using her incredible insight, without attempting to discern if there was a secondary motive, grasped the hand trusting and walked with the Monk.
 
"What shall I call you my child?"
 
I am Calanthia of Entemoch Boon. This reply was given without haste. Usually, she used an alias, and she never gave her place of origin. She hesitated in her walk, but the Monk assured her, she was safe in his care.
 
The Monk Spoke "I believe I know your story. There is a tale of one whose grief was felt throughout a community. A grief wrought in betrayal." The monk spoke softly. So much so that Calanthia didn't hide, she didn't deflect. She spent much effort to hide her past.
 
The Monk Continued "I understand betrayal. I too experience loss via betrayal." Calanthia looked up to the Monk's face. Was he just saying that to make her trust him more, to make her feel better? She could see the pain in his eyes. He was not lying.
 
"Like you Calanthia, the grief of loss overwhelmed me. I wandered from place to place. Existing on the charity of the kind. I worked here and there for a morsel and a place to sleep. As if something guided me, I ended up here. Here I found peace in discipline. It took many years of practice, patience, but I can now speak of my pain with little recurrence"
 
Calanthia responded, again without carefully choosing her words, "I came here seeking peace of mind. Peace of memory, Peace"
 
The monk pointed out that it will take half a lifetime to overcome the pain, you will never overcome the memory. Consider a Svirfneblin lives 500 years, that wasn't a happy notion. The Monk continued "I can teach you some techniques to help you. These techniques will not only allow you to channel that negative emotion, but it will help you survive your adventures. They teach you grace, agility, the ability to use your enemy's motion against them. It wont take you few days to learn the Kata. You can stay here during your training. You will rise with us, eat with us, train with us. Your nights are your own. Does this sound acceptable?
 
Calanthia stopped walking. Her nature kicked in and she looked up to the wisen Monk, "Why? Why do you offer this? What is in it for you?"
 
The Monk smiled, "This worthless one only lives to pass on the peace he has found, to others who have no peace. It is why this structure exists. We give back."
 
Calanthia agrees to the deal. She is shown to her quarters. A chair, a desk and a bed with barely a mattress. There is a robe and a chest. The Monk instructs her to put all her personal belonging in the chest. She is to lock it, and give him the key. Calanthia eyes narrow, "Why must I..." The Monk interrupts. "You must shed the world down to yourself to begin your path"
 
Calanthia asks "Must I shave my head too?" The Monk lets out a hearty laugh. "No my child, only if you choose to join the order full time. You worldly belonging will be returned when you choose to leave"
 
Calanthia did as she was asked. She was awoken at sunrise. A morning meal of rice, steamed vegetables and dried meats. Bland overall, but filling and nourishing. She began her training. Compared to the others, she was awkward, and she was not a clod. She was a Svirfneblin, know for being light on her feet, quiet, dexterous, but what these people were doing was on another level. She realized she was being taught movement economy. Just to turn around took 6 steps, now she can do it in only 2.
 
In the evenings, after the evening meal of rice, steamed vegetables and dried meat, she would ask for a particular set of her clothes, The Monk, whom she learned was named Talaran, agreed. She wandered the city. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just applying what she had learned to her chosen craft. Remaining hidden, quiet, unobserved. She would pick spots in the shadows to watch. Svirfneblin have a innate ability to remain still, and use shadows as cover, but the agility exercises she was learning just added another level to her natural ability.
 
She noticed numerous brute squads wandered the city. Bullies in general, but they seemed to apply pressure on chosen targets. People getting roughed up, but not seriously hurt. Sowing fear, keeping their thumbs on the people. She followed one squad a bit and watched as they plied their trade. What she found interesting was they did not even try to hide their pressure. There didn't seem to be any law enforcement nearby. Calanthia wasn't sure if they were paid to avoid the area, or even if they existed.
 
She also noticed as the sun went down, almost all children were gone. In their homes. Homes seemed to be locked up tight, window shutters were closed and secured. She watched a child or two around the taverns, taking advantage of the drunks, picking pockets. They were good too. This town seemed to be a busy marketplace in the day, and a crime spree at night.
 
Calanthia returned to the Monastery, only to find the large gate doors closed. This was not a hindrance for her. She scaled the walls and made it to bed. her sleep was sound. Not like when she was sleeping with an eye open. Talaran knocked on her door at sun up.
 
"Calanthia, you awake?" She acknowledged and asked him in. Talaran sat cross legged on the floor. "So, how was your evening on the town?"
 
Calanthia shared her observations and asked why the Monastery didn't take action. Talaran responded "It is not our purpose here. We operate untouched because we do not touch. We provide safe haven, food, and to those like you, peace"
 
Calanthia understood the situation, she knew this was not a place to make a stand, it was a place to teach others how to stand. Her training continued for a few days. One evening, as she went out, she stopped in a tavern for an ale. she had 1 silver piece with her, Talaran laughed when she said she just wanted ale.
 
As she sat at the bar, a drunk approached her. "give me your ale child" he bellowed. Calanthia just grabbed her pint, and attempted to move to another seat. "I don't want any trouble," she said.
 
"Well, you got it!" The drunk wielded a dagger and attempted to stab Calanthia. As if instinctual, her training from the Monastery kicked in. She deftly avoided the dagger, and using the assailants motion and size, she lightly pushed him. He went crashing into a table of others quite clumsily. They didn't particularly like the drunk knocking over their drinks. As the fight escalated, Calanthia quietly, deftly, left the establishment, ale still in hand, not even spilling a drop.
 
She returned to the Monastery. Her ale finished, she left the empty glass on a window sill. Once again, a night of sleep, restful sleep. This more then anything she valued here.