Theo took bites out of a slice of this cheesy bread triangle thing they called pizza. He slowly walked through Etol, looking around as a tourist (and spy) would do.

It reminded him a lot of the Outskirts. Lots of unkempt kids running around, lots of wooden shacks, lots of dust and dirt. Something was missing, but he couldn’t put a finger on it.

He absentmindedly jerked up the pizza-holding hand, moving gently out of the way of some pickpockets.

He wandered, moving with the hustle and bustle until he ended up in a large tiled courtyard. Stalls were set up all over it, and he soon located one with a banner that read “TOURS OF THE TEMPLES.”

He approached.

“Ten copper.” The person manning the stall didn’t even bother looking at him as he held out a hand. He was a slightly pudgy man, with a gut and receding hairline, leaning heaving on the stall as it bowed and creaked.

Theo stared at a hand that hadn’t seen a day’s worth of honest work, and deposited the requested coins into it.

His hand closed, and with a nod they confirmed what he deposited was accurate.

The man nodded. “Come back in fifteen minutes. The whole group will be here by then.”

And with that, Theo was dismissed to explore the produce sections of the market around them.

---

Fifteen minutes was enough time to pick up a whole tomato and take a bite.

It was refreshing and flavourful, and Theo did his best to keep the juice from soaking into his clothes as it dripped through his fingers and down his chin.

The red fruit had also spurted with his first bite, an arc of clumpy liquid dropping onto the tiled floor of the market. An attendant gave him a stink-eye as they signalled a janitor.

Theo sheepishly took that as his cue to leave for the tour. It was entirely to stop himself from being noticed and easily recognised, and had nothing to do with any embarrassment.

Thankfully, he was saved from his own thoughts as the rest of the tour group arrived.

To his dismay, he recognised part of the crowd. The pleasant people from The Mughalratha Empire were also here, and the tall figure nodded at him in recognition. Theo nodded back, trying to school his expression into one of polite greeting and not one of ‘calculating how many people were starting to get a good look at him’.

If Sparrow was watching him, they’d probably fail him, even though they gave him good marks in the exam.

He stayed a slight distance away from them, and made a point of being fascinated by the buildings around them, gawking like a tourist (or children around anything they definitely should not be around).

The tour guide was not the man from the stall; instead, it was someone young, dressed well but not too well, like someone who looked after their image while saving as much money as they could. It was a perfunctory attractiveness that Theo was all too familiar with as a bard.

“Welcome to the tour of all the temples in holy Etol! We will be stopping by the homes of all seven Gods, and meeting representatives from each. But first of all, let me introduce myself. I am Benedict and I will be your humble servant for the next few hours. I was born in Etol, and Gods willing, I will die here. There is so much to this city that I know like the back of my hand, so I hope I can show you why I love it as we move between the temples.” He delivered his spiel with much gusto and power, projecting his voice loud enough to be heard between the hawkers and general goings-on of a packed market.

Theo wondered for a moment, but squashed the thought. This was Etol.

“Let us start with a temple near and dear to my heart, and also physically near us right now. Gilth!”

Even if he wanted to think more, he had no choice. They were moving, a vague blob of a congregation slowly making its way through a congealed city. To his surprise, Benedict corralled them all rather well, making sure nobody was lost (or pickpocketed) on their way to the temple of Gilth, even as people stopped and stared at various bits of architecture.

Some were looking at the grand outsides of some buildings, covered in intricate carvings and precious metals. Others had their eyes trained on the wooden shacks, trying to hide the disgust on their faces whenever a grubby orphan ran nearby. Those were the ones Benedict chatted up the most, distracting them while also making it harder to isolate and separate them from the main group.

Theo was definitely looking at the buildings, although the reason for his interest was unlikely to be the same as the others on the tour. He’d seen opulence in the Housing District, and the Colleges themselves were rather grand. No, what he was looking for was infiltration points, sightlines, and anything else that might come in handy later if he was trying to locate or escape with a certain someone.

Hypothetically.

“And we have arrived!” Benedict kept up the clearly artificial demeanour obvious to anyone who’d worked in a restaurant as they stood outside a temple of yellows and whites, gilded with gold and brass and embedded with topaz and tiger’s eye. Giant metal chimneys poked out of the golden roof. Benedict gestured for them all to follow, finger to his lips as he quietly opened the main doors and walked in.

They followed inwards to a space wildly different to its exterior. The first thing everyone noticed was the giant pipes leading out from an organ. Theo realised that these were probably what those “chimneys” were used for.

The next thing was the fact that it was covered in metal plates all inscribed with words. Chimes also hung from strings to create an in-door, metal, starry sky. They gently moved and tinkled, almost of their own accord.

In short, it was a space almost entirely covered by metal, words, and things that made sound.

They heard the priest coming before they saw her, wearing a robe embroidered with free-hanging (and ringing) chimes identical to those strung around above them. She had sallow cheeks, a wrinkly neck, and thin white hair that was shoulder-length but also just short enough to avoid getting tangled up in the chimes.

“This is one of the priests who tends to the Temple of Gilth, and she has kindly offered to tell you about the history of this temple.” Benedict introduced the chiming priest, before joining the rest of the tour in politely listening.

“Hail, I am Harmony in Silence. Before I begin, does anyone have any questions?”

“Why aren’t there any performers?” A kid raised their voice, and their parents shushed them equally as loudly, before apologising to the priest.

She laughed, in a way that was entirely humourless, before turning to the child. “You are quite observant, my child. We do not approve of bards who waste their talents entertaining the masses.” Theo noted that Benedict tensed. She continued. “All those with potential are taken in and nurtured to be servants of Gilth and find their place in the priesthood.”

She turned to face the group. “Now, the history of this specific temple dates back to…”