Chapter 138 Visiting Chapels
"These books are not as terrible as I feared." Ikaris conceded a while later. Some of them were truly worth reading.
The librarian pouted as she heard him muttering under his breath, her arms held akimbo.
"Of course it's worth reading! This is the best Academy in the Warring Lands, not the local bookstore. This library is on par with the Confederation's. Why do you think I took the job as a librarian when I'm a student like you? So I could read these books as much as I want. And I get paid for it! Great deal, right?"
Seeing her radiant smile, Ikaris and his companions didn't dare to contradict her for fear of stirring up trouble. Ellie, however, seemed interested.
"Are you a student here?" She exclaimed with interest. The librarian was about her age.
" Hey, oh! I'm only 19. I'm in my fourth year. Why would I be here if not to study?" The young Fae took offense as she crossed her arms with a displeased look.
"Well, I don't know. Make a living." Nardor snorted as he picked up his stack of books. With his head barely above the counter, there was something inherently comical about the scene.
"Ignore him." Danchun said. "He's cranky with everyone."
Still, she was wrong about that. The librarian was not offended. With a heartfelt smile, she laughed, "Don't worry, I'm used to dwarves. I feel like it's a hereditary trait. It's when they're not cranky that you have to worry."
"Hmmph." Nardor snorted again without looking back, then left the library alone.
That rang the bell for departure and their group thanked her for the textbooks, then left the building. With nothing better to do, they returned to the Trade District and as originally planned he gave them free time. They were free to return to Last Saint whenever they wanted.
Nardor and Danchun accompanied him and although Ellie and Malia were tempted to join them, they decided to go for a walk with Kellam and Taguchi when they found out it was for work. Ellie politely offered to help, but Ikaris flatly refused. To do what he had to do, the fewer people he had around the more efficient he would be.
The two groups separated and with one eye Ikaris saw the two girls heading for a clothing store, their two male companions following them with a disenchanted attitude.
Once the trio was alone, Danchun frowned and asked,
"Why did you want me to accompany you? It is true that I am the oldest and most experienced of the village, but I doubt that is the real reason."
Ikaris did not beat around the bush. "You are right. I want to find a Healer who can heal your wounds completely. Not just because of those scars, but because of your... accuracy... a man named Kayden ended up castrated. We owe him that much."
When her lord reminded her of this embarrassing event, Danchun blushed slightly for the first time. Apparently, even a revered Cultivator could be embarrassed in this kind of situation. She didn't say so, but she must have felt a little guilty after that accident.
Not knowing the Trade District well, and without Asselin to guide them, they wandered the streets looking for a blacksmith's store that might appeal to them. Before they found what they were looking for, Ikaris stumbled into a small alley with many small chapels and statues of various effigies.
This reminded him that he was still looking for a priest for his Kinah Prayer Hall as well as his Elsisn and Faulch Temples. Technically, he was an Angel of Faulch qualified as a priest for the said temple but he didn't have time for that. If he could find competent people to delegate these tasks to, that would be ideal.
A small terracotta chapel with a statuette depicting a pilgrim with a walking stick first caught his attention. Several citizens regularly entered and exited with pious expressions on their faces and he concluded that it must be a rather popular Saint in Tartarus Shade.
Clear-headed enough not to foolishly ask a passerby which Saint it was, he listened silently to the discussions of the devotees and eventually found his identity.
"Jessup, Minor Saint of Travelers and the Desert." Magnus confirmed in his mind. "His origins are not well known, but he is quite old. Older than recent Major Saints like Elsisn, Kinah and Asanah. The reason he is quite popular throughout the Forsaken Lands is that he is very active. All merchants, mercenaries and travelers who spend most of their lives on the road regularly pray to keep his favor. Usually, if the prayer is sincere and the offering sufficient, Jessup will make your journey easier in some way."
"Eh, really? I may have to build one of those chapels in my territory in that case." Ikaris mused as he thoughtfully stroked his chin.
One of the worshippers must have heard his muttering and reported it back inside because a few seconds later a man in desert-appropriate pilgrim's garb walked up to them, hobbling with his walking stick. He was a bearded man with a sunburned complexion, but his eyes were benevolent.
"Greetings, young Lord." The man bowed slightly. "I was given to understand that you were considering establishing a place of prayer for Jessup in your territory. Am I mistaken?"
Ikaris glanced at his interlocutor and replied hesitantly,
"A priest?"
"You have a good eye. I am the priest of this humble chapel.
Ikaris nodded and went straight to the heart of the matter. " Actually, although creating places of worship for all the Minor Saints is one of my goals, it is not my priority. I must first find qualified priests for the temples that already exist. Would you be able to fill me in if that's not too rude?"
The teenager feared that Jessup's priest would lash out, but the man was incredibly good-natured. Far from being indignant, he played with his beard with his thick bushy eyebrows furrowed in concentration, then sighed,
"A place of prayer for all the Minor Saints... You have ambition, I give you that. To answer your query honestly, I don't know any random priests willing to serve any Saint even if they are all worthy of respect. On the other hand, I know quite a few renegade priests who no longer have a temple to serve. If I know which Saint it is, I might be able to help more. Of course, it won't be free. In exchange, I would like to be permitted to visit your territory to establish a Prayer Hall for Jessup."
Ikaris would have been suspicious if the priest had not added this last condition. After a short pause, he disclosed,
"I am looking for priests for an Elsisn Temple, a Faulch Temple and a Kinah Prayer Hall. The Kinah Prayer Hall will evolve into a temple in a few days as my territory grows."
"Evolve? So you're really a Stele Holder. Even better." Priest chimed in. "I don't know any Faulch priests, but I can tell you where to find some. House Morgunis runs all the Faulch temples in the city. Contact them and I'm sure they'll be enthusiastic if you make an official request.
Ikaris, Nardor and Danchun were speechless. Was it that easy to find a priest of Faulch? They were already affiliated with that House. If he asked Anaphiel with puppy dog eyes, it wasn't impossible that she would return the favor. Albeit... It could also backfire if he was too obvious. They weren't that close. Yet. A formal request was the right way to go.
"And the other two?" The youth inquired next.
"It's your lucky day. I know a priestess of Kinah and a priest of Elsisn who might be suitable. The first one has a sister who is a priestess of Asanah, so you may have to open another temple but with your ambition I don't think that's a problem, right?
Ikaris felt uncomfortable as he felt the insistent gaze of the pilgrim. He had the unpleasant impression that he was implying something else.
"That's not a problem. Where can I find them?"
The priest smiled.
"I finished today's sermon, so I can take you straight there if you want. All the Jessup priests are excellent guides, you couldn't have come to a better place."