This wasn’t a part of town Manesc frequently found himself in. The soft red glow coming from the shops and the smell of smoke and alcohol were overwhelming. No one looked at him twice. People assumed that all the priests of Tillia were dubious at first glance. No one would’ve been surprised even if he had intended to find a whore for the evening. That suspicion, he supposed, fell partly on their shoulders. There wasn’t much to be known about Tillia to those who were outside of her congregation. There was only a small portion of the temple that was open to visitors. The inner sanctums and libraries were only for those Sisters and Brothers who took the last name of Tilliana.

The secrecy was necessary though. The knowledge that hid behind the ornate iron bars could build and destroy nations. Tillia gave them such a precious gift, but the foolishness of their ancestors had brought society to the brink of collapse with it. Now only a devoted few could know the truths.

He took an inhale from a rolled tobacco, letting the smoke settle in his lungs for a moment before freeing it into the night sky. Sometimes the truth was a heavy burden to bare. Mansec had always felt like the other temples chose to live in ignorance. Oracles from the gods had become more and more scarce as the years went by. One after another, their messengers vanished and their voices fell silent. Other temples believed it to just be the nature of things. There were periods of silence before. They were in a time of great peace, why would their acknowledgement be required?

He knew though, his temple knew that it wasn’t so simple. Even the Coriast temple tried to play dumb. At first he had figured they were perhaps blinded enough to really be ignorant, but after today, after Noh's reading, he feared the worst.

He stomped out the butt in the dirt before scanning the buildings around him. It had to be one of these places. Where the hell were those two anyways. It was the night before the festival and he needed to discuss that weird sigil on the bone. It was an urgent matter and he didn’t want to wait until they came wandering in half way to the crack of dawn. If he was lucky, they’d be at the same spot so he wouldn’t have to go trotting around brothel to brothel looking for them.

He knelt down, pulling a small wooden top from the pocket of his black robes. He spun it, watching intently as the little toy went round and round. When it fell, the handle pointed directly into the front door of a bar. Well, at least it wasn’t a whore house.

He collected the top and made his way in. It was a little dump, only really there to keep people drunk enough to move from one establishment to another. It was small, crowded, and loud, everything he disliked.

At a tight table in the corner he caught sight of the two. A man and woman dressed in all black, swapping shots between each other from a bottle of grain liquor like they were betting on horses. They’d always been competitive but this was getting absurd. This isn’t what he thought he’d be doing when we was promoted to the inner circle.

Ha slammed his hand on the table, rattling the now empty bottle and drawing the attention of the two. “This is completely inappropriate behavior from the Left and Right hand!” Manesc growled out in irritation. “The two of you should be preparing for tomorrow not here trying to see who can get alcohol poisoning first!” He snapped.

The man, young and foolish, gave him a sloppy grin. “Oh come on Brother, it’s just a little fun. Out of all the ceremonies and Sabats this one is the easiest. We hardly need to prepare anything for tomorrow,” He said, leaning back. His cheeks were flushed red with liquor. Blessed Night these two.

“And you, as the Right Hand you should have been there today for the reading.” Now it was the woman’s turn. She lifted her eyes lazily to meet his. “Brother, you really must take that stick out of your ass one of these days,” She said, taking the empty bottle and swishing it to be sure there was nothing left. “Those readings go the same every year. It doesn’t matter which Shadow Woman does it, they always get the same reading. Blessings and knowledge for Tillia!” She sighed a bit, resting her chin in her hand and looking at the man across from her.

“Not this year,” Mansec interjected firmly before the two could get into another pissing contest. “Not this year? What is that supposed to mean?” The man asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back. Manesc pulled the wishbone from his pocket, presenting it to the leaders of the temple.

“The bones broke.”

The two suddenly seemed to understand the severity of the situation. They sat up straight, sobering them quicker then any medicine could’ve. The woman suddenly looked ill.

“We need to go somewhere we can speak in private.”