Pecunia's Temple - Samheen 26 MT, 3rd Mark

[Guest]

Laibach rubbed his eyes before the building, not out of disbelief but out of weariness-- he had perhaps done too much in the past few days, and with not nearly so much sleep as he was accustomed to. Add to that the stresses of everyday life, or at least life as the young man had come to know it, and the result was a fatiguing existance. He wasn't mentally tired-- oh no, he could send his mind in every direction he wished-- but his body was lethargic and didn't seem like it wanted to move.

He slid into the gate, moving past the guards with an ease and comfort in keeping with the open nature of the temple itself. He strode almost purposefully, though perhaps his steps sounded just a touch softer within the sanctity of the temple than they might have been upon the cobblestones outside.

He looked idly at the arrangement of the internal structures within the building, and determined that Katrian was more than likely within the Bank portion of the Temple, though he could not exactly be sure. As such, the logical thing to do-- or at least his mind told him such-- was to ask a priest for directions.

"Pardon me, Brother," he began, assuming that this was the proper greeting for someone of such a station, and assuming that the priest was male. "I'm Lord Cicero Montague of World's Mouth... I have an appointment with Sister Katrian for this mark, I believe. Could you direct me to her, please?" He smiled winningly, face set into naive, youthful mode. He had no doubt that he'd be taken to Katrian in short order, and so he prepared himself mentally for a continuance of discussion-- and a potential furthering of endeavors.

More than anything, the young man wanted to know what made Katrian tick-- and how she was linked to Hector Anzilo, and any of a number of other important social contacts... though of course the young foreigner instructed himself to be very subtle about his probings. It was also, of course, imperative that he present himself properly and behave in a manner befitting a gentleman.

He put on his Cicero face, and prepared himself for what lay ahead.

[Tristam]

The marble walls of the Temple gleamed and the sconces of gold and precious gems glistened in the warm light of the sun that filtered down from high windows. There was actually a small crowd of worshippers leaving the temple as Laibach arrived. All were quite well dressed and spoke of social niceities such as the makers of clothing and where they should take their late luncheon.

The priest was bidding the faithful farewell as Laibach approached but stepped aside from them to attend to his query. "Ah yes." The priest nodded in recognition. "Sister Katrian informed us to be alert for you. She awaits you in the Hall of Reflective Calculation. This way, please."

The priest led Laibach through the marble halls of the temple. They moved past rooms filled with scribes and acolytes working carefully at great ledgers. Snatches of conversation spoke of trading sessons behind closed doors as the trading turned heated. They even had to walk around a line of priests and worshippers waiting impatiently to purchase rare woods and perfumes from a temple vendor for some upcoming festival.

In the distance over the babble of voices, Laibach became aware of a clicking sound, a sound of metal on metal or stone on stone that grew louder as the priest led him towards his destination. It was a small corridor maybe long enough for two men to lie down head to foot. Padded benches were along one wall to allow people to sit in comfort and gaze upon the object on the far wall.

"In the lands of the far East it is called an abacus." Sister Katrian's voice drifted to him over the clacking sound. Strung on silver wires that stretched over the whole of the wall were great crystal beads in many colors interspersed with smaller spheres of gold, silver and bronze. The clicked back and forth as unseen fingers propelled them on. "A device used for counting and mathematics."

Sister Katrian rose from her place on one of the benches and approached. This day found her in robes of rich white silk and her arms covered in silver bracelets imprinted with the image of the swift. The symbol of Pecunia hung at her neck. "Pecunia measures the worth of the world here." She said simply and motioned for the priest to leave them. With a bow he withdrew. "As such I thought this an appropriate meeting place." Over an amused smile, she leveled an appraising glance at him and waited.

[Grey Wolf]

No skill advances Awarded. Sent to Archives.