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Company of Chaos - All Around Golarion
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<blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 5745058" data-attributes="member: 53286"><p>"You got how much for the charter thingy?" Zaza's eyes almost popped out of their sockets over breakfast when Cajun showed them the 500 pieces of shiny gold he had gotten from the military for the proof that the privateers were hired by their enemies. Mook and Samin stared as well, none of them had ever seen so much gold. Edawon seemed indifferent; he had seen a lot more, actually, just that it never was any money he was allowed to touch. </p><p></p><p>"That'll help," Samin's father admitted. "I had indeed been worried about our monetary situation. Not that the mayor could give us much but provisions." </p><p></p><p>"Yeah, guess he thought what we found with the robbers would do," Cajun said, throwing a quick glance at his sister. </p><p></p><p>"S-so w-what n-now? We scout the t-templke and t-the bar?" Mook asked. </p><p></p><p>"Not we, Zaza," Bjön suggested. "She might not know city life but she looks very harmless. And you, Cajun, as a smith, maybe you could ask for temporary work as a journeyman. Close enough to the temple, that is, as there are several smithies to the west of the block." </p><p></p><p>"Block?" Cajun wondered. </p><p></p><p>"That's how big the temple actually is," the dwarf nodded. </p><p></p><p>"Quite some temple," Samin pondered. "If we need to search all that for the pendants..."</p><p></p><p>"We'll see. I'll go look for a job, then," Cajun grinned and got up. He couldn't wait to do some real work again for a chance.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Zaza knew another thief when she saw one. And there were more than one among the crowd of people who had gathered to see the priests and their acolytes – the ones in the white robes, the halfling deducted. Priests of the temple walked through the masses and cut purses here, lifted a bag there. "Quite some religion," she muttered before she mingled among the crowd herself. She was supposed to just watch, but she couldn't watch that. </p><p></p><p>To Zaza, stealing from bad people – including people to rich to share – was not a bad thing. The people those priests stole from looked like normal folk who weren't rich enough to be able to afford losing their money like that. The girl went right behind the 3 stealing priests, one after the other as fast as she could, who robbed the listeners of their belongings, and in turn dug into the bag at their side, liberating them oif their stolen possessions. The priests, as she had suspected, never even saw her, they were completely concentrating on not being seen themselves. They were slow about it, too, what was no wonder with their robes. </p><p></p><p>Each stolen item went into the bag of holding she was carrying hidden under her wide shirt. Every now and then, she faked interest in the preaching priests in the middle of the crowd. Being small was definitely an advantage, and being swift even more so. No wonder halflings made the best thieves – in her opinion anyway. </p><p></p><p>There were two difficult moments when the eldest and most experienced of the priests almost noticed her, but she was lucky. This time. Zaza left the crowd and called herself stupid for doing what she just had done. Observe, not interfere, she had been told. But, as everyone knew, she was not all that good at doing what she was told. </p><p></p><p>Then she realized the second part of her plan would not work. Even if everyone would be standing around after the priests left, she could hardly announce herself, telling them the priests stole from them and give it back – even if they would believe her it was like painting a sign on their efforts to infiltrate them. And it was impossible to track about 10 people at once to give them their stuff back. She had risked her discovery for nothing but the thrill of it. </p><p></p><p>Well, maybe not for nothing. Money was always useful. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The endeavor of the young halfling had not gone completely unnoticed. From a small alley barely wide enough to let one person through, a set of eyes were following her every move. A yellow snout appeared and sniffed in Zaza's direction, but the wind came from the wrong side and the creature was too far away to have had much luck, anyway. "Stealer stealing from stealers," it muttered in a strange accent. "A thief taking from thieves. My prophecy... my prophecy."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Later that evening, they met at The Weathered Rose a good time before dinner. Cajun came down from taking a bath, as he had indeed found journeyman work in a local smithy. In short, he gave the others a summary of the rumors he had heard. There was all sort of nonsense imaginable. From the cult leader being a medusa, to the god of the cult walking the very streets of the city – there was just no way to know what could be true. One thing was clear, though, everyone feared them. They were running a protection scheme, and talking about disliking them could cause a lot of trouble to the complainers as you couldn't know who was looking on. The only reason, the half-orc was sure, they talked to him at all was because he was a stranger and not in danger of being a cult member.</p><p></p><p>"They also steal," Zaza added, and explained what had happened on the street in front of the temple – without telling what she had done with the thieves, though. The last thing she needed was a lesson or the other on keeping a low profile and out of other people's pockets. </p><p></p><p>"So, all in all they are criminals," Bjön nodded. "In their home country, it is not much different so I heard. I doubt the man they follow is anywhere close to a god."</p><p></p><p>"That makes little difference, except they won't have any divine magic if that is true." Teltz scratched his chin. "What else have you leaned?" he asked Zaza. </p><p></p><p>"It is about impossible to get to this temple without being seen, all busy streets and thus also more of the guard. All the businesses close by pay to the temple. Supposedly, since the temple is around, there are little, if any, thefts. Save those of the cult, but no one mentions those. The temple folks come and go, no real pattern in anything, but they are mostly in groups, and mostly white robed. I'm sure those are the acolytes or whatever they call them. We might as well grab some of them, take their robes and masks and get back in."</p><p></p><p>"And once inside, we won't know what to do and be discovered," Edawon said and shook his head. "Better that one or two of us pretend to be new converts and go inside as acolytes, and we do the grabbing and masquerading once we know how it works on the inside."</p><p></p><p>"Not too bad an idea. Which means you and me?" Teltz asked, looking at Edawon. "I take it you have done such a thing before, and frankly, so have I. I'm a bard, and can find myself in the role of a cultist easily enough."</p><p></p><p>The halfling nodded. "I have indeed. I had a run around and heard they do one of their recruiting schemes tonight, so we might as well get to it sooner than later."</p><p></p><p>"What about the rest of us?" Samin wanted to know. </p><p></p><p>"The rest of you will stay close by the temple as long as we're inside, at least two of you close by, with Zaza and Samin taking the night shifts." Teltz grinned at his son, he knew of his tendency to hang out with Cajun and Zaza during the nights, climbing trees and roofs of Kassen. "Cajun will go working and keep his eyes and ears open. We can use both the rumors and the money."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>After dinner, the two of them headed out to the Ranger's Lament a good time before the meeting so they would arrive early. Zaza and Samin followed them, the latter having some sort of disagreement with his hawk about it, as the bird was not able to do all that well in the dark. </p><p></p><p>Sitting in the shadow of the Temple to Razmir, the Ranger’s Lament was a simple establishment. Made from solid wood timbers, the one-story building was comprised primarily of a large common room, with a bar and a kitchen off to one side. Although open for business, very few people appeared</p><p>to be inside, despite the fact that many of the other local establishments seemed quite full.</p><p></p><p>Inside, the two of them were welcomed by the barkeep. "I'm Rolen Oggersmith," the burly man said with a wide smile that seemed somewhat not sincere. "Take any seat, the priests will arrive shortly."</p><p></p><p>Teltz pointed to a table with 3 chairs in the middle of the room, and they sat down, making themselves comfortable. </p><p></p><p>As they did so, another young man came through the door, a slim half-elf who went to take a seat in the corner not too far from them. He looked somewhat desperate, the typical cult victim. Edawon raised an eyebrow at the guy, but Teltz shook his head slightly. It was not their business what others did, they were here for one purpose only – get their stuff and leave, and, if there was a chance, proving the cult was dangerous would be a plus. </p><p></p><p>About 20 minutes later, a group of 6 masked cultists entered. Of, those, 2 had grey robes and one wore black. With a look around, they neared the stage. Teltz couldn't be sure, but he thought he could make out some disappointment about the turn out by the way the black robed leader shrugged his shoulders. </p><p></p><p>After stepping up onto the stage, the figure in the black robes turned to the audience, his face hidden behind the iron mask. With a strong voice, he called out, “You have come here to seek the power and glory of Razmir, and I am here to tell you that he has found you worthy!” At that, all of the other priests chanted in one voice, “All praise the Living God!”</p><p></p><p>“He is proud of you,” the black-robed figure continued, “for taking this, the first of 31 steps to enlightenment, the path of righteousness, the stairs to power and glory. Razmir is the one true god. What other god so richly rewards those who follow him? What other god lives among his people, guiding them with his wisdom and his might? What other god can lead you to true salvation? None of them! Only Razmir can offer you the power, the fortune, and the glory that you desire. Will you join him?” He folded his arms and waited for an answer.</p><p></p><p>"How pathetic," Edawon whispered so only the bard could hear. For all to hear, he spoke his consent, as did Teltz and the unknown youngling. </p><p></p><p>"Congratulations on a wise decision." The protest boomed. "The temple will pay for all your food and drink tonight, before your training begins."</p><p></p><p>As they had already eaten before, Teltz and Edawon stuck to ale. "Kind of anti-climatic. That's all, you come here and get your meal paid for? Sounds too simple if you ask me." The halfling saluted the half-elf who was digging into food as if it was his last meal. </p><p></p><p>Right then, the half-elf seemed to get tired all of a sudden. His head slumped and he barely missed the plate as his head fell to the table. "What..?" Edawon managed before he felt dizzy as well. "Those bastards poisoned our f..." He fell off the chair and stayed down. Teltz just had time to think about how fascinating and illogical it was to poison people already agreeing to join their cult.. unless they had been found out, that was. Then he, too, met the darkness of unconciousness. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"They didn't come back out?" Bjön frowned as he looked from Zaza to Samin. "That means they must have a connection from the tavern to the temple. Maybe I should talk to the owner..."</p><p></p><p>"And break cover?" Cajun shook his head at the idea of the paladin. "We can check out if there is a connection later tonight, I'm sure the keep can be made quiet for a while. Maybe that will be a better way in than borrowing their outfit. We just watch the temple and the tavern alike I'd say." </p><p></p><p>"Yeah, from what we heard, it might be a few days before they come out again." Samin pointed towards the way to their inn. "We'll have some food and rest now, if you don't mind. We'll be back in the evening." </p><p></p><p>Mook nodded and patted her wolf. As the two of them left and Cajun went to the smithy, she frowned at the dwarf. "You are n-not m-much for secrecy, are y-you?"</p><p></p><p>"I would prefer to be able to go to the authorities, yes," the paladin admitted. "But it seems we have little choice here. Let's walk around and watch everything at once." He sounded slightly annoyed at the idea of a day's wait. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The masked, black-robed priest paced down the narrow stone hallway, looking in each of the cells the 3 abductees had been locked into. “I must apologize for the way that you were brought here,” he began with a calm, even tone. “We must be sure that you are pure and properly prepared to join the faith. Today you shall fast and meditate on the glory of Razmir. On the morrow you shall be sworn in and given your masks, made one with the body of Razmir; one piece of the greater whole. You shall become acolytes, and be allowed upon the first step of enlightenment. Rejoice! The path of glory and fortune shall be open to you.”</p><p></p><p>With that, the priest left again, and the rest of the day passed in utter boredom and with rumbling stomachs. Every 6 hours they were given water, but that was all. None of the priests spoke to them again and they didn't bother to try engaging them in talk. </p><p></p><p>After 24 hrs, the priest, this time introducing himself as Egarthis, returned with a group of priests to release them. "It is time for the ceremony," they were now told. "Follow me."</p><p></p><p>They were led up small stairs, through a room with a table and chairs,,a hallway and into a large room with many pews. The main temple area, so it seemed. A large crowd of masked priests waited in the temple. While white robes shrouded most of them, some wore gray, and a few showed black. In the center of the chamber was a gigantic staircase, atop of which glittered a porcelain and gold mask, the holy symbol of Razmir. On the eighth step of the stairs stood a black-robed priest, who spoke gravely. “Come forward.” </p><p></p><p>They were asked to stand one at a time on the first step. Priests handed them white robes approximately their size and ions masks. "This you must wear when on the first floor or outside," they were told. One by one, they accepted their attire to the chants of "all hail Razmir." With some difficulty, everyone managed it into robes and mask, although the robes were still too wide for the halfling. Teltz was sure he heard a mumbled "pathetic" at some point. </p><p></p><p>"Brother Krant will tutor you in the ways of the Living God," Egarthis declared after welcoming them to the community. "When you have proven yourselves worthy, you will be free members and get your possessions back." </p><p></p><p>At that, the cultists fled the room one by one. Once they were all gone, Krant set to explain the rules. There were quite a few of them. Their routine was to start the next day. Then they were shown where to eat and sleep. </p><p></p><p>"This is going to be a rather boring assignment," Teltz whispered once no one seemed to be close. </p><p></p><p>The next day was not quite as boring as it had seemed at first. Getting up at 7 for a quick breakfast and then working some in the yard, the two of them decided that there were worse things – getting up even earlier, for example. The prayer and lessons half through the morning and the meager lunch were more bothersome, as was the cleaning of the temple floor with way too small brushes. While Edawon had trouble with the soap and water and, of course, the brush, he was sure Teltz had had some magical help at one point of the other. During afternoon prayer, the halfling was so exhausted he fell asleep a few times. Luckily, no one noticed and he was not the only one either. </p><p></p><p>Then there was what they called training in the afternoon. Indoctrination on how to act in public, basically. Everything from how to walk and keeping your identity secret to how to extort money and mock other faiths. Teltz actually had some fun with it, pretending he was not good in acting like they wanted in public but also presented himself as a quick learner. </p><p></p><p>Then there was dinner at 7 again, more evening prayers and finally, every acolyte was used to copy the so-called holy texts. Edawon got out of this duty and was instead sent to help carry a delivery in when he successfully pretended to be unable to write and barely able to read. Finally, they could return to their rooms, all hoping to be seen as worthy sooner than later. </p><p></p><p>The second day almost got themselves involved into a fight Krant staged between acolytes in the courtyard. Edawon faked sickness, and Teltz charmed the man into thinking he had won such a fight before, and the two of them watched in disdain as Evlar – the young half-elf – and the others fought to win a night without copying duties. </p><p></p><p>2 days later, they were taken to be part of the preachings outside the temple, witnessing the pick pocketing of the Razmirans from the other side of the fence, so to say. Teltz made it harder for them with his bardic spells, drawing attention to their doings once or twice, but no one bothered to call the guards. But the crowd dispersed faster. To their surprise, each of them got a share of the loot when they returned. Edawon frowned at it but said nothing, of course.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lwaxy, post: 5745058, member: 53286"] "You got how much for the charter thingy?" Zaza's eyes almost popped out of their sockets over breakfast when Cajun showed them the 500 pieces of shiny gold he had gotten from the military for the proof that the privateers were hired by their enemies. Mook and Samin stared as well, none of them had ever seen so much gold. Edawon seemed indifferent; he had seen a lot more, actually, just that it never was any money he was allowed to touch. "That'll help," Samin's father admitted. "I had indeed been worried about our monetary situation. Not that the mayor could give us much but provisions." "Yeah, guess he thought what we found with the robbers would do," Cajun said, throwing a quick glance at his sister. "S-so w-what n-now? We scout the t-templke and t-the bar?" Mook asked. "Not we, Zaza," Bjön suggested. "She might not know city life but she looks very harmless. And you, Cajun, as a smith, maybe you could ask for temporary work as a journeyman. Close enough to the temple, that is, as there are several smithies to the west of the block." "Block?" Cajun wondered. "That's how big the temple actually is," the dwarf nodded. "Quite some temple," Samin pondered. "If we need to search all that for the pendants..." "We'll see. I'll go look for a job, then," Cajun grinned and got up. He couldn't wait to do some real work again for a chance. Zaza knew another thief when she saw one. And there were more than one among the crowd of people who had gathered to see the priests and their acolytes – the ones in the white robes, the halfling deducted. Priests of the temple walked through the masses and cut purses here, lifted a bag there. "Quite some religion," she muttered before she mingled among the crowd herself. She was supposed to just watch, but she couldn't watch that. To Zaza, stealing from bad people – including people to rich to share – was not a bad thing. The people those priests stole from looked like normal folk who weren't rich enough to be able to afford losing their money like that. The girl went right behind the 3 stealing priests, one after the other as fast as she could, who robbed the listeners of their belongings, and in turn dug into the bag at their side, liberating them oif their stolen possessions. The priests, as she had suspected, never even saw her, they were completely concentrating on not being seen themselves. They were slow about it, too, what was no wonder with their robes. Each stolen item went into the bag of holding she was carrying hidden under her wide shirt. Every now and then, she faked interest in the preaching priests in the middle of the crowd. Being small was definitely an advantage, and being swift even more so. No wonder halflings made the best thieves – in her opinion anyway. There were two difficult moments when the eldest and most experienced of the priests almost noticed her, but she was lucky. This time. Zaza left the crowd and called herself stupid for doing what she just had done. Observe, not interfere, she had been told. But, as everyone knew, she was not all that good at doing what she was told. Then she realized the second part of her plan would not work. Even if everyone would be standing around after the priests left, she could hardly announce herself, telling them the priests stole from them and give it back – even if they would believe her it was like painting a sign on their efforts to infiltrate them. And it was impossible to track about 10 people at once to give them their stuff back. She had risked her discovery for nothing but the thrill of it. Well, maybe not for nothing. Money was always useful. The endeavor of the young halfling had not gone completely unnoticed. From a small alley barely wide enough to let one person through, a set of eyes were following her every move. A yellow snout appeared and sniffed in Zaza's direction, but the wind came from the wrong side and the creature was too far away to have had much luck, anyway. "Stealer stealing from stealers," it muttered in a strange accent. "A thief taking from thieves. My prophecy... my prophecy." Later that evening, they met at The Weathered Rose a good time before dinner. Cajun came down from taking a bath, as he had indeed found journeyman work in a local smithy. In short, he gave the others a summary of the rumors he had heard. There was all sort of nonsense imaginable. From the cult leader being a medusa, to the god of the cult walking the very streets of the city – there was just no way to know what could be true. One thing was clear, though, everyone feared them. They were running a protection scheme, and talking about disliking them could cause a lot of trouble to the complainers as you couldn't know who was looking on. The only reason, the half-orc was sure, they talked to him at all was because he was a stranger and not in danger of being a cult member. "They also steal," Zaza added, and explained what had happened on the street in front of the temple – without telling what she had done with the thieves, though. The last thing she needed was a lesson or the other on keeping a low profile and out of other people's pockets. "So, all in all they are criminals," Bjön nodded. "In their home country, it is not much different so I heard. I doubt the man they follow is anywhere close to a god." "That makes little difference, except they won't have any divine magic if that is true." Teltz scratched his chin. "What else have you leaned?" he asked Zaza. "It is about impossible to get to this temple without being seen, all busy streets and thus also more of the guard. All the businesses close by pay to the temple. Supposedly, since the temple is around, there are little, if any, thefts. Save those of the cult, but no one mentions those. The temple folks come and go, no real pattern in anything, but they are mostly in groups, and mostly white robed. I'm sure those are the acolytes or whatever they call them. We might as well grab some of them, take their robes and masks and get back in." "And once inside, we won't know what to do and be discovered," Edawon said and shook his head. "Better that one or two of us pretend to be new converts and go inside as acolytes, and we do the grabbing and masquerading once we know how it works on the inside." "Not too bad an idea. Which means you and me?" Teltz asked, looking at Edawon. "I take it you have done such a thing before, and frankly, so have I. I'm a bard, and can find myself in the role of a cultist easily enough." The halfling nodded. "I have indeed. I had a run around and heard they do one of their recruiting schemes tonight, so we might as well get to it sooner than later." "What about the rest of us?" Samin wanted to know. "The rest of you will stay close by the temple as long as we're inside, at least two of you close by, with Zaza and Samin taking the night shifts." Teltz grinned at his son, he knew of his tendency to hang out with Cajun and Zaza during the nights, climbing trees and roofs of Kassen. "Cajun will go working and keep his eyes and ears open. We can use both the rumors and the money." After dinner, the two of them headed out to the Ranger's Lament a good time before the meeting so they would arrive early. Zaza and Samin followed them, the latter having some sort of disagreement with his hawk about it, as the bird was not able to do all that well in the dark. Sitting in the shadow of the Temple to Razmir, the Ranger’s Lament was a simple establishment. Made from solid wood timbers, the one-story building was comprised primarily of a large common room, with a bar and a kitchen off to one side. Although open for business, very few people appeared to be inside, despite the fact that many of the other local establishments seemed quite full. Inside, the two of them were welcomed by the barkeep. "I'm Rolen Oggersmith," the burly man said with a wide smile that seemed somewhat not sincere. "Take any seat, the priests will arrive shortly." Teltz pointed to a table with 3 chairs in the middle of the room, and they sat down, making themselves comfortable. As they did so, another young man came through the door, a slim half-elf who went to take a seat in the corner not too far from them. He looked somewhat desperate, the typical cult victim. Edawon raised an eyebrow at the guy, but Teltz shook his head slightly. It was not their business what others did, they were here for one purpose only – get their stuff and leave, and, if there was a chance, proving the cult was dangerous would be a plus. About 20 minutes later, a group of 6 masked cultists entered. Of, those, 2 had grey robes and one wore black. With a look around, they neared the stage. Teltz couldn't be sure, but he thought he could make out some disappointment about the turn out by the way the black robed leader shrugged his shoulders. After stepping up onto the stage, the figure in the black robes turned to the audience, his face hidden behind the iron mask. With a strong voice, he called out, “You have come here to seek the power and glory of Razmir, and I am here to tell you that he has found you worthy!” At that, all of the other priests chanted in one voice, “All praise the Living God!” “He is proud of you,” the black-robed figure continued, “for taking this, the first of 31 steps to enlightenment, the path of righteousness, the stairs to power and glory. Razmir is the one true god. What other god so richly rewards those who follow him? What other god lives among his people, guiding them with his wisdom and his might? What other god can lead you to true salvation? None of them! Only Razmir can offer you the power, the fortune, and the glory that you desire. Will you join him?” He folded his arms and waited for an answer. "How pathetic," Edawon whispered so only the bard could hear. For all to hear, he spoke his consent, as did Teltz and the unknown youngling. "Congratulations on a wise decision." The protest boomed. "The temple will pay for all your food and drink tonight, before your training begins." As they had already eaten before, Teltz and Edawon stuck to ale. "Kind of anti-climatic. That's all, you come here and get your meal paid for? Sounds too simple if you ask me." The halfling saluted the half-elf who was digging into food as if it was his last meal. Right then, the half-elf seemed to get tired all of a sudden. His head slumped and he barely missed the plate as his head fell to the table. "What..?" Edawon managed before he felt dizzy as well. "Those bastards poisoned our f..." He fell off the chair and stayed down. Teltz just had time to think about how fascinating and illogical it was to poison people already agreeing to join their cult.. unless they had been found out, that was. Then he, too, met the darkness of unconciousness. "They didn't come back out?" Bjön frowned as he looked from Zaza to Samin. "That means they must have a connection from the tavern to the temple. Maybe I should talk to the owner..." "And break cover?" Cajun shook his head at the idea of the paladin. "We can check out if there is a connection later tonight, I'm sure the keep can be made quiet for a while. Maybe that will be a better way in than borrowing their outfit. We just watch the temple and the tavern alike I'd say." "Yeah, from what we heard, it might be a few days before they come out again." Samin pointed towards the way to their inn. "We'll have some food and rest now, if you don't mind. We'll be back in the evening." Mook nodded and patted her wolf. As the two of them left and Cajun went to the smithy, she frowned at the dwarf. "You are n-not m-much for secrecy, are y-you?" "I would prefer to be able to go to the authorities, yes," the paladin admitted. "But it seems we have little choice here. Let's walk around and watch everything at once." He sounded slightly annoyed at the idea of a day's wait. The masked, black-robed priest paced down the narrow stone hallway, looking in each of the cells the 3 abductees had been locked into. “I must apologize for the way that you were brought here,” he began with a calm, even tone. “We must be sure that you are pure and properly prepared to join the faith. Today you shall fast and meditate on the glory of Razmir. On the morrow you shall be sworn in and given your masks, made one with the body of Razmir; one piece of the greater whole. You shall become acolytes, and be allowed upon the first step of enlightenment. Rejoice! The path of glory and fortune shall be open to you.” With that, the priest left again, and the rest of the day passed in utter boredom and with rumbling stomachs. Every 6 hours they were given water, but that was all. None of the priests spoke to them again and they didn't bother to try engaging them in talk. After 24 hrs, the priest, this time introducing himself as Egarthis, returned with a group of priests to release them. "It is time for the ceremony," they were now told. "Follow me." They were led up small stairs, through a room with a table and chairs,,a hallway and into a large room with many pews. The main temple area, so it seemed. A large crowd of masked priests waited in the temple. While white robes shrouded most of them, some wore gray, and a few showed black. In the center of the chamber was a gigantic staircase, atop of which glittered a porcelain and gold mask, the holy symbol of Razmir. On the eighth step of the stairs stood a black-robed priest, who spoke gravely. “Come forward.” They were asked to stand one at a time on the first step. Priests handed them white robes approximately their size and ions masks. "This you must wear when on the first floor or outside," they were told. One by one, they accepted their attire to the chants of "all hail Razmir." With some difficulty, everyone managed it into robes and mask, although the robes were still too wide for the halfling. Teltz was sure he heard a mumbled "pathetic" at some point. "Brother Krant will tutor you in the ways of the Living God," Egarthis declared after welcoming them to the community. "When you have proven yourselves worthy, you will be free members and get your possessions back." At that, the cultists fled the room one by one. Once they were all gone, Krant set to explain the rules. There were quite a few of them. Their routine was to start the next day. Then they were shown where to eat and sleep. "This is going to be a rather boring assignment," Teltz whispered once no one seemed to be close. The next day was not quite as boring as it had seemed at first. Getting up at 7 for a quick breakfast and then working some in the yard, the two of them decided that there were worse things – getting up even earlier, for example. The prayer and lessons half through the morning and the meager lunch were more bothersome, as was the cleaning of the temple floor with way too small brushes. While Edawon had trouble with the soap and water and, of course, the brush, he was sure Teltz had had some magical help at one point of the other. During afternoon prayer, the halfling was so exhausted he fell asleep a few times. Luckily, no one noticed and he was not the only one either. Then there was what they called training in the afternoon. Indoctrination on how to act in public, basically. Everything from how to walk and keeping your identity secret to how to extort money and mock other faiths. Teltz actually had some fun with it, pretending he was not good in acting like they wanted in public but also presented himself as a quick learner. Then there was dinner at 7 again, more evening prayers and finally, every acolyte was used to copy the so-called holy texts. Edawon got out of this duty and was instead sent to help carry a delivery in when he successfully pretended to be unable to write and barely able to read. Finally, they could return to their rooms, all hoping to be seen as worthy sooner than later. The second day almost got themselves involved into a fight Krant staged between acolytes in the courtyard. Edawon faked sickness, and Teltz charmed the man into thinking he had won such a fight before, and the two of them watched in disdain as Evlar – the young half-elf – and the others fought to win a night without copying duties. 2 days later, they were taken to be part of the preachings outside the temple, witnessing the pick pocketing of the Razmirans from the other side of the fence, so to say. Teltz made it harder for them with his bardic spells, drawing attention to their doings once or twice, but no one bothered to call the guards. But the crowd dispersed faster. To their surprise, each of them got a share of the loot when they returned. Edawon frowned at it but said nothing, of course. [/QUOTE]
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