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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7397564" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 148The Temple of Hosrenu in Severon could hold its own against the Apernium, the Royal Palace, the Aureate Circle, and the other examples of monumental architecture that dominated the skyline of Severon.  The temple grounds were dominated by the domed expanse of the Great Library, flanked on one side by the ivy-clad mass of the University and on the other by the more practical lines of the Factorium.  Those great edifices were surrounded by a cluster of lesser petitioners, structures small only in comparison to their noble neighbors.  Men and women of all races, united in the simple robes of their calling, walked between the buildings, carrying with them an air of dignified quiet that offset the hustle and bustle of the city beyond the wall just a stone’s throw away.Quellan and Xeeta sat on a padded bench inside one of the smaller buildings, a three-storied gray block known as the Rectory.  It had once served as living quarters for the temple’s priests, but as the complex had grown its residents had spread out into the city, where the Temple now rented a dozen buildings.  The Rectory was now mostly offices, though a few of the senior officials within the church hierarchy maintained residences there for convenience.“This is a waste of time,” Xeeta said.  “I should have gone with Bredan and Glori.”“This is important,” Quellan said.  “The wheels of bureaucracy move slowly.”She snorted, and he looked over at her.  Xeeta wore her usual appearance, an illusion that retained the outlines of her face while replacing the distinctive features of her infernal heritage.  Her red skin had been replaced with a healthy flesh-tone with hints of pink on the neck and cheeks.  The slightly curved, pale horns that rose from her temples were gone, replaced by ginger curls that spilled down over the shoulders of her coat.  The amulet she wore on a cord around her neck looked like just a pretty bauble, but Quellan knew that it carried the magic that allowed her to mask her true appearance from the world.Quellan himself could well understand the impulse that had led her to adopt the disguise.  His own flesh was a mottled greenish gray, pulled taut over a muscled body that would have given the hardest warrior pause.  But it was his face that most often caused alarm.  His eyes were tinted yellow, shining under a heavy protruding brow.  But that feature was overwhelmed by the sharper jut of his jawline, from which a pair of tusks poked up as if to shout to the world, orc here!  In truth he was only half orc, but for most people he encountered such distinctions were academic.“If I’d known we were going to be sitting her for hours, I would have brought something to eat,” Xeeta continued.  “Is there a lunch hall here or something?  Or is that how it works, the minute we step out they show up, so they can say that it’s our fault we couldn’t meet?”“I think you’re overthinking it,” Quellan said.  “The likely answer is that people are busy.  We just concluded a major war, after all.”“It’s not like the church of Hosrenu was a major player,” Xeeta said.  “Present company excluded, of course.  I’m sure the hierarchs of the God of Knowledge will be writing papers and debating the ins and outs of the defeat of Kavel Murgoth for the next century or so.”Quellan allowed a soft chuckle at the dig.  “If anything, you may be conservative.  I just heard that a new monograph is being published that reevaluates some of the major theories about the Dead King.”“Wow, impressive.  It only took them five hundred years.”Quellan gave her a long look, until she turned her head away.  “So," she said.  “Tell me more about this high elder we’re supposed to meet.”“I’ve never actually met Loremaster Caslek, but he has a significant reputation within the church.”“What, did he write the definitive text on the historical significance of King Aislan’s menagerie?”“I hope that you can manage to be just a bit less caustic during the actual meeting.”“I make no promises,” Xeeta said.  “Hey, look.”Quellan glanced over just as a young woman in the robes of an acolyte came into the antechamber.  As she bowed to them the half-orc priest noted the way her eyes shifted, never quite meeting his.  “The Loremaster will see you now.”Quellan fought the urge to sigh as he stood.  “Thank you.”</blockquote>

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