[coronatiger]

I asked the drivers to take us to the closest herb shop with a decent selection. We were soon parked outside The Far-Traveled Alchemist. Before I could think, Grogg dropped his weapons on the floor and exited the wagon. I hurried after him inside the shop, and witnessed his awesome social skills. He dumped the contents of his purse on the counter and asked for something to make a bear see spirits. The woman behind the counter snapped up a copper piece that was about to roll off. I groaned inside and tried to specify which herb we wanted, but Grogg shoved me aside.

The shopkeeper showed Grogg a glass jar with purple powder. He recognized it as the incense we had used before to make spirits visible, which surprised her. Grogg muttered that he wanted to see spirit ravens, which made the woman think he was asking for crow’s toes, a hallucinogenic drug that coincidentally, Grogg had used several times in the past. It invariably made him see, hear or smell horses. I don’t think Grogg likes them very much. Fortunately, he hasn’t attacked any real horses yet.

I got through to the woman that what we actually wanted was river thistle, despite her fascination with Grogg’s surprising knowledge of her trade. Grogg got his crow’s toes, and I got a vial of river thistle concentrate. It would be much easier to give Wolfram the correct dose of that, than if I had to make a tea with leaves from the plant. The vial contained twenty times the dose that would be needed for a regular person, but I estimated that Wolfram would need double doses, being so big. I didn’t have my equipment with me, but another time, I could inject the liquid right into his veins, for a quicker effect with less juice. Xipil split the bill with me, and I joked that we should make Wolfram pay, since it was his problem we were solving.

We returned to the wagon and showed Wolfram what we had purchased. I told him I’d keep the vial and make sure he got the right dose. This was strong stuff; the contents of this tiny vial could kill at least two full-grown men – or one Wolfram-sized one, I suppose.

We got the drivers to set the course for the temple district. I had Wolfram hold out his hand, and I poured a few drops into his palm. I held up the vial after each drop to see how much I had poured. When I was satisfied, I told him to lick it up and swallow. I knew that river thistle tea could be quite bitter, but properly extracted juice should be almost tasteless, unlike what one might believe. It certainly looked like water, and I had heard a story about an herbalist who had drunk an entire vial before realizing their mistake. I had always disliked that story. That herbalist couldn’t be very skilled, to mistake a vial of poison for a glass of water.

Wolfram soon had a dull look on his face. He opened a window to see if the crowds outside made him panic, but the river thistle had done its job. He stared at the townsfolk and forgot to be afraid.

The wagon stopped across the plaza from the eastern temple district gate, and we got out. Wolfram left some of his weapons in the wagon, and warned the drivers to take good care of them.

We crossed the plaza, and Wolfram had no problem with all the people. Xipil pointed at the big book at the gate, where most folk left some money. I chose not to pay. The chance that any of the money reached Your chapels was non-existent.

Once we had passed the gate, there was a food court and some sales booths on our left and facilities for bathing on our right. The middle-aged woman from the chapel sat on a bench, but got up when she spotted us, and disappeared into the bathing facilities, walking quite fast. We followed her.

Inside the bathing facilities, which were part of the temple of Anati, Wolfram stopped to gawk at the fountains, where statues of the goddess poured water for washing. Anati wasn’t wearing any clothes in Byblos either, and with the drug dulling his inhibitions, nothing stopped Wolfram from staring openly. Except Xipil, who dragged him along.

We followed the woman through the baths, and then through a park. There were altars spread throughout the park, and Xipil dashed over to look at some. After a few minutes, the woman sat down on a bench to see if we were keeping up, and once we got near, she rose and disappeared through a hedge. We followed.

This area used to have temple buildings, but those had been taken down and removed. The only standing buildings were a tower next to the district’s outer wall and an adjoining one-story house. The woman entered. Dust and cobwebs greeted us, and the woman lit an oil lamp and handed it to Wolfram. I looked around and adjusted my vision, realizing that it was nearly pitch-black inside. One of the drawbacks to my dark vision is that I have to focus to notice when it’s too dark for others to see anything. Maybe I get over that in time; it’s only a couple of weeks since You bestowed this gift upon me. Wolfram mumbled that this used to be a Tiri temple. I thought he should feel right at home, then. Not that the river thistle allowed him to feel very much at the moment.

The woman stopped inside the tower, at a staircase going both up and down. In a low voice, she instructed us to go upstairs. She seemed a little nervous, but not so much that I was concerned. She went down when we went up.

The windows in the tower were blocked with wooden boards. We went all the way up. The old woman waited there, sitting in a rocking chair with her head tilted back so she could “look” up at the darkening sky through an opening in the ceiling. The opening looked intentional, not a sign of decay. It should obviously be there, this being a temple to the moon goddess.

There was no moon now, in the middle of the month, and Wolfram lamented that fact, since the weather was fine, with no clouds in the sky to obscure the moon. The old woman nodded. Grogg smelled the air, and I was surprised that he didn’t begin to sneeze, what with all the dust floating around. Xipil sat down next to the rocking chair and began to meditate. The old woman thought we were early, but both Wolfram and I said we came just on time, according to their instructions.

The woman asked “you with the dark voice” – meaning Wolfram – if he was one of those who danced to the stars. Wolfram replied that this was something he learned recently, and asked if the woman had heard of The Nine. She chuckled and nodded. “Imagine that the animals learned that dance!” she said. Wolfram asked about the significance of their dance. The old woman told him that if there had been more of them, they might have gone after us for heresy. Xipil countered, “shouldn’t you be hunted for putting The Nine underground?” The woman turned towards him and said there was much he didn’t know. “The men have already received their punishment.” I thought she was speaking of the men of Azura’s temple, those who had sold themselves out to Odon’s brothers.

I heard footsteps in the stairs, and interposed myself between Yana and the sound, placing my hands on my knife hilts under my cloak. The woman from before entered the tower room with another about the same age. The new woman gave Your sign, and I replied in kind. She didn’t give her rank – what’s with these people! – but I got the impression that she was experienced.

I asked if anyone would tell us what we were doing here. The new arrival asked if we had found what we were looking for. Wolfram replied that we were waiting for them. I asked right out who they were, and they asked back. “I am Nuur-Karif,” I said, and they wished me welcome, but without giving their names. Grogg also introduced himself.

Since they were so secretive, I asked what relationship they had to You. The new woman answered that they belonged to the oldest temple in Byblos, and that she led the ceremonies there. The other two remained silent. “What are we doing here? This looks more like a temple to a god of the moon or the stars, than an Ashtar temple.” The women didn’t answer, so I continued. “I’ve learned there is a conflict between our brothers and sisters here in Byblos.”

I was really growing frustrated with these women. The way they acted, I understood why some might take offense. The lack of communication made things escalate, and now we were in this situation. They seemed misinformed, too, asking why we had asked to see them. I said we were here by coincidence, following leads to get to the bottom of the difficulties; we didn’t know them, and had certainly not sought them out. Wolfram said he wasn’t interested in helping with our obviously internal struggle, and would rather go after his own enemies.

The two middle-aged women suggested we went downstairs to talk. That was a good idea. We’re more at home the deeper we go. Xipil and Grogg remained with the old Azura priestess, but Wolfram – despite what he had just said – accompanied the rest of us to the basement.