[coronatiger]

25th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

The Mitra temple lay at the center of the temple district and was easily the grandest temple. Worshippers drilled with weapons on the plaza, contrasting with adherents of other gods, who were warned not to carry arms in the temple district.

A trio of guards oversaw the orderliness of the queue waiting to be admitted to the temple, and since one was an officer, Xipil and I approached them. I explained to the officer that we needed to talk to Illoro urgently. He asked what it concerned, but I replied that it was a private matter and that Illoro wouldn’t appreciate me babbling about his affairs, not even to someone as important as him.

The officer suggested I wrote a note that he could bring to Illoro, so Xipil and I sat down on a nearby bench and composed a short text. “I know what Elik did today, but I bear no grudge, for their action was based on a lie they had been told. Meet me at the bench on the west front of the Mitra temple as soon as possible, and I will tell the truth. I won’t wait long.” Xipil took the note and folded it in a complicated manner and then we brought it to the officer.

The officer promised to deliver the note personally, but wanted to know who I was. I didn’t give my name, but admitted I was an Ashtarite. The officer frowned at that, but I said he was welcome to convey the information, should Illoro ask who had sent the note. He replied that it was good that I came during the light of day, and I claimed to respect Mitra, the sun god, despite worshipping another divinity. I was glad Grogg wasn’t there, for he’d choke on the lie and give it away.

Xipil and I returned to the bench. The officer remained at his post, talking to his men and doing his job. After five minutes I walked over to him and asked what was delaying him from delivering my very important message. He said he was on duty for another three hours and was insulted when I asked for someone else to deliver my note. I went back to the bench to vent my irritation to Xipil.

While we were talking, the officer grabbed a runner and gave him the note. I asked Xipil to hide and watch to make sure I wasn’t surrounded by Tivito goons while I waited for a reply. He cleverly chose to blend in with the crowd instead, moving about the area as one among many.

The runner didn’t go far; he entered a nearby building. After about twenty minutes, a soldier emerged from there and came over to the benches. He was clearly looking for me, and while he looked rather grim, I didn’t consider him a threat. Xipil would have warned me if he wasn’t alone. I smiled and nodded to him and stood up to make it clear it was me he sought. He instructed me to come along and not to draw any weapons, and he threatened me with “something worse than him”. Xipil signaled to ask if everything was all right, and I responded by telling the soldier I was coming with him.

The soldier led me inside the building and showed me to a gilded door. It was obvious I was on my own from there, so I opened the door. Momentarily, I felt that the light within seemed odd. Was this the power of Mitra? I shook off the feeling and saw the light for what it truly was, torches burning despite the sun shining in through the windows.

The door closed behind me. Behind a desk sat a Mitra priest, robed as extravagantly in gold and white as I had ever seen. I felt contempt, but also sad on Mitra’s behalf, that his priests needed to make a spectacle of themselves to feel respected.

“I am Nuur-Karif,” I announced. I detected a glimmer of recognition on the priest’s face, but while he hid any fear or surprise well, my name shocked him into the same rudeness I had witnessed elsewhere in the Byblos clergy, for he did not give his name. When I challenged him, he responded, “You know who I am.”

I presented my case about Tivito’s lie, keeping it brief and concise. Illoro let me finish, then asked if I had come to surrender myself, if I was the one “they” were looking for. “No. Why should anyone be looking for me?” I countered. Illoro hadn’t yet made a move to have me arrested, and I thought he wouldn’t, not until our interview had concluded. Illoro showed me a document wherein I was named as sought for questioning.

Illoro wanted me to repeat my message in the light of some holy flame. Quite un-Mitra-like, he covered the windows before retrieving an egg-shaped, gray stone. “This will help both of us by showing if either of us is trying to pull some trickery,” he explained. He traced his finger over the stone, and it caught fire.

While I repeated what I had just said, Illoro paid close attention to the burning stone. I couldn’t see anything special about it apart from the fact that stones don’t usually burn, but I understood that the flame would somehow reveal if I lied. Perhaps I had seen something had I actually spoken an untruth, but I was careful not to do that. Most of what I said was simply true, like not wanting any more bloodshed between Elik and us. The rest of my message I wrapped in technical truths, as deftly as I had ever done before.

Illoro asked who could be held accountable for what the Ashtarite leaders had been charged with. He seemed to believe that our cult colluded with demons, but I pointed the finger at Tivito instead and told him about the demonic attack on Madan Aldera. I assured him that whatever demonic happened today had nothing to do with the chapel at the Cracked Kettle, and only occurred after Elik’s attack was over. Further, I explained that the incident outside Ossei was caused by Tivito – and two Elik mages – responding to rumors of a demon; there was no actual demon there.

I also told Illoro about the Azura priestess’s prophecy. He was surprised to learn she was still alive and active. I said I couldn’t testify to her current status, as much could have happened since I saw her, but he asked if I could arrange a peaceful meeting between the two of them. Illoro wanted this to be a sacred deal between us, one favor for another, but there was nothing I could ask of him. He had already made it clear he couldn’t have the arrested Ashtarites released, not unless I could appease Ratanu with someone else to judge. I finally decided to ask of Illoro that he investigated my claims against Tivito and reported to me what he learned. The flame told him I had spoken truthfully, but he had to know that there were ways to trick his little toy; it would probably allow me to lie as long as I believed I was telling the truth. This investigation would be for his benefit, or rather to convince him that Tivito was truly bad for business. Illoro conceded that there were likely bad seeds among Tivito’s ranks, but he was reluctant to write them off completely. Hopefully, his investigation would reveal the truth about them.

I promised to make my best efforts to locate the Azura priestess and set up the meeting he wanted, and then I was off. I met Xipil outside and told him what had been said inside, sating his curiosity. Obviously, I didn’t report our dialog verbatim, and I may have skipped some things, conveying in a few minutes what transpired in over an hour, but I told him the important bits.

We walked towards Your temple at the northern gate to look for Enani, who might be our best lead to find the Azura priestess. Xipil thought the priestess might be sitting in the Tiri tower. I didn’t think it likely, particularly not during the day, but it might be worth checking out if we got nothing from Enani.

I suggested that Xipil went to inform our friends about what had happened and warn them there’d be more waiting in store. I wanted to pray at the altar, so I wouldn’t go anywhere until he returned, but Xipil decided to join me.

Only three of the Ashtarites from before remained when we entered the temple, and they saw we were headed for the altar and didn’t interrupt us. I knelt and asked You if I should surrender to the Ratanu authorities, but You replied that I wouldn’t find what I was searching for there. However, if I could free myself and thus continue on my quest, my surrender would save the others. I didn’t immediately see how I could get myself unarrested, so I interpreted that Your will was for me to leave the others to their fate. I briefly considered discussing the topic with my companions, but quickly discarded the idea. They’d be too biased to offer useful advice.

Praying done, I asked the others there if they knew where Enani might be found. She had gone to the Cracked Kettle, they said, but she would surely return to the temple afterwards. Xipil asked if we should check out the Tiri tower and I agreed. It was only a few minutes away through the tunnel Xipil had found.