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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 2409376" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the One-Hundred Thirty-SixthIn which: Thatch Attends.At the Temple of Justice, Thatch was surprised to discover that one of the messages waiting for the party was addressed to him, sent by one Dame Jenna, a Knight Chaplain of the Lady’s Attendants.  He’s familiar with the Attendants, at least in principle.  They’re an Alirrian group whose principal mission involves providing support and services to the other Alirrian sects.  The message requests an interview with him at his earliest convenience.As the other members of the party have scattered to their own business, Anvil with the Justicars, Lira with the Questors, and Eva… well, to wherever she goes, Thatch’s earliest convenience comes… rather early.###The Temple of the Attendants lies at the very edge of Dar Pykos, adjacent to the parade grounds.  In fact, these grounds are often used by the Attendants in training exercises.  Of the four major branches of the Attendants, two serve martial purposes: the Attendants of the Body, escorts and bodyguards for non-martial Alirrians, and the Attendants of the Field, Alirrian knights who carry out the will of the Church in battle.The Attendants of the Field execute training maneuvers as Thatch is escorted past them.  He notes their tight formations with approval.  Not that he knows the first thing about fighting in an orderly regiment; he merely thinks they look pretty neat.Thatch is brought to a small private garden, where Dame Jenna awaits him beneath a large tree.  She is a plain looking woman with short-cropped hair.  Her full plate mail sparkles in the dappled light; her holy symbol indicates that she is an Attendant of the Field.  Thatch notices she has a somewhat harried look about her, as if she has been supremely busy of late.  Indeed, she re-rolls a stack of parchments as the young fighter approaches.She takes a quick moment to look Thatch up and down before she inclines her head and says, formally, “May I be of service to you.”Thatch blinks, confused.  “Um, I don’t know.  I thought you asked me to come.”Dame Jenna smiles.  “No, no,” she says.  “That is the formal greeting of the Lady’s Attendants.  ‘May I be of service to you.’  It is a statement, not a question.  Our Lady’s love is best known when we are all of service to one another.”Privately, Thatch briefly suspects that some of the ways the Handmaidens have helped him know Alirria’s love might be better, but he politely replies, “Oh. Um, well, then may I be of service to you.”“Indeed, I hope so,” she replies, motioning for Thatch to sit.  “You see, with Alirria Rising, I’ve a need for extra swords, and from what I hear from the reports of the other Churches relating to…” her voice takes on a quieter tone “…the mission you are involved in, you have no small degree of skill.”Thatch swells with momentary pride that Dame Jenna has heard of his exploits.  “I’d be honored,” Thatch says.  “What do you need me to do?”“As I mentioned, it is nearly Alirria Rising.  One of the key missions of the Attendants is to see to the safety of our less combat oriented sistren, and traditionally this is a time when the Temple of the Handmaidens is… ah…”“Busy?” Thatch suggests.“Rather.  We like to have extra security on hand… just in case.”  She smiles.  “We’ll pay, of course, and the Handmaidens are always very appreciative of our aid.”Best. Job. Ever. Thatch thinks to himself.  “Sure.  Sounds great,” he says aloud.  “I’m always happy to do my part for the Lady.”Dame Jenna grins.  “Well, you should consider taking your Orders, then,” she jokes.Thatch quite suddenly becomes very thoughtful.  Taking his Orders.  Sure, the others all belong to various religious sects.  Well, except Reyu.  Er, and Annika.  But taking Orders himself?  It’s something he’d never really thought about.  He’d never considered himself all that religious.Or had he?  After all, growing up on the farm in Sirrus, his family had regularly venerated Alirria, beseeching the Green Mother for bountiful crops and plentiful rains.  And after leaving home to make his way in the world, he’d certainly muttered his share of prayers to the Goddess of Travelers on his long journey to Dar Pykos.  And, since Dennis had first taken him to the Handmaidens, he’d worshipped more than a few times at the altar of the Lady of Love.But that’s not really being religious, is it?  Not really?Unbidden, the memory of the <a href="https://www.enworld.org/index.php?posts/2096051/" target="_blank">Vale of the Holy Spring</a> in the Ketkath floats to the forefront of his brain.  The shimmering shape rising out of the pool.  The calm words, striking deep in his heart.  The sense of love infusing his being.  That sense of comfort, like being tucked in a warm bed, with your mother stroking your head and singing soft, comforting nothings to you.Is that what being religious is?Because if it is… then maybe he always has been religious.“Um,” he says.  “What exactly would taking my Orders involve?”Dame Jenna sits up, startled.  “Do you truly ask this?”“Well… yeah.  Yeah, I guess I do,” Thatch says.  “I guess I’ve always felt a kinship towards Alirria.  Especially lately.  And I guess… I guess that’s something I’d like to explore deeper.”Dame Jenna breaks into a wide grin.  “You don’t… you can’t know… This is truly a blessing for us.  The Church of Alirria has… well, ever since our representative to your mission was forced to leave, we have been the sole Church without a voice in your party.  To have you as our eyes and ears would be a… assuming you’d be willing, of course.”“Sure,” Thatch replies.  “So.  Um.  What do we do now?”“Well, first you’ll have to choose what sect you’d most like to join.”Thatch considers that.  As a child, he’d known some Tenders, but that was when he was a farmer.  He isn’t really a farmer these days.  He does travel, so the Waterwalkers might be appropriate.  But then, he’s never really been seized by that kind of wanderlust the Waterwalkers are known for.  Of course, there are always the Handmaidens… though there wouldn’t be much of a place for Bob there, would there?  And there’s seldom much call for a sword there, either.  Except in the hands of an escort or a bodyguard...Which leaves only one choice, really.“Um.  Well, I guess I’d like to join the Attendants, then,” Thatch says.Dame Jenna smiles at him.  She rises to her feet and bows.  “In that case, may I be of service to you.  Please, come with me.”He does.###Eva allows herself the luxury of a deep funk as she wanders the streets of Dar Pykos the morning of the group’s scheduled shopping expedition to Dar Karo.  Normally, she would be excited about the excursion, but she hasn’t slept well in the wake of her nocturnal visitor, and that is making her crabby.  Though, to be fair, the very fact of the visit is making her even crabbier.  That smug, mocking attitude.  The jibes and implied humiliations peppered throughout his conversation.  All the questions, and of course he wouldn’t answer any of hers.  Not even the simple ones.”How should I get in touch with you, in the future?” Eva asked.“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” he replied.  “We’ll be in touch with you.”“But what if it’s an emergency?”“I said don’t worry.  We’ll find you.”Really!  By the Wind’s left <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />, what was that supposed to mean?  And all the orders for while they’re in Ebis, things he insisted she do but wouldn’t explain.  Keep an eye out for any information relating to—Oh, whispers!  Just thinking about it is enough to make her angry.It’s the way he treats her that she objects to.  Like her opinions doesn’t matter.  Like she doesn’t matter.  And maybe, to him, she doesn’t.  After all, she was dead.  They brought her back.  She owes them, well, everything, doesn’t she?  Which is pretty much what he said to her when they brought her back.  But still, that doesn’t mean she can be treated like she’s just some tool, to be used as he sees fit and then… what?  Discarded?  Eliminated?She suddenly finds that it’s probably best not to think about what he might do if he ever decides that he’s done with her.And, as if all that weren’t bad enough, Alirria Rising is this week, and she doesn’t even have a date.Some weeks, the wind really blows against you.</blockquote>

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