Gems: (15) Onyx -> (14) Onyx

Having heard the Half Elf curse twice, an Acolyte stepped forward, only to stop once they saw the Half Elf place a gem at the box in front of the statue.

“I hope you’re doing well, Lady Arya,” Adam said, placing his hands together and he sent his thoughts and prayers to her.

Mana: 10 -> 8

As he prayed, the red within the gem blade pulsed once, causing the Acolytes nearby to shoot their gazes onto the Half Elf and Priest.

After a few minutes, Adam stood, making his way to the other statue, noticing the Acolytes gawking at him.

“What, haven’t seen a Half Elf before?” he asked, before dropping onto a knee before Elaveil’s statue.

“Oh,’ he said, staring at the lack of detail on the statue.

It was as though it had been suffering from erosion for a thousand years, with a general shape of a woman. However, the scale at the top of the staff was made of real gold, and intricately detailed. There five gems set within the scale, red, yellow, and blue at the front, with a black gem at the top, and a white gem at the bottom.

Gems: (14) Onyx -> (13) Onyx

“I hope you’re doing well too,” Adam said. “It would have sucked after I did that for you only for you to end up dead.” He winked at the statue before sending his thoughts and prayers, thinking hard.

Mana: 8 -> 6

The Acolytes watched the Half Elf, wondering what he was doing to make the gems pulse with magic. It was rare to find someone who could make the gems of each statue pulse. Even Dunes wasn’t able to cause them to pulse.

Adam eventually made his way into the next room, where he saw a statue of a young boy on a seat made of jagged bone. “Yeah, that’s Baktu alright.”

Gems: (13) Onyx -> (12) Onyx

Adam knelt in front of the statue, praying to it as he had done so previously. ‘Hey, Baktu, if you dare take my family from me, I’ll swing by to chat with you, and I don’t mean over tea.’

The statue had been of the young boy on a seat of jagged bone, though his eyes were made of black gems.

Mana: 6 -> 0

Adam sighed, feeling the exhaustion set through his body. ‘Man, did he have to take so much Mana from me?’

He blinked, seeing the pale faces of the Acolytes, who were pressed back against the walls of the temple, their faces sweaty, their eyes wide eyed as they stared at Adam.

Adam frowned. “What? Have you seriously never seen a Half Elf before?”

He quickly retreated away from the temple, not realising how much of a mess he had made.

“Father!” called an Acolyte, panting from the effort of running to find the Father who was in Solitary Prayer, which was the Father’s way of saying to not disturb him unless it was an emergency.

“What is it?” the older, heavy set man said.

“There was a Half Elf within the temple,” the Acolyte gasped, trying to catch his breath still.

“Yes? That is truly interesting, but what does that-“

“He made Lady Arya’s, Lady Elevail’s, and Lord Sozain’s statues awaken.”

The Father of the Temple stared at the Acolyte and blinked at him. “Excuse me? Is this some kind of joke? What have I told you about your pranks?”

“No, Father, you can ask Brother Damion or Sister Jane!” the Acolyte urged.

“The Goddess of War, the Goddess of Balance, and the God of Death?” The Father asked, wanting to make sure he had heard right.

“Yes, Father.”

The Father blinked again.

That combination hadn’t awoken before.

‘No,’ he thought. ‘It has once before.’

The Father quickly rushed out, trying to find that book. He barged through the panicking Acolytes, finding one of the ten books which had been stashed away for the Fathers of the temple to read. They were the foundation of what the Two Fathers and One Mother of the Jaghi Temple used in order to lead the temples.

One of the books was purely about when several statues had been awakened together. The Father quickly went to the Sozain section, which was the smallest section of all, and he scanned through it, finding the one time that the three statues had been awakened and the event proceeding it.

There it was in huge, blocky letters.

SECOND BLACKWATER CRISIS

The Father’s eyes scanned across the summary of the event. His heart began to pound wildly as he quickly shut the book and retreated into the corner of the room, his arms planted on either wall beside him, as though a cornered rat.

“What, by Lord Sozain’s name, did we do?” he whispered, his chest shaking as he struggled to breathe.

He stumbled his way out, snapping his head to a nearby Acolyte. “Call for Father Jag and Mother Jaghi!”

The Acolyte bolted away to do as the Father asked.

“What do you want?” Father Jag asked, yawning. “I was in the middle of my meditations.”

“Father Hi, are you perhaps on a bad trip due to your Solitary Prayer?” Mother Jaghi asked, her eyes poking fun of the tubby Father.

The Father placed down the book and opened it up to the page he had just read. “Someone came in and awakened the three statues.”

“Which three statues?”

“Those three statues,” the Father said, pointing at the text.

Father Jag and Mother Jaghi threw each other a look.

“Father Hi, what did you consume this time?” Father Jag asked.

“Was it from the red pouch? What did we tell you about the red pouch?”

“I’m not high!” Father Hi growled. “The Acolytes saw it with their own eyes.”

“Did they consume from the red pouch?”

“Shut up about the red pouch!” Father Hi slammed the table between them. “What are we going to do about this?”

Father Jag and Mother Jaghi were smiling at the Father, before their smiles quickly faded.

“Did someone…”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Adam yawned, stretching out his back and arms. “Should I buy some more Jagite weapons?”

Dunes caught up to him. “What did you do?”

“Huh?”

“I saw the Acolytes were set in a panick after they saw you.”

“Perhaps they found it distressing being charmed by me?” Adam asked rubbing his chin, smirking slightly.

Dunes blinked. “I’m sure.”

“They might be into Elves in the same way you’re into Devilkin,” Adam said.

Dune’s face turned slightly red. “I’m not into Devilkin.”

“Uhuh,” Adam said, rolling his eyes.

Dunes scoffed slightly, glancing away from the Half Elf’s playful stare. “You paid quite the tithe to the temple.”

“Not as much as you, I’m sure. What’s the tithe for you?”

“Two for every ten parts,” Dunes said. “One in ten for Lady Arya, and one in ten for the rest of the Gods.”

“Fair enough,” Adam said. “I suppose all the Gods touch us in some way.”

Dunes squinted his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, you know… I’m sure you know someone whose died, right? So that’s Lord Sozain looking out for them. Then there’s commerce, you’ve brought things before, so that’s under he purview of whichever God or Goddess does that. Then there’s the Goddess of Life, who, you know, is about life and stuff.”

“Ah,” Dunes said, nodding his head.

“What did you think I meant?” Adam asked, raising his brow.

Dunes furrowed his brows, giving him a look.

Adam understood the look, one full of offence. “Ah. So that happens here too, does it?” Adam sighed. “Religion, man.”

Dunes narrowed his eyes. “We do not appreciate such rumours.”

“I’m sure they are only rumours,” Adam said, patting Dunes’ back. “If I catch you doing any of that bullshit around me, I’m going to torture you and kill you.” He said it so casually, as though he were talking about where to go for lunch.

Dunes stared at Adam. “I hope you do.”

Adam nodded.

“You there,” a Priest called, stepping into the Adventurer’s Guild.

Adam threw a look over, chewing on a piece of bread, midway through his lunch. “Hmm?”

“Come with me at once,” the Priest said.

Adam swallowed the bread. “No.”

“What?”

“No,” Adam repeated, sipping on his water.

“You… you won’t follow me?”

“You have no manners,” Adam said, staring at the Priest, furrowing his brows. “Why would I follow you?”

“Will you follow me, please?” the Priest asked, noting the looks of the Adventurers, who were glancing between the pair of them.

‘Did he just deny a Priest?’

“That’s better,” Adam said, breaking another piece of bread. “What do you need me for?”

“Our Fathers and Mother would like to speak with you.”

Adam looked to Dunes, raising his brow.

“The leaders of the Jaghi Temple,” Dunes informed.

“Did I do something wrong?” Adam asked, freezing mid way through bringing the bread to his lips.

“Oh, dear, no, no.” The Priest smiled nervously. “We just hoped to discuss a few things with you.”

Adam stared at the Priest, whose face was sweating slightly. “Alright, but I’m bringing along Dunes and an Iyrman.”

At the mention of an Iyrman, the Priest’s eyes flashed with terror, but he quickly pushed it away from his eyes. “O-of course, if you so wish.”

Adam stared at the Priest for a long while. ‘Why is he so spooked?’ Adam tried to think back to the temple to remember what he did. ‘Did something happen while I wasn’t paying attention?’

Once Adam was done, he threw a look to each of the companions he had picked. “Chances are, the Fathers and Mother are stronger than us. I don’t think they’ll kill a Priest of Arya in the temple, and I don’t think they have the balls to kill an Iyrman neither.”

“They will not kill you,” Jurot said. “They are holy men.”

“One of them is a woman,” Adam said, suspiciously.

Jurot furrowed his brows towards the Half Elf, who was shaking, trying not to laugh at his own joke.

‘Cringe.’

Adam was brought around back to a large room which was lavishly furnished. There were two heavily armoured people within the room, flanking the three leaders of the church.

Each of the leaders were dressed in fine Priestly garbs, with an intricate amulet around their necks, with a generic symbol to no God in particular.

“Now I know where my gems went to,” Adam said, glancing all around.

Dunes elbowed him.

“I was just kidding,” Adam grumbled.

“Welcome,” a chubby Father said. “I am Father Hi, and this is Father Jag and Mother Jaghi.”

“Welcome to our temple,” the Father said.

“Have some tea,” Mother Jaghi said.

“I just ate,” Adam said, wondering if he should trust the three in front of him. “If I had known you were going to have such strong looking warriors beside you, I would have brought along the Silver Rank Iyrmen.”

The chubby Father chuckled nervously, his eyes glancing at Jurot, who sat with his arms crossed. “Oh, no, no. Don’t mind them.”

“How can I not?” Adam asked, glancing at the tall and strong warriors. “They have such beautiful armour, and their weapons seem to be magical. I’m just a little Half Elf boy.”

The pair wore plate mail from head to toe, with a tabard which had the symbols of dozens of gods, and at their sides were long blades, each made of gem, and engraved with runes. They emanated large amounts of magical power.

Adam still, somehow, had his Lightsear at his side, as well as his own puthral breastplate, so he wasn’t completely helpless.

“I assume that you all know quite some powerful spells too,” Adam said, his eyes returning back to Father Hi.

“Oh, just Fourth Gate for me,” Father Hi said, smiling awkwardly.

“We know Fifth Gate spells,” Father Jag and Mother Jaghi said.

Adam stared at them. “Are you sure you should be telling me that kind of thing?”

“It is well known that all the High Priests know up to the Fifth Gate at most,” Father Hi said.

“Ah,” Adam replied. “Why is that?”

“Excuse me?” Father Hi asked.

“We spend most of our time in prayer rather than growing our strength,” Mother jaghi said, not revealing the true reason.

“We can’t grow too powerful or it upsets the balance between Nobles and the Clergy,” Father Jag said.

Adam coughed as the Father and Mother stared at their companion. “Right, right…” Adam glanced between them all, and then to the heavily armoured pair.

He reached over and sipped the tea, tasting how sweet it was, before grabbing a hard biscuit which had been sprinkled in the tiniest amount of sugar.

“So what’s this all about then?” Adam asked, his eyes darting between the Fathers and Mother.

There was no way they had invited him here just for some casual chit chat, and he felt the stress of being under their gaze begin to fill him.

‘I can’t just joke around with them, they might actually kill me.’