Where Danger Lies - Part 11

"A subtler business," Verdant said, as he checked the teapot by the hearth. It must have been empty, for he soon retrieved a jug of water and began to fill it up. "The young man who runs it offers advice for a small fee, to those that need it."

"Advice?" Oliver repeated incredulously. "That's it?"

"That's it," Verdant agreed. "He asks for my assistance in that, and in return, I have another quiet place, away from the confines of the staff, and their games of politics, and away from the other priests and their incessant questions."

"What a strange place…" Oliver mused. It almost made him angry, but the room was so peaceful that he could hardly summon the emotion. It was unfair just how carefree the nobility were able to live. And these weren't just children, as though that would excuse such a lax lifestyle. From the time a child could walk in a peasant village, he was helping in some sort of way. There would never be any excuse for these kinds of… frivolities.