[coronatiger]

The priestess asked if we knew how dangerous we were. Grogg looked around, as if expecting enemies in the shadows. “Did nobody really tell you how dangerous you are?” she repeated. She said that what the followers of Tiri learn in the Prince’s Cities was very limited. She and her fellows could see things in the sky, things that have happened and things that are yet to come. The future was flighty, however, but there were some things that would happen despite all efforts to prevent them. The priestess said that we had the power to affect destinies, even those that were locked in. We could create chaos, she claimed. By dancing, apparently. She warned us that dancing with The Nine could have much bigger consequences than we could imagine.

The Azura priestess said she could share what was locked in for Byblos. There were three events, and she thought they would happen regardless of our interference, but if anyone could affect them, it was us. She paused, and Wolfram asked if this was something we could discuss with the other two ladies, meaning the Ashtarites who had left a couple of hours ago.

The priestess sighed deeply, “Yes.” Then she asked if we were sure we wanted to hear this. Xipil said yes immediately, and Wolfram qualified, “If this can stabilize the world, then yes.” The priestess told us what she believed, that the forces involved here could materialize elsewhere, too, regardless if we escaped what was going to happen here. She wanted everyone present to agree before she continued. I replied yes, as did Grogg and Kraa – translated by Grogg. Yana looked at me before answering, and I nodded.

The three things that worried the priestess would happen in Byblos before the moon started waning again. That would give us nearly a month, I thought. Depending on Pak and Groman, we might not be here then. The priestess prophesized, “The floor in one of Ashtar’s holy places will be covered in blood! A dragon will attack and bring disorder to the organized! A cowed demon will end lives!”

Xipil, now in a divulging mood, told the priestess that we met a grey man who opposed his brothers and asked us to contact Azura on his behalf. Something must have happened during his meditation for him to switch stances so suddenly. The priestess said we could show him here, but she indicated that she wouldn’t welcome him with open arms.

Wolfram considered the prophecies, and thought Tivito had something to do with the demon. Perhaps the demon in the prophecy was one they had captured from a crypt. The priestess told us that Tivito limited her movement. There was an alliance between some of the temples, the old faith, she called it, and without that, she wouldn’t be here today.

Grogg was obsessed with dragons, and said that Tivito had to be dragon worshippers. He scowled at me, but I didn’t take the bait. Not in front of an Azura priestess. Grogg continued by claiming that Tivito was messing with the Ashtarites. The priestess reacted to that, shaking her head and saying, “Not my Ashtarites!”

Wolfram had some misconceptions about Tivito and Ashtarites, so offensive that I couldn’t help myself. I corrected him. I wished the priestess would expound on the important prophecy, but after berating Wolfram, I refocused and clammed up again.

Wolfram wished all the demons went to the Night Mirror and up to the stars, but Xipil disagreed. The demons didn’t belong there, he said. I feared the two of them would get into another revealing argument, but the priestess said she had heard enough. She gave Wolfram a small pouch with three silver coins inside. “As long as nobody has resorted to violence, they’ll let you pass.” Wolfram asked if it was some kinds of guards she was referring to, but she only repeated, “They’ll let you pass.” She had fallen back into her old, annoying, cryptic ways.

Kraa turned hysterical and flew from Grogg’s shoulder to the priestess. She appeared to squint at the spirit raven, and picked something up from it. I couldn’t see what, not even through the ring, but she showed it to Grogg, who apparently could. She said he should attach whatever it was, by sewing, if he didn’t want to lose Kraa. Grogg mused that he had to do this under the moon, which pleased the priestess, and Wolfram offered to use his powers to strengthen the moonlight for him.

The priestess turned towards Xipil and said that he could see what she saw, and that she believed he could do something with it. Then she addressed me, as another woman who can see things that others can’t. I didn’t feel that this description fit me very well. The powers that the spirit seeing ring bestowed weren’t inherently mine, and if she was talking about my dark vision, anyone could see what I saw if they brought a lamp. The priestess had expected me to have more questions, but she said she wouldn’t have many answers for me. “I assumed as much. That’s why I didn’t ask,” I lied, seeing no reason to offend her with the truth. The priestess instructed me to look to Yana. If I lost my humanity, I would fail, she claimed.

Having given us these instructions, the priestess withdrew into herself. It was obvious – at least to anyone used to human interaction – that she wanted us to leave her now. Yana and I stood, and Yana slipped her work into her bag, preparing to go. Xipil asked the priestess about the spirit priests that were bound to the stone circles, but she didn’t want to answer him. Instead, she admonished, “The easiest way to change what will happen is to change how it will happen, but it might be possible to change whether it happens at all. Tread carefully!”

I took Yana’s hand and led the way downstairs into the darkness. Had my friends had any aptitude for social skills, they would know my actions screamed, “We’re leaving. Bring the light!” I put my arm around Yana’s waist for safety, but it turned out not to be necessary. Wolfram brought Grogg, Xipil and the oil lamp.

Outside, Wolfram studied the three silver coins. They were several decades old, but hadn’t seen much use. Neither he nor Xipil reacted to any magic, and I didn’t see anything special about them through the ring. Wolfram put out the lamp and returned it to its hiding place, just inside the door.

Xipil wanted to climb out over the wall, since the gates might be closed and guarded. I told him we wouldn’t have any problem getting past the guards. We could also spend the night here, in the cellar, and leave after the sun had come up. Grogg asked suspiciously if this was Your temple, but I repeated what had been said several times tonight, that this was a Tiri temple. Wolfram had to confirm my words for Grogg to accept them. Grogg said it would be fine to sleep here, then. Xipil reminded him about Hylda and the money she was guarding. I thought she would be fine.

Considering the matter resolved, I took Yana inside and led the way downstairs. Once we were out of earshot, she opined that it would be relatively safe to test the silver coins on the guards at the temple district gate. I didn’t think experimentation was necessary. She and I could talk our way past anyone, although we might have to bribe the guards to allow us to bring someone as menacing as Grogg and Wolfram, and we could use the silver for that.