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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 1181143" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the Tenth:In which: the party pays a visit to the Temple of the Handmaidens.The entry-hall of the Handmaidens’ temple has a beautiful stone parquet floor, its highly polished, intricate design meant to be relaxing.  The rest of the decor is equally well-done.  There are small alters, fine stonework, and high arched ceilings… but to appreciate any of that, Thatch would have to look up from his boots.    Fortunately, Dennis is less awed and embarrassed by his surroundings and is carrying on a quite civil conversation with their hostess.  “You’ll have to excuse my young friend here,” he explains, “he is,” Dennis drops his voice to a whisper, which is deliberately still loud enough for Thatch to hear, “inexperienced in these matters.”    “Of course,” the priestess replies.  Her name, she has told them, is Lady Lorelei.  She speaks politely, with a serenity borne of many seasons’ experience soothing rattled nerves of young worshippers.  Her calm demeanor, however, is the only thing which shows her years.    Thatch discovers heretofore undiscovered depths of embarrassment.  Dennis ignores him.    “I was wondering, there’s this girl… About so tall, dark hair, about that long…”   Dennis describes the woman they are looking for, dredging his mind for details until Lady Lorelei interrupts--    “Oh!  You must mean Jelliana.  I’m sorry, she left nearly a month ago, and we haven’t seen her.  She’s only been here sporadically over the past season.  I fear she’s been… distracted lately.”“Distracted?”The priestess waves her hand apologetically.  “In recent months, she’d begun to talk frequently about the unholy blight of arcane magic and those who practice it.  I don’t know where she was getting it from, but she’d become quite radicalized on the subject.”“When she’s not here, do you know where she goes?”  Dennis asks.“I believe she keeps quarters in the city, but I’m afraid I don’t know where.”  She turns to Thatch and smiles.  “But I’m sure there’s someone else here who can assist you and your young friend in your worship.”    Thatch manages to find his voice.  He turns to Dennis.  “Um… if she’s not here, maybe we should, um, just be going?”    Dennis gives him a hearty slap on the back in return.  “Nonsense!  Don’t worry.”    The priestess reaches out a reassuring hand.  Thatch swallows.**********    “What is taking them so long?”  Reyu wonders aloud, as she and Lira wait outside the Temple, watching the ebb and flow of worshippers.    Lira shrugs.  “They could be a while.” At Reyu’s questioning glance she adds, “I’ve got older brothers.”    A priest emerges, bidding farewell to a female parishioner, and notices the two women waiting outside.  “Can I help you ladies?”    Reyu shakes her head.  “I don’t think so.”    The priest purses his lips.  “If you are not here to worship the goddess, I’m going to have to ask you to move along somewhere else.”    “Why?”  Lira wants to know.  “Is it illegal to stand around?”    “Well,” the priest begins, “in point of fact…”    Luckily, Reyu catches the priest’s subtext.  “Oh, no.  We’re not trying to infringe…  We’re here with some friends of ours.”    “Ah ha,” says the priest.  “Well, you’re welcome to wait for them inside.  Or, if you are interested in any form of worship yourselves, our doors are open to all.”    The women do enter, but Thatch and Dennis are nowhere to be seen. Reyu pauses to appreciate the architecture.  “It really is quite lovely.”    Lira glances about.  “I don’t think that’s what most people are here to admire.”    Reyu rolls her eyes.  “Humans have less sense about sex than ferrets,” she mutters, earning a wounded look from Euro, who pokes his head out of Lira’s pocket and surveys his surroundings before giving the mustelid equivalent of a shrug.  Well, she may have a point there, Boss.  Ferrets don’t know nuthin’ when it comes to sex.  Playing with shiny things, that they got down.  But sex?  I’m just sayin’, you know.Lira—blushing—guides Euro back into her pocket.  Not for the first time glad that she is the only one who can hear his color commentary.Reyu catches the arm of a passing acolyte.  “Our friends—a very tall young human and an older, shorter man with dirt under his fingernails—when they become available could you please tell them that we will meet them at Mrs. Blackburn’s?”    The acolyte readily agrees and Reyu quickly ushers her companion towards home.    And the night passes uneventfully… more or less.</blockquote>

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