All right, actual plot build up in the next couple chapters! Have I gone mad! Trick question, I was mad all along! In other news, I would like to thank the kind patrons for their continued support of this piece. Hard to think I've been writing solidly for almost a week, yet I feel like I'm not even a third done. Oh right, stronger language about to be used; time i started earning this rating. And now, on with the story.
Marceline and Finn stepped off of the carriage just on the outskirts of town. Marceline had always regarded Shrine Town to be one of the more 'normal' settlements around nowadays. For Finn, this town was as unique as anything else he had ever seen. Medium sized buildings of stone and wood dominated the town center, most appearing to be three or four stories high. Several suburbs of smaller houses jutted out from random spots of the town. The town was quite large on the whole, which made it rather odd that there were no walls or fortifications.
Marceline guided Finn down cobblestone streets toward the town center. Finn still had no idea what they were here to do, but they appeared to have entered a shopping district, so he could only assume they were here to purchase some things. Indeed, Marceline soon brought Finn into a large tailor shop. She knew finding clothes to fit a person of Finn's size and build would not be very simple, but this store seemed to have a wide selection to choose from.
Figuring it may make things easier to get Finn's input, she asked him "Well Finn, is there anything here that's caught your eye?" Finn didn't understand. 'Why is she asking me that? Does she really want me to tell her what would look good on her?' He said to her, "I really don't think I'm a good person to get fashion advice from Mistress. Maybe you should ask one of the worker ladies, I'm sure they could pick something nice for you."
Finally she realized that Finn had completely misunderstood the point of this trip. 'Though to be fair, I didn't really tell him anything about it.' Giving a small giggle, she spoke to set Finn straight, "No dummy, we're not here for me. We're here to get you a wardrobe."
Finn was shocked. Were they really here for his sake? The very idea was Ludicrous to him. "Mistress, there's…. no point in wasting your money on someone like me, I mean I'm just…" but Marceline cut him off there. "Oh hush. I can hardly have you wearing the same smelly rags every day now can I?" "Well…" Finn began. "Don't answer that. Now come on, you really should have a full set of clothes to change for the week, at least."
Deciding to allow his Mistress to carry out her wishes rather than escalate the argument, Finn nodded to her. "Ok then. If…. If you insist, I really don't mind whatever you get." Marceline really should have expected this answer. She let out a sigh, "Ok then, let's see what we can find."
Unbeknownst to the duo, a town citizen had taken an interest in them. The person had seen two cloaked figures walking down the street which had piqued his curiosity. The distance and their hoods did well to conceal them, but he was able to catch a slight glance at the shorter figures face. Now very intrigued, he decided to get a closer look. Crossing the street, he entered into the tailor shop after the two. Being in plainclothes, the man did not draw any attention to himself, appearing to just be another prospective patron.
Feigning interest in a rack of jackets, he was able to get much closer to the pair, getting a good look at the small one's face. He now had no doubts; that was a human boy! Quickly extracting himself from the shop, he hurried off across town towards a small pub to meet with his associates.
Marceline was now making the final payment on the large order of clothes they had selected. Most of the clothes were quite plain, solid colored shirts, shorts etc. But they were of good quality, much nicer than what Finn had been dressed in by the merchants. A couple of employees were currently stuffing the clothes into two duffel bags Marceline had also purchased. She had arranged for the bags to be brought to the carriage station in a couple hours, figuring that as long as they were in town they may as well do something interesting.
Finn was standing quietly beside her, still in slight disbelief that his Mistress had just purchased so much… for him! However once she had begun to move towards the exit Finn snapped out of his reverie and moved to follow her. The sun was just starting to lower, Marceline figured it was probably around late afternoon, maybe 4:30 or 5:00. It occurred to Marceline that she hadn't yet eaten anything today, which meant Finn probably hadn't either. "Would you like to get something to eat Finn?" she asked, expecting him to skirt around the request nervously before actually answering her with what could have equated to a simple yes. "I suppose I am… I mean I don't have to eat. But if you want to I won't complain." Finn did not disappoint.
Marceline led them to a line of food stalls parked all along a wide and busy street. Scents of thick fried foods, cured meats and sweet things drifted about them, making their mouths water. Marceline found a stall selling spit-roasted rabbits, and entered the relatively short line. When she got to the counter she ordered two rabbits and two bottles of water. Handing over more coins, she received her treats. Finn briefly wondered just how much money Marceline had actually brought with her before she handed him his bottle of water and a whole rabbit on a stick.
Marceline fully expected him to make some big point of getting to eat the whole thing. Finn started, "Is this…" Marceline interjected, "Yea, yea, jut eat it already before it gets cold. Not needing a second order, Finn heartily began to tear into the rabbit, following Marceline as she led him down the streets. Marceline had actually planned to lead them to visit the shrine for which the town was named.
Situated on a cluster of hills towards the edge of the town's business districts, the Shrine was a fairly popular pilgrimage and tourist destination that accounted for much of the town's popularity, as well as much of their revenue. The two walked up a set of faded marble stairs leading to the top hill that housed the shrine.
Reaching the top, they had a great chance to survey the area. The top of the hill had actually been concave, dipping down into a slightly bowl-type area. An amphitheater had been built into the indentation. Seven rows of white stone benches ringed around the entirety of the bowl. At the bottom, a circular stone platform was set level in the center of the bowl. Six cracked, stone pillars were placed symmetrically along the edge of the platform. They appeared to have, at one point, held a ring connecting them along the top, however it was evident the structure was quite old and much of the ring had crumbled away.
Finn marveled at the ancient structures as Marceline led him down and onto the platform. Now standing in the circle, Finn could see that a bronze pedestal with a water basin at the top stood affixed in the center. Finn's curiosity finally got the better of him, and he asked Marceline "What is this?"
"This is the Shrine, as it's simply called now. Nobody knows when or why it was originally built, but it was probably for some kind of religious ceremonies. But it got its real fame from something that happened more recently." Marceline smiled as she saw Finn's eyes wide. He was hanging on her every word. She loved having his undivided attention. "Well a couple of decades back, almost a century I think, this cult started meeting here to perform their own ceremonies. I'm a little fuzzy on the specifics, but they would kidnap people from all over Ooo and take them here to be ritualistically sacrificed." Finn had to ask, "What exactly does that mean?" Marceline continued, "It means they killed people here. That bowl in the middle, that was used to collect the blood of all the victims." Marceline spoke with a morbid smile.
Finn couldn't really wrap his head around this. "I don't get it. Why did they have to kill those people in the first place?" Marceline replied, "Nobody knows for sure why they did it. Some people have theories, but all the cult members were killed when the authorities caught them here, so no one could have explained the why." Finn still didn't like this, "But then why is this place so famous if such bad things happened here?" "It's just… history Finn. It can't be helped that what occurred here was so gruesome. It's enough for people that what happened here was important."
Feeling that they had spent enough time here, Marceline began to lead Finn back towards town. "It's getting late, we should head back to the carriages and get home." Although that history lesson had upset Finn slightly, he couldn't help but smile at what Marceline had said. "Home." He whispered quietly to himself. 'I have a home.'
A while later, Finn and Marceline found themselves at the entrance to the canyon once again. The carriage had taken them all the way here from Shrine Town, but would not be able to move through the mountain pass. Not that Marceline would want anyone knowing about her hidey hole anyway. So it was now their burden to haul the baggage with them,
Finn immediately shouldered one of the bags and moved to grab the second one. However, he was obviously too small to carry both, and the sight of him struggling with the massive load sent Marceline into a fit of hysterics. "H…He…Here" she choked out between gasps, "Let me carry one or it will take us all night to get back. Without waiting for a response she grabbed one of the bags and slung it about her shoulders. Finn glanced away, face red in embarrassment, but now able to rise with the one bag. The two entered the canyon and began their walk back to the cavern.
Once more, the two failed to see the mysterious shadow perched atop the cliff, watching their every step. The man wore a black cloak of his own, though his seemed far… darker, more ominous, and somehow better concealed him. He watched the two walking through the canyon before they suddenly disappeared beyond an otherwise unnoticeable crack in the wall. 'So there's your rat hole' the man thought, the irony of such a phrase eluding him. His muzzle pointed up and his lips twisted in a sinister sneer, revealing yellow, monstrous teeth. As much as he'd like to just storm in there to accomplish his goal, he realized it was far too dangerous to act alone. Instead he opted to set up his camp here, concealed yet easily able to observe the cave. He turned to pitch his tent on the precarious rock face while his thoughts turned to the near future. 'Better enjoy yourself kid, cause the next time you come out of that hole you aint comin back.'